12 September 2024

Q – Under which of the following ministries does the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) fall?

1. Department of Finance
2. Corporate Affairs Ministry
3. Office of Foreign Affairs
4. Electronics and Information Technology Ministry

B – Explanation

• The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has administrative supervision over IEPFA.
• In accordance with the provisions of Section 125 of the Companies Act of 2013, the Government of India established the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority on September 7, 2016, to manage the Investor Education and Protection Fund.
• The Authority is tasked with managing the Investor Education Protection Fund (IEPF), issuing investor refunds for shares, unclaimed dividends, matured deposits/debentures, etc., and raising investor awareness.
• Refunds for unclaimed dividends, matured deposits, matured debentures, application money due for refund, and interest on those amounts are all to be paid out of the IEPF.
• Promotion of investor protection, education, and awareness
• Any disgorged funds will be distributed, in line with the court’s orders, to eligible and identifiable depositors who have lost money as a result of someone else’s wrongdoing, applicants for shares or debentures, stockholders, and holders of such securities.
• reimbursement of legal costs paid by members, holders of debentures, or depositors in bringing class action lawsuits under sections 37 and 245 as may be permitted by the Tribunal.

Q – Which of the following nations and India are participating in Exercise Gurda?

1. Indonesia
2. France
3. Germany
4. Vietnam

B – Explanation

• At Air Force Station Jodhpur, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the French Air and Space Force (FASF) are taking part in the bilateral exercise “Garuda VIl” from October 26 to November 12, 2022.
• Four Rafale fighter aircraft, one A-330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), and 220 people will all take part in this exercise for FASF.
• Su-30 MKI, Rafale, LCA Tejas, Jaguar, Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), and Mi-17 helicopters from the IAF are taking part in the exercise.
• Combat enabling assets including AWACS, AEW&C, and flight refuelling aircraft will also be part of the IAF contingent.
• This collaborative exercise will give both nations a platform to improve operational capacity and interoperability while also exchanging best practises.
• The bilateral exercise is currently in its seventh edition. At the Air Force Stations at Gwalior, Kalaikunda, and Jodhpur, respectively, the first, third, and fifth editions were held in India in 2003, 2006, and 2014, respectively. In France, the second, fourth, and sixth editions took place in 2005, 2010, and 2019.

Q – Bollgard II Roundup Ready Flex (BG-2 RRF), which has recently been featured in the headlines, is a:

Genetically modified crop

Supercomputers

Black hole for dark matter

Quantum Particle

A – Explanation

• A BT cotton type that is both insect and herbicide resistant is called Bollgard II Roundup Ready Flex (BG-2 RRF).
• Along with continuing to protect against insects, BGII RRF also provide protection against weeds like American Bollworm.
• India has already approved the commercial use of BG-1 and BG-2 GM cotton, however the BG-2 RRF has been in various phases of approval.
• The first two of the three alien genes in the transgenic cotton, known as Bollgard II Roundup Ready Flex (BG-II RRF), were found to be isolated from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt and code for proteins toxic to the American bollworm, spotted bollworm, and tobacco caterpillar insect pests.
• The third gene, “cp4-epsps,” originates from Agrobacterium tumafaciens, a different soil bacterium.
• Because of its inclusion in cotton, the plant is “tolerant” to glyphosate. Since the pesticide does not distinguish between crops and weeds, it cannot be used on regular cotton.

Q – Which of the following is covered by Section 45ZN of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act, 1934?

1. Failure to keep inflation within the target
2. Publication of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting minutes as the Monetary Policy Report.
3. Members of the Monetary Policy Committee are dismissed under this section
4. Members of the Monetary Policy Committee are appointed under this section

A – Explanation

• Failure to maintain the inflation objective under Section 45ZN
• When the Bank misses the inflation target, it must provide the Central Government with a report outlining the reasons why, the corrective actions the Bank proposes to take, and an estimation of when the inflation target will be reached following prompt implementation of the suggested corrective actions.
• Within three months of the start date of Part I of Chapter XII of the Finance Act of 2016, the Central Government shall notify the Official Gazette of the factors that may be notified as failure for the purposes of this section.

Q – Take into account the following statements from the Global TB Report, 2022:

1. Every year, the World Health Organization publishes it.
2. India has had a fall of 18%, which is 7 points higher than the global average of 11%.

Which of the aforementioned statements is true?

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

C – Explanation

• Both of the claims are true.
• The World Health Organization publishes the Global TB report each year to give a thorough evaluation of the tuberculosis epidemic and the advancement of nations in preventing, detecting, and treating the disease at the international, regional, and national levels.
• The study is mostly based on information obtained from national health ministries by the World Health Organization.

Findings of the Global TB Report 2022:

• In 2021, more than 10.6 million people contracted TB. When compared to 2020 figures, this is a 4.5% increase.
• Six million individuals have died from TB. 187,000 of them are HIV sufferers.
• Between 2020 and 2021, the prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) increased by 3%. The number of new cases of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) last year was 450 000.
• In actuality, over time, India has outperformed other nations by a wide margin on key criteria. The incidence of tuberculosis in India has decreased by 18% from the baseline year of 2015 (when it was 256 per lakh of the population), which is 7 percentage points better than the 11% global average. The incidence is projected to be 210 per 100,000 people in 2021.
• Additionally, according to this data, India is ranked 36th in the world for incidence rates (from largest to smallest incidence numbers).