QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 25 July 2020

Solution: c)

Wildlife enthusiasts can now help scientists and conservationists by updating photos and information on turtles on the newly launched Kurma mobile application, launched on the occasion of World Turtle Day.

The application, developed by the Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network (ITCAN) in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance-India and Wildlife Conservation Society-India, not only provides users a database to identify a species but also provides the location of the nearest rescue centre for turtles across the country.

Kurma app provides a platform for the exchange of vital information on turtles, promises to engage the general public in ground data collection and provide assistance to enforcement agencies / forest departments.

Tortoise and freshwater turtles are among the most trafficked in the country. A report released in 2019 by TRAFFIC, an international wildlife trade monitoring organisation, showed that at least 200 tortoises and freshwater turtles fall prey to illicit poaching and smuggling every week, or 11,000 each year, adding up to over 1,11,130 turtles poached or smuggled between September 2009 and September 2019.

One of the major challenges for freshwater turtle conservation in the country is that wildlife crime prevention agencies are not sufficiently equipped to know how to distinguish one species from the other, or their protection status in accordance with CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and the Wildlife Protection Act.

The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) was formed in 2001 as an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) partnership for sustainable captive management of freshwater turtles and tortoises. Today, the TSA is an action-oriented global partnership, focusing on species that are at high risk of extinction, and working in turtle diversity hotspots around the world. Widely recognized as a global catalyst for turtle conservation based on its reputation for swift and decisive action, the TSA has made a bold commitment to zero turtle extinctions in the 21st Century. The TSA is a recognized force for turtle conservation globally.

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Solution: b)

Experts suggest that India and the US should sign totalisation agreement as it will provide social security to Indian professionals in America.

The totalisation agreement is an international social security pact that eliminate dual social security taxation, both in the home country and in the nation where an employee works. 

Once it is signed, the agreement would benefit workers of both the countries and ensure equality of treatment.

It is a long pending demand of India for early conclusion of the totalisation agreement or Social Security Agreement with the US. It aims to protect interests of professionals of Indian-origin who contribute more than $ 1 billion each year to the US social security. Under this pact, professionals of both the countries would be exempted from social security taxes when they go to work for a short period in the other country.

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Solution: c)

Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant is located in Gujarat.

Almost 25 years after the last unit was commissioned at Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has achieved criticality of a third unit of 700 MWe at the plant in Tapi district which is fully based on indigenous technology.

Narora Atomic Power Station (NAPS) is a nuclear power plant located in Narora, Bulandshahar District in Uttar Pradesh.

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is the largest nuclear power station in India, situated in Koodankulam in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

Kaiga Generating Station is a nuclear power generating station situated at Kaiga, near the river Kali, in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka.

Solution: d)

Fly-ash is used in various sectors like brick making, roads & embankments construction, cement manufacturing, agricultural uses, reclamation of low-lying areas and mine filling.

Fly-ash has great potentiality in agriculture due to its efficacy in modification of soil health and crop performance. The high concentration of elements (K, Na, Zn, Ca, Mg and Fe) in fly-ash increases the yield of many agricultural crops.

Fly-ash bricks are more popular presently since it weighs 28% less than clay bricks as well as shows higher strength.

Solution: d)

Some of the Financial entities regulated by SEBI.

Investment Banks

Capital Markets

Stock Brokers

Real estate investment trusts (REITs)

Infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs)

Stock Exchanges

Commodities Futures / Options

Alternative Investment Funds