Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 08-12-2022

Q1. Consider the following statements

1. Chief Justice of India (CJI) has minimum tenure of 2 years
2. Retirement age for a supreme court judge is 65 years

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1. 1 only
   2. 2 only
   3. Both 1 and 2
   4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (b)

Explanation:

This calendar year will see 3 CJIs in 3 months

1. The Supreme Court has had a handful of instances when more than one Chief Justice of India (CJI) took the highest chair in the judiciary in a year. But the year 2022 will become only the second such year since the top court’s inception in 1950 when it will have three different CJIs in under three months.
2. The incumbent, justice NV Ramana, will retire in August after a tenure of 16 months. Justice Ramana will pass the baton to justice Uday U Lalit, who will get just a little over two months as the head of the judiciary before he demits office in November. Justice Lalit’s retirement will pave the way for justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud to take over as the CJI for a term of two years.
3. Supreme Court judges take over as the CJI on the basis of their While there is no tenure fixed for a CJI, the retirement age of the judges in the apex court has been ascertained at 65 under the Constitution.

Minimum Three Years Tenure:

1. Experts believe every CJI should have a minimum tenure of three There are several important issues such as judicial and administrative reforms coupled with the problem of huge arrears of cases that need to be tackled.
2. A CJI should get sufficient time to execute his or her vision and usher in reforms as planned. The issue of the minimum tenure of a CJI should be considered by the central government as well as by the judges of the Supreme Court.
3. One way of ensuring a minimum tenure of three years for a CJI could be through an inbuilt mechanism by the collegium.
4. At the time of recommending a judge for his or her appointment in the Supreme Court, the collegium is aware of the tenure of each and every judge, as also who would go on to become a CJI and for how long.
5. The collegium can make sure that the appointee to the Supreme Court gets at least three years as a CJI. This can be done without any requirement of governmental interference or amending any constitutional provision.

Increase retirement age:

1. According to Attorney-General for India, increasing the retirement age of Supreme Court judges could go a long way in assisting the We have lawyers practising till they are 75 or 80.
2. Also, the retirement age of the judges of the constitutional courts was fixed long back based on the average life of that time. It needs a revision now.
3. High court judges should retire at 67 (they currently retire at 62) and the Supreme Court judges should retire at 70.

Q2. Which of the following protected areas is/are found in Brahmaputra Valley?

1. Dehing Patkai National Park
2. Manas National Park
3. Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
4. Khangchendzonga National Park

Select the correct answer from the codes given below

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

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Brahmaputra Valley:

This area has been densely populated for centuries and most of the valley has been and still is used for agriculture but some blocks of natural habitat do remain, mainly in national parks the largest of which are Manas, Dibru- Saikhowa and Kaziranga National Parks in India. In Bhutan, these areas are part of Royal Manas National Park.

Protected areas:

In 1997, the World Wildlife Fund identified twelve protected areas in the ecoregion, with a combined area of approximately 2,560 km2, that include 5% of the ecoregion's area.

1. Dehing Patkai Landscape, including Dehing Patkai National Park and Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve
2. Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh (190 km2, also includes portions of the Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests and Himalayan subtropical pine forests)
3. Manas National Park, Assam (560 km2)
4. Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam (90 km2)
5. Kaziranga National Park, Assam (320 km2)
6. Orang National Park, Assam (110 km2)
7. Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam (170 km2)
8. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam (80 km2)
9. Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam (160 km2)
10. Nameri National Park, Assam (90 km2)
11. Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Assam (490 km2)
12. D'Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh (190 km2)
13. Pabha Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam (110 km2)

Q3. Consider the following statements about the Sea cucumber

1. India banned the sea cucumber fishery in 2001
2. Sea cucumbers perform the important ecological function of nutrient cycling

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (c)

Explanation:

Demand for sea cucumbers turns India-Sri Lanka waters into trafficking hotspot:

• From 2015 to 2020, authorities in Sri Lanka and India seized nearly 65 metric tons of sea cucumbers worth more than $2.8 million and arrested 502 people in connection with the attempted trafficking.
• The sea cucumber fishery is banned in India and restricted under a licensing system in Sri Lanka, but growing demand for the animals in East Asia has turned the waters between these South Asian countries into a hotspot for the illegal trade.
• The presence of the legal trade in Sri Lanka means Indian fishers can smuggle their catches into the country and launder them into the legal market for export.
• The overharvesting of sea cucumbers has severely depleted their populations; from 21 species of sea cucumber deemed commercially viable for fishing in 2008, there were only nine by 2015, according to surveys.

Increase in smuggling:

• According to data analysis of sea cucumber-related seizures and arrests reported in the media, 2019 and 2020 saw a sharp increase in cases, making the Gulf of Mannar/Palk Bay region between the two countries a global hotspot for sea cucumber smuggling.
• Despite their name, sea cucumbers aren’t vegetables; they’re echinoderms, from the same phylum of marine animals that includes starfish and sea urchins, and live on the sandy bottoms of oceans, where they perform the important ecological function of nutrient cycling.
• Sea cucumbers aren’t typically eaten in South Asia. Instead, their harvest here is for demand from East Asia, where they go by many names, most often bêche-de-mer, and are considered a delicacy, eaten both fresh or dried, and used in traditional Chinese medicine.
• Exports of bêche-de-mer from this region have historically been low, but the trade has grown significantly in recent years as the demand for sea cucumbers has increased.
• For the harvesters, the slow-moving sea cucumbers are easy pickings. But this has led to sea cucumber populations becoming overexploited across much of their historical ranges.
• In light of this, India banned the sea cucumber fishery in 2001, while Sri Lanka tried to restrict the trade through a system of permits issued for collection, processing, transporting and exporting.

Q4. Consider the following statements

1. Kulsi and Subansiri are tributaries of Brahmaputra
2. Kulsi and Subansiri are strongholds of the endangered Gangetic river dolphin
3. The construction of dams in several regions in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh cut through dolphin habitats and limited the access to prey

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

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

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Gangetic river dolphins in Assam decline in the wake of anthropogenic pressures:

• Assam’s Brahmaputra and the tributaries Kulsi and Subansiri are strongholds of the endangered Gangetic river However, local communities and researchers note decline in populations.
• Dolphins in the Kulsi river are affected by relentless mechanised sand mining on the banks.
• The construction of dams in several regions in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh cut through dolphin habitats and limited the access to prey.
• Dolphins are more or less extinct in the Barak river system, with a handful found in tributaries such as Kushiyara and Soorma.

Local folklore of the Mising people (an indigenous community) has facilitated a reverence for rivers and their wild inhabitants over the centuries. The story features a Mising woman named Yakashi, who was inept at household chores. As people from her community grew bored of her incompetence, they decided to throw Yakashi in the river. However, instead of drowning, she turned into a dolphin.

The Mising people don’t kill the Gangetic river dolphins, or ‘xihus’ as they are known locally in Assam. However, they have noticed a decline in dolphin populations over the years.

Q5. Which of the following is the state aquatic animal of Assam?

1. Dugong
2. Indian flapshell turtle
3. Black softshell turtle
4. The Gangetic river dolphin

Answer (d)

Explanation:

The Gangetic river dolphin, which is both the national aquatic animal and state aquatic animal of Assam, is a Schedule-1 species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and is also considered ‘endangered’ by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).