QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 29 October 2019

Solution: c)

A new, curious mineral has been discovered inside a diamond unearthed from a mine in South Africa. The mineral has been named goldschmidtite, after Victor Moritz Goldschmidt, the Norwegian scientist acknowledged as the founder of modern geochemistry.

While the mantle is dominated by elements such as magnesium and iron, goldschmidtite has high concentrations of niobium, potassium and the rare earth elements lanthanum and cerium.

Diamonds hold clues as they are found up to 160 km beneath the surface, in the upper mantle.

Source

            Solution: b)

On September 2, 1946, the interim government of India led by Jawaharlal Nehru was formed.

It was the only such cabinet in India’s history in which both Congress and the Muslim League shared power at the Centre.

The interim government functioned with a great degree of autonomy, and remained in power until the end of British rule, after which it was succeeded by the Dominions of India and Pakistan.

The interim government functioned according to the older Government of India Act of 1919.

Solution: c)

For the first time ever India hosted the 14th session of Conference of Parties (COP-14) of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in September 2019, to address the issue of land degradation and desertification.

India took over the Presidency of the COP from China.

About UNCCD:

1. Established in 1994.
2. It is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
3. It is the only convention stemming from a direct recommendation of the Rio Conference’s Agenda 21.
4. To help publicise the Convention, 2006 was declared “International Year of Deserts and Desertification”.
5. Focus areas: The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.
6. Aim: Its 197 Parties aim, through partnerships, to implement the Convention and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The end goal is to protect land from over-use and drought, so it can continue to provide food, water and energy.
7. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal Ministry for this Convention.

Solution: c)

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has inventorized 1,72,517 bridges/structures under Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS). IBMS is the largest platform in the world owned by a single owner, with database that could exceed 1,50,000 bridge structures.

In addition to the structural rating, the bridges are also being assigned Socio-Economic Bridge Rating Number which will decide the importance of the structure in relation to its contribution to daily socio-economic activity of the area in its vicinity.

Solution: d)

G5 Sahel is an institutional framework for coordination of regional cooperation in development policies and security matters in west Africa. It was formed on 16 February 2014 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, at a summit of five Sahel countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. The purpose of G5 Sahel is to strengthen the bond between economic development and security, and together battle the threat of jihadist organizations operating in the region.