10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: November 22, 2020

Himachal Pradesh topography provides water to both the Indus and Ganges basins. The drainage systems of the region include the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas, the Sutlej and the Yamuna River. These rivers are perennial and are fed by snow and rainfall.

Tristan da Cunha, island and group of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between southern Africa and South America. The island group is a constituent part of the British overseas territory of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
It is creating a marine protection zone to safeguard endangered rockhopper penguins, yellow-nosed albatross and other wildlife in an area of the South Atlantic three times the size of the United Kingdom.
The protection zone will become part of the U.K.’s Blue Belt Program, which is providing 27 million pounds ($35.5 million) to promote marine conservation in the country’s overseas territories.

The Lonar lake in Maharashtra and Sur Sarovar, also known as Keetham lake, in Agra, have been added to the list of recognised Ramsar sites recently.
Before that, Kabartal in Bihar’s Begusarai district was recognised as a wetland of international importance, the first such wetland in Bihar.
The Asan Conservation Reserve in Dehradun, the first wetland from Uttarakhand to be recognised by Ramsar convention, was added to the list in October 2020.

Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the central government may designate an organisation as a terrorist organisation if it: (i) commits or participates in acts of terrorism, (ii) prepares for terrorism, (iii) promotes terrorism, or (iv) is otherwise involved in terrorism.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 additionally empowered the government to designate individuals as terrorists on the same grounds.

Reserve Bank of India in its monthly bulletin stated that India has entered a technical recession in the first half of 2020-21 for the first time in its history with Q2:2020-21 likely to record the second successive quarter of GDP contraction.
A technical recession is a term used to describe two consecutive quarters of decline in output. In the case of a nation’s economy, the term usually refers to back-to-back contractions in real GDP.
The difference between a ‘technical recession’ and a ‘recession’ is that while the former term is mainly used to capture the trend in GDP, the latter expression encompasses an appreciably more broad-based decline in economic activity.

Statement 1 is correct. Govt. of India had instituted a scheme “The Swarnajayanti Fellowships” to commemorate India’s fiftieth year of Independence. Under this scheme a selected number of young scientists, with proven track record, are provided special assistance and support to enable them to pursue basic research in frontier areas of science and technology.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The fellowships are scientist specific and not institution specific, very selective and have close academic monitoring.
The applicant should possess one of the following degrees or equivalent: Ph.D in Science/Engineering, Masters in Engineering or Technology/MD in Medicine.
The fellowship is open to Indian Nationals residing in India or abroad. The scientists can choose to work at any S&T institution in India; however, he/she will have to submit a letter from Head of the institution at which they wish to pursue research, stating that administrative and basic infrastructural support to facilitate research will be provided.

All of the planets in our solar system orbit around the Sun. Planets that orbit around other stars are called exoplanets. Exoplanets are very hard to see directly with telescopes. They are hidden by the bright glare of the stars they orbit.
The prefix exo comes from the Greek and means outside; these worlds are far, far outside our own solar system.

The Yarkovsky effect describes a small but significant force that affects the orbital motion of meteoroids and asteroids smaller than 30-40 kilometers in diameter. It is caused by sunlight; when these bodies heat up in the Sun, they eventually re-radiate the energy away as heat, which in turn creates a tiny thrust.
Astronomers have revealed that a large asteroid named ‘Apophis’ expected to pass extremely close or may hit the Earth in 2068 due to a phenomenon called Yarkovsky effect.
Prior to the detection of Yarkovsky acceleration on Apophis, astronomers had concluded that a potential impact with Earth in 2068 was impossible. The detection of this effect acting on Apophis means that the 2068 impact scenario is still a possibility.

World Health Organisation AWaRe Classification Database was developed on the recommendation of the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines. It includes details of 180 antibiotics classified as Access, Watch or Reserve, their pharmacological classes, Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) codes and WHO Essential Medicines List status.
It is intended to be used as an interactive tool for countries to better support antibiotic monitoring and optimal use.
AWaRe classifies antibiotics into three stewardship groups: Access, Watch and Reserve, to emphasize the importance of their optimal uses and potential for antimicrobial resistance.

Statement 1 is correct. Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all: While substantial progress has been made in increasing access to clean drinking water and sanitation, billions of people—mostly in rural areas—still lack these basic services. Worldwide, one in three people do not have access to safe drinking water, two out of five people do not have a basic hand-washing facility with soap and water, and more than 673 million people still practice open defecation.
Statement 2 is correct. Recognizing the growing challenge of water scarcity, the UN General Assembly launched the Water Action Decade (2018-2028) to mobilize action that will help transform how we manage water.
# World Toilet Day (19 November); this year the theme remarks the importance of “Sustainable sanitation and climate change”.