Daily Current Affairs for UPSC

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC 2023

Q) Recently seen in news, the ‘MQ-9 Reapers’ are best related to which one of the following?

Nuclear reactors
Anti-tank missiles
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Intercontinental Ballistic missile

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 15 June April 2023

Explanation:

Option (1) is correct: The Defence Acquisition Council has approved the acquisition of 31 armed MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from USA. Out of the 31 procured UAVs, 15 are meant for the Navy and eight each for the Army and Air Force. The total cost of the deal is estimated at more than $3 billion. Also known as Predator B, MQ-9 Reaper was primarily developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) for the United States Air Force (USAF). MQ-9 Reaper was designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance, and controlled through ground-based humans. The aircraft is powered by a 950-horsepowerturboprop engine, with a maximum speed of 300 mph and a cruising speed of 170–200 mph. It can carry a variety of weaponry, including Hellfire missiles and 230 kg laser-guided bomb units. It has maximum endurance of 30 hours during survey missions and 23 hours for offensive mission.

Q) Consider the following statements about Human Development Index (HDI):

HDI includes both life expectancy at birth and GDP per capita.
The HDI does not capture regional disparities within a country.
The HDI is calculated as the geometric mean of its dimensions.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

Only one
Only two
All three
None

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect but statement 3 is correct: Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical tool used to measure and compare the average achievements in human development across different countries. It was created by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and was first published in 1990. The HDI is then calculated as the geometric mean (equally-weighted) of life expectancy, education, and GNI per capita.
Statement 2 is correct: The HDI combines these three dimensions into a single composite index, which ranges from 0 to 1. A higher HDI value indicates a higher level of human development. HDI does not consider other important aspects of development, such as income inequality, gender disparities, political freedoms, and environmental sustainability etc. The HDI provides a national-level overview but may not capture regional or sub-national disparities within a country.

Q) With reference to Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), consider the following statements:

China and Russia are the largest shareholders of the AIIB.
The AIIB funds energy and transport projects in India.
At present, all the G20 members are also members of the AIIB.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

Only one
Only two
All three
None

Explanation:

Statements 1 and 3 are incorrect: The idea of a China-led multilateral financial institution was first floated at Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Indonesia in 2013. The main intention of setting up such an institution was to counter Western dominance of lending funds such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Operations of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) began in January 2016. AIIB started with an initial capital of US$100 billion, equivalent to 2⁄3 of the capital of the Asian Development Bank and about half that of the World Bank. The AIIB had 57 founding members, with large number of western countries joining the institution. It currently has 106 members. Currently, 16 of the G20 members are AIIB members or prospective ones. China is the largest shareholder with 27% voting rights, followed by India at 8%. Russia is the 3rd largest shareholder. Germany, South Korea, Australia, France, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and Turkey are next in the list.
Statement 2 is correct: AIIB provides funding to build dams, ports and other vital infrastructure around the region. The AIIB has funded 28 projects in India worth $6.7 billion in total. These projects spread across sectors like energy, transport, water and others. AIIB has signed a $455 million loan agreement with India to finance Andhra Pradesh Rural Roads Project.

Q) Consider the following statements about India Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme (IIPDF):

IIPDF is a centrally sponsored scheme that provides support to project-sponsoring authorities in state governments.
The projects under the public-private partnership mode are also implemented under this scheme.
IIPDF is implemented by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

How many of the statements given above is/are not correct?

Only one
Only two
All three
None

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect but statement 2 is correct: India Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme is a central sector scheme that provides support to project sponsoring authorities (PSAs) in both Central and State Governments, by extending financial assistance in meeting the cost of transaction advisors and consultants involved in the development of public-private partnership (PPP) projects. This will ensure that the quality of PPP projects is of high value, thus achieving the vision of modern infrastructure for the country. The scheme encourages PSAs to bring private capital and efficiency in execution and operation of infrastructure projects under PPP model.
Statement 3 is incorrect: The Infrastructure Finance Secretariat (IFS), which comes under Ministry of Finance, has launched the IIPDF portal for implementing IIPDF scheme. The portal will also bring together government entities, private companies, investors and entrepreneurs ensuring collaboration and innovation for sustainable growth. The corpus of the IIPDF shall include initial budgetary outlay of Rs. 100 Crore by the Ministry of Finance. IIPDF Scheme is an addition to the already existing Scheme for Financial Support to PPPs in Infrastructure (VGF Scheme).

Q) With reference to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), consider the following statements:

One of the requirements for identifying PVTGs is having technology at the pre-agricultural level.
The state of Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of PVTGs in India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct but statement 2 is incorrect: Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) are more vulnerable among the tribal groups in India. Government of India follows the following criteria for identification of PVTGs:
Pre-agricultural level of technology.
Low level of literacy.
Economic backwardness.
A declining or stagnant population.

The categorization of PVTGs is done by the Ministry of Home Affairs and not by the Ministry of Tribal affairs. In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Among the 75 listed PVTG’s the highest number are found in Odisha.