Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Indian Railways launched a Special Drive with a Code Name - Operation “Number Plate” to identify and verify all vehicles parked in Railway premises, circulating area, parkings and even in the ‘No Parking’ areas for longer duration.
• This was conducted as a special drive from 9th August to 11th August at 466 Railway Stations all over Indian Railways in view of forthcoming celebrations of Independence Day on 15th August 2019.
• Significance: Curbing down such illegal vehicles is necessary as the unidentified vehicles are considered as a serious threat to security and safety of passengers as well as to the nation.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• On 14^th August, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state administration announced a three day Global Investor’s Summit to be held in Srinagar from October 12, 2019.
• The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) will be the national partner for the investors meet.

Significance:

• The meet will provide Jammu and Kashmir with an opportunity to showcase its strengths, strategies and potential and would help to reduce fears of the business community outside the proposed Union Territory.
• It will also provide immense opportunities to develop contacts between the state and business community and between local and outside business communities, aiding in the economic development of the region.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• On 10^th August, 2019, the Centre started the inter-state portability of ration cards with two clusters of states-Telangana-Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra-Gujarat, which is the beginning of major plan to roll out ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ by June 2020.
• This means beneficiaries living in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh can buy their quota of ration from the Public Distribution System (PDS), also called ration shops, in either of the State. Similar would be the case in Maharasthra and Gujarat.
• The beneficiaries will be able to get the entitled food grain and can even have the option to buy certain portion of the entitled quantity. This is expected to be a huge help to migrant labourers.
• Meanwhile, seven States, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tripura, at present are testing intra-portability of ration cards, which means beneficiaries can lift their quota of ration from any PDS located within a State.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

Statement 1: Anti Hijacking Act 2016 replaced the Anti Hijacking Act, 1982. The given statement is correct.

Statement 2:  It gives effect both to The Hague Convention of 1971 and the Beijing Protocol of 2010. So the given statement is incorrect.

Statement 3: Death penalty, life sentence for hoax calls, and a wider definition for aircraft “in service” are the new introductions. So, the given statement is correct.

Statement 4: On 16th June, 2019, the National Investigation Agency Special(NIA) Court, Ahmedabad pronounced its judgment in the Jet Hijacking Case, making the accused Birju Kishor Salla the first convict under the Anti-Hijacking Act of 2016.So, the given Statement is incorrect.

Explanation :

• The Polavaram Project, is an under construction multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in the West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh.
• The project has been accorded national project status by the Union Government of India.
• On completion it will irrigate nearly 3 lakh ha of land in Andhra Pradesh, generate hydel power with an installed capacity of 960 MW and provide drinking water facilities to 540 enroute villages covering 25 lakh populations in Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh.

Explanation :

• On 13^th July, 2019, Meghalaya became the first state to approve a draft water policy to address water issues, conservation, and protection of water sources in the state.
• The policy intends to achieve sustainable development, management and use of water resources with community participation.
• A Water Sanitation Village Council at village level will be constituted to tackle the issues related to utilization of water and livelihood and how to preserve water bodies in the state.

Explanation :

• To check the menace of unauthorized PDW in Railway premises, an all India drive named “Operation Thirst” was launched on 08th & 09th July 2019 on the order of DG/RPF, Railway Board, New Delhi. Nearly all major stations over Indian Railway were included in this operation.
• Under this, more than 1,371 people were arrested and over 69,294 bottles were seized by RPF. The bottles were seized under Section 144 and section 153 of Indian Railway Act.

Explanation :

• Electoral bonds are not similar to corporate bonds as corporate bonds carry interests and electoral bond don’t.
• Electoral bonds can be purchased through digital transactions/cheque only.
• The bonds will be issued in multiples of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore and will be available at specified branches of State Bank of India.