10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: August 7, 2020

Statement 1 is correct. Pokkali is a unique saline tolerant rice variety that is cultivated in an organic way in the water-logged coastal regions, spread in about 5000 hectares area in Alappuzha, Thrissur and Ernakulam districts of Kerala.

Since the tidal flows make the fields highly fertile, no manure or fertilizer need to be applied; the seedlings just grow the natural way. In order to survive in the water-logged field, the rice plants grow up to two metres.

Statement 2 is incorrect. ‘Pokkali’ rice is cultivated in the pokkali field during May/June to October and the remaining period (November – April) is utilized for prawn culture or ‘Chemeenkettu’.

Statement 1 is correct. Tsunami Ready is a community performance-based programme initiated by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO to promote tsunami preparedness through active collaboration of public, community leaders, and national and local emergency management agencies.

The main objective of this programme is to improve coastal community’s preparedness for tsunami emergencies, to minimize the loss of life and property.

Statement 2 is incorrect. To implement and monitor the implementation of Tsunami Ready in India, Ministry of Earth Sciences established a National Board under the chairmanship of Director, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Centre (INCOIS) with members drawn from various institutions.

The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), Odisha has now implemented the Tsunami Ready programme in two villages, Venkatraipur in Ganjam District, Noliasahi in Jagatsingpur District.

Based on the National Board recommendations, UNESCO-IOC has approved the recognition of two communities as Tsunami Ready Communities. With this recognition, India is the first country to implement Tsunami Ready in the Indian Ocean Region and Odisha is the first state.

Statement 1 is correct. The Water Resources Information System (WRIS) portal contains information related to Water Resources through dashboards for rainfall, water levels & discharge of rivers, water bodies, ground water levels, reservoir storages, evapotranspiration and soil moisture, as well as modules on water resources projects, water bodies, hydro-met data availability and tools for GIS layer editing.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), under the National Hydrology Project, launched the first version of India Water Resources Information System (India-WRIS) in July, 2019 and has been updated recently with a new version.

India WRIS is, at present, receiving data from many central and state agencies on regular basis. The MoJS has established a dedicated organization, National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) to maintain and update India WRIS.

All of the are included in the Priority Sector Lending norm of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Priority Sector includes the following categories: Agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Export Credit, Education, Housing, Social Infrastructure, Renewable Energy and Others.

The 40 per cent of Adjusted Net Bank Credit or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher is mandatory to be given to priority sector.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently declared to bring startups under the purview of priority sector lending (PSL).

Statement 1 is correct. Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is a mechanism developed by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Statement 2 is correct. It creates a financial value for the carbon stored in forests by offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development. Developing countries would receive results-based payments for results-based actions.

European Council has recently adopted conclusions on the EU recovery plan and Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027.

‘Next Generation EU (NGEU)’ fund authorizes the European Commission to borrow in the capital markets on the EU’s behalf for the sole purpose of addressing the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. The additional funds raised will be disbursed to member states as grants and loans. EU leaders also agreed the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF), setting a budget of EUR1.074 trillion.

Option 1 is correctly matched. Chang Chenmo River, a tributary of the Shyok River, which flows into the Indus River forms the valley near the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh UT.

Option 2 is incorrectly matched. The Siachen Glacier is a located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas in Ladakh UT. India’s successfully took cotrol of the Siachen Glacier as part of Operation Meghdoot in 1984.

Option 3 is correctly matched. Sir Creek is a tidal estuary in the uninhabited marshlands of the Indus River Delta on the border between India and Pakistan. The creek flows into the Arabian Sea near the Gujarat state in India from Sindh province in Pakistan.

Statement 1 is incorrect. In India, the leopard is found in all forest types, from tropical rainforests to temperate deciduous and alpine coniferous forests. It is also found in dry scrubs and grasslands, the only exception being desert and the mangroves of Sundarbans. It shares its territory with the tiger in various states.

Statement 2 is correct. Indian leopard or Common leopard (Panthera pardus) is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List and included in Appendix I of CITES.

Both statements are correct.

Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) is a type of measurement system used to assess the maturity level of a particular technology. Each technology project is evaluated against the parameters for each technology level and is then assigned a TRL rating based on the projects progress.

Originally introduced by NASA, the TRL scale is a metric with nine technology readiness levels for describing the maturity of a technology from ideation stage (TRL1) to highest degree of application/commercial readiness (TRL 9).

Statement 1 is correct. Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a tickborne virus (genus Phlebovirus, family Phenuiviridae) that can cause a mild to severe febrile illness similar to hemorrhagic fever.

SFTS is characterized by acute high fever, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, elevated serum hepatic enzymes, gastrointestinal symptoms, and multiorgan failure.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) illness was first confirmed in China in 2009. It was retrospectively identified in South Korea in 2010 and the western regions of Japan in 2013.

Recently the disease has killed seven and infected at least 60 in China.