The Jan 7th Current Affairs Quiz 2021

Ans;- c) Only 1 and 3

Explanation;-

• The 2nd statement is incorrect because it is headed by Home Minister.
• Recently the Budget Session likely from Jan 29, Budget on Feb 1

About Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA)
• This committee is composed of cabinet ministers from various ministers.
• The Union Home Minister is the head of the committee.
• The functions of the committee are:-
1. To watch the progress of Government business in Parliament and to give directions necessary to secure smooth and efficient conduct of such business.
2. To scrutinize and to consider the attitude of the government on non-official bills and resolutions to be presented to Parliament.
3. To review legislations undertaken by State Legislatures from an all-India point of view.
4. To consider proposals to summon or discontinue the Houses of Parliament

Cabinet Committees Formed till now 8
• Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
• Cabinet Committee on Accommodation.
• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
• Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.
• Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.
• Cabinet Committee on Security.
• Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth.
• Cabinet Committee on Employment & Skill Development.

• All committees except Cabinet Committee on Accommodation and Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs are headed by Prime Minister.

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Ans;- c) Only 1 and 3

Explanation;-
• The dispute between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt not South Sudan.
• Recently Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt agreed on Sunday to resume negotiations to resolve their decade-long complex dispute over the Grand Renaissance Dam hydropower project in the Horn of Africa.
• The latest round of talks comes six weeks after Sudan had boycotted the ongoing negotiations.

Grand Renaissance Dam hydropower project
• The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, formerly known as the Millennium Dam and sometimes referred to as Hidase Dam, is a gravity dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia under construction since 2011. 
• The dam is in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, about 15 km east of the border with Sudan.
• The hydroelectric dam is being built on the world’s longest river Nile (north-flowing river in Africa), in the lowlands of Ethiopia.
• The people and Government of Ethiopia are funding the project, which will not only serve Ethiopia, but Sudan and Egypt as well.
• The latter two countries depend on the Nile River for their water although 85% of the river flows in Ethiopia.
• It will be Africa’s biggest hydropower project (6.45 GW) when completed as well as the seventh largest in the world .
• However, the mega dam has caused a row between Egypt and Ethiopia, with Sudan caught in between, which some fear could lead to war, and the US is now helping to mediate.

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Ans;- b) Article 21

Explanation;-

• Recently after On Ghaziabad disaster, the court also emphasized that citizens have a right to live in safe buildings and environment, within the meaning of Article 21.
• Right of citizens to live in safe buildings is a facet of right guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. 
• In other words, citizens have a right to live in safe buildings and environment, within the meaning of Article 21.  

About Article 21

• Article 21 of Indian Constitution provides for “Protection of Life and Personal Liberty” and reads as “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”
• It guarantees the right of persons to life with human dignity. Therein are included, all the aspects of life which go to make a person’s life meaningful, complete and worth living.
•  The Court gave a list of rights that Article 21 covers based on earlier judgements. Some of them are:
1. Right to privacy
2. Right to go abroad
3. Right to shelter
4. Right against solitary confinement
5. Right to social justice and economic empowerment
6. Right against handcuffing
7. Right against custodial death
8. Right against delayed execution
9. Doctors’ assistance
10. Right against public hanging
11. Protection of cultural heritage
12. Right to pollution-free water and air
13. Right of every child to a full development
14. Right to health and medical aid
15. Right to education
16. Protection of under-trials

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Ans;- a) Only 1 and 2

Explanation;-
• As question asked to choose incorrectly matched except 3rd all are incorrectly matched.
• Recently New ports for civilian and military use are being sought at Gwadar (Pakistan), Jask (Iran), Djibouti, Hambantota (Sri Lanka), Sihanoukville (Cambodia) and other places under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which was announced in 2013 to seek new markets and allies for political, economic and strategic use.

About Gwadar Port

• Gwadar Port is owned by the government-owned Gwadar Port Authority and operated by China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC), a state-run Chinese firm.

About Jak Port

• One of the proposed new ports is at Jask, just outside the Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the Persian Gulf, and would give the Chinese a strategic vantage point on the waters through which much of the world’s oil transits.

About Hambantota Port

• Loans from China to build the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka have been cited as an example of debt-trap diplomacy, after Sri Lanka defaulted and subsequently gave a 99-year lease to China in place of payment.

About Sihanoukville

• This is not Las Vegas, nor is it Macau.
• It is Sihanoukville, a once-sleepy city in Cambodia that has become a ballooning enclave for Chinese-run casinos – despite gambling being banned.
• As home to Cambodia’s only deep-water port part of a vital trade route for President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road development initiative – the city has become a focal point for Chinese investment.

