10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #24 August 29, 2019

Explanation: The Subansiri River is the largest tributary of the Upper Brahmaputra River. For its picturesque features, the river is also known as the Gold River. The river goes down through the green tropical rainforest in the ethnic state of Arunachal Pradesh. The catchment area of the Subansiri River is spread out further than the grand Himalayan mountain ranges, covering Tsona Dzong till the Great Loop of the Tsang Po River in Tibetan Territory. The river subsequently cuts through the Eastern Himalayan Mountain Ranges to pour into India at Asaphila via the rocky and remote neighborhoods of Arunachal Pradesh. The river has a stretch of 170 km in the Tibetan Territory, 250 km in the Eastern Himalayan Mountain Ranges and 86 km in the terrain of Assam prior to meeting the mighty Brahmaputra at the magical meeting point of Majuli. Majuli is the highest populated river island in the world. The Subansiri River is not linked with both sides of the Himalayan mountain ranges with any arterial roads for about 150 km. The landscape is quite rugged with steep cliffs with only meager human population in the area. The scarcity in population and rugged topography have made and going on to make the upper Basins of this river remote.
The Lower Subansiri Dam:
The Lower Subansiri Dam is a hydroelectric power project of NHPC (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation) Limited under construction with a capacity of 2,000 MW. The stonework gravity dam is 116 m tall from the riverbed of the Subansari River. The exterior electricity generating station will include 8 units of Francis turbines with a capacity of 250 MW each unit. Once the construction is complete, it will be considered as the biggest hydroelectric power project in the country. The project is situated close to the North Lakhimpur district on the boundary of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It is expected that the construction will end by 2012.

Explanation: India’s proposal to upgrade the protection of star tortoises (Geochelone elegans), the smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and small-clawed otters (Anoyx cinereus) in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on Wild Fauna and Flora) have been approved.
These species have been listed under Appendix I of CITES and will now enjoy the highest degree of protection as there will be a complete international ban enforced on their trade. The upgradation was approved at the Conference of the Parties (COP18) held at Geneva.

Explanation: Responding to the global momentum to tackle AMR, India had released its National Action Plan on AMR (NAP-AMR) along with a Declaration in Delhi in 2017. The NAP-AMR calls for states to consider AMR as a state level priority and develop state level action plans to ensure on-the-ground implementation.
On July 26, 2019, the Madhya Pradesh State Action Plan for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance (MP-SAPCAR) was released in Bhopal. With this, MP has become the second state in India after Kerala to develop an action plan to manage antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The MP-SAPCAR focuses on a ‘One Health’ approach to containing AMR through six key strategic priority areas and multi-sectoral involvement.
The government has commissioned a ₹9.3 crore study to assess the microbial diversity along the entire length of the Ganga and test if stretches of the 2,500 km long river contain microbes that may promote “antibiotic resistance”.
The project, expected to last two years, is to be undertaken by scientists at the Motilal Nehru Institute of Technology, Allahabad; the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur; Sardar Patel Institute of Science & Technology, Gorakhpur, as well as start-up companies, Phixgen and Xcelris Labs. The latter two provide genome sequencing services, which in this case will involve mapping the genomes of the microbes sampled.

Explanation: The Amazon is a vast region that spans across eight rapidly developing countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, an overseas territory of France.
The landscape contains:
•One in ten known species on Earth
•1.4 billion acres of dense forests, half of the planet’s remaining tropical forests
•4,100 miles of winding rivers
•2.6 million square miles in the Amazon basin, about 40 percent of South America
There is a clear link between the health of the Amazon and the health of the planet. The rain forests, which contain 90-140 billion metric tons of carbon, help stabilize local and global climate. Deforestation may release significant amounts of this carbon, which could have catastrophic consequences around the world.

Explanation: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It usually affects the skin and peripheral nerves, but has a wide range of clinical manifestations. The disease is characterized by long incubation period generally 5-7 years and is classified as paucibacillary or mulitbacillary, depending on the bacillary load. Leprosy is a leading cause of permanent physical disability. Timely diagnosis and treatment of cases, before nerve damage has occurred, is the most effective way of preventing disability due to leprosy.

Milestones in NLEP:

1955 – National Leprosy Control Programme (NLCP) launched
1983 – National Leprosy Eradication Programme launched
1983 – Introduction of Multidrug therapy (MDT) in Phases
2005 – Elimination of Leprosy at National Level
2012 – Special action plan for 209 high endemic districts in 16 States/UTs
As the World Health Organization has found, nearly two-thirds of all new leprosy cases detected worldwide in 2016 were in India. That’s a shamefully high proportion. “Elimination”, going by the WHO definition, is a prevalence level of less than one in 10,000 people. In contrast, “eradication” is zero new cases.
A total of 126,164 new cases were detected in India in 2017-18, according to data from the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP). Chhattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Odisha, Bihar, Chandigarh, Goa, and Lakshadweep reported the prevalence of more than one in 10,000 in 2017.