UPSC Weekly Current Affairs Quiz | September 03 to September 09, 2023

1. It is a statutory body under Ministry of Commerce that sets and enforces rules and standards relating to the conduct of entities in the industry.

2. It aims to protect the customer and promote ethics, equality, and professionalism.

3. This organisation collaborates with stakeholders in framing rules and regulations.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 2

With reference to the Incremental cash reserve ratio (I-CRR), consider the following statements:

1. It was introduced by RBI to absorb excess liquidity from the banking system.

2. The amounts impounded under the I-CRR would be released in stages and is a temporary measure.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

QUESTION 3

Consider the following conferences/Summits/Games:

1. UNESCO Conference, 1966

2. ASIAN Games, 1951

3. India-Africa Forum, 2015

4. NAM Summit, 1993

How many of the above conferences/Summits/Games were held in India?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) All four

QUESTION 4

Which of the following countries/union is not a part of the G-20?

(a) European Union

(b) Argentina

(c) African Union

(d) UAE

QUESTION 5

With reference to the Konark Wheel, consider the following statements:

1. It was built by King Narasimhadeva-I, the ruler of the Ganga dynasty.

2. In ancient times, the Konark Wheel was used as a sundial to calculate time to a minute including day and night.

3. It reflects the richness of the Dravidian architectural style.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 6

MQ-9B was in the news. It is:

(a) Fighter Jet

(b) Surface-to-air missile

(c) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

(d) Aircraft Carrier

QUESTION 7

Consider the following statements about the ASEAN-India Summit:

1. India has invited ASEAN countries to join Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

2. Timor-Leste participated in the Summit as a new permanent member.

3. The 20th ASEAN-India Summit was held at Manilla.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 8

Consider the following pairs:         

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

ANSWERS TO THE MCQs

1. (b)

FYI:

— Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has asked fintech entities to form a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO).

— An SRO is a non-governmental organisation that sets and enforces rules and standards relating to the conduct of entities in the industry (members) with the aim of protecting the customer and promoting ethics, equality, and professionalism. Hence, statement 1 is not correct and 2 is correct correct.

— SROs typically collaborate with all stakeholders in framing rules and regulations. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

— An SRO can help in establishing codes of conduct for its members that foster transparency, fair competition, and consumer protection.

— It can act as a watchdog and encourage members to adopt responsible and ethical practices. It can provide a link between the regulator and market participants through a less formal set-up.

— The self-regulatory processes are administered through impartial mechanisms such that members operate in a disciplined environment and accept penal actions by the SRO.

— An SRO is expected to address concerns beyond the narrow self-interests of the industry, such as to protect workers, customers or other participants in the ecosystem.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

2. (c)

FYI:

— The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it would discontinue the incremental cash reserve ratio (I-CRR) in a phased manner. The central bank will release the amount which banks have maintained under I-CRR in stages.

— The I-CRR was introduced on August 10, 2023, by the RBI to absorb the surplus liquidity generated by various factors, including the return of Rs 2,000 notes to the banking system. The regulator had said that I-CRR was a temporary measure, which will be reviewed on September 8, 2023 or before.

— According to RBI, it has decided to discontinue the I-CRR in a phased manner. Based on an assessment of current and evolving liquidity conditions, it has been decided that the amounts impounded under the I-CRR would be released in stages so that system liquidity is not subjected to sudden shocks and money markets function in an orderly manner. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— As per the schedule, the RBI will release the 25 per cent of funds maintained by lenders under the I-CRR on September 9. Another 25 per cent of the amount maintained under I-CRR will be released on September 23 and the balance 50 per cent on October 7.

— The RBI announced I-CRR as a temporary measure to absorb excess liquidity from the banking system. The level of surplus liquidity in the system surged because of the return of Rs 2,000 banknotes to the banking system, RBI’s surplus transfer to the government, pick up in government spending and capital inflows. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

3. (b)

FYI:

— India has hosted multilateral conferences, events, and summits earlier — the UNESCO conference in 1956, the Asian Games of 1982, the famous NAM Summit of March 1983, the Commonwealth Games of 2010, and the India-Africa Forum Summit in 2015.

— For the first time, leaders of all permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — called the P-5 countries — are in New Delhi for the G20 Summit to discuss the global challenges of our times — and to possibly find a direction towards resolving some of them.

— China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin have chosen to give the Summit a miss, but they will be represented by Premier Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov respectively.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

4. (d)

FYI:

— India’s move to include the African Union (AU) as a member of G20 in June this year has paid off. The grouping that represents 55 countries was admitted as a new member of the G20.

