10 PM Current Affairs Quiz : January 23 2021

Statement 1 is incorrect. There is no time limit put on the President to declare assent or reject a bill passed by the Parliament. This in effect is the Pocket veto power of the President of India.
Statement 2 is correct. President can either accept or reject a money bill but cannot return it for reconsideration.
Article 111 of the Constitution states that President may, as soon as possible after the presentation to him of a Bill for assent, return the Bill if it is not a Money Bill to the Houses with a message requesting that they will reconsider the Bill or any specified provisions thereof, and if the Bill is passed again by the Houses with or without amendment and presented to the President for assent, the President shall not withhold assent therefrom.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Though land is a state subject, “acquisition and requisitioning of property” is in the concurrent list. Both Parliament and state legislatures can make laws on this subject.
Statement 2 is incorrect. As per the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019; The Legislative Assembly of Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Legislative Assembly may make laws for the whole or any part of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the State List except the subjects mentioned at entries 1 and 2, namely “Public Order” and “Police” respectively.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Defence Research and Development Organisation has successfully conducted captive and release trial of indigenously developed Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from Hawk-I of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) off the Odisha coast on 21 January 2021.
SAAW is indigenously designed and developed by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI) Hyderabad.
Statement 2 is correct. This is 125 Kg class smart weapon, capable of engaging ground enemy airfield assets such as radars, bunkers, taxi tracks, and runways etc. up to a range of 100 kms. The high precision guided bomb is light weight as compared to weapon system of the same class. The weapon was earlier successfully test fired from Jaguar aircraft.

Statement 1 is correct. A bulk drug, also called an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), is the key ingredient of a drug or medicine, which lends it the desired therapeutic effect or produces the intended pharmacological activity.
Statement 2 is correct. The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the 3rd largest in the world by volume. It has high market presence in several advanced economies such as the US and EU. The industry is well known for its production of affordable medicines, particularly in the generics space. However, the country is significantly dependent on the import of basic raw materials, viz., Bulk Drugs that are used to produce medicines.
# The Applications of several companies have been approved under Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Promotion of Domestic Manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/Drug Intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in the country.

Both statements are correct.
Decision support systems (DSS) are interactive software-based systems intended to help managers in decision-making by accessing large volumes of information generated from various related information systems involved.
It gathers and analyzes data, synthesizing it to produce comprehensive information reports. A decision support system differs from an ordinary operations application, whose function is just to collect data.
Decision support systems allow for more informed decision-making, timely problem-solving, and improved efficiency in dealing with issues or operations, planning, and even management.
# The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas has begun the process of setting up a Decision Support System (DSS) having a web, GIS and multi-model based operational and planning decision support tool.

Statement 1 is correct. The Western disturbances—originate over the east Mediterranean Sea and travel eastwards across West Asia, Iran-Afghanistan and Pakistan before they reach the north-western parts of India. On their way, they pick up moisture from the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf in the South
Statement 2 is incorrect. They enter India loaded with moisture, where the Himalayas obstruct them, causing rain and snow over northern India. Western disturbances occur during the cold, dry season and are important to the development of the Rabi crop in the northern subcontinent.

Statement 1 is incorrect. As per National Mineral Inventory database the total resources of potash have been estimated at 22,508 million tonnes in India, all in remaining resource category. Rajasthan alone contributes 91% to the total resources, followed by Madhya Pradesh (5%) and Uttar Pradesh (4%). The entire requirement of potash to be utilized as fertilizer is met by imports.
Canada is the world’s largest potash producer, accounting for 33% of the world’s total in 2018. Four countries (Canada, Belarus, Russia and China) accounted for 80% of the world’s potash production in 2018.
Statement 2 is correct. Potash is primarily used as a fertilizer (approximately 95%) to support plant growth, increase crop yield and disease resistance, and enhance water preservation. Potash is an essential nutrient for protein synthesis and it aids plants to use water more efficiently.
# A tripartite agreement was signed between Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL), Rajasthan State Mines & Minerals Limited (RSMML) and the Department of Mines & Geology (DMG), Govt. of Rajasthan for taking up feasibility studies of Solution Mining of Potash in the state of Rajasthan.

Both statements are correct.
Under the COVID Vaccination drive, the Government of India is using ‘Rapid Assessment System (RAS)’ for taking feedback from those who get vaccinated. This initiative to utilize RAS platform is aimed at improving the vaccination experience for citizens, while ensuring that all norms are being followed during the vaccination process at all vaccination centres.
National e-Governance Division has developed a Rapid Assessment System (RAS) for online instant feedback for e-services (online as well as offline through counters) delivered by Government of India and State Governments.
The main objective of RAS is to continuously assess the quality of eServices, through feedback, under each e-Governance project and realign processes to achieve targeted benefits. RAS interface prompts the citizens to provide feedback about the quality of service immediately after the citizen avails an eService of the Government.

Both statements are correct.

The Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB) was introduced in Parliament in December 2019 and is currently being discussed by a joint select committee.

The Bill sets out certain rights of the individual (or data principal). These include the right to: (i) obtain confirmation from the fiduciary on whether their personal data has been processed, (ii) seek correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date personal data, (iii) have personal data transferred to any other data fiduciary in certain circumstances, and (iv) restrict continuing disclosure of their personal data by a fiduciary, if it is no longer necessary or consent is withdrawn.

Sensitive personal data may be transferred outside India for processing if explicitly consented to by the individual, and subject to certain additional conditions. However, such sensitive personal data should continue to be stored in India.

The Bill sets up a Data Protection Authority which may take steps to protect interests of individuals, prevent misuse of personal data, and ensure compliance with the Bill.

The 16th edition of the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report analyses the risks from societal fractures—manifested through persistent and emerging risks to human health, rising unemployment, widening digital divides, youth disillusionment, and geopolitical fragmentation.

Report findings are based on the Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) undertaken by more than 650 members of leadership communities of WEF (World Economic Forum).