10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: December 1, 2020

Statement 1 is incorrect. Government fixes minimum support prices (MSPs) of 22 mandated crops including paddy, wheat, for every agricultural year and fair & remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane on the basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), after considering the views of State Governments and Central Ministries/Departments concerned & other relevant factors.
In addition, MSP for Toria and De-Husked coconut is also fixed on the basis of MSPs of Rapeseed & Mustard and Copra respectively.
Statement 2 is correct. While recommending MSPs, CACP considers important factors like cost of production, overall demand-supply conditions, domestic and international prices, inter-crop price parity, terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, the likely effect on the rest of the economy, besides ensuring rational utilization of land, water and other production resources and a minimum of 50 percent as the margin over cost of production in case of MSPs and reasonable margins over cost of production in case of FRP.

Both statements are correct.
Agricultural markets in India are mainly regulated by state Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) laws. APMCs were set up with the objective of ensuring fair trade between buyers and sellers for effective price discovery of farmers’ produce.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020
–Allows intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers’ produce outside: (i) the physical premises of market yards run by market committees formed under the state APMC Acts and (ii) other markets notified under the state APMC Acts.
–Such trade can be conducted in an ‘outside trade area’, i.e., any place of production, collection, and aggregation of farmers’ produce including: (i) farm gates, (ii) factory premises, (iii) warehouses, (iv) silos, and (v) cold storages.
–It permits the electronic trading of scheduled farmers’ produce (agricultural produce regulated under any state APMC Act) in the specified trade area.
–It prohibits state governments from levying any market fee, cess or levy on farmers, traders, and electronic trading platforms for trade of farmers’ produce conducted in an ‘outside trade area’.

Section 8 of the Right to Information Act provides for exemption from disclosure of information. Some of the grounds for exemption are:
–information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information
–information received in confidence from foreign Government
–information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information.

The KVIC’s Honey Mission aims to create an end-to-end implementation framework for beekeeping skill development, which provides employment opportunities and income generation to agriculturists, beekeepers rural & urban unemployed youth.
–Enforce nationally acceptable standards of Good Beekeeping Practices (GPB) in the country.
–Develop a network of quality master trainers in the field of beekeeping for imparting Good Beekeeping / Apicultural Practices.
–Offer a passage for overseas market for hive products.
–Enable pathways from novice beekeepers to viable commercial beekeeping by handholding to credit linkages.
–Promote convergence and co-ordination between all the stakeholders of beekeeping in India.

Statement 1 is correct. The Target Olympic Podium Scheme is a flagship program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports which is an attempt to provide assistance to India’s top athletes. The Scheme looks to add a premium to the preparations of these athletes so that they can win Olympic medals in 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
Under the Scheme, the Department of Sports shall identify athletes who are potential medal winners in 2020 / 2024 Olympics. The idea of the Scheme is to also keep an eye in the future and fund a Developmental Group of Athletes who are medal prospects for the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles Games in 2028.
Statement 2 is correct. The Mission Olympic Cell is a dedicated body created to assist the athletes who are selected under the TOP Scheme. The idea of the MOC is to debate, discuss and decide the processes and methods so that the athlete receives best assistance. The MOC also focuses on selection, exclusion and retention of athletes, coaches, training institutes that can receive TOPS assistance.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA) is a “not–for–profit” Section-8 Public Private Partnership (PPP) company promoted jointly by the Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Statement 2 is correct. The mandate of GITA includes:
–GITA extends financial support in form of Grant/ Conditional Grant to promote industrial R&D, Innovation, Technology Acquisition and International S & T collaborative efforts.
–GITA catalyzes innovation and empowers ideas by offering specialized Information, matchmaking, IP protection etc. in the areas of technology design and IPR management.
–GITA is involved in Technical, Financial, Strategic policy research and recommendation to industry, research institution, State & Central Government and offers global networking platforms.
–GITA is mandated to facilitate the implementation of various innovative and revolutionary scientific and technological industrial research and development projects worldwide.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Nepal shares a border of over 1850 km with five Indian states – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Statement 2 is correct. A number of defence personnel from Nepal Army attend training courses in various Indian Army training institutions. The ‘Indo-Nepal Battalion-level Joint Military Exercise SURYA KIRAN’ is conducted alternately in India and in Nepal.
Statement 3 is correct. Since 1950, India and Nepal have been awarding each other’s Army Chief with the honorary rank of General in recognition of the mutual harmonious relationship between the two armies.

Option 1 is correct. The Buddhist cloister of Ajina tepe is situated at a distance of 12 km east from the city of Kurgan-Tiube, Tajikistan.
Option 2 is correct. Termez is a city in the southernmost part of Uzbekistan. The ancient Termez was one of the largest centres of Buddhism in the region.
Option 3 is correct. Sahri Bahlol, is a city and archaeological site located in Mardan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is a historical place and it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1980. The site has remnants of Buddhist structures.

Statement 1 is correct. Currently, eight countries enjoy the status of the SCO full members: India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; four countries — Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia — have an observer status with the SCO, and six countries — Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka — have a dialogue partner status.
The Organisation has two permanent bodies — the Secretariat in Beijing (China) and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent.
Statement 2 is incorrect. Russian and Chinese are the official working languages of the SCO.
It has been reported that India has proposed English to be adopted as an official language at SCO.

The State of Food and Agriculture, one of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’’s major annual flagship publications, aims at bringing to a wider audience balanced science-based assessments of important issues in the field of food and agriculture. Each edition of the report contains a comprehensive, yet easily accessible, overview of a selected topic of major relevance for rural and agriculture development and for global food security.
The State of Food and Agriculture 2020 presents new estimates on the pervasiveness of water scarcity in irrigated agriculture and of water shortages in rainfed agriculture, as well as on the number of people affected.
–Some 520 million of the 1.2 billion people lived in rural areas while 660 million lived in small urban centres surrounded by agricultural areas.
–Nearly half of the 1.2 billion people lived in south Asia, while 460 million lived in east and southeast Asia.
–In central Asia, west Asia and north Africa, about one-fifth of the population lived in agricultural areas with very high-water shortages or scarcity.