10 PM Daily Current Affairs Quiz : February 1 2021

Statement 1 is incorrect. The History of Census began with 1800 when England had begun its Census but the population of dependencies was not known at that time. In its continuation, based on this methodology census was conducted in town of Allahabad in 1824 and in the city of Banaras in the year 1827-28 by James Prinsep. The first complete census of an Indian city was conducted in 1830 by Henry Walter in Dacca.

A systematic and modern population census, in its present form was conducted non synchronously between 1865 and 1872 in different parts of the country. This effort culminating in 1872 has been popularly labeled as the first population census of India.

Statements 2 correct. The year 1921 is often referred to as the “Year of the Great Divide,” the last period in which India’s population declined, due to the effects of famine.

Statement 1 is correct. The delivery of health care largely rests with the States, Health being a state subject. The allocation of funds to health sector inter-alia is dependent on the overall resource availability of the Government, competing sectoral priorities.

Statement 2 is incorrect. India’s public health expenditure is below two percent. The recently released Economic Survey has suggested an increase in public spending from 1% to 2.5-3% of GDP — as

envisaged in the National Health Policy 2017 to decrease the Out-Of-Pocket Expenditures (OOPE) from 65% to 30% of overall healthcare spend.

Statement 1 is correct. Under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, voluntarily terminating a pregnancy is a criminal offence. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 allows for aborting the pregnancy by medical doctors (with specified specialisation) on certain grounds. A pregnancy maybe be terminated up to 12 weeks based on the opinion of one doctor, and up to 20 weeks based on the opinion of two doctors.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Termination is permitted only when continuance of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman, cause grave injury to her mental or physical health (including rape and failure of birth control measures), or in the case of foetal abnormalities.

Statement 3 is correct. Termination is also allowed at any point during the pregnancy if there is an immediate necessity to save the woman’s life.

# The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced and passed in Lok Sabha in 2020. It amends the Act to increase the upper limit for termination from 20 to 24 weeks for certain categories of women, removes this limit in the case of substantial foetal abnormalities, and constitutes Medical Boards at the state-level.

Statement 1 is correct. The 15th Finance Commission (Chair: Mr N. K. Singh) was required to submit two reports. Last year, the Commission had submitted its report containing recommendations for the year 2020-21 which was accepted by the Union Government and tabled in the Parliament on 30 January 2020. The final report with recommendations for the 2021-26 period has been tabled in Parliament today.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Finance Commission is constituted by the President under article 280 of the Constitution, mainly to give its recommendations on distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the States and amongst the States themselves.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Kosi river has its source in Tibet that includes the world’s highest upland it then drains a large part of Nepal before emerging onto the Gangetic plains. Kosi flows east of Gandak River. It crosses into northern Bihar where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district. Kosi flows east of the Gandak River.

Statement 2 is correct. From a major confluence of tributaries north of the Chatra Gorge onwards, the Koshi River is also known as Saptakoshi for its seven upper tributaries. These include the Tamur Koshi originating from the Kanchenjunga area in the east, Arun River from Tibet and Sun Koshi from the Gosainthan area farther west.

The Government of Nepal has allotted 679 MW Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project in Nepal to SJVN through competitive bidding

All of the above species are protected under the Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. As per the provisions of the Act, poaching of these animals and trading them by parts is punishable with minimum 03 years of imprisonment extendable up to 07 years.

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) seized large wildlife contrabands recently in Jammu & Kashmir that included the Musk deer and Himalayan Black bear poached for musk pods, bear bile, which is used in Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM).

Pangolin is among the most heavily trafficked nonhuman mammal in the world mainly for their scales, used in traditional medicine.

Statement 1 is correct. The Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II & Phase III with the financial assistance of the World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is being implemented to improve the safety and operational performance of selected dams across the whole country, along with institutional strengthening with system wide management approach.

Statement 2 is correct. The Project will be implemented over a period of 10 years duration in two Phases, each of six years duration with two years overlapping from April, 2021 to March, 2031. 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. The “Aadi Mahotsav” is a National Tribal Festival being organized by TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It is an annual initiative that was commenced in 2017.

# Due to the unprecedented circumstances caused due to the pandemic, TRIFED did not hold any Aadi Mahotsav in 2020 however, the tradition has now been resumed.

Statement 2 is correct. The Aadi Mahotsav acquaints people with and gives a peek into the rich tribal heritage and culture. This helps the underprivileged tribes get a bigger market for displaying and selling their arts and crafts. The Aadi Mahotsav is also an opportunity for the artisans to interact directly with art lovers and get first-hand feedback which can then better their creations and designs. Aadi Mahotsav establishes a direct connect between the masses and the tribal people.

Both statements are correct.

Biomethanation is a process by which organic material is microbiologically converted under anaerobic conditions to biogas. Three main physiological groups of microorganisms are involved: fermenting bacteria, organic acid oxidizing bacteria, and methanogenic archaea. Microorganisms degrade organic matter via cascades of biochemical conversions to methane and carbon dioxide.

A wide variety of process applications for biomethanation of wastewaters, slurries, and solid waste have been developed. They utilize different reactor types (fully mixed, plug-flow, biofilm, UASB, etc.) and process conditions (retention times, loading rates, temperatures, etc.) in order to maximize the energy output from the waste.

# Prime Minister during his Mann Ki Baat address made a mention of the garbage-to-power plant being commissioned inside the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Agriculture Market in Bowenpally.

Poliomyelitis is a crippling disease that results from infection with any one of the three related poliovirus types (referred to as types P1, P2, and P3), members of the enterovirus (picornavirus) family. Poliovirus is transmitted from one person to another by oral contact with secretions or faecal material from an infected person.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Oral polio vaccine (OPV) consists of a mixture of live attenuated poliovirus strains of each of the three serotypes, selected by their ability to mimic the immune response following infection with wild polioviruses, but with a significantly reduced incidence of spreading to the central nervous system.

Statement 2 is correct. Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) is produced from wild-type poliovirus strains of each serotype that have been inactivated (killed) with formalin. As an injectable vaccine, it can be administered alone or in combination with other vaccines (e.g., diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, and haemophilus influenza).

# President of India recently launched the Pulse Polio Programme for 2021. Government of India has also introduced the injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine into its routine immunization program.