UPSC Editorials Quiz : 18 January 2024

Solution: a)

Only statement 1 is correct.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a grouping of 38 high-income democratic countries. A lower demand for migrants in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, a grouping of six Arab nations located around the Arabian Gulf where declining oil prices have dented growth, is another key contributing factor.

What are the top sources of remittances for India?

Almost 36% of India’s remittances are from the high-skilled and largely high-tech Indian migrants in three high-income destinations — the US, United Kingdom, and Singapore.

Solution: a)

Only statement 1 is correct.

• The latest edition of the Minor Irrigation Census (MIC) — a compendium of borewells, tubewells, and other privately owned irrigation sources by farmers — finds that electricity is the dominant source of power to extract water, over diesel, windmills, and solar pumps.
• While the use of electricity showed a quantum jump from powering only 56% of sources in 2011 to 70% in 2017, the latest report, made public last week, shows electricity as powering 76% of sources – a slower growth rate.
• The MIC reports aren’t a reflection of the present state of use. The data made public in the latest, sixth edition of the report, reflects irrigation trends in 2017-18. Similarly the report released in 2017, or the fifth edition, reflected data in 2013-14 and the report of 2011, the situation in 2006-07. Because data collection requires collecting granular data down to the block level, it takes a few years to compile and make the data public.
• This electrification of groundwater withdrawal corresponds to a rise in the use of tubewells and borewells that are capable of extracting water at greater depths.

Solution: b)

Nuclear submarines are quieter than their conventional counterparts but also more capable of being deployed for longer periods and needing to surface less frequently.

Solution: a)

The calorific value of a fuel is the quantity of heat produced by its combustion – at constant pressure and under “normal” (standard) conditions.

The combustion process generates water vapor and certain techniques may be used to recover the quantity of heat contained in this water vapor by condensing it.

Higher Calorific Value (or Gross Calorific Value – GCV, or Higher Heating Value – HHV) – the water of combustion is entirely condensed and that the heat contained in the water vapor is recovered;

Lower Calorific Value (or Net Calorific Value – NCV, or Lower Heating Value – LHV) – the products of combustion contain the water vapor and that the heat in the water vapor is not recovered.

Solution: a)

Public Debt refers to the obligations that the Central Government is responsible for, which are incurred against the Consolidated Fund of India, as specified in Article 292 of the Constitution of India. This definition excludes any liabilities that are accrued through transactions associated with the Public Account.

Public Debt is further categorized into two primary categories: Internal Debt and External Debt. Internal debt can be divided into marketable and non-marketable securities. Marketable government securities encompass G-secs and T-Bills that are issued through an auction mechanism. Non-marketable securities include intermediate treasury bills issued to state governments, special securities issued to the National Small Savings Fund, among other similar instruments.