Current Affairs Quiz 30 May 2023

Ans;- c) 1 and 2 Only

About Central Vigilance Commission
• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964.
• CVC was set up based on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam, to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the field of vigilance.
• The CVC became a Statutory Body with the enactment of CVC Act, 2003.
• The CVC is an independent body, free of control from any executive authority, (It is NOT controlled by any ministry or department).
• The CVC is responsible only to the Parliament.
• The CVC is NOT an investigating agency.
• The CVC may have the investigation done through the CBI or Chief Vigilance Officers (CVO) in government offices.
• President of India appoints CVC members by warrant under his hand and seal.
• The Oath of office is administered by the President.
• A three-member committee made of –
• The Prime Minister, The Home Minister , The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha – Makes the Recommendation for appointment of Vigilance Commissioners.
• The Vigilance Commissioners are appointed for a term of Four years OR until they attain 65 years of age (whichever is earlier).
• On retirement – they are NOT eligible for reappointment in any central or state government agency.

Functions of CVC
• The CVC monitors all vigilance activity under the Central Government It advises various authorities in Central Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.
• The CVC recommends appropriate action on complaints on corruption or misuse of power.
• Lokpal, Central Government or Whistle blowers can approach the CVC regarding complaints.
• The CVC – Under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 – can inquire into offences reported against certain categories of Public Servants. (However, remember, CVC is NOT an Investigating agency).
• The Annual Report of the CVC not only gives the details of the work done by it but also brings out the system failures which leads to corruption in various Departments/Organisations, system improvements, various preventive measures and cases in which the Commission’s advises were ignored etc.

Composition of Central Vigilance Commission
The CVC is comprised of 3 members:
• A Central Vigilance Commissioner (Chairperson)
• Up to Two Vigilance Commissioners (Members)

Solution: d)
Justification: It is essentially the process through which the policy action of the central bank is transmitted to the
ultimate objective of stable inflation and growth. The policy action consists typically of changing the interest rate at
which it borrows or lends “reserves” (in our case, Rupees) on an overnight basis with commercial banks. The
transmission mechanism hinges crucially on how monetary policy changes influence households’ and firms’
behavior. This change can take place through several channels. Studying these channels is a vast subject in finance
and economics literature. Changes in the central bank’s policy rate impact the economy with lags through a variety
of channels, the primary ones being (i) interest rate channel, (ii) credit channel, (iii) exchange rate channel, and (iv) asset price channel. How these channels function in a given economy depends on the stage of development of the economy and its underlying financial structure.
Statement 1: A large part of bank’s deposits are lent to the government through the SLR route at a certain interest
rate, which is not responsive to the general interest policy in the economy.
Statement 2: The implicit assumption here is that bank balance sheets are strong and in a position to step-up quickly
the supply of credit in response to lower funding cost and higher demand for credit – the bank lending or the credit
the channel of transmission. Cross-country evidence indicates that monetary transmission is greatly hindered if the bank
balance sheets are weak in that they do not have much loss-absorption capacity to deal squarely with their
problem.
Statement 3: If major schemes keep sub venting interest rates, even if the banks change the interest rate, it will not
elicit a response from the public because they are anyways borrowing funds at a lower interest rate (due to the
interest subvention). Also, the monetary transmission also remains weak in India due to the following reasons:
The practice of yearly resetting of administered interest rates on small savings (including public provident fund) linked to
G-sec yields Sticky bank rates

Answer: C
Powassan Virus Disease
• Powassan virus disease is a rare but potentially serious illness caused by the Powassan virus, which is transmitted through the bite of infected ticks. The virus was first identified in Powassan, Ontario in 1958.

Transmission and Risk:
• Not all ticks carry the Powassan virus, and not all individuals bitten by a tick will become sick.
• The virus is transmitted to humans when an infected tick bites and remains attached for a certain duration.
• The risk of contracting the disease is higher in areas where infected ticks are prevalent.

Symptoms:
• In the initial stages, people infected with the Powassan virus may experience symptoms such as fever, headache, vomiting, and weakness.
• In some cases, the virus can progress to cause more severe conditions like brain infection (encephalitis) or inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).
• Severe cases may lead to symptoms such as confusion, loss of coordination, difficulty speaking, and seizures.

Prevention and Treatment:
• Currently, there are no specific medications available to prevent or treat Powassan virus infection.
• Management of the disease focuses on relieving symptoms through rest, hydration, and over-the-counter pain medications.
• It is crucial to take preventive measures when entering tick-infested areas, such as wearing protective clothing and using insect repellents containing DEET.
• Prompt removal of attached ticks and careful inspection of the body can help reduce the risk of infection.

Answer – a

The BHIM apps has three levels of authentication. For one, the app binds with a device’s ID and mobile number, second a user needs to sync whichever bank account (UPI or non-UPI enabled) in order to the conduct transaction. Third, when a user sets up the app they are asked to create a pin which is needed to log into the app. Further, the UPI pin, which a user creates with their bank account is needed to go through with the transaction.

Ans;- c) Only 1 and 3

Explanation;-

• The 2nd statement is incorrect because it includes meghana river.
• Recently Sunderbans home to 428 species of birds, records ZSI

About Sunderbans

• It is a vast contiguous mangrove forest ecosystem in the coastal region of Bay of Bengal spread over India and Bangladesh on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers.
• The site is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests and presents an excellent example of ongoing ecological processes.
• It constitutes over 60% of the country’s total mangrove forest area.
• Indian Sundarbans was recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention in January 2019 and also a Biosphere Reserve in 1989. The area is known for its wide range of fauna, including 260 bird species and is home to many rare and globally threatened wildlife species such as the Estuarine Crocodile, Royal Bengal Tiger, Water Monitor Lizard, Gangetic Dolphin and Olive Ridley Turtles.
• The Sunderbans Delta is the only mangrove forest in the world inhabited by tigers.
• For its preservation, Discovery India and World Wide Fund (WWF) India partnered with the Government of West Bengal and local communities in the Sundarbans in 2019.