10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: July 19, 2020

The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States.

These countries are parties to the multilateral United Kingdom – United States of America Agreement (UKUSA), a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence. It was officially enacted on 5 March 1946 by the United Kingdom and the United States. In the following years, it was extended to encompass Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

It has been in news recently for looking into alternatives for Huawei 5G technologies.

Statement 1 is correct. The establishment of the United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development was mandated in 2012 by the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), “The Future We Want”.

The HLPF meets annually under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN.

The HLPF is the main United Nations platform on sustainable development and it has a central role in the follow-up and reviews of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the global level.

Statement 2 is correct. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development encourages member states to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels, which are country-led and country-driven.

These national reviews are expected to serve as a basis for the regular reviews by the HLPF. These reviews by the HLPF are to be voluntary, state-led, undertaken by both developed and developing countries.

NITI Aayog recently presented India’s second Voluntary National Review (VNR) titled ‘Decade of Action: Taking SDGs from Global to Local’ at the United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, 2020.

Statement 1 is incorrect. SWADES (Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support) program was to conduct a skill mapping exercise of the returning citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission. Database of labor migrants registered under SWADES has been integrated with the ASEEM portal.

The ‘Aatamanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM)’ portal is aimed to help skilled people find sustainable livelihood opportunities.

ASEEM will be used as a match-making engine to map skilled workers with the jobs available. The portal and App will have provision for registration and data upload for workers across job roles, sectors and geographies.

Statement 2 is correct. ASEEM portal is developed and managed by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in collaboration with Bengaluru-based company Betterplace.

The skilled workforce can register their profiles on the app and can search for employment opportunities in their neighborhood. Through ASEEM, employers, agencies and job aggregators looking for skilled workforce in specific sectors will also have the required details.

Both statements are correct.

Human Growth hormone (hGH) or somatotropin, is a peptide hormone that is synthesized and secreted by the somatotrophs of the anterior pituitary gland.

The main function of somatotropin is to stimulate linear growth in children; it also fosters a healthy body composition by increasing muscle and reducing fat mass, maintains normal blood glucose levels, and promotes a favorable lipid profile.

In serum, hGH exists as a complex combination of different molecular forms (isoforms). It is prohibited both in- and out-of-competition under World Anti- Doping Agency’s List of Prohibited Substances and Methods.

It is used as doping agent for its effects on reduction of body fat (lipolysis), increase in muscle mass, strength (anabolic effect), as well as its tissue-repairing effects (recovery) on the Musculo-skeletal system.

Statement 1 is incorrect. National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications (NM-QTA) is to be implemented by the Department of Science & Technology (DST).

Quantum Technology is based on the principles of quantum theory, which explains the nature of energy and matter on the atomic and subatomic level.

The government in its budget 2020 announced the National Mission with a total budget outlay of Rs 8000 crore for a period of five years.

Statement 2 is correct. The areas of focus for the Mission will be in fundamental science, translation, technology development, human and infrastructural resource generation, innovation and start-ups to address issues concerning national priorities.

The applications which will receive boost: aero-space engineering, numerical weather prediction, securing the communications & financial transactions, cyber security, health, agriculture, education and other sectors with focus on creation of high skilled jobs, human resources development, start-ups & entrepreneurship leading to technology lead economic growth.

Option 1 is incorrectly matched. Spike is an Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile. It was developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

Option 2 is correctly matched. The Heron (Machatz-1) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the UAV division of Israel Aerospace Industries.

Option 3 is correctly matched. Predator UAVs are long-endurance, medium-altitude aircrafts for performing surveillance and reconnaissance missions, built by General Atomics and used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF).

Statement 1 is incorrect. GOAL (Going Online As Leaders) is the flagship program of Facebook and Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Statement 2 is correct. Its purpose is to empower tribal youth through mentorship, leadership training, and digital literacy skills, and create role models within the tribal community, who can further serve as an inspiration and help the tribal youth explore, learn, and grow.

It will digitally skill and empower youth from tribal communities to become leaders of tomorrow by leveraging the power of digital technology. GOAL Project is aimed at identifying and mobilizing renowned people from industry (policy makers and influencers), teachers, artists, entrepreneurs, social workers etc. known for their achievements in their domain areas, to personally mentor tribal youths across India.

Statement 1 is correct. The Tangams are a little-known community within the larger Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh; they live in the hamlet of Kugging in Upper Siang district.

Statement 2 is incorrect.  Tangam, an oral language belongs to the Tani group, under the greater Tibeto-Burman language family. It has been reported that it has only 253 speakers concentrated in one small hamlet of Arunachal Pradesh.

UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger lists Tangam as ‘critically endangered’ language.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica), that in past inhabitated the vast steppes of Central Asia and Russia today is limted to one region in Russia and some parts of Kazakhstan.

It is extinct in China and southwestern Mongolia. It was hunted extensively in Romania and Moldova until it became extinct in those regions at the end of the 18th century. The Mongolian subspecies (S. t. mongolica) is found only in western Mongolia.

Statement 2 is correct. The IUCN Red List assesses the Saiga as critically endangered with decreasing population trend and CITES includes this species in its Appendix II. The species is also listed under the CMS Appendix II.

Natanz is a city and capital of Natanz County, Isfahan Province, Iran. Natanz nuclear facility is generally recognized as Iran’s central facility for uranium enrichment.

Zahedan is a city and capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran.

It was recently reported Iranian Railways may proceed without India’s assistance in construction the 628 km Chabahar-Zahedan line, which will be extended to Zaranj across the border in Afghanistan.

The landlocked mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh is an unresolved dispute between Azerbaijan, in which it lies, and its ethnic Armenian majority, backed by neighbouring Armenia.