[Mission 2023] QUIZ : Insights Current Affairs Quiz , 4 July 2022 – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: b)

• Dokra art is non-ferrous metal casting art that uses the lost-wax casting technique. This technique has been in use for over 4,000 years in India, and is still practised by artisans in central and eastern India. It is in great demand in domestic and foreign markets because of its primitive simplicity, folk motifs and forceful form.
• One of the earliest known lost wax artefacts is the dancing girl of Mohenjo-daro.
• The lost wax technique for casting of copper-based alloys has also been found in China, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, Central America, and other places.

Solution: d)

Anthrax, also known as malignant pustule or woolsorter’s disease, is a rare but serious disease caused by the rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis. It occurs naturally in soil and, according to the WHO it is primarily a disease of herbivores, with both domestic and wild animals being affected by it.

Anthrax is a zoonotic disease, meaning that it is naturally transmissible from animals (usually vertebrae) to humans. People can get the disease through contact with infected animals or animal products that are contaminated with bacteria.

How do animals get Anthrax?

• Domestic and wild animals can get infected when they breathe in or ingest spores in contaminated soil, plants or water.
• Host animals shed the bacteria into the ground, which sporulates when exposed to the air. These spores, which can persist in the soil for decades, wait to be taken up by another host, subsequently germinating and multiplying, leading to its spread. Flies also appear to play a significant role in explosive outbreaks of the disease, as per the WHO.

Solution: d)

G-secs, or government securities or government bonds, are instruments that governments use to borrow money. G-secs carry the lowest risk of all investments.

How are G-sec yields calculated?

• G-sec yields change over time; often several times during a single day. This happens because of the manner in which G-secs are structured.
• Every G-sec has a face value, a coupon payment and price. The price of the bond may or may not be equal to the face value of the bond.
• Here’s an example: Suppose the government floats a 10-year G-sec with a face value of Rs 100 and a coupon payment of Rs 5.
• If one were to buy this single G-sec from the government, it would mean that one will give Rs 100 to the government today and the government will promises to 1) return the sum of Rs 100 at the end of tenure (10 years), and 2) pay Rs 5 each year until the end of this tenure.
• At this point, the face value of this G-sec is equal to its price, and its yield (or the effective interest rate) is 5%.

How do G-sec yields go up and down?

• Imagine a scenario in which the government floats just one G-sec, and two people want to buy it. Competitive bidding will ensue, and the price of the bond may rise from Rs 100 (its face value) to Rs 105. Now imagine another lender in the picture, which pushes the price further up to Rs 110.
• But here is the crucial thing: the coupon payment on the G-sec is still Rs 5.
• So, if you bought the bond at Rs 100, then the yield is 5% but if the price of the bond goes up to Rs 105 then the yield will fall; it will become 4.76% because the second person will be getting Rs 5 over an investment of Rs 105.
• Further, if bidding leads to the price going to Rs 110, then the third person (who finally bought the bond at Rs 110) will find that the yield has fallen further to 4.54%; because the third person would have invested Rs 110 for the same return of Rs 5.

What do G-sec yields show?

• G-secs are the safest investments in any economy, and the G-sec yield is the lowest risk-free interest rate in any economy. As such, they are a good way to figure out the broader trend of interest rates in the economy.
• If G-sec yields (say for a 10-year bond) are going up, it would imply that lenders are demanding even more from private sector firms or individuals; that’s because anyone else is riskier when compared to the government.
• It is also known that when it comes to lending, interest rates rise with the rise in risk profile. As such, if G-sec yields start going up, it means lending to the government is becoming riskier.
• If you read that the G-sec yields are going up, it suggests that the bond prices are falling. But the prices are falling because fewer people want to lend to the government.

Solution: b)

The Brahmaputra Valley is said to be one of the most hazard-prone regions of the country — according to the National Flood Commission of India, about 32 lakh hectares or over 40 per cent of the Assam’s land is flood-prone due to this.

An important reason apart from the ones mentioned in the question is the ageing of embankments. 

The filling of embankments with sediment, wear and tear and unscientific distribution across the river valley is one of the major reasons.

Solution: b)

Ukraine is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland and Slovakia to the west, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively.

Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Peninsular Spain in Europe from Morocco and Ceuta (Spain) in Africa. It is far away from Ukraine.