[Mission 2024] Current Affairs Quiz , 25 August 2023

Solution: a)

Only Statement 1 is correct.

Come October 1, car manufacturers can volunteer to get a star rating indicating the safety of their models in a crash, under an indigenous programme for testing.

The Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) is modelled on the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP), a project of the Towards Zero Foundation, which is a U.K.-registered charity that promotes the universal adoption of the United Nation’s most important motor vehicle safety standards worldwide.

The new programme will be applicable to passenger vehicles with not more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat with gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3,500 kg. The programme will be based on the soon-to-be published Automative Industry Standard 197, which lays down testing protocols.

A rating from one star to five stars will be assigned to a vehicle after an evaluation of three parameters — adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, and safety assist technologies present in the car.

The programme is voluntary except in certain cases such as a base variant of a popular vehicle model (minimum clocked sale of 30,000 units), or when the Ministry recommends a model for testing based on market feedback or in the interest of public safety.

Source

Solution: b)

Statement 1 is incorrect.

The Navigation with Indian Constellation or (NavIC), which consists of seven satellites and India’s version of the American GPS (global positioning system), will soon be integrated into Aadhaar enrolment devices, the Department of Space (DoS) told the Parliamentary Committee of Science and Technology.

Currently the Aadhaar enrolment kits that are used to collect and verify personal details are linked to GPS. NavIC offers two services: Standard Position Service (SPS) for civilian users and Restricted Service (RS) for strategic users. These two services are provided in both L5 (1176.45 MHz) and S band (2498.028 MHz). NavIC coverage area includes India and a region up to 1,500 km beyond the Indian boundary.

The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) was already utilising NavIC as an alert dissemination system for major natural disasters like landslipSs, earthquakes, floods, and avalanches. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information System (INCOIS) relies on it to broadcast cyclones, high waves, and tsunamis alert messages to fishermen venturing into the deep sea.

Source

Solution:  b)

Statement 2 is incorrect.

Scientists have recorded four species of azooxanthellate corals from Indian waters. These non-reef building, solitary corals were found from the waters of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Azooxanthellate corals are a group of corals that do not contain zooxanthellae and derive nourishment not from the sun but from capturing different forms of plankton. These groups of corals are deep-sea representatives, with the majority of species reporting from between 200 m to 1000 m. Their occurrences are also reported from shallow coastal waters.

Zooxanthellate corals, meanwhile, are restricted to shallow waters.

Solution:  b)

Statement 1 is incorrect.

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.

Solution:  a)

Only statement 1 is correct.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is vested with the responsibility of conducting monetary policy. This responsibility is explicitly mandated under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

The primary objective of monetary policy is to maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth. Price stability is a necessary precondition to sustainable growth.

In May 2016, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act, 1934 was amended to provide a statutory basis for the implementation of the flexible inflation targeting framework.