10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: June 28, 2020

The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It has recently completed its constellation.

The Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), also known as Michibiki is a regional navigation satellite system commissioned by the Japanese Government as a National Space Development Program.

GLONASS, or “GLObal NAvigation Satellite System”, is a space-based satellite navigation system operated by Roscosmos (Russia).

Galileo is a global navigation satellite system that went live in 2016, created by the European Union through the European GNSS Agency.

NavIC is an independent regional navigation satellite system developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

Both statements are correct.

Kumhar Sashaktikaran Program is an initiative of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) for empowerment of potters’ community.

Under this program KVIC identify the areas where clusters of traditional pottery workers are available and provide them training and electric pottery wheels and other tools like blunger, Pug Mill, etc. The machines have eliminated drudgery from the process of pottery making and resulted in higher income of potters.

Several remote areas in states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, J&K, Haryana, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Telangana and Bihar have been covered by KVIC in the scheme.

Statement 1 is incorrect. International Comparison Program (ICP) is one of the largest statistical initiatives in the world. It is managed by the World Bank under the auspices of the United Nations Statistical Commission.

Statement 2 is correct. The main objectives of the ICP are to:

(i) produce purchasing power parities (PPPs) and comparable price level indexes (PLIs) for participating economies;

(ii) convert volume and per capita measures of gross domestic product (GDP) and its expenditure components into a common currency using PPPs.

India has retained its position as the third-largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) behind the US and China. Together USA and China accounted for a third of the global economy.

PPPs are calculated based on the price of a common basket of goods and services in each participating economy and are a measure of what an economy’s local currency can buy in another economy.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has conducted a new study to provide guidance to countries on measures they can take to combat money laundering from the illegal wildlife trade. The ‘Money Laundering and the Illegal Wildlife Trade’ is the FATF’s first global report on IWT.

As per the report wildlife traffickers exploit weaknesses in the financial and non-financial sectors, to move, hide and launder their proceeds, enabling further wildlife crimes and damaging financial integrity.

To combat the financial flows from the illegal wildlife trade, countries should therefore as a priority: Identify and assess their money laundering risks relating to the illegal wildlife trade; and ensure that national laws and powers for law enforcement allow authorities to go after the finances of wildlife traffickers, and to pursue financial investigations.

Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

Crops covered are:

Kharif crops: Paddy, Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Maize, Arhar, Moong, Urad, Cotton, Groundnut, Sunflower Seed, Soybean, Sesamum, Nigerseed.

Rabi Crops: Wheat, Barley, Masur, Gram, Rapeseed/Mustard, Safflower, Toria.

Others: Copra, Dehusked Coconut, Jute, Sugarcane (FRP).

Statement 1 is correct. Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease affecting almost 100 countries including India. There are three main forms of leishmaniasis: Visceral (commonly known as Kala-azar in India), which affects multiple organs and is the most serious form of the disease; Cutaneous, which causes skin sores and is the most common form); and Mucocutaneous, which causes skin and mucosal lesion).

Statement 2 is correct. It is caused by protozoan parasites from more than 20 Leishmania species. These parasites are transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected female phlebotomine sand-fly.

Statement 1 is correct. BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile being developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and NPO Mashinostroeyenia (NPOM) of Russia. BrahMos has a flight range of up to 290km and can reach a maximum speed of Mach 3.

Statement 2 is correct. BrahMos is powered by a two-stage propulsion system. Initial acceleration is provided by a solid-propellant booster and supersonic cruise speed is provided by a liquid-fueled ramjet system.

A ramjet is a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is a statutory multi-disciplinary body established by the Government of India under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. It is established under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Statement 2 is correct. It is mandated by the act to collect and collate intelligence related to organized wildlife crime activities, to establish a centralized wildlife crime data bank, assist foreign authorities and international organization concerned to facilitate co-ordination and universal action for wildlife crime control etc.

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit is an international conference taking place every summer in Copenhagen, Denmark, organized by the Alliance of Democracies.

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2020 took place virtually on June 18-19, 2020.

The Alliance of Democracies Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2017 by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former NATO Secretary General and former Prime Minister of Denmark. The Foundation runs three programs: the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, the Expeditionary Economics Program and the Campaign for Democracy.

Both statements are correct.

The employment -cum- rural public works Campaign named ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ has been launched to empower and provide livelihood opportunities in areas/ villages witnessing large number of returnee migrant workers affected by the devastating COVID-19.

It will work in mission mode; will involve focused implementation of 25 categories of works/activities in 116 districts, each with a large concentration of returnee migrant workers in 6 states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha.

The Ministry of Rural Development is the nodal Ministry for this campaign and the campaign will be implemented in close coordination with the State Governments.