[Mission 2022] QUIZ – 2021: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 31 August 2021

Solution: a)

A Rubber Board research farm on the outskirts of Guwahati now sports the world’s first genetically modified (GM) rubber plant tailored for the climatic conditions in the Northeast.

The GM rubber has additional copies of the gene MnSOD, or manganese-containing superoxide dismutase, inserted in the plant, which is expected to tide over the severe cold conditions during winter — a major factor affecting the growth of young rubber plants in the region.

Natural rubber is a native of warm humid Amazon forests and is not naturally suited for the colder conditions in the Northeast.

The MnSOD gene has the ability to protect plants from the adverse effects of severe environmental stresses such as cold and drought.

Source

Solution: b)

The Centre will offer price assurances, viability gap funding and planting material assistance to oil palm farmers to boost domestic production and reduce dependence on imports via a new mission approved by the Cabinet.

Over a five-year period, the financial outlay for the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) will amount to ₹11,040 crore of which ₹8,844 crore is the share of the Central government.

The Mission hopes to increase oil palm acreage by an additional 6.5 lakh hectare by 2025-26 and grow production of crude palm oil to 11.2 lakh tonnes by 2025-26 and up to 28 lakh tonnes by 2029-30.

The government aimed to reduce the risk for farmers facing price fluctuation of the fresh fruit bunches from which oil is extracted, due to volatility in the international market.

In a bid to encourage oil palm cultivation in northeastern India and in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, the Centre will bear an additional cost of 2% of the crude palm oil prices in these States. The scheme has a sunset clause, ending November 1, 2037.

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Solution: a)

Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing carbon dioxide emissions with removal (often through carbon offsetting) or simply eliminating carbon dioxide emissions altogether (the transition to the “post-carbon economy”).

Although both renewable and non-renewable energy both produce carbon emissions in some form, renewable energy has a lesser to almost zero carbon emissions.

Solution: d)

What is a share buyback?

A share repurchase or buyback is a decision by a company to purchase its own stock from the market. Such a move reduces the number of outstanding shares of the company and tend to push up their price and is often undertaken when management considers the company’s shares undervalued.

It is also a key way to transfer surplus earnings to shareholders and tends to lead to an increase in share prices.

Solution: b)