10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #20 August 24, 2019

Explanation: Gujarat continues to be the top performer in water management even as Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have further increased their scores over the last three years, according to a report by NITI Aayog. Meanwhile, states, including Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar, continued to be in the low-performing category.
The Comprehensive Water Management Index (CWMI) by NITI Aayog, which measures the performance of states on a set of water indicators, comes at a time when various states across the country are facing a shortage in groundwater.
The CWMI also looks at states’ relative performance in the last three years. This report comprises nine themes, including attention to groundwater, restoration of water bodies and covers 25 states, two Union Territories.
The maximum possible score is a 100 and Gujarat, for the second year in a row, was the topper with 75 points. “Delhi, assessed on the index for the first time this year, scores the lowest with 20 points. This is alarming, considering Delhi’s position as the country’s capital territory, and its population of two crore people whose water, arguably, is being poorly managed,” the report underlines.

Explanation: A top U.S. military official has said that U.S. intelligence agencies believe Russia is likely conducting low-yield nuclear testing that may be violation of a major international treaty.
Lieutenant General Robert Ashley said in a speech on May 29 that Russia could be doing tests that go “beyond what is believed necessary, beyond zero yield.”
The problem, he said, was that Russia “has not been willing to affirm” they are adhering to the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
“The United States believes that Russia probably is not adhering to its nuclear testing moratorium in a manner consistent with the ‘zero-yield’ standard,” said Ashley, who is director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Defense Department’s main in-house intelligence organization.
“Zero-yield” refers to a nuclear test where there is no explosive chain reaction of the sort caused by an atomic bomb nuclear warhead.

Explanation: While India is a market economy where prices are ostensibly decided by demand and supply, certain laws empower the Centre to intervene in the market to protect consumer interests. The Essential Commodities Act (ECA) is one such key law. The ECA was enacted way back in 1955. It has since been used by the Government to regulate the production, supply and distribution of a whole host of commodities it declares ‘essential ‘in order to make them available to consumers at fair prices.
The list of items under the Act includes drugs, fertilizers, pulses and edible oils, and petroleum and petroleum products. The Centre can include new commodities as and when the need arises, and takes them off the list once the situation improves.
Here’s how it works. If the Centre finds that a certain commodity is in short supply and its price is spiking, it can notify stock-holding limits on it for a specified period. The States act on this notification to specify limits and take steps to ensure that these are adhered to. Anybody trading or dealing in a commodity, be it wholesalers, retailers or even importers are prevented from stockpiling it beyond a certain quantity.
A State can, however, choose not to impose any restrictions. But once it does, traders have to immediately sell into the market any stocks held beyond the mandated quantity. This improves supplies and brings down prices. As not all shopkeepers and traders comply, State agencies conduct raids to get everyone to toe the line and the errant are punished. The excess stocks are auctioned or sold through fair price shops.

Explanation: UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture. UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.
Some of the success stories of UNESCO:
•UNESCO coordinates Tsunami early warning systems all over the globe
•UNESCO leads global efforts to reach quality education for all
•UNESCO stands up for freedom of expression and condemns the killing of journalists
•UNESCO preserves 1073 World Heritage sites in 167 countries

Explanation: Sinking islands may become a reality with sea level rise and climate change in decades to come. Tamil Nadu has hit upon a novel idea to protect such islands on its coast – deployment of artificial reefs near vulnerable islands.
Artificial reefs, made of concrete, have been found to be capable of preventing further erosion of ecologically sensitive islands and also regenerate coral biodiversity in the Gulf of Mannar region. Vaan is one of the 21 islands in the Gulf of Mannar, which was declared marine biodiversity park in 1986. Indiscriminate mining of coral and use of destructive fishing practices in the past few decades have fully submerged two of the islands while Vaan was on the verge of submergence when the project began in 2015. Its area had been reduced from 16 hectares in 1986 to 2 hectares in 2014.