INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 29 October 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• S1: A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is an ad-hoc body. It is set up for a specific object and duration. Joint committees are set up by a motion passed in one house of Parliament and agreed to by the other. The details regarding membership and subjects are also decided by Parliament.
• S2: The mandate of a JPC depends on the motion constituting it. This need not be limited to the scrutiny of government finances.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/29/what-is-a-joint-parliamentary-committee-jpc/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Findings of the Annual State of Education Report (ASER) survey conducted in September.
• The survey provides a glimpse into the levels of learning loss that students in rural India are suffering, with varying levels of access to technology, school and family resources, resulting in a digital divide in education.
• About ASER:
  • ASER is a nationwide survey of rural education and learning outcomes in terms of reading and arithmetic skills.
  • It has been conducted by the NGO Pratham for the last 15 years. This year, the survey was conducted via phone calls.
• Key findings- impact of Covid- 19 Pandemic:
  • About 20% of rural children have no textbooks at home. In Andhra Pradesh, less than 35% of children had textbooks. More than 98% had textbooks in West Bengal, Nagaland and Assam.
  • In the week of the survey, about one in three rural children had done no learning activity at all.
  • About two in three had no learning material or activity given by their school that week, and only one in 10 had access to live online classes.
  • 3% of rural children aged 6-10 years had not yet enrolled in school this year, in comparison to just 1.8% in 2018.
  • Enrolment patterns also show a slight shift toward government schools, with private schools seeing a drop in enrolment in all age groups.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/29/annual-state-of-education-report-aser-survey/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The Central Information Commission has been constituted with effect from 12-10-2005 under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
• The Chief Information Commissioner heads the Central Information Commission.
• It hears appeals from information-seekers who have not been satisfied by the public authority and also addresses major issues concerning the RTI Act.
• CIC submits an annual report to the Union government on the implementation of the provisions of RTI Act.
• The jurisdiction of the Commission extends over all Central Public Authorities.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/29/it-ministry-working-to-comply-with-cic-orders-on-aarogya-setu/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• In October 2018, the Supreme Court allowed bursting of low-emission crackers relaxing the ‘complete ban’ issued in 2017. Such ‘green’ crackers were researched and developed by scientists at CSIR-NEERI as per the court’s directions.
• ‘Green’ crackers have a small shell size compared to traditional crackers. They are produced using less harmful raw materials and have additives which reduce emissions by suppressing dust.
• Green crackers don’t contain banned chemicals such as lithium, arsenic, barium and lead. They are called Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL) crackers.
• Green crackers release water vapour and don’t allow the dust particles to rise. They are designed to have 30% less particulate matter pollution.
• QR codes on green cracker packages will help consumers scan and identify counterfeits.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/29/govt-green-lights-green-firecrackers-this-year/

Ans: (c)

Explanation: About SOFIA:

• SOFIA is a modified Boeing 747SP jetliner that flies at altitudes up to 45,000 feet.
• It is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center.
• It has an infrared camera that picks up the wavelength unique to water molecules.
• SOFIA’s mission is to look at dark and distant objects. The Moon, on the other hand, is so close and bright that it fills the SOFIA guide camera’s entire field of view.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/29/water-on-the-moon/

Ans: (d)

Explanation: U.K. to partner for developing GIFT City:

• The United Kingdom has entered into a strategic partnership to develop India’s fledgling international financial services centre GIFT City.
• It has also agreed to set up a new Fund of Funds to be managed by the State Bank of India (SBI) group in order to route the U.K.’s future capital investments into India.
• GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), located in Gandhinagar is India’s first International Financial Services Centre.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/29/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-29-october-2020/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• National Program and Project Management Policy Framework’ (NPMPF):
• Launched by NITI Aayog and Quality Council of India (QCI).
• The framework envisages to bring radical reforms in the way infrastructure projects are executed in India.
• It has an action plan to:
  • Adopt a program and project management approach to infra development.
  • Institutionalize and promote the profession of program and project management and build a workforce of such professionals.
  • Enhance institutional capacity and capability of professionals.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/10/29/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-29-october-2020/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) Project is a multi-institutional effort aimed at building a world-class underground laboratory with a rock cover of approx. 1200 m for non-accelerator based high energy and nuclear physics research in India. The project is jointly funded by Dept. of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Dept. of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.
• The project includes:
  • Construction of an underground laboratory and associated surface facilities at Pottipuram in Bodi West hills of Theni District of Tamil Nadu.
  • construction of an Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) detector for studying neutrinos and setting up of an Inter Institutional Centre for High Energy Physics (IICHEP) at Madurai, for the operation and maintenance of the underground laboratory, human resource development and detector R&D along with its applications.

Refer: http://www.ino.tifr.res.in/ino/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and animals. It is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and is considered to be one of the world’s largest waterfalls due to its width of 1,708 metres. It is a World Heritage Site.

Refer: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/07/victoria-falls-dries-to-a-trickle-after-worst-drought-in-a-century

Ans: (c)

Explanation: What is Western Disturbance?

• It is an extra tropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region that brings sudden winter rain to the north-western parts of the Indian sub-continent. It is a non-monsoonal precipitation pattern driven by the westerlies.
• Extra tropical storms are a global phenomenon with moisture usually carried in the upper atmosphere, unlike their tropical counterparts where the moisture is carried in the lower atmosphere. In the case of the Indian subcontinent, moisture is sometimes shed as rain when the storm system encounters the Himalayas.

• Formation:
  • Western Disturbance originates in the Mediterranean Sea as extra-tropical cyclones. A high-pressure area over Ukraine and neighborhood consolidates, causing the intrusion of cold air from Polar Regions towards an area of relatively warmer air with high moisture. This generates favorable conditions for cyclogenesis in the upper atmosphere, which promotes the formation of an eastward-moving extra tropical depression. They gradually travel across the middle-east from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan to enter the Indian sub-continent.

• Impact:
  • Plays important role in bringing moderate to heavy rain in low-lying areas and heavy snow to mountainous areas of the Indian Subcontinent.
  • This disturbance is usually associated with cloudy sky, higher night temperatures and unusual rain. This precipitation has great importance in agriculture, particularly for the Rabi crops. Wheat among them is one of the most important crops, which helps to meet India’s food security.
  • Excessive precipitation due to this disturbance can cause crop damage, landslides, floods and avalanches. Over the Indo-Gangetic plains, it occasionally bring cold wave conditions and dense fog. These conditions remain stable until disturbed by another western disturbance. When western disturbances move across northwest India before the onset of monsoon, a temporary advancement of monsoon current appears over the region.

Refer: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/western-disturbance-to-bring-rain/article30271589.ece