Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 05-08-2022

Q1. Which of the following countries are not signatory to the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?

1. Pakistan
2. India
3. North Korea

Select the answer from codes given below

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Nuclear club to NPT:

• Subsequently, the nuclear club expanded to five nations, with China joining the US, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the United Kingdom, and France.
• By 1968, this club became an exclusive In a rare display of realpolitik solidarity, the two former superpowers, the US and USSR, crafted the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
• It effectively divided the world into the five nuclear weapon haves — and disarmed the unarmed into permanent nuclear have-nots.
• In short, through NPT, the five nuclear weapon powers, who are also the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, accorded themselves the responsibility of maintaining global nuclear stability — but in 2022, they have muddied the sanctity of nuclear deterrence.

The 10th Review Conference (RevCon) of :

• Against this backdrop, the 10th Review Conference (RevCon) of NPT began in New York in August.
• In a symbolic gesture, Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, addressed the conference and made a powerful and poignant plea when he noted: “As a Prime Minister from Hiroshima, I believe that we must take every realistic measure towards a world without nuclear weapons step by step, however difficult the path may be ”

NPT Track Record:

• NPT has an uneven track record. It has succeeded in controlling horizontal proliferation but has tacitly enabled a vertical expansion of the global nuclear arsenal among the privileged five.
• Currently, NPT has near-universal membership, but a few States have chosen to be non-signatories, and four have acquired nuclear weapon capability of varying characteristics.
• They include India, Pakistan, and North Korea, which have overtly demonstrated their ability, while Israel has an opaque covert status.
• Nuclear weapons States are reluctant to give up their capability and move towards universal disarmament — global zero being the Holy Grail — and for decades, NPT was the only show in town.

  

  

Q2. What is being considered a “quick passport to fiscal disaster” by economists?

1. Defence expenditure
2. COVID relief measures
3. Subsidies
4. Freebies

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Freebies Concern:

• A general concern over ‘freebies’ pushing the economy to ruin or unviable pre-election promises adversely affecting informed decision- making by voters seems reasonable.
• However, few will disagree that what constitutes ‘freebies’ and what are legitimate welfare measures to protect the vulnerable sections are essentially political questions for which a court of law may have no answer.
• Against this backdrop, the Supreme Court’s decision to form a body of stakeholders to examine the issue raises the question of whether the legislature can be bypassed on such a far-reaching exercise.
• The Chief Justice of India, N.V. Ramana, heading a Bench hearing a petition filed in the public interest against the distribution or promise of ‘freebies’ ahead of elections, has made it clear that the Court is not going to issue guidelines, but only ensure that suggestions are taken from stakeholders such as the NITI Aayog, Finance Commission, Law Commission, RBI and political parties.
• All these institutions, he has said, can submit a report to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Government. A suggestion that Parliament could discuss this issue was met with scepticism by the Bench, which felt that no party would want a debate on this, as all of them support such sops.
• The Bench also disfavoured the ECI preparing a ‘model manifesto’ as it would be an empty formality.

  

The Court’s concern over populist measures seems to resonate with the Government too, as the Solicitor-General submitted that these distorted the voter’s informed decision-making; and that unregulated populism may lead to an economic disaster.

Q3. The Conference of the Parties-27 (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change would take place in

1. New Delhi
2. Abu Dhabi
3. Cairo
4. Sharm El Sheikh

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Framing a road map for climate goals

• Three months before the world assembles at Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt for the Conference of the Parties-27 (COP27), India updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), a set of long-term goals to cut carbon emissions and adapt to climate India last submitted its NDC in 2015.
• As promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 in Glasgow last year, India aims to cut the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions emitted for every unit of its Gross Domestic Product by 45% from the 2005 level by 2030, and also achieve about 50% of its cumulative electricity requirement from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

• A third key objective is to focus on a sustainable way of living based on traditions and values of conservation and moderation through a movement called Lifestyle for Environment.

Q4. General Data Protection Regulation for privacy, intermediary-focused law Digital Services Act and e-commerce regulation law the Digital Markets Act are generally considered global best practices in regulating internet- based activities. These are legislations of

1. USA
2. Germany
3. Japan
4. European Union

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Data bill: Right call by the govt:

• The government this week withdrew from Parliament the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, informing Lok Sabha members that a new “comprehensive framework” would be brought in instead.
• The decision marks yet another pause in the process of drawing up legislation that has taken over four years A comprehensive draft was first drawn up by the independent committee headed by former Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna and submitted to the government in 2018.
• The government’s version of the bill was sent to a Joint Committee of Parliament (JCP) to examine the issue more The JCP took two years and six extensions to submit its report.
• At each stage, there were issues with the These contentions were natural because the legislation aims to tackle one of the most profound problems today: How to protect privacy in the age of information.
• In the case of the most recent work on the law, these discussions yielded suggestions that were far removed from what the Srikrishna version and even the government’s approach envisioned.

• Some of these were, in fact, issues with implications for an increasingly digital economy and cyber security. For these to be tackled on their own is sensible.
• Nations that updated their laws to be in step with today have multiple pieces of legislation, such as the European Union’s privacy-focused General Data Protection Regulation, its intermediary-focused Digital Services Act, and its mainstay e-commerce regulation, the Digital Markets Act. India may well need multiple laws, as the government has indicated.
• As technology evolves, so will its applications and the legal doctrines that seek to combat the harms and India has done well to hold wide-ranging stakeholder discussions and it is a welcome step that frameworks are not rushed.

Haste can lead to legitimate concerns being unaddressed. But that the country does not yet have even a base law is a problem. The starkness is best captured in the fact that in August, it will have been five years since the Supreme Court’s Puttaswamy ruling that held privacy to be a fundamental right. It is about time that India creates a statutory framework to support that right.

Q5. The Hasdeo Aranya region is situated in the state of

1. Chattisgarh
2. Odisha
3. Madhya Pradesh
4. Rajasthan

Answer (a)

Explanation:

The coal mining protests in the Hasdeo Aranya region

• Recently in July, the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a private member resolution urging the Centre to cancel the allocation of all coal mining blocks in the ecologically sensitive area of Hasdeo Aranya.
• Underneath the Hasdeo Aranya is a coalfield that comprises 22 coal In 2010, the Centre categorised Hasdeo Aranya to be a “no-go” zone for mining.
• However, only a year later, the MoEF granted clearance for the At present, of the 22 blocks, seven blocks have been allotted to different companies.
• The resolution isn’t expected to change the status While Congress says the onus is on the Centre to stop mining, the BJP has been asking the State government to withdraw the clearances it has issued to mine developers and operators.