10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: May 18, 2020

Statement 1 is correct. According to the Code, the central government will fix a floor wage, taking into account living standards of workers.

Statement 2 is incorrect.Central government may set different floor wages for different geographical areas. Before fixing the floor wage, the central government may obtain the advice of the Central Advisory Board and may consult with state governments.

Statement 3 is correct. The minimum wages decided by the central or state governments must be higher than the floor wage. In case the existing minimum wages fixed by the central or state governments are higher than the floor wage, they cannot reduce the minimum wages.

Statement 1 is correct. Public health and sanitation; hospitals and dispensaries are part of State list in seventh schedule.

Statement 2 is incorrect.Government has target of expenditure on health as 2.5 percent of GDP by 2025. It has been around 1.5 percent in last few years.

All are part of Schedule listing essential commodities.

Section 2A of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 states “for the purposes of this Act, “essential commodity” means a commodity specified in the Schedule.”

The schedule containsdrugs, fertilizer, whether inorganic, organic or mixed; foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils; petroleum and petroleum products; raw jute and jute textiles; seedsetc.

Afghanistan is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to the north, Iran in west, Pakistan in east and south and it has a small stretch of border in north east with both China and India (Pakistan occupied Kashmir).

Statement 1 is incorrect. Amphan is a tropical cyclone developed over Bay of Bengal while a western disturbance is an extratropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region that brings sudden winter rain to the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Cyclone name Amphan was suggested by Thailand. The existing list of cyclone names, which was prepared by meteorological departments of eight countries in 2004, has been exhausted with Amphan and new list with 13 names proposed by 13 countries has been released.

Both statements are correct.

DIKSHAas‘one nation, one digital platform’ for school education. It will provide e- content and QR coded energized textbooks for all grades. DIKSHA has content in 14 languages – Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Chhattisgarhi.

Manordarpan initiative is announced for psychological support and counselling of students, teachers and families for mental health and emotional well-being.

Both statements are correct.

Transplanting after repeated puddling is the conventional method of rice growing which is water intensive and cumbersome and laborious. Different problems like lowering water table, scarcity of labour during peak periods, deteriorating soil health demands some alternative establishment method to sustain productivity of rice as well as natural resources.

The DSR technique is less time consuming and labour intensive than the conventional practice. The DSR technique called ‘tar-wattar DSR’ has been developed and successfully tested on a good scale at farmers’ fields. It helps in saving irrigation water, there’s lesser weed problem, besides there is reduced incidence of nutrient deficiency, especially iron, owing to lesser leaching of nutrients and deeper root development.

Statement 1 is correct.Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project is a multi-purpose irrigation project designed to irrigate 45 lakh acres for two crops in a year, meet the drinking water requirement of 70 percent of the state (Telangana)and cater to the needs of the industry as well.

Statement 2 is incorrect. It is built on Godavari River with farthest upstream influence at the confluence of the Pranhita and Godavari.

SGBs are government securities denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for holding physical gold.

Statement 1 is correct. The Bond is issued by Reserve Bank on behalf of Government of India.

Statement 2 is correct. The Bonds are issued in denominations of one gram of gold and in multiples thereof. Minimum investment in the Bond is one gram with a maximum limit of subscription of 4 kg for individuals, 4 kg for Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) and 20 kg for trusts.

Statement 3 is incorrect.Though the tenor of the bond is 8 years, early encashment/redemption of the bond is allowed after fifth year from the date of issue on coupon payment dates. The bond will be tradable on Exchanges, if held in demat form. It can also be transferred to any other eligible investor.

Both statements are correct.

India Meteorological Department was established in 1875. It is the National Meteorological Service of the country and the principal government agency in all matters relating to meteorology, seismology and allied subjects.

Alerts by the IMD are colour-coded: ‘Green’ stands for ‘No warning’, ‘Yellow’ alert signifies “Watch”, and authorities are advised to “Be updated” on the situation, ‘Orange’ warning stands for “Alert”, and authorities are expected to “Be prepared” and a‘Red’ alert stands for “Warning” and asks authorities to “Take action”.