10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: October 8th,2020

: Statement 1 is incorrect. In Ensemble Forecasting, instead of running just a single forecast, the computer model is run a number of times from slightly different starting conditions. The complete set of forecasts is referred to as the ensemble, and individual forecasts within it as ensemble members.
Statement 2 is correct. Various countries have migrated to ensemble weather forecasting for optimal results. A forecast is an estimate of the future state of the atmosphere. It is created by estimating the current state of the atmosphere using observations, and then calculating how this state will evolve in time using a numerical weather prediction computer model.
The ensemble forecasts give the forecaster a much better idea of what weather events may occur at a particular time. By comparing these different forecasts, the forecaster can decide how likely a particular weather event will be.

Quasars are extremely remote celestial objects, emitting exceptionally large amounts of energy.
Quasars are believed to produce their energy from supermassive black holes in the center of the galaxies in which the quasars are located. Because quasars are so bright, they drown out the light from all the other stars in the same galaxy.

Statement 1 is correct. When wave energy like sound or radio waves travels from two objects, the wavelength can seem to be changed if one or both of them are moving. This is called the Doppler effect.
The Doppler effect causes the received frequency of a source (how it is perceived when it gets to its destination) to differ from the sent frequency if there is motion that is increasing or decreasing the distance between the source and the receiver.
Statement 2 is incorrect. When the distance between the source and receiver of electromagnetic waves remains constant, the frequency waves is the same in both places.
When the distance between the source and receiver of electromagnetic waves is increasing, the frequency of the received wave forms is lower than the frequency of the source wave form. When the distance is decreasing, the frequency of the received wave form will be higher than the source wave form.

Statement 1 is correct. The Code on Social Security provides definition of Platform Work as a work arrangement outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship in which organizations or individuals use an online platform to access other organizations or individuals to solve specific problems or to provide specific services.
Statement 2 is correct. The Code on Social Security, 2020 states that the central government will set up social security funds for unorganized workers, gig workers and platform workers.
Further, state governments will also set up and administer separate social security funds for unorganized workers. It also makes provisions for registration of all three categories of workers – unorganized workers, gig workers and platform workers.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 has been awarded jointly to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing.”
Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna have discovered one of gene technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision.
# The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019: John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries”.
# The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018: Frances H. Arnold “for the directed evolution of enzymes”, George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter “for the phage display of peptides and antibodies”.
# The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2017: Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson “for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution”.
# The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016: Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa “for the design and synthesis of molecular machines”.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has recently approved ‘Natural Gas Marketing Reforms’.
— The policy aims to provide standard procedure for sale of natural gas in a transparent and competitive manner to discover market price by issuing guidelines for sale by contractor through e-bidding.
— The policy has also permitted Affiliate companies to participate in the bidding process in view of the open, transparent and electronic bidding. This will facilitate and promote more competition in marketing of gas. However, rebidding will have to be done in case only affiliates participate, and there are no other bidders.
— The policy will also grant marketing freedom to the Field Development Plans (FDPs) of those Blocks in which Production Sharing Contracts already provide pricing freedom.

The Union Cabinet has recently given its approval for signing a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of cybersecurity between India and Japan.
Statement 1 is incorrect. The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.
Statement 2 is correct. The MoC will enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interest, in­cluding capacity building in the area of cyberspace; protection of critical infrastructure; cooperation in emerging technologies; sharing information on cyber security threats/incidents and malicious cyber activities etc.
India and Japan commit to an open, interoperable, free, fair, secure and reli­able cyberspace environment and to promote the Internet as an engine of innova­tion, economic growth, and trade and commerce that would be consistent with their respective domestic laws and international obligations, and with their wide-ranging strategic partnership.

Ministry of Textiles has launched the 1st ever Brand & Logo for Indian Cotton on 2nd World Cotton Day on 7th October, 2020. Now India’s premium Cotton would be known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world cotton Trade.
Cotton is one of the principal commercial crops of India:It provides livelihood to about 6.00 million cotton farmers. India is the 2nd largest cotton producer and the largest consumer of cotton in the world. India produces about 6.00 Million tons of cotton every year which is about 23% of the world cotton. India produces about 51% of the total organic cotton production of the world.

Statement 1 is correct. India had ratified the Stockholm Convention on January 13, 2006 as per Article 25(4), which enabled it to keep itself in a default “opt-out” position such that amendments in various Annexes of the convention cannot be enforced on it unless an instrument of ratification/ acceptance/ approval or accession is explicitly deposited with UN depositary.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The Union Cabinet recently delegated its powers to ratify chemicals under the Stockholm Convention to Union Ministers of External Affairs (MEA) and Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MEFCC) in respect of POPs already regulated under the domestic regulations thereby streamlining the procedure.

Statement 1 is correct. Pusa Decomposer Technology is a microbial-based strategy (liquid formulation & capsules) which degrades the waste (pit or windrows).
Statement 2 is incorrect. The recycling of this agri-waste is both an ecological necessity and economic compulsion. Similarly, vegetable, fruit, and kitchen waste when degraded properly are great sources of nutrient-rich compost.
Pusa Decomposer converts waste into nutrient-enriched compost. This is an eco-friendly and environmentally useful technology.
It is being proposed as a solution for stubble disposal in farm fields around Delhi which is usually burned by farmers causing pollution.