Current Affairs MCQs for UPSC & State PSC Exams (29 December 2022)

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

Date: 29 December 2022

Q1. Consider the following Statements regarding the SDG India Index.

1. First launched in December 2018 by NITI Aayog, the index has become the primary tool for monitoring progress on the SDGs in India.
2. States and UTs are classified in four categories based on their SDG India Index.
3. Karnataka has retained the top rank in NITI Aayog's SDG India Index 2020-21.

Select the correct Statement(s) 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:

  • First launched in December 2018 by NITI Aayog, the index has become the primary tool for monitoring progress on the SDGs in India. Thus statement 1 is correct.
  • States and UTs are classified in four categories based on their SDG India Index score — aspirant: 0–49; performer: 50–64; front-runner: 65–99, achiever: 100. Hence statement 2 is correct.
  • Kerala has retained the top rank in NITI Aayog's SDG India Index 2020-21, while Bihar is the worst performing state. Thus statement 3 is NOT correct.

Q2. Consider the following statements about PMGKAY:

1. PMGKAY, was announced during the height of Covid to address the needs of the unemployed.
2. Recently it has been ‘merged’ with the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
3. 81.35 crore individuals, identified under the NFSA, will receive their usual five kg of food grains free of cost.

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

a) Only one statement is correct.
b) Only two statements are correct
c) All three statements are correct
d) Some statements are incorrect.

Answer: (C)

Explanation:

  • Centre, on December 23, announced that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), announced during the height of Covid to address the needs of the unemployed. Statement 1 is correct.
  • It will be ‘merged’ with the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Statement 2 is correct.
  • The PMGKAY will be discontinued in its present form with effect from December 31; thereafter, 81.35 crore individuals, identified under the NFSA, 2013, will receive their usual five kg of food grains free of cost, as against the nominal rates of ₹3 or so that they pay now. Statement 3 is correct.
  • However, the 10 kg that they have been getting for two years will stop.

As all statements are correct so correct option is (c).

Q3. Consider the following statements:

1. India-WRIS provides a single window solution for all water resources data and information in a standardized national GIS framework.
2. It ignores the utility of reservoirs, surface water, or groundwater in the industrial sector, focusing on urban and agricultural utility.

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:

  • India-WRIS provides a single window solution for all water resources data and information in a standardized national GIS framework.
  • It ignores the utility of reservoirs, surface water, or groundwater in the industrial sector, focusing on urban and agricultural utility.

Hence, both statements are correct.

Q4. Which of the following statements is correct regarding “Killer Acquisition” sometimes seen in the news

a) It is an ecological phenomenon in which an organism acquires physiological traits which will make it immune to adverse environments.
b) It is a trade deal in which a large firm buys an entrepreneurial startup in order to shut down the target firm's projects before they become a competitive threat.
c) It is the acquisition of a strategic war weapon which has the capacity to destroy the enemy territories completely.
d) It is a situation when a larger Star captures another Star completely before it moves to the next phase of its evolution.

Answer: (B)

Explanation:

  • Killer Acquisition
  • It is the situation when a large firm may buy an entrepreneurial startup in order to shut down the target firm's projects before they become a competitive threat.
  • Because such acquisitions eliminate promising, but competing, innovation thus establishing the acquirer firm’s market hold.

Q5. Concerning The India-Africa Summit, consider the following statements: (UPSC Prelims 2016)

1. The third such Summit was held in 2015.
2. It was actually initiated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951

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: (A)

Explanation:

  • It was started in 2008 with New Delhi as its first venue. Thus, it was not initiated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951. So, statement 2 is incorrect.
  • Since 2008, the summit has been held every three years, alternately in India and Africa. The second and third summits were held in 2011 and 2015 respectively. So, statement 1 is correct.