DAY – 41 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 41)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2021 – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: D

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a new strain that was discovered in 2019 and has not been previously identified in humans.

Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people.  Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

Solution: C

What is the Great Green Wall?

The Great Green Wall is a symbol of hope in the face of one of the biggest challenges of our time – desertification. Launched in 2007 by the African Union, this game-changing African-led initiative aims to restore Africa’s degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives in one of the world’s poorest regions, the Sahel. Once complete, the Wall will be the largest living structure on the planet – an 8,000 km natural wonder of the world stretching across the entire width of the continent.

The Great Green Wall is now being implemented in more than 20 countries across Africa and more than eight billion dollars have been mobilized and pledged for its support. The initiative brings together African countries and international partners, under the leadership of the African Union Commission and Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall.

Objectives

By 2030, the ambition of the initiative is to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land; sequester 250 million tons of carbon and create 10 million green jobs. This will support communities living along the Wall to:

• Grow fertile land, one of humanity’s most precious natural assets
• Grow economic opportunities for the world’s youngest population
• Grow food security for the millions that go hungry every day
• Grow climate resilience in a region where temperatures are rising faster than anywhere else on Earth
• Grow a wonder of the world spanning 8000 km across Africa

Solution: D

Cheetah reintroduction project

• The Supreme Court recently allowed the Centre to introduce the African cheetah to a suitable habitat in India.
• With India’s own cheetahs vanishing, a plea for this had been filed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), seeking permission to introduce the African cheetah from Namibia.
• The matter came up before the Supreme Court during a hearing on shifting a few lions from Gujarat to Kuno-Palpur wildlife sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh, which was also one of the sites identified for releasing cheetahs.

What is reintroduction and why reintroduce Cheetah now?

o ‘Reintroduction’ of a species means releasing it in an area where it is capable of surviving.

o Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognised as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions.

o The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been extirpated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times.

Facts:

o The cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, is one of the oldest of the big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to the Miocene era.

o The cheetah is also the world’s fastest land mammal.

o It is listed as vulnerable in IUCN red listed species.

o The country’s last spotted feline died in Chhattisgarh in 1947. Later, the cheetah — was declared extinct in India in 1952.

o The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List, and is believed to survive only in Iran.

Solution: C

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put in place a Central Fraud Registry. It has informed that 13,083, 16,468 and 13,653 cases of ATM/Debit Card and Internet Banking frauds, where the amount involved is Rs. 1 lakh and above, were reported by commercial banks during financial years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 respectively. As per RBI’s instructions, banks are required to report cases of fraud to law enforcement agencies. No centralised information is maintained regarding the outcome of investigations by law enforcement agencies.

https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=177225

Solution: A

National Policy on Biofuels-2018

• The National Policy on Biofuels-2018 approved by the Government envisages an indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of bio-diesel in diesel by 2030.
• National Policy on biofuels- salient features:
  • o Categorization: The Policy categorises biofuels as “Basic Biofuels” First Generation (1G) bioethanol & biodiesel and “Advanced Biofuels” – Second Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to drop- in fuels, Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-CNG etc. to enable extension of appropriate financial and fiscal incentives under each category.
  • o Scope of raw materials: The Policy expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production by allowing use of Sugarcane Juice, Sugar containing materials like Sugar Beet, Sweet Sorghum, Starch containing materials like Corn, Cassava, Damaged food grains like wheat, broken rice, Rotten Potatoes, unfit for human consumption for ethanol production.
  • o Protection to farmers: Farmers are at a risk of not getting appropriate price for their produce during the surplus production phase. Taking this into account, the Policy allows use of surplus food grains for production of ethanol for blending with petrol with the approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
  • o Viability gap funding: With a thrust on Advanced Biofuels, the Policy indicates a viability gap funding scheme for 2G ethanol Bio refineries of Rs.5000 crore in 6 years in addition to additional tax incentives, higher purchase price as compared to 1G biofuels.
  • Boost to biodiesel production: The Policy encourages setting up of supply chain mechanisms for biodiesel production from non-edible oilseeds, Used Cooking Oil, short gestation crops.

Solution: A

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)

• The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is the Treaty banning all nuclear explosions – everywhere, by everyone. The Treaty was negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. It opened for signature on 24 September 1996.
• The Treaty will enter into force after all 44 States listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty will ratify it. These States had nuclear facilities at the time the Treaty was negotiated and adopted.
• India, North Korea and Pakistan have not yet signed the Treaty.

