Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 18-10-2022

Q1. Consider the following statements

1. A vast majority of cases before the Supreme Court is heard and decided by a Bench of two judges (Division Bench) or three (full Bench).
2. It is a settled position that a Bench of equal strength cannot overrule or reconsider a decision of a coordinate Bench; it can, at best, doubt its correctness of it

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:

Judicial comity over arithmetic

• It is well-known in law that the decision of a superior court will always be binding on a lower court and that the decision of a larger Bench will always hold force over a smaller Bench of the same court.

• This canon of law seeks to ensure that there is stability and consistency in the decisions of the court. This principle stems from the assumption that a Bench with more strength is more likely to arrive at a correct decision.

Understanding Bench strength

• A vast majority of cases before the Supreme Court is heard and decided by a Bench of two judges (Division Bench) or three (full Bench).
• It is a settled position that a Bench of equal strength cannot overrule or reconsider a decision of a coordinate Bench; it can, at best, doubt its correctness of it.

• Whenever there is doubt or conflict between decisions of co-equal Benches, it is referred to the Chief Justice of India and this is where larger Benches are constituted.
• The larger Benches examine the question or correctness of the decision and the majority opinion expressed by them becomes the verdict, which is binding on the lower Benches.

The problem of Dissent:

• An anomaly here is that a majority decision is treated as the ruling of the entire Bench, including the dissenting judges, that examined the This is where the problem originates.
• If the correctness of a law laid down unanimously by a five-judge Bench is doubted, could it be overruled by four judges of a seven- judge Bench. Could it be said that the four judges of the larger Bench arrived at the correct decision and not the five judges of the smaller Bench.
• The Supreme Court, while considering the same question, held that if the number of judges is to have salience and not Bench strength, then every decision of a larger bench could be doubted and overruled on the ground of plurality of opinions, thereby toppling the certainty and stability of decisions.
• The observation holds some rationale, as even in a study, the one with the larger sample space (larger Bench) is assumed to reflect a correct outcome over a study with a smaller sample space. This is the underlying raison d'être for the Rule of Precedents.

A game of numbers rather than reasons:

• However, a blanket adherence to the Doctrine of Precedents as enunciated by the Supreme Court can have serious consequences, as the correctness of a decision would become a game of numbers rather than reasons.

• The Supreme Court justified the binding nature of the larger Bench’s view saying that this view was arrived at after deliberation by more judges. But just because a decision was considered by more judges does not mean that it is correct and it certainly would not be perceived to be correct.

• In fact, if a larger Bench arrived at a decision by a slim majority (say, 4:3 in a seven-judge Bench), its correctness would be all the more doubted on the presumption that had the Bench comprised different judges, the outcome might have been different.

• After all, it is natural that a decision by a larger majority is perceived to be correct over a decision considered by a larger number.

Systems Elsewhere:

• Such an anomaly is usually avoided in the U.S. and in South Africa owing to the fact that any reconsideration of a precedent is a matter deliberated by the entire sitting strength of the court as opposed to division(s).
• While both the U.K. and Australia follow a system similar to that of India, the entire act of ‘reconsidering a precedent’ is viewed as a delicate and grave judicial responsibility in these countries.

• Rarely do precedents get re-decided more than once, unlike in India, in order to give quietus to litigation and in the limited occasion where a decision is reopened, the only requirement is that it would be examined by a Bench of all ‘available judges’.

Q2. Consider the following statements

1. The RBI says that a tokenised card transaction is considered safer as the actual card details are not shared with the merchant
2. However, regardless of whomever, you shop with, be it Amazon or Ola or Swiggy, the app should ask your permission to use your credit card details for it to tokenise your card.

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:

How does tokenisation prevent online card fraud?

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated the tokenisation of credit/debit cards for online merchants from October 1.
• Tokenisation “refers to the replacement of actual card details with an alternative code called the ‘token’, which shall be unique for a combination of card and the token requestor (i.e. the entity which  accepts the request from the customer for tokenisation of a card and passes it on to the card network to issue a corresponding token).”

• The RBI says that a tokenised card transaction is considered safer as the actual card details are not shared with the merchant.

  

What are the benefits of tokenisation?