— The discussions were carried forward in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, which houses the headquarters of the African Union. So far there was only one country from the entire African continent in the G20 – South Africa.

— There are 21 countries or the unions that make up the group as of 2023 – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, European Union, and African Union.

— The AU is an intergovernmental organisation of the 55 member states located on the continent of Africa.

— It was launched on July 9, 2002, the grouping is the successor of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was formed in 1963.

— The AU’s secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa. Collectively the group has a gross domestic product (GDP) of $3 trillion with some 1.4 billion people.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

5. (b)

FYI:

— Visuals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming world leaders for the G20 Summit in New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan with the majestic Konark Wheel and architecture of the Sun Temple as the backdrop brought a moment of glory for Odisha.

— It was built by King Narasimhadeva-I, the ruler of the Ganga dynasty, the Sun Temple is a symbol of Odisha’s glorious heritage. Around 1,200 artisans and craftsmen took around 12 years to develop artistic magnificence and engineering dexterity using chlorite and sandstone on the shores of the Bay of Bengal at Konark. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— It was designed in the form of a chariot mounted on 24 wheels, each of them is about 10 feet in diameter and drawn by seven mighty horses.

— In ancient times, the Konark Wheel was also used as a sundial to calculate time to a minute including day and night. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— The Konark Wheel also reflects the richness of the Kalinga architectural style and the prosperity of ancient Odisha. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— It was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1984 and is Odisha’s only world heritage site.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

6. (c)

FYI:

— India and the United States discussed the recent pact between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India and the procurement of 31 General Atomics MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft as both sides sought to expand and diversify partnership and cooperation in the defence sector.

— MQ-9B is an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations.

— A joint statement issued by India and the US said PM Modi and President Biden reaffirmed their commitment to deepen and diversify the India-U.S.

— Major Defence Partnership through expanded cooperation in new and emerging domains such as space and AI, and accelerated defence industrial collaboration.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

7. (a)

FYI:

— Prime Minister attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Jakarta on 7 September 2023. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— Prime Minister reaffirmed ASEAN’s centrality in the Indo-Pacific and highlighted the synergies between India’s Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative (IPOI) and ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). He also emphasized the need to complete the review of ASEAN-India FTA (AITIGA) in a time-bound manner.

— Prime Minister Narendra Modi said ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is the “central pillar” of India’s Act East Policy and the country fully supports the group’s centrality and outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

— Prime Minister presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India – ASEAN cooperation covering connectivity, digital transformation, trade and economic engagement, addressing contemporary challenges, people-to-people contacts and deepening strategic engagement, as follows:

— Establishing multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor that links South-East Asia-India-West Asia-Europe

— Offered to share India’s Digital Public Infrastructure Stack with ASEAN partners

— Announced ASEAN-India fund for Digital Future focusing on cooperation in digital transformation and financial connectivity

— Announced renewal of support to Economic and Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to act as knowledge partner for enhancing our engagement.

— Called for collectively raising issues being faced by Global South in multilateral fora

— Invited ASEAN countries to join Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being established by WHO in India

— Called for working together on Mission LiFE

— Offered to share India’s experience in providing affordable and quality medicines to people through Jan-Aushadhi Kendras

— Called for collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation

— Invited ASEAN countries to join Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— Called for cooperation in disaster management

— Called for enhanced cooperation on maritime safety, security and domain awareness

— Two Joint Statements, one on Maritime Cooperation, and the other on Food Security were adopted.

— In addition to India and ASEAN Leaders, Timor-Leste participated in the Summit as Observor. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

(Other Source: mea.gov.in)

8. (a)

FYI:

— The instruments of Aditya-L1 are tuned to observe the solar atmosphere mainly the chromosphere and corona. In-situ instruments will observe the local environment at L1.

— There are total seven payloads on-board with four of them carrying out remote sensing of the Sun and three of them carrying in-situ observation.

Type	Payload	Capability
Remote Sensing payloads	Visible Emission Line Coronagraph(VELC)	Corona/Imaging & Spectroscopy
	Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)	Photosphere and Chromosphere Imaging- Narrow & Broadband
	Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS)	Soft X-ray spectrometer: Sun-as-a-star observation
	High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer(HEL1OS)	Hard X-ray spectrometer: Sun-as-a-star observation
In-Situ Payloads	Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment(ASPEX)	Solar wind/Particle Analyzer Protons & Heavier Ions with directions
	Plasma Analyser Package For Aditya (PAPA)	Solar wind/Particle Analyzer Electrons & Heavier Ions with directions
	Advanced Tri-axial High-Resolution Digital Magnetometers	In-situ magnetic field (Bx, By and Bz).

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

(Other Source: www.isro.gov.in)

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