UPSC QUIZ 10.10.2023

Explanation:

• India and Iran are making significant progress in finalizing a 10-year pact for operations at the Chabahar port, with key issues narrowing down.
• Additionally, the two nations are exploring ways to address the depletion of Iran's rupee reserves, which has impacted trade, especially in commodities like rice, tea, and pharmaceuticals.

Significance of Chabahar Port for India

• Chabahar is Iran's only oceanic port. It is situated in Sistan and Baluchistan Province, on the Makran coast.
• There are two main ports in Chabahar – the Shahid Kalantari port and the Shahid Beheshti port.
• The Shahid Kalantari port was developed in the 1980s.
• Iran had offered India the project of developing the Shahid Beheshti port which was well received by India.

Explanation:

• RBI in its draft master instructions has proposed that lenders should label as 'willful defaulters' borrowers who default within six months of an account turning NPA.
• Under the new regime, the lender must identify wilful defaulter borrowers within a specified six-month timeframe, whereas in the previous system, there was no such time constraint.
• Lenders must assess wilful default for accounts over Rs 25 lakh within 6 months of becoming NPAs.An Identification Committee formed by lenders reviews evidence of wilful default.
• Policies require non-discriminatory photo publishing for wilful defaulters, and no credit is given to them for up to 1 year post removal from the List of Wilful Defaulters (LWD); additionally, no credit for new ventures is allowed for 5 years after LWD removal.Guarantors can be pursued without exhausting remedies against principal debtors, and investigation of wilful default is necessary before transferring credit to others or ARCs.

Explanation:

• Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced to conduct the state caste-based census.
• Census activities come under the Union List as per the 7th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• The decennial census activities are supervised by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner for India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
• The first census in India was conducted in 1872, and the first census of independent India was conducted in 1951, governed by the Census Act of 1948.

Reasons for caste-based census in Rajasthan

• Social Security: The Census is considered essential to identify weaker sections within different castes, with the aim of ensuring social security for them.
• Schemes: This can help target government schemes better, ensuring that benefits reach those who need it most.
• Preventing duplication: The census can also help identify specific sections within castes that require government support in areas such as economics, social welfare and education, thereby reducing duplication of beneficiaries receiving multiple benefits.

Explanation:

• Russian Embassy in Bangladesh officially delivered the first batch of uranium from Russia to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP).
• After the commissioning of the Rooppur plant, Bangladesh is on its way to becoming the 33rd country globally to produce nuclear power.
• A formal "graduation ceremony" marked the handover of radioactive fuel from the Russian contractor, Rosatom, to RNPP officials.
• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin virtually attended the ceremony held at the Gana Bhavan and the Kremlin respectively.
• Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev presented the fuel, and the ceremony was presided over by Minister of Science and Technology Architect Yefesh Osman.
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi also participated via video conference.

Uranium Shipment and Transportation

• The second batch of uranium-making nuclear fuel for the first unit of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant arrived in Dhaka via a special plane at Dhaka Shahjalal International Airport on October 5.
• The initial batch of uranium reached Bangladesh on 28 September and was safely transported by road to the nuclear power plant site the next day.

Explanation:

• Madhya Pradesh government officially announced a 35% reservation in government job vacancies for women except in the forest department.
• To implement this policy, an amendment was introduced in the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Special Provisions for Appointment of Women) Rules, 1997.
• Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that 35% of vacancies in police and other government jobs will be reserved for women, and 50% of teaching posts will also be earmarked for women.
• The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has announced the transfer of financial assistance under "Laadli Behna Yojana", a welfare scheme for women, which provides ₹1,250 per month to each beneficiary.