INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 1 April 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (c)

Explanation: The Tablighi Jamaat is based on six principles:

• Kalimah, an article of faith in which the Tabligh accepts that there is no God but Allah and that Prophet Muhammad is his messenger.
• Salaat, or prayer five times daily.
• Ilm and dhikr, the knowledge and remembrance of Allah conducted in sessions in which the congregation listens to preaching by the imam, performs prayers, recites the Quran and reads the Hadith; the congregation also uses these sessions to dine together, thus fostering a sense of community and identity.
• Ikram-i-Muslim, the treatment of fellow Muslims with honour.
• Ikhlas-i-niyat, or sincerity of intention.
• Dawat-o-tabligh, or proselytisaton.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/04/01/what-is-tablighi-jamaat/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gives temporary loan facilities to the central and state governments. This loan facility is called Ways and Means Advances (WMA).

• When was Ways and Means Advances introduced?
  • The Ways and Means Advances scheme was introduced in 1997.
• Purpose of the WMA scheme
  • The Ways and Means Advances scheme was introduced to meet mismatches in the receipts and payments of the government.
• How does it work?
  • The government can avail of immediate cash from the RBI, if required. But it has to return the amount within 90 days. Interest is charged at the existing repo rate.
  • If the WMA exceeds 90 days, it would be treated as an overdraft (interest rate on overdrafts is 2 percentage points more than the repo rate).
• What is WMA limit?
  • The limits for Ways and Means Advances are decided by the government and RBI mutually and revised periodically. For the second half of the 2019-20 financial year, RBI set Rs 35,000 crore as limit for Ways and Means Advances.
• Types of WMA
  • There are two types of Ways and Means Advances — normal and special.
  • Special WMA or Special Drawing Facility is provided against the collateral of the government securities held by the state. After the state has exhausted the limit of SDF, it gets normal WMA. The interest rate for SDF is one percentage point less than the repo rate.
  • The number of loans under normal WMA is based on a three-year average of actual revenue and capital expenditure of the state.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/04/01/ways-and-means-advances/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that it has selected a new mission to study giant solar particle storms.
• The Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE) will look into how Sun generates and releases the giant weather storms, known as the solar particle storms, into space.
• The mission will help in greater understanding of the solar system. The findings would safeguard astronauts from solar storms while they travel to Mars or the Moon, NASA said in a press release.
• SunRISE contains six CubeSats which will work together as a large radio telescope. Each of the CubeSats would run on solar power and would be of the size of a toaster oven.
• Together, these will observe radio images of low-frequency emission from solar activity and create 3D maps to locate the origin place of a solar particle storm on the Sun. The entire procedure of the storm evolution as it moves outward into the space will be studied too.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/04/01/sunrise-mission/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: Here Directive word is Not Correct!!

• Bile is a complex fluid containing water, electrolytes and a battery of organic molecules including bile acids, cholesterol, phospholipids and bilirubin that flows through the biliary tract into the small intestine. There are two fundamentally important functions of bile in all species:
• Bile contains bile acids, which are critical for digestion and absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins in the small intestine.
• Many waste products, including bilirubin, are eliminated from the body by secretion into bile and elimination in feces.
• Adult humans produce 400 to 800 ml of bile daily, and other animals proportionately similar amounts. The secretion of bile can be considered to occur in two stages:
• Initially, hepatocytes secrete bile into canaliculi, from which it flows into bile ducts. This hepatic bile contains large quantities of bile acids, cholesterol and other organic molecules.
• As bile flows through the bile ducts it is modified by addition of a watery, bicarbonate-rich secretion from ductal epithelial cells.
• In species with a gallbladder (man and most domestic animals except horses and rats), further modification of bile occurs in that organ. The gall bladder stores and concentrates bile during the fasting state. Typically, bile is concentrated five-fold in the gall bladder by absorption of water and small electrolytes – virtually all of the organic molecules are retained.
• Secretion into bile is a major route for eliminating cholesterol. Free cholesterol is virtually insoluble in aqueous solutions, but in bile, it is made soluble by bile acids and lipids like lecithin. Gallstones, most of which are composed predominantly of cholesterol, result from processes that allow cholesterol to precipitate from solution in bile.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/04/01/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-1-april-2020/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Stat1: It is one of the ingredients. safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/regulations/us-laws/lead-in-lipstick/
• Stat 2: Brominated vegetable oil is used primarily to help emulsify citrus-flavored soft drinks, preventing them from separating during distribution.
• Stat3: Sodium hypochlorite is commonly used as a bleaching agent, and also to sanitise swimming pools.
• It releases chlorine, which is a disinfectant. Large quantities of chlorine can be harmful.
• At a much lower 0.25-0.5%, this chemical is used to treat skin wounds like cuts or scrapes. An even weaker solution (0.05%) is sometimes used as a handwash.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/04/01/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-1-april-2020/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Stat1: They are a bacterium. So, 1 is wrong. Clostridium botulinum is an anaerobic bacterium, meaning it can only grow in the absence of oxygen. It produces spores that are heat-resistant and exist widely in the environment, and in the absence of oxygen they germinate, grow and then excrete toxins.
• Stat2: Human botulism, caused by ingestion of contaminated food, is a rare but potentially fatal disease if not diagnosed rapidly and treated with antitoxin.
• The growth of the bacteria and the formation of toxin occur in products with low oxygen content and certain combinations of storage temperature and preservative parameters. This happens most often in lightly preserved foods and in inadequately processed, home-canned or home-bottled foods.
• Clostridium botulinum will not grow in acidic conditions (pH less than 4.6), and therefore the toxin will not be formed in acidic foods (however, a low pH will not degrade any pre-formed toxin). Combinations of low storage temperature and salt contents and/or pH are also used to prevent the growth of the bacteria or the formation of the toxin.

