25 FEB CURRENT AFFAIRS (MCQ)

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to the National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM)

1. It was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs along with the Ministry of Science and Technology.
2. It will create a shared digital infrastructure for urban India, working across the three pillars – people, process, and platform – providing holistic support to cities and towns. Which of the above statement/s is/are correct? a) 1 Only
   b) 2 Only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : b)
Explanation :-
National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM):
• Launched by: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs along with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• Objective: It will create a shared digital infrastructure for urban India, working across the three pillars – people, process, and platform – providing holistic support to cities and towns.
o It has articulated a set of governing principles, and inherits the technology design principles of the National Urban Innovation Stack (NUIS), released by MoHUA in 2019.
o The principles in turn give rise to standards, specifications, and certifications, across the above three pillars.

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to the India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX)

1. It is developed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in partnership between the Smart Cities Mission and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
2. It is an open-source software platform which serves as a seamless interface to share, request, and access datasets related to cities, urban governance and urban service delivery. Which of the above statement/s is/are correct? a) 1 Only
   b) 2 Only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : c)
Explanation :-
India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX):
• About: It is an open-source software platform which facilitates the secure, authenticated and managed exchange of data amongst various data platforms.
• Developed: By MoHUA in partnership between the Smart Cities Mission and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
• Objective: It serves as a seamless interface for data providers and data users, including ULBs, to share, request, and access datasets related to cities, urban governance, and urban service delivery.
• Significance:
o This will scale up uniform and seamless sharing between data producers and data consumers across urban India.
o It will address the problem of data silos both within and across cities.
o It will create a secure and reliable channel for data producers or owners to share their data, while addressing security and privacy protections by design.

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to the PM-KISAN scheme

1. It is a Central Sector scheme with 100% funding from the Government of India.
2. All Institutional land holders are not eligible to get benefit from the scheme.
   Which of the above statement/s is/are correct? a) 1 Only
   b) 2 Only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : c)
Explanation :-
About PM-KISAN:
• Central Sector scheme: With 100% funding from the Government of India, the scheme is effective from 1.12.2019.
• Income support: Under the Scheme an income support of Rs.6000/- per year is provided to all farmer families across the country in three equal installments of Rs.2000/- each every four months.
• Objective:
o To provide income support to all land holding eligible farmer familie.
o To supplement the financial needs of the farmers in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and appropriate yields, commensurate with the anticipated farm income.
• Benefits and eligibility conditions:
o Earlier, financial benefit has been provided to all Small and Marginal landholder farmer families with total cultivable holding upto 2 hectares.
o Under the revised scheme, all land holding eligible farmer families are to avail of the benefits under this scheme.
 It is expected to cover around 2 crore more farmers, increasing the coverage of PM-KISAN to around 14.5 crore beneficiaries.
• Exclusion categories: All Institutional Land holders, Farmer families in which one or more of its members holds constitutional posts, professionals etc.
• Similar income support schemes: Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu, Odisha’s KALIA etc.

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to the India’s wind energy capacity

1. The country currently has the fourth highest wind installed capacity in the world (as on 31st March 2019).
2. Gujarat stands top in the installed capacity while Tamil Nadu is on the top in the wind energy potential.
   Which of the above statement/s is/are correct? a) 1 Only
   b) 2 Only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : a)
Explanation :-
India’s wind power capacity:
• Overview:
o India’s wind energy sector is led by indigenous wind power industry and has shown consistent progress.
o The country currently has the fourth highest wind installed capacity in the world with a total installed capacity of 35.6 GW (as on 31st March 2019).
• Installed capacity: Tamil Nadu , Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan are top 5 states in the installed capacity.
• Potential of Wind Energy in India:
o The recent assessment indicates a gross wind power potential of 302 GW in the country at 100 meter above ground level. o Most of this potential exists in seven windy States as given below
State Wind Potential (MW)
Gujarat 84431.33
Rajasthan 18770.49
Maharashtra 45394.34
Tamil Nadu 33799.65
Madhya Pradesh 10483.88
Karnataka 55857.36
Andhra Pradesh 44228.60

Q5. Consider the following statements:

1. Article 356 of the Constitution of India gives the Prime Minister of India the power to impose President’s rule on a state on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers.
2. Proclamation of President’s Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution stands for six months.
   Which of the above statements is/are correct?
   a) 1 Only
   b) 2 Only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : b)
Explanation :-
How is the President’s rule imposed in a state?
• Article 356 of the Constitution of India gives the President of India the power to impose this rule on a state on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers.
• There are some conditions that the President has to consider before imposing the rule:
o If the President is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
o The state government is unable to elect a leader as chief minister within a time prescribed by the Governor of that state.
o There’s a breakdown of a coalition leading to the chief minister having a minority support in the House, and the CM fails to prove majority in the given period of time.
o Loss of majority in the Assembly due to a vote of no-confidence in the House.
o Elections postponed on account of situations like natural disasters, war or epidemic.
What is the duration of the President’s rule?
• Proclamation of President’s Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution stands for six months.
• This timeframe can be extended up to three years, in phases.
• President’s Rule can be revoked at any time by the President and this does not require Parliament’s approval.

Q6. Consider the following statements about Production Linked Incentive schemes.

