INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 13 June 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is an organisation that assesses and accredits higher education Institutions (HEIs) in India.
  • It is an autonomous body funded by University Grants Commission of Government of India headquartered in Bangalore.
  • NAAC was established in 1994 in response to recommendations of National Policy in Education (1986). This policy was to “address the issues of deterioration in quality of education”, and the Programme of Action (POA-1992) laid out strategic plans for the policies including the establishment of an independent national accreditation body. Consequently, the NAAC was established in 1994 with its headquarters at Bengaluru.
• The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a methodology adopted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India. The Framework was approved by the MHRD and launched by Minister of Human Resource Development on 29 September 2015.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/13/nirf-ranking-2020-released/

Ans: (d)

Explanation: the conceptual/philosophical case for UBI:

• Source: Universal Basic Income is a radical and compelling paradigm shift in thinking about both social justice and a productive economy. It could be to the twenty first century what civil and political rights were to the twentieth. It is premised on the idea that a just society needs to guarantee to each individual a minimum income which they can count on, and which provides the necessary material foundation for a life with access to basic goods and a life of dignity. A universal basic income is, like many rights, unconditional and universal: it requires that every person should have a right to a basic income to cover their needs, just by virtue of being citizens. The time has come to think of UBI for a number of reasons:
  • Social Justice: UBI is, first and foremost, a test of a just and non-exploitative society. From Tom Paine to John Rawls, nearly every theory of justice has argued that a society that fails to guarantee a decent minimum income to all citizens will fail the test of justice. It should be evident to anyone that no society can be just or stable if it does not give all members of the society a stake.
  • A Universal Basic Income promotes many of the basic values of a society which respects all individuals as free and equal. It promotes liberty because it is anti-paternalistic, opens up the possibility of flexibility in labour markets. It promotes equality by reducing poverty. It promotes efficiency by reducing waste in government transfers. And it could, under some circumstances, even promote greater productivity. It is not an accident that Universal Basic Income has been embraced both by thinkers of the Left and of the Right.
  • Poverty Reduction: Conditional on the presence of a well-functioning financial system, a Universal Basic Income may simply be the fastest way of reducing poverty. UBI is also, paradoxically, more feasible in a country like India, where it can be pegged at relatively low levels of income but still yield immense welfare gains.
  • Agency: The poor in India have been treated as objects of government policy. Our current welfare system, even when well intentioned, inflicts an indignity upon the poor by assuming that they cannot take economic decisions relevant to their lives. An unconditional cash transfer treats them as agents, not subjects. A UBI is also practically useful. The circumstances that keep individuals trapped in poverty are varied; the risks they face and the shocks they face also vary. The state is not in the best position to determine which risks should be mitigated and how priorities are to be set. UBI liberates citizens from paternalistic and clientelistic relationships with the state. By taking the individual and not the household as the unit of beneficiary, UBI can also enhance agency, especially of women within households.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/13/universal-basic-income-2/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: Sahakar Mitra scheme:

• It is an initiative by National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)
• It would also provide an opportunity to professionals from academic institutions to develop leadership and entrepreneurial roles through cooperatives as Farmers Producers Organizations (FPO).
• Under the programme, each intern will get financial support over a 4 months internship period.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/13/sahakar-mitra-scheme-launched/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• PMKSY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in 2015.
• Krishi Sinchayee Yojana with an outlay of Rs.50,000 crores for a period of 5 years (2015-16 to 2019-20) is to achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level.
• PMKSY has been formulated amalgamating ongoing schemes Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation; Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land Resources; and On Farm Water Management (OFWM) component of National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.
• PMKSY is to be implemented in an area development approach, adopting decentralized state level planning and projectised execution, allowing the states to draw their irrigation development plans based on district/blocks plans with a horizon of 5 to 7 years. States can take up projects based on the District/State Irrigation Plan.
• All the States and Union Territories including North Eastern States are covered under the programme.
• The National Steering Committee (NSC) of PMKSY under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime Minister, will provide policy direction to programme framework and a National Executive Committee (NEC) under the chairmanship of Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog will oversee the programme implementation at national level.
• Provision has been made under PMKSY during 2015-16 for carrying out extension activities in the field with special focus on water harvesting, water management and crop alignment for farmers and grass root level field functionaries.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/13/pradhan-mantri-krishi-sinchayee-yojana/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• It is an Integrated Flood Warning System and is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
• The warning system will be able to relay alerts of possible flood-prone areas anywhere between six to 72 hours in advance.
• The system can provide all information regarding possible flood-prone areas, likely height the floodwater could attain, location-wise problem areas across all 24 wards and calculate the vulnerability and risk of elements exposed to flood.
• The primary source for the system is the amount of rainfall, but with Mumbai being a coastal city, the system also factors in tidal waves and storm tides for its flood assessments.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/13/iflows-mumbai/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Lonar crater lake was identified as a unique geographical site by a British officer named CJE Alexander in 1823.
• It is an ancient circular lake created by a meteorite strike in Maharashtra.
• Lonar crater became a geo-heritage site in 1979.
• It is relatively young geologically, at just 50,000 years old.
• Lonar Lake lies within the only known extraterrestrial impact crater found within the great Deccan Traps, a huge basaltic formation in India (Source:Wikipedia)

