[Mission 2023] QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 23 February 2023

Solution: c)

The Union Budget for 2023-24 announced an initiative for mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pan lands, under MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes).

The Budget states that MISHTI will be implemented through convergence between the MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) Fund and other sources.

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Solution: d)

Muons are subatomic particles raining from space. They are created when the particles in Earth’s atmosphere collide with cosmic rays — clusters of high-energy particles that move through space at just below the speed of light. According to Scientific American magazine, “about 10,000 muons reach every square metre of the Earth’s surface a minute”.

These particles resemble electrons but are 207 times as massive. Therefore, they are sometimes called “fat electrons”. Because muons are so heavy, they can travel through hundreds of metres of rock or other matter before getting absorbed or decaying into electrons and neutrinos. In comparison, electrons can penetrate through only a few centimetres. Muons are highly unstable and exist for just 2.2 microseconds.

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Solution: b)

National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) is an organisation of the Government of India created under Sec 70A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended 2008), through a gazette notification on 16th Jan 2014 based in New Delhi, India. It is designated as the National Nodal Agency in respect of Critical Information Infrastructure Protection.

Vision: To facilitate safe, secure and resilient Information Infrastructure for Critical Sectors of the Nation.

Mission: To take all necessary measures to facilitate protection of Critical Information Infrastructure, from unauthorized access, modification, use, disclosure, disruption, incapacitation or destruction through coherent coordination, synergy and raising information security awareness among all stakeholders.

NCIIPC has broadly identified the following as ‘Critical Sectors’ :-
• Power & Energy
• Banking, Financial Services & Insurance
• Telecom
• Transport
• Government
• Strategic & Public Enterprises

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Solution: d)

Internal Debt comprises loans raised in the open market, compensation and other bonds, etc. It also includes borrowings through treasury bills including treasury bills issued to State Governments, Commercial Banks and other Investors, as well as non-negotiable, non-interest bearing rupee securities issued to International Financial Institutions.

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Solution: c)

Mangrove forests are formed when there is intertidal flow and where adequate sediments are available for the trees to set down roots. Experts say aquaculture or fisheries along the coast obstructing tidal flow is one of the biggest threats to the mangrove ecosystem. In the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the country, several instances of clearing mangroves for fisheries have come to light. Along the country’s coastline, land reclamation for agriculture, aquaculture and industrial activities have occurred in areas which are under the Coastal Regulation Zone. Restoration of the land and allowing intertidal flow is crucial for plantation and survival of mangrove forests.

Discharge of untreated domestic and industrial effluents into the rivers impede the natural inter-tidal flow along the coast and the mixing of freshwater and saline water which help in gradual formation of the mangrove forest.

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