27 MARCH CURRENT AFFAIRS(MCQ)

Q1. With reference to Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge, consider the following statements:

1. The challenge has been launched among 243 major cities on the World Toilet Day (19th November).

2. The state capitals, urban local bodies and smart cities will be eligible to participate.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: c)

Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge

● The challenge has been launched among 243 major cities on the World Toilet Day (19th November).

● Aim: To prevent hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and promote their mechanized cleaning.

● The Government launched this “challenge” for all states to make sewer-cleaning mechanised by April 2021 – if any human needs to enter a sewer line in case of unavoidable emergency, proper gear and oxygen tanks, etc., are to be provided.

● Eligibility: The state capitals, urban local bodies and smart cities will be eligible to participate.

● Prize: Cities will be awarded in three sub-categories – with a population of more than 10 lakhs, 3-10 lakhs and upto 3 lakhs, with a total prize money of Rs. 52 crores to be given to winning cities across all categories.

Q2. With reference to Health Budget 2021, consider the following statements:

1. The launch of Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMANSBY) was also announced under the budget.

2. The government decided to expand the coverage of the pneumococcal vaccine across the country.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: c)

The Health Budget 2021

● The Budget has committed to an outlay of ₹2,23,846 crore in health and well-being for 2021-22, a 137% increase over previous year’s Budget Estimate of ₹94,452 crores.

● This includes a ₹60,030 crore outlay on drinking water and sanitation, a ₹2,700 crore outlay on nutrition, nearly ₹49,000 crore as Finance Commission grants and ₹35,000 crore toward vaccination.

● Water and sanitation sector have received a 179% increase over the previous year’s allocation from Rs 21,518 crore to Rs 60,030 crore.

● This is also in line with the Economic Survey’s recommendation of increasing public health spending to about 2.5-3% of GDP.

● Another important public health-related announcement in Budget 2021 was the government’s decision to expand the coverage of the pneumococcal vaccine across the country.

● The launch of Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMANSBY) was also announced under the budget.

● It laid emphasis on the expansion of health and wellness centres along with a ₹13,192 crore Finance Commission grant for strengthening the primary health system through local government bodies.

Q3. With reference to the Right to Information act, consider the following statements:

1. The Centre has only rejected 4.3% of all Right to Information (RTI) requests in 2019-20, the lowest ever rate, according to the Central Information Commission’s annual report.

2. The RTI Act allows public authorities to reject RTI requests only on the ground of sovereignty, security and intelligence matters.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: a)

The Centre has only rejected 4.3% of all Right to Information (RTI) requests in 2019-20, the lowest ever rate, according to the Central Information Commission’s annual report.

• However, almost 40% of these rejections did not include any valid reason, as they did not invoke one of the permissible exemption clauses in the RTI Act, according to an analysis of report data by RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak.
• This includes 90% of rejections by the Prime Minister’s Office.
• Public authorities under the Central government received 13.7 lakh RTI requests in 2019-20, out of which 58,634 were rejected for various reasons.
• Rejection rates have fallen since the 13.9% rate in 2005-06 and have been steadily trending downwards since the 8.4% spike in 2014-15. In 2019-20, they hit their lowest level so far.
• The Home Ministry had the highest rate of rejections, as it rejected 20% of all RTIs received. The Agriculture Ministry’s rejection rate doubled from 2% in 2018-19 to 4% in 2019-20.
• The Delhi Police and the Army also saw increases in rejection rates.
• The RTI Act allows public authorities to reject RTI requests on a number of grounds, ranging from information which would endanger life and safety to that which involves irrelevant personal information, Cabinet papers, foreign governments, copyrights, or sovereignty, security and intelligence matters.
• Public authorities are expected to cite the relevant clause of the Act to invoke the exemption.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Q4. With reference to Cape of Good Hope, consider the following statements:

1. The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.

2. Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: a)

With $200 billion of India’s trade flows with Europe, North America and South America at risk due to the blockage of the Suez Canal, the Department of Commerce is planning re-routing shipments through the Cape of Good Hope.

• The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
• A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa. Contemporary geographic knowledge instead states the southernmost point of Africa is Cape Agulhas.
• When following the western side of the African coastline from the equator, however, the Cape of Good Hope marks the point where a ship begins to travel more eastward than southward.
• Cape Agulhas is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa.
• It is the geographic southern tip of the African continent and the beginning of the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Q5. With reference to the Suez Canal, consider the following statements:

1. It is one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes, carrying over 12% of world trade by volume.

2. Built in 1869, it provides a major shortcut for ships moving between North America and South America.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: a)

The Suez Canal, a critical shipping artery that connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas through Egypt, has been blocked after a large cargo ship ran aground while passing through it, bringing traffic on the busy trade route to a halt.

• A human-made waterway, the Suez Canal is one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes, carrying over 12% of world trade by volume.
• Built in 1869, it provides a major shortcut for ships moving between Europe and Asia, who before its construction had to sail around Africa to complete the same journey.
• The 150-year-old canal was controlled by British and French interests in its initial years, but was nationalised in 1956 by Egypt’s then leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. Over the years, the canal has been widened and deepened.
• In 2015, Egypt announced plans to further expand the Suez Canal, aiming to reduce waiting times and double the number of ships that can use the canal daily by 2023.
• The vessel blocking Suez is the Ever Given – a Panama-registered container ship that is on its way to Rotterdam in the Netherlands from China. The 2018-built vessel, which is 400-m long and 59-m wide, got stuck here due to a mishap caused by bad weather.
• Egypt, which heavily depends on revenues from the canal, is now diverting ships to an older channel to minimise disruption to global trade.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.