[Mission 2023] Current Affairs Quiz , 19 May 2023

Solution: b)

Both agricultural exports from and imports into India have scaled new highs in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2023.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index (FPI) crashed from an average of 119.1 points in 2013-14 to 90 points in 2015-16.

The FPI – a weighted average of world prices of a basket of food commodities over a base period value (2014-16=100) – recovered to 102.5 points by 2020-21, and further to 133 points in 2021-22 and 139.5 points in 2022-23.

India’s agri exports have, in recent times, been powered by three items: Marine products, rice and sugar.

Source

Solution: b)

Basmati exports are mainly to the Persian Gulf countries and, to some extent, the US and UK. Non-basmati shipments are more diversified, with the destinations spread across Asia (Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam, UAE and Iraq) and Africa (from Senegal, Ivory Coast and Benin to Somalia and Madagascar). It’s non-basmati that has made India the biggest rice exporter, ahead of Thailand.

Cultivation of genetically-modified Bt cotton and high global prices had enabled India to become the world’s top producer (ahead of China) and No. 2 exporter (after the US) of the natural fibre.

Source

Solution: c)

The United States Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit in which Republicans attempted to preserve a programme instituted by former President Donald Trump that allowed American officials to promptly deport hundreds of thousands of migrants at the US-Mexico border.

What is Title 42?

The COVID restrictions, known as Title 42, were first implemented under Republican then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. At the time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the order was needed to stem the spread of the coronavirus in crowded detention settings.

Source

Solution: a)

The League makes decisions on a majority basis, but there is no mechanism to compel members to comply with resolutions.

The Arab League, formally known as the League of Arab States, was established in 1945 with initially just six nations: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Currently, it has 22 member states, who have pledged to cooperate on economic and military affairs, among other issues.

Iran is not a member of Arab League.

Source

Solution: d)

The most common chemicals used for cloud seeding include silver iodide, potassium iodide and dry ice. After promising research, the use of hygroscopic materials, such as table salt (Sodium Chloride), is becoming more popular.