Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 31-01-2023

Q1. Consider the following statements

1. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has declared 2023 as the International Year of Pulses and Millets

2. Millets are high in protein, dietary fiber, micronutrients and antioxidants

3. Millets are drought-resistant and suitable for semi-arid regions

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a. 1 and 3 only

b. 1 only

c. 2 and 3 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (c)

Explanation:

Tasks for India’s millet revolution:

• The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

• Millets have special nutritive properties (they are high in protein, dietary fiber, micronutrients and antioxidants) and special agronomic characteristics (drought-resistant and suitable for semi-arid regions).

• Two groups of millets are grown in India. Major millets include sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet, while minor millets include foxtail, little millet, kodo, proso, and barnyard millet.

Q2. Which of the following are barriers to millet consumption?

1. Low procurement

2. Declining area under cultivation

3. The low productivity of millets

Select the correct answer from codes given below

a. 1 and 2 only

b. 1 and 3 only

c. 3 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (d)

Explanation:

Barriers to millet consumption:

• Low procurement: In May 2022, central stocks had 33 million tonnes of rice and 31 million tonnes of wheat, but only four lakh tonnes of nutri cereals. This shows very low levels of procurement.

• Declining area under cultivation: The decline in the area under millet cultivation. As the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has pointed out, the area under nutri-cereals has declined steeply in India since the mid-1980s — from 41 million hectares in the 1980s to 24 million hectares in 2017-18.

• The low productivity of millets: Over the last decade, the production of sorghum (jowar) has fallen,the production of pearl millet (bajra) has stagnated,and the production of other millets, including finger millet (ragi), has stagnated or declined. The productivity of jowar and bajra has increased, but only marginally.

• Processing and marketing issues: Further, processing of millets is a time-consuming and laborious task, undertaken by women. Additionally, very little was marketed, and a tiny share of grain was processed into value-added products.

• Changing food habits: A rapid sample study in 2021 showed that persons of all ages ate millet for nine days per month. Fifteen years earlier, a different study showed that 39% of households consumed millets regularly. Availability is one factor here, but so are changing food habits.

Q3. Consider the following statements about Millets

1. Earlier the Nutri cereals were called coarse cereals.

2. Shift in nomenclature was suggested by NK Singh.

3. Maize is considered nutri cereals but not Millet. Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a. 1 and 3 only

b. 1 only

c. 2 and 3 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (a)

Explanation:

Q4. What is the main function of the Finance Commission of India?

a. To advise the government on fiscal policies

b. To regulate the financial sector

c. To distribute tax revenue among states

d. To monitor public expenditure

Answer (c) To distribute tax revenue among states

Explanation: The Finance Commission is a constitutional body set up by the President of India every five years. Its main function is to make recommendations on the distribution of tax revenues between the centre and states and among states themselves.

Centre to roll out process to set up 16th Finance Commission soon:

• The Union government will soon kick off the process to set up the 16th Finance Commission, the Finance Ministry is likely to notify the terms of references for the constitutional body, tasked with recommending the revenue sharing formula between the Centre and the States and their distribution among the States.

• While the Constitution requires a Finance Commission (FC) to be set up every five years, the 15th FC’s mandate was extended by a year till 2025-26, breaking the cycle. In late 2019, the commission was asked to give a standalone report for 2020-21 and another report for an extended five-year period till 2025-26.

The key challenge

A key new challenge for the 16th FC would be the co-existence of another permanent constitutional body, the GST Council, Mr. Singh pointed out, as the Council’s decisions on tax rate changes could alter the revenue calculations made by the Commission for sharing fiscal resources.

Q5. Kalasa and banduri are tributaries of the river

a. Chambal

b. Narmada

c. Mhadei

d. Malaprabha

Answer (c)

Explanation:

Mhadei issue

The Mhadei issue that continues to simmer after the Central Water Commission accorded its approval to Karnataka’s project proposal to divert the west flowing tributaries (Kalasa and Banduri) that make up the Mhadei to the east flowing Malaprabha river