[MISSION 2024] RTM(Revision through MCQs)- 2 August 2023

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Microplastics are tiny plastic particles with an upper size limit of 5mm in diameter. The term ‘microplastics’ was introduced in the mid-2000s. They occur in the environment as a consequence of plastic pollution.
• Microplastics are divided into two categories:
• Primary microplastics
  • Primary microplastics which enter the environment directly, are tiny particles designed for commercial use, as well as microfibers shed from clothing and other textiles, such as fishing nets.
  • Examples of primary microplastics include microbeads found in personal care products, plastic pellets used in industrial manufacturing, and plastic fibres used in synthetic textiles.
• Secondary microplastics
  • Secondary microplastics form from the breakdown of larger plastics such as water bottles.
  • This typically happens when larger plastics undergo weathering, through exposure to conditions like wave action, wind abrasion, and ultraviolet radiation from sunlight.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/08/02/plastic-overshoot-days/

Ans: (c )

Explanation:

• The e-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 recognises producers’ liability for recycling and reducing e-waste in the country.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach under which producers are given a significant responsibility – financial and/or physical – for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products.
• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has been given the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) authorisation under the new e-waste rules

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/08/02/plastic-overshoot-days/

Ans: (d )

Explanation:

• The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of following singleuse plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities shall be prohibited with effect from the 1st July, 2022:- o ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene [Thermocol] for decoration; o plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/08/02/plastic-overshoot-days/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• India has 40 World heritage sites—seven natural world heritage sites, 32 cultural world heritage sites, and one mixed world heritage site. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, and the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, provide for the protection of the country’s heritage.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/08/02/unesco-heritage-danger-list/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Context: The government has introduced the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha to include four communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The four communities proposed for ST status are “Gadda Brahmin,” “Koli,” “Paddari Tribe,” and “Pahari Ethnic Group.”

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/08/02/paharis-and-paddaris/

Ans: (c )

Explanation:

• The Lithium Triangle is a region of the Andes rich in lithium reserves around the borders of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. The lithium in the triangle is concentrated in various salt pans that exist along the Atacama Desert and neighboring arid areas.
• The area is thought to hold around 54% of the world’s lithium reserves.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/08/02/lithium-extraction/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• It is a soft, silvery-white metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element. It is highly reactive and flammable and must be stored in mineral oil.
• Countries with Largest Reserves:
  • Chile> Australia> Argentina
  • Lithium Triangle: Chile, Argentina, Bolivia.
• Lithium in India:
• Recently, the Geological Survey of India has for the first-time established Lithium ‘inferred’ resources(G3) of about 6 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of the UT of Jammu & Kashmir. Lithium reserves were also discovered on Revant Hill in Degana in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district and Karnataka Mandya district

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/08/02/lithium-extraction/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) refers to the total amount of investment made in the production of physical assets, such as buildings, machinery, equipment, and infrastructure, within a country during a specific period. It indicates the increase in the nation’s capital stock and productive capacity.
• Generally, the higher the capital formation of an economy, the faster an economy can grow its aggregate income.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/08/02/gross-fixed-capital-formation-gfcf/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• The Kuril Islands dispute between Russia and Japan has gained attention amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
• The Kuril Islands dispute, known as the Northern Territories dispute in Japan, is a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over the ownership of the four southernmost Kuril Islands.
• The Kuril Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of the Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately 1,300 km northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2023/08/02/kuril-islands/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Article 22 of the TRIPS Agreements (WTO Agreement) defines Geographical Indication as “indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a Member, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin”.
• Consequently, upon India joining as a member state of the TRIPS Agreement sui-geneis legislation for the protection of geographical indication was enacted in 1999. Geographical Indications are covered as an element of Intellectual Property Rights under the TRIPS Agreement (WTO Agreement).

Refer: UPSC CSE 2018