QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz,27 July 2018

Solution: c.

Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent unit of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), has the mandate to identify, evaluate and augment mineral resources of uranium, thorium, niobium, tantalum, beryllium, lithium, zirconium, titanium, rare earths (containing uranium and thorium) and other beach sand minerals like garnet and sillimanite.

The resources of the minerals comprising BSM (Beach Sand Minerals) are given below:

• Thorium (as monazite) – 12.47 million tonne (1.12 million tonne ThO2)
  • The mineral monazite, containing ~ 55 – 60% total Rare Earth Elements (REE), is also the major resource for REE.
• Titanium (as ilmenite, leucoxene and rutile) – 682.30 million tonne
• Zirconium (as zircon) – 35.75 million tonne
• Garnet – 187.46 million tonne
• Sillimanite -255.09 million tonne

One of the misconceptions about beach sand-mining is the assumption that it involves quarrying. This is patently false: Companies that operate in this field in southern Tamil Nadu, for instance, dredge only the top inch of beach sand. Any deeper, and they would be mining for silica, which is neither a rare earth mineral, nor of any use to the industry. The skimming is done every morning; each day, the sea deposits fresh layers of rare earth minerals on the beaches and by evening, much of it is washed away if not harvested.

Solution: b.

India and Vietnam have set a target of bilateral trade at USD 15 billion by 2020.

Improvisation: PIB;

MEA: India-Vietnam

Map: britannica;

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Solution: a.

RITES Ltd., a Government of India Enterprise was established in 1974, under the aegis of Indian Railways. RITES is incorporated in India as a Public Limited Company under the Companies Act, 1956. RITES Ltd., an ISO 9001:2008 company, is a multi-disciplinary consultancy organization in the fields of transport, infrastructure and related technologies. RITES is internationally recognised as a leading consultant with operational experience of over 55 countries.

RITES Ltd.;

Improvisation: PIB;

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Solution: d.

Over the years there has been vast improvement in the human development indicators pertaining to Scheduled Tribes (STs), for example, literacy rate for STs has improved from 47.1% in 2001 to 59% in 2011. Infant Mortality Rate has declined from 62.1 (2005-06) to 44.4 (2015-16), Under Five Mortality Rate has declined from 95.7 (2005-06) to 57.2 (2015-16), and Institutional Delivery has increased from 17.7% in 2005-06 to 68.0% in 2015-16.

PIB;

Solution: c.

Mainland African countries that open out to the Indian Ocean from North to South – Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa.

In the news (TH): India’s security and defence cooperation with Africa is mainly limited to maritime cooperation in the form of anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, deployment of Indian forces to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, regular shipping visits, and joint-naval patrolling in the Western Indian Ocean Region. These are mainly with Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, and the Indian Ocean island countries Mauritius, the Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros.

Map source: Geology.com;