INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 28 November 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (d)

Explanation: What is the anti-defection law?

• The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by the 52nd Amendment Act.
• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.
• The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/28/what-is-the-anti-defection-law/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Link: S1: ADMM-Plus is the only official framework of Defense Minister’s meetings in the Asia-Pacific Region. Eight Dialogue Partners are Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the USA (collectively referred to as the “Plus Countries”).]
• S2: 2^nd ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in 2007 at Singapore adopted a resolution to establish the ADMM-Plus.
  • The first ADMM-Plus was convened at Ha Noi, Vietnam in 2010.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/28/asean-defence-ministers-meeting-plus-admm-plus/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The escape clause under the FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) Act details a set of events in which the Central government can deviate from fiscal deficit targets.
• The fiscal deficit is the total amount by which the government’s expenses for a year exceed its revenues.
• In 2017, the FRBM Review Committee headed by NK Singh said that the exceptional circumstances cited in the FRBM Act, 2003 were defined opaquely and were liable to misuse.
• In 2018, the FRBM Act was amended to specify three conditions upon which the escape clause can be invoked.
  • First, over-riding considerations of national security, acts of war, and calamities of national proportion and collapse of agriculture severely affecting farm output and incomes.
  • Second, far-reaching structural reforms in the economy with unanticipated fiscal implications.
  • Three, a sharp decline in real output growth of at least 3 percentage points below the average for the previous four quarters.
• The FRBM amendments also mentioned that the deviation from the stipulated fiscal deficit target must not exceed 0.5 percentage points in a year.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/28/fiscal-deficit-reaches-120-of-annual-target/

Ans: (d)

Explanation: About NIIF:

• The government had set up the ₹40,000 crore NIIF in 2015 as an investment vehicle for funding commercially viable greenfield, brownfield and stalled infrastructure projects.
• It was setup as a Category-II Alternate Investment Fund.
• The Indian government is investing 49% and the rest of the corpus is to be raised from third-party investors such as sovereign wealth funds, insurance and pension funds, endowments, etc.
• NIIF’s mandate includes investing in areas such as energy, transportation, housing, water, waste management and other infrastructure-related sectors in India.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/28/national-investment-and-infrastructure-fund-niif-2/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• S1: The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is situated in the Pilibhit district and Shahjahanpur District of Uttar Pradesh, in the upper Gangetic Plain Biogeographic Province.
• S3: The habitat is characterized by sal forests, tall grasslands and swamp maintained by periodic flooding from rivers.
• S2: It lies along the India-Nepal border in the foothills of the Himalayas and the plains of the Terai in Uttar Pradesh. It is part of the Terai Arc Landscape.
• Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Uttar Pradesh has bagged the first international award, TX2, among the 13 tiger ranging countries for having doubled the number of tigers in less than the stipulated time.
  • In 2014, All India Tiger Estimation had estimated 25 tigers in Pilibhit and 2018 estimation showed an increase by projecting 65 tigers.
  • Conservation Excellence Award for 2020:
  • Transboundary Manas Conservation Area straddling the India-Bhutan border has received the TX2 Conservation Excellence Award for 2020.
  • Transboundary Manas Conservation Area or TraMCA comprising the 500 sq. km. Manas National Park in Assam and the 1,057-sq. km. Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/28/pilibhit-tiger-reserve-gets-the-first-tx2-award/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• The All India Tiger Estimation done quadrennially is steered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority with technical backstopping from the Wildlife Institute of India and implemented by State Forest Departments and partners.
• S1: Total big cat population in India stands at 2,967 as compared to 1,400 in 2014. As per estimates, India is home to 75% of world tiger population.
• S2: With 231 tigers, Jim Corbett national park in Uttarakhand is the largest habitat of the big cats in India. Corbett’s tiger count has been rising — from 137 in 2006 to 174 in 2010 and 215 in 2014.
• Corbett is followed by Nagarhole (127) and Bandipur (126), both in Karnataka; Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Kaziranga in Assam (104 each). Among states, Madhya Pradesh topped the tiger estimation, with 526 (it had 308 last time), going past Karnataka (524 this time, 406 earlier).
• Corbett is the only reserve with more than 200 tigers and with the highest tiger density in India at 14. The count in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve has also went up from 58 to 82. Pilibhit reserve’s population is also up by two to 57
• Conservation efforts in India:
  • The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has launched the M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status), a mobile monitoring system for forest guards.
  • At the Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010, leaders of 13 tiger range countries resolved to do more for the tiger and embarked on efforts to double its number in the wild, with a popular slogan ‘T X 2’.
  • The Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) program of the World Bank, using its presence and convening ability, brought global partners together to strengthen the tiger agenda.
  • Over the years, the initiative has institutionalised itself as a separate entity in the form of the Global Tiger Initiative Council (GTIC), with its two arms –the Global Tiger Forum and the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program.
  • The Project Tiger, launched way back in 1973, has grown to more than 50 reserves amounting to almost 2.2% of the country’s geographical area.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/28/pilibhit-tiger-reserve-gets-the-first-tx2-award/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1: Kabul River flows through Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• S2: the principal right-bank tributaries of Indus River are the Shyok, Gilgit, Kabul, Gomal, and Kurram rivers.
• Shahtoot Dam:
  • India set to build Shahtoot Dam in Afghanistan, provide drinking water for 2 million residents of Kabul.
  • The dam would come upon the Maidan river tributary of Kabul River.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/11/28/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-28-november-2020/

Ans: (d)

Explanation: Indoor Pollutants and Sources

• Volatile organic compounds
  • The main indoor sources are perfumes, hair sprays, furniture polish, glues, air fresheners, moth repellents, wood preservatives, and other products.
• Tobacco
  • Smoke generates a wide range of harmful chemicals and is carcinogenic.
• Biological pollutants
  • It includes pollen from plants, mite, and hair from pets, fungi, parasites, and some bacteria. Most of them are allergens and can cause asthma, hay fever, and other allergic diseases.
• Formaldehyde
  • Mainly from carpets, particle boards, and insulation foam. It causes irritation to the eyes and nose and allergies.
• Radon
  • It is a gas that is emitted naturally by the soil. Due to modern houses having poor ventilation, it is confined inside the house and causes lung cancers.
• Asbestos and Pesticides

Refer: https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/indoor-pollutants-and-sources

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• India is the largest emitter of anthropogenic sulphur dioxide in the world, as per the data released by environmental NGO Greenpeace on August 19, 2019.
• Anthropogenic sulphur dioxide is produced from burning of coal and it is known to largely contribute to air pollution.
• Key Findings:
  • SO2 hotspots across the world have been mapped.
  • The SO2 hotspots were detected by the OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) satellite.
  • India has over 15 percent of all anthropogenic sulphur dioxide (SO2) hotspots in the world.
• The main SO2 hotspots in India include Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, Korba in Chhattisgarh, Talcher and Jharsuguda in Odisha, Neyveli and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Kutch in Gujarat, Ramagundam in Telangana and Chandrapur and Koradi in Maharashtra.
• Norilsk smelter complex in Russia is the largest SO2 emission hotspot in the world.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/08/20/india-largest-emitter-of-so2-in-world/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Council of Scientific & Industrial Research’s National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), which maintains Indian Standard Time (IST), published a research article describing the necessity of two time zones.
• Read more: Should India have two time zones?

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2018/10/23/insights-into-editorial-should-india-have-two-time-zones/