[Mission 2023] Current Affairs Quiz , 24 March 2023

Solution: b)

In parliamentary parlance, a whip may refer to both a written order to members of a party in the House to abide by a certain direction, and to a designated official of the party who is authorised to issue such a direction. The term is derived from the old British practice of “whipping in” lawmakers to follow the party line.

A whip may require that party members be present in the House for an important vote, or that they vote only in a particular way. In India, all parties can issue whips to their members. Parties appoint a senior member from among their House contingents to issue whips — this member is called a chief whip, and he/ she is assisted by additional whips.

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Solution: b)

While the Forest Survey of India (FSI) started publishing its biennial State of Forest reports in 1987, it has been mapping India’s forest cover since the early 1980s.

India counts all plots of 1 hectare or above, with at least 10% tree canopy density, irrespective of land use or ownership, within forest cover. This disregards the United Nation’s benchmark that does not include areas predominantly under agricultural and urban land use in forests.

The land areas with tree canopy density of 40% and above are considered dense forests and those between 10-40% are open forests. Since 2003, a new category — very dense forest — was assigned to land with 70% or more canopy density.

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Solution: d)

Coral reefs are essentially just big limestone structures built by thousands of tiny coral creatures called polyps.

Increased ocean temperature caused by climate change is the main cause of coral bleaching events. That’s when reefs expel the symbiotic algae responsible for their colour. If that happens over longer periods, the corals can eventually die.

Coral reefs act like low-crested breakwaters and absorb 97% of wave energy. This substantially reduces coastal flooding and erosion.

Coral reefs cover less than 0.5% of the earth’s surface, but they are home to about 25% of all marine species.

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Solution: a)

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). The G20 was founded in 1999 in response to several world economic crises.

The G20 Summit is formally known as the “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy”.

Solution: d)

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a way to get immune cells called T cells (a type of white blood cell) to fight cancer by changing them in the lab so they can find and destroy cancer cells. CAR T-cell therapy is also sometimes talked about as a type of cell-based gene therapy, because it involves altering the genes inside T cells to help them attack the cancer.

This type of treatment can be very helpful in treating some types of cancer, even when other treatments are no longer working.