10 PM Daily Current Affairs Quiz | March 12 2021

Statement 1 is incorrect. India’s Prime Minister participated, along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga and President of U.S.A. Joseph R. Biden, in the first Leaders’ Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework, held virtually on 12th March 2021.

The Leaders will discussed regional and global issues of shared interest, and exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Japan also has territorial disputes with China. The Senkaku Islands dispute, or Diaoyu Islands dispute, concerns a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands in East China sea.

The Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate was intended to facilitate a candid dialogue among major developed and developing economies, help generate the political leadership necessary to achieve a successful outcome at the 2009 December UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, and advance the exploration of concrete initiatives and joint ventures that increase the supply of clean energy while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The MEF ran nearly a decade under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, but languished during the Trump administration.

The 17 major economies participating in the Major Economies Forum are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

# US President Joe Biden announced in a Jan. 27 executive order that he was resurrecting the forum to pursue a “green” economic recovery and more clean energy, as well as progress on “sectoral decarbonization.”

Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav is a series of events to be organised by the Government of India to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of India’s Independence. The Mahotsav will be celebrated as a Jan-Utsav in the spirit of Jan-Bhagidari.

A National Implementation Committee headed by the Home Minister has been constituted to chalk out policies and planning of various events to be undertaken under the Commemoration. The curtain raiser activities are beginning from 12th March 2021, 75 weeks prior to 15th August 2022.

Statement 1 is correct. This scheme aims to ensure all beneficiaries, especially migrants get ration (wheat, rice and other food grains) across the nation from any Public Distribution System (PDS) shop of their own choice.

Statement 2 is incorrect. In view of the resource requirement to meet multiple challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India had on 17th May, 2020 enhanced the borrowing limit of the States by 2 percent of their GSDP. Half of this special dispensation i.e. 1 percent of GSDP was linked to undertaking citizen centric reforms by the States.

The four citizen centric areas for reforms identified by the Department of Expenditure were (a) Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System, (b) Ease of doing business reform, (c) Urban Local body/ utility reforms and (d) Power Sector reforms.

States completing One Nation One Ration Card system reform are eligible for addtional borrowing of 0.25 percent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

# Seventeen (17) States have successfully operationalised “One Nation One Ration Card system” with Uttarakhand being the latest State to complete the reform.

To assess the abundance and distribution of water in the lunar polar region, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), have planned the lunar polar exploration mission (LUPEX).

Both agencies are already working on a joint lunar polar exploration (LUPEX) mission and the two space agencies have been working on the mission that aims to send a lander and rover to the Moon’s south pole around 2024.

Both statements are incorrect.

Pluto is a dwarf planet that lies in the Kuiper Belt, an area full of icy bodies and other dwarf planets out past Neptune; but not an exoplanet.

An exoplanet is any planet beyond our solar system. Most orbit other stars, but free-floating exoplanets, called rogue planets, orbit the galactic center and are untethered to any star.

# Researchers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, investigated the host star properties for the directly imaged exo-planets to understand various formation scenarios for these wide orbit celestial objects.

They found that while a metal-rich environment of host stars is vital for the formation of Jupiter-type light, but giant planets; it is not necessary for the long orbit heavy giant planets.

Statement 1 is correct. Bulk drugs are the active chemical substances in powder form, the main ingredient in pharmaceuticals – chemicals having therapeutic value, used for the production of pharmaceutical formulations.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Brand name drugs are the innovator drugs patented by MNC pharmaceutical companies to prevent them from being copied or reverse engineered by other companies.

Generic drugs are the copies of off-patent brand-name drugs that come in the same dosage, safety, strength, and quality and for the same intended use. These drugs are then sold under their chemical names as both over the counter and prescription forms.

#The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the 3rd largest in the world by volume. However, the country is significantly dependent on the import of basic raw materials, viz., Bulk Drugs that are used to produce medicines. In some specific bulk drugs, the import dependence is 80 to 100%.

With an objective to attain self-reliance and reduce import dependence in these critical Bulk Drugs – Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/ Drug Intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in the

country, the Department of Pharmaceuticals had launched a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for promotion of their domestic manufacturing.

Statement 1 is correct. The Water Technology Initiative (WTI aims to promote R&D activities aimed at providing safe drinking water at affordable cost and in adequate quantity using appropriate Science and Technology interventions evolved through indigenous efforts.

Since quality is the main consideration of safe drinking water, processes which imply nano-material and filtration technologies have been focused. The initiative also includes the pilot testing of credible number of products and referencing of selected technologies to the social context of the application region.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Water Technology Initiative is under the Department of Science & Technology.

# An efficient, low-cost, nano-filtration-based technology by The Centre for Technological Excellence in Water Purification (CTEWP) housed in IIT Kharagpur has ensured access to safe and clean drinking water free of heavy metals for 25,000 people in three different locations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The prototype of the highly compact vertical modular nanofiltration membrane system designed for removal of heavy metals from the groundwater was developed by the Membrane Separations Laboratory, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Water Technology Initiative (WTI).

Both statements are correct.

The characteristics of the north bank tributaries are different than that of the south bank tributaries of the Brahmaputra, which may be summarized as below:

The North Bank Tributaries:

–Have very steep slopes and shallow braided channels for a considerable distance from the foot hills and in some cases right up to the outfall.

–Have boulder, pebble and coarse sandy beds and carry a heavy silt charge.

–Generally, north bank has flashy floods.

The South bank Tributaries:

–Have comparatively flatter grades and deep meandering channels almost from the foot hills.

–Have comparatively low silt charge.

Recognizing the dangers faced by Whale Shark, Ganges Shark and Speartooth Shark are protected under Schedule I, Part II A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972.

IUCN Red List status: Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) is listed as Endangered, Ganges Shark (Glyphis gangeticus) and Speartooth Shark (Glyphis glyphis) rae listed as Critically Endangered species.

India is one of the world’s largest shark fishing nations and Maharashtra and Gujarat together contribute more than 50% of the harvest.

# Sharks are the most important predators found in oceans across the world. Sharks are also found in freshwater habitats in some countries. There are six species of river sharks found in the world, out of which the Ganges shark (Glyphis gangeticus) is endemic to India.