[Mission 2023] Current Affairs Quiz , 17 May 2023

Solution: b)

After Guglielmo Marconi sent out the first radio transmission in 1895, it took over two decades for radio broadcasting to become commercially available. In India, the Radio Club of Bombay sent out the first commercial transmission in 1923. In the same year, the Calcutta Radio Club was started and a year later, radio broadcasts reached Madras with the Madras Presidency Radio Club.

The ambitious Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) came into existence in 1927. In 1930, the Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS), under the Department of Industries and Labour, commenced its operations on an experimental basis.

Finally, on June 8, 1936, ISBS became All India Radio. A year later, AIR was brought under the Department of Communications, and four years later, under the Department of Information and Broadcasting, now called the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (under whose jurisdiction it remains till date).

At the time of Independence, AIR covered just two percent of India’s land area and reached just 11 percent of its population.

Today, with a network of over 262 radio stations, AIR is available to 92 per cent of India’s area and nearly all of its population. It broadcasts in 23 languages and 146 dialects, catering to India’s diverse demographics and tastes. It also has an External Services Division which broadcasts in 11 Indian and 16 foreign languages, reaching out to more than 100 countries.

FM broadcasting began in 1977 in Chennai, and expanded during the 1990s. Today, AIR 18 FM stereo channels, largely targeting the urban audience.

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Solution: d)

In the 2023 edition of the World Press Freedom Index, released annually by the non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders, India has slipped 11 places to the 161st rank out of 180 countries.

Reporters Without Borders or Reporters Sans Frontiers (in French) is a global media watchdog headquartered in Paris, France, and it publishes a yearly report on press freedom in countries across the world.

Recognised as a public interest organisation in France since 1995, RSF has consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF).

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Solution: c)

Cape Town Convention (CTC) is a 2001 treaty designed to smooth the growth of aviation by protecting the repossession rights of aircraft. The CTC treaty eases the financing and leasing of aircraft, engines, and spare parts by reducing lessors’ risk and expanding legal predictability in these transactions, including the case of insolvency.

India acceded to the CTC in 2018 but has not been ratified by the Parliament yet. As a result Indian law prohibits any such recoveries once bankruptcy proceedings are initiated for a company, lawyers, and industry.

India has made it easier for lessors to take back planes if airlines default on payments after joining an international treaty known as the Cape Town Convention. But lack of proper legislation to enforce the treaty means India’s bankruptcy law will supersede lessors’ repossession requests.

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Solution: d)

An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water.

Icebergs travel with ocean currents and either get caught up in shallow waters or ground themselves.

On the other hand, there are some positives of an iceberg being stuck in the open ocean, since icebergs carry dust which fertilises ocean plankton, which draws up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Solution: d)

The National Health Authority (NHA) is the implementing agency for the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.

The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to create a seamless online platform that will enable interoperability within the digital healthcare ecosystem. It will bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of Healthcare ecosystem through digital highways. The mission has been conceptualized as a set of ‘digital building blocks’. Each building block is seen as a ‘digital public good’ that can be used by any entity in the digital health ecosystem and provides key capabilities that enable the ABDM vision.