Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 25-11-2022

Q1. Which of the following factors make the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) relevant to India?

1. The Bay of Bengal is central to the idea of Indo-pacific both in terms of security and economy
2. Connects South Asia with Southeast Asia
3. Crucial for India’s “Act East” and “Neighbourhood First” policies
4. Alternative to nearly failed SAARC
5. The resource-rich region needs connectivity to utilise its economic potential to the fullest

Select the correct answer from the codes given below

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

Answer (d)

Explanation:

India must assuage apprehensions of power imbalances among members of the BIMSTEC

Highlights:

1. The adoption of the Charter at the Fifth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit promises to re-energise the 25-year-old grouping at a time of growing global uncertainties.
2. The Charter is expected to help impart a more connected vision to the seven-member organisation.

The Charter, and India’s decision to lead the ‘security pillar’ out of the seven designated pillars of the revived BIMSTEC, has given

India’s regional aspirations a new orientation, away from the stalemated SAARC that has been unable to meet since November 2014.

Significance of grouping:

1. The Bay of Bengal is central to the idea of Indo-pacific both in terms of security and economy
2. Connects South Asia with Southeast Asia
3. Crucial for India’s “Act East” and “Neighbourhood First” policies
4. Alternative to nearly failed SAARC
5. The resource-rich region needs connectivity to utilise its economic potential to the fullest

Utility of BIMSTEC for its members:

1. Bangladesh views BIMSTEC as a platform to strengthen its much- needed economic development while Sri Lanka intends to fulfil its aspirations to emerge as a major transhipment hub for the wider Indo-Pacific region.
2. For the two landlocked Himalayan member states, Nepal and Bhutan, BIMSTEC is an opportunity to get access to the Bay of Bengal.
3. For Myanmar and Thailand, connecting more closely with India across the Bay is an opportunity not only to get access to India’s escalating consumer market but also, to address overdependence on China.
4. For India, BIMSTEC may be helpful in achieving two major goals of national development as well as fulfilling its strategic aspiration to cater to the wider concept of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ and an Indian Ocean
5. It is a natural platform to fulfil India’s key foreign policy priorities of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East.’

Q2. Consider the following statements about Indian presence in Polar areas

1. India has permanent stations in Antarctica, Maitri and Bharati
2. The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) is an important R&D institution for polar research under the Ministry of Earth Sciences

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:

NCPOR

The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) is an important R&D institution under the Ministry of Earth Sciences:

1. It conducts research in the Polar and Antarctic Ocean (Southern or Austral Ocean) realms.
2. It was previously known as the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR).
3. It was established as an autonomous R&D body in It is located in Goa.
4. It is the nodal agency for coordinating and implementing India’s Antarctic program.
5. It also maintains India’s permanent stations in Antarctica, Maitri and Bharati, and also the research base in the Arctic, Himadri.

Centre introduces Antarctica Bill

1. The government introduced the ‘Antarctica Bill’ in the Lok Sabha that envisages regulating visits and activities to Antarctica as well potential disputes that may arise among those present on the The Bill also prescribes penal provisions for certain serious violations.
2. The text of the Bill says that it seeks to “... prohibit Indian expedition to Antarctica or carrying of certain activities in Antarctica without a permit or the written authorisation of another party to the protocol…provide for inspection in India by an officer designated by the Central government as an Inspector and to constitute an inspection team to carry out inspections in Antarctica. ”
3. India had been a signatory to the Antarctica Treaty since 1983 and that encumbered India to specify a set of laws governing portions of the continent where it had its research bases
4. Antarctica is no man’s land... It isn’t that India is making a law for a territory that doesn’t belong to it… the question is if in the territory involving India’s research stations, some unlawful activity happens, how to check it? The Treaty made it mandatory for the 54 signatory countries to specific laws governing territories on which their stations are located,” said the government.

Antarctic treaty:

1. India is also a signatory to treaties such as the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and the Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, both of which enjoin India to help preserve the pristine nature of the continent.
2. Not only was India obliged to have such obligations but it would also clearly establish that any illegal act or “crime” in Indian territory in Antarctica would mean that a person — even if they were a foreigner — would be subject to Indian laws.

Q3. The case Hrishikesh Sahoo vs State of Karnataka is linked to

1. Marital rape
2. Right to Marriage
3. LGBTQ rights to family
4. Temple entry of Woman

Answer (a)

Explanation:

Hrishikesh Sahoo vs State of Karnataka:

1. The Karnataka High Court in the case of Hrishikesh Sahoo vs the State of Karnataka, pronounced the end of the marital rape exception.
2. In a nuanced and far-reaching judgment, Justice Nagaprasanna refused to quash the charge of rape against the husband. He held that if a man, being a husband is exempted for his acts of sexual assault, it would destroy women’s right to equality, which is the very soul of the Constitution.
3. He held that the Constitution recognises and grants equal status to women, but the exception to marital rape in the IPC amounts to discrimination because a wife is treated as subordinate to the husband.
4. The Constitution considers marriage as an association of equals and does not in any sense depict women to be subordinate to men and guarantees women the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 the right to live with dignity, personal liberty, bodily integrity, sexual autonomy, right to reproductive choices, right to privacy, right to freedom of speech and expression.

