10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: January 10, 2021

Statement 1 is incorrect. Influenza A viruses are divided into subtypes on the basis of two proteins on the surface of the virus: hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). There are 18 known HA subtypes and 11 known NA subtypes.
All known subtypes of influenza A viruses can infect birds, except subtypes H17N10 and H18N11, which have only been found in bats.
# Bats are mammals and not birds.
Statement 2 is incorrect. Avian influenza A viruses are designated as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) based on molecular characteristics of the virus and the ability of the virus to cause disease and mortality in avian species they usually infect.
HPAI and LPAI designations do not refer to the severity of illness in cases of human infection with these viruses; both LPAI and HPAI viruses have caused severe illness in humans.

Both statements are incorrect.
Cholesterol travels through the blood on proteins called “lipoproteins”. Two types of lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout the body:
–LDL (low-density lipoprotein), sometimes called “bad” cholesterol, makes up most of body’s cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol raise the risk for heart disease and stroke.
–HDL (high-density lipoprotein), or “good” cholesterol, absorbs cholesterol and carries it back to the liver. The liver then flushes it from the body. High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower the risk for heart disease and stroke.
When body has too much LDL cholesterol, the LDL cholesterol can build up on the walls of blood vessels. This buildup is called “plaque.” As the blood vessels build up plaque over time, the insides of the vessels narrow. This narrowing blocks blood flow to and from heart and other organs. When blood flow to the heart is blocked, it can cause angina (chest pain) or a heart attack.

A reservoir has been constructed on the River Beas in the wet land of Shivalik hills of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, which has been named as Maharana Pratap Sagar. It is also known as Pong reservoir or Pong Dam. This reservoir or lake is a famous wildlife sanctuary and one of the 25 international wetland sites declared by Ramsar Sammel in India.
Around 1,200 migratory birds have lost their lives under mysterious circumstances at Himachal Pradesh’s Pong Dam in the recent weeks. The dead birds include endangered bar-headed goose, black-headed gull, river tern, common teal, and shoveler.
The carcass samples have been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly and Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Jalandhar for investigation.

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory occupying a narrow peninsula of Spain’s southern Mediterranean coast, just northeast of the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory is self-governing in all aspects, except for defence and foreign policy, which are managed by UK, and Gibraltarians have British citizenship.
Spain and UK have signed an agreement that would allow Gibraltar to be able to join EU programmes and policies such as Schengen with Spain acting as a guarantor.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a 6,450 MW hydropower project on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, located about 30 km upstream of the border with Sudan. It will be the largest hydropower project in Africa.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a political and economic union of Arab states bordering the Gulf. It was established in 1981 and its 6 members are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.

# In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed all diplomatic and trade ties. Qatar’s only land border was closed; ships flying the Qatari flag or those serving Qatar were banned from docking at many ports; and much of the region’s airspace was closed to Qatari aircraft.
# It has been reported recently that the United Arab Emirates could re-open trade and travel links with Qatar.

Statement 1 is incorrect. NCAVES India Forum 2021 is being organised by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The NCAVES Project, funded by EU, has been jointly implemented by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). India is one of the five countries taking part in this project – the other countries being Brazil, China, South Africa and Mexico.
Statement 2 is correct. The participation in the NCAVES project has helped the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) commence the compilation of the Environment Accounts as per the UN-SEEA (System of Environmental Economic Accounting) framework and release environmental accounts in its publication “EnviStats India” on an annual basis since 2018.

The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) is a high-powered permanent apex advisory body under Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Government of India constituted the Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog through a Resolution dated 21st February, 2019.
Statement 2 is correct. It is mandated to help the Central Government to develop appropriate programmes for conservation, sustainable development and genetic upgradation of Indigenous breeds of cows.
It is a permanent body to formulate policies and to provide directions for the implementation of schemes related to cattle so as to lay more emphasis on livelihood generation for small & marginal farmers, women and youth entrepreneurs.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organizations, launched at Davos in 2017, to develop vaccines to stop future epidemics.
Statement 2 is correct. The CEPI in partnerships with seven clinical sample testing laboratories have created a centralised global network to reliably assess and compare the immunological responses generated by COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
The clinical sample testing laboratories selected for this collaborative vaccine network are: Nexelis (Canada) and Public Health England (PHE; UK), VisMederiSrl (Italy), Viroclinics Biosciences BV (The Netherlands), Q2 Solutions (USA), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh (ICDDR-B, Bangladesh), National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC, UK), and Translational Health Sciences and Technological Institute (THSTI, India).