10 PM Daily Current Affairs Quiz | March 7 2021

Amazonia-1 Satellite is an earth observation satellite of Brazil. It will provide remote sensing data for users monitoring deforestation in the Amazon forests. Furthermore, it will analyze diversified agriculture across the Brazilian territory.

The satellite injected into its precise orbit of 758 km in a sun-synchronous polar orbit. It is the first commercial venture for New Space India Limited (NSIL) launched through ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C51) rocket.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Asteroid (99942) Apophis made a close flyby of Earth on March 5-6, 2021. While there’s no chance Apophis will strike Earth at this flyby (when closest, it was about 44 times the moon’s distance), the asteroid was within range of earthly telescopes and radar.

Statement 2 is incorrect. It gained fame in 2004 when early observations suggested it might strike Earth in 2029. Though it will come breathtakingly close to Earth in 2029, a strike that year was subsequently ruled out.

After the 2029 pass, asteroid Apophis will also make noteworthy passes near Earth in 2036 and again in 2068. Earth strikes in 2029 and 2036 have been ruled out.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the release of the final rankings of Ease of Living Index (EoLI) 2020 and the Municipal Performance Index (MPI) 2020 recently.

The framework for these assessments were prepared by MoHUA with the Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner.

Whereas, the Ease of Living Index measures an outcome of the indicator, Municipal Performance Index focuses on the factors that produce those outcomes. The latter serves in determining elements that prevent efficient local governance in service delivery mechanisms, planning, financial systems, and governance practice.

Statement 2 is correct. The assessment framework under MPI 2020 has classified municipalities based on their population- Million+ (municipalities having over a million population) and Less than Million Population. In the Million+ category, Indore has emerged as the highest ranked municipality, followed by Surat and Bhopal. In the Less than Million category, New Delhi Municipal Council has emerged as the leader, followed by Tirupati and Gandhinagar.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Statement 1 is correct. BIS has already formulated various Indian Standards comparable with the International Standards such as the Electric vehicles, Fuel blends, Smart City Digital Infrastructure, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Manufacturing, Technical Textiles, Aerial Ropeways, etc.

Bureau of India Standards (BIS) has published standard IS:17017 that covers general requirements and safety norms for Electric vehicles supply equipment.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution is the ex-officio president of the Governing Council of the BIS.

The minister recently presided over the 3rd Governing Council Meeting of the Bureau of Indian Standard.

Sugamya Bharat APP — a Crowdsourcing Mobile Application is a means for sensitising and enhancing accessibility in the 3 pillars of the Accessible India Campaign i.e. built environment, transportation sector and ICT ecosystem in India.

The app provides for five main features, 4 of which are directly related to enhancing accessibility, while the fifth is a special feature meant only for Divyangjan for COVID related issues.

The accessibility related features are: the registration of complaints of inaccessibility across the 3 broad pillars of the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan; positive feedback of examples and best practices worth emulating being shared by people as jan-bhagidhari; Departmental updates; and guidelines and circulars related to accessibility.

TEPC (Telecom Equipment Export Promotion Council) has organized India Telecom 2021’ – an Exclusive International Business Expo being held virtually on March 3 & 4, 2021 under Market Access Initiative Scheme (MAI) of Department of Commerce and with support of Department of Telecommunications & Ministry of External Affairs.

The event is being attended by potential buyers from countries across the globe. More than 1,000 delegates, out of which more than 200 are foreign delegates from more than 45 countries, are attending India Telecom 2021. More than 40 Indian telecom companies are showcasing their state-of-the-art products and capabilities at the exhibition which is organized by TEPC as a part of this event.

# TEPC has been set up by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Ministry of Communications to promote and develop of Export of Telecom Equipment and Services.

Baltic Sea, arm of the North Atlantic Ocean, is surrounded by nine countries: Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland and Sweden.

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the State of Assam. It spans the Manas river and is bounded to the north by the forests of Bhutan. The Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is part of the core zone of Manas Tiger Reserve, and lies alongside the shifting river channels of the Manas River.

Manas national park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a Biosphere reserve.

The site provides critical and viable habitats for rare and endangered species, including tiger, greater one-horned rhino, swamp deer, pygmy hog and Bengal florican.

Himalayan serow has been spotted for the first time recently in the Manas tiger reserve. Himalayan serow is a subspecies of the mainland serow.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Wetlands are the favorite habitats of the fishing cat. In India, fishing cats are mainly found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, on the foothills of the Himalayas along the Ganga and Brahmaputra river valleys and in the Western Ghats.

Statement 2 is correct. The fishing cat is nocturnal and apart from fish also preys on frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds, and scavenges on carcasses of larger animals.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is listed as a Vulnerable species with decreasing population trend in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

# Chilika Development Authority (CDA) is conducting a survey at the Chilika Lake in collaboration with the Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance (FCCA).

The Asia Economic Dialogue (AED) jointly convened by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Pune International Centre (PIC), is the flagship geoeconomics conference of the MEA.

The fifth edition of the AED, and the second one organised by PIC was held from Friday, 26th February to Sunday, 28th February 2021. The theme for this year’s conference was “Post Covid-19 Global Trade and Finance Dynamics”.

The dialogue focuses on the pandemic’s impact on trade and finance, on the world, and on Asia in particular. It also discusses strategies to deal with this impact.