10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: August 19, 2020

All of the statements are correct.

Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) is an initiative of Ministry of Education (erstwhile Human Resource Development MHRD), Govt. of India.

It systematically ranks all major higher educational institutions and universities in India on indicators related to “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development” amongst students and faculties.

Major Indicators for consideration: Budget & Funding Support, Infrastructure & Facilities, Awareness, Promotions & support for Idea Generation & Innovation, Promotion & Support for Entrepreneurship Development, Innovative Learning Methods & Courses, Intellectual Property Generation, Technology Transfer & Commercialization and Innovation in Governance of the Institution.

ARIIA 2020 toppers:

-IIT Madras under the category of Institutes of National Importance, Central Universities, and Centrally Funded Technical Institutes;

-Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai under Government and Government Aided Universities;

-College of Engineering, Pune under Government and Government Aided Colleges;

-Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar under Private or Self-Financed Universities

-S R Engineering College, Warangal under Private or Self-Financed Colleges.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Ministry of Electronics & IT has launched the Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge- Innovate Solutions for Aatmanirbhar Bharat seeks to invite innovators, startups and students to use these microprocessors to develop various technology products.

The participants will get monetary support/ seed fund and an opportunity to translate their innovations around Swadeshi Processors, showcase them at a higher viewership platform and facilitate them to scale from ideation to marketplace.

Statement 2 is correct. IIT Madras and Center for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC) have developed two microprocessors named SHAKTI (32 bit) and VEGA (64 bit) respectively using Open Source Architecture under the aegis of Microprocessor Development Programme of Ministry of Electronics and IT.

Statement 1 is correct. The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 empowers Reserve Bank of India to regulate and oversee the various payments and settlement systems in India.

Every person operating a payment and settlement system (system provider) needs to be authorized by the RBI. The form and manner of application for authorization is prescribed by RBI.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently released a framework for setting up of a pan-India umbrella entity for retail payments systems. It will manage and operate new payments systems in the retail space comprising ATMs, white label PoS, Aadhaar-based payments and remittance services.

The formation of the umbrella entity has been authorised under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 does not prohibit foreign entities from operating a payment system in India and the Act does not discriminate or differentiate between foreign entities and domestic entities.

All entities, whether domestic or foreign, need to obtain a licence, approval or authorization from the RBI before commencing payment system operations in the country.

Statement 1 is incorrect. National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020 has been released by the National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR)-Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Statement 2 is correct. As per the report, the highest incidence of cancer in India was observed in the north eastern region.

-Cancer of lung, mouth, stomach and oesophagus were the most common cancers in men.

-Cancer of breast and cervix uteri were the most common cancers in women.

-The report estimates that in 2020, tobacco-related cancers are estimated to contribute to 27.1% of the total cancer burden.

Statement 1 is correct. Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund and Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance, Government of India are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund.

The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees (Prime Minister) has the power to nominate three trustees to the Board of Trustees who shall be eminent persons in the field of research, health, science, social work, law, public administration and philanthropy.

Statement 2 is correct. The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organizations and does not get any budgetary support.

Statement 3 is correct. Donations to PM CARES Fund qualify to be counted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013

PM CARES Fund has also got exemption under the FCRA and a separate account for receiving foreign donations has been opened. This enables PM CARES Fund to accept donations and contributions from individuals and organizations based in foreign countries.

Option 1 is correct. The Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is an informal strategic forum between the United States, Japan, Australia and India.

Option 2 is incorrect. MIKTA is an informal partnership between Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia.

Option 3 is incorrect. The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Statement 1 is correct. The cheetah is the world’s fastest land mammal. A cheetah can go from 0 to 60 miles an hour in only three seconds. These big cats are quite nimble at high speed and can make quick and sudden turns in pursuit of prey.

Statement 2 is correct. The Asiatic cheetah, which once roamed parts of India, is now only found in Iran, where there are thought to be about 50 left.

Studies show that at least 200 cheetahs were killed in India, largely by sheep and goat herders, during the colonial period. It is the only large mammal to become extinct after the country gained independence in 1947.

Recently Cheetahs from South Africa arrived at Mysuru zoo (not in wild).

The Supreme Court in January, 2020 said African cheetahs could be introduced to the wild in a “carefully chosen location” India.

Cheetahs are the only big cats that can’t roar.

Option 1 is correctly matched. Durand Line is boundary established in the Hindu Kush in 1893 running through the tribal lands between Afghanistan and British India (Today Pakistan).

It was the result of an agreement between Sir Mortimer Durand, a secretary of the British Indian government, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the emir, or ruler, of Afghanistan.

Option 2 is correctly matched. McMahon Line is frontier between Tibet and North-east region of India, negotiated between Tibet and Great Britain at the end of the Shimla Conference (October 1913–July 1914) and named for the chief British negotiator, Sir Henry McMahon.

In 1962, the Chinese forces occupied south of the McMahon Line but subsequently withdrew after a cease-fire had been achieved.

Option 3 is correctly matched. The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcation line between the Indian and Pakistani portions of the Punjab and Bengal provinces (now Bangladesh) of British India.

Both statements are correct.

The East Mediterranean Gas Forum is a regional cooperation platform for developing the natural gas fields in the Mediterranean area.

It was established as an international body in January 2020 and is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt. The Energy Ministers of Israel, Egypt, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Jordan, and the PA (Palestinian Authority) approved the transformation of the Forum into a regional organization.

It aims to create a regional gas market that serves the interests of its members by ensuring supply and demand, optimising resources development, rationalising the cost of infrastructure, offering competitive prices and improving trade relations.

Statement 1 is correct. The Consumer Price Index measures the average change in prices (retail) over time that consumers pay for a basket of goods and services. The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation releases monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Rural, Urban and Combined.

The most important category in the consumer price index is Food and beverages (45.86 percent of total weight). It also includes services like Transport and communication (8.59 percent), health (5.89 percent), and education (4.46 percent).

Statement 2 is correct. The Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is releases monthly Wholesale price Index (WPI). It tracks the changes in the price of goods in the stages before the retail level.

The wholesale market is only for goods, so WPI does not include services.