QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 16 April 2018

Solution: d.

This is relevant due to the recently agreed global shipping climate deal. Read the following explanation after reading the explanation to Q5 (on the shipping climate deal).

IMO Maritime Environment Division: IMO’s original mandate was principally concerned with maritime safety. However, as the custodian of the 1954 International Convention for the prevention of pollution of the sea by oil (OILPOL Convention), the Organization, soon after it began functioning in 1959, assumed responsibility for pollution issues and subsequently has, over many years, adopted a wide range of measures to prevent and control pollution caused by ships and to mitigate the effects of any damage that may occur as a result of maritime operations and accidents.

• Of the 51 treaty instruments for the regulation of international shipping IMO has adopted so far, 21 are directly environment-related.
• The work of the Marine Environment Division is, in the main, directed by the Marine Environment Protection Committee, the MEPC in short, which is IMO’s senior technical body on marine pollution related matters. The original focus of its work was the prevention of marine pollution by oil, resulting in the adoption of the first ever comprehensive antipollution convention, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) in 1973.
• Many developing countries cannot yet give full and complete effect to these instruments, for various reasons. IMO has established an Integrated Technical Co-operation Programme (ITCP), with the sole purpose of assisting countries in building up their human and institutional capacities for uniform and effective compliance with the Organization’s regulatory framework.

Improvisation: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43759923;

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Solution: b.

In the news: Boasting a green, punk hairdo and the unusual ability to breathe through its backside, an Australian turtle has become famous overnight — but not only for its eccentricity.. Unfortunately, just as many people are discovering the Mary River Turtle’s tantalising traits, it has become the latest creature to join the “EDGE of Existence” list of endangered species compiled by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).. “This turtle is able to spend so much time underwater — up to three days — without coming up for air due to its strange ability to breathe through its bum.. They have specialised organs in their cloaca (scientific term for ‘bum’) which process oxygen from the surrounding water.”

About EDGE of Existence: Using a scientific framework to identify the world’s most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species, the EDGE of Existence programme highlights and protects some of the most unique and most wonderful species on the planet. EDGE species have few close relatives on the tree of life and are often extremely unusual in the way they look, live and behave, as well as in their genetic make-up. They represent a unique and irreplaceable part of the world’s natural heritage, yet an alarming proportion are on the verge of extinction. The aim of the EDGE programme is to put these species on the map and catalyse conservation action to secure their future.

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Solution: d.

UK: Here is an extraordinary statistic: Since the Volvo XC90 went on sale in the UK in 2002 it has sold over 50,000 vehicles, yet not a single person has been killed while driving it, or as a passenger. It is, according to the independent laboratory Thatcham Research, the safest car it has ever tested.

One reason for the Volvo’s success is that it was an early leader in the use of camera and radar systems to warn drivers about hazards on the road. These systems now automatically bring the car to a stop if it gets too close to another vehicle. Apart from saving your life, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) – as it is known – could also bring cheaper insurance premiums (By cutting the number of accidents, it is possible that the cost of insuring a car with AEB could also come down.)

Most AEB systems use radar, (stereo) camera and/or lidar-based technology to identify potential collision partners ahead of the car.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43752226;

https://www.euroncap.com/en/vehicle-safety/the-rewards-explained/autonomous-emergency-braking/;

Solution: c.

The government in February announced the two corridors – one will come up between Chennai and Bangalore (which would also pass through Coimbatore and several other industrial clusters) and the other in Bundelkhand region (Uttar Pradesh’s defence corridor will be extended to Agra, Allahabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi and Chitrakoot).

ToI;

Improvisation: TH;

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Solution: a.

IMO – the International Maritime Organization – is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.

At the 72^nd session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC72) Shipping and Climate Summit, representatives from around the world adopted an initial strategy on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships, setting out a vision to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping and phase them out, as soon as possible in this century. The initial strategy

• envisages for the first time a reduction in total GHG emissions from international shipping which, it says, should peak as soon as possible and to reduce the total annual GHG emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008, while, at the same time, pursuing efforts towards phasing them out entirely.
• includes a specific reference to “a pathway of CO2 emissions reduction consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goals”.
• also identifies barriers and supportive measures including capacity building, technical cooperation and research and development (R&D).
• represents a framework for Member States, setting out the future vision for international shipping, the levels of ambition to reduce GHG emissions and guiding principles; and includes candidate short-, mid- and long-term further measures with possible timelines and their impacts on States.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43759923;

http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/06GHGinitialstrategy.aspx;

Solution: a.

In recent months, many Adivasi villages in Jharkhand have put up giant plaques – Pathalgadis – declaring their gram sabha as the only sovereign authority and banning ‘outsiders’ from their area.

In Munda tribal custom, placement of a huge stone marks the death of a person. The Pathalgadi movement draws on this tradition of honouring the community’s ancestors. Activists say that the movement derives inspiration from the provisions of the PESA [Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996]. The leaders of the movement decided to carve the key provisions of the PESA as messages on huge stones in order to enlighten Adivasi people about this law, which empowered a village as an administrative unit.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/the-pathalgadi-rebellion/article23530998.ece;

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