1) Consider the following statement with respect toParis Agreement
All the signatory parties formallyratified the agreement.
Article 28 of the agreement enables parties to withdraw from the agreement with immediate effect.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
At COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015, Parties to the UNFCCC reached a landmark agreement to combat climate change.
There are 197 signatories to the Paris Agreement. But 10 nations remain yet to ratify, including two major emitters.
As of October 2019, the countries yet to formally ratify the agreement are Angola, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, South Sudan, Turkey, and Yemen.
Article 28 of the agreement enables parties to withdraw from the agreement,
At any time after three years from the date on which this Agreement has entered into force for a Party, that Party may withdraw from this Agreement by giving written notification to the Depositary.
Any such withdrawal shall take effect upon expiry of one year from the date of receipt by the Depositary of the notification of withdrawal, or on such later date as may be specified in the notification of withdrawal.
Any Party that withdraws from the Convention shall be considered as also having withdrawn from this Agreement.
2) Tapan Ray Committeesometimes seen in the news is,
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a working Committeeto review the regulatory guidelines and supervisory framework applicable for core investment companies (CIC).
Recently the Committee suggested norms for CICs.
The panel advices to limit CIC to two levels is another reform for better financing arrangement.
3) Consider the following statements with respect to Mission Innovation (MI)
It is a global initiative working to accelerate clean energy innovation.
India is a founding member and a steering committee member.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Recently Indian government launched the Mission Innovation (MI) Face to Face meeting of Innovation Challenges (IC).
Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under Ministry of Science & Technology is nodal agency coordinating and steering activities of Mission Innovation (MI) in India.
Mission Innovation is a global initiative working to accelerate clean energy innovation.
It was launched on 30 November 2015 by 20 countries during COP-21.
MI currently comprises of 24-membercountries and the European Commission.
The main objective of MI is to identify major gap areas in Clean Energy Innovation and how to address the issues beyond 2020 to make MI more impactful.
India is one of the three countries responsible for crystalizing the idea of global initiative.
Being a founding member and as steering committee member, India has played an active role in all Mission Innovation activities.
4) Consider the following statements with respect to Ethanol
At 95% purity, ethanol is used for blending with petrol.
Ethanol Blended Petrol releases fewer emissions into the environment and is considered cleaner in nature.
The new Biofuel Policy 2018 has fixed a target of achieving 20% ethanol blending with petrol by 2030.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
Recently, Ministry of Environment and Forests announced that mills would not require separate environmental clearance to produce additional ethanol from B-heavy molasses.
At 95% purity, it is called rectified spirit and is used as the intoxicating ingredient in alcoholic beverages.
At 99%-plus purity, ethanol is used for blending with petrol.
Using ethanol fuel to power automobiles results in significantly low levels of toxins in the environment.
For environmental purposes, ethanol is less harmful than unblended gasoline. Carbon monoxide production from ethanol fuel is significantly lower.
The current consumption of fuel sets 3300 million litres of ethanol requirement to achieve 10% of blending target by 2022.
The National Policy on Biofuels-2018 sets ambitious target of 20% in blending by 2030.
5) Consider the following statements with respect to ‘Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2’ (CHACE-2)
It is a Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMA) capable of scanning the lunar neutral exosphere.
Its primary objective is to carry out an in-situ study of the composition and distribution of the lunar neutral exosphere.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Recently, Chandrayaan-2 has detected ‘Argon-40’ in the lunar exosphere with the help of CHACE-2.
The Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) payload aboard the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter.
It is a neutral mass spectrometer-based payload which can detect constituents in the lunar neutral exosphere in the range of 1-300 amu (atomic mass unit).
Its primary objective is to carry out an in-situ study of the composition and distribution of the lunar neutral exosphere and its variability.
Argon-40 also known as 40Ar is an isotope of the noble gas Argon. Argon is third most abundant gas in the Earth’s Atmosphere.
ISRO states that 40Ar is a major constituent of the lunar exosphere.
40Ar is a condensable gas and reacts differently at various temperatures and pressures.
It condenses during lunar night and after lunar dawn, the gas then again starts getting released to the lunar exosphere.
6) Consider the following statements with respect to IndAIR
It is India’s first interactive online repository that aims to make air quality research available to everyone.
It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) along with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched India’s first web repository documenting air quality studies done in the last 60 years.
The Indian Air quality Interactive Repository (IndAIR) has archived approximately 700 scanned materials from pre-Internet era (1950-1999), 1,215 research articles, 170 reports and case studies and 100 cases, to provide the history of air pollution research and legislation.
Such a repository on air pollution is one of the first in the world.
7) Consider the following statements with respect to Harmonized System (HS) Code
It is a six digit identification code used by customs officers to clear every commodity that enters or crosses any state borders within India.
It was developed by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
HS Stands for Harmonized System and it is a six digit identification code.
It was developed by the WCO (World Customs Organization) and custom officers use HS Code to clear every commodity that enters or crosses any international border.
In a move to give impetus to the export of Khadi, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has recently allocated a separate Harmonized System (HS) code for this fabric.
Allocation of HS code to the khadi will help the government to plan the export strategies effectively.
Earlier, Khadi did not have exclusive HS code and all the export data regarding this fabric used to come under the normal fabric head.
8) Consider the following statements with respect to Shala Darpan portal
It is an end to end e-Governance school automation and management system for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS).
It was launched by Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD).
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
ShaalaDarpan is an end to end e-Governance school automation and management system for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS).
This single integrated platform has been developed for information sharing and knowledge dissemination for the 22000 employees and over 2 lakh students across schools and offices of NavodayaVidyalayaSamiti.
It has been implemented at Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti as the first major initiative to enable automation of all activities of the country’s largest residential schooling system through a single umbrella - 636 schools, 8 Regional Offices, 8 NLIs and Head Quarter.
The best part is this portal has been designed from OPEN SOURCE TECHNOLOGY and hence the cost incurred was very low and up-dation cost in future will remain low.
The Navodaya Vidyalayas are co-educational residential schools established by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti which is an autonomous organization under MHRD to provide quality modern education.
9) Fordow Nuclear Plant sometimes seen in the news recently was located in which of the following countries?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Iran has recently stepped up activity at its underground Fordow nuclear plant.
With the presence of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran started injecting uranium gas into centrifuges in Fordow, state television reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron called Iran's latest move 'grave', saying it explicitly signalled Iran's intent for the first time to leave the deal - formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Iran insists that the latest move is not a violation of the nuclear deal, but is based on the Articles 26 and 36 of the agreement.
10) Consider the following statements with respect to Freedom on the Net’ (FoTN) Report, 2019
India was among the worst 10 countries in world for internet, digital media freedom according to the report.
It was published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
Pakistan is among the worst 10 countries in the world for internet and digital media freedom, according to a report 'Freedom on the Net' (FoTN) for the year 2019 released by the Freedom House, an international internet rights group.
The report titled 'The Crisis of Social Media', recording an overall decline in global internet freedom between June 2018 and May 2019.
The watchdog in its report placed Pakistan at 26, out of 100, one place down from last year's ranking.
India scores 55 out of 100 and listed under the category of “Partly Free Countries”.
