Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 15 February 2023

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC 2023

Q) Recently seen in news, the term ‘transfer pricing’ is best related to which one of the following?

1. Charging low prices for exported goods than its domestic prices.
2. Exchange of goods between companies under common ownership.
3. Transferring the benefit of tax reduction to consumers.
4. Differential pricing of same product in different countries.

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 14 February 2023

Explanation:

• Option (2) is correct: Transfer pricing refers to rules and methods of exchanging goods and services between companies under common ownership or control. Suppose Company A produces goods for Rs 100 and sells it for Rs 200 to its sister company B located in another country. The company B in turn sells the goods for Rs 400 in open market. If sold directly on open market, Company A would have made a larger profit. By diverting sale through company B, the parent company has shifted profits to another country and reduced its tax liability. Transfer pricing allows parent company to artificially produce insufficient taxable income or excessive loss on a transaction. It allows companies to siphon profits from subsidiaries domiciled in high-tax countries to subsidiaries located in low-tax/ no-tax jurisdiction. Shifting profits will not just result in tax revenue loss but also will drain foreign exchange reserves.

Q) With reference to ‘Lithium metal’, consider the following statements:

1. It is the ideal material for heat transfer applications as it has a high melting point.
2. India currently imports all of its lithium from Australia and Argentina.
3. There are at present no known resources of Lithium found in India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Lithium is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element under normal circumstances. It has a low melting point and a low specific heat capacity, making it an ideal material for heat transfer applications. Lithium is one of the key components in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Lithium is used not only in EVs but also in batteries for gadgets like laptops and mobile phones. It has also found application in the glass and ceramics industries. Lithium has been dubbed “white gold” for its widespread usage in items indispensable to modern-day living
• Statement 2 is correct but statement 3 is incorrect: India currently imports all of its Li from Australia and Argentina and 70% of its Li-ion cell requirement from China and Hong Kong. Recently the Geological Survey of India (GSI) established 5.9 million tonnes inferred resources of lithium in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The J&K reserves will also help advance the Indian government’s ambitious plan of “30% EV penetration in private cars, 70% for commercial vehicles, and 80% for two and three-wheelers by 2030 for the automobile industry.” China currently controls 77% of the global lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity. A high level of dependence on China for Li and other crucial metals and their derivatives are perceived to be sources of energy security risks.

Q) Consider the following statements about ‘black buck’:

1. It is a species of antelope that is endemic to India.
2. It is mainly widespread in the north-eastern states of India.
3. It is accorded the same level of protection as ‘chital’ and ‘sambar’ under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.

Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3 

Explanation:

• Statements 1 and 2 are incorrect: The Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), or the Indian Antelope, is a species of antelope native to India and Nepal. It is diurnal, that is, active mainly during the day). It is widespread in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and other areas throughout peninsular India. It is considered as the epitome of grassland and considered to be the fastest animal in the world next to Cheetah. It has been declared as the State Animal of Punjab, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh. It is a symbol of purity for Hinduism as its skin and horns are regarded as a sacred object. For Buddhism, it is a symbol of good luck. Major Threats: to the black buck includes habitat fragmentation, deforestation, natural calamities, illegal hunting.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: The blackbuck is a Schedule 1 animal per the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Whereas chital and Sambar are included in the Schedule III of the WPA, 1972. The species is listed as ‘near threatened’ in the global organization International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

Q) With reference to gender budget, consider the following statements:

1. It was first introduced in 2005 to track the distribution of resources towards women’s empowerment.
2. Since the previous decade, the funding allotted for the gender budget has been steadily rising.
3. The gender budgeting component of the Union Budget 2023 accounts for 2 percent of India’s GDP.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1 and 3 only

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: In India, the gender budget was first introduced in 2005-2006 in order to keep an account of resource allocation in a way that would help in the achievement of gender mainstreaming and to ensure that the benefits of development reach women as much as men. It has broadly been divided into two parts: Part A comprises schemes that are entirely related to women; Part B includes schemes in which at least 30 per cent of the provisions relate to the women.
• Statement 2 and 3 are incorrect: In the last 15 years, the gender budget has seen no significant increase, carrying an average of 4.9 per cent. However, Union budget 2023’s gender component takes into account allocation across 30 union ministries and departments along with the five Union Territories. It accounts for almost 5 per cent of the total government expenditure and 0.8 per cent of India’s GDP. As per the current statistics, the Union government’s allocation in the gender budget for schemes focused on mitigating the prevailing gender gap, is more than 2 per cent of the revised estimate in 2022-2023 and 30 per cent more than the budget estimate in the last fiscal year. Budget allocation for autonomous bodies (Central Adoption Resource Agency, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and the National Commission for Women) has also witnessed an increase.

Q) Consider the following statements about ‘MIG 21 M’ Aircraft:

1. It is a hypersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft.
2. It is designed and manufactured by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• Both statements are incorrect: MIG 21 M Aircraft is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. MiG is a product of the Soviet Union which entered into service in 1959. MIG 21-M which is a modified version of the MIG aircraft has a greater striking power. India inducted the MiG-21 in 1963 and got full technology transfer and rights to license-build the aircraft in the country. Fifty years ago, on 15^th February 1973, the first Hindustan Aeronautics-built MIG 21-M aircraft was handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF). India has produced and operated several variants of the MiG-21 that include MiG-21FL, MiG-21M, MiG-21MF, MiG-21bis, and MiG-21Bison. The MiG-21Bison is an upgraded version of the MiG-21 that was inducted into the Indian Air Force in the 2000s. It is equipped with modern avionics and weapon systems and has an extended service life. Russia stopped producing the aircraft in 1985, while India continued operating the upgraded variants. However, the IAF is in the process of phasing out its MiG-21 fleet and replacing them with more modern and capable fighter aircraft. The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and the Rafale fighter jets are some of the newer aircraft being inducted into the IAF to replace the older MiG-21s.

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