[Mission 2022] QUIZ – 2021: Insights Current Affairs Quiz , 11 May 2022

Solution: a)

Taking pills to end a pregnancy accounts for a growing share of abortions in the United States, both legal and not.

What is medication abortion?

It is a regimen of pills women can take at home, a method increasingly used around the world.

The protocol approved for use in the United States includes two medications. The first one, mifepristone, blocks a hormone called progesterone that is necessary for a pregnancy to continue. The second, misoprostol, brings on uterine contractions.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved medication abortion for up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. World Health Organization guidelines say it can be used up to 12 weeks at home and after 12 weeks in a medical office.

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Solution: b)

The monkeypox virus is an orthopoxvirus, which is a genus of viruses that also includes the variola virus, which causes smallpox, and vaccinia virus, which was used in the smallpox vaccine. Monkeypox causes symptoms similar to smallpox, although they are less severe.

While vaccination eradicated smallpox worldwide in 1980, monkeypox continues to occur in a swathe of countries in Central and West Africa, and has on occasion showed up elsewhere. 

Monkeypox is a zoonosis, that is, a disease that is transmitted from infected animals to humans. According to the WHO, cases occur close to tropical rainforests inhabited by animals that carry the virus. Monkeypox virus infection has been detected in squirrels, Gambian poached rats, dormice, and some species of monkeys.

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Solution: b)

Green manures are crops grown specifically for maintaining soil fertility and structure. They are normally incorporated back into the soil, either directly, or after removal and composting. There are three main varieties of green manure, including Dhaincha, Cowpea, Sunhemp. Also some crops such as summer moong, mash pulses and guar act as green manure.

Punjab’s per hectare fertiliser consumption, which is around 244 kg, is one of the highest in the country and is also higher than the national average. Growing green manure can curtail this consumption to a large extent by 25 to 30% and can save huge input cost for the farmers.

Experts said that in Punjab high-intensity agricultural practices are prevalent as farmers take two-three crops in a year, which requires lots of chemical fertilisers such as urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP) etc. And this leads to deficiencies of micronutrients like iron and zinc, especially in the soils where rice is cultivated thus affecting productivity. In such a situation, green manuring helps improve soil health and enhance the productivity of the crops.

Also, even the PH level of the soil in several parts of the state is more than 8.5 and 9 per cent and green manure is beneficial to maintain it at the required level which is 7 per cent.

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Solution: a)

Plant genetic engineering methods were developed over 30 years ago, and since then, genetically modified (GM) crops or transgenic crops have become commercially available and widely adopted in many countries.

In India, Bt cotton was approved by Government of India in March 2002 as the first transgenic crop for commercial cultivation.

Though, it is widely claimed that transgenic crops offers dramatic promise for meeting some of greatest challenges but like all new technologies, it also poses certain risks, because of the fact that transgenic crops can bring together new gene combinations which are not found in nature having possible harmful effects on health, environmental and non-target species.

Transgenic crops are not toxic nor are likely to proliferate in the environment. However, specific crops may be harmful by virtue of novel combinations of traits they possess.

Solution: d)

Litigants are forced to approach Lok Adalats mainly because it is a party-driven process, allowing them to reach an amicable settlement. When compared to litigation, and even other dispute resolution devices, such as arbitration and mediation, Lok Adalats offer parties speed of settlement, as cases are disposed of in a single day; procedural flexibility, as there is no strict application of procedural laws such as the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; economic affordability, as there are no court fees for placing matters before the Lok Adalat; finality of awards, as no further appeal is allowed. This prevents delays in settlement of disputes. More importantly, the award issued by a Lok Adalat, after the filing of a joint compromise petition, has the status of a civil court decree.