[Mission 2023] Current Affairs Quiz , 9 March 2023

Solution: b)

As rupee is devalued, it becomes cheaper for other country residents. So, they demand greater Indian goods (exports). Reverse happens for us, we demand lesser imports (as they become costlier in terms of Indian currency).

Statement 3 leads to statement 2, i.e. inflow of foreign exchange. There is another channel for this flow, which is greater FDI or FII. For a foreign investor, Indian securities or land or labour would become cheaper, and there is thus an incentive to invest in India.

Solution: a)

The NAAC, an autonomous body under the University Grants Commission (UGC), assesses and certifies Higher-level Educational Institutions (HEIs) with gradings as part of accreditation. The ratings of institutions range from A++ to C. If an institution is graded D, it means it is not accredited.

Under the rules, only higher education institutions that are at least six years old, or from where at least two batches of students have graduated, can apply. The accreditation is valid for five years. Aspiring institutes need to be recognised by the UGC and have regular students enrolled in their full-time teaching and research programmes.

How is the accreditation process carried out?

The current approach has been described as “input-based”. The first step has an applicant institution submitting a self-study report of information related to quantitative and qualitative metrics. The data is then validated by NAAC expert teams, followed by peer team visits to the institutions.

Solution: d)

The Ninth Schedule was added to the Constitution by the First Amendment in 1951.

In IR Coelho versus State of Tamil Nadu, various laws placed in the Ninth Schedule were challenged on the ground that any law violating fundamental rights should be struck down as “unconstitutional” and that the court’s power of judicial review cannot be taken away. A nine-judge constitution bench delivered its verdict on the issue in January 2007.

What did the SC constitution bench say?

The SC upheld the Parliament’s power to place a particular law in the Ninth Schedule. But it said laws placed in the Ninth Schedule are open to judicial scrutiny and that such laws do not enjoy a blanket protection.

Laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after the Kesavananda Bhartai Judgment on April 24, 1973, when it propounded the “basic structure” doctrine, were open to challenge.

It laid down dual test to examine the validity of a law placed in the Ninth Schedule. Whether it violates any fundamental right and if yes whether the violation also damages or destroys the basic structure. If the answer to both the questions is in the affirmative, then only a law placed in the Ninth Schedule can be declared unconstitutional.

Solution: b)

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is a measure of how much oxygen is dissolved in the water – the amount of oxygen available to living aquatic organisms. The amount of dissolved oxygen in a stream or lake can tell us a lot about its water quality.

Oxygen concentrations are much higher in air, which is about 21% oxygen, than in water, which is a tiny fraction of 1 percent oxygen.

Dissolved oxygen levels decrease with increasing temperature and atmospheric oxygen content is far higher than dissolved oxygen levels.

Ice and snow reduce the amount of sunlight reaching aquatic plants, thereby reducing photosynthesis and oxygen production.

Solution: a)

The typical “season” for hurricanes is shifting, as climate warming creates conditions conducive to storms in more months of the year. And hurricanes are also making landfall in regions far outside the historic norm.

As for timing, hurricane activity is common for North America from June through November, peaking in September – after a summertime buildup of warm water conditions.

Hurricanes need two main ingredients — warm ocean water and moist, humid air. When warm seawater evaporates, its heat energy is transferred to the atmosphere. This fuels the storm’s winds to strengthen. Without it, hurricanes can’t intensify and will fizzle out.

Cyclone, typhoon, hurricane — What’s the difference?

• While technically the same phenomenon, these big storms get different names depending on where and how they were formed.

Storms that form over the Atlantic Ocean or central and eastern North Pacific are called “hurricanes” when their wind speeds reach at least 74 miles per hour (119 kilometers per hour). Up to that point, they’re known as “tropical storms.”