[Mission 2022] Insta– QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 23 February 2022 – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: b)

The India-China LAC engagement is guided by a series of bilateral agreements that the two sides have signed over the years. 

1993 agreement between India and China provides that neither side shall use or threaten to use force against the other by any means. It further enunciates that the India-China boundary question shall be resolved through peaceful and friendly consultations. Likewise, Article I of the 1996 agreement on confidence-building measures between the two sides prohibits the use of military capability against the other side. 

States being forbidden from using force in international relations is a cardinal rule of international law codified in Article 2(4) of the United Nations (UN) Charter. The UN Charter recognises two exceptions to this rule — self-defence under Article 51 and UN Security Council authorisation under Chapter VII of the Charter.

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Solution: a)

• A CBDC is no different from the cash that we hold in our wallets, except that it exists in a digital form.
• The CBDC will be held in a digital wallet that is supervised by the Central bank. In India, it will be the RBI that supervises the digital rupee although it may delegate some power to banks.
• However, it does seem probable that the RBI will take steps to encourage the use of its digital currency over physical cash.
• It should be noted that the RBI’s digital rupee will not directly replace demand deposits held in banks.
• Physical cash will continue to be used by banks, and people who wish to withdraw cash from banks can still do so. But they can also opt to convert their bank deposits into the new digital rupee.

In October 2020, the Bahamas launched the world’s first CBDC.

Solution: c)

International Mother Language Day is observed every year on February 21 to honour those in Bangladesh who sacrificed their lives to protect their mother tongue, Bangla, against the then rulers of West Pakistan and to honour the ethno-linguistic rights of individuals across the world.

The UN proclaimed the period between 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, “to draw global attention to the critical status of many indigenous languages around the world and to mobilize stakeholders and resources for their preservation, revitalization, and promotion.

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Solution: c)

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) expanded the scope of the Advisory Board for Banking and Financial Frauds (ABBFF), which would now examine bank frauds of Rs 3 crore and above and recommend action. Till now, the ABBFF was only looking into banking and financial frauds of Rs 50 crore and above.

The ABBFF is functioning as a ‘Safety Valve’ for bankers and it critically and comprehensively examines the gravity of lapses/accountability, if any, on the part of officials/ Whole Time Directors of PSBs/PSFIs, based on the documentary evidence.

The CVC, in consultation with RBI, thereafter in August 2019 constituted the ABBFF comprising four members for an initial term of two years. This period has been further extended by two years in August 2021.

Lenders would refer all large fraud cases worth Rs 3 crore and above to the ABBFF and on receipt of its recommendation or advice, the bank concerned would take further action in such matter.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may also refer any case or matter to the board where it has any issue or difficulty or in technical matters with the PSB and PFI concerned.

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Solution: d)

Gas hydrates are ice-like crystalline minerals that form when low molecular weight gas (such as methane, ethane, or carbon dioxide) combines with water and freezes into a solid under low temperature and moderate pressure conditions.

• Most gas hydrates are formed from methane (CH4), which has led to the terms “gas hydrate” and “methane hydrate” often being used interchangeably.
• On Earth, gas hydrates occur naturally in some marine sediments and within and beneath permafrost. They are also speculated to form on other planets.
• Gas hydrate deposits may contain roughly twice the carbon contained in all reserves of coal, oil, and conventional natural gas combined, making them a potentially valuable energy resource.
• Their decomposition can release large amounts of methane, which is a greenhouse gas that could impact Earth’s climate.
• Sudden release of pressurized methane gas may cause submarine landslides, which in turn can trigger tsunamis.