QUIZ – 2016: Insights Current Affairs Quiz – 14 October, 2016

Solution: d.

Reading the following extract from this Hindu article would have helped you answer the question – “In India, according to estimates, post-harvest losses in food and food grains are around 40-50 per cent, primarily due to insect infestation, microbiological contamination, physiological changes due to sprouting and ripening, and poor shelf life.”

US FDA: Why irradiate food?

• Prevention of Foodborne Illness – to effectively eliminate organisms that cause foodborne illness.
• Preservation – to destroy or inactivate organisms that cause spoilage and decomposition and extend the shelf life of foods.
• Control of Insects – to destroy insects. Irradiation also decreases the need for other pest-control practices that may harm the fruit.
• Delay of Sprouting and Ripening – to inhibit sprouting (e.g., potatoes) and delay ripening of fruit to increase longevity.
• Sterilization – irradiation can be used to sterilize foods, which can then be stored for years without refrigeration. Foods that are sterilized by irradiation are exposed to substantially higher levels of treatment than those approved for general use. (Ex: Astronauts eat meat that has been sterilised by irradiation to avoid getting food borne illnesses when they fly in space.)

Solution: d.

• “Irradiation does not make foods radioactive, compromise nutritional quality, or noticeably change the taste, texture, or appearance of food. In fact, any changes made by irradiation are so minimal that it is not easy to tell if a food has been irradiated.”
• “Food irradiation (the application of ionizing radiation to food) is a technology that improves the safety and extends the shelf life of foods by reducing or eliminating microorganisms and insects. Like pasteurising milk (pasteurisation is the process of heating milk up and then quickly cooling it down to eliminate certain bacteria) and canning fruits and vegetables, irradiation can make food safer for the consumer.”
• The World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have also endorsed the safety of irradiated food.

Sources – same as provided in the hyperlinks above.

Solution: b.

“The general practice is that a group which has a strength of five and more is recognised as a parliamentary group for functioning in the House. Members belonging to different political parties and unattached members who form an association with distinctive designation may also be termed as a parliamentary group for the purpose of functioning in the House, namely, allocation of time for participation in debates and allotment of contiguous seats in the Chamber. For the purpose of getting recognition, members concerned have to make a formal request to the Chairman with the signatures of all members concerned.”

• Vice-President Hamid Ansari has formally recognised a group of 22 MPs belonging to parties with less than four MPs and certain independents as a consolidated block — the United Group.
• Mary Kom and Sachin Tendulkar are nominated members of RS, and are part of the United Group.
• This is only the third time in the history of Indian Parliament that this is happening, the first was in 1983, and the second in 1990. The rarity of such a grouping is not surprising considering the party-wise divisions that usually rule parliamentary practice.
• In 1983, twenty-two members belonging to different political parties formed a “United Association of Members (UAM)” which was given recognition.
• In 1990, six members belonging to different political parties formed a “United Parliamentary Group (UPG)”. Subsequently, the strength of the Group went on changing from time to time.

Primary Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/smaller-parties-independents-in-rs-unite-for-more-talk-time/article9217012.ece

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Source for Statement 2: Page 2, http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/rsat_work/chapter-10.pdf

Solution: b.

Statement ‘b’ is the most appropriate among all.

• The Hindu, 2015: “The issuer of a green bond publicly states that capital is being raised to fund ‘green’ projects, which typically include those relating to renewable energy, emission reductions and so on. There is no standard definition of green bonds as of now.”
• Investopedia: Green bonds are created to encourage sustainability and the development of brownfield sites. More specifically, green bonds finance projects aimed at energy efficiency, pollution prevention, sustainable agriculture, fishery and forestry, the protection of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, clean transportation, sustainable water management, and the cultivation of environmentally friendly technologies.

Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/india-focussed-on-offshore-rupee-bonds/article9216093.ece

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Solution: c.

• The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 independent and equal sovereign states (some were never part of the British empire – Mozambique, for example). The Commonwealth includes some of the world’s largest, smallest, richest and poorest countries, spanning five regions. Thirty-one of its members are small states, many of them island nations.
• Commonwealth countries are supported by an active network of more than 80 intergovernmental, civil society, cultural and professional organisations.
• Commonwealth Gender: “We work to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in all social, economic and political spheres.”
• The Commonwealth Secretariat provides guidance on policy making, technical assistance and advisory services to Commonwealth member countries.
• “We support governments to help achieve sustainable, inclusive and equitable development. Our work promotes democracy, rule of law, human rights, good governance and social and economic development. We are a voice for small states and a champion for youth empowerment.”
• Priority areas of work are agreed at Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings, which occur every two years.

Additional reference: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Commonwealth-association-of-states

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Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/maldives-quits-commonwealth-grouping/article9217201.ece

Solution: c.

The same question was posted here a few months ago.

• India is building underground storages in Visakhapatnam and Mangalore and Padur (both) in Karnataka to store about 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil to guard against global price shocks and supply disruptions.
• These strategic storages would be in addition to the existing storages of crude oil and petroleum products with the oil companies and would serve as a cushion in response to external supply disruptions. The construction of the strategic crude oil storage facilities is being managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), a Special Purpose Vehicle, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB).

Primary Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/uaes-adnoc-to-store-crude-in-india/article8220460.ece

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Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/india-gets-first-iranian-oil-parcel/article9216104.ece

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Solution: a.

The same question was posted here last month.

“Under Phase II storage program, plans currently are afoot to create Strategic Petroleum Reserves at two locations, namely Chandikhol in Odisha and Bikaner in Rajasthan which entails storage of crude oil in underground rock caverns and underground salt caverns respectively.”

Primary Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=149511

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Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/india-gets-first-iranian-oil-parcel/article9216104.ece

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