Refer: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/botulism

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Stat1: It is one of the tallest trees in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, and the state tree of both the states.
• The oleoresin from the bark is said to have medicinal properties. It is mainly used for its timber in constructing houses as it is a medium hardwood tree.
• Stat2: Some time ago, the Moran community — one of the pre-dominant indigenous groups in Tinsukia district (Assam) — declared the hollong tree a “national tree” as a first step to prevent the rampant felling.
• The preservation of the tropical tree is now a mission with the community.
• Parallels are being drawn with the Chipko Movement led by environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna to protect the greenery in Uttarakhand.

Refer: https://blog.mygov.in/van-mahotsav-promoting-assams-plants/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• It is possible that a fuel has some moisture content even before burning. Moisture content as such does not increase or reduce flame generation. So, B is wrong.
• Many burning processes may be called as chemical change. Moreover, even after the flame dies out, the process of burning remains as a chemical change. So, C is incorrect.
• When a substance changes phase, that is it goes from either a solid to a liquid or liquid to gas, the energy, it requires energy to do so. This energy is called as latent heat. It is fixed for a certain kind of fuel (in KJ). So, D is also wrong.

Refer: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/fire1.htm

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Amur falcons visit India every year. But, India is their non-breeding ground, i.e. they visit it as migratory birds. The breeding grounds are shown in the picture below.

• Source: The Centre will develop the Doyang lake in Nagaland – famous for the world’s longest travelling raptors Amur falcons – as an eco-tourism spot.
  • Amur falcons come to Doyang every year in millions. They come to roost here during their flight from Mongolia to South Africa, making this beautiful area in India’s northeast a bird-watchers’ paradise.
  • The lake area had come to limelight when two of three falcons, tagged with satellite device in 2013 to understand their migratory behaviour, had returned to the lake twice after taking rounds from Mongolia to South Africa via Nagaland.
  • These two falcons – named Naga and Pangti – have once again returned to the lake in Nagaland this year.
  • As per the Union MoEFCC minister, “The world has recognized Pangti village in Nagaland as the world’s Amur Falcon capital, as more than one million birds can be seen in just 30 minutes.”
  • Until recently, Naga tribesmen used to hunt thousands of Amur falcons for meat. But last year, after a vigorous campaign by wildlife activists, they pledged to protect the bird and since then, not a single bird has been hunted in the area.

Refer: http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/2017/species/amur-falcon

Ans: (b)

Explanation: The treaty was brokered by the World Bank (then the IBRD).

• The treaty deals with the sharing of water of six rivers — Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.
• As per treaty, control over three eastern rivers —Ravi, Beas and Sutlej was given to India. While control over three western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab was given to Pakistan.
• It allows India to use only 20% of the water of Indus River, which flows through it first, for irrigation, power generation and transport.
• Most disagreements and disputes have been settled via legal procedures, provided for within the framework of the treaty.
• The treaty has survived India-Pakistan wars of 1965, 1971 and the 1999 Kargil standoff besides Kashmir insurgency since 1990. It is most successful water treaty in world.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/02/22/indus-water-treaty/