07 JUNE CURRENT AFFAIRS (MCQ)

Q1. Performance Grading Index (PGI), recently in news, released by which Ministry?
a) Ministry of Finance
b) Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
c) Ministry of Education
d) None

Answer: (c)

Explanation:
Education Ministry’s Performance Grading Index for 2019-20:
Rationale behind Index: The index monitors the progress that the States and Union
Territories have made in school education with regard to:
✓ learning outcomes,
✓ access and equity,
✓ infrastructure and facilities, and
✓ governance and management processes.

Q2. Hailakandi district, sometimes seen in news, is in which state?
a) Arunachal Pradesh
b) West Bengal
c) Punjab
d) Assam

Answer: (d)

Explanation:

The police in Hailakandi district of southern Assam have increased vigil along the inter- State boundary after an alleged incursion by miscreants from Mizoram.

Q3. Barak Valley comprises of which of the following districts?
a) Cachar
b) Hailakandi
c) Karimganj
d) All the above

Answer: (d)

Explanation:
Barak Valley, comprising the Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts, is the southernmost tip of Assam.

Q4. Consider the following statements

1. Van Dhan Vikas Kendras have been set up under the program “Van Dhan Yojana‟ which
   was launched in 2018, in Chhattisgarh.
2. The selection of the tribal beneficiaries and formation of the SHGs has been undertaken
   by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
   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

Answer: (c)

Explanation:
Van Dhan Vikas Kendra
● Van Dhan Vikas Kendras have been set up under the program “Van Dhan Yojana‟ which was launched in 2018, in Chhattisgarh.
● The Van Dhan Vikas Kendra caters to ten Self Help Groups of thirty tribal gatherers each.
● The selection of the tribal beneficiaries and formation of the SHGs has been undertaken by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
● The Van Dhan Vikas Kendras boost the economic development of tribals involved in the collection of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) and provide a sustainable MFP-based livelihood in MFP-rich districts.

Q5. It is also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig). These are large, Y-shaped blood proteins produced by plasma cells. Which of the following is described here?
a) Antibody
b) Antigen
c) Plasma cells
d) Chromosomes

Answer: (a)

Explanation:
● Antibody (Ab) is also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig). These are large, Y-shaped blood proteins produced by plasma cells.
● They bind to foreign particles and invade them. These particles are foreign bodies that get attacked by Antibody.
● Antigens are foreign pathogens that invade the body and have the capability to give rise to a response from our immunity system either by grouping up with a larger molecule or alone after binding with antibodies for a particular immune response.
● Hence, antigens stimulate the production of antibodies by the immune system.

Q6. COP26, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties will be hosted by
a) USA
b) U.K.
c) India
d) Germany

Answer: b)

Explanation:
COP26, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties will be hosted by the United Kingdom in Glasgow from November 1-12, 2021.
The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Q7. Balwant Singh v State of Punjab, 1995 case is related with
a) Section 377 of IPC
b) Section 124A of IPC
c) Article 370
d) Article 14

Answer: b)

Explanation:
In Balwant Singh v State of Punjab, 1995, the Supreme Court acquitted persons from charges of sedition for shouting slogans such as “Khalistan Zindabaad” outside a cinema after Indira Gandhi’s assassination. The Court held that mere sloganeering which evoked no public response did not amount to sedition.
What is Sedition law and what does it say in the Indian Penal Code?
The law was originally drafted by Thomas Macaulay. It was introduced in the IPC in the
1870 to deal with “increasing anti British Wahabi activities.
Section 124A of the IPC defines sedition. It makes some kinds of speech or expression
a criminal offence punishable with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Sedition law can be applied if the speeches or expressions
 bring or attempt to bring into hatred or contempt, or
 excite or attempt to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India.
Cognizable and Non-bailable offence
 It is classified as “cognisable” — the investigation process (including the powers to arrest) can be triggered merely by filing an FIR, without a judicial authority having to take cognisance —
 It is also qualified as “non-bailable” — the accused cannot get bail as a matter of right, but is subject to the discretion of the sessions judge.

Q8. What is ASPAGNII, recently seen in news?
a) India’s first Indigenous Tumour Antigen SPAG9
b) A guided missile developed by DRDO
c) An Indian all weather beyond-visual-range active radar
d) None of the above

Answer: a)

Explanation:
DBT-NII Receives Trademark for India’s First Indigenous Tumour Antigen SPAG9.
 India’s first indigenous tumour antigen SPAG9 was discovered by Dr Anil Suri in 1998 who is heading the Cancer Research Program at the New Delhi-based National Institute of Immunology (NII), an Autonomous Institute of Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
 In a recent development, the SPAG9 antigen has received the trademark ASPAGNIITM.
 Currently, ASPAGNIITM is being used in dendritic cell (DC) based immunotherapy in cervical, ovarian cancer and will also be used in breast cancer.

Immunotherapy
 Immunotherapy is a new approach that exploits the body’s inner capability to put up a
fight against cancer.
 With this approach, either the immune system is given a boost, or the T cells are “trained’’
to identify recalcitrant cancer cells and kill them.
 Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Q9. What is Variant Delta (B.1.617.2), recently seen in news?
a) Most pervasive variant of the coronavirus in India
b) India’s first indigenous mRNA vaccine
c) A study to determine the DNA sequence of the entire human genome
d) None of the above

Answer: a)
Explanation:
Variant Delta (B.1.617.2), the most pervasive variant of the coronavirus in India,
constituted nearly three in four breakthrough infections in Delhi, according to a research.
 Breakthrough infections are instances of people testing positive for the virus after getting vaccinated.
 The study also reports a new mutation in Delta called T478K that the scientists believe has a role to play in allowing the coronavirus to better infiltrate human cells.

Alpha variant
 However international variant Alpha, that in previous studies has been associated with a spike in cases in Delhi in February and March was absent in vaccination breakthrough-cases analysed.

 Previous studies had shown that the farmer protests and religious gatherings had contributed to amplifying the Alpha variant in North India. The latter variant has now been outcompeted by the Delta.
 Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Q10. Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962) case is related to:
a) Sedition
b) Domestic violence
c) Trafficking
d) Unnatural offences

Answer: a)
Explanation:
The Supreme Court quashed case of sedition filed against journalist Vinod Dua for allegedly making remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government’s handling of the migrant crisis during the Covid-19 lockdown last year.
 Section 124A of the IPC penalises sedition as punishable with either imprisonment ranging from three years to a lifetime, a fine, or both.
 The Supreme Court shielded Dua from arrest earlier and the case itself was quashed recently by a two-judge bench comprising Justice U U Lalit and Justice Vineet Saran.
 It held that his remarks constituted genuine criticism of the government and could not be labelled seditious. In doing so, the court also reiterated the principles in the landmark case
on sedition — Kedar Nath Singh v Union of India (1962).
Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962)
 In the landmark 1962 Kedar Nath Singh case, the Supreme Court upheld the
constitutional validity of the sedition law, but it also attempted to restrict its scope for
misuse.
 The court held that unless accompanied by an incitement or call for
violence, criticism of the government cannot be labelled sedition.
 “Strong words” of disapproval about the ruling regime did not amount to sedition.
 Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.