10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: May 1, 2020

Statement 1 is incorrect: CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIR-CSIO), Chandigarh, has designed and developed an innovative technology (Electrostatic Disinfection Machine) for effective disinfection and sanitization to fight with corona pandemic.

Statement 2 is correct: Electrostatic Disinfection Machine is developed based on the electrostatic principle. It produces uniform and fine spray droplets of disinfectants in the size range of 10-20 micro-metres to kill microorganisms and viruses. Due to the small size of droplets, the surface area of spray droplets increases thereby enhancing the interaction with harmful microorganisms and coronavirus.

Statement 3 is correct: The machine uses very less disinfection material as compared to conventional methods, which helps to save natural resources with negligible increase of chemical waste in the environment.

Healthcare workers at hospitals are risking COVID-19 infection while taking care of those infected by it 24/7. Perhaps the level of risk may get reduced hereafter with the help of a new friend, HCARD. The robotic device HCARD, in short for Hospital Care Assistive Robotic Device, can help frontline healthcare workers in maintaining physical distance from those infected by coronavirus. HCARD is developed by Durgapur-based CSIR lab, Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute. The device is equipped with various state-of-the-art technologies and works both in automatic as well as manual modes of navigation.

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is the world’s definitive source of data and analysis on internal displacement. Since the establishment in 1998 as part of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), IDMC have offered a rigorous, independent and trusted service to the international community. Their work informs policy and operational decisions that improve the lives of the millions of people living in internal displacement, or at risk of becoming displaced in the future.

Statement 2 is correct: The Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) is an annual flagship report of IDMC, synthesizes the latest statistics, country/situation assessments, thematic and policy analyses. Each year it presents the most up-to-date estimates of new displacements by conflict and disasters, and the total cumulative numbers of IDPs worldwide. The GRID is the global reference for internal displacement data and analysis and is widely used by policy-makers national governments, UN agencies, international NGOs, journalists and academics.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, is the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. APEC’s 21 Member Economies are the United States; Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Republic of Korea; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; and Viet Nam.

Rangapahar Reserve Forest (Nagaland) happens to be one of the most famous destinations in Dimapur. The unique vegetation that has medicinal values and wildlife of this place makes it a prominent one. You will also find a wide variety of bird species in this area, which is why it is the preferred place for bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts. The medicinal plants of this forest are preserved and are used for preparing medicines for multiple illnesses. Animals such as bear, deer, chitals, wild goat, and many more can be easily sighted in the sanctuary. However, this place is also home to several endangered species, which are found in this area only. The total area covered by the forest is around 49.4 acres of land and is a good retreat for nature lovers. As this sanctuary is located at a central region of Dimapur, it is close to other popular tourist destinations such as the Triple Falls, Dzukou valley, Japfu peak, Veda peak, and Mokokchung village, and others which make it easy for tourists to go from one destination to another.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Governor may, by public notification, increase or decrease the areas of the autonomous districts (after considering the report of commission on the administration of autonomous districts and autonomous regions).

Statement 2 is correct. Provisions on citizenship for illegal migrants under Citizenship (Amendment) act 2019 do not apply to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, or Tripura, as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.

Rating agencies are companies that rate a debtor’s ability to pay back debt by making timely principal and interest payments and the likelihood of default.

All except Goldman Sachs, which is an investment banking company, are rating agencies.

Statement 1 is correct. National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG) is registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act 1860. The chairperson for National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (referred as National Ganga Council) is the Prime Minister.

Statement 2 is correct. Contribution to the Clean Ganga Fund set-up by the Central Government for rejuvenation of river Ganga is eligible for CSR expenditure.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The viruses that infect bacteria are called bacteriophage or phages.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Phage therapy refers to use of bacteriophages to treat pathogenic bacterial infections.

Trivia: Before antibiotics were discovered, there was considerable research on use of phages against viral infections which declined with the advent of various antibiotics. But with antibiotic resistance increasing there is a renewed interest in the field of Phage therapy.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Chak-Hao is a scented glutinous black rice variety, it is a centuries old cultivation of Manipur.

Statement 2 is correct. It has been given a GI tag under Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

Statement 1 is correct. Article 54 of the Constitution states “the President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament; and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States”.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Delhi and Puducherry were included as Electoral College members under Article 54 through the 70th Constitution Amendment Act of 1992. The J&K Reorganization Act mentions that J&K Legislature would have the same powers as its Puducherry counterpart but there has been no amendment to constitution for inclusion of legislature new UT of J&K in the President’s electoral college.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The present delimitation of constituencies has been done on the basis of 2001 census figures under the provisions of Delimitation Act, 2002.
Statement 2 is correct. 84th Constitutional Amendment Act 2002 froze the delimitation of constituencies till the first census after 2026. Thus, the present Constituencies carved out on the basis of 2001 census shall continue to be in operation till the first census after 2026.

The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The industry-wise weights indicated in the ICI are Coal 10.33 %, Crude Oil production 8.98 %, Natural Gas 6.88%, Petroleum Refinery 28.04 %, Fertilizers 2.63 %, Steel 17.92 %, Cement production 5.37 % and Electricity generation 19.85%.

A similar question has been asked by UPSC in 2015 prelims.

Statement 1 is correct. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are flammable due to their alcohol content.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Soap and water are more effective than hand sanitizers at removing certain kinds of germs, like Cryptosporidium, norovirus, and Clostridium difficile and also the hand sanitizer cannot remove harmful chemicals.

Statement 1 is correct. The World Energy Outlook (WEO) of IEA provides critical analysis and insights on trends in energy demand and supply, and what they mean for energy security, environmental protection and economic development.

Statement 2 is correct. The IEA was born with the 1973-1974 oil crisis, when industrialized countries found they were not adequately equipped to deal with the oil embargo imposed by major producers. The IEA is made up of 30 member countries and a candidate country to the IEA must be a member country of the OECD.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has reported that it expects global energy demand to decrease considerably this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.