DAY – 18 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2020

Solution: B

Coalbed Methane:

• Considerable quantities of methane is trapped within coal seams.
• A significant portion of this gas remains as free gas in the joints and fractures of the coal seam.
• Large quantities of gas are adsorbed on the internal surfaces of the micropores within the coal itself.
• This gas can be accessed by drilling wells into the coal seam and pumping large quantities of water that saturate the seam. [water will occupy the gaps and pores and will push out the gas]
• It is now becoming an important source of natural gas.
• Unlike much natural gas from conventional reservoirs, coalbed methane contains very little heavier hydrocarbons such as propane or butane.
• The presence of this gas is well known from its occurrence in underground coal mining, where it presents a serious safety risk.

Fire Accidents in Coal Mines are mainly due to Coalbed Methane, and Lignite deposits which undergo spontaneous combustion.

Coalbed Methane (CBM), an unconventional source of natural gas is now considered as an alternative source for augmenting India’s energy resource. India has the fifth largest proven coal reserves in the world and thus holds significant prospects for exploration and exploitation of CBM. The prognosticated CBM resources in the country are about 92 TCF (2600 BCM) in 12 states of India. In order to harness CBM potential in the country, the Government of India formulated CBM policy in 1997 wherein CBM being Natural Gas is explored and exploited under the provisions of OIL Fields (Regulation & Development) Act 1948 (ORD Act 1948) and Petroleum & Natural Gas Rules 1959 (P&NG Rules 1959) administered by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MOP&NG).

The Gondwana sediments of eastern India host the bulk of India’s coal reserves and all the current CBM producing blocks. The vast majority of the best prospective areas for CBM development are in eastern India, situated in Damodar Koel valley and Son valley. CBM projects exist in Raniganj South, Raniganj East and Raniganj North areas in the Raniganj coalfield, the Parbatpur block in Jharia coalfield and the East and west Bokaro coalfields. Son valley includes the Sonhat North and Sohagpur East and West blocks. Currently, commercial production has commenced from Raniganj South CBM block operated by M/s. GEECL since July 2007.

Solution: B

Cobalt crusts are a promising resource on the sea floor because they contain large amounts of cobalt, nickel, manganese and other metals that could exceed the content in land deposits. They form on the rocky surfaces of undersea rises. For their extraction, machines are required that can separate the material from the substrate. To date, however, only conceptual studies exist.

Cobalt crusts occur in different ocean regions than manganese nod-ules. Each of these resources has its own especially abundant regions. The most important cobalt crust area is the Prime Crust Zone (PCZ) in the western Pacific. The area of greatest manganese nodule concentration is the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ).

Cobalt crusts are rock-hard, metallic layers that form on the flanks of submarine volcanoes, called seamounts. Similar to manganese nodules, these crusts form over millions of years as metal compounds in the water are precipitated.

As with manganese nodules, deposition occurs very slowly. Crusts grow 1 to 5 millimetres per million years, which is even slower than nodules. Depending upon the concentration of metal compounds in the sea water, crusts with different thicknesses have formed in different ocean regions. On some seamounts they are only 2 centimetres thick, while in the richest areas thicknesses can be up to 26 centimetres. Because the cobalt crusts are firmly attached to the rocky substrate, they cannot simply be picked up from the bottom like manganese nodules. They will have to be laboriously separated and removed from the underlying rocks.
It has been estimated that there are over 33,000 seamounts worldwide. The exact number is not known. Around 57 per cent are located in the Pacific. The Pacific is thus the most important cobalt crust region in the world.

Solution: D

PM Care CARES FUND

Keeping in mind the need for having a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected, a public charitable trust under the name of ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund)’ has been set up.

Objectives:

• To undertake and support relief or assistance of any kind relating to a public health emergency or any other kind of emergency, calamity or distress, either man-made or natural, including the creation or upgradation of healthcare or pharmaceutical facilities, other necessary infrastructure, funding relevant research or any other type of support.
• To render financial assistance, provide grants of payments of money or take such other steps as may be deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees to the affected population.
• To undertake any other activity, which is not inconsistent with the above Objects.

