UPSC Prelims Daily Current Affairs Test: April 1, 2022
April 1, 2022 April 25, 2022
1. Consider the following statements on ‘National Dam Safety Authority’:
- It has five wings viz policy and research, technical, regulation, disaster and resilience and administration and finance.
- It aims to resolve any dispute between State Dam Safety Organisation and any owner of a specified dam in that state.
- It seeks to provide an institutional architecture for dam safety in the country.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 1 & 2
[B] Only 2 & 3
[C] Only 1 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [1, 2 & 3]
Notes:- The National Dam Safety Authority seeks to maintain standards related to dam safety, prevent dam-related disasters and resolve inter-state issues in this regard. It has come into force from Feb, 2022.
- The Dam Safety Act was passed by Parliament in December, 2021. It states that a National Dam Safety Authority will liaise with state-level dam safety organisations and owners of dams for standardising safety-related data and practices.
- The Authority will be headed by a chairman and assisted by five members to lead its five wings — policy and research, technical, regulation, disaster and resilience and administration and finance.
- The Authority will have its headquarters in the national capital region and will be supported by four regional offices.
- The Centre also constituted a 22-member National Committee on Dam Safety which will be headed by the Chairman of the Central Water Commission.
- A key function of the Authority is to resolve any issue between the State Dam Safety Organisations of states or between a State Dam Safety Organisation and any owner of a specified dam in that state.
- According to the National Register of Large Dams, there are 5,264 completed large dams in the country, while 437 were under construction.
- The Dam Safety Act seeks to provide an institutional architecture for dam safety in the country.
2. Consider the following statements:
- On 17 August 1945, Indonesia declared independence breaking with years of French exploitation
- Sukarno was Indonesia’s first president.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2
[C] Both 1 & 2
[D] Neither 1 nor 2
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Only 2]
Notes:- On 17 August 1945, two days after Japan’s surrender brought an end to the second world war, the Indonesian revolutionaries Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta declared independence, breaking with 350 years of Dutch exploitation. Sukarno, Indonesia’s first president, declares independence on 17 August 1945.
- The government in The Hague rejected the move and between the independence declaration and the withdrawal of Dutch forces on 27 December 1949 an estimated 100,000 Indonesians were killed, compared with about 5,300 fighting on the Dutch side, including Indonesians in their service.
- Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands has apologised after an inquiry revealed that the Dutch state condoned the systematic use of extrajudicial executions and torture during the 1945-9 Indonesian war of independence.
3. With respect to the guideline on Extended Producers Responsibility on plastic packaging, consider the following statements:
- These are notified under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.
- It is mandatory to reuse rigid plastic packaging material.
- It allows for sale and purchase of surplus extended producer responsibility certificates.
- A levy of environmental compensation based upon polluter pays principle is prescribed in the guidelines.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 1, 2 & 3
[B] Only 2, 3 & 4
[C] Only 1, 3 & 4
[D] 1, 2, 3 & 4
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [1, 2, 3 & 4]
Notes:- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the Guidelines on Extended Producers Responsibility on plastic packaging under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. The guidelines on extended producer responsibility coupled with prohibition of identified single use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential, with effect from 1stJuly 2022, are important steps for reducing pollution caused due to littered plastic waste in the country.
- Reuse of rigid plastic packaging material has been mandated in the guidelines to reduce the use of fresh plastic material for packaging.
- The enforceable prescription of minimum level of recycling of plastic packaging waste collected under EPR will reduce plastic consumption.
- The guidelines allow for sale and purchase of surplus extended producer responsibility certificates, thus setting up a market mechanism for plastic waste management.
- The implementation of EPR will be done through a customized online platform. It will track and monitor EPR obligation and will reduce the compliance burden for companies through online registration and filing of annual returns.
- The Guidelines prescribe a framework for levy of environmental compensation based upon polluter pays principle, with respect to non-fulfilment of extended producer responsibility targets by producers, importers & brand owners. The funds collected shall be utilized for collection, recycling and end of life disposal of uncollected plastic waste in an environmentally sound manner. Under these producers, importers & brand owners, may operate schemes such as deposit refund system or buy back or any other model, in order to prevent mixing of plastic packaging waste with solid waste.
