DAY – 17 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2020

Solution: B

Eat Right Movement:

• It was launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
• The movement aims to cut down salt/sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years.
• It also aims to engage and enable citizens to improve their health and well-being by making the right food choices.

Solution: C

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi:

• The scheme was started with a view to augment the income of the farmers by providing income support to all farmers’ families across the country, to enable them to take care of expenses related to agriculture and allied activities as well as domestic needs.
• Under the Scheme an amount of Rs.6000/- per year is transferred in three 4-monthly installments of Rs.2000/- directly into the bank accounts of the farmers, subject to certain exclusion criteria relating to higher income status.
• The entire responsibility of identification of beneficiaries rests with the State / UT Governments
• The Scheme initially provided income support to all Small and Marginal Farmers’ families across the country, holding cultivable land upto 2 hectares. Its ambit was later expanded w.e.f. 01.06.2019 to cover all farmer families in the country irrespective of the size of their land holdings.
• Affluent farmers have been excluded from the scheme such as Income Tax payers in last assessment year, professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, Chartered Accountants etc, pensioners drawing at least Rs.10,000/- per month (excluding MTS/Class IV/Group D employees) and All Institutional Land holders.

Solution: A

One Stop Centre (OSC) scheme

• Popularly known as Sakhi, Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has formulated this Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• It is a sub – scheme of Umbrella Scheme for National Mission for Empowerment of women including Indira Gandhi Mattritav Sahyaog Yojana.
• Under the scheme, One Stop Centres are being established across the country to provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces in phased manner.
• Target group: The OSC will support all women including girls below 18 years of age affected by violence, irrespective of caste, class, religion, region, sexual orientation or marital status.
• The Scheme will be funded through Nirbhaya Fund. The Central Government will provide 100% financial assistance to the State Government /UT Administrations under the Scheme.

The Centres will be integrated with a Women Helpline to facilitate access to following services:

• Emergency response and rescue services.
• Medical assistance.
• Assistance to women in lodging the FIR.
• Psycho- social support and counselling.
• Legal aid and counselling.
• Shelter
• Video conferencing facility.

Solution: A

DadabhaiNaoroji

• September 4, 2019 was the 194th birth anniversary of DadabhaiNaoroji, the “Grand Old Man of India”, who was among the first leaders who stirred national consciousness in the country.
• Born in 1825 at Navsari, in present-day Gujarat.
• He was closely involved with the Indian National Congress in its early phase.
• He served as the first Indian member of the British parliament.
• His first agitation, in 1859, concerned recruitment to the Indian Civil Service.
• In 1865 and 1866, Naoroji helped found the London Indian Society and the East India Association The two organisations sought to bring nationalist Indians and sympathetic Britons on one platform.
• As the secretary of the East India Association, Naoroji travelled in India to gather funds and raise national awareness.
• In 1885, Naoroji became a vice-president of the Bombay Presidency Association, was nominated to the Bombay legislative council by Governor Lord Reay, and helped form the Indian National Congress.
• He was Congress president thrice, in 1886, 1893, and 1906.
• In 1893, he helped form an Indian parliamentary committee to attend to Indian interests.
• In 1895, he became a member of the royal commission on Indian expenditure.
• Dadabhai Naoroji was among the key proponents of the ‘Drain Theory’, disseminating it in his 1901 book ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’.

Solution: D

Global Liveability Index

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the Global Liveability Index 2019.
• The index ranks 140 global cities based on their living conditions.
• Significance: The liveability index quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual’s lifestyle in 140 cities worldwide, and assesses which locations provide the best living conditions.
• The list is topped by Vienna (Austria) for the second consecutive year.

The survey rates cities worldwide based on 30 qualitative and quantitative criteria, which fall into five general categories:

• Stability
• Health care.
• Culture and environment.
• Education
• Infrastructure

Solution: D

Governors of States in India:

• Governor is the nominal head of a state, unlike the Chief Minister who is the real head of a state in India.
• According to an amendment in the Constitution of India (7th Constitutional Amendment Act), brought about in 1956, the same person can be the Governor of two or more states.