Constitution of the Trust:

• Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund and Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance, Government of India are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund. The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees (Prime Minister) shall have the power to nominate three trustees to the Board of Trustees who shall be eminent persons in the field of research, health, science, social work, law, public administration and philanthropy.
• Any person appointed a Trustee shall act in a pro bono capacity.

Other details:

• The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organizations and does not get any budgetary support. The fund will be utilised in meeting the objectives as stated above.
• Donations to PM CARES Fund would qualify for 80G benefits for 100% exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Donations to PM CARES Fund will also qualify to be counted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013.
• PM CARES Fund has also got exemption under the FCRA and a separate account for receiving foreign donations has been opened. This enables PM CARES Fund to accept donations and contributions from individuals and organizations based in foreign countries. This is consistent with respect to Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). PMNRF has also received foreign contributions as a public trust since 2011.

https://www.pmcares.gov.in/en/web/page/about_us

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/08/19/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-19-august-2020/

Solution: A

Rare earth elements are a group of seventeen chemical elements that occur together in the periodic table. The group consists of yttrium and the 15 lanthanide elements (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium). Scandium is found in most rare earth element deposits and is sometimes classified as a rare earth element. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry includes scandium in their rare earth element definition.

The rare earth elements are all metals, and the group is often referred to as the “rare earth metals.” These metals have many similar properties, and that often causes them to be found together in geologic deposits. They are also referred to as “rare earth oxides” because many of them are typically sold as oxide compounds.

he rare earth group contains 17 elements, namely, scandium (Sc), yttrium (Y) and lanthanides (15 elements in the periodic table with atomic numbers from 57 to 71, namely, lanthanum(La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium(Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), europium(Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium(Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm),ytterbium (Yb) and lutetium (Lu). Although, they tend to occur together, the 15 lanthanide elements are divided into two groups – light &heavy elements. The light elements are those with atomic numbers from 57 to 63 (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm,Sm and Eu) and the heavy elements are thosewith atomic numbers from 64 to 71 (Gd, Tb, Dy,Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu). Generally, the light rare earth elements are more common and more easily extracted than the heavies.

Rare Earth Elements (REE) are characterized by high density, high melting point, high conductivity and high thermal conductance. A number of rare earth minerals contain thorium and uranium in variable amounts but thorium and uranium do not constitute essential components in the composition of the minerals.

The principal sources of rare earth elements are bastnaesite (a fluoro-carbonate which occurs in carbonatites and related igneous rocks), xenotime (yttrium phosphate) commonly found in mineral sand deposits, loparite which occurs in alkaline igneous rocks and monazite (a phosphate). The rare earths occur in many other minerals and are recoverable asby-products from phosphate rock and from spent uranium leaching. In India, monazite is the principal source of rare earths and thorium.

Solution: C

Teesta River, is a 315 km (196 mi) long river that rises in the eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Bangladesh and enters the Bay of Bengal.  It drains an area of 12,540 km2 (4,840 sq mi). It forms the border between Sikkim and West Bengal.

Pauhunri is a mountain in the Eastern Himalayas. It is located on the border of Sikkim, India and Tibet, China, and is situated about 75 km northeast of Kangchenjunga. It marks the origin of Teesta River.

The Teesta River originates from the Pahunri (or Teesta Kangse) glacier above 7,068 metres (23,189 ft), and flows southward through gorges and rapids in the Sikkim Himalaya.

Solution: A

The mineral monazite is a prescribed substance as per the notification under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962. AMD has been carrying out its resource evaluation for over six decades. It occurs in association with other heavy minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, etc. in concentrations of 0.4 – 4.3% of total heavies in the beach and inland placer deposits of the country. The resource estimates of monazite in the beach and inland placer deposits have been enhanced from 10.70 million tonnes in 2009 to 11.93 million tonnes in 2014. The statewise resources are given in Table- 1.

