10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #67 January 21, 2020

Explanation: K-4 is a nuclear-capable Intermediate-range submarine-launched ballistic missile. The missile has been developed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The missile has a maximum range of about 3500 km. It is powered by solid rocket propellants. The missile is to be fitted into the indigenously built Arihant-class nuclear-powered submarines of the Indian Navy. Only the US, Russia and China have submarine-launched ballistic missiles of 3,500-kilometre range.

Explanation: Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passed in 2013.The act broadens the Vishaka guidelines which were already in place. The act aims to prevent and protect women against sexual harassment at workplace and to ensure effective redressal of complaints of sexual harassment. It defines an aggrieved victim as a woman of any age whether employed or not who alleges to have been subjected to any act of sexual harassment. The act made the employer responsible to prevent or deter acts of sexual harassment at the workplace. It says that employer must constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at each office or branch with 10 or more employees.

Explanation: Odisha Forest Department officials, wildlife experts and researchers on Sunday sighted 146 endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in Chilika Lake, which boasts of the highest single lagoon population of the aquatic mammal in the world. The dolphin census was simultaneously taken up in Chilika and off Odisha coast. The Chilika Development Authority (CDA) is elated that the direct sighting of 146 dolphins meant that its population in the lake would stabilise well above 150. According to last year’s census, the Irrawaddy dolphin population in Chilika was 151.

Explanation: The proposed Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop project, an ultra-modern transport system may be scrapped by the Maharashtra government. Hyperloop is a proposed mode of transportation that moves freight and people quickly, safely, on-demand and direct from origin to destination. The concept was first proposed by Elon Musk, CEO of the aerospace firm SpaceX. Hyperloop technology comprises of a network of tubes through which a pod may travel free of air resistance or friction conveying people or objects from one point to another. The system is fully autonomous and sealed, so no driver-related error is anticipated. In a sealed environment with almost no air resistance, the pods are expected to reach very high speeds of around 700 mph or 1,125 km/h.

Explanation: On January 11, 2020, China reported the first death in the country due to pneumonia caused by a new virus that is of outbreak in the city of Wuhan. The Chinese scientists discovered that the new strain of virus is that of the corona virus. According to the WHO, the outbreak in Wuhan in less virulent. However, China is responding swiftly to control the outbreak.
Corona Viruses were first found in humans in1960s. the viruses cause flu and gastro intestinal problems. They have great genetic variability, meaning, they can over come barriers between different species. The virus has protrusions on its surface. This makes the virus look like an emperor’s crown and hence the name Corona virus. The protrusions are made of proteins The Virus can also infect cattle, dogs, pigs, camels, birds and hedgedogs apart from human.