Weekly Current Affairs : Quizzes, 9 to 14 May, 2022

EXPLANATION:

• Article 25 guarantees the freedom of conscience, the freedom to profess, practice, and propagate religion to all citizens. So, Propagation of religion is a fundamental right under Article 25 of the Indian constitution. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• In May 2020, the high court of Allahabad held that though azaan might be an essential and integral part of Islam, giving the call to prayer through loudspeakers or other sound-amplifying devices could not be said to be an integral part of the religion warranting the fundamental rights protection enshrined in Article 25 of the Constitution, which is even otherwise subject to public order, morality or health and other provisions of Part III of the Constitution. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• The above-mentioned freedoms are subject to public order, health, and morality. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

EXPLANATION:

• It was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019 and the Act was notified within 24 hours on December 12. It seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. The objective of the CAA is to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. All the persecuted minorities and sects are not included in this. For example Ahmadia’s of Pakistan has been excluded. Hence statement 1 is not correct. 
• The Act does not apply to tribal areas of Tripura, Mizoram, Assam and Meghalaya because of being included in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution. Hence statement 2 is correct.
•  The Act provides that the central government may cancel the registration of OCIs on certain grounds. Hence statement 3 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• This is launched by the Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). A “Clean” Beach is the primary indicator of Coastal environmental quality & management. However, the coastal region in India is highly susceptible to litter accumulation. The presence of such debris not only affects the aesthetic appeal of beaches negatively but also reduces their recreational (tourism) value drastically. Hence statement 1 is correct. 
• The objective of the BEAMS program is to abate pollution in coastal waters & beaches, promote sustainable development of beach amenities/ facilities, protect & conserve coastal ecosystems & natural resources and encourage local authorities & stakeholders to strive and maintain high standards of cleanliness, hygiene, safety and security for beachgoers in accordance with coastal environment norms & regulations. Hence statement 2 is correct.
•  A beach in India that gets Beam certification is not automatically nominated for the Blue flag certification programme by the government. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Haflong Hindi is the bridge language of Dima Hasao district of Assam. It stemmed from Hindi and includes vocabulary from several other languages, such as Assamese, Bengali, Dimasa and Zeme Naga. It is named after Haflong, which is the headquarters of Dima Hasao district. Haflong Hindi follows the Tibeto-Burman grammar, not the Hindi grammar, and has lexical additions from Nepali and Bengali. It has a generic plural marker and does not use numbers as in Hindi. Some linguists feel pushing the standardized Hindi as a compulsory subject in school could affect Haflong Hindi speaking communities in the state. Hence option (a) is correct.

EXPLANATION: 

• The Lokpal can inquire into allegations of corruption against anyone who is or has been Prime Minister, or a Minister in the Union government, or a Member of Parliament, as well as officials of the Union government under Groups A, B, C and D. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The body also covers complaints against chairpersons, members, officers and directors of any board, corporation, society, trust or autonomous body either established by an Act of Parliament or wholly or partly funded by the Centre and any society or trust or body that receives foreign contribution above ₹10 lakh. Hence statement 2 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• As per Article 351, it is the Union government’s duty to promote the spread of Hindi so that it becomes “a medium of expression for all elements of the composite culture of India” and also to assimilate elements of forms and expressions from Hindustani and languages listed in the Eighth Schedule. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The Constitution of India has not given any language a national status. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• In the constituent assembly discussions, it was decided that English would continue to be used for a period of 15 years. Hence statement 3 is incorrect.

EXPLANATION:

• WHO defines vaccine hesitancy as a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services. Vaccine hesitancy has been reported in more than 90% of countries in the world. Globally nearly 4, 24,000 children have confirmed measles in 2019, as against a figure of 1, 73,000 in the whole of 2018. In India, poor communities of Uttar Pradesh were reported to have taken five times low uptake of oral polio vaccine in the early 2000s. Social media is used in stirring fear in people by falsely blaming vaccines for unrelated diseases is the bedrock of Vaccine hesitancy all across the globe. Hence option (a) is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Rakhigarhi is a Harappan site in Haryana’s Hisar district. Rakhigarhi is the largest Harappan site in the Indian subcontinent. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The excavations have revealed the structure of some houses, lanes and drainage system, and what could possibly be a jewelry-making unit. The ASI has also revealed pieces of copper and gold jewelry, terracotta toys, besides thousands of earthen pots and seals at excavation. The noteworthy antiquity found at both the mounds (1 & 3) include steatite seals, terracotta unbaked sealing with relief of elephants and Harappan script. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• The site is located in the Sarasvati river plain, some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river. Hence statement 3 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Out of the eight species of pangolin, the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and the Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) are found in India. Pangolins are scaly anteater mammals and they have large, protective keratin scales covering their skin. It is declared endangered in the IUCN red data book. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• It is protected under schedule I of wildlife protection act 1972. Thus poaching and hunting is prohibited. Hence statement 2 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Dholavira is an archaeological site at Khadirbet in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District, in the state of Gujarat in western India, which has taken its name from a modern-day village 1 kilometre south of it. This village is 165 km from Radhanpur. Lothal was one of the southernmost sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt. Construction of the city is believed to have begun around 2200 BCE. Rangpur is an ancient archaeological site near Vanala on Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, western India. Lying on the tip between the Gulf of Khambhat and Gulf of Kutch, it belongs to the period of the Indus Valley Civilization, and lies to the northwest of the larger site of Lothal. Alamgirpur is an archaeological site of the Indus Valley Civilization that thrived along Yamuna River from the Harappan-Bara period, located in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the easternmost site of civilization. Hence option (c) is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• RBI regulates the money market. The Money market is the market where the trading between banks and the financial institutions for short term loans i.e. for less than 364 days. SEBI regulates the capital market. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• SEBI is a statutory body established on April 12, 1992 in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992. The basic functions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India is to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote and regulate the securities market. Before SEBI came into existence, Controller of Capital Issues was the regulatory authority; it derived authority from the Capital Issues (Control) Act, 1947. Hence statement 2 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The 69th amendment to the Constitution of India inserted Article 239AA, which declared the Union Territory of Delhi to be administered by a L-G who works on aid and advice of the elected legislative assembly. The status of Delhi being a Union Territory under Schedule 1 of the Constitution but christened the ‘National Capital Territory’ under Article 239AA, engrafted by the Constitution (69th Amendment) Act. Further, the Article 239AA also notes that L-G has to either act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, or he is bound to implement the decision taken by the President on a reference being made by him. Also, Article 239AA, empowers the L-G to refer a difference of opinion on ‘any matter’ with the Council of Ministers to the President. Hence option (a) is correct.