Solution: D

Mica

• Mica is a naturally occurring non-metallic mineral that is based on a collection of silicates.
• Mica is a very good insulator that has a wide range of applications in electrical and electronics industry.
• It can withstand high voltage and has low power loss factor.
• It is used in toothpaste and cosmetics because of its glittery appearance. It also acts as a mild abrasive in toothpaste.
• India is one of the foremost suppliers of mica to the world. Mica-bearing igneous rocks occur in AP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan.

Mica Reserves in India

1. Andhra Pradesh (41 per cent)
2. Rajasthan (21 per cent)
3. Odisha (20 per cent)
4. Maharashtra (15 per cent)
5. Bihar (2 per cent)
6. Jharkhand (Less than 1 per cent)

Mica Distribution and Production in India

• India has a near monopoly in the production of mica [60 % of world’s total].
• Production decreased in recent times due to fall in demand in the international market. Fall in demand is due to better synthetic alternatives that are available.

Andhra Pradesh

• 1^st in production [93 %].

Rajasthan

• 2nd in production [6.3 %].

Solution: C

PMGDISHA is the scheme to make six crore persons in rural areas, across states/UTs, digitally literate, reaching to around 40% of rural households by covering one member from every eligible household by 31st march, 2019.

It envisages making one individual digitally literate in every rural household. The scheme would empower the citizens in rural areas by training them to operate computer or digital access devices and hence enable them to use the information technology and related applications.

The PMGDISHA was started in February 2017 with an outlay of ₹2,351.38 crore. The PMGDISHA is an extension of National Digital Literacy Mission and Digital Saksharta Abhiyan between 2014 and 2016 in which 53.67 lakh persons were certified.

The implementing agency for the PMGDISHA is Common Service Centre e-Governance Services India (CSC-SPV).

Eligibility criteria

• Age: 14 to 60 years
• Nominated digitally illiterate person from every eligible rural household.

Solution: C

Limestone

• Limestone rocks are composed of either calcium carbonate, the double carbonate of calcium and magnesium, or mixture of both.
• Limestone also contains small quantities of silica, alumina, iron oxides, phosphorus and sulphur.
• Limestone deposits are of sedimentary origin and exist in all the geological sequences from Pre-Cambrian to Recent except in Gondwana.
• 75 per cent Limestone is used in cement industry, 16 per cent in iron and steel industry [It acts as flux] and 4 per cent in the chemical industries.
• Rest of the limestone is used in paper, sugar, fertilizers, etc.
• Almost all the states of India produce some quantity of limestone.
• Over three-fourths of the total limestone of India is produced by Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

Madhya Pradesh

• Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer of limestone [16 per cent].
• Large deposits occur in the districts of Jabalpur, Satna, Betul, etc.

Rajasthan

• Rajasthan has about 6 per cent of the reserves and produces over 16 per cent of the total limestone of India. Production occurs in almost all districts.

Solution: C

Global Peace Index (GPI) is a report produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) which measures the relative position of nations’ and regions’ peacefulness.

The GPI ranks 172 independent states and territories (99.7 per cent of the world’s population) according to their levels of peacefulness. In the past decade, the GPI has presented trends of increased global violence and less peacefulness.

The GPI is a report produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) and developed in consultation with the Economist Intelligence Unit. India’s rank slipped by five places to 141 among 163 countries on GPI 2019

Solution: D

In India, the minerals are classified as minor minerals and major minerals.

According to section 3(e) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 “Minor Minerals” means building stones, gravel, ordinary clay, ordinary sand other than sand used for prescribed purposes, and any other mineral which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a minor mineral. (For the purposes of this Act, the word “minerals” includes all minerals except mineral oils- natural gas and petroleum)

Major minerals are those specified in the first schedule appended in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act 1957) and the common major minerals are Lignite, Coal, Uranium, iron ore, gold etc. It may be noted that there is no official definition for “major minerals” in the MMDR Act. Hence, whatever is not declared as a “minor mineral” may be treated as the major mineral.

