DAY – 16 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2020

Solution: B

On 23 December 2005, the Government of India enacted the Disaster Management Act, which envisaged the creation of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister, and State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) headed by respective Chief Ministers, to spearhead and implement a holistic and integrated approach to Disaster Management in India.

NDMA, as the apex body, is mandated to lay down the policies, plans and guidelines for Disaster Management to ensure timely and effective response to disasters. Towards this, it has the following responsibilities:-

• Lay down policies on disaster management ;
• Approve the National Plan;
• Approve plans prepared by the Ministries or Departments of the Government of India in accordance with the National Plan;
• Lay down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in drawing up the State Plan;
• Lay down guidelines to be followed by the different Ministries or Departments of the Government of India for the Purpose of integrating the measures for prevention of disaster or the mitigation of its effects in their development plans and projects;
• Coordinate the enforcement and implementation of the policy and plans for disaster management;
• Recommend provision of funds for the purpose of mitigation;
• Provide such support to other countries affected by major disasters as may be determined by the Central Government;
• Take such other measures for the prevention of disaster, or the mitigation, or preparedness and capacity building for dealing with threatening disaster situations or disasters as it may consider necessary;
• Lay down broad policies and guidelines for the functioning of the National Institute of Disaster Management.

https://ndma.gov.in/en/about-ndma/roles-responsibilities.html

Solution: D

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity and lack of social development.

Key facts

• Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated.
• Researchers have estimated that each year there are 1.3 million to 4.0 million cases of cholera, and 21 000 to 143 000 deaths worldwide due to cholera (1).
• Up to 80% of cases can be successfully treated with oral rehydration solution (ORS).
• Severe cases will need rapid treatment with intravenous fluids and antibiotics.
• Provision of safe water and sanitation is critical to control the transmission of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
• Safe oral cholera vaccines should be used in conjunction with improvements in water and sanitation to control cholera outbreaks and for prevention in areas known to be high risk for cholera.
• A global strategy on cholera control with a target to reduce cholera deaths by 90% was launched in 2017.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/cholera-bacteria-have-become-highly-drug-resistant/article29309292.ece

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

Solution: D

India has the highest burden of Tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) worldwide. Innovative technology is the need of the hour to identify these cases that remain either undiagnosed or inadequately diagnosed due to the unavailability of appropriate tools at primary healthcare settings.

To address the TB diagnostic challenges, three cost-effective kits that improve the sensitivity of smear microscopy, enable transport of sputum samples at ambient temperature without using bio-safe containers, and extract DNA for diagnosing drug-resistant TB.

The three kits are — TB Detect, TB Concentration & Transport, and TB DNA Extraction.

These kits enable bio-safe equipment-free concentration of sputum on filters and improved fluorescence microscopy at primary healthcare centres, ambient temperature transport of dried inactivated sputum filters to central laboratories and molecular detection of drug resistance by PCR and DNA sequencing (Mol-DST).

The TB Detect kit is for diagnosis using LED fluorescence microscopy, while the TB Concentration & Transport, and the TB DNA Extraction kits together are for detection of drug-resistance.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/filter-based-kits-developed-for-tb-diagnosis-drug-resistance-testing/article29309401.ece

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6692035/

Solution: A

Mid Day Meal in schools has had a long history in India. In 1925, a Mid Day Meal Programme was introduced for disadvantaged children in Madras Municipal Corporation. By the mid 1980s three States viz. Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the UT of Pondicherry had universalized a cooked Mid Day Meal Programme with their own resources for children studying at the primary stage. By 1990-91 the number of States implementing the mid day.

Objective of the Mid Day Meal scheme is to enhance the enrollment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improve nutritional levels among school going children studying in Classes I to VIII of Government, Government – aided schools, Special Training centres (STC) and Madarasas and Maktabs supported under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

It was started in 1995 as National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education. The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013. Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS), is a Centrally-Sponsored Scheme

Solution: C

India to undertake deep ocean mining with ‘Samudrayaan’ project.

About Samudrayaan:

It is a pilot project of the Ministry of Earth Sciences for deep ocean mining for rare minerals.

It proposes to send men into the deep sea in a submersible vehicle for ocean studies.

The project is expected to become a reality by 2021-22.

The project has been undertaken by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).

Significance:

If the ‘Samudrayaan’ project is successful, India will join the league of developed nations in the exploration of minerals from oceans.

India could be the first developing country to undertake such a project.

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/india-to-join-developed-nations-in-ocean-studies-with-samudrayaan-project-1567353695501.html

Solution: D

The Periyar River is the longest river in the state of Kerala, India, with a length of 244 km. The Periyar is known as The lifeline of Kerala; it is one of the few perennial rivers in the region and provides drinking water for several major towns. The Idukki Dam on the Periyar generates a significant proportion of Kerala’s electrical power. It flows north through Periyar National Park into Periyar Lake, a 55 km² artificial reservoir created in 1895 by the construction of a dam across the river. Water is diverted from the lake into the Vaigai River in Tamil Nadu via a tunnel through the Western Ghats. From the lake, the river flows northwest through the village of Neeleswaram into Vembanad Lake and out to the Arabian Sea coast. Its largest tributaries are the Muthirapuzha River, the Mullayar River, the Cheruthoni River, the Perinjankutti River and the Edamala River. Through the Periyar Lake dam and tunnel, the river serves as the major water source for five drought-prone districts in the state of Tamil Nadu, including Theni, Madurai and Ramanathapuram.

http://www.kerenvis.nic.in/Database/Periyar_1822.aspx

Solution: B

The Indian Council of World Affairs was established in 1943 by a group of Indian intellectuals as a think tank. It was registered as a non-official, non-political and non-profit organisation under the Registration of Societies Act 1860. By an Act of Parliament in 2001, the Indian Council of World Affairs has been declared an institution of national importance. The Vice President of India is the ex-officio President of ICWA.