1. It will cover devices such as laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs and servers.
2. An incentive will be given on net incremental sales of goods manufactured in India only.
   Which of the above statements is/are correct? a) 1 Only
   b) 2 Only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : c)
Explanation :-
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme
• Under the new PLI scheme, companies that set up new mobile and specified equipment manufacturing units or expanded their present units would get incentives of 4-6 per cent on incremental sales from goods made in India.
• The total incentive to be given to each company will be decided by an empowered committee.
o It will have secretaries from the Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Expenditure, Department of Revenue, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, apart from the MeitY secretary and the CEO of the Niti Aayog.
• Duration: It will cover target segments that are manufactured in India for a period of five years.
PLI Scheme for IT hardware
• It will cover devices such as laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs and servers.
• An incentive will be given on net incremental sales of goods manufactured in India for a period of four years.

Q7. National Hydrology Project (NHP) is scheme of a) Ministry of Jal Shakti
b) Ministry of Finance
c) Ministry of Science and Technology
d) ISRO

Solution : a)
Explanation :-
National Hydrology Project (NHP)
• National Hydrology Project (NHP) was started in the year 2016 as a Central Sector Scheme with 100% grant to Implementing agencies on pan India basis.
• It has a budget outlay of Rs 3680 Crore to be spent over a period of 8 years.
• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and is supported by the World Bank.
Aim:
• Improving the extent, reliability and accessibility of water resources information
• To strengthen the capacity of targeted water resource management institutions in India.

Q8. Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) is an autonomous district council, protected under which of the following schedule of the Indian Constitution?
a) 4th Schedule
b) 5th Schedule
c) 7th Schedule
d) 6th Schedule

Solution : d)
Explanation :-
Over 1,000 militants of five militant groups of Karbi Anglong district ceremonially laid down arms at an event in Guwahati in the presence of Assam Chief Minister.
• The surrendered militants comprised cadres from five outfits — Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT), People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK), Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), Kuki Liberation Front (KLF) and United People’s Liberation Army (UPLA).
• Insurgency by Karbi — a major ethnic community of Assam — has had a long history in Assam since the late 1980s.
• These outfits originated from a core demand of forming a separate state.
• Today, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) is an autonomous district council, protected under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• The entire political discourse in this constituency — comprising three districts of Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong (split from the former in 2016) and Dima
Hasao — revolves around the demand for o granting of “Autonomous State” status to the region and
o more autonomy and power to the KAAC and the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (which administers over Dima Hasao district). • Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Q9. With reference to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for IT Hardware, consider the following statements:

1. The scheme proposes production linked incentive to boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in the value chain of IT Hardware.
2. The total cost of the proposed scheme is approximately Rs.70,000 crores over 4 years
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct? a) 1 Only
   b) 2 Only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : a)
Explanation :-
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for IT Hardware.
• The scheme proposes production linked incentive to boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in the value chain of IT Hardware.
• The Scheme shall, extend an incentive of 4% to 2% / 1% on net incremental sales (over base year i.e. 2019-20) of goods manufactured in India and covered under the target segment, to eligible companies, for a period of four (4) years.
• The scheme is likely to benefit 5 major global players and 10 domestic champions in the field of IT Hardware manufacturing including Laptops, Tablets, All-in-One PCs, and Servers.
• Financial Implications: The total cost of the proposed scheme is approximately Rs.7,350 crore over 4 years, which includes an incentive outlay of Rs.7,325 crore and administrative charges of Rs.25 crore.
• Currently, the laptop and tablet demand in India is largely met through imports valued at USD 4.21 billion and USD 0.41 billion respectively in 201920.
• The market for IT Hardware is dominated by 6-7 companies globally which account for about 70% of the world’s market share.
Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Q10. With reference to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Pharmaceuticals, consider the following statements:

1. The Scheme is expected to bring in investment of Rs. 35,000 crore in the pharmaceutical sector.
2. The scheme will be part of the umbrella scheme for the Development of Pharmaceutical Industry.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct? a) 1 Only
   b) 2 Only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : b)
Explanation :-
The Union Cabinet has approved Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Pharmaceuticals over a period of Financial Year 2020-21 to 2028-29.
• Total incremental sales of Rs.2,94,000 crore and total incremental exports of Rs.1,96,000 crore are estimated during six years from 2022-23 to 2027-28.
• The Scheme is also expected to bring in investment of Rs.15,000 crore in the pharmaceutical sector.
• The scheme will be part of the umbrella scheme for the Development of Pharmaceutical Industry.
• The objective of the scheme is to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities by increasing investment and production in the sector and contributing to product diversification to high value goods in the pharmaceutical sector.
• Target Groups: The manufacturers of pharmaceutical goods registered in India will be grouped based on their Global Manufacturing Revenue (GMR) to ensure wider applicability of the scheme across the pharmaceutical industry and at the same time meet the objectives of the scheme.
• Quantum of Incentive: The total quantum of incentive (inclusive of administrative expenditure) under the scheme is about Rs 15,000 crore.
Category of Goods:
The scheme shall cover pharmaceutical goods under three categories as mentioned below:
• Category 1: Biopharmaceuticals; Complex generic drugs; Patented drugs or drugs nearing patent expiry; Cell based or gene therapy drugs; Orphan drugs; Special empty capsules like HPMC, Pullulan, enteric etc.; Complex excipients; Phyto-pharmaceuticals: Other drugs as approved.
• Category 2: Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients / Key Starting Materials / Drug Intermediates.
• Category 3: Drugs not covered under Category 1 and Category 2. Hence only statement 2 is correct.