QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 24 June 2017

Solution: a.

• PSLV-C11, chosen to launch Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, was an updated version of ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle standard configuration. Weighing 320 tonne at lift-off, the vehicle used larger strap-on motors (PSOM-XL) to achieve higher payload capability.
• Improvisation and In the news: “When the PSLV-C38 rocket (XL version) lifts off from the Satish Dhawan space port, it will carry with it a nano-satellite made by over 200 students of the Noorul Islam University.”
• In the news: “PSLV-C38 will be the 17th flight of the four-stage PSLV in the XL (extended) version with strap-on motors.”

Scroll down if you want to see the table: ISRO PSLV;

Solution: a.

In the news: Announcing the new batch of smart cities at a National Workshop on Urban Transformation here today, Minister of Urban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu said that 45 cities contested for 40 available smart city slots but only 30 were selected to ensure feasible and workable plans that match the aspirations of the citizens as directed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi while launching the mission. The Minister said that 20 cities will be contesting for the remaining 10 slots under smart city mission

Solution: c.

As more states are declared ODF, it becomes unnecessary to remember the list. We asked this question only because the topic (rural areas of states being declared ODF-free) has appeared only a few times in the news in recent times.

• PIB: Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G), rural Uttarakhand and rural Haryana have declared themselves as the 4th and 5th Open Defecation Free (ODF) States of India. The two today joined the league of Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, which were the first three states to be declared ODF.

Solution: b.

A GK question, and one which can be answered if you are in touch with current affairs in recent times even if you did not read THIS PIB release.

United Arab Emirates (largely a desert), as you would in all probability know, cannot be the answer. Some argue that the civil war in Yemen was triggered by water scarcity. The Aral Sea, once a vast expanse of a water body lying in Kazakstan and Uzbekistan, has shrunk massively from its original size. Regardless of all these facts, if you have read about Netherland’s experience with water management, you could have straightaway guessed the answer

Solution: b.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences is the nodal agencies for issues related to Antarctica and the ATS. Statements 1 and 2 are correct.

An important article: TH: A law, this time for Antarctica;

Parties to the ATS;

Solution: a.

• The Union Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India has initiated a novel scheme VAJRA (Visiting Advanced Joint Research), Faculty Scheme of Science & Engineering Research Board, that allows foreign-based scientists to contribute to the Indian growth by working part-time in Indian laboratories and academic institutions.
• The portal VAJRA will not only help India to boost the global ranking of Indian institutions but also draw the best of research personnel to the country.

PIB;

Solution: d.

• A Setu Himachalam – From Setu to the Himalaya
• The origin of Survey of India can be traced back to Year 1767, when Major James Rennell was appointed as the Surveyor General of Bengal.
• It is the oldest scientific department in India and one of the oldest survey establishments in the world.
• Survey of India also has the distinct honour of printing the first Postage Stamp of India and the first copy of the Constitution of India.
• The SoI maps —prepared for defence and civilian purposes — are considered a standard reference for the shape, extent and geographic features of the country.

PIB;