QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 31 August 2020

Solution: c)

The Cabinet recently approved the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane.

The FRP, which is provided for by the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 is the minimum price that sugarcane farmers are legally guaranteed to get from sugar mills. 

Sugarcane producing states such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana fix their own sugarcane price called ‘state advisory prices’ (SAPs), which are usually higher than the Centre’s FRP.

Source

Solution: d)

The olive ridley sea turtle has been listed on Schedule – I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended 1991).

Olive Ridley turtle is the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtle found in the world.

It is found in warm waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans.

The Gahirmatha Beach in Kendrapara district of Odisha, which is part of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, is the largest breeding ground for these turtles.

Green turtles and olive ridleys are known to nest in Maharashtra in small numbers. Goa has records of three species of sea turtles: olive ridley, leatherback and green turtles.

Recently many of these turtles were found dead near the Andhra Pradesh coast.

Solution: a)

The Indian Ocean Rim is rich in strategic and precious minerals, metals and other natural resources, marine resources and energy, all of which can be sourced from Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), continental shelves and the deep seabed.

However, approvals are granted by International Seabed Authority for minerals in international waters. States are free to extract resources within EEZ.

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), is an international organisation consisting of 22 states bordering the Indian Ocean.

The IORA is a regional forum, tripartite in nature, bringing together representatives of Government, Business and Academia, for promoting co-operation and closer interaction among them.

It is based on the principles of Open Regionalism for strengthening Economic Cooperation particularly on Trade Facilitation and Investment, Promotion as well as Social Development of the region.

The Coordinating Secretariat of IORA is located at Ebene, Mauritius.

Solution: d)

Uranium is weakly radioactive and remains so because of its long physical half-life (4.468 billion years for uranium-238).

Uranium is a naturally occurring metal, which is widespread in nature. It is present in the ocean and certain types of soils and rocks, especially granite.

The biological half-life (the average time it takes for the human body to eliminate half the amount in the body) for uranium is about 15 days.

This is the highest-numbered element to be found naturally in significant quantities on earth.

A report on Uranium Contamination in ground water in Parliament was tabled recently.

The Indian Standard IS 10500: 2012 for Drinking Water specification has specified the maximum acceptable limits for radioactive residues as alpha and beta emitters, values in excess of which render the water not suitable.

These requirements take into account all radioactive elements including uranium. No individual radioactive elements have been specifically identified.

As per Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS), maximum permissible limit of Uranium is 0.03 mg/l (as per WHO provisional guidelines) in all drinking water standards after following due process.

Affected states:

A report brought out by Duke University, USA in association with Central Ground Water Board and State Ground Water departments states that Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jammu & Kashmir have localised occurrence of Uranium concentration.

Solution: a)

Kuril Islands is a volcanic archipelago in Russia’s Sakhalin Oblast that stretches approximately 1,300 km northeast from Hokkaido, Japan to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the north Pacific Ocean. Here there is dispute between Russia and Japan.

Senkaku Islands are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Here there is dispute Japan and China.

Paracel Islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.

Chagos Islands are a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres south of the Maldives archipelago.