Today in History (May 02^nd, 2011)

Osama bin Laden—founder of the militant Islamist organization al-Qaeda and mastermind of numerous terrorist attacks, notably the September 11, 2001, attacks—was killed by U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Let’s revise

A) The price of one currency in terms of other currency is called :

1. Foreign exchange Rate
2. Flexible rate of exchange
3. Current rate of exchange
4. None of the above

Ans. (a)
B) The decrease in the value of domestic currency in relation to foreign currency due to fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate is

1. Devaluation
2. Appreciation
3. Depreciation
4. None of the above

Ans. (c)
C) Due to depreciation of domestic currency,

1. Exports rise
2. Imports rise
3. Exports falls
4. None of the above

Ans. (a)
D) The increase in the value of domestic currency in relation to foreign currency due to fluctuations in foreign exchange rate is called

1. Depreciation
2. Devaluation
3. Appreciation
4. Revaluation

Ans. (c)
E) Due to appreciation of domestic currency,

1. Exports rise
2. Imports rise
3. Imports falls
4. None on the above

Ans. ( b)
F) Which Article of the Indian Constitution has provision to say that the Childhood and adolescence are not to be exploited?

1. 44
2. 51
3. 39
4. 40

Ans. (c)
G) Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act was passed in which year?

1. 2011
2. 2013
3. 2014
4. 2009

Ans. (d)
H) Manodarpan Initiative, launched to provide psychosocial support to students for Mental Health and Emotional well-being, by which ministry?

1. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
2. Ministry of Education
3. Ministry of Science and Technology
4. Ministry of Home Affairs

Ans. (b)

Summary of Today’s News

Rebranding of UNCTAD as UN Trade and Development

UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, has undergone a significant rebranding as “UN Trade and Development” to mark its 60th anniversary.
• This strategic move reflects its commitment to enhancing its impact and amplifying its voice on behalf of developing countries.
• The rebranding initiative includes a new visual identity aimed at better reflecting the organization’s work and values.
• The organization will adopt its new name and logo across all official channels in the six UN languages.

About UNCTAD:
• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is a permanent intergovernmental organization that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade.
• It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 30, 1964 and has its headquarters in Geneva.
• UNCTAD’s work focuses on trade, development, finance, technology, investment, and sustainable development.
• It collects data, conducts research, and analyses policies to help countries frame policies in these areas.

SC rejects plea for allocating spectrum without auction

• The Supreme Court declined the Centre’s application for administrative allocation of spectrum.
• Spectrum allocation via administrative means would give the government sole discretion in selecting operators, contrary to the auction-based approach.
• The Registrar cited Order XV Rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, to refuse the application, allowing dismissal if it lacks reasonable cause, is frivolous, or contains scandalous matter.
• The government has a 15-day window to appeal to the court.
• The government’s application argued spectrum allocation serves both commercial telecom services and sovereign/public interest functions.
• The 2012, 2G spectrum case judgment emphasized auction as the preferred method for allocating scarce resources like spectrum.

‘India one of the few countries affected by phishing attacks’

• India faces significant phishing attacks, leading to substantial financial losses, according to Verizon Business, a cyber security solutions provider.
• However, there’s progress in reporting practices, with 20% of users now identifying and reporting phishing during simulation tests.
• A multi-pronged approach is advocated to reduce human error in cybersecurity.
• The 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report highlights espionage attacks as dominant in APAC, including India, comprising 25% of cyberattacks, far surpassing Europe and North America.
• Vulnerability exploitation in APAC saw a 180% growth, with organizations taking an average of 55 days to patch 50% of critical vulnerabilities.
• Non-malicious human actions contributed to over two-thirds of breaches.
• The report, based on 30,458 security incidents and 10,626 confirmed breaches in 2023, underscores system intrusion, social engineering, and basic web-application attacks as comprising 95% of APAC breaches.

Hardik and other MI players fined for slow over rate against LSG

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya has been fined ₹24 lakh after his team’s second slow over-rate offence in the IPL during their match against Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on Tuesday. All the other players were each individually fined either ₹6 lakh or 25% of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser.