QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 24 February 2021

Solution: b)

Source

Solution: d)

Very few election commissions in the world have such wide-ranging powers as the Election Commission of India.

• EC takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the announcement of elections to the declaration of results.
• It implements the Code of Conduct and punishes any candidate or party that violates it.
• During the election period, the EC can order the government to follow some guidelines, to prevent use and misuse of governmental power to enhance its chances to win elections, or to transfer some government officials.

Companies of central security forces will begin arriving in West Bengal this week, ahead of the Assembly elections, dates of which are yet to be announced. By February 25, at least 125 companies will arrive in the state to maintain law and order during the election campaign.

According to Election Commission (EC) officials, there will be 60 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 30 companies of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), 25 companies of the Border Security Force (BSF) and five companies each of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

Source

Solution: c)

Fog is a phenomenon of small droplets remaining suspended in the air. Fog develops normally during late evening, night or early morning hours of the day, severely affecting visibility. Foggy conditions prevail over the plains of north India during the winter season and can prolong for days and sometimes even for weeks.

Fog developed over Delhi-Haryana-Punjab belt during February 2-6, due to the passing of an active western disturbance, which caused light rain and brought along fresh moisture over these regions.

In the absence of an active western disturbance, an anticyclone formed and stayed put over the extreme north of the plains. This coincided with the dominant easterly waves pumping in moisture into the region, favouring the fog formation.

Clear sky conditions accompanied by calm winds during the day allowed the fog to persist for longer than normal duration.

With the persistent prevalence of an easterly trough across Central India after February 8, the easterly winds continued to remain active for 9 to 10 consecutive days. This resulted in continuous moisture being fed and the water droplets contributed towards the fog development and its persistence all these days.

Source

Solution: b)

As defined by the IMD, drought is a consequence of the natural reduction in the amount of precipitation for a long period of time.

Drought is often associated with other climatic factors like high winds and temperatures and low relative humidity. These factors can aggravate the severity of the drought event.

As per the Manual for Drought Management 2016, drought is declared considering following two indicative factors:

• The extent of rainfall deviation (depreciation)
• The consequent dry spell

IMD declares a year to be a drought year, in case the area is affected by moderate and severe drought, either individually or together and for 20-40% of the total area of the country.

What are the different types of drought?

• Meteorological Drought
• Hydrological Drought
• Agricultural Drought
• Socio-Economic Drought

Agricultural Drought occurs when available soil moisture is inadequate for healthy crop growth and cause extreme stress and wilting.

Source

Solution: d)

Transfer payments are the receipts which the residents of a country get for ‘free’, without having to provide any goods or services in return.

They consist of gifts, remittances and grants.

They could be given by the government or by private citizens living abroad.