• The RBI says that a tokenised card transaction is safer as the actual card details are not shared with the merchant.
• Even if a hacker/scammer were to get their hands on one’s token number, they would not be able to make indiscriminate use of it. The token generated upon request for a specific merchant is unique to a specific card number and is usable only on that particular site or mobile The token is useless outside of that merchant’s ecosystem.
• The “new mandate is only for the use of credit/debit cards For offline merchants, users would continue to swipe the cards on the POS machines as per previously existing guidelines.”
• Popular card network Visa further explains the concept of tokenisation through the example of a metro train ticket. It is useful only for that route and not on any other.
• Similarly, the unique token generated for a specific site is only applicable on that site and nowhere else. And if an undesirable third- party gains access to that specific token and shops within that specific website, the chances of identifying the party are more as their login and phone details would be with the site.
• However, regardless of whomever, you shop with, be it Amazon or Ola or Swiggy, the app should ask your permission to use your credit card details for it to tokenise your card.

Q3. Consider the following statements

1. Indian defence export has increased in last 5 years
2. The Centre has set an ambitious target to achieve exports of $25 bn in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025

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:

At DefExpo, India to pitch military tools to Africa, IOR countries

• India has undertaken a transformative journey from being the largest defence importer to an exporter, Defence Minister said at the curtain raiser event of the 12th edition of DefExpo in Gandhinagar.
• Two major conclaves, the second edition of both the India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD) and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)-plus conclave will see India pitching its military hardware to various countries.
• The Centre has set an ambitious target to achieve a manufacturing turnover of $25 billion, or ₹1,75,000 crore, including exports of $5 bn in aerospace and defence goods and services by The government has announced a series of measures in this direction.
• The country’s defence exports which have been growing year on year in the past few years touched ₹13,000 crores for 2021-22.

Q4. Consider the following statements

1. The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)
2. About 71.5 crore people exited poverty in India during the 15-year period between 2005-06 and 2019-21

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:

About 41.5 crore Indians out of multi-dimensional poverty since 2005-06

• About 41.5 crore people exited poverty in India during the 15-year period between 2005-06 and 2019-21, out of which two-thirds exited in the first 10 years, and one-third in the next five years, according to the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) released.
• The report produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) shows that the incidence of poverty fell from 55.1% in 2005-06 to 16.4% in 2019-21 in the country and that deprivations in all 10 MPI indicators saw significant reductions as a result of which the MPI value and incidence of poverty more than halved.
• Improvement in MPI for India has significantly contributed to the decline in poverty in South Asia and it is for the first time that it is not the region with the highest number of poor people, at 38.5 crore, compared with 9 crore in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The report doesn’t fully assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty in India as 71% of the data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-2021) relied upon for MPI were collected before the pandemic.

MPI Index:

• The global MPI constructs a deprivation profile of each household and person through 10 indicators spanning health, education and standard of living. All indicators are equally weighted within each The global MPI identifies people as multidimensionally poor if their deprivation score is 1/3 or higher.
• Bihar, the poorest State in 2015-2016, saw the fastest reduction in MPI value in absolute terms. The incidence of poverty there fell from 4% in 2005-2006 to to 34.7% in 2019-2021.

Despite the strides made, the report notes that the ongoing task of ending poverty remains daunting. India has by far the largest number of poor people worldwide at 22.8 crore, followed by Nigeria at 9.6 crore. Two-third of these people live in a household in which at least one person is deprived in nutrition. There were also 9.7 crore poor children in India in 2019-2021

— more than the total number of poor people, children and adults combined, in any other country covered by the global MPI.

Q5. Mission Shakti programme for promotion of Self Help Groups is initiative of state government of

1. Odisha
2. Kerala
3. Karnataka
4. Rajasthan

Answer (a)

Explanation:

BJD’s electoral successes in Odisha backed by women self-help groups

• When Abanti Das was handpicked as a candidate for the Dhamnagar byelection in Odisha, the biggest qualification the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) attributed to her candidature was her experience in the self-help group (SHG) movement.
• Das is likely the second BJD candidate after Pramilla Bisoi, the septuagenarian Member of Parliament from Ganjam’s Aska constituency, who has emerged in Odisha’s political arena from the BJD’s flagship Mission Shakti programme for women.

Mission Shakti programme:

• Launched as a programme to initiate women into the SHG movement in 2001, Mission Shakti has come a long way to become a separate, full-fledged department.
• The evolution of the women SHG movement is being dubbed a silent revolution, transforming the status of women economically, socially and politically, and more so, at the family-level.
• More than 70 lakh women from Odisha’s rural areas are participating in economic activities through six lakh SHGs.
• Apart from their own entrepreneurial ventures, women SHGs have probably grown into the biggest outsourcing agencies for the State government in recent years. The State Cabinet provides ₹5,000 crore of business to Mission Shakti groups annually.

Q6. Consider the following statements

1. Recently value of rupee vis a vis dollar reached all time low
2. India is only major economy where forex reserve has declined in year 2022

Which of the above statements is/are incorrect?

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

Answer (b)

Explanation: