QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 08 NOVEMBER 2017

Solution: d.

A democratic polity can be classified into two categories – monarchy (hereditary head of state, ex: Belgium, UK) and republic (directly or indirectly elected head of state, ex: USA and India).

Belgium opens out to the North Sea, not the Baltic.

Improvisation: http://pibregional.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1508577;

Solution: b.

“India is working with “like-minded” countries on preserving security of the oceans where India has a particular responsibility,” Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar has said. “As the Indian Ocean takes centre stage in the 21st century, the onus is on us, as equal stakeholders, to collectively secure and nurture our oceanic states. The Indian government has been working with like-minded countries to preserve the integrity, inviolability and security of the maritime domain,” he said. The words of India’s top diplomat are significant ahead of the ASEAN and East Asia summits in Manila next week, where Japan has reportedly suggested an official meeting of the “Quad” grouping of U.S.-Japan-Australia-India.

While India is not a military alliance partner, as the other three countries are, the MEA spokesperson had said India is “open” to the idea of the quadrilateral.

“China on Tuesday dismissed the proposed Indo-Pacific security arrangement among the U.S., Japan, India and Australia to contain China’s rise as “media speculation”…. the Indo-Pacific refers to an area in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean on either side of the Malacca straits”

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/india-vows-to-keep-oceans-free/article20000940.ece;

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/china-dismisses-indo-pacific-quad-plan-as-speculation/article20000860.ece;

—

Solution: d.

What are the Geneva Conventions? (https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/geneva_conventions)

• They are a series of treaties on the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war (POWs) and soldiers who are otherwise rendered hors de combat (French, literally “outside the fight”), or incapable of fighting. The first Convention was initiated by what is now the International Committee for the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC). This convention produced a treaty designed to protect wounded and sick soldiers during wartime. In 1949, after World War II, two new Conventions were added, and all four were ratified by a number of countries. The 1949 versions of the Conventions, along with two additional Protocols (1977), are in force today.

Microsoft’s proposal for a Digital Geneva Convention (https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2017/02/14/need-digital-geneva-convention/):

• “The past year has witnessed not just the growth of cybercrime, but a proliferation in cyberattacks that is both new and disconcerting. This has included not only cyber-attacks mounted for financial gain, but new nation-state attacks as well…no single step by itself will be sufficient to address this problem.. Companies needs to continue to do more to protect and defend customers around the world.. But in addition, the time has arrived to call on the world’s governments to implement international rules to protect the civilian use of the internet.. Just as the Fourth Geneva Convention has long protected civilians in times of war, we now need a Digital Geneva Convention that will commit governments to protecting civilians from nation-state attacks in times of peace. And just as the Fourth Geneva Convention recognized that the protection of civilians required the active involvement of the Red Cross, protection against nation-state cyberattacks requires the active assistance of technology companies. The tech sector plays a unique role as the internet’s first responders, and we therefore should commit ourselves to collective action that will make the internet a safer place..”

Source/Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/interview/one-ought-to-have-a-learn-it-all-culture/article19999288.ece;

—

Solution: d.

• About Supernovas (https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-a-supernova.html): A supernova is the explosion of a star. It is the largest explosion that takes place in space.

Why Do Scientists Study Supernovas?

• A supernova burns for only a short period of time, but it can tell scientists a lot about the universe. That we live in an expanding universe, one that is growing at an ever increasing rate, was determined by scientists during a study of a supernova.
• Scientists also have determined that supernovas play a key role in distributing elements throughout the universe. When the star explodes, it shoots elements and debris into space. Many of the elements we find here on Earth are made in the core of stars. These elements travel on to form new stars, planets and everything else in the universe.
• About the Crab Nebula (https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1604.html): It the result of a supernova noted by Earth-bound chroniclers in 1054 A.D., is filled with mysterious filaments that are are not only tremendously complex, but appear to have less mass than expelled in the original supernova and a higher speed than expected from a free explosion. The Crab Nebula spans about 10 light-years.

About the Crab Pulsar:

• In the crab nebula’s very centre lies a pulsar: a neutron star as massive as the Sun but with only the size of a small town (such objects are known as “compact objects”). The Crab Pulsar rotates about 30 times each second.
• About AstroSat’s recent achievement (http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=173283): AstroSat, India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space telescope, has successfully accomplished the extremely difficult task of measuring X-ray polarisation of the Crab Pulsar, which rotates about 30 times each second. This landmark measurement puts up a strong challenge to prevailing theories of high energy X-ray emission from pulsars.
• About ISRO’s AstroSat (https://www.isro.gov.in/Spacecraft/astrosat): AstroSat is India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space telescope. This scientific satellite mission endeavours for a more detailed understanding of our universe. One of the unique features of ASTROSAT mission is that enables the simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of various astronomical objects with a single satellite. Most other scientific satellites are capable of observing a narrow range of wavelength band.

—

Solution: a.

The Election Commission of India draws the attention of all Print Media to guidelines issued by the Press Council of India (in 2010) to be followed for observance during elections. Print Media is currently not included in Section 126 of the RPA, 1951.

From August, 2016 (http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/election-commission-to-govt-need-permanent-powers-to-curb-political-ads-2960601/): “The poll panel, under Article 324 of the Constitution, had imposed an unprecedented restriction on political advertisements in print, a day ahead of Bihar elections last year after it deemed BJP’s “cow ads” as communal and divisive. The ad, which appeared in four Hindi newspapers on November 4, 2015, had alleged that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s allies had “repeatedly insulted every Indian’s venerable cow” and yet he had remained “silent”…”

“The ECI… requested that print media should also be included in Section 126 of the RP Act. The provision currently prohibits publication of ads by political parties in electronic media — TV, radio and, more recently, social media — 48 hours before voting ends. This proposal was first mooted by the EC on April 13, 2012, and it has been endorsed by the Law Commission, but the government hasn’t acted on it..”

Source/Improvisation: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=173297;

—

Solution: a.

About Kathak (http://ccrtindia.gov.in/kathak.php): The word Kathak has been derived from the word Katha which means a story. Kathakars or story-tellers, are people who narrate stories largely based on episodes from the epics, myths and legends. It probably started as an oral tradition. Mime and gestures were perhaps added later on to make the recitation more effective. Thus evolved a simple form of expressional dance, providing the origins of what later developed into Kathak as we see it today.

Improvisation – today’s Google Doodle: http://www.google.com/doodles/sitara-devis-97th-birthday;

—