QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 3 June 2020

Solution: b)

There are two main routes of transmission of the COVID-19 virus: respiratory and contact. The virus is mainly spread by small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing or even talking to an infected person. These droplets may also be produced during breathing; however, since the virus is large (as compared to other viruses), they rapidly fall to the ground or surfaces and are not generally spread through the air, over large distances. People may also become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then their face. There have been no reports of faecal−oral transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

Source: Yojana May 2020

Solution: b)

The scheme is designed as a social safety net for improvement of livelihood of MFP gatherers by providing them fair price for the MFPs they collect.

The scheme is implemented in all the States & union territories having Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India.

Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt of India. of India shall be the Nodal Ministry for implementation and monitoring of the scheme. Ministry of Tribal Affairs shall announce Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the selected MFPs with the technical support from TRIFED.

TRIFED shall be Central Nodal Agency for implementation of the scheme through State level implementing agencies.

Source

Solution: a)

The Government of India had imposed, on 24 March, a three-week national lockdown (extendable) by invoking provisions of National Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DM Act). The Act was enacted by invoking entry 23, namely, “Social Security and Social Insurance; Employment and Unemployment” in Concurrent List of the Constitution of India. Hence, it empowers union and state governments to frame rules and issue executive orders.

In fact, the subject ‘disaster management’ is not specifically mentioned in all the three lists of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Therefore, Parliament exercised its power to enact a law on the subject. Other entries e.g., ‘Public Order’ and ‘Public Health’ were included in the State List when the Constitution of India was framed. Further, consequent upon the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution in 1993, ‘Public Health’ found place in the 11th and 12th Schedules. As a result, panchayats and municipalities have been assigned civic powers to render ‘public health’, to the residents in their respective jurisdictions.

Source

Solution: b)

Conceived as a two-part project, this is the country’s first river interlinking project.

• The project aims to transfer surplus water from the Ken river in MP to Betwa in UP to irrigate the drought-prone Bundelkhand region spread across the districts of two states mainly Jhansi, Banda, Lalitpur and Mahoba districts of UP and Tikamgarh, Panna and Chhatarpur districts of MP.
• Ken and Betwa rivers originate in MP and are the tributaries of Yamuna.
• Ken meets with Yamuna in Banda district of UP and with Betwa in Hamirpur district of UP.
• Rajghat, Paricha and Matatila dams are over Betwa river.
• Ken River passes through Panna tiger reserve.

Solution: a)

SpaceX, the world’s leading private company in space technology, has launched 60 satellites into the low earth orbit, under the Starlink network project. The Starlink network is one of several ongoing efforts to start beaming data signals from space.

The aim is to provide low-cost and reliable space-based Internet services to the world.

Why use low earth orbit instead of geostationary?

Geostationary orbit is located at a height of 35,786 km over the Earth’s surface, directly above the Equator. Satellites in this orbit move at speeds of about 11,000 km per hour, and complete one revolution of the Earth in the same time that the earth rotates once on its axis. To the observer on the ground, therefore, a satellite in geostationary orbit appears stationary.

Advantages: Signals from geostationary orbit can cover a very large part of the Earth. Signals from one satellite can cover roughly a third of the planet — and three to four satellites would be enough to cover the entire Earth. Also, because they appear to be stationary, it is easier to link to them.

Then what’s the issue?

There is a time lag — called latency — between a user seeking data, and the server sending that data.

And because data transfers cannot happen faster than the speed of light (in reality, they take place at significantly lower speeds), the longer the distance that needs to be covered the greater is the time lag, or latency.

A transmission from a satellite in geostationary orbit has a latency of about 600 milliseconds.

A satellite in the lower orbit, 200-2,000 km from the Earth’s surface, can bring the lag down to 20-30 milliseconds, roughly the time it takes for terrestrial systems to transfer data. But lower orbits have their own problem.

Owing to their lower height, their signals cover a relatively small area. As a result, many more satellites are needed in order to reach signals to every part of the planet.