Prelims Objective Practice Questions

1) With reference to Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), consider the following statements:
1. It is an aggregator application and a hosting platform for all existing digital commerce
applications.
2. ONDC was incubated by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
(DPIIT) at the Quality Council of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A) 1 only
B) 2 only
C) Both 1 and 2
D) Neither 1 nor 2

2) With reference to Keibul Lamjao National Park, consider the following statements:
1.It is the only floating National Park in the world.
2.This is the last natural habitat of the brow-antlered deer (Sangai) the dancing deer of
Manipur.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A) 1 only
B) 2 only
C) Both 1 and 2
D)Neither 1 nor 2

3) Surya Nutan which was seen in news recently, is related to which of the following statements?
A) It is a new solar rechargeable smart watch.
B) It is a new type of solar winds identified by Indian scientists.
C) It is a stationary, rechargeable indoor solar cooking system.
D) It is a new prototype solar vehicle that can run 200 kms.

Prelims Specific Facts
1). U.S. Supreme Court overturns abortion right

• The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of a strict Mississippi abortion law, in the process overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that has been the basis for legal abortions across America for nearly half a century.
• What did the Court Say – The conservative-dominated court overturned the landmark 1973 “Roe v Wade” decision that enshrined a woman’s right to an abortion, saying that individual states can now permit or restrict the procedure themselves.
• “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives,” the court said.
• What will the Women do :- Women living in states with strict anti-abortion laws will either have to continue with their pregnancy, undergo a clandestine abortion or obtain abortion pills, or travel to another state where the procedure remains legal.
• This ruling turns women into a second class citizen in country like America.

2)Invasive weed, 17 Plants stifling Kaziranga

• A Vitamin D3– rich weed and a shrub with roots that wild boars love to gorge on are among the 18 invasive plants stifling the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, the best known address of the greater one-horned rhinoceros on the Earth.
• Kaziranga has had to deal with encroachment, poaching, and annual floods for decades, But none of these has been as damaging to the health of the 1,3003-sq. km tiger reserve as the green invaders that have gone under the radar until now.
• Parthenium (Parthenium hysterophorus) is believed to have come to India as contaminants in a consignment of wheat imported from the U.S. in the 1950s while lantana (Lantana camara) was brought by the British as ornamental plants form South America two centuries ago.
  
• “The NCTA has undertaken the management of the invasive plants in other tiger reserves but this is the first time that such species have been identified with threat estimation.
  
  Many like the Bombax ceiba and Lagerstroemia speciosa, trees locally called ‘semul’ and ‘ejhar’, need immediate attention to save the grasslands vital for the survival of the rhino and other herbivores”.
• Invasive plants are fast clogging paths and grasslands.
• Some weeds have herbal properties, but their toxicity outweighs their utility. For instance, wild boars love to gorge on the succulent rootlets of the Leea macrophylla or ‘kukura thengia’ that is fast clogging the patrolling paths and grasslands.
• Another one is the Cestrum diurnum or day-blooming jasmine of West Indies origin “coming up gregariously” on the Brahmaputra sandbars. The plant is other wise a source of Vitamin D3.

3). Parmeswaran Iyer will be new NITI Aayog CEO

V.Parameswaran Iyer, a senior officials who helmed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet scheme, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, will he new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NITI Aayog. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet cleared his name for the post.

4). NCPCR drafts norms for child actors

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, has issued draft guidelines for the employment of children in the entertainment industry which require producers to obtain permission form the District Magistrate, ensure a safe environment as well as provide private tutors for child artistes required to skip school for shoots.

• What is NCPCR – The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is an Indian statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. The Commission works under the aegis of Ministry of Women and Child Development, GoI. The Commission became operational on 5 March, 2007.

5). J&K to host G-20 meeting

• According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India will hold the G-20 presidency from December 1, 2022, and convene the first G20 leaders’ summit in 2023. India’s representation at G20 summits has been led by Prime Minister Modi since 2014.
• The G20 countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom.

6). Gadkari approves draft car-safety scheme

• Cars in India to get ‘Star Ratings’ based on crash tests under Bharat NCAP :- It is a new car assessment program for India called Bharat NCAP, wherein automobiles in India will be accorded ‘Star Ratings’ based upon their performance in crash tests.
• Bharat NCAP will serve as a consumer-centric platform allowing customers to opt for safer cars based upon their star-ratings, while promoting a healthy competition among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)in India to manufacture safer vehicles.

7). RBI extends date for card tokenisation

What has happened :- RBI is now prohibiting merchants from storing debit and credit card details on their servers post June 30, 2022. As a safer and more convenient alternative to card storage, RBI has mandated the adoption of tokenization through which one’s sensitive card information can be replaced with a non-sensitive uniquely generated code called ‘Token’.

What is Card Tokenization :- As a textbook definition, tokenization implies the substitution of existing card details with a unique code known as a token. The implementation of the tokenisation request is then carried out through the Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) by the cardholder. This algorithmically generated token protects sensitive information and prevents card frauds as it allows you to make payments without exposing your bank details.
Currently, card tokenization is not mandatory and customers who don’t tokenize their cards have to enter their card details manually every time they have to make a transaction from July 1, 2022.

Editorial of the Day

“App Solute” choas in NREGA

• App to Monitor MGNREGA Work -In May 2021, the Ministry of Rural Develop-ment (MoRD) launched the National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) app, a new application  meant  for “improving citizen oversight and increasing transparency” in National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) works. It is to be deployed by NREGA Mates, local women at the  panchayat level who are selected and trained to monitor NREGA worksites. 
  
  The main feature of the app is the real time, photographed, geotagged attendance of  every worker to be taken once in each half of the day. We spoke to Mates, NREGA workers, and activists across multiple States to under-stand their experience of the app.

• What is the Major Issue with this – While such an app may be useful in monitor-ing the attendance of workers who have fixed work timings, in most States, NREGA
  wages are calculated based on the amount of work done each day, and workers do 
  not need to commit to fixed hours. This flexibility has been key to NREGA’s 
  widespread demand. However, marking attendance on the app mandates that 
  workers are at the work site the entire day. This causes significant difficulty for
  NREGA workers.
• Due to the traditional burden of household chores and care work on women, the 
  app is likely to disproportionately affect women workers.
• There are challenges of implementation with the NMMS as well. As proper network
  is a must  for real time monitoring; unfortunately, it remains patchy in much of rural India.
• Further, a recent NewsClick report has also highlighted the problems faced by
  differently abled NREGA workers from Tamil Nadu in marking their attendance on the app.
• To be a MGNREGA Mate, one needs to have a smartphone. 
  This new condition disqualifies thousands of women who do not own smartphones from becoming Mates.
• Many selected Mates also reported that they had not been given proper training
  in using the app. This could lead to errors in recording workers’ attendance, that
  ultimately results in delayed or non payments.
• The app had been launched on a pilot basis last year, with States using it voluntarily. Officials and activists confirmed these implementation errors had been evident throughout the pilot process.
• One Green Point in this :-
  Corruption has been a rising problem in NREGA, with funds being siphoned off by 
  faking attendance records. While ostensibly the NMMS’s focus on real time, geo-tagged attendance could be one way of addressing this corruption.

Way Forward :- Instead of focusing on this app or introducing other complex 
technological reforms, we strongly believe social audits must be strengthened. 
Social audits are citizen centric institutions, where the citizens of the panchayat have a direct role and say in how  NREGA functions in their panchayat. Audits have work-ed well in the past, allowing the local rights holders to be invested in decisions, and hold the administration accountable themselves.