Current Affairs MCQs for UPSC & State PSC Exams (01 October 2022)

Current Affairs MCQs Quiz for UPSC, IAS, UPPSC/UPPCS, MPPSC. BPSC, RPSC & All State PSC Exams

Date: 01 October 2022

Q1. With reference to the ‘Electoral bonds’, which of the following statements are correct?

1. Electoral bonds are an instrument through which anyone can donate money to political parties.
2. SBI is the only authorised bank to issue electoral bonds.
3. All Registered political parties are eligible to receive funding through electoral bonds.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (A)

Explanation:

  • Electoral bonds are an instrument through which anyone can donate money to political parties.
  • SBI is the only authorised bank to issue electoral bonds.
  • An electoral bond will be valid for 15 days from the date of issuance. No payment would be made to any political party if the bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period, the statement said.
  • Registered political parties that have secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last Lok Sabha or legislative assembly election are eligible to receive funding through electoral bonds.

Q2. Consider the following statements regarding the Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services. (NCAVES):

1. It is funded by European Union.
2. India is taking part in this project.
3. It is jointly implemented by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (D)

Explanation:

  • The NCAVES Project, funded by the EU, has been jointly implemented by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD).
  • India is one of the five countries taking part in this project - the other countries being Brazil, China, South Africa, and Mexico.

Q3. Consider the following statements about the satellite navigation systems:

1. Currently, only GPS of the US has global coverage.
2. All satellites in Navic are geosynchronous satellites due to which the signal is more prone to obstructions.
3. The GPS is relatively more accurate than NavIC.
4. NavIC cannot provide an absolute position accuracy of less than 100 meters.

Which of the statement/s above is/are not correct?

a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 2, 3 and 4 only
c) 1, 3 and 4 only
d) All of the above

Answer: (D)

Explanation:

  • Like GPS, there are three more navigation systems that have a global coverage – Galileo from the European Union, Russia-owned GLONASS and China’s Beidou.
  • Navic has 3 geostationary satellites and 4 geosynchronous satellites which are placed in much higher orbits due to which the signal is less prone to obstructions.
  • The GPS uses a single frequency band while the NavIC satellites use dual frequency bands (L5-band and S-band), which is why the system is relatively more accurate than GPS.
  • NavIC is designed to provide an absolute position accuracy of fewer than 10 meters on the Indian landmass and less than 20 meters on the Indian Ocean.

Q4. Consider the following statements regarding the Agriculture sector in India.

1. India is one of the largest producers of food grains in the world with a record production of about 310 million tonnes in 2020-21.
2. Cotton crop is the largest consumer of pesticides in India and consumes about 40% of total pesticides.
3. Total pesticide consumption is the highest in Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3 only

Answer: (D)

Explanation:

  • The Green Revolution during the mid-60s led to the use of yield-increasing inputs such as High Yield Variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
  • This significantly contributed to the increase in production of food grains from 52 million tonnes (mt) in 1951-52 to 309 mt in 2020-21.
  • Cotton crop is the largest consumer of pesticides in India and it consumes about 36-50% of total pesticides while the area under cotton is about 5% of total area.
  • Paddy and cotton, the two crops together consume about 65 percent of pesticides in India.
  • Total pesticide consumption is the highest in Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
  • Although Per hectare consumption of pesticides was the highest in Punjab (0.74 kg), followed by Haryana (0.62 kg) in 2016-17.

Q5. Lighthouse Initiative (LHI) is commissioned by which of the following ministry?

a) Ministry of New & Renewable Energy
b) Ministry of Power
c) Ministry of Rural Development
d) Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

Answer: (D)

Explanation: The Lighthouse Initiative (LHI) commissioned by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav is to be implemented through PPP, across villages in 75 Gram panchayats in 15 states in Phase1.