UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 21st September 2021

Solution (a)

The National Trust is a statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, set up under the “National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities” Act.

The National Trust works towards providing opportunities for capacity development of Persons with Disability and their families, fulfilling their rights, facilitating and promoting the creation of an enabling environment and an inclusive society.

The National Trust’s mission, or fundamental purpose, is to create an enabling environment, i.e. providing opportunities for Persons with Disabilities through comprehensive support systems which can also be done by collaborating with other Ministries, etc., which will lead towards development of an inclusive society.

The objectives of the National Trust in particular are:

• To enable and empower persons with disability to live as independently and as fully as possible within and as close to their community as possible;
• To facilitate the realisation of equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation of persons with disability;
• To extend support to its registered organisations to provide need based services; and
• To evolve procedures for appointments of guardians and trustees for persons with disabilities.

Article Link: Ministry of social justice organises meeting with officials of J-K, Ladakh for implementation of National Trust Act

Solution (d)

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) is a scheme launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on April 8, 2015 for providing loans up to 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises. 

These loans are classified as MUDRA loans under PMMY. These loans are given by Commercial Banks, RRBs, Small Finance Banks, MFIs and NBFCs.

Under the aegis of Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY), MUDRA has created three products i.e. ‘Shishu’, ‘Kishore’ and ‘Tarun’ as per the stage of growth and funding needs of the beneficiary micro unit. These schemes cover loan amounts as below:

• Shishu: covering loans up to ₹50,000
• Kishore: covering loans above ₹50,000 and up to ₹5,00,000
• Tarun: covering loans above ₹5,00,000 and up to ₹10,00,000

 All Non-Corporate Small Business Segment (NCSBS) comprising of proprietorship or partnership firms running as small manufacturing units, service sector units, shopkeepers, fruits/vegetable vendors, truck operators, food-service units, repair shops, machine operators, small industries, food processors and others in rural and urban areas, are eligible for assistance under Mudra.

Article Link: KVIC launches series of schemes to empower artisans in Varanasi

Solution (d)

Sea cucumbers are marine invertebrates that live on the seafloor found generally in tropical regions. They’re named for their unusual oblong shape that resembles a fat cucumber.

They are an integral part of the coral ecosystem as one of the main by-products of the sea cucumbers digestion of sand is calcium carbonate and this is essential for the survival of the coral reefs. They act like garbage collectors of the ocean world, and they recycle nutrients, thus playing an important role in keeping coral reefs in good condition.

The Dr KK Mohammed Koya Sea Cucumber Conservation Reserve is the first sea cucumber conservation area in the world. It is located in the Cheriyapani Reef in the Indian Union Territory of Lakshadweep. It was formed in 2020. It covers an area of 239 km2.

In India, the sea cucumber is protected under the Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, according to which the sea cucumbers cannot be transported for commercial use. In 2002, the Environmental ministry of India banned the commercial harvesting of sea cucumbers.

Article Link: Coast guard seizes 2000 kg sea cucumber

Solution (c)

Mura-Drava-Danube (MDD) was recently declared as the world’s first ‘five-country biosphere reserve’ by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The biosphere reserve covers 700 kilometres of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers and stretches across Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia.

The total area of the reserve is a million hectares – in the so-called ‘Amazon of Europe’, which is now the largest riverine protected area in Europe.

The biosphere “represented an important contribution to the European Green Deal (climate action plan) and contributed to the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy in the Mura-Drava-Danube region.”

Article Link: UNESCO declares world’s first 5-country biosphere reserve in ‘Amazon of Europe’

Solution (a)

The G33 (or the Friends of Special Products in agriculture) is a coalition of developing countries. 

It was established prior to the 2003 Cancun ministerial conference, that have coordinated during the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations, specifically in regard to agriculture.

The group has “defensive” concerns regarding agriculture in relation to World Trade Organization negotiations, and seeks to limit the degree of market opening required of developing countries.

Developing countries aim to balance power through tariffs, in order to manage their own food security, stabilize of the livelihoods of their farming populations, and strengthen rural development.

The group has advocated the creation of a “special products” exemption, which would allow developing countries to exempt certain products from tariff reductions, and also a “special safeguard mechanism” which would permit tariff increases in response to import surges.

The group currently has 48 member nations including India.

Article Link: India finally accepts G-33 proposal on MSP doles