10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: July 3, 2020

‘United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment’ seeks to ensure that countries put in place various institutional mechanisms to prevent the use of torture by legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent torture, and ensure that torture is a criminal offence, among others.

Statement 1 is correct. The convention states that no State Party shall expel, return or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.

Statement 2 is correct. India signed the convention in 1997 but has not ratified it.

Statement 1 is correct. The Security Council consists of five permanent members (China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States of America) and 10 non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for a term of two years. A retiring member is not eligible for immediate re-election in UNSC.

Statement 2 is correct. At its eighteenth session, in 1963, the Assembly decided that the non-permanent members of the Council should be elected according to the following pattern: Five from African and Asian States; One from Eastern European States; Two from Latin American States; Two from Western European and other States.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The non-permanent members of the Security Council are elected by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting of the General Assembly.

Statement 1 is correct. The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) is a disease surveillance scheme under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; it was launched with World Bank assistance in November 2004.

It maintains decentralized laboratory-based IT enabled disease surveillance system for epidemic prone diseases to monitor disease trends and to detect and respond to outbreaks in early rising phase through trained Rapid Response Team (RRTs).

Statement 2 is correct. Under the project weekly disease surveillance data on epidemic prone disease are being collected from reporting units such as sub centres, primary health centres, community health centres, hospitals including government and private sector hospitals and medical colleges.

The data are being collected on ‘S’ syndromic; ‘P’ probable; & ‘L’ laboratory formats using standard case definitions. Presently, more than 90% districts report such weekly data through e-mail/ IDSP portal. The weekly data are analyzed by State/District Surveillance Units for disease trends. Whenever there is rising trend of illnesses, it is investigated by the Rapid Response Teams to diagnose and control the outbreak.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a national level committee for reform in criminal laws of India, to be headed by Ranbir Singh, Vice-Chancellor National Law University (NLU).

The Indian Penal Code 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, Indian Evidence Act 1872 etc. are the constituents of criminal law in India. The committee has recently invited experts in the field of criminal law to participate in the exercise through an online consultation mechanism.

Statement 1 is correct. India has its largest trade deficit with China. India’s trade deficit with China fell to $48.66 billion in FY 2019-20 on account of the decline in imports.

Statement 2 is incorrect. As per data from Reserve Bank of India; Singapore, Mauritius, USA, Japan and Netherlands are top sources of FDI in India.

Project Tiger is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Government of India which was launched on the 1st of April, 1973 for in-situ conservation of wild tigers in designated tiger reserves.

Rajaji Tiger Reserve/ National Park is in Uttarakhand having more than 50 species of mammals. Besides tiger, leopard, Himalayan Black bear, sloth bear, Civet, Marten, Jackal, Hyena etc. it is estimated that there are more than 350 Asian elephants in the park.

Dudhwa Tiger Reseve/National Park located on the Indo-Nepal border in the district Lakhimpur-Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, together with Kishanpur and Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuaries represent the natural forests and grasslands left in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh.

Kamlang Tiger Reserve/Wildlife Sanctuary is a small sanctuary located in the southeastern part of Lohit District in Arunachal Pradesh. This reserve though small it has varieties of animal species like Tiger, Hollock gibbon, Elephant, Stump tailed macaque, Boar, Civets, Capped Langur, Deer, Hornbills and flying squirrels etc.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization located at The Hague in the Netherlands, established in 1899 by the first Hague Peace Conference. The PCA is not part of the UN system.

The six principal organs of the United Nations are the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the UN Secretariat.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Pursuant to Article 287(1) of UNCLOS, when signing, ratifying, or acceding to UNCLOS, a State may make a declaration choosing one or more of the following means for settling disputes:

-the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, Germany;

-the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands;

-ad hoc arbitration (in accordance with Annex VII of UNCLOS); or

-a “special arbitral tribunal” constituted for certain categories of disputes (established under Annex VIII of UNCLOS).

Arbitration under Annex VII is the default means of dispute settlement if a State has not expressed any preference with respect to the means of dispute resolution available. PCA have administered most of the UNCLOS Annex VII arbitrations to date including the Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration between Bangladesh and India.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Cabinet Committee on Security members are Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs and Minister of External Affairs. Of all CCS members only Minister of Defence is part of DAC.

Statement 2 is correct. The Minister of Defence is the chairman of the DAC; its members include MoS Defence, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Defence Secretary etc.

The DAC decides on Capital acquisitions in the for defence forces, it recently accorded approval for Capital Procurement for the Defence forces amounting over Rs. 3300 crores of indigenously designed and developed equipment.

Option 1 is correctly matched. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to shoot down short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

Option 2 is incorrectly matched. The “SPICE” (“Smart, Precise Impact, Cost-Effective”) is an Israeli-developed, guidance kit for converting air-droppable unguided bombs into precision guided bombs. The “Spice” is a product of Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Spice 2000 is an add-on kit for 900 kg warheads. Indian Air Force is one of the users of SPICE technology.

Option 3 is incorrectly matched. Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army.

Statement 1 is correct. The Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) is statutory body under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. As per Section 5 (1) of the act the Central Government shall constitute the Drugs Technical Advisory Board to advise the Central Government and the State Governments on technical matters arising out of the administration of this Act and to carry out the other functions assigned to it by this Act.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 also regulates the manufacture and sale of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs.

As per the act Ayurvedic, Siddha or Unani drug includes all medicines intended for internal or external use for or in the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of disease or disorder in human beings or animals, and manufactured] exclusively in accordance with the formulae described in, the authoritative books of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani system of medicine specified in the First Schedule of the act.