Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 14-09-2022

Q1. Which of following groups have India as a member country?

1. SCO
2. BRICS
3. Quad
4. I2U2
5. Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

Select the correct answer from the codes given below.

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 1, 2 and 3 only
3. 1, 3 and 4 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Answer (d)

Explanation:

For India, the buzzword now is ‘all-alignment’

• In his book The India Way, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar offers a critique of India’s traditional policy of “non-alignment” where he distinguishes between the “optimistic non-alignment” of the past, which he feels has failed, that must give way to more realistic “multiple engagements of the future”.
• He writes, “This is a game best played on the front foot, appreciating that progress on any one front strengthens that on all others”

Balancing the blocs

• To begin with, the visit reinforces his commitment to an Indian foreign policy that balances various blocs — pitting India’s membership of the SCO and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) against its membership in the Quad (Australia, India, Japan, the U.S.), groups such as the I2U2 ( India-Israel-U.S.- UAE), and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
• This was highlighted more recently with India joining the Russian- led ‘Vostok’ Army Exercises along with China, and plans to host SCO-RATS (or the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization) counterterror exercises while the Indian Air Force took part in the Australian ‘Pitch Black’ exercises, and the Indian Army is planning exercises with the U.S. (Yudh Abhyas) next month close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

• Another juxtaposition is that of values over interests, or that of the western brand of a “coalition of democracies”, against a more Eurasian brand of a “coalition of common goals”.

Dealing Individually:

• The next basket of signals Mr Modi sends out is to individual members of the SCO, regardless of whether he will hold a one-on-one with each of their leaders on the sidelines or not.
• The first is to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is under a western siege over his invasion of Ukraine. The Government has not only rejected calls to cut its Russian oil imports but it has also done the reverse: imports of Russian oil jumped from 0.66 million tonnes in the first quarter to 42 million tonnes in the second this year.
• India-China bilateral ties have come to a virtual standstill on most fronts, with the exception of trade. It seems likely that the leaders will come face to face during the summit, and any discussion will be significant.
• Other important signals would come from a proposed summit with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, given that Mr. Modi, at the SCO summit, is expected to pitch the Chabahar port terminal India is developing (Shahid Beheshti) as an important route for trade to Central Asia and Russia.
• In addition to connectivity, Iran will focus, in meetings with India, on restoring Indian imports of Iranian crude at the earliest.earliest

Above all, India’s participation in the SCO summit, and Mr Modi’s decision to stand shoulder to shoulder with Putin-Xi-Raisi-Erdoğan- Lukashenko just months after he met with Biden-Kishida-Albanese at the Quad summit affirms Mr Jaisankar’s prognosis: that “hedging” is the name of the game today, as India fights for its unique brand of multi- alignment or “all-alignment” with partners worldwide, without having to choose between them. As in Tokyo and Samarkand, just “showing up” is half the battle won.

Q2. Which of the following countries are members of the G7, G8 and G20?

1. UK
2. Japan
3. Italy

Select the correct answer from the codes given below.

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

Answer (d)

Explanation:

India to hold G-20 summit in 2023

• India will hold over 200 G-20-related meetings across the country during its presidency of the grouping that will begin on December 1, 2022 and continue till November 30,2023.
• India is currently part of the G-20 Troika [current, previous and incoming G20 presidencies] comprising Indonesia, Italy and India. During our Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form the troika.
• This would be the first time when the troika would consist of three developing countries and emerging economies, providing them a greater voice.

  

Q3. The prices of drugs on the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) are regulated by

1. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
2. Department of Biotechnology
3. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
4. The Central Drug Standard Control Organisation

Answer (d)

Explanation:

384 drugs on the essential medicines list

• Twenty-six drugs, including the common gastrointestinal medicines ranitidine and sucralfate, have been excluded from the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM),2022.
• A total of 384 drugs find a place on the list with the addition of 34 Twenty-six from the previous list have been dropped. The first NLEM was compiled in 1996 and was revised thrice in 2003, 2011, and 2015.

  

• Also if the disease burden for which a medicine is indicated is no longer a national health concern, it is deleted from the NLEM. In the case of antimicrobials, if the resistance pattern has rendered them ineffective, the drugs are taken off the list.

Making drugs affordable:

• The new list includes four drugs that are still under patent — bedaquiline and delamind used in the treatment of multiple drug- resistant tuberculosis, dolutegravir used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and daclatasvir used in treating viral infections such as Hepatitis C, the Health Ministry said.
• Several antibiotics, vaccines and anti-cancer drugs are set to become more affordable with their addition to the list. Ivermectin, mupirocin and nicotine replacement therapy have been added.
• Drugs listed under NLEM — also known as scheduled drugs — will be cheaper because the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) caps medicine prices and changes only based on wholesale price index-based inflation.

  

NLEM reforms:

• The primary purpose of the NLEM is to promote the rational use of medicines considering the three important aspects — cost, safety and efficacy.
• It also helps in optimum utilisation of healthcare resources and budget; drug procurement policies; health insurance; improving prescribing habits; medical education and drafting of pharmaceutical policies.

• The release of the NLEM, 2022, comes after a long gap of seven years, when it is recommended for an NLEM to be revised more frequently, every two-three years, to be responsive to changing health needs.

Q4. Which of the following are included in the GDP calculation of India?

1. Profits earned by Chinese Company Xiaomi by selling smartphones in India
2. Profits earned by ONGC Videsh from its subsidiaries in different countries

Select the correct answer from the codes given below

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

Answer (a)

Explanation:

Gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP) are both widely used measures of a country's aggregate economic output. GDP measures the value of goods and services produced within a country's borders, by citizens and non-citizens alike. GNP measures the value of goods and services produced by only a country's citizens but both domestically and abroad. GDP is the most commonly used by global economies. The United States abandoned the use of GNP in 1991, adopting GDP as its measure to compare itself with other economies.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the value of a nation's finished domestic goods and services during a specific time period. A related but different metric, the gross national product (GNP), is the value of all finished goods and services owned by a country's residents over a period of time.

Both GDP and GNP are two of the most commonly used measures of a country's economy, both of which represent the total market value of all goods and services produced over a defined period.

There are differences between how each one defines the scope of the economy. While GDP limits its interpretation of the economy to the geographical borders of the country, GNP extends it to include the net overseas economic activities performed by its nationals.

For example, profits earned by Chinese Company Xiaomi by selling smartphones in India will not be included in the GNP of India but in GDP. Similarly, Profits earned by ONGC Videsh from its subsidiaries in different countries will be included in the GNP of India, not in GDP. 

Q5. Consider the following statements about the Big bang Theory

1. It explains the formation of the universe
2. According to it, the universe is continuously contracting

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 (a)

Explanation:

The most popular argument regarding the origin of the universe is the Big Bang Theory. It is also called the expanding universe hypothesis. Edwin Hubble, in 1920, provided evidence that the universe is expanding. As time passes, galaxies move further and further apart.