QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 19 DECEMBER 2017

Solution: a.

Elevated temperatures from urban heat islands, particularly during the summer, can affect a community’s environment and quality of life. While some impacts may be beneficial, such as lengthening the plant-growing season, the majority of them are negative.

Elevated summertime temperatures in cities increase energy demand for cooling. Companies that supply electricity typically rely on fossil fuel power plants to meet much of this demand, which in turn leads to an increase in air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions.

https://www.epa.gov/heat-islands/heat-island-impacts;

Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-urban-heat-island-effect/article21860626.ece;

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Solution: c.

It is well-known that urea prices in India are among the lowest in the world (hovering around $ 86 per tonne). Urea prices in neighbouring countries in South and Southeast Asia, including China, are at least two to three-times higher.

• Also, the price ratio of urea to DAP and MOP is highly skewed. No wonder, Indian farmers are using higher doses of urea (nitrogen) compared to phosphate (DAP) and potash (MOP), and not getting the best results in terms of yields.
• Also Indian soils are deficient in micronutrients, especially zinc (about 48 per cent) — a fallout of which is zinc deficiency in wheat and rice, which, in turn, contributes to stunting in children.

The imbalanced use of N, P and K, therefore, needs urgent correction. Extremely low prices of urea also lead to its diversion to non-agricultural uses — as well as smuggling to neighbouring countries — that needs to be checked.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/from-plate-to-plough-for-farmers-the-next-big-idea-4987307/;

For additional reading: http://www.who.int/whr/2002/chapter4/en/index3.html;

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Solution: b.

Urea is an important supplier of nitrogen, which is necessary for the development of plants. But only 30-40 per cent of nitrogen present in the urea is utilised by crops.

When farmers use conventional urea, about half the applied nitrogen is not assimilated by the plant and leaches into the soil, causing extensive groundwater contamination.

Spraying urea with neem oil also slows the release of nitrogen, by about 10 to 15 per cent, concomitantly reducing consumption of the fertiliser.

The neem-coating also precludes an age-old malpractice of this cheap fertiliser being diverted for use in the chemical industry and, most harmfully in states like Punjab and Haryana, as an additive in milk to whiten it.

Chapter 9: Economic Survey 2015-16: Volume I;

Q2, CS(P) 2016: http://www.insightsonindia.com/2016/08/13/71-7-questions-from-insights-test-series-2016-and-from-other-initiatives-of-insights-repeated-directlyindirectly-in-upsc-prelims-2016/;

In the news: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/from-plate-to-plough-for-farmers-the-next-big-idea-4987307/;

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Solution: d.

The World Inequality Lab aims to promote research on global inequality dynamics. Its core mission is to maintain and expand the World Wealth and Income Database. It also produces inequality reports and working papers addressing substantive and methodological issues.

In addition to the year-round updates to the database and working papers, the World Inequality Lab publishes a biannual World Inequality Report. The objective is to highlight new findings and research analysis emanating from the database, and to draw implications for the global inequality debate. The World Inequality Report aims to become the reference global report on inequality and to attract extensive coverage in the international media.

About WID.world: http://wid.world/wid-world/;

About the World Inequality Lab: http://wid.world/world-inequality-lab/;

Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/focus-on-income-mobility/article21859319.ece;

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Solution: c.

The GCI strengthens the role of ITU in building confidence and security in the use of ICT. Specifically, Member States are invited “to support ITU initiatives on cybersecurity, including the GCI, in order to promote government strategies and the sharing of information on efforts across industries and sectors”.

A first iteration of the GCI was conducted in 2013-2014. The second iteration was released in July 2017.

Additional Information:

• India is ranked 23^rd out of 165 nations in the 2^nd
• India has been listed in the “maturing” category, which refers to 77 countries that have developed complex commitments to cybersecurity and engage in cybersecurity programmes and initiatives.
• ITU is the UN Telecommunications agency.
• The ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda has five pillars: legal, technical, organisational, capacity building and international cooperation.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/india-ranks-23rd-among-165-nations-in-cybersecurity-index/articleshow/59478111.cms;

https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Cybersecurity/Pages/GCI-2017.aspx;

Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/for-a-safe-cyberspace/article21864764.ece;

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