10 PM Daily Current Affairs Quiz | March 13 2021

Statement 1 is incorrect. Articles 243K and 243ZA of the Constitution of India provide that the Superintendence, direction and Control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the Conduct of all elections to the Panchayats and Municipalities shall vest in the State Election Commission consisting of the State Election Commissioner.

Statement 2 is correct. The State Election Commissioner has the status, salary and allowance of a Judge of a High Court and cannot be removed from office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of a High Court.

# Supreme Court has ruled that the Central and State governments should not appoint persons holding government office as Election Commissioners and entrusting additional charge of State Election Commissioner to a government official is a mockery of the Constitution.

Statement 1 is incorrect. As per the original RTI Act, 2005 the CIC and ICs (at the central and state level) held office for a term of five years.

The RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 removed these provisions and stated that the central government will notify the term and quantum of salary through rules.

The RTI Rules, 2019 provide that the CIC and ICs (at the central and state level) will hold office for a term of three years.

Statement 2 is correct. CIC/IC shall not be a Member of Parliament or Member of the Legislature of any State or Union Territory. He shall not hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated, along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga and President of U.S.A. Joseph R. Biden, in the first Leaders’ Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework, held virtually on 12th March 2021.

The Quad Leaders’ Joint Statement: “The Spirit of the Quad” was released following the summit:

–Cooperation on the critical technologies of the future to ensure that innovation is consistent with a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific.

–Quad will continue to prioritize the role of international law in the maritime domain, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and facilitate collaboration, including in maritime security, to meet challenges to the rules-based maritime order in the East and South China Seas.

–Quad experts and senior officials will continue to meet regularly; Foreign Ministers will converse often and meet at least once a year. At the leader level, Quad will hold an in-person summit by the end of 2021.

— Quad will collaborate to strengthen equitable vaccine access for the Indo-Pacific, with close coordination with multilateral organizations including the World Health Organization and COVAX. It called for transparent and results-oriented reform at the World Health Organization.

Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA), in association with the Governmental and Non-Governmental bodies, is organizing this Global Ayurveda Festival. The Fourth Edition of GAF is being organized in a high end virtual space from 12th to 19th March 2021.

The event showcases Ayurveda as a global treatment programme and serves as a meeting place for those working towards this goal around the world.

# 100 Days countdown to 7th International Day of Yoga, 2021 was also launched recently. IDY 2021 is the 7th edition of International Day of Yoga This year will mark the 7th edition of International Day of Yoga (IDY) on the 21stof June, which was recognized as the IDY by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014 by a unanimous vote.

Statement 1 is correct. Benzene is a chemical that is a colorless or light-yellow liquid at room temperature. It has a sweet odor and is highly flammable. Benzene evaporates into the air very quickly. Its vapor is heavier than air and may sink into low-lying areas.

Statement 2 is correct. Benzene is formed from both natural processes and human activities.

Natural sources of benzene include volcanoes and forest fires. Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke.

Statement 3 is correct. The major effect of benzene from long-term exposure is on the blood. (Long-term exposure means exposure of a year or more.) Benzene causes harmful effects on the bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to anemia. It can also cause excessive bleeding and can affect the immune system, increasing the chance for infection.

# A joint committee appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to study air pollution in Kerala has recommended the installation of vapour recovery system at fuelling stations and retrofitting of diesel vehicles with particulate filters to improve air quality.

Statement 1 is correct. 2001 FO32 is the largest asteroid predicted to pass by our planet in 2021 will be at its closest on March 21, providing astronomers a rare opportunity to get a good look at a rocky relic that formed at the dawn of our solar system.

This near-Earth asteroid will make its closest approach at a distance of about 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) – or 5 1/4 times the distance from Earth to the Moon.

Statement 2 is incorrect. There is no threat of a collision with our planet now or for centuries to come.

Asteroid 2001 FO32 was discovered in March 2001 by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program in Socorro, New Mexico, and had been estimated, based on optical measurements, to be roughly 3,000 feet (1 kilometer) wide. In more recent follow-up observations by NEOWISE, 2001 FO32 appears to be faint when observed in infrared wavelengths, which suggests the object is likely less than 1 kilometer in diameter.

Myanmar shares a long land border of over 1600 Km with India as well as a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Four North-Eastern States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram share international boundary with Myanmar.

# The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has written to the Chief Secretaries of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh to “take appropriate action as per law to check illegal influx from Myanmar into India.”

Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping routes. It is about 96 miles long and only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, with shipping lanes in each direction just two miles wide.

Bounded to the north by Iran and to the south by Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf (west) with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea (southeast).

The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley represent the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient Bakhtria, integrating various cultural influences into the Gandhara school of Buddhist art.

These niches are inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the “Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley” World Heritage property.

The area contains numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified edifices from the Islamic period. The site is also testimony to the tragic destruction by the Taliban of the two standing Buddha statues, which shook the world in March 2001.

Both statements are correct.

The Government of India reviewed the extant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for curbing opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to the current COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Following changes were made:

–A non-resident entity can invest in India, subject to the FDI Policy except in those sectors/activities which are prohibited. However, an entity of a country, which shares land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such country, can invest only under the Government route.

–Further, a citizen of Pakistan or an entity incorporated in Pakistan can invest, only under the Government route, in sectors/activities other than defence, space, atomic energy and sectors/activities prohibited for foreign investment.

–In the event of the transfer of ownership of any existing or future FDI in an entity in India, directly or indirectly, resulting in the beneficial ownership falling within the country, which shares land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such country, such subsequent change in beneficial ownership will also require Government approval.

# Recent media reports suggest that India may partially relax its position on foreign direct investments