10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: January 7, 2021

The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) is an intergovernmental organisation comprising five member states: The Union of Comoros, Réunion (an overseas region of France), Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles.
Created by the Port Louis Declaration in 1982, the IOC was institutionalized in Seychelles in 1984 by the General Cooperation Agreement, better known as the “Victoria Agreement”.
Observer members of the IOC: India, China, Japan, Malta, European Union, United Nations and International Organization of the Francophonie.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Quality Council of India (QCI) was set up in 1997 jointly by the Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations i.e. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), to establish and operate national accreditation structure and promote quality through National Quality Campaign.
Statement 2 is incorrect. QCI is an autonomous body under Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The main objectives of QCI are (a) to establish and operate national accreditation structure (b) to monitor and administer the National Quality Campaign. QCI does not provide any financial assistance to MSMEs.
# Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is organizing Udyog Manthan – a marathon of focused sector-specific webinars for promoting Quality and Productivity in Indian Industry in association with Quality Council of India, National Productivity Council, and Industry bodies.

Statement 1 is correct. The Scheme of “Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure” is aimed at boosting capital expenditure by the State Governments who are facing difficult financial environment this year due to the shortfall in tax revenue arising from the COVID 19 pandemic.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The grants and funds for the scheme are being provided for by the Union Government.
Statement 3 is correct. The Scheme has three parts:
Part-I: Rs.200 crore for the 7 north-eastern States (Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura) and Rs.450 crore for Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Assam
Part-II: For all other States not included in Part-I, Rs.7,500 crore in proportion to their share of central tax as per the interim award of the 15th Finance Commission for the year 2020-21.
Part-III: An amount of Rs.2000 crore is earmarked for only to those States who carry out at least 3 out of the 4 reforms: One Nation One Ration Card, Ease of doing Business Reform, Urban Local Body/ Utility Reform and Power Sector Reform.
# Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have become the first group of States to complete three out of the four citizen centric reforms stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.

Statement 1 is correct. The Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) is a full-scale national survey of scientific investigation of the health, economic, and social determinants and consequences of population aging in India. The LASI is a nationally representative survey over 72,000 older adults age 45 and above across all states and union territories of India.
# The concept of LASI is comparable to the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the United States.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The National Programme for Health Care of Elderly, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has undertaken the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India, through International Institute for Population Sciences, (IIPS), Mumbai in collaboration with Harvard School of Public Health, University of Southern California, USA, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and National Institute on Ageing.
# Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI) Wave-1 has been released recently.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The draft Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) released recently once approved will be fifth such national policy since independence.
Statement 2 is correct. The draft STIP proposes Open Data Policy for Publicly Funded Research, i.e. all data used in and generated from public-funded research will be available to everyone under FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) terms.

Further One Nation, One Subscription is proposed: The Government will negotiate with journal publishers for a “one nation, one subscription” policy whereby, in return for one centrally-negotiated payment, all individuals in India will have access to journal articles.

Statement 1 is correct. The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) is constituted by the Central Government under Section 5 A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA).
Statement 2 is incorrect. The NBWL is chaired by the Prime Minister and is responsible for promotion of conservation and development of wildlife and forests.
Section 5B of the WLPA states that the National Board may, in its discretion, constitute a Standing Committee for the purpose of exercising such powers and performing such duties as may be delegated to the Committee by the National Board.
The Standing Committee consist of the Vice-Chairperson, the Member-Secretary, and not more than ten members to be nominated by the Vice-Chairperson from amongst the members of the National Board.
Minister of Environment, Forests & Climate Change is the Vice-Chairperson of the NBWL and chairs the Sub Committee.
# The Standing Committee of National Board of Wildlife (SC-NBWL) has recently approved the advisory for management of Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) in the country.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Caracals live on rocky hills or grasslands in the Middle East, Africa, and south Asia. In India, it is found in some parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Statement 2 is correct. The Caracal species of cat is protected under Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is listed as Least Concern species under the IUCN Red List.
# The Standing Committee of National Board of Wildlife (SC-NBWL) has approved the inclusion of Caracal, into the list of critically endangered species for taking up conservation efforts with financial support under Centrally sponsored Scheme-Development of Wildlife Habitat.

WHO Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) offer guidance on threshold limits for key air pollutants that pose health risks and provide a reference for setting air pollution targets at regional and national levels to improve air quality.
WHO Guidelines:
PM2.5: 10 µg/m3 (annual mean) and 25 µg/m3 (24-hour mean)
PM10: 20 µg/m3 (annual mean) and 50 µg/m3 (24-hour mean)
Air quality guidelines have been published by WHO in 1987 and they were revised in 1997. The 2005 update represents the most current assessment of air pollution health effects.
India’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS):
PM2.5: 40µg/m3 (annual mean) and 60µg/m3 (24-hour mean)
PM10: 60µg/m3 (annual mean) and 100µg/m3 (24-hour mean)

Avian influenza refers to the disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza (flu) Type A viruses. These viruses occur naturally among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species.
Statement 1 is correct. Humans can be infected with avian, swine and other zoonotic influenza viruses, such as avian influenza virus subtypes A(H5N1), A(H7N9), and A(H9N2) and swine influenza virus subtypes A(H1N1), A(H1N2) and A(H3N2).
Human infections are primarily acquired through direct contact with infected animals or contaminated environments.
Statement 2 is correct. India notified the first outbreak of avian influenza in 2006. In India, the disease spreads mainly by migratory birds coming into India during winter months i.e. from September – October to February – March.

Statement 1 is correct. Particulate matter (PM) is the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air.
Particle pollution includes:
PM10: inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller; and
PM2.5: fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.
Statement 2 is correct. Anthropogenic sources include combustion engines (both diesel and petrol), solid-fuel (coal, lignite, heavy oil and biomass) combustion for energy production in households and industry, other industrial activities (building, mining, manufacture of cement, ceramic and bricks, and smelting), and erosion of the pavement by road traffic and abrasion of brakes and tyres.
Statement 3 is incorrect. Exposure to such particles can affect both lungs and heart. Numerous scientific studies have linked particle pollution exposure to a variety of problems, including: premature death in people with heart or lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, aggravated asthma etc.
# As per a study in The Lancet Planetary Health journal, an estimated 349,681 pregnancy losses per year in South Asia were associated with exposure to PM2.5 concentrations.