It is devoted exclusively for the study of international relations and foreign affairs. Historic international conferences like ‘Asian Relations Conference’ in 1947 under the leadership of freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu and ‘United Nations and the New World Order’ in 1994 have been held by this think tank in which world renowned dignitaries addressed huge gatherings of intellectuals. Scores of conferences, meetings and panel discussions have been organised by the Council in its elegant building called “Sapru House”.

The first Prime Minister of independent India, late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of India’s foreign policy, was a regular visitor to Sapru House to confer with noted scholars, intellectuals and academics.

https://www.icwa.in/WriteReadData/RTF1984/1568184672.pdf

Solution: D

The Ratapani Tiger Reserve, located in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, in Vindhya Range in central India, is one of the finest teak forests in the state and is less than 50 km. away from the capital Bhopal. It has been a wildlife sanctuary since 1976.

Solution: C

The Lead Bank Scheme, introduced towards the end of 1969, envisages assignment of lead roles to individual banks (both in public sector and private sector) for the districts allotted to them. A bank having a relatively large network of branches in the rural areas of a given district and endowed with adequate financial and manpower resources has generally been entrusted with the lead responsibility for that district.

Accordingly, all the districts in the country have been allotted to various banks. The lead bank acts as a leader for coordinating the efforts of all credit institutions in the allotted districts to increase the flow of credit to agriculture, small-scale industries and other economic activities included in the priority sector in the rural and semi-urban areas, with the district being the basic unit in terms of geographical area.

Objectives of The Lead Bank Scheme:

• To identify unbanked and underbanked centres in districts and to evaluate their physiographic, agro climatic end Socio-economic conditions through economic survey.
• To help in removing regional imbalances through appropriate credit deployment;
• To extend banking facilities to unbanked areas;
• To estimate credit gaps in various sectors of an economy of a district and prepare a credit plan accordingly.
• To identify economically viable and technically feasible schemes.
• To effect structural and procedural changes in banking sector.
• To develop co-operation amongst financial and non-financial institutions, in overall development of the districts.
• To serve as a clearing house for discussions of problems arising out of financing priority sectors.

Solution: A

Astana consensusstates that “differences between India andChina should be addressed in a manner that they don’t become disputes”

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-china-voice-differences-over-kashmir-but-decide-to-rebuild-bridges/article29039588.ece

Solution: A

The “developing country” status allows a member ofthe WTO to seek temporary exception from the commitments under variousmultilateral trade agreements ratified by the organisation.

Developing countries suchas India and Chinacan seek to delay the implementation of these WTO agreementsowing to their disadvantaged economic status.

They can continue to impose tariffsand quotas on goods and services in order to limit imports and promote domesticproducers who may otherwise be affected adversely by imports that are lower in priceor better in quality. However, Exports by developing countries are not exempted from import duties in developed countries

Solution: B

Tiwa tribe:

Tiwa also known as Lalung is indigenous community inhabiting the states of Assam and Meghalaya and are also found in some parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.They are recognized as a Scheduled tribe within the state of Assam. But they still do not benefit the ST status in the state of Meghalaya.

Wanchuwa festival is celebrated by Tiwa tribesmen to mark their good harvest.Tiwa tribesmen take part in a dance during the Wanchuwa festival in KarbiAnglong district of Assam.Wanchuwa is one of the most important festivals of the Tiwa tribal community.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/specials/india-interior/may-we-have-a-bountiful-harvest/article27164719.ece#

Solution: A

The Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGS) was launched by the Government of India (GoI) to make available collateral-free credit to the micro and small enterprise sector. Both the existing and the new enterprises are eligible to be covered under the scheme.

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, GoI and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), established a Trust named Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) to implement the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises.

The Banks / Financial Institutions, which are eligible under the scheme, are scheduled commercial banks (Public Sector Banks/Private Sector Banks/Foreign Banks) and select Regional Rural Banks (which have been classified under ‘Sustainable Viable’ category by NABARD). As on May 31, 2016, there were 133 eligible Lending Institutions registered as MLIs of the Trust, comprising of 26 Public Sector Banks, 21 Private Sector Banks, 73 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), 4 Foreign Banks

The guarantee cover available under the scheme is to the extent of maximum 85% of the sanctioned amount of the credit facility. 

https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/government-schemes/cgtsme.html

Solution: B

Hoolock gibbon are endangered species. They are the only ape found in India.

Hoolock gibbons are native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India
and Southwest China. In northeast India, the hoolock is found south of Brahmaputra as well on the North Bank areas and east of the Dibang Rivers

https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/arunachal-pradesh/in-an-arunachal-pradesh-village-locals-are-helping-the-endangered-hoolock-gibbon-swing-from-tree-to-tree-5765255/

Solution: C
The State Archaeology Department in Kozhikode, Kerala has unearthed what it calls a Megalithic era iron sword, a chisel and a few decorated pottery from a rock-cut cave at Pothuvachery in Kannur district.
The 105-cm sword, said to be 2,500 years old, was found during a scientific clearance at the historical site.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/megalithic-sword-unearthed-from-rock-cut-cave/article29334448.ece