10 PM Current Affairs Quiz : January 27 2021

Statement 1 is correct. The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The presidency of the Council is held by each of the members (permanent and non-permanent) in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the Member States names. Tunisia is the president for January 2021.

All existing committees and working groups are comprised of the fifteen members of the Council. While standing committees are chaired by the President of the Council, rotating on a monthly basis, other committees and working groups are chaired or co-chaired by designated members of the Council who are announced on an annual basis by a Note of the President of the Security Council.

Statement 1 is correct. The Preamble to the constitution of India provides the date of adoption and enactment of the Constitution as 26th January, 1950.

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this 26th day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

Statement 2 is correct. ‘Beating The Retreat’ officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of January 29, the third day after the Republic Day.

Statement 1 is correct. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age, and defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography.

People who traffic children for sexual purposes are also punishable under the provisions relating to abetment in the said Act. The said Act prescribes stringent punishment graded as per the gravity of the offence, with a maximum term of rigorous imprisonment for life, and fine.

Statement 2 is correct. The said Act provides for Special Courts that conduct the trial in-camera and without revealing the identity of the child, in a child-friendly manner. The child is not to be called repeatedly to testify in court and may testify through video-link rather than in a courtroom. The said Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.

Both statements are correct. Blockchain is a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system.

A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain. Each block in the chain contains a number of transactions, and every time a new transaction occurs on the blockchain, a record of that transaction is added to every participant’s ledger.

No participant can change or tamper with a transaction after it’s been recorded to the shared ledger. If a transaction record includes an error, a new transaction must be added to reverse the error, and both transactions are then visible.

The blockchains are programmable. To speed transactions, a set of rules — called a smart contract — is stored on the blockchain and executed automatically.

Road Transport and Highways Ministry has approved the proposal to levy the tax on older vehicles.

The policy will only apply for petrol and diesel vehicles in a bid to protect the environment and curb pollution. Whereas other vehicles like strong hybrids, electric vehicles and those running on alternate fuels like CNG, ethanol and LPG will be exempted.

Option 1 and 2 are correct. The move in addition to reducing air pollution will help raise fuel efficiency, and improving safety standards by dissuading resale of old vehicles.

Option 3 is correct. Further, the new green tax on road tax Is likely to push up truck rentals as their owners will likely pass on the additional cess to customers. [There are more than 2.5 million trucks that are more than eight years on Indian roads. Green tax will be passed on through higher truck rentals.]

According to MoRTH, the older fleet, typically manufactured before the year 2000, constitute less than 1 percent of the total fleet but contributes around 15 percent of total vehicular pollution. These older vehicles pollute 10-25 times more than modern vehicles.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The National Non-communicable Disease Monitoring Survey (NNMS) conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru, Government of India with the support of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India assesses the national NCD targets and indicators.

Statement 2 is correct. The findings stated that more than one in every four adults and 6.2% adolescents were overweight or obese; almost three out of ten adults had raised blood pressure and 9.3% had raised blood glucose.

Recently released survey, conducted during the period of 2017–18, showed that more than two in five adults and one in four adolescents were doing insufficient physical activity and their average daily intake of salt was 8 gms. The survey also showed that one in every three adults and more than one-fourth proportion of men used any form of tobacco and consumed alcohol in past 12 months respectively.

Post-independence, first three gallantry awards namely Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra and Vir Chakra were instituted by the Government of India in 1950. Thereafter, other three gallantry awards i.e. Ashoka Chakra Class-I, Ashoka Chakra Class-II and Ashoka Chakra Class-III were instituted in 1952, these awards were renamed as Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra respectively in January, 1967.

Statement 1 is correct. These gallantry awards are announced twice in a year – first on the occasion of the Republic Day and then on the occasion of the Independence Day.

Statement 2 is correct. The following categories of persons shall be eligible for the Param Vir Chakra, the Maha Vir Chakra and the Vir Chakra:

–Officers and men and women of all ranks of the Naval, Military and Air Forces, of any of the Reserve Forces, of the Territorial Army, Militia and of any other lawfully constituted Armed Forces.

–Matrons, Sisters, Nurses and the Staff of the Nursing Services and other Services pertaining to Hospitals and Nursing, and Civilians of either sex serving regularly or temporarily under the orders, directions or supervision of any of the above-mentioned Forces

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) implemented by National Skill Development Corporation.

Objectives of PMKVY 3.0 (2020-21):

–Create an ecosystem for the youth to make informed choices on the available skilling avenues.

–Provide support to youth for skill training and certification.

–Promote sustainable Skill Centres for greater participation of private sector.

–Benefit 8 lakh youth over the scheme period (2020-21).

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is released by NGO Pratham. This is an annual survey that aims to provide reliable estimates of children’s enrolment and basic learning levels for each district and state in India. ASER has been conducted every year since 2005 in all rural districts of India.

Statement 2 is correct. Unlike most other large-scale learning assessments, ASER is a household-based rather than school-based survey. This design enables all children to be included – those who have never been to school or have dropped out, as well as those who are in government schools, private schools, religious schools or anywhere else.

#COVID-19 pandemic spurred the growth of online education in India. Remote learning opens up another channel that widens the learning disadvantage of relatively poorer children. ASER 2020 has found that a majority (55 per cent) of children in relatively poorer households not having a smartphone, their access to whatever learning material being distributed in this mode was limited.

Disinvestment means sale or liquidation of assets by the government, usually Central and state public sector enterprises, projects, or other fixed assets.

Factors responsible for low profits in the PSUs: Price policy of public sector undertakings, Under–utilisation of capacity, Problems related to planning and construction of projects, Problems of labour, personnel and management, Lack of autonomy.

Major objectives of disinvestment: To reduce the financial burden on the Government, improve public finances, introduce, competition and market discipline, fund growth, encourage wider share of ownership and to depoliticise non-essential services.