DAY – 14 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2020

Solution: C

The government has formed a panel to study the existing framework for virtual currencies such as bitcoin. A finance ministry statement said Dinesh Sharma, special secretary in the economic affairs department will chair the nine-member inter-disciplinary committee.

Solution: C

Rotavirus:

• Rotavirus is a leading cause of severe diarrhoea and death among children less than five years of age.
• It is responsible for around 10% of total child mortality every year.

Rotavirus-Signs and Symptoms:

• Kids with a rotavirus infection have fever, nausea, and vomiting, often followed by abdominal cramps and frequent, watery diarrhea.
• Kids may also have a cough and runny nose.
• Sometimes the diarrhea that accompanies a rotavirus infection is so severe that it can quickly lead to dehydration.
• As with all viruses, though, some rotavirus infections cause few or no symptoms, especially in adults.

Transmission:

Rotavirus is transmitted by the faecal-oral route, via contact with contaminated hands, surfaces and objects, and possibly by the respiratory route. Viral diarrhea is highly contagious.

Virus spreads from person to person due to bacterial and parasiting agents.

Solution: D

Price Stabilization Fund Scheme:

• Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) refers to any fund constituted for the purpose of containing extreme volatility in prices of selected commodities.
• Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) with a corpus of Rs.500 crores is a Central Sector Scheme.
• The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation is implementing the scheme
• It helps regulate the price volatility of important agri-horticultural commodities like onion, potatoes and pulses.
• The scheme provides for maintaining a strategic buffer of aforementioned commodities for subsequent calibrated release to moderate price volatility and discourage hoarding and unscrupulous speculation.
• Apart from domestic procurement from farmers/wholesale mandis, import may also be undertaken with support from the Fund.
• It aims to discourage hoarding and unscrupulous speculation.

Solution: C

Project SURE:

• The SURE project is a commitment by India’s apparel industry to set a sustainable pathway for the Indian fashion industry.
• SURE stands for ‘Sustainable Resolution’ – a firm commitment from the industry to move towards fashion that contributes to a clean environment.
• The project has been launched by the union Textiles Ministry, along with Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI); United Nations in India; and IMG Reliance.
• Significance: It will be the first holistic effort by the apparel industry towards gradually introducing a broader framework for establishing critical sustainability goals for the industry.
• This framework would help the industry reduce its carbon emissions, increase resource efficiency, tackle waste and water management, and create positive social impact to achieve long-term sustainability targets.
• It aims to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030, especially SDG-12 for responsible consumption and production

Solution:C
National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA):

• National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) was set up as registered society under the Societies Registration Act of 1890 on November 24, 2005 with a mandate for Dope free sports in India.
• The primary objectives are to implement anti-doping rules as per WADA code, regulate dope control programme, to promote education and research and creating awareness about doping and its ill effects.
• It is responsible for promoting, coordinating, and monitoring doping control program in sports in all its forms.
• It Comes under Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Solution: D

SARAL – ‘State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index’

• SARAL – ‘State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index’ was recently launched.
• The Index evaluates Indian states based on their attractiveness for rooftop development.
• SARAL is the first of its kind index to provide a comprehensive overview of state-level measures adopted to facilitate rooftop solar deploymen
• SARAL has been designed collaboratively by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF), Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Ernst & Young (EY).

SARAL currently captures five key aspects:

• robustness of policy framework
• implementation environment
• investment climate
• consumer experience
• business ecosystem

Solution: B

Aadi Mahotsav

• It is a joint initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India & Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
• The theme of the festival is: “A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft, Culture and Commerce”. TRIFED essentially is to play the role of a ‘Service provider’ & ‘Market Developer.’
• The Mahotsav will comprise of display and sale of items of tribal art and craft, tribal medicine & healers, tribal cuisine and display of tribal folk performance, in which tribal artisans, chefs, folk dancers/musicians from 23 States of the country shall participate and provide glimpse of their rich traditional culture.
• Significance of the event: As the name of this event AadiMahotsav suggests, it is it’s ‘Adi’ factor that is important about them. The Adivasi way of life is guided by primal truths, eternal values and a natural simplicity. The greatness of the tribes lies in this that they have managed to retain the primal skills and natural simplicity. This quality gives their arts and crafts a timeless appeal. The crudest tribal handicraft instantly touches a primal instinct in all of us. This is particularly true in tribal music and dance.

