INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 14 May 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• With the changed definition both investment and turn over is used to define MSMEs. Under the new definition a firm with turn over of Rs 5 crore is to be called a micro unit, of Rs 50 crore will be called as small unit and turn over greater than Rs 100 core is to be called as Medium unit.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/05/14/major-stimulus-measures/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• West Bank is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia, bordered by Jordan to the east and by the Green Line separating it and Israel on the south, west and north. The West Bank also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea shore
• Dead sea is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/05/14/west-bank-and-issues-associated-2/

Ans: (a)

Explanation: China- Taiwan relations- Background:

• China has claimed Taiwan through its “one China” policy since the Chinese civil war forced the defeated Kuomintang, or Nationalist, to flee to the island in 1949 and has vowed to bring it under Beijing’s rule, by force if necessary.
• China is Taiwan’s top trading partner, with trade totaling $226 billion in 2018. Taiwan runs a large trade surplus with China.
• While Taiwan is self-governed and de facto independent, it has never formally declared independence from the mainland.
• Under the “one country, two systems” formula, Taiwan would have the right to run its own affairs; a similar arrangement is used in Hong Kong.
• Taiwan is a member of the World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and Asian Development Bank under various names.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/05/14/china-taiwan-relations/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• World Economic Forum has released its global Energy Transition index.
• The Energy Transition Index (ETI) is a fact-based ranking intended to enable policy-makers and businesses to plot the course for a successful energy transition.
• The benchmarking of energy systems is carried out annually across countries. Part of the World Economic Forum’s Fostering Effective Energy Transition initiative, it builds on its predecessor, the Energy Architecture Performance Index. The ETI does not only benchmark countries on their current energy system performance, but also provides a forward looking lens as it measures their readiness for the energy transition.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/05/14/wefs-global-energy-transition-index/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 has been released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
• The FRA 2020 has examined the status of, and trends in, more than 60 forest-related variables in 236 countries and territories in the period 1990–2020.

Key findings:

• Forest area has declined all across the world in the past three decades. The world lost 178 mha of forest since 1990, an area the size of Libya.
• The rate of forest loss has also declined due to the growth of sustainable management. The rate of forest loss in 2015-2020 declined to an estimated 10 million hectares (mha), down from 12 million hectares (mha) in 2010-2015.
• The area of naturally regenerating forests worldwide decreased since 1990, but the area of planted forests increased by 123 mha.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/05/14/global-forest-resources-assessment-2020/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• It is an Indian government agency attached to the Ministry of Culture that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General.

Important publications:

• Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum.
• Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy.
• Epigraphia Indica.
• Ancient India.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/05/14/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-14-may-2020/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Plant tissue culture is the culture and maintenance of plant cells or organs in sterile, nutritionally and environmentally supportive conditions (in vitro).
• It includes the cultural techniques for regeneration of functional plants from embryonic tissues, tissue fragments, isolated cells etc.
• In commercial settings, tissue culture is often referred to as micro-propagation, which is in fact one of the techniques in tissue culture.
• Micro-propagation refers to the production of whole plants from cell cultures derived from explants (the initial piece of tissue put into culture) or meristem cells.
• You can read this to understand it in detail

Refer: https://passel2.unl.edu/view/lesson/54f48d0cd240

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• It is a political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except for Iraq. Its member states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
• All current member states are monarchies, including three constitutional monarchies (Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain).
• In order to reduce their dependence on oil in the future, the GCC states are pursuing unprecedented structural reform initiatives.
• Why Iran is not a Gulf country?
  • Iran only uses the term “Persian Gulf” and does not recognize the naming when it is referred to as “Arabian Gulf” or just the “Gulf”. Iran does not consider the latter an impartial usage, and views it as an active contribution to the abandonment of the historical name.

Refer: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gulf-Cooperation-Council

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• At every point where the River Kaveri (Cauvery) splits to form an island, there is a Ranganathaswamy temple.
• The first one is at Srirangapatna (‘Adi Ranga’), the second one is here at Shivanasamudram (‘Madhya Ranga’) and the third at Tiruchirapalli in Srirangam (‘Antya Ranga’).
• The uniqueness of Sri Ranganthaswamy Temple in Shivasamudra is that Adiseshan, the snake, is seven-headed whereas in the other two temples that form the trio, the snake is a five-headed one.
• The icon is believed to be a Shaligrama Shila or in other words a Black Fossil Stone.

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• A swing behaves like a pendulum. So, the time period of a swing is equivalent to that of a suspended pendulum (T=2pi root l/g).
• The effective length of the pendulum is taken from its point of suspension (hanging) to its centre of gravity.
• When the boy stands on the swing, the centre of gravity will shift above due to the distribution of mass upwards in the swing (imagine mass standing on the swing).
• As Centre of gravity shifts upwards, the effective length of the swing/ pendulum will decrease from the point it has been hanged to. Therefore time period decreases.