10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #8 August 9, 2019

Explanation:
•A differential interest rate scheme was introduced in 1974. Here, loans were provided at a low interest rate to the weakest among the weakest sections of the society.
•The Lead Bank scheme was introduced in 1969. Each district was assigned to one bank, where they acted as “pace-setters” in providing integrated banking facilities.
•The Regional Rural Banks (RRB) was established in 1975 to enlarge the supply of institutional credit to the rural areas.
•The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was constituted in 1982 to regulate and supervise the functions of cooperative banks and RRBs.

Explanation: CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES works by subjecting international trade in specimens of selected species to certain controls. All import, export, re-export and introduction from the sea of species covered by the Convention has to be authorized through a licensing system. Each Party to the Convention must designate one or more Management Authorities in charge of administering that licensing system and one or more Scientific Authorities to advise them on the effects of trade on the status of the species. The species covered by CITES are listed in three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need.

Explanation: On February 21, an Israeli lunar Lander called Beresheet (Hebrew for ‘the beginning’) began its journey to the Moon aboard a SpaceX rocket in its quest to be the first privately-funded spacecraft to land on the Moon. A month later, it was reported, Beresheet had crash-landed and was irredeemably broken except, for a curious, quirky payload called the Lunar Library.
The Lunar Library is a 30 million page archive of human history and civilization, covering all subjects, cultures, nations, languages, genres, and time periods. In the event of human extinction, it’s meant to be a ‘backup ‘of earth-life.

Explanation: Consumers’ perception on the general economic situation and the employment scenario has softened, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS). CSI comprises five variables-economic situations, employment, price level, income and spending. CCS was conducted in 13 major cities and obtained 5,351 responses on households’ perceptions and expectations on the five variables.

Explanation: The Erstwhile Indian Standards Institution (now Bureau of Indian Standards) was established in the year 1947 with the objective of harmonious development of standardization activity in India. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) was established under the BIS Act, 1986 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. A new Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 which was notified on 22nd March 2016, has been brought into force with effect from 12 October 2017 that reinforces the activities of BIS in respect to standardization and certification of goods, articles, processes, systems and services.