Solution: C

About Equalization levy

Equalization levy was introduced to tax the income gained by foreign e-commerce companies through digital transactions from India. It is aimed at taxing business to business transactions.

The equalization levy was introduced vide Budget 2016 to give effect to the recommendations of the OECD on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Action Plan.

Solution: D

Solution: A

Closure Motion

It is a motion moved by a member to cut short the debate on a matter before the House. If the motion is approved by the House, debate is stopped forthwith and the matter is put to vote. There are four kinds of closure motions:

(a) Simple Closure: It is one when a member moves that the ‘matter having been sufficiently discussed be now put to vote’.

(b) Closure by Compartments: In this case, the clauses of a bill or a lengthy resolution are grouped into parts before the commencement of the debate. The debate covers the part as a whole and the entire part is put to vote.

(c) Kangaroo Closure: Under this type, only important clauses are taken up for debate and voting and the intervening clauses are skipped over and taken as passed.

(d) Guillotine Closure: It is one when the undiscussed clauses of a bill or a resolution are also put to vote along with the discussed ones due to want of time (as the time allotted for the discussion is over).

Solution: C

National Productivity Council (NPC)

• NPC is a national level autonomous organization under Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry to promote productivity culture in India.
• It was established as a registered society on 12th February 1958 by the Government with aim to stimulate and promote productivity and quality consciousness across all sectors in the country.
• It is a tri-partite organization with equal representation from government, employers and workers’ organizations.
• NPC is a constituent of the Tokyo-based Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an Intergovernmental Body, of which the Government of India is a founder member.

The objectives of NPC are as follows:

• To create and develop productivity consciousness in the country.
• To make arrangements for the training of managers at every level of management.
• To make arrangements for the services of experts on the requisitions of local productivity councils.
• To undertake research with regard to various production processes.
• To send delegations to developed countries to collect and study information with regard to increased productivity.
• To make arrangements for training of personnel with regard to productivity methods and techniques in other countries.
• To invite experts on productivity from foreign countries and to make use of their knowledge and services.
• To import various productivity services with a view to having maximum utilisation of available resources, viz; men, money, materials and machines.
• To ensure higher and better living standards to the people of the country.

Solution: C

North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP)

Context: A study finds that North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) improves livelihoods of 300,000 households in 11 districts of Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. Under this project, the Skills development and placement has trained 10462 boys and girls in various job skills and a total of 5494 of them are employed today.

About NERLP:

• It is a World Bank aided, multi-state livelihood project under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), launched in 2012.
• Implemented in 11 districts of Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.
• Aim: to improve rural livelihoods especially that of women, unemployed youth and the most disadvantaged, in four North Eastern States(Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim)
• The project has focussed on five development strategies, namely, social empowerment, economic empowerment, partnership development, project management and livelihood & value chain developments.

Solution: D

Janaushadhi Sugam

• Union Ministry for Chemicals and Fertilizers has launched a mobile application “Janaushadhi Sugam”.
• The application aims to enable people to search Janaushadhi generic medicines and the stores at the tip of their fingers.
• It will also help analyse product comparison of Generic vs Branded medicine in form of MRP & overall Savings.
• Janaushadhi Sugam mobile application would have user-friendly options like- to locate nearby Janaushadhikendra, direction guidance for location of the Janaushadhikendra through Google Map, search Janaushadhi generic medicines, analyse product comparison of Generic vs Branded medicine in form of MRP & overall Savings, etc.
• It can be downloaded free of cost by the user from Google Play Store and Apple Store.

Solution: A

SSLV is a new mini-rocket launcher designed and built by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for launching small satellites. SSLV rockets are capable of putting a payload of 500 kg to mid-inclination Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 300 kg to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO), making it ideal for launching small satellites.

SSLV is perfectly suited for launching multiple micro-satellites at a time and supports multiple orbital drop-offs. Unlike the PSLV and GSLV, the SSLV can be assembled both vertically and horizontally. It will be used exclusively for small satellites such as nanosats and cubesats.

Solution: C

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

• It is set up as the world’s “Atoms for Peace” organization in 1957 within the United Nations family.
• Headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
• It is an independent international organization that reports annually to the UN General Assembly. When necessary, the IAEA also reports to the UN Security Council in regards to instances of members’ non-compliance with safeguards and security obligations.

Functions:

• Works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.
• Seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.