10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: August 20, 2020

Statement 1 is correct. The Union Cabinet recently approved the proposal to set up the National Recruitment Agency (NRA).

The NRA will conduct the Common Eligibility Test (CET) for recruitment to non-gazetted posts in government and public sector banks and replace multiple examinations conducted by different recruiting agencies.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The CET will be conducted in 12 major Indian languages.

Other salient features:

-The Common Eligibility Test will be held twice a year.

-There will be different CETs for graduate level, 12th Pass level and 10th pass level to facilitate recruitment to vacancies at various levels.

-To begin with CET will cover recruitments made by three agencies: viz. Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Board and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection.  This will be expanded in a phased manner.

-CET will be a first level test to shortlist candidates and the score will be valid for three years.

-There shall be no restriction on the number of attempts to be taken by a candidate to appear in the CET subject to the upper age limit. Age relaxation for SC/ST and OBC candidates as per existing rules will apply.

Both statements are incorrect.

The Teesta River originates from the Pahunri (or Teesta Kangse) glacier above 7,068 m, and flows southward through gorges and rapids in the Sikkim Himalaya.

The river then flows past the town of Rangpo where the Rangpo River joins, and where it forms the border between Sikkim and West Bengal up to Teesta Bazaar. Just before the Teesta Bridge, where the roads from Kalimpong and Darjeeling join, the river is met by its main tributary, the Rangeet River.

Teesta River ultimately drains into Brahmaputra (Jamuna) at Teestamukh Ghat in Kamarjani- Bahadurabad in Rangpur district of Bangladesh.

The Mali Civil War is a series of armed conflicts that started from January 2012 between the northern and southern parts of Mali in Africa.

In 2015, peace accord was signed, called ‘Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali Resulting from the Algiers Process’. It is a compromise between the government in Bamako and the Tuareg and Arab rebel groups.

Recently there was a coup in Mali and the sitting President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta has been ousted by military leaders.

Statement 1 is incorrect. A concern with UBI is that it would encourage workers to stop working. If people aren’t working, there is less taxable income. However, people may choose to stop working for reasons that benefit society as a whole, such as getting a better education or caring for a relative in need.

Statement 2 is correct. Those with ill or differently abled relatives are often forced to quit their jobs to care for them full-time. UBI would allow care-workers to support themselves, encouraging care work within the home and relieving pressure on public services that provide care to the sick and elderly.

Statement 3 is correct. There exist countless governmental organisations/schemes responsible for helping those in poverty, unemployment benefits, food stamps, subsidised housing, etc. UBI would cut a country’s spending by eliminating these schemes.

Statement 1 is correct. National Policy on Education (NPE, 1986) and the Programme of Action (PoA, 1992) spelt out strategic plans for the policies, advocated the establishment of an independent National accreditation agency for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

Consequently, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) was established in 1994 as an autonomous institution of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Statement 2 is correct. NAAC conducts assessment and accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) such as colleges, universities or other recognised institutions to derive an understanding of the ‘Quality Status’ of the institution.

NAAC evaluates the institutions for its conformance to the standards of quality in terms of its performance related to the educational processes and outcomes, curriculum coverage, teaching-learning processes, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organisation, governance, financial wellbeing and student services.

Nord Stream is a system of offshore natural gas pipelines from Russia to Germany. It includes two lines running from Vyborg to Greifswald forming original Nord Stream (Nord Stream 1), and two lines running from Ust-Luga to Greifswald termed Nord Stream 2.

Russia currently supplies about 40% of the EU’s gas supplies – just ahead of Norway, which is not in the EU but takes part in its single market. The new pipeline will increase the amount of gas going under the Baltic to 55 billion cubic meters per year.

Both statements are correct.

The National Technical Textiles Mission with a four-year implementation period from financial year 2020-21 to 2023-24 was launched in February this year.

The Mission will have four components:

–Research, Innovation and Development: Carbon Fibre, Aramid Fibre, Nylon Fibre, and Composites and application-based research in geotextiles, agro-textiles, medical textiles, mobile textiles and sports textiles and development of biodegradable technical textiles.

–Promotion and Market Development: The Mission will aim at average growth rate of 15-20% per annum taking the level of domestic market size to 40-50 Billion USD by the year 2024; through market development, market promotion, international technical collaborations, investment promotions and ‘Make in India’ initiatives.

–Export Promotion: The component aims at export promotion of technical textiles and ensuring 10% average growth in exports per year upto 2023-24. An Export Promotion Council for Technical Textiles will be set up for effective coordination and promotion activities in the segment.

–Education, Training, and Skill Development: The Mission will promote technical education at higher engineering and technology levels related to technical textiles and its application areas covering engineering, medical, agriculture, aquaculture and dairy segments.

Statement 1 is correct. Minimum Support Price for raw jute is fixed every year to protect the interest of farmers. Jute Corporation of India (JCI) is the Price Support Agency of the Govt. of India for jute.

While fixing prices of different grades, the issue of discouraging production of lower grade jute and encouraging production of higher grades jute are taken into consideration so as to motivate farmers to produce higher grade jute.

Statement 2 is correct. Raw jute crop is an important cash crop to the farmers. Cultivation of raw jute crop provides not only fibre which has industrial use, but jute stick which is used as fuel and building material by the farming community.

Raw jute is produced mainly in the state of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura and Meghalaya.

Recently a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU to provide certified good quality seeds to jute farmers in the year 2021-22 was signed between Jute Corporation of India and National Seeds Corporation.

Statement 1 is correct. The World Conference of Speakers of Parliament 2020 is being organized jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva and the Parliament of Austria with the support of the United Nations (UN).

Statement 2 is incorrect. Lok Sabha Speaker from India is a participant along with few MPs from India. This is not the first but fifth edition of the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament.

The theme of the Conference is Parliamentary leadership for more effective multilateralism that delivers peace and sustainable development for the people and planet.

The first Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments took place in August 2000. The commitment of Member States for greater cooperation with the world of parliaments was embedded in the final declaration of the 2000 Summit, known as the Millennium Declaration.

Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament was held in September 2015.

Both statements are correct.

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder caused when the body doesn’t make enough of a protein called hemoglobin, an important part of red blood cells.

When there isn’t enough hemoglobin, the body’s red blood cells don’t function properly and they last shorter periods of time, so there are fewer healthy red blood cells traveling in the bloodstream.

People with thalassemia may have mild or severe anemia because Red blood cells carry oxygen to all the cells of the body and when there are not enough healthy red blood cells, there is also not enough oxygen delivered to all the other cells of the body.