DAY – 40 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2020

Solution: D

Global Terrorism Index:

• The GTI report issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) is based primarily on the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) collated by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland, besides other sources.
• The index provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism since 2000. It produces a composite score in order to provide an ordinal ranking of countries on the impact of terrorism.
• The GTI is based on data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) which is collected and collated by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland.

Solution: C

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and beyond.
• It is headquartered in Beijing.
• It commenced operations in January 2016.
• By investing in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors today, it aims to connect people, services and markets that over time will impact the lives of billions and build a better future.

Various organs of AIIB:

• Board of Governors: The Board of Governors consists of one Governor and one Alternate Governor appointed by each member country. Governors and Alternate Governors serve at the pleasure of the appointing member.
• Board of Directors: Non-resident Board of Directors is responsible for the direction of the Bank’s general operations, exercising all powers delegated to it by the Board of Governors. This includes approving the Bank’s strategy, annual plan and budget; establishing policies; taking decisions concerning Bank operations; and supervising management and operation of the Bank and establishing an oversight mechanism.
• International Advisory Panel: The Bank has established an International Advisory Panel (IAP) to support the President and Senior Management on the Bank’s strategies and policies as well as on general operational issues. The Panel meets in tandem with the Bank’s Annual Meeting, or as requested by the President. The President selects and appoints members of the IAP to two-year terms. Panelists receive a small honorarium and do not receive a salary. The Bank pays the costs associated with Panel meetings.

Significance of AIIB:

The United Nations has addressed the launch of AIIB as having potential for “scaling up financing for sustainable development” for the concern of global economic governance. The capital of the bank is $100 billion, equivalent to ​2⁄3 of the capital of the Asian Development Bank and about half that of the World Bank.

Solution: A

India Child Protection Fund (ICPF):

• ICPF was set up in January 2020 and aims to support NGOs with funding resources for curbing exploitation of children
• The India Child Protection Fund (ICPF) is a new social impact fund focussed on child protection.
• The mission of ICPF is to serve the child protection ecosystem by supporting grassroots action and activists, identifying and scaling out sustainable solutions, investing in bold innovation, leveraging technology, and promoting strategic and coordinated efforts at all levels.
• The fund is managed by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s son, Bhuwan Ribhu.

Solution: C

e-GramSwaraj Portal and Mobile App:

• Launched by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
• It will provide the Gram Panchayats with a single interface to prepare and implement their Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).
• The portal will ensure real time monitoring and accountability.

Solution: D

Ways and Means Advances:

• They are temporary loan facilities provided by RBI to the government to enable it to meet temporary mismatches between revenue and expenditure.
• Under Section 17(5) of RBI Act, 1934, the RBI provides Ways and Means Advances (WMA) to the central and State/UT governments.
• The government makes an interest payment to the central bank when it borrows money.
• The WMA loans have a three-month tenure
• The rate of interest is the same as the repo rate, while the tenure is three months.
• The limits for WMA are mutually decided by the RBI and the Government of India.

Solution: B

Rohtang Pass:

• It is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km (32 mi) from Manali Himachal Pradesh.
• It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India. Manali-Leh Highway, a part of NH 21, transverses Rohtang Pass.
• River Ravi rises west of the Rohtang pass in the Kullu Hills

Solution: B

Different festivals being celebrated in several parts of country- April 13 and 14:

• Vaisakhi- Spring harvest festival celebrated by Hindus ans Sikhs. The day marks the formation of Khalsa Panth of warriors under Guru Gobind Singh. It is celebrated as the first day of the month of Vaisakha according to Hindu calendar.
• Vishu- It is a Malayali festival celebrated in the South Indian state of Kerala, Tulu Nadu region in Karnataka, bordering areas of Tamil Nadu and their diaspora communities. The festival marks the first day of Medam, the ninth month in the solar calendar followed in Kerala.
• Rongali Bihu- Celebrated in Assam. It marks the beginning of the Assamese New Year.
• Naba Barsha- Bengali New Year according to the Gregorian Calendar.
• Puthandu – Tamil Nadu. It is celebrated on the first day of the Tamil month – Chithirai – and marks the beginning of the Tamil New Year.

Solution: C

Technology Development Board:

• It is a statutory body established by Technology Development Board Act, 1995.
• Objective: To promote development and commercialization of indigenous technology and adaptation of imported technology for much wider application.

Roles and functions of the board:

• Encourage enterprises to take up technology-oriented products.
• Provide equity capital or loans to industrial concerns and financial assistance to research and development institutions.

Solution: B

Since the beginning of the year, Nigeria has been gripped by an outbreak of a deadly disease. Lassa fever (the disease was first identified in the Nigerian town of Lassa in 1969) is one of a number of illnesses which can cause dangerous epidemics, but for which no vaccine currently exists

Solution: C

InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to give the Red Planet its first thorough checkup since it formed 4.5 billion years ago. It is the first outer space robotic explorer to study in-depth the “inner space” of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core.

InSight’s primary objective is to study the earliest evolutionary processes that shaped Mars. By studying the size, thickness, density and overall structure of Mars’ core, mantle and crust, as well as the rate at which heat escapes from the planet’s interior, InSight will provide a glimpse into the evolutionary processes of all of the rocky planets in the inner Solar System. It detected quakes and magnetic pulses on the planet Mars.

Solution: A

Antarctica “the white continent” is the fifth largest continent in the world.
James cook discovered Antarctica.

It is situated within the Antarctic Circle and is surrounded by Southern Ocean. World’s largest ocean current, the Antarctic circumpolar current circumvents the Antarctic continent.

India’s First Permanent stations in Antarctica was Dakshin Ganga (1983-1990)

Solution: B

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is under the National Disaster Management Authority. The head of the NDRF is designated as Director General. The Director Generals of NDRF are IPS officers on deputation from Indian police organisations. Director General wears the uniform and badges of rank of an army three-star general.

The responsibility of managing disasters in India is that of the State Government. The ‘Nodal Ministry’ in the central government for management of natural disasters is the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Solution: C

The Islamic State in West Africa or the Islamic State’s West Africa Province, formerly known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād and commonly known as Boko Haram, is a jihadist terrorist organization based in northeastern Nigeria, also active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon.

Solution: A

Parliament today passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, POCSO, 2019 with the Lok Sabha approving it today unanimously. The Rajya Sabha has already passed the bill.
The bill seeks to enhance punishment for sexual offences against children, with a provision of death penalty.
To curb child pornography, the Bill provides that those who use a child for pornographic purposes should be punished with imprisonment up to five years and fine.
However, in the event of second or subsequent conviction, the punishment would be up to seven years and fine.
The Bill defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child including photograph, video, digital or computer generated image indistinguishable from an actual child.
According to the amendment bill, those committing penetrative sexual assaults on a child below 16 years of age would be punished with imprisonment up to 20 years, which might extend to life imprisonment as well as fine.
In case of aggravated penetrative sexual assault, the bill increases the minimum punishment from ten years to 20 years, and the maximum punishment to death penalty.

http://newsonair.nic.in/Main-News-Details.aspx?id=369465

Solution: C

Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) is a statutory body established under Land Ports Authority of India Act, 2010. LPAI intends to provide safe, secure and systematic facilities for movement of cargo as well passengers at its Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along the international borders of India.

Currently, the LPAI is building the Passenger Terminal Building at Dera Baba Nanak, Kartarpur Sahib Corridor