INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 24 October 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans:  (a)

Explanation:

• The Prime Minister constitutes Standing Committees of the Cabinet and sets out the specific functions assigned to them. He can add or reduce the number of committees.
• Parliamentary Affairs: The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs draws the schedule for Parliament sessions and monitors the progress of government business in Parliament. It scrutinises non-government business and decides which official Bills and resolutions are to be presented.
• Political Affairs: The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs addresses problems related to Centre-state relations. It also examines economic and political issues that require a wider perspective but have no internal or external security implications.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/25/parliament-panel-mulls-action-against-amazon/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Stat1: Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption. In 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC.
• Stat2: The Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Vigilance Commissioners shall be appointed by the President on recommendation of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister (Chairperson), the Minister of home affairs (Member) and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/25/integrity-pact-in-govt-organisations/

Ans: (d)

Explanation: About Financial Action Task Force:

• It is an inter- governmental body established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7.
• Its Secretariat is located at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) headquarters in Paris.
• Member Countries: There are 39 member of FATF, representing most financial centres around the world. This includes 2 regional organisations- GCC and EC. The FATF Plenary is the decision making body of the FATF. It meets three times per year.
• What is blacklist and grey list?
  • Black List: Countries known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs) are put in the blacklist. These countries support terror funding and money laundering activities.
  • Grey List: Countries that are considered safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put in the FATF grey list. This inclusion serves as a warning to the country that it may enter the blacklist.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/25/pakistan-to-remain-on-fatf-grey-list-2/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Why in News?
  • After months of simmering dispute with India over the Kalapani issue, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli recently indicated a softer line when he used an old map of Nepal to greet everyone on the festival of Vijaya Dashami.
  • The old map does not show the region of Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura, which is part of India’s Pithoragarh district.
• What’s the issue?
  • Kalapani is shown as part of Nepalese sovereign territory in the new map, which was unveiled on May 20, and made part of the insignia of the Nepalese state by an amendment on June 13.
• Where is Kalapani located?
  • Located in the easternmost corner of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district.
  • Shares a border on the north with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and Nepal in the east and south.
  • It is wedged in between Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/25/indo-nepal-border-issue/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Context:
  • International Snow Leopard Day was observed on 23 October.
  • The day came into being with the adoption of the Bishkek Declaration by 12 countries on the conservation of snow leopards.
• HimalSanrakshak:
  • On this day this year, the Indian government has launched community volunteer programme “HimalSanrakshak” to protect snow leopards.
  • Snow Leopard conservation in India:
  • India has been conserving snow leopard and its habitat through the Project Snow Leopard (PSL).
  • India is also party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) Programme since 2013.
  • For conservation, India has identified three large landscapes, namely, Hemis-Spiti across Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh; Nanda Devi – Gangotri in Uttarakhand; and Khangchendzonga – Tawang across Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • Project Snow Leopard (PSL) was launched in 2009 to promote an inclusive and participatory approach to conserve snow leopards and their habitat.
  • Snow Leopard is in the list of 21 critically endangered species for the recovery programme of the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/25/project-snow-leopard/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics.
  • The WMO is made up of 193 countries and territories, and facilitates the “free and unrestricted” exchange of data, information, and research between the respective meteorological and hydrological institutions of its members.
• IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organisation.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/25/india-launches-flash-flood-guidance-services-for-south-asia/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Water Vapour is the biggest overall contributor to the greenhouse effect and humans are not directly responsible for emitting this gas in quantities sufficient to change its concentration in the atmosphere. However, CO2 and other greenhouse gases is increasing the amount of water vapour in the air by boosting the rate of evaporation.
• Unlike CO2, which can persist in the air for centuries, water vapour cycles through the atmosphere quickly, evaporating from the oceans and elsewhere before coming back down as rain or snow.

Refer: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/climatescience/climatesciencenarratives/its-water-vapor-not-the-co2.html

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• GEO-ENGINEERING:
• Geo-engineering primarily aims at modifying and cooling Earth’s environment, defeating the environmental damage and ensuing climate changes to make the planet more inhabitable. Geoengineering, at this point, is still only a theoretical Concept
• Hoisting parasols, placing mirrors in space, whitening the stratosphere with sulfate aerosols, whitewashing building roofs to reflect sunlight or flinging iron filings into the ocean to promote carbon-gulping algae are some of the modes.
• 5 Big Plans to Stop Global Warming
  • Copy a Volcano
  • Shoot Mirrors Into Space
  • Seed the Sea with Iron
  • Whiten the Clouds with Wind-Powered Ships
  • Build Fake Trees

Refer: http://www.geoengineering.ox.ac.uk/www.geoengineering.ox.ac.uk/what-is-geoengineering/what-is-geoengineering/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Flexible Market Mechanisms
• This leads us to the second, the flexible market mechanisms of the KP, based on the trade of emissions permits. KP countries bound to targets have to meet them largely through domestic action— that is, to reduce their emissions onshore.
• But they can meet part of their targets through three “market-based mechanisms” that ideally encourage GHG abatement to start where it is most cost-effective– for example, in the developing world. Quite simply, it does not matter where emissions are reduced, as long as they are removed from the planet’s atmosphere.
• The Kyoto Flexible Market Protocol mechanisms:
  • Joint Implementation (JI)
  • The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
  • Emission Trading

Refer: https://unfccc.int/process/the-kyoto-protocol/mechanisms

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Smokestacks of thermal power plants, smelters and other industries release particulate and gaseous air pollutants together with harmless gases, such as nitrogen, oxygen, etc. These pollutants must be separated/ filtered out before releasing the harmless gases into the atmosphere.
• There are several ways of removing particulate matter; the most widely used of which is the electrostatic precipitator, which can remove over 99 per cent particulate matter present in the exhaust from a thermal power plant.
• A scrubber can remove gases like Sulphur dioxide. In a scrubber, the exhaust is passed through a spray of water or lime.
• Catalytic converters, having expensive metals namely platinum-palladium and rhodium as the catalysts, are fitted into automobiles for reducing emission of poisonous gases. As the exhaust passes through the catalytic converter, unburnt hydrocarbons are converted into carbon dioxide and water, and carbon monoxide and nitric oxide are changed to carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas, respectively.