Earlier judgments:

In Independent Thought vs Union of India (2017), the Supreme Court of India diluted it and removed the exception to marital rape to a wife, not below 15 years and made it 18 years.

Roots of the principle:

1. The exception to marital rape in common law was due to the dictum by Chief Justice Matthew Hale of Britain in 1736 where he stated: “But the husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract.”
2. The concept that by marriage, a woman gave up her body to the husband was accepted as an enduring principle of common law, due to which a husband could not be guilty of raping his wife. This was therefore translated into criminal codes, including the Indian Penal Code which India adopted.
3. This principle has now been completely In the United Kingdom, in 1991, the exception to marital rape was done away with, in the case of R. vs R.
4. The House of Lords held that where the common law rule no longer even remotely represents what is the true position of a wife in present-day society, the duty of the court is to take steps to alter the rule.
5. The court held that a husband’s immunity as expounded by Chief Justice Matthew Hale no longer exists and took the view that the time had arrived when the law should declare that a rapist remains a rapist subject to the criminal law, irrespective of his relationship with his victim.
6. It held that it was the duty of the court to remove a common-law fiction that had become anachronistic and offensive and that there was no justification for the marital exemption in rape.

That was in 1991, more than 30 years ago in the U.K. The Karnataka High Court took a similar view of its duties as a constitutional court in the present case and held that the exception to marital rape in Section 375 is regressive, wherein a woman is treated as a subordinate to the husband and against the constitutional guarantee of equality. Our courts have now truly pronounced the death knell of the marital rape exception.

Q4. Recently seen in news Pango network is

1. A network for conservation of Pangolins of India
2. Global spyware network
3. Ransomware that regularly attacked power infrastructure in Maharashtra in India
4. A system for identifying SARS-CoV-2 genetic lineages of epidemiological relevance

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Pango network:

1. The Pango dynamic nomenclature is a system for identifying SARS- CoV-2 genetic lineages of epidemiological It was first proposed in early April 2020 and a scientific paper describing the system was published in July 2020.
2. The Pango nomenclature is being used by researchers and public health agencies worldwide to track the transmission and spread of SARS-CoV-2, including variants of concern. You may have come across Pango lineage names such as 1.1.7 and P.1 in the news.
3. Researchers at the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh had formalised the Pango Network, an international team of experts to oversee the identification and naming of different lineages of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
4. The Pango Network is a resource for scientists, public health specialists, journalists, and other stakeholders worldwide who need to communicate clearly about the different genetic types and variants of SARS-CoV-2.

Process and significance:

1. The lineages and their names are decided by a small team in two committees, made up of experts from around the world who analyse virus genomic information and make a judgement about whether a new lineage is warranted.
2. Pango was inspired by the influenza virus naming system which is an established system that informs vaccination plans and public health The Pango nomenclature limits lineage names to a maximum of four levels of ancestry, to ensure lineage names don’t get too long.
3. Most scientists studying the pandemic believe that we will not be able to completely eliminate COVID-19 and that vaccines will be key to the long-term management of the virus.
4. The Pango nomenclature has been created with this future in mind and provides a consistent system for tracking various SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks across the world.
5. By using Pango to categorise different lineages, professionals can better understand virus transmission and spread and make informed decisions about public health responses.

Q5. Consider the following statements about the Mauryan pillars

1. The Mauryan pillars were constructed in pieces by a mason
2. The Mauryan pillar capital found at Sarnath is our National Emblem.

Which of the above is/are correct?

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

Answer (b)

Explanation:

• The tradition of constructing pillars is ancient, and it may be observed that the erection of pillars was prevalent in the Achaemenid empire as But the Mauryan pillars are different from the Achaemenian pillars. The Mauryan pillars are rock-cut pillars, thus displaying the carver’s skills, whereas the Achaemenian pillars are constructed in pieces by a mason. Hence, statement 1 is wrong.
• Stone pillars were erected by Ashoka, which have been found in the North Indian part of the Mauryan Empire with inscriptions engraved on them. The top portion of the pillar was carved with capital figures like the bull, the lion, the elephant etc. All the capital figures are vigorous and carved standing on a square or circular Abacuses are decorated with stylised lotuses. Some of the existing pillars with capital figures were found at Basarah-Bakhira, Lauriya Nandangarh and Rampurva in Bihar, Sankisa and Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh.

• The Mauryan pillar capital found at Sarnath popularly known as the Lion Capital is the finest example of Mauryan sculptural tradition. It is also our national emblem.