10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: August 3, 2020

As per the National Education Policy 2020, in addition to high quality offerings in Indian languages and English, foreign languages, such as Korean, Japanese, Thai, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian, will also be offered at the secondary level, for students to learn about the cultures of the world and to enrich their global knowledge and mobility according to their own interests and aspirations.

Both statements are correct.

Dhole is the wild dog of Asia that was once found throughout much of the continent, but this species is now endangered and has a much restricted range.

It is an extant species in Bangladesh; Bhutan; Cambodia; China; India; Indonesia; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Myanmar; Nepal and Thailand.

Dhole is listed as Endangered species in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with decreasing population trend. It is also listed in CITES Appendix II.

Statement 1 is correct. BeiDou is the Navigation Satellite System constellation developed and deployed by China. BeiDou offers its users all kinds of services. This includes accurate positioning upto 10m, navigation and timing, as well as short messaging communication.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Beidou system provides global coverage to its users. China in 2015 launched the third generation BeiDou system (BeiDou-3) for global coverage. It has recently declared completion and commissioning of BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System.

Other global navigation systems are GPS by USA, GLONASS by Russia and Galileo by European Union.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has recently announced that it has started operations in the first of four reactors at the Barakah nuclear power station – the first nuclear power plant in the Arab world.

Nuclear fission has begun in one of four reactors at the Barakah plant, which uses South Korean technology. The plant was due to open in 2017 but start-up was delayed for safety requirements.

‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan’ 2020-21 has been launched recently. VVM is a national program for popularizing science among school students of standard VI to XI, conceptualized to identify the bright minds with a scientific aptitude among the student community.

Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan (VVM) is an initiative of Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), in collaboration with Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organization under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), an institution under the Ministry of Education

Both statements are correct.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) ACE2 is a protein on the surface of many cell types. It is an enzyme that generates small proteins – by cutting up the larger protein angiotensinogen.

ACE2 is present in many cell types and tissues including the lungs, heart, blood vessels, kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal tract. It is present in epithelial cells, which line certain tissues and create protective barriers.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to ACE2, using the spike-like protein on its surface, prior to entry and infection of cells. Hence, ACE2 acts as a cellular receptor for the virus that causes COVID-19.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Smart India Hackathon (SIH) is a nationwide initiative that is being is conducted every year since 2017, to provide students a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face in daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem solving.

Statement 2 is correct. There are two formats for the Hackathon – SIH Software and SIH Hardware Editions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SIH Software Edition is being conducted in fully ONLINE mode.

Themes for SIH 2020 include Healthcare & Biomedical Devices, Agriculture & Rural Development, Renewable Energy, Food Processing, and Smart Vehicles among etc.

All of the above are correctly matched.

The Galápagos Islands is a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, a province of Ecuador and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Minsk is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislac and the Nyamiha Rivers.

Da Nang is a coastal city in central Vietnam, a former French colonial port.

The Central Advisory Board of Education, one of the oldest and the most important advisory body of the Government of India in education was first established in 1920 and dissolved in 1923 as a measure of economy. It was revived in 1935 and has been in existence ever since.

Statement 1 is incorrect. It is not a statutory body; the current Board has been reconstituted by a Government of India Resolution of October, 1990.

Statement 2 is correct. The Chairperson of the board is Union Minister of Human Resource Development.

National Education Policy 2020 recommends strengthening and empowering the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE). The remodeled and rejuvenated CABE shall also be responsible for developing, articulating, evaluating, and revising the vision of education in the country on a continuous basis, in close collaboration with MHRD and the corresponding apex bodies of States.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Crew Dragon Endeavour is a spacecraft, manufactured and operated by SpaceX and used by NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Statement 2 is correct. It was launched successfully for the first time with crew on board in May 2020 by Falcon 9 rocket and has returned back to Earth with crew onboard on August 2^nd 2020.

It is the spacecraft used in the first crewed orbital spaceflight from the United States since 2011 and the first crewed orbital spaceflight by a private company.