10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: August 25, 2020

Statement 1 is correct. As per the National Food Security Act, 2013, the central government is responsible for determining the total number of persons to receive food security in each state.

Each state government is responsible for specifying criteria for identifying priority households. States are also responsible for identifying exact households according to these criteria. Antyodaya Anna Yojana households are identified according to the scheme guidelines.

Statement 2 is correct. Section 8 of the act states that in case of non-supply of the entitled quantities of food grains or meals to entitled persons, such persons are entitled to receive food security allowance from the concerned State Government, within such time and manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

Entitlements under NFSA:

-Highly subsidized food grains under PDS (5 kg per person for PHH category and 35 kg per household for AAY households.).

-Nutritious meal, free of charge to pregnant women & lactating mothers and children up to 6 years of age.

-Nutritious meal, free of charge to children in the 6-14 years of age group under MDM.

-Maternity benefits of Rs. 6000 to Pregnant Women & Lactating Mother.

The Indian Association of Parliamentarians for Population and Development (IAPPD) recently released the report titled- ‘Status of Sex Ratio at Birth in India’.

It mentions that there has not been any change in the sex ratio at birth in India from 2001-2017–the number of girl children born is much less than what is the general or natural norm.

The Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IAPPD) is a national level Non-Governmental organization.

# Vice-President of India recently Released Two Research Reports of IAPPD, ‘Status of Sex Ratio at Birth in India’ and ‘Elderly Population in India: Status and Support Systems’.

Statement 1 is correct. AstroSat is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray, optical and UV spectral bands simultaneously.

The payloads cover the energy bands of Ultraviolet (Near and Far), limited optical and X-ray regime.

One of the unique features of AstroSat mission is that it enables the simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of various astronomical objects with a single satellite.

# AstroSat has detected extreme UV light from a galaxy called AUDFs01, 9.3 billion light-years away from Earth in a discovery by a global team led by scientists of the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA).

Statement 2 is incorrect. AstroSat is a multi-wavelength astronomy mission on an IRS-class satellite in a 650-km, near-earth equatorial orbit. It was launched by the Indian launch vehicle PSLV from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in 2015.

# Geosynchronous orbit is a high Earth orbit that allows satellites to match Earth’s rotation. Located at 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth’s equator, this position is a valuable spot for monitoring weather, communications and surveillance.

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is an image of a small area of space in the constellation Fornax, created using Hubble Space Telescope data from 2003 and 2004.

By collecting faint light over many hours of observation, it revealed thousands of galaxies, both nearby and very distant, making it the deepest image of the universe ever taken at that time.

The eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, was assembled by combining 10 years of NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken of a patch of sky at the center of the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The XDF is a small fraction of the angular diameter of the full Moon.

The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister for Science and Technology in July, 2019.

The Bill provides for the regulation of use of DNA technology for establishing the identity of certain persons. It was referred to standing committee for further scrutiny and the final report is awaited.

Statement 1 is correct. The Bill provides for the establishment of a National DNA Data Bank and Regional DNA Data Banks, for every state, or two or more states.  DNA laboratories are required to share DNA data prepared by them with the National and Regional DNA Data Banks.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Authorities are required to obtain consent for collection in certain situations.  For arrested persons, authorities are required to obtain written consent if the offence carries a punishment of up to seven years. If the offence carries more than seven years of imprisonment or death, consent is not required.

The authorities can also approach a Magistrate who may order the taking of bodily substances.

-The Bill provides for the establishment of a DNA Regulatory Board, which will supervise the DNA Data Banks and DNA laboratories.

-The Bill specifies penalties for various offences, including: (i) for disclosure of DNA information, or (ii) using DNA sample without authorization.

Option 1 is incorrect. The Taif Agreement, 1989 was an agreement reached to provide “the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon”.

Option 2 is incorrect. The Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement, or the Abraham Accord, was agreed to by Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on August 13, 2020. The UAE will be the third Arab country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to formally normalize its relationship with Israel.

Option 3 is correct. The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization: the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995.

Both statements are correct.

The Fiscal management principles under Section 4 of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act state that the Central Government shall:

-take appropriate measures to limit the fiscal deficit upto three per cent. of gross domestic product by the 31st March, 2021;

-endeavour to ensure that— (i) the general Government debt does not exceed sixty per cent.; (ii) the Central Government debt does not exceed forty per cent., of gross domestic product by the end of financial year 2024-2025;

-not give additional guarantees with respect to any loan on security of the Consolidated Fund of India in excess of one-half percent of gross domestic product, in any financial year.

# “General Government debt” means the sum total of the debt of the Central Government and the State Governments, excluding inter-Governmental liabilities.

Option 1 is correct. Consolidated Fund of India and for every state is established by virtue of article 266(1) of the Constitution for all revenues received by the Government, all loans raised by that Government by the issue of treasury bills, loans or ways and means advances and all moneys received by that Government in repayment of loans.

Option 2 is incorrect. The Contingency Fund is not established by the Constitution rather article 267 empowers the Parliament to establish such fund. Accordingly, Parliament enacted the Contingency fund of India Act 1950. The fund is held by the Finance Secretary (Department of Economic Affairs) on behalf of the President of India and it can be operated by executive action.

Option 3 is incorrect. National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) was established in 1999 within the Public Account of India for pooling the money from different small saving schemes (SSSs). Collections from all small savings schemes are credited to the NSSF.

Public Account of India is established by the Constitution under article 266(2).

Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) was operationalized in the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) during 2016-17 for fast tracking the completion of the identified Medium and Major Irrigation projects, spread across different states.

Under LTIF, NABARD provides loan towards Central Share as well as State Share with a tenor of 15 years. The Central Share is provided to National Water Development Agency (NWDA), an agency working under the aegis of Ministry of Jal Shakti, whereas the loan towards State Share is availed by the State Governments.

Both statements are correct.

The direct tax collection of India, comprising mainly of corporate and personal income tax has been higher than indirect tax collection. It constitutes around 54 per cent of Gross Tax Revenue (GTR) of India (2019-20 BE).

Of the total Gross Tax Revenue (GTR) of India, Corporate Tax revenue accounts for 31%, while the GST accounts for 27% of GTR (2019-20 BE).