Current Affairs MCQs for UPSC & State PSC Exams (20 May 2023)

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

Date: 20 May 2023

Q1. Arrange the following events in chronological order of their occurrence:

1. Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
2. Non-Proliferation Treaty.
3. Operation Smiling Buddha.
4. Operation Shakti.

Which of the statement/s given above is/are correct?

a) 1,2,3,4
b) 1,3,2,4
c) 2,3,4,1
d) 2,3,1,4

Answer: (D)

Explanation:

  • Evolution of Treaties in relation to nuclear weapons/ nuclear tests
  • Antarctica Treaty of 1959 - to treat Antarctica as a global common and not allow any nuclear tests in Antarctica.
  • Hot Line Agreement of 1963 between US and USSR after Cuban Missile Crisis.
  • Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 banned nuclear tests in 3 regions namely, Space, Water and Soil. However it did not ban nuclear tests underground.
  • Outer Space Treaty of 1967 - Space won’t be used for deploying WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction).
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 1970 (NPT).
  • Operation Smiling Buddha-Pokhran I- 1974.
  • Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1996 (CTBT).
  • Pokhran Nuclear Test 2 was conducted in May 1998. Pokhran 2 was code-named Operation Shakti.

Solution. As the correct sequence is 2,3,1,4, The correct option is (d).

Additional information

  • Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): The Conference on Disarmament (CD) began its substantive negotiations on a CTBT in January 1994. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996.
  • The Treaty inter-alia intends to ban all nuclear explosions - everywhere, by everyone. It was opened for signature in 1996.
  • India, North Korea and Pakistan have not yet signed the Treaty. All three have also undertaken tests after 1996; India (Operation Shakti) and Pakistan in May 1998 and North Korea six times between 2006 and 2017.

Q2. Consider the following statements about Indian agriculture:

1. There has been a continuous increase in agricultural export in the last decade.
2. About 75% of women workers in India are employed in the country’s agrarian sector (PLFS 2020-21).

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1 Only
b) 2 Only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (B)

Explanation:

  • The graph clearly shows that there is no gradual increase in agricultural export, hence statement 1 is Not correct.
  • About 75% of women workers in India are employed in the country’s agrarian sector (PLFS 2020-21). Hence statement 2 is correct.

Q3. With reference to the scheme of providing free airtime to political parties during elections in India, consider the following statements:

1. The facility of free airtime for political parties during elections is backed by the statutory basis of the 2003 amendment to the Representation of People Act, 1951.
2. In India, the allotment of airtime to political parties is determined based on the lottery system implemented by the Election Commission.

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

Answer: (C)

Explanation:

  • The provision of free airtime for political parties during elections is supported by the 2003 amendment to the Representation of People Act, 1951, which gives it a legal basis. Thus, statement 1 is correct.
  • In the Indian system, the allotment of airtime to political parties is carried out through a transparent process involving a lottery system conducted by the Election Commission. This process ensures fairness and prevents preferential treatment in the allocation of primetime slots. Thus, statement 2 is correct.