26 DEC CURRENT AFFAIRS (MCQ)

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)

1. It is an intergovernmental organization established by a treaty at the First Hague Peace Conference, Netherland in 1899.
2. It is a court that acts as an organizer of arbitral tribunals to resolve conflicts between member states, international organizations, or private parties.
3. It is neither a United Nations agency nor an official United Nations observer. Which of the above statement/s is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 1 and 3 only
   c) 2 only
   d) None of the above

Solution : a)
Explanation :-
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA):
• It is an intergovernmental organization established by a treaty at the First Hague Peace Conference, Netherland in 1899.
• It is not a court, but rather an organizer of arbitral tribunals to resolve conflicts between member states, international organizations, or private parties.
• It seeks to facilitate arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution involving various combinations of states, state entities, international organizations and private parties.
• It also administers cases under the arbitration rules of the UNCITRAL.
• It is not a United Nations agency but an official United Nations Observer.
• All its decisions – called “awards” are binding on all the parties in the dispute and have to be carried out without delay.
• Membership of the PCA:
o Parties to the Convention on the Pacific Settlement of disputes of 1899 (71 member states) and 1907 (101 member states) are automatically parties to the PCA.
o As 51 are parties to both conventions, the PCA has 121 member states – 119 members of the United Nations, as well as Kosovo and Palestine.
o India is a party of the PCA according to the Hague Convention of 1899.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Q2. In what context, the pocket of the President of India is said to be bigger than the
President of USA
a) Unlike the USA, the President of India has veto power when it comes to the constitutional amendment bills.
b) Unlike the USA, the Constitution of India does not give any time-limit to the President within which he has to act upon a bill sent for his assent.
c) Both a and b
d) Neither a nor b

Solution : b)
Explanation :- Pocket Veto:
• The Constitution of India does not give any time-limit to the President within which he has to act upon the bill. Therefore, the President uses his pocket veto where he doesn’t have to act upon the bill.
• Unlike the American President who has to resend the bill within 10 days, the Indian President has no such time-rule. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.
Note: The President of India has no veto power when it comes to the constitutional amendment bills.

Q3. The Indian Space Research Organisation said it has released the first set of data from the country’s second mission to the Moon, the Chandrayaan-2, for the general public.
Consider the following statements:

1. The GSLV Mk-II carried Chandrayaan 2 to its designated orbit.
2. Chandrayaan-2 would have made India the 4th country in the world to soft-land on the moon.
   Which of the above statements is/are incorrect?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : a)
Explanation :-
About Chandrayaan-2 Mission
• The primary objective of Chandrayaan-2 is to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface.
• Scientific goals include studies of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, and signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.
• Chandrayaan-2 would have made India the 4th country in the world to soft-land on the moon, a feat achieved only by US, USSR and China till now.
• The GSLV Mk-III carried Chandrayaan 2 to its designated orbit.
o GSLV MK-III isa three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO. The vehicle has two solid strap-ons, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage.
GSLV Mk III is designed to carry 4 ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about twice the capability of the GSLV Mk II. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Q4. According to the Corporate Governance Survey 2020 by online platform Local Circles, 79% individual shareholders have expressed concern about the independence of independent directors. Consider the following statements in this context:

1. An ID should not be a promoter or related to the promoter of the company, its subsidiary or associates.
2. IDs are required to take an autonomous view of the goings-on in a company while overseeing its management.
   Which of the above statements is/are incorrect?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : d)
Explanation :-
Independent directors
• An ID is defined as a director on a company’s Board other than a managing director, whole-time director or a nominee director.
• IDs are required to take an autonomous view of the goings-on in a company while overseeing its management.
• Criteria: To ensure such autonomy, there are several restrictions on who can be appointed as an ID.
o For instance, an ID should not be a promoter or related to promoter of the company, its subsidiary or associates.
o An ID must not have been an employee of the company or of any audit/legal/consulting firm which earned a fee above a certain threshold from the company in the preceding three financial years.
o An ID should also not have had any pecuniary relationship with the company in the two preceding financial years or in the current year.
• Market regulator SEBI brought in the concept of IDs through Clause 49 of the Listing
Agreement, 2000, which deals with corporate governance norms for listed companies. Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Q5. India’s first ‘driverless’ metro service will be launched in:
a) Delhi
b) Chennai
c) Mumbai
d) Kochi

Solution : a)
Explanation :-
India’s urban mass rapid transit will mark a milestone on December 28 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to flag off the country’s first ‘driverless’ metro in Delhi.
• The first ‘driverless’ train will roll out on the 38-km Line 8 or Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro, which has a 390-km-long network spread across the national capital and adjoining cities such as Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Bahadurgarh.
• The Centre has also notified changes in the Metro Railways General Rules, 2020 as the previous norms did not allow driverless services.
• The trials of DMRC’s new ‘driverless trains’ were started in December 2017, along the 20-km stretch on Pink Line.
• The trials were to test the automation of the new metro trains, that were equipped with Unattended Train Operations (UTO) and CBTC (Communication Based Train Control) signalling systems.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Q6. With reference to the whale songs, consider the following statements:

1. Whale songs are typically below 4 kHz in frequency (human hearing range is between 20 Hz to 20 kHz), thus being inaudible to human ears.
2. All whales sing songs to communicate and socialize.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : a)
Explanation :-
In a paper published in the journal Endangered Species Research, authors described a new whale song, suggesting the existence of a population that was previously unknown.
• Researchers have recorded the unique song off the coast of Oman in the northern Arabian Sea, off the western Chagos Archipalego, and off Madagascar in the southwestern Indian Ocean.
• Since it is the only blue whale song identified by them in the western Arabian Sea, researchers have called it the “Northwest Indian Ocean”.
• Researchers believe the source is either the blue whale or Bryde’s whale since both species have been documented off Oman previously.
• Significance: Given that this song-type has not been reported before, the presence of it across a large geographic region indicates the likely existence of a previously undefined population of blue whales in the Western Indian Ocean.
• Not all whales sing. Only some, such as the baleen whale, have been found to sing songs.
• Whales use songs to communicate and socialise. Their songs can be characterised as clicks, whistles and pulsed calls or a composition of “moans, snores, chirps and cries”.
o Whales use clicks to navigate and identify their surroundings as the sound bounces off objects, helping whales determine their shapes.
o Whales use whistles and pulses, on the other hand, during social activities.
• Whale songs can last between 6-35 minutes, and some individual whales have been found to sing for 22 hours.
• Whale songs are typically below 4 kHz in frequency (human hearing range is between 20 Hz to 20 kHz), thus being inaudible to human ears.
Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Q7. With reference to the Chandrayaan-2, consider the following statements:

1. The Orbiter, which was injected into a lunar orbit on September 2, 2019, carried eight experiments/payloads, all of which have been performing well and sending data received.
2. The Indian Space Science Data Center (ISSDC) is the nodal center of planetary data archive for planetary missions of ISRO.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : c)
Explanation :-
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released to public the initial data from Chandrayaan-2, India’s second Moon mission, which was launched on July 22, 2019.
• The Orbiter, which was injected into a lunar orbit on September 2, 2019, carried eight experiments/payloads, all of which have been performing well and sending data received.
• The public release data archived at the Indian Space Science Data Center (ISSDC) in Byalalu, near Bengaluru is prepared in the standard, globally followed planetary data system-4 (PDS4) format for public release.
• The set released recently is basic data — what ISRO calls Level-0 and Level-1 datasets — prepared using PDS4 standards. The ISSDC is the nodal center of planetary data archive for planetary missions of ISRO. Hence both statements are correct.

Q8. With reference to the e-HRMS (Electronic-Human Resource Management System), consider the following statements:

1. e-HRMS was launched by Ministry of Education.
2. It is a standard ICT solution for the Government sector, addressing maximum requirements of State Governments related to personnel management.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : b)
Explanation :-
Home Secretary and Secretary DoPT, A K Bhalla released the progress report of e-HRMS (Electronic-Human Resource Management System).
• e-HRMS was launched by Minister for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions on 25th December, 2017 and it had 25 applications of 5 modules of the system.
• e-HRMS is also known as Manav Sampada (appropriately name for Human Capital, being the most important factor for the success of any Government, Organisation or Company).
• It is a standard ICT solution for the Government sector, addressing maximum requirements of State Governments related to personnel management.
• It further assists the top management in knowing the exact number of employees, the retirement pattern, additional requirements in coming year for planning recruitments, funds required for retiring employees, re-allocation of surplus employees to other Departments/organisations within the State, ACR/Property Return status, seniority lists etc. Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Q9. With reference to the Jal Jeevan Mission, consider the following statements:

1. Water quality testing is one of the priority areas under Jal Jeevan Mission, the flagship programme of Union Government.
2. Jal Jeevan Mission is under implementation in partnership with the States to enable every rural home to have tap water connection by 2024.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : c)
Explanation :-
The National Jal Jeevan Mission has launched an innovation challenge in partnership with Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade to develop portable devices for water testing.
• Water quality testing is one of the priority areas under Jal Jeevan Mission, the flagship programme of Union Government.
• The aim of the innovation challenge is to ensure that water sources are tested at various locations, at different levels; thereby, helping the policy framers to design programs which address the water contamination issues.
• Jal Jeevan Mission is under implementation in partnership with the States to enable every rural home to have tap water connection by 2024.
• The Uniform Drinking Water Quality Protocol, 2019 has specified some important parameters to be monitored for assuring portability of drinking water as per BIS IS 10500:2012 and subsequent amendments.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Q10. With reference to the e-Sampada, consider the following statements:

1. It is an initiative of the Directorate of Estates, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
2. The new application provides a single window for all services including allotment for over one lakh government residential accommodations and office space allotment to government organisations.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : c)
Explanation :-
The Directorate of Estates, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs dedicated to the nation, a new Web Portal and Mobile App, e-Sampada.
• The new application provides a single window for all these services including allotment for over one lakh government residential accommodations, office space allotment to government organisations, booking of 1,176 holiday home rooms and venues like 5, Ashoka Road for social functions etc.
• In its endeavour to provide ‘One Nation, One System’, the erstwhile four websites (gpra.nic.in, eawas.nic.in, estates.gov.in, holidayhomes.nic.in), and two Mobile Apps (m-Awas & mAshoka5) of the Directorate of Estates have been integrated into one. • Hence both statements are correct.