[Mission 2023] Current Affairs Quiz , 15 May 2023

Solution: c)

At 12:17 pm on April 25, Bengaluru experienced a ‘Zero Shadow Day’, when vertical objects appear to cast no shadow. This was because the sun was at its zenith, and so the shadow was directly under the object.

For every point on Earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, there are two Zero Shadow Days a year.

The Zero Shadow Day is restricted to locations between the tropics, and so places north of Ranchi in India are out of it.

“One falls during the Uttarayan when the Sun moves northwards, and the other is during Dakshinayan when the Sun moves southwards”.

Uttarayan (movement of the Sun from south to north from winter solstice to summer solstice) and Dakshinayan (back from north to south) happen because Earth’s rotation axis is tilted at an angle of roughly 23.5° to the axis of revolution around the Sun.

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Solution: d)

Conventional computers store and process information in bits. A bit is the smallest unit of data that computers can handle. It can take just two values — 0 or 1 — but only one of these at a time. A zero would result in a certain set of instructions to be carried out, while a one would lead to a different set of instructions. All data in computers, including text, pictures and videos, are broken down into a sequence of zeros and ones for purposes of storage and processing, and can be reconstructed from these.

A two-bit system in a conventional computer can have four states — (0,0), (0,1), (1,0) and (1,1) — but again only one at a time. To go through each of these four states, the computer has to take four steps. A more powerful computer can speed up the process, but it would still have to go through the four steps.

This is where the quantum computer starts to do things differently. Superposition makes it possible for the quantum bit, or a qubit as it is called, to exist in both 0 and 1 state simultaneously. Counter-intuitive as it may appear, it can be 60 per cent 0 and 40 per cent 1 at the same time, or any other combination. Similarly, the two-qubit system can be in all four states at the same time — some part (0,0), some part (0,1), some part (1,0) and remaining (1,1). What it means is that a quantum computer can go through these four states in one step, unlike the conventional computer that requires four steps.

As more qubits are added, the processing capability of the quantum computer increases exponentially. With just a few qubits, say 50, quantum computers can outpace traditional computers that perform a couple of billion operations per second.

Apart from the challenges in building a quantum computer — requirements of very cold temperatures and extreme isolation — there is a significant risk of errors. The parallel processing happening in superposition states all lead to different results, only one of which is correct or desirable. In other situations, when the superposition breaks down, the final outcome is randomly selected from the range of possibilities.

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Solution: c)

There is a growing tendency among firms and governments to mark all kinds of activities as climate-friendly, as something that would lead to emissions reduction, or avoidance of emissions. Many of these claims are unverifiable, misleading, or dubious. While they help in boosting the image of the entity, sometimes even helping them garner benefits, they do nothing in the fight against climate change.

Greenwashing presents a false picture of the progress being made on the climate change front, thereby pushing the world towards disaster, while at the same time rewarding entities for irresponsible behaviour.

Solution: d)

What is a company limited by guarantee?

A company limited by guarantee is one in which, if the company goes bankrupt, those running it only have to pay a sum they had guaranteed to pay when it was set up.

The Companies Act, 2013, says, “Company limited by guarantee means a company having the liability of its members limited by the memorandum to such amount as the members may respectively undertake to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of its being wound up.”

Put very simply, such a company has no shareholders, but is owned by a group of people called members or guarantors. When coming together to form the company, these members pledge to pay a certain amount — usually not a large amount — in case it is wound up. Their liability, if the company fails, is limited to this amount.

Usually, this structure is put in place for charitable organisations and non-profits, where any profit earned by the company is re-invested into the business. The members or guarantors can seek donations and funds in the name of the company, but if it fails, they are shielded from the debts it may have accrued.

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Solution: b)

Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be taken at a meeting, by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting, in accordance with the following principles, namely: —

The vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of one third of the total votes cast, and

the votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast, in that meeting.