10 PM Daily Current Affairs Quiz | March 21 2021

The ancient site of Rakhi-Khas and Rakhi-Shahpur are collectively known as Rakhigarhi, located on the right bank of now dried up Palaeo-channel of Drishadvati.

The site of Rakhigarhi is one of the five known biggest townships of Harappan civilization on Indian sub-continent. Other four are Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Ganveriwala in Pakistan and Dholavira (Gujrat) in India. Five interconnected mounds spread in a huge area form the Rakhigarhi’s unique site. Two mounds, out of five, were thickly populated. This site was excavated by Shri Amarendra Nath of Archeological Survey of India.

The objective of Gaganyaan programme is to demonstrate the capability to send humans to Low earth orbit (LEO) on board an Indian Launch vehicle and bring them back to earth safely.

GSLV Mk III launcher which is ISRO’s heavy lift launcher is identified for Gaganyaan mission. It has requisite payload carrying capacity for Orbital module in desired elliptical orbit.

The four astronauts, who had been selected from a pool of Indian Air Force pilots, are currently undergoing basic training in GCTC (Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre) in Russia.

Sea buckthorn (Hipphophae rhamnoides) is a medicinal plant long used in herbal medicine. In India, it is found above the tree line in the Himalayan region. It is generally in dry areas such as the cold deserts of Ladakh and Spiti.

— Available in supplement form, sea buckthorn extract contains a variety of essential fatty acids and antioxidants (including vitamin C, vitamin E, and anthocyanins).

— In herbal medicine, sea buckthorn has long been used to stimulate the digestive system, enhance heart and liver health, and treat skin disorders.

— It is an important source of fuelwood and fodder; and a soil-binding plant which prevents soil-erosion, checks siltation in rivers and helps preserve floral biodiversity.

# The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to start SeaBuckthorn Plantation in the cold desert areas.

Option 1 and 2 are correct. The Akash is a mid-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system built by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Dhanush is a 155×45 Calibre indigenous gun developed by Ordinance Factory Board (OFB) for Indian Army.

Option 3 is incorrect. Hammer (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a precision-guided missile developed by French defence major Safran.

# Many significant projects including 155mm Artillery Gun system ‘Dhanush’, Bridge Laying Tank, Thermal Imaging Sight Mark-II for T-72 tank, Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’, ‘Akash’ Surface to Air Missile system, Submarine ‘INS Kalvari’, ‘INS Chennai’, Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette (ASWC), Arjun Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle, Landing craft utility, etc. have been produced in the country in last few years.

Both statements are correct. Steps taken by the Government for developing the linkage between educational institutions, Industries and R&D Institutions:

— Impacting Research Innovation & Technology (IMPRINT): This initiative aims at providing solutions to the most relevant engineering challenges and translating knowledge into viable technology. It is a pan IITs and IISc Joint Initiative seeking to develop a roadmap for research.

— Research Park: Research park at IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Chennai, have been established which provide an interface between entrepreneurship and Industry to establish their R&D units in collaboration with students & faculty members of the IITs.

— Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY): This initiative promotes innovation of a higher order that directly impacts the needs of the Industry and thereby improves the competitive edge of Indian manufacturing. The project envisages collaboration between the academia and industry – within or outside India.

Statement 1 is correct. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006 provide for the establishment of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board to protect the interests of consumers and entities engaged in specified activities relating to petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas and to promote competitive markets and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Further as enshrined in the act, the board has also been mandated to regulate the refining, processing, storage, transportation, distribution, marketing and sale of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas excluding production of crude oil and natural gas so as and to ensure uninterrupted and adequate supply of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas in all parts of the country.

Statement 2 is correct. PNGRB is the authority to grant authorization to the entities to lay, build, operate or expand for the development of City Gas Distribution (CGD) or local natural gas distribution network in Geographical Areas (GAs) as per PNGRB Act, 2006.

There is no definition of generic or branded medicines under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945 made thereunder. However, generic medicines are generally those which contain same amount of same active ingredient(s) in same dosage form and are intended to be administered by the same route of administration as that of branded medicine.

Statement 1 is correct. The price of an unbranded generic version of a medicine is generally lower than the price of a corresponding branded medicine because in case of generic version, the pharmaceutical company does not spend money on research and development of the drug or promotion of its brand.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The drugs manufactured in the country, irrespective of whether they are generic or branded, are required to comply with the same standards as prescribed in the Drugs and

Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945 made thereunder for their quality. As such they are expected to have similar effects.

Natural Farming is a chemical-free alias traditional farming method. It is considered as agroecology based diversified farming system which integrates crops, trees and livestock with functional biodiversity.

In India, Natural farming is promoted as Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati Programme (BPKP) under centrally sponsored scheme- Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) for the promotion of traditional indigenous practices including natural farming.

The scheme mainly emphasises on exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs and promotes on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching; use of cow dung-urine formulations; plant-based preparations and time to time working of soil for aeration.

As per the Central Water Commission (CWC) report entitled “Reassessment of Water Availability in India using Space Inputs”, the average annual water resources potential in the country is assessed as 1999.20 BCM.

Water being a State subject, initiatives on water management including conservation and water harvesting in the Country is primarily States’ responsibility.

A number of States have done notable work in the field of water conservation/harvesting. Of these, mention can be made of ‘Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan’ in Rajasthan, ‘Jalyukt Shibar’ in Maharashtra, ‘Sujalam Sufalam Abhiyan’ in Gujarat, ‘Mission Kakatiya’ in Telangana, Neeru Chettu’ in Andhra Pradesh, Jal Jeevan Hariyali in Bihar, ‘Jal Hi Jeevan’ in Haryana among others.

IQ Air, a Swiss air quality technology company released a report titled “World Air Quality Report, 2020”. The report is based on PM2.5 data from 106 countries based on data from ground-based monitoring stations. The report is handled by government agencies mostly.

— Delhi has been listed as the 10th most polluted city and the top polluted capital city in the world in 2020.

— India ranked as the world’s 3rd most polluted country in 2020 after Bangladesh and Pakistan.

— The topmost polluted city in the world is Xinjiang in China. It is followed by Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.