10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: October 30,2020

Option 1 is correct. The Australia Group (AG) is an informal association that works on the basis of consensus. It aims to allow exporters or transshipment countries to minimize the risk of further proliferation of chemical and biological weapons (CBW).
India became the 43rd member of the Australia Group in 2018.
Option 2 is correct. The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is an informal non-treaty association of governments sharing common interests in the nonproliferation of missiles, unmanned air vehicles, and related technologies. The regime consists of the Guidelines and an Equipment and Technology Annex.
In 2016, India became a full member of the MTCR. This marked the first entry into any multilateral export control regime for India.
Option 3 is correct. Wassenaar Arrangement membership is universal and nondiscriminatory for countries meeting the established criteria:
–Produce/export arms or associated dual-use goods and technologies
–Implement national policies that do not permit the sale of arms or sensitive dual-use items to countries whose behavior is a cause for concern
–Adhere to international nonproliferation norms and guidelines
–Implement fully effective export controls
India became Arrangement’s 42nd State in 2017.

Strategic Trade Authorisation (STA) allows for license exception with regards to exports from the US. This type of US government authorisation allows a certain item to be exported under defined conditions without a transaction-specific license.
India became the third Asian country after Japan and South Korea to get the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 (STA-1) status in 2018 mostly for the purposes of increasing the speed of sale of high-tech defence and non-defence products that are otherwise subjected to strict controls and licensing.

Portugal continued to challenge India’s claim on its coastal enclave of Goa post 1947. Following an incident of firing by Portuguese troops at Indian steamers and fishing boats, India sent in the army to liberate the territory by force. On December 19, 1961, Goa officially became part of India and two years later, held its first general election.
The then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31 October 1984 at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star.
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lankan Civil War between Sri Lankan Tamil nationalists such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan military.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The project originally [2011] envisaged the rehabilitation and improvement of 223 dam projects in four states namely, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu. Later Karnataka, Uttarakhand (UJVNL) and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) joined the DRIP.
DRIP Phase II & Phase III envisages comprehensive rehabilitation of 736 existing dams located across the country.
Statement 2 is correct. The Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) started with financial assistance from World Bank in 2011.
Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the DRIP Phase II & Phase III with the financial assistance of the World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to improve the safety and operational performance of selected dams across the whole country, along with institutional strengthening with system wide management approach.
DRIP Phase II & Phase III envisages the following objectives:
–To improve the safety and performance of selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner.
–To strengthen the dam safety institutional setup in participating states as well as at central level, and
–To explore the alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams

Statement 1 is incorrect. Indian Railways has launched “Meri Saheli” initiative for focused action on security of women across all zones with an objective to provide safety and security to lady passengers travelling by trains for their entire journey from starting station to destination station.
Statement 2 is correct. An initiative of RPF, the Strategy entails interaction with lady passengers especially those travelling alone by a team of young lady RPF personnel at the originating station.
RPF teams at the destination collect the feedback from the identified lady passengers. The feedback is then analysed and corrective action, if any, is taken. If some distress call comes from a train covered under “Meri Saheli” initiative, the disposal of the call is monitored at the level of senior officers.

: Indus Tsangpo suture is a tectonic suture in southern Tibet and across the north margin of the Himalayas which resulted from the collision between the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate.
Himalayas are known to be made up of north dipping thrusts like the Main Central Thrust (MCT), the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), and the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT). As per the established models, all of these thrusts except MFT are locked, and overall deformation in Himalaya is being accommodated only along with the MFT.
Recently, a group of Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun have observed that suture zone of the Himalayas or the Indus Suture Zone (ISZ) in the Ladakh region where Indian and Asian Plates are joined has been found to be tectonically active, as against current understanding that it is a locked zone.

Both statements are incorrect.
Dissolving the 22-year-old Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) that has so far addressed air pollution in Delhi, the Central Government promulgated an ordinance to constitute “permanent” body — the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas.
The adjoining areas for the body include Delhi NCR, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The proposed commission shall consist of a full-time chairperson who is or has been a Secretary to Union Government or Chief Secretary to Government of State.

Ministry of Shipping has issued the draft of Coastal Shipping Bill, 2020 for suggestions from the stakeholders and general public
As the shipping sector grows and evolves in the country, a need was felt to have a separate legislation on coastal shipping, which considers it an integral part of the transport chain and recognizes the policy priorities of the sector to meet the demands of the Indian shipping industry. While drafting this Bill, the global best practices have also been considered.
–The definition of coastal shipping and coastal waters has been expanded.
–It is proposed to do away with the requirement of trading licence for Indian flag vessels for coastal trade.
–The Bill seeks to create a competitive environment and reduce transportation costs, while encouraging Indian vessels to increase their share in coastal shipping.
–The Bill also proposes integration of coastal maritime transport with inland waterways.
–There is a provision for a National Coastal and Inland Shipping Strategic Plan.

Both statements are correct.
India will require an investment of around $4.5 trillion by 2040 to develop the infrastructure for sustaining its economic growth. However, the challenges in infrastructure development that obstruct the smooth execution of projects can be a deterrent.
NITI Aayog and Quality Council of India (QCI) recently launched the ‘National Program and Project Management Policy Framework’ (NPMPF), with the aim of bringing radical reforms in the way infrastructure projects are executed in India.
The Indian Infrastructure Body of Knowledge (InBoK), a book on the practice of program and project management in India was also unveiled.
Further, a task force was also constituted to lay down a national program and project management policy framework.

Statement 1 is correct. Pusa Decomposer developed by the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) is essentially a fungi-based liquid solution that can soften hard stubble to the extent that it can be easily mixed with soil in the field to act as compost.
This would then rule out the need to burn the stubble, and also help in retaining the essential microbes and nutrients in soil that are otherwise damaged when the residue is burned.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The window of time required for the solution to work, which is currently the main concern of farmers, is around 20 to 25 days, as per the IARI.
Farmers argue that this window is too long for them, as they ideally wait about a week or 10 days after harvesting the non-basmati variety of rice — which leaves hard stubble — to sow the wheat crop.