The major-minor classification has nothing to do with the quantum /availability of these minerals, though it is correlated with the relative value of these minerals. Further, this classification is based more on their end use, rather than level of production, level of mechanization, export and import etc. (eg. Sand can be a major mineral or a minor mineral depending on where it is used; same is the case for limestone.)

The central government has the power to notify “minor minerals” under section 3 (e) of the MMDR Act, 1957. On the other hand, as per Section 15 of the MMDR Act, 1957 State Governments have complete powers for making Rules for grant of concessions in respect of extraction of minor minerals and levy and collection of royalty on minor minerals.

The power to frame policy and legislation relating to minor minerals is entirely delegated to the State Governments while policy and legislation relating to the major minerals are dealt by the Ministry of Mines under Union /Central Government. Various State Governments have indeed prescribed rules for the grant of mineral concessions in respect of minerals classified as minor minerals under the MMDR Act, 1957. Minor Minerals get specified in the schedule appended in Minor Mineral concession Rules issued by States.

Thus, as opposed to major minerals, the regulatory and administrative jurisdiction of minor minerals falls under the purview of State governments. These include the powers to frame rules, prescribe rates of royalty, contribution to District Mineral Foundation, the procedure for grant of mineral concessions, regulation of their mining, control of illegal mining etc.

Solution: B

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under Food Safety and Standards, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments. FSSAI has been created for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

Establishment of the Authority

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the Administrative Ministry for the implementation of FSSAI. The Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have already been appointed by Government of India. The Chairperson is in the rank of Secretary to Government of India.

Solution: B

Institutions of Eminence Scheme

The institutes of eminence scheme under the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry aims to project Indian institutes to global recognition.

The scheme was rolled out by University Grants Commission (UGC).

It aimed to help 20 higher education (10 public and 10 private) institutions from country break into top 500 in at least one internationally reputed ranking framework in 10 years, and then eventually break into top 100 over time.

The selected institutes will enjoy complete academic and administrative autonomy.

They will be exempted from approvals of government or UGC for academic collaborations with foreign institutions, except institutions in MEA and MHA’s list of negative countries.

Solution: D

Standards for Organic Foods in India

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has the mandate to regulate manufacture, distribute, sell or import “organic foods” as per the provisions laid under Section 22 of the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006. Organic foods are regulated by Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017 .

The Regulations aim to benefit farmers by way of increasing their income. These Regulations recognizes two systems of certification i.e. Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) implemented by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) implemented by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. These regulations ensure integrity of the Organic Food products, and help in controlling unscrupulous practices in the market.

These regulations came into force from the date of their publication in Gazette, however the enforcement against these standards started from 01.07.2018.

The Offences and Penalties for the Food Business Operators who are not complying with the FSS Act, Rules and Regulations are liable for offences and penalties provided under Section 48 and 49 of the FSS Act.

Exemption from the need of verification of compliance

Organic food which is marketed through direct sales to the end consumer by the small original producer or producer organisation is exempted from the provisions of the certification. Small original producer or producer organisation is the one whose annual turnover is not exceeding Rs 12 Lakhs per annum.

Small aggregators upto turn over of Rs. 50 lakhs can aggregate and sell organic products from exempted farmers.

Certified Organic Foods

The Jaivik Bharat logo for Organic Food is an identity mark to distinguish organic products from non-organic ones. The logo is supported with the tagline “Jaivik Bharat”, at the bottom, which signifies Organic Food from India.

Solution: A

Golden Langurs

• Habitat: semi evergreen and mixed deciduous forests.
• It is found only in North-eastern India and Bhutan.
• The Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary and Manas Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam are the two protected habitats for this species in India.

Protection status:

• Schedule I species in the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).
• CITES Appendix I.
• Endangered in IUCN Red List.

Population:

• In 2019, Bhutan recorded a drop of 62% in the population of golden langurs over the 2009 census. The recorded estimation in Assam in 2009 was 5,140.

Solution: A

BIS is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto BIS has been providing traceable and tangible benefits to the national economy in a number of ways – providing safe reliable quality goods; minimizing health hazards to consumers; promoting exports and imports substitute; control over proliferation of varieties etc. through standardization, certification and testing.