Appointment and removal:

• The governors and lieutenant-governors are appointed by the president for a term of 5 years.
• The term of governor’s office is normally 5 years but it can be terminated earlier by: Dismissal by the president on the advice of the prime minister of the country, at whose pleasure the governor holds office or Resignation by the governor. Thus, the term is subject to pleasure of the president.
• There is no provision of impeachment, as it happens for the president.
• Article 157 and Article 158of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor.

Powers:

• Like the President of India, the Governor of any state in India is vested with certain executive, legislative and judicial powers.
• He or she also possesses certain discretionary or emergency powers.
• But one major difference in the powers enjoyed by the President and those enjoyed by the Governor is, the Governor does not have any diplomatic or military powers.

Some discretionary powers are as follows:

• Governor can dissolve the legislative assemblyif the chief minister advices him to do following a vote of no confidence. Following which, it is up to the Governor what he/ she would like to do.
• Governor, on his/ her discretion can recommend the president about the failure of the constitutional machinery in the state.
• On his/ her discretion, the Governor can reserve a bill passed by the state legislature for president’s assent.
• If there is no political party with a clear-cut majority in the assembly, Governor on his/ her discretion can appoint anybody as chief minister.
• Governor determines the amount payable by the Government of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to an autonomous Tribal District Council as royalty accruing from licenses for mineral exploration.
• Governor can seek information from the chief minister with regard to the administrative and legislative matters of the state.
• Governor has discretion to refuse to sign to an ordinary bill passed by the state legislature.

Solution: D

Pulikali:

• Also known as Tiger Dance, it is a folk art of Kerala, performed on the fourth day of Onam festival.
• Artists wear a tiger mask, paint their bodies like tigers and dance to the rhythm of traditional percussion instruments such as thakil, udukku and chenda.

Solution: B

Project REPLAN (Reducing PLastic in Nature):

• Launched by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
• It aims to make carry bags by mixing processed and treated plastic waste with cotton fibre rags in the ratio 20:80.
• The made paper is found to have good strength and durability.
• It can be used to make paper bags, fine tissues and other paper-based items.

Solution: A

The Indian bull frog, a recent arrival from the mainland, is steadily occupying the Andaman Islands’ ecosystem and threatening the local economy.

Barely 10 cm long, this particular specimen is small. But the larger ones weigh at least half a kilo. The golden stripe on their backs and the glitter around their throats shine in the diffused light of a mobile phone.

Less than two feet from the centipede-eater sits another frog. Next to that, one more, and another, and another scores of frogs in varied sizes, basking in the warmth of the asphalt. Every now and then, one of them leaps toward the murky waters of the paddy fields.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/the-andamans-new-colonisers/article24659652.ece

Solution: D

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific. APEC’s 21 members aim to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration.

APEC ensures that goods, services, investment and people move easily across borders. Members facilitate this trade through faster customs procedures at borders; more favorable business climates behind the border; and aligning regulations and standards across the region. For example, APEC’s initiatives to synchronize regulatory systems is a key step to integrating the Asia-Pacific economy. A product can be more easily exported with just one set of common standards across all economies.

APEC operates as a cooperative, multilateral economic and trade forum. Member economies participate on the basis of open dialogue and respect for views of all participants. In APEC, all economies have an equal say and decision-making is reached by consensus. There are no binding commitments or treaty obligations. Commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis and capacity building projects help members implement APEC initiatives.

https://www.apec.org/About-Us/About-APEC

Solution: C

The World Bank has ranked Andhra Pradesh as the best state in the country in implementation of energy efficiency and conservation programmes.

With an overall score of 42.01, AP has emerged on top followed by Rajasthan with 41.89, Karnataka 39.34 and Maharashtra 39.29 in Energy Efficiency Readiness, a release from the State Energy Conservation Mission said.

Kerala, Gujarat, NCT Delhi, Punjab, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh are the other states in the top ten ranking in that order.

