[Mission 2024] QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 21 August 2023 – INSIGHTSIAS

Correct

Solution: b)

 

The 1962 judgment in Kedar Nath versus State of Bihar delivered by a Bench of five judges of the Supreme Court had upheld Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code while restricting its applicability to “activities involving incitement to violence or intention or tendency to create public disorder or cause disturbance of public peace”.

Correct

Solution: d)

 

Recently the Union Home Minister tabled three bills in the Lok Sabha – the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill – which would replace the colonial era Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act respectively.

 

The IPC was first enacted in 1860, the CrPC in 1882 and the Evidence Act in 1872.

 

The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 under the chairmanship of Thomas Babington Macaulay. It came into force in India during the British rule in 1862. However, it did not apply automatically in the Princely states, which had their own courts and legal systems until the 1940s. The code has since been amended several times and is now supplemented by other criminal provisions.

 

Source

Correct

Solution: b)

 

Statement 2 is incorrect.

 

Recently the Prime Minister launched ‘Urea Gold’ fertiliser. Developed by the state-owned Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (RCF), it is basically urea fortified with sulphur.

 

Normal urea contains 46% of a single plant nutrient: Nitrogen or N. Urea Gold has 37% N plus 17% sulphur or S and aims at two things. The first is to deliver S along with N. Indian soils are deficient in S, which oilseeds and pulses – the country is significantly import-dependent in both – particularly require.

 

The second is to improve the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of urea. Coating of S over urea ensures a more gradual release of N. By prolonging the urea action, the plants stay greener for a longer time. Farmers tend to apply urea when they notice the leaves turning yellowish. If the crop retains greenness for an extended period, they would reduce the frequency of application and use, say, only two bags, as against three, for an acre of paddy or wheat.

 

Urea is India’s most widely used fertiliser, with its consumption/sales rising between 2009-10 and 2022-23.

 

Source

Correct

Solution: b)

 

Statement 3 is incorrect.

 

The Aditya-L1 will observe the Sun from a close distance, and try to obtain information about its atmosphere and magnetic field. It’s equipped with seven payloads (instruments) on board to study the Sun’s corona, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.

 

Source

Correct

Solution: c)

 

A currency swap is a transaction in which two parties exchange an equivalent amount of money with each other but in different currencies. The parties are essentially loaning each other money and will repay the amounts at a specified date and exchange rate. The purpose could be to hedge exposure to exchange-rate risk, to speculate on the direction of a currency, or to reduce the cost of borrowing in a foreign currency.

 

Currency swap agreements between countries help in reducing its reliance on the International Monetary Fund.