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Ans;- d) None of the above

Explanation;-
• Both the statemnets are incorrect about LNG because it mainly comprises methane not ethane, and India is 4th biggest importer in world not 1st.
• Recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates 450-km Kochi-Mangalore natural gas pipeline

About LNG
• LNG is natural gas (predominantly methane) that has been cooled to –260° F (–162° C), changing it from a gas into a liquid that is 1/600th of its original volume.
• This dramatic reduction allows it to be shipped safely and efficiently aboard specially designed LNG vessels.
• India is the 4th biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer in the world, sourcing nearly half of its gas requirements from overseas.

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Ans;- c) Only 1 and 3

Explanation;-

• The 2nd statement is incorrect because the trade favored the India not UK.
• Boris Johnson cancels Republic Day visit to India over COVID-19 situation in UK

About Ajey Warrior

• The Indian and British armed forces showcased their skills in counter-terrorism drills during the exercise. This is the fifth edition of joint exercise. ‘AJEYA WARRIOR-2020′ is an important strategic relation between armed forces of UK and India. Read more on. Salisbury Plain.

About Konkan Exercise
• Konkan is a long-running exercise designed to test the ability of the two Commonwealth navies to operate side-by-side during war and other crunch scenarios.

About JETCO
• In 2005, the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) was inaugurated in New Delhi aimed at boosting two-way bilateral investments.
• JETCO provides a forum to UK companies to enhance their links and develop new partnerships with India business and decision makers.
• The UK India Business Council works closely with our colleagues at UK Trade and Investment to support UK companies’ aspirations towards India.

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Ans;- b) Only 2

Explanation;-
• The 1st statement is incorrect because it is between UNDP and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare not Women and Child ministry.

About COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN)

• It is a digitalized platform to be used to effectively roll out and scale up the mechanism for COVID Vaccine Distribution System nationally.
• The CoWIN system will be a subset of COVID India Portal which provides end to end management of COVID19.
• The Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) system, which provides real-time information on vaccine stocks and storage temperatures across all cold chain points in the country, is being enhanced to address the needs for distribution and tracking of COVID-19 vaccine.

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Ans;- d) None of the above

Explanation;-

• As question asked to choose incorrect statement about Cold wave according to IMD but all the statements are correct that’s why answer is D.

About Cold Wave

• A cold wave is declared when there’s a significant drop in minimum or night time temperature.
• The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) criteria for a cold wave in the plains is that the minimum temperature should be 10 degrees or lower and the departure from normal minimum temperature 4.5 degrees or less for two consecutive days.
• A fall in minimum temperature below 7 degrees from normal is declared as a severe cold wave condition.
• To avoid an adverse reaction to the cold wave, the IMD shared a list of recommendations, one of which was avoiding alcohol as it “reduces your body temperature”. 
• Core cold wave’ zone covers Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana.
• This year, the season’s first cold wave gripped Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh along with parts of Uttar Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh and Odisha around Christmas.
• The spell intensified towards the year-end and covered greater geographical areas, as the mercury hovered below 5 degree Celsius over most of these places.

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Ans;- c) Iran

Explanation;-

• All the mentioned sites are Nuclear or Uranium Enrichment Facilities in Iran.
• Iran has told the United Nations nuclear watchdog it plans to enrich uranium to 20% purity, a level it achieved before its 2015 accord, at its Fordow site buried inside a mountain.
• The Arak area has several industrial complexes, some with ties to the nuclear program, in particular the IR-40 reactor under construction and a heavy water production plant, both near Arak.
• The move is the latest of several recent announcements by Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency that it plans to further breach the deal, which it started violating in 2019 in retaliation for Washington’s withdrawal from the agreement and the reimposition of U.S. sanctions against Tehran.

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Ans;- d) None of the above

Explanation;-

• Both the statemnets are incorrect because it is Headed by Prime Minister and constituted under WPA Act 1972.
• Recently The Standing Committee of National Board of Wildlife(SC-NBWL) in its 60th meeting held on 05th January has approved the advisory for management of Human-Wildlife Conflict(HWC) in the country. The advisory makes important prescriptions for the States/ Union Territories for dealing with Human-Wildlife conflict situations and seeks expedited inter-departmental coordinated and effective actions.

About National Board of Wildlife (NBWL)

• The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) is the apex body in India for all wildlife-related matters.
• It is primarily responsible for the promotion of wildlife conservation and the development of wildlife and forests.
• It is a statutory body constituted under Section 5A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA). It approves projects (including government projects) in and around the protected areas (national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, etc.).
• It is an advisory board and advises the central government on policy matters concerned with wildlife conservation in the country.
• The Board was constituted in 2003 under the WLPA, as mentioned before.
• It replaced the Indian Board for Wildlife, which was formed in 1952 as an advisory board.
• The NBWL is chaired by the Prime Minister.

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