Andhra Pradesh achieved an energy saving of 1,500 million units in two years through use of LED lighting.

Solution: D

Standard antiretroviral therapy (ART) consists of the combination of at least three antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to maximally suppress the HIV virus and stop the progression of HIV disease. Huge reductions have been seen in rates of death and suffering when use is made of a potent ARV regimen, particularly in early stages of the disease.

Antiretroviral therapy has the following positive effects on HIV:

• stops it from multiplying in the blood
• reduces viral load, which is the number of HIV copies in the blood
• increases the number of CD4 cells, which are immune cells that HIV targets, to improve immune system function
• slows down and prevents the development of stage 3 HIV, or AIDS
• prevents transmission
• reduces the severity of complications and increases survival rates
• keeps virus counts low in the blood

https://www.who.int/hiv/topics/treatment/art/en/

Solution: C

It  is  well  known that  the  consumption  of  Used  Cooking  Oil  poses  adverse  health effects.  In  the  interest  of  safeguarding  public  health, the  Food  Safety  and  Standards Authority  of  India  (FSSAI)  has notified  the  Food  Safety  and  Standards  (Licensing and  Registration  of  Food  Businesses),  First  Amendment  Regulation,  2017.

These regulations  prescribe  the  limit  for  Total  Polar  Compounds  (TPC)  to  be  maximum 25%  beyond  which  the  Cooking  Oil  is  not  suitable for  use. From  1st  July,  2018 onwards, all Food Business Operators (FBOs) are required to monitor the quality of oil during frying by complying with the said regulations.2.

At  present,  Used  Cooking  Oil  is  either  not  discarded  at  all  or  disposed  of  in  an environmentally  hazardous  manner  choking  drains  and  sewerage  systems.  Also,  Used Cooking  Oil  from  organised  Food  Business  Operators  reportedly  finds  its  way  to  small restaurants  /  dhabas  and  road-side  vendors.  Given  that  Used  Cooking  Oil  is  a  potential feedstock  for  biodiesel,  its  use  for  making  biodiesel  will  be  environmentally  safe  and prevent diversion of used cooking oil.3. Annually,  about  23  million  MT  Cooking Vegetable Oil  is  consumed  in  India.

There  is potential to recover and use about 3 million MT of this for production of bio-diesel.4.  Effective  implementation  of  Used  Cooking  Oil  standards  and  its  disposal  requires  a ‘Triple E Strategy’and  a  coordinated  effort.

First ‘E’ in the ‘Triple E Strategy’ is ‘Education’i.e,  educating  both  the  consumers and  food  businesses  about  public  health consequences of spoiled ‘Used Cooking Oil’. Second ‘E’ is ‘Enforcement’, particularly amongst  large  food  processing  plants,  restaurants  and  fast-food  joints  that  are  frying food in large quantities; and third ‘E’ is developing an ‘Ecosystem’ for collection of Used Cooking  Oil and producing biodiesel from it.

https://fssai.gov.in/ruco/background-note.php

Solution: D

World’s largest 3D-printed reef, reef structure is cast in ceramic, an inert material similar to the calcium carbonate found in coral reefs. Live coral was then transplanted within the artificial reef, where it will grow and colonize the structure.

It was installed in Maldives.

Solution: D

The Telecom Regulatory Autority of India (TRAI) on Friday pitched for the creation of a Telecom Research and Development Fund (TRDF) with an initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore to promote the indigenous telecom equipment manufacturing sector.

“For promoting research, innovation, standardisation, design, testing, certification and manufacturing indigenous telecom equipment, TRDF, with initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore, should be created,” TRAI said in a recommendation report released on Friday.

“Subsequently, setting up of Telecom Entrepreneurship Promotion Fund (TEPF) and Telecom Manufacturing Promotion Fund (TMPF) should also be considered.”

There is no plan in merging with USOF and it doesn’t come under Ministry of Finance.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/trai-recommends-creation-of-fund-for-telecom-r-d-118080301500_1.html