[Mission 2023] Current Affairs Quiz , 16 January 2023

Solution: c)

The United States announced that it will extend COVID-19 pandemic-era restrictions, known as Title 42, to expel migrants from Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border back to Mexico, a move would block more nationalities from seeking asylum in the United States.

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Solution: b)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it will, for the first-time, issue Sovereign Green Bonds (SgrBs) worth Rs 16,000 crore, in two tranches of Rs 8,000 crore each in the current financial year.

Green bonds are bonds issued by any sovereign entity, inter-governmental groups or alliances and corporates with the aim that the proceeds of the bonds are utilised for projects classified as environmentally sustainable. The framework for the sovereign green bond was issued by the government on November 9, 2022.

The Union Budget 2022-23 made an announcement to issue Sovereign Green Bonds.

The issuance of the Sovereign Green Bonds will help the Indian government in tapping the requisite finance from potential investors for deployment in public sector projects aimed at reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.

The government will use the proceeds raised from SGrBs to finance or refinance expenditure (in parts or whole) for various green projects, including in renewable energy, clean transportation, energy efficiency, climate change adaptation, sustainable water and waste management, pollution and prevention control and green buildings. In renewable energy, investments will be made in solar, wind, biomass and hydropower energy projects.

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Solution: b)

LNG is natural gas reduced to a liquid state (liquefaction) through intense cooling to around -161 degrees Celsius (-259 Fahrenheit). This liquid gas is 600 times smaller than the original volume and is half the weight of water.

The compressed fossil fuel, which is constituted almost wholly of methane— a potent greenhouse gas —, can be transported around the world by ship. After arriving at its destination, the cargo is regasified in a floating terminal and redistributed through pipelines.

But despite LNG’s export potential, the high cost of liquefaction and producing LNG has limited its market.

The cooling, liquefying and transport processes, as well as the post-transport regasification procedures, also require a lot of energy.

Because of LNG’s much more complex production and transport process, the risks of methane leakages along the production, transport and regasification chain are simply much higher and therefore much more emissions-intensive.

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Solution: c)

The head of the Municipal Corporation is the mayor — but only in name. A mayor is a nominal head of the corporation and has very limited powers, such as calling meetings of the house.

It is the Standing Committee that effectively manages the corporation, with functions such as giving financial approval to projects, discussing, finalising and implementing policies.

The standing committee is the main decision-making body of the corporation. It has 18 members.

The committee has a chairperson and a deputy chairperson, who is elected from among the standing committee members. Having a clear majority in the standing committee is crucial for any political party to have control of policy and financial decisions.

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Solution: d)

Rajasthan — with the top-most share of over 17% in value of mineral production in the country, was the first to notify silicosis as an ‘epidemic’ in 2015, under the Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Act, 1957.

Silicosis is part of the pneumoconiosis family of diseases, described by the policy as occupational diseases due to dust exposure… are incurable, cause permanent disability and are ‘totally preventable by available control measures and technology’