INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 11 November 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (b)

Explanation: About Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and his key contributions:

• S1: He served as the first Minister of Education of independent India.
• An Indian scholar and independence activist, he was one of the senior leaders of the Indian National Congress.
• He organized a national education system during his tenure as education minister.
• His focus was on free primary education to all.
• Azad was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1992 for his contributions towards the field of education.
• He was also a pioneer for the establishing of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and the foundation of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
• Role in the Indian National Movement:
  • In 1912, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad started a weekly journal in Urdu called Al-Hilal which played an important role in forging Hindu-Muslim unity after the bad blood created between the two communities in the aftermath of Morley-Minto reforms. The government regarded Al- Hilal as propagator of secessionist views and banned it in 1914.
  • S2: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad supported the Non-Cooperation Movement started by Gandhiji and entered Indian National Congress in 1920.
  • In 1923, he was elected as the president of Indian National Congress. He again became the president of Congress in 1940.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/11/national-education-day/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• What is the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)?
  • It is a U.S. trade program designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products from 129 designated beneficiary countries and territories.
  • GSP was instituted on January 1, 1976, by the Trade Act of 1974.
  • GSP has been given on non-reciprocal basis. Yet the US has linked it with market access and tariff reduction which is against the basic tenets of GSP.
• What is the objective of GSP?
  • The objective of GSP was to give development support to poor countries by promoting exports from them into the developed countries.
  • GSP promotes sustainable development in beneficiary countries by helping these countries to increase and diversify their trade with the United States.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/11/generalized-system-of-preferences-gsp-trade-privilege/

Ans: (d)

Explanation: The story of Nagorno-Karabakh:

• Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, but its population is majority Armenian. As the Soviet Union saw increasing tensions in its constituent republics in the 1980s, Nagorno-Karabakh voted to become part of Armenia – sparking a war which stopped with a ceasefire in 1994.
• Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh has remained part of Azerbaijan but is controlled by separatist ethnic Armenians backed by the Armenian government. Until recently, negotiations mediated by international powers had failed to deliver a peace agreement.
• Armenia is majority Christian while Azerbaijan is majority Muslim. Turkey has close ties to Azerbaijan, while Russia is allied with Armenia – although it also has good relations with Azerbaijan.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/11/armenia-azerbaijan-agree-on-peace-deal/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• RNA viruses generally have very high mutation rates compared to DNA viruses, because viral RNA polymerases lack the proofreading ability of DNA polymerases. This is one reason why it is difficult to make effective vaccines to prevent diseases caused by RNA viruses—diversity is their strength.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/11/things-you-need-to-know-about-mrna-vaccines/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• S1: About TMT:
  • It is an astronomical observatory with an extremely large telescope (ELT).
  • It is an international project being funded by scientific organisations of Canada, China, India, Japan and USA.
  • Planned location: Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii in the US state of Hawaii.
  • Purpose: The TMT is designed for near-ultraviolet to mid-infrared observations, featuring adaptive optics to assist in correcting image blur.
• S2: The Thirty Meter Telescope is being designed and developed by the TMT International Observatory LLC (TIO).

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/11/thirty-meter-telescope-tmt-3/

Ans: (c)

Explanation: What is GRAP?

• The GRAP is a set of emergency measures to be implemented to control air pollution depending upon the air quality.
• Approved by the Supreme Court in 2016.
• The plan was prepared by Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority.
• It works only as an emergency measure.
• When the air quality shifts from poor to very poor, the measures listed have to be followed since the plan is incremental in nature.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/11/graded-response-action-plan-grap-2/

Ans: (d)

Explanation: About the Commission on Air Quality Management:

• Set up through the ‘Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance 2020’ in October this year.
• The commission replaces 22 year old Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) and envisages to streamline the public participation, the inter-State cooperation, the expert involvement and persistent research and innovation.
• The Commission will supersede bodies such as the central and state pollution control boards of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan.
• It will have the powers to issue directions to these state governments on issues pertaining to air pollution.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/11/graded-response-action-plan-grap-2/

Ans: (a)

Explanation: What is CTBT?

• The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is the Treaty banning all nuclear explosions – everywhere, by everyone. The Treaty was negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. It opened for signature on 24 September 1996.
• The Treaty will enter into force after all 44 States listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty will ratify it. These States had nuclear facilities at the time the Treaty was negotiated and adopted.
• India, North Korea and Pakistan have not yet signed the Treaty.
• What is a “zero yield”?
  • A comprehensive test ban has been defined as a “zero yield” test ban that would prohibit supercritical hydro-nuclear tests but not sub-critical hydrodynamic nuclear tests.
• Why is the CTBT so important?
  • The CTBT is the last barrier on the way to develop nuclear weapons. It curbs the development of new nuclear weapons and the improvement of existing nuclear weapon designs. The Treaty provides a legally binding norm against nuclear testing. The Treaty also helps prevent human suffering and environmental damages caused by nuclear testing.

Refer: https://www.ctbto.org/specials/who-we-are/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• LiFi (Light Fidelity) is a wireless optical networking technology that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for data transmission.
• LiFi is designed to use LED light bulbs similar to those currently in use in many energy-conscious homes and offices. However, LiFi bulbs are outfitted with a chip that modulates the light imperceptibly for optical data transmission. LiFi data is transmitted by the LED bulbs and received by photoreceptors.
• Benefits of LiFi
  • Higher speeds than Wi-Fi.
  • 10000 times the frequency spectrum of radio.
  • More secure because data cannot be intercepted without a clear line of sight. LiFiuses light sources to transmit data. WiFi uses radio waves to transmit data. Radio waves can pass through pretty much all objects, which makes it susceptible to piggybacking and potentially the theft of data. Light waves can’t pass through walls and other objects, which makes it more secure than WiFi.
  • Prevents piggybacking.
  • Eliminates neighboring network interference.
  • Unimpeded by radio interference.
  • Does not create interference in sensitive electronics, making it better for use in environments like hospitals and aircraft.

Refer: https://lifi.co/what-is-lifi/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The orbital track of the satellite does not have to cross the poles exactly for an orbit to be called polar, an orbit which passes within 20 to 30 degrees of the poles is still classed as a polar orbit.
• A low Earth orbit is normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km and could be as low as 160 km above the Earth.
• Polar orbits pass over the Earth’s polar regions from north to south. The orbital track of the satellite does not have to cross the poles exactly for an orbit to be called polar, an orbit which passes within 20 to 30 degrees of the poles is still classed as a polar orbit.
• These orbits mainly take place at low altitudes of between 200 to 1000 km. Satellites in polar orbit look down on the Earth’s entire surface and can pass over the North and South Poles several times a day.

Refer: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Types_of_orbits