10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: September 28, 2020

Both statements are correct.

The North Eastern Council is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern Region which consists of the eight States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The North Eastern Council was constituted in 1971 by an NEC Act 1971.

The Union Home Minister is ex-officio Chairman and the MoS(IC) DoNER is the ex-officio Vice-Chairman of the NEC.

# Destination Northeast, an annual festival organised by the DONER ministry was inaugurated recently by the Union Home Minister.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Ministry of Tourism with Quality Council of India has developed an initiative called SAATHI (System for Assessment, Awareness & Training for Hospitality Industry) to assist the hospitality industry to continue to operate safely and thereby instill confidence among the Staff, employees and the guests about the safety of the hotel/unit.

Statement 2 is correct. SAATHI aims for effective implementation of Guidelines/SOPs issued with reference to COVID 19 and beyond for safe operations of Hotels, Restaurants and other units.

Statement 1 is correct. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

Statement 2 is correct. This year United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has designated 2020 as the Year of Tourism and Rural Development.

As an intergovernmental organization, UNWTO has 159 Member States (including India), 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.

Statement 1 is correct. Sandal spike disease has several symptoms; there is a reduction in leaf size, loss of apical dominance of the branches giving a “witches-broom” condition and phyllody of the flowers, stiffening and reduction of internode length.

In advanced stage, the entire shoot gives the appearance of a spike inflorescence. Spiked trees die within 1–2 years after the appearance of visible symptoms.

Presently, there is no option but to cut down and remove the infected tree to prevent the spread of the disease, caused by phytoplasma bacterial parasites of plant tissues, which are transmitted by insect vectors.

Statement 2 is incorrect. SPIKE disease of Sandal (Santalum album L.) is of considerable importance to the sandal-wood industry of southern India. It has been one of the major causes for the decline in sandalwood production in the country for over a century. The disease was first reported in Kodagu in 1899.

# It has been reported that India’s sandalwood trees are facing a serious threat with the return of the Sandalwood Spike Disease (SSD).

Option 1 is correct. Exercise Malabar is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners.

Option 2 is correct. The India-Japan maritime bilateral exercise (JIMEX) is conducted biennially. Its last edition was conducted off the coast of Visakhapatnam in October 2018. The 2020 edition is set to start in northern Arabia Sea.

Option 3 is incorrect. The Yudh Abhyas is a regularly-scheduled bilateral exercise hosted by the Indian and U.S. Armies.

Statement 1 is correct. Cess taxes have an earmarked purpose but do not give the contributor an entitlement to a quid pro quo benefit.

# The CAG’s has recently reported that the Centre retained ₹47,272 crore of GST compensation cess in the Consolidated Fund instead of crediting it to the GST compensation fund in the very first two years of the implementation of GST.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Article 270(1) identifies the taxes that form a part of the divisible pool, meaning the taxes, proceeds of which are to be distributed between the Union and the State Governments.

However, Article 270 states that any cess levied for ‘specific purposes’ under any law passed by the Parliament is an exception i.e. the proceeds from cesses are not part of the divisible pool.

The National Statistics Office coordinates the statistical activities in the country and evolves statistical standards. NSO brings out important economic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Index of Industrial Product (IIP), Consumer Price Index (CPI) and other official statistics to support Government decision making and framing of appropriate socio-economic polices/programmes.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation publishes Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Base year 2012=100 for Rural, Urban and Combined.

Statement 2 is correct. As per the Reserve Bank of India Act, the Central Government shall, in consultation with the Bank, determine the inflation target in terms of the Consumer Price Index, once in every five years.

Further, the Monetary Policy Committee shall determine the Policy Rate required to achieve the inflation target.

Statement 1 is correct. Article 170(1) states that Legislative Assembly of each State shall consist of not more than five hundred, and not less than sixty, members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the State.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Article 172(1) states that every Legislative Assembly of every State, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer and the expiration of the said period of five years shall operate as dissolution of the Assembly:

Provided that the said period may, while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, be extended by Parliament by law for a period not exceeding one year at a time and not extending in any case beyond a period of six months after the Proclamation has ceased to operate.

Statement 1 is correct. Real GDP measures an economy’s total goods and services in a given year, taking into account changes in price levels. It allows GDP comparison year by year because it takes into account inflation.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Nominal GDP is also referred to as the current prices GDP. Real GDP takes into consideration adjustments for changes in inflation. This means that if inflation is positive, real GDP will be lower than nominal, and vice versa.

# GDP deflator is a measure of the level of prices of all new, domestically produced, final goods and services in an economy. It is calculated by computing the ratio of nominal GDP to the real measure of GDP.

The Global Climate Risk Index 2020 published by Germanwatch analyses to what extent countries and regions have been affected by impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heatwaves etc.).

The Germanwatch Climate Risk Index 2020 is the 15th edition of this annual analysis. The report mentions that India suffered from one of the longest ever recorded heatwaves in 2018, with hundreds of deaths, when temperatures climbed to up to 48°C. Prolonged drought and resultant widespread crop failures, compounded by a water shortage, brought about violent riots and increased migration.