10 PM Current Affairs Quiz : April 4, 2019

India and France have signed an implementation agreement on “MOBILISE YOUR CITY” (MYC)

The MYC aims at supporting three pilot cities viz. Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad in their efforts to reduce their Green House Gas (GHG) emissions related to urban transport by implementing urban mobility plans at local level and to help India at national level to improve their sustainable transport policy.

CTBT is a multilateral treaty banning all nuclear explosions (air, water, land and even underground explosions) for both military and civilian purposes. It was negotiated during the Conference on Disarmament at Geneva in 1996 by UNGA.

States that have signed but not ratified the CTBT are China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, and the United States. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), India, and Pakistan. Have not signed the treaty.

Bharat Stage (BS) are emission standards instituted by the Government of India based on European regulations.

The objective is to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment. The higher the fuel standard a vehicle complies with, the less polluting it is.

The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment & Forests and Climate Change.

In April 2018,Delhi became the first city in the country to switch from BS-IV grade petrol and diesel to BS-VI fuels.Further,cities in the national capital region like Noida and Ghaziabad has switched over to the cleaner fuel from April 1st,2019.Rest of the country will follow suit from April 2020.

Kandhamal Haldi, a variety of indigenous turmeric grown only in southern Odisha has received Geographical indication (GI) tag from Geographical Indication Registry of India.

Kandhamal Haldi is a member of the Curcuma botanical group, which is a part of the ginger family whose botanical name is Curcuma Longa. It is known for its medicinal values.

AUSINDEX is a biennial bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

The first edition of AUSINDEX was held in 2015 at Visakhapatnam. Australia hosted the second edition of the exercise off Freemantle in 2017. The third edition of AUSINDEX (Australia India Exercise) has commenced off the coast of Vishakhapatnam. The focus of the 3rd AUSINDEX is on anti-submarine warfare.

There is no provision of SCS in the Constitution, the Central government extends financial assistance to states that are at a comparative disadvantage against others. The concept of SCS emerged in 1969 when the Gadgil formula (that determined Central assistance to states) was approved.

SCS states enjoy concessions in excise and customs duties and income tax rates. Besides, assistance to Centrally Sponsored Schemes for SCS States was given with 90% Central share and 10% State share.