INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS (3 January 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (d)

Explanation: Savitribai Phule

• Born in Naigaon in Maharashtra on January 3, 1831, Phule is widely regarded as one of India’s first generation modern feminists for her significant contributions in ensuring equal education opportunities under the British raj.
• She became the first female teacher in India in 1848 and opened a school for girls along with her husband, social reformer Jyotirao Phule.
• The two also worked against discrimination based on caste-based identity, something vehemently opposed by the orthodox sections of society in Pune.
• She went on to establish a shelter for widows in 1854 which she further built on in 1864 to also accommodate destitute women and child brides cast aside by their families.
• Phule also played a pivotal role in directing the work of the Satyashodhak Samaj, formed by her husband with the objective to achieve equal rights for the marginalised lower castes.
• Savitribai opened a clinic in 1897 for victims of the bubonic plague that spread across Maharashtra just before the turn of the century.
• She also set up “Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha”.
• In her honour, University of Pune was renamed Savitribai Phule University in 2014.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/03/savitribai-phule/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: Lord Curzon

• He was a true successor of Lord Dalhousie. He was great imperialist, authoritarian in temperament, ruthless in his ways and wanted to achieve too much at too great pace.
• The time of his governorship (1899-1905), was the formative phase of Indian national movement. Thus he tried to strangulate Indian nationalism and freedom movement by all fair and foul means.
• In 1902, Raleigh Commission was set up to go into conditions and prospects of universities in India and to suggest measures for improvement in their constitution and working. The commission precluded from reporting on primary or secondary education.
• The Raleigh Commission had only one Indian member, Syed Hussain Belgrami.
• Based on its recommendations, the Indian Universities Act was passed in1904. As per the Act,
  • universities were to give more attention to study and research;
  • the number of fellows of a university and their period in office were reduced and most fellows were to be nominated by the Government;
  • Government was to have powers to veto universities’ senate regulations and could amend these regulations or pass regulations on its own;
  • conditions were to be made stricter for affiliation of private colleges; and
  • five lakh rupees were to be sanctioned per annum for five years for improvement of higher education and universities.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/03/lord-curzon/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Educational: To set the educational system in order, he instituted in 1902, a Universities Commission to go into the entire question of university education in the country. On the basis of the findings and recommendations of the Commission, Curzon brought in the Indian Universities Act of 1904, which brought all the universities in India under the control of the government.
• Scientific: The Agriculture Research Institute in Pusa (Bihar – Bengal Presidency) was established.
• Administrative: He made efforts for police reforms, eliminating the corruption and to promote the economic development. He provided a revival to conservatism in India by refurbishing the main features of Lord Mayo’s policies. He instituted a Police Commission in 1902 under the chairmanship of Sir Andrew Frazer. Curzon accepted all the recommendations and implemented them. He set up training schools for both the officers and the constables and introduced provincial police service. During Curzon regime, the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) was established which covered roughly the areas of upper course of River Indus.
• Military: Imperial cadet corps was set up which became an instrument for Indianisation of army later.
• Other reforms: He passed a law called the Ancient Monuments Act, 1904 which made it obligatory on the part of the government and local authorities to preserve the monuments of archaeological importance and their destruction an offence.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/03/lord-curzon/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Lyall Commission – Lord Elgin II (1894-98) appointed the Lyall Commission to look into the issue of famines. During his tenure the Chapekar Brothers assassinated two senior British officials.
• Hunter Education Commission – The General Council of Education requested Lord Ripon, the viceroy of India to institute an enquiry into Indian education. Lord Ripon appointed the Indian Education Commission on 3rd February 1882, with Sir Willium Hunter as its Chairman. It is known as Hunter Commission of 1882.
• Richard Strachey Commission (1880) – it was created to develop a general strategy and principles to deal with the famines. It was the first Famine commission and was constituted during the period of Lord Lytton.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/03/lord-curzon/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The Speaker/RS chairperson is the first level of scrutiny of a privilege motion. The Speaker/Chair can decide on the privilege motion himself or herself or refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament. If the Speaker/Chair gives consent under Rule 222, the member concerned is given an opportunity to make a short statement.

What is the privileges committee?

• In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker nominates a committee of privileges consisting of 15 members as per respective party strengths. A report is then presented to the House for its consideration. The Speaker may permit a half-hour debate while considering the report. The Speaker may then pass final orders or direct that the report be tabled before the House.
• A resolution may then be moved relating to the breach of privilege that has to be unanimously passed. In the Rajya Sabha, the deputy chairperson heads the committee of privileges, that consists of 10 members.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/03/parliamentary-privileges/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

Nepal and India are planning to resolve the Kalapani border issue through dialogue. India has clarified that the latest political map of India reflects the sovereign territory of India.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/03/kalapani-territory-2/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Mig 29 – Soviet Union
• Rafale – France
• Gripen – Sweden

Refer: Facts For Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/03/139680/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) is a multilateral currency swap arrangement among the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the People’s Republic of China (including Hong Kong), Japan, and South Korea.

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Corona – The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun, starting at about 1300 miles (2100 km) above the solar surface (the photosphere). The temperature in the corona is 500,000 K (900,000 degrees F, 500,000 degrees C) or more, up to a few million K. The corona cannot be seen with the naked eye except during a total solar eclipse, or with the use of a coronagraph. The corona does not have an upper limit.

Refer: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/iris/multimedia/layerzoo.html

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Article 341 of the Constitution provides certain privileges and concessions to the members of Scheduled Castes.
• Under the provision of Article 341, first list of SCs in relation to a states/UT is to be issued by a notified Order of the President after consulting concerned state Government.
• But the clause (2) of Article 341 envisages that, any subsequent inclusion in or exclusion from the list of Scheduled Castes can be effected through an Act of Parliament.
• The Uttar Pradesh government’s latest attempt to extend the benefits available to Scheduled Castes to 17 castes that are now under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list. It is fairly well- known that Parliament alone is vested with the power to include or exclude any entry in the SC list under Article 341 of the Constitution.
• Statement 3: Reservation is there only in the Lok Sabha.