10 PM Daily Current Affairs Quiz | February 22 2021

Statement 1 is correct. As per article 171 of the Constitution the total number of members in the Legislative Council of a State having such a Council shall not exceed one third of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly of that State:

Provided that the total number of members in the Legislative Council of a State shall in no case be less than forty.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The provisions for the Legislative Councils are similar to that for Rajyasabha.

Article 172 of the Constriction provides that the Legislative Council of a State shall not be subject to dissolution, but as nearly as possible one-third of the members thereof shall retire as soon as may be on the expiration of every second year in accordance with the provisions made in that behalf by Parliament by law.

Statement 1 is correct. XVFC has recommend that health spending by States should be increased to more than 8 per cent of their budget by 2022.

Given the inter-State disparity in the availability of medical doctors, it is essential to constitute an All India Medical and Health Service as is envisaged under Section 2A of the All-India Services Act, 1951.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The total size of the grant to local governments should be Rs. 4,36,361 crores for the period 2021-26.

Of these total grants, Rs. 8,000 crores is performance-based grants for incubation of new cities and Rs. 450 crores is for shared municipal services. A sum of Rs. 2,36,805 crores is earmarked for rural local bodies, Rs.1,21,055 crore for urban local bodies and Rs. 70,051 crores for health grants through local governments.

Urban local bodies have been categorized into two groups, based on population, and different norms have been used for flow of grants to each, based on their specific needs and aspirations. Basic grants are proposed only for cities/towns having a population of less than a million. For Million-Plus cities, 100 per cent of the grants are performance-linked through the Million-Plus Cities Challenge Fund (MCF).

Option 1 and 3 initiative’s functions are interchanged.

SWAYAM seeks to bridge the digital divide for students who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy. This is done through a platform that facilitates hosting of all the courses, taught in classrooms from Class 9 till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time.

SWAYAM PRABHA is a group of 34 DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high-quality educational programmes on 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite.

DIKSHA serves as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers. It enables, accelerates and amplies solutions in realm of teacher education. It seeks to aid teachers to learn and train themselves for which assessment resources will be available. It will help teachers to create training content, profile, in-class resources, assessment aids, news and announcement and connect with teacher community

All of the above are correct statements.

The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016, has been implemented since 12 October 2017. The highlights of the new BIS Act are:

–Positions BIS as the National Standards Body.

–Allows multiple conformity assessment schemes in line with global practices.

–Enables the Government to include products under mandatory certification on grounds of health, safety, environment, national security and prevention of deceptive practices.

–Enables the Government to bring Hallmarking of precious metal articles under mandatory certification.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an independent, non-governmental membership organization and the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards. BIS is a founder member of ISO and is actively involved in development of International Standards by acting as Participating (P) member or Observer (O) member on various Technical Committees, Sub-Committees, Working Groups, etc.

Statement 1 is correct. National Translation Mission (NTM) is a Government of India scheme to establish translation as an industry in general and, to facilitate higher education by making knowledge texts accessible to students and academics in Indian languages in particular. The vision is to create a knowledge society by transcending language barriers. NTM aims to disseminate knowledge in all Indian languages listed in the VIII schedule of the Constitution through translation.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) is the nodal agency and the chief facilitator for NTM and the Mission operates from the CIIL premises in Mysore.

# The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day (Feb 21) was the initiative of Bangladesh. It was approved at the 1999 UNESCO General Conference and has been observed throughout the world since 2000. The theme of the Day this year, “Fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education and society”.

The average annual rainfall in Mawsynram, Meghalaya which is recognised as the world’s wettest by the Guinness Book of Records, is 11,871mm – more than 10 times the Indian national average of 1,083mm.

# The other three options are among the highest rainfall areas of the world.

# A recent study that looked at the rainfall pattern in the past 119 years found a decreasing trend at Cherrapunji and nearby areas. The team analysed daily rain gauge measurements during 1901–2019, and noted that the changes in the Indian Ocean temperature have a huge effect on the rainfall in the region.

Waterborne diseases are caused by a variety of microorganisms, biotoxins, and toxic contaminants, which lead to devastating illnesses such as cholera, schistosomiasis and other

gastrointestinal problems. Outbreaks of waterborne diseases often occur after a severe precipitation event (rainfall, snowfall).

Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholera acquired through infected food and water leading to massive watery diarrhoea, vomiting, cramps and dehydration.

Hepatitis A and E are viral diseases caused by the ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infected person. Both affect the liver and can cause mild to severe illness.

Typhoid and Paratyphoid are associated with poor sanitation and untreated water supplies. Typhoid is caused by the bacteria Salmonella Typhi while Paratyphoid is caused due to the infection of Salmonella Paratyphi A.

# Telangana has joined a group of States that has ensured tap water connections to all schools and anganwadi centres (AWCs). Telangana was among States like Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, which reported the provision of tap water in all schools and AWCs.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Antibiotic resistance happens when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them.

Antibiotic resistance does not mean the body is becoming resistant to antibiotics; it is that bacteria have become resistant to the antibiotics designed to kill them.

Statement 2 is correct. AMR occurs naturally over time, usually through genetic changes. Antimicrobial resistant organisms are found in people, animals, food, plants and the environment (in water, soil and air). They can spread from person to person or between people and animals, including from food of animal origin.

The main drivers of antimicrobial resistance include the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials; lack of access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for both humans and animals; poor infection and disease prevention and control in health-care facilities and farms; poor access to quality, affordable medicines, vaccines and diagnostics; lack of awareness and knowledge; and lack of enforcement of legislation.

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is average number of live births a woman would have by age 50 if she were subject, throughout her life, to the age-specific fertility rates observed in a given year. Its calculation assumes that there is no mortality.

Statement 1 is correct. Replacement-level fertility is considered at total fertility levels of about 2.1 children per woman. This value represents the average number of children a woman would need to have to reproduce herself by bearing a daughter who survives to childbearing age. If replacement level fertility is sustained over a sufficiently long period, each generation will exactly replace itself in the absence of migration.

Statement 2 is incorrect. India’s TFR is still above Replacement level at 2.2, however several states have achieved the replacement levels. Of the 17 states analysed in the NFHS-5 data, except for Bihar, Manipur and Meghalaya, all other states have a TFR of 2.1 or less, which implies that most states have attained replacement level fertility.

# Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare while addressing the ‘Population versus Planet’ Conference noted that the country has witnessed significant decline in both fertility and mortality; the crude birth rate which was recorded at 40.8 per 1000 in 1951 has declined to 20.0 in 2018; Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined from 6.0 in 1951 to 2.2 in 2015-16; death rate in India has declined from 7 in 2012 to 6.2 in 2018.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Ravidas, also called Raidas, (flourished 15th or 16th century), mystic and poet who was one of the most renowned of the saints of the North Indian bhakti movement.

Harshavardhana (606-647 A.D.) ascended the throne of Thaneshwar and Kannauj on the death of his brother, Rajyavardhana in seventh century.

Statement 2 is correct. Saint Ravidas is believed to be a disciple of the bhakti saint-poet Ramananda and a contemporary of the bhakti saint-poet Kabir. One of his famous disciples was the saint, Mirabai.

Adi Granth of Sikhs and Panchvani are the major documented sources of the literary works of Guru Ravidas.