Solution: C

The rechargeable iron ion battery has been designed using mild steel as the anode.The iron ion battery is cost-effective and the amount of energy that can be stored in the battery is also high.
While lithium ions are the charge carriers in lithium ion battery, the Fe2+ ions perform that function in thecase of iron ion battery.

Benefits of Iron over Lithium

• Iron has favourable physico-chemical properties like lithium.The redox potential of iron ion is higher than lithium ion and the radius of the Fe2+ ion is nearly the sameas that of the lithium ion.
• Iron is more stable during the charging process and therefore prevents short-circuiting of the batteries.

Solution: A

Sovereign Blue Bond, first of its kind is introduced bySeychelles.

Republic of Seychelles has launched the world’s first sovereign blue bond—a pioneering financial instrument designed to support sustainable marine and fisheries projects.

The bond, which raised US$15 million from international investors, demonstrates the potential for countries to harness capital markets for financing the sustainable use of marine resources. The World Bank assisted in developing the blue bond and reaching out to the three investors: Calvert Impact Capital, Nuveen, and U.S. Headquartered Prudential Financial, Inc.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/29/seychelles-launches-worlds-first-sovereign-blue-bond

Solution: C

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty:

1. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty, formally Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles) is a 1987 arms control agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union.
2. Under the INF Treaty, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. agreed to eliminate within three years all ground-launched-missiles of 500-5,500 km range and not to develop, produce or deploy these in future.
3. The U.S. destroyed 846 Pershing IIs and Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCMs) and the U.S.S.R., 1,846 missiles (SS-4s, SS-5s and SS-20s), along with its support facilities.

US in early December last year announced that it would suspend its obligations under the INF treaty by Feb. 2, citing Russian “cheating,” unless Moscow comes into compliance with the terms of the pact.

The U.S. government says the new Russian missile violates provisions of the pact that ban production, testing and deployment of land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 310 to 3,400 miles.

Solution: A

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), established in 1958, is registered under the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act.

NAFED was setup with the object to promote Cooperative marketing of Agricultural Produce to benefit the farmers.

Agricultural farmers are the main members of Nafed, who have the authority to say in the form of members of the General Body in the working of Nafed.

The objectives of the NAFEDshall be to organize, promote and develop marketing, processing and storage of agricultural, horticultural and forest produce, distribution of agricultural machinery, implements and other inputs, undertake inter-state, import and export trade etc

Solution: A

Bharat Ratnais the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. The provision of Bharat Ratna was introduced in 1954.

Eligibility: Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex is eligible for these awards.

There is no written provision that Bharat Ratna should be awarded to Indian citizens only.

It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour.

The award was originally limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science and public services but the government expanded the criteria to include “any field of human endeavour” in December 2011.

Solution: A

Pangong Lake in Kashmir is the world’s highest brackish lake at 14,256 feet above sea level. In winter the lake freezes completely, despite being saline water.

Solution: C

Parliament may by law create or abolish the second chamber in a state.

The Legislative Assembly of that state must pass a resolution to that effect by a special majority.

Currently, six states have Legislative Councils UP, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana), Maharashtra, Karnataka.

Legislative council of a state shall not exceed one third of the total number of the members in the legislative Assembly of that state and the total number of members in the legislative council of a state shall in no case be less than 40.

Solution: D

Inside the country’s first ever otter reserve in Karnataka, there is a family of smooth-coated otters (Lutrogaleperspicillata) gathered at a spot. They are involved in activity that binds them together as a family and group. They are defecating together. If for humans the adage states that a family that eats together stays together, it is the other end of the digestion process for otters.