Refer: facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/06/13/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-13-june-2020/

Ans: (a)

Explanation: here the directive word is incorrect!!

• Nitrates not only affect surface water but also pollute groundwater sources.
• Nitrous oxide (N2O) gas should not be confused with nitric oxide (NO) or nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Neither nitric oxide nor nitrogen dioxide are greenhouse gases. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas. Nitrogen particles make up the largest fraction of PM2.5, the class of pollutants closely linked to cardiovascular and respiratory illness.
• Though agriculture remains the largest contributor to nitrogen emissions, the non-agricultural emissions of nitrogen oxides and nitrous oxide are growing rapidly, with sewage and fossil-fuel burning — for power, transport and industry — leading the trend.

Refer: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/pollution/annual-un-report-recognises-the-threats-posed-by-nitrogen-pollution-63469

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority has been fulfilling its mandate within the ambit of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for strengthening tiger conservation in the country by retaining an oversight through advisories/normative guidelines, based on appraisal of tiger status, ongoing conservation initiatives and recommendations of specially constituted Committees.
• Set up under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Environment and Forests.
• Functions of NTCA are as follows:
  • Ensuring normative standards in tiger reserve management.
  • Preparation of reserve specific tiger conservation plan.
  • Laying down annual/ audit report before Parliament.
  • Instituting State level Steering Committees under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister and establishment of Tiger Conservation Foundation.
  • According approval for declaring new Tiger Reserves.

Refer: https://projecttiger.nic.in/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Many coronavirus patients have died of sepsis — when the body’s immune system goes into overdrive.
• How does sepsis occur, what are the warning signs and how is it treated?
• Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by the body’s immune system overreacting in response to an infection. This overactive, toxic response can lead to tissue damage, multiple organ failure and death.
• How does sepsis occur and how do I recognize it?
  • Viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites — sepsis can be triggered by a variety of pathogens. The causes of sepsis are usually pneumonia, wound infections, urinary tract infections or infections in the abdominal cavity.
  • In addition to the known seasonal influenza viruses, other viruses that are highly infectious, such as coronaviruses, Ebola and yellow fever viruses, dengue, swine flu or bird flu viruses can also cause sepsis.
  • In addition to the typical signs of infection, there are several stand out symptoms that usually indicate possible sepsis — for example, a drop in blood pressure with a simultaneous rise in heart rate, fever, rapid, heavy breathing, an unusually strong feeling of illness and sudden confusion.

Refer: https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/what-is-sepsis.html

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) launched Swell Surge Forecast System, which will provide forewarnings for the coastal population of India’s vast shoreline, which experiences a slew of damages caused by the swell waves that actually originate from the distant southern Indian Ocean.
• Swell Surge Forecast System: Swell surge forecast system is an innovative system designed for the prediction of Kallakkadal/Swell Surge that occurs along the Indian coast, particularly the west coast.
• Kallakadal/Swell surge are flash-flood events that take place without any noticeable advance change in local winds or any other apparent signature in the coastal environment. Hence the local population remains totally unaware of these flooding events until they actually occur. Such events are intermittent throughout the year. Kallakkadal is a colloquial term used by Kerala fishermen to refer to the freaky flooding episodes and in 2012 UNESCO formally accepted this term for scientific use.
• During Kallakkadal events, the sea surges into the land and inundates vast areas. These events have attracted attention especially after the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean, since most people mistake Kallakkadal to be Tsunamis. Tsunami and Kallakkadal/Swell surge are two different types of waves with entirely separate causes or mechanisms. Kallakkadal are caused by meteorological conditions in the Southern Ocean, south of 30°S. A study by INCOIS scientists has revealed that specific meteorological conditions in the Southern Indian Ocean support the generation of long period swells. These swells once generated, travel northward and reach the Indian coasts in 3-5 days time, creating havoc in the coastal areas. The system will now predict Kallakkadal and warnings will be given to concerned authorities at least 2-3 days in advance, which will help the local authorities for contingency plans and to reduce damage.

Refer: https://incois.gov.in/documents/Remya_JGR.pdf