INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS (8 January 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• The scheme is based on self-declaration as no documents are required except bank account and Aadhaar Card.
• All small shopkeepers, self-employed persons and retail traders aged between 18-40 years and with Goods and Service Tax (GST) turnover below Rs.1.5 crore can enrol for pension scheme.
• The government launched the scheme, entailing monthly minimum assured pension of ₹3,000 for the entry age group of 18-40 years after attaining the age of 60 years, with effect from July 22, 2019.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/08/pradhan-mantri-laghu-vyapari-maan-dhan-yojana/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The protecting power is appointed by the sending state and must also be acceptable to the host state. It must therefore maintain diplomatic relations with both states.
• In time of war, the Geneva Conventions also require the protecting power to be a neutral country. The specific responsibilities and arrangements are agreed between the protecting power, the sending state, and the host country.
• The institution of protecting power dates back to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and was formalized in the Geneva Convention of 1929.
• In addition, the International Red Cross may itself be appointed a protecting power under Protocol I (1977).
• The practice of selecting a protecting power in time of peace was formalized in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961).

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/08/what-is-protecting-power/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• A Farmer Connect Portal has been set up by APEDA on its website for providing a platform for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) to interact with exporters.
• APEDA, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, promotes export of agricultural and processed food products from India.
• APEDA is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages.
• Farmers’ Producer Organisation (FPO), also known as farmers’ producer company (FPC), is an entity formed by primary producers.
  • The Companies Act was amended by incorporating Section-IX A in it to allow creation and registration of FPOs under it.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/08/agricultural-and-processed-food-products-export-development-authority-apeda/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Usha Thorat was the chairperson of the External Advisory Committee (EAC) to evaluate applications received for small finance banks, while Nachiket Mor was the chairperson of the EAC for payment banks.
• Summary of Regulation:
  • Existing non-banking financial companies (NBFC), microfinance institutions (MFI) and local area banks (LAB) can apply to become small finance banks.
  • They can be promoted either by individuals, corporate, trusts or societies.
  • They are established as public limited companies in the private sector under the Companies Act, 1956.
  • They are governed by the provisions of Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and other relevant statutes.
  • The banks will not be restricted to any region.
  • They were set up with the twin objectives of providing an institutional mechanism for promoting rural and semi urban savings and for providing credit for viable economic activities in the local areas.
  • 75% of its net credits should be in priority sector lending and 50% of the loans in its portfolio must in ₹25 lakh (US$38,000) range.[2]
  • The firms must have a capital of at least ₹100 crore (US$15 million).

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/08/small-finance-banks-2/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) is the confluence of scientific knowledge with visionary leadership and social conscience. SSR is about building synergies among all stakeholders in our scientific knowledge community and also about developing linkages between science and society.
• SSR policy would involve four different categories of stakeholders: beneficiaries, implementers, assessors and supporters (BIAS)
• As a first step towards implementing SSR, a national digital portal would have to be established wherein societal needs requiring scientific interventions are captured and available for SSR implementers, in addition to providing a platform for reporting of SSR activities. A special purpose vehicle or body/agency needs to be established to take care of SSR policy implementation under the overall coordination of DST.
• This body will evolve suitable changes for guidelines on SSR from time to time taking into consideration the dynamic changes in the economic and scientific environment of the country. This body would be guided by an advisory committee/board comprising of diverse stakeholders from science and society.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/08/scientific-social-responsibility-ssr-policy-2/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Kothari commission was set-up in 1964 under the chairmanship of Dr. D.S Kothari. It reviewed almost all aspects of the education system without limiting itself to any one particular aspect, unlike the commissions that came before and after it.
• NAAC is established by University Grants Commission (UGC) to assess and accredit institution of higher learning in the country.
• The NAAC was originally formed in 1992 as a result of recommendations from ‘National Policy on Education – 1986’ which emphasizes on deteriorating quality of higher education in the country.
• It is an autonomous organisation that assesses and accredits institutions of higher education in India.
• The NAAC certifies institutions of higher learning (Colleges, Universities, Institutes, etc) in the country; however, it does not include the institutes providing technical education.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/08/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-08-january-2020/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• India’s Vishnu Nandan will be the only Indian aboard the multidisciplinary drifting observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC)
• Spearheaded by the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany.
• It is the largest ever Arctic expedition in history.
• It will be the first to conduct a study of this scale at the North Pole for an entire year.
• The aim of the expedition will be to parameterise the atmospheric, geophysical, oceanographic and all other possible variables in the Arctic, and use it to more accurately forecast the changes in our weather systems.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/10/07/multidisciplinary-drifting-observatory-for-the-study-of-arctic-climate-mosaic-expedition/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Areas of early Harappan sites

• Areas of Mature Harappan sites:

• Areas of late Harappan sites:

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

Early Tamil literature (the Sangam texts) mentions different categories of people living in the villages – large landowners or vellalar, ploughmen or uzhavar andslaves or adimai. It is likely that these differences were based on differential access to land, labour and some of the new technologies.