Solution: C

Methanol burns efficiently in all internal combustion engines, produces no particulate matter, no soot, almost nil SOX and NOX emissions (NEAR ZERO POLLUTION).

The gaseous version of Methanol – DME can blended with LPG and can be excellent substitute for diesel in Large buses and trucks.

To adopt Methanol as a transport fuel, it requires minimal infrastructure modifications and capital both in vehicles and in terminal and distribution infrastructure.

Methanol 15 % blend (M15) in petrol will reduce pollution by 33% & diesel replacement by methanol will reduce by more than 80%.

Solution: D

Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India. It stretches over an area of 881 km² comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills. This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar state and was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955.

Solution: D

As per a recent study, there is an estimated potential of about 8,000 megawatts (MW) of tidal energy in India.

Out of the 8,000 MW of tidal energy, 7,000 MW is present in the Gulf of Khambhat, 1,200 MW in the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, and about 100 MW in the Gangetic delta in Sunderbans in West Bengal.

http://pib.nic.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1514971

Solution: C

About Mt. Etna:

• Context: Italy’s Mount Etna volcano has erupted again.
• Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and one of the world’s most frequently erupting volcanoes. It is also the volcano with the longest record of continuous eruption.
• Located near the east coast of the island of Sicily in Italy, Mount Etna is 10,900 feet tall.
• The mountain’s largest feature is the Valle Del Bove (Valley of the Ox), a large horseshoe-shaped caldera on the eastern slope.
• It lies above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate.
• In June 2013, it was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• Due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United.

Solution: C

Gas hydrates are crystalline form of methane and water and exist in shallow sediments of outer continental margins.

They are envisaged as a viable major energy resource for future. Thus, delineation of gas- hydrates by geophysical methods is very important for evaluating the resource potential along the Indian continental margin with a view to meet the overwhelming demand of energy for India.

Gas hydrates with their abundant resource potential is emerging as a potential fuel resource. The preliminary assessment of geological condition and limited available seismic data suggests high possibility of occurrence of large quantity of gas hydrates within the EEZ of India.

Solution: C

Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an industrial process which converts coal into product gas.

UCG is an in-situ gasification process carried out in non-mined coal seams using injection of oxidants, and bringing the product gas to surface through production wells drilled from the surface.

The predominant product gases are methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Ratios vary depending upon formation pressure, depth of coal and oxidant balance.

UCG offers an alternative to conventional coal mining methods for some resources. It has been linked to a number of concerns from environmental campaigners

Solution: B

Quad grouping:

• The quadrilateral formation includes Japan, India, United States and Australia.
• All four nations find a common ground of being the democratic nations and common interests of unhindered maritime trade and security.
• The idea was first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. However, the idea couldn’t move ahead with Australia pulling out of it.

Significance of the grouping:

• Quad is an opportunity for like-minded countries to share notes and collaborate on projects of mutual interest.
• Members share a vision of an open and free Indo-Pacific.
• It is one of the many avenues for interaction among India, Australia, Japan and the US and should not be seen in an exclusive context.

Solution: C

Shale gas refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations. Shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks that can be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas.

Over the past decade, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has allowed access to large volumes of shale gas that were previously uneconomical to produce.

Solution: D

Aditya- L1 mission:

• It is India’s first solar mission.
• It will be launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in XL configuration. The space-based observatory will have seven payloads (instruments) on board to study the Sun’s corona, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.

Objectives:

• Study the sun’s outer most layers, the corona and the chromospheres.
• Collect data about coronal mass ejection, which will also yield information for space weather prediction.

Significance of the mission: The data from Aditya mission will be immensely helpful in discriminating between different models for the origin of solar storms and also for constraining how the storms evolve and what path they take through the interplanetary space from the Sun to the Earth.

Position of the satellite: In order to get the best science from the sun, continuous viewing of the sun is preferred without any occultation/ eclipses and hence, Aditya- L1 satellite will be placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the sun-earth system.