Daily Current Affairs Quiz – 17th Dec. 2020

ANS: (2)

Explanation:

• The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are ideals which are not legally enforceable by the courts for their violation.
• The DPSP followed the idea of the ‘Instrument of Instructions’ of the Government of India Act of 1935.
• The idea of Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) has been borrowed from the Irish Constitution and enumerated in Part IV (Article 36-51) of our Constitution.
• Directive Principles of State Policy embody the concept of a ‘welfare state’ and not that of a ‘police state’.

ANS: (4)

ANS: (1)

Explanation:

• The National Hydrology Project (NHP) was started in 2016 as a Central Sector Scheme with 100% grant to implementing agencies on a pan-India basis.
• The project aims at improving the extent, reliability and accessibility of water resources information and to strengthen the capacity of targeted water resource management institutions in India.
• Thus, the NHP is facilitating the acquisition of reliable information efficiently which would pave the way for an effective water resource development and management.
• Under the Project, the National Water informatics Centre (NWIC) has been established, which is a nationwide repository of water resources data.

ANS: (1)

Explanation

• Recently, the inaugural session of the 12^thGreen Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Summit was organised virtually. It is the national rating system of India for any completed building construction.
• GRIHA is recognised as India’s own green building rating systemin India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• GRIHAwas conceived by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and developed jointly with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• There are other such related Initiatives like Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC) Organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• GHTC aims to identify and mainstream best available and proven construction technologies that are sustainable, green and disaster-resilient to enable a paradigm shift in housing construction.

ANS: (1)

Explanation

• The Constitution of India, the supreme law of the land, guarantees freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, which deals with ‘Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.
• Freedom of press is not expressly protected by Indian legal system but it is impliedly protected under article 19(1) (a) of the constitution, which states – “All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression”. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Press Council of India (PCI) is a regulatory body established under the Press Council of India Act of 1978. It is a statutory, quasi judicial body which acts as a watchdog of the press.
• It aims to preserve the freedom of the press and maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• The Paris based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) publishes annually a World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) purporting to evaluate the level of freedom available to the media in 180 countries.
• India has dropped to two places on the World Press Freedom Index, 2020 to be ranked 142^nd out of 180 countries. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.