10 PM Daily Current Affairs Quiz | June 28 2021

UAVs are generally called attackers delight and defender’s nightmare for the following reasons,

1. UAVs have no restriction on the terrain nor the condition of the environment.
2. Drones fly low and therefore cannot be detected by any radar system because they are small and do not have much radar cross-section.
3. Difficult to detect also means difficult to engage as well.
4. They do not match the cost of the kill vs the cost of the target. For example, killing the $1000 UAV with the Million $ sophisticated missile. So, the defender needs soft kill systems like LASER, Radio Frequency jamming and Electronic Jamming etc.

Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) under the civil aviation ministry is regulating the UAVs in India.

Source: The Indian Express and The Hindu

Recently, The Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology was locked out of his Twitter account for an hour allegedly over a notice received for violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Digital Millennium Copyright Act:

• Digital Millennium Copyright Act or DMCA is a 1998 law passed in the US and is among the world’s first laws recognising intellectual property on the internet.

• Purpose: The law oversees the implementation of the two treaties signed and agreed upon by member nations of the World Intellectual Property Organisation(WIPO) in 1996.

• Namely the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Source: Indian Express

The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) was established in 2004. It is under the National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office. The NTRO focuses on intelligence gathering.

• The agency specializes in multiple disciplines. This includes remote sensing, data gathering and processing, cyber security, geospatial information gathering, cryptology, etc.

• The National Critical information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), an agency under the control of NTRO.
• NTRO has the same “norms of conduct” as the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).

Source: The Indian Express

Indian Prime Minister paid homage to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay on his Jayanti on 27th June.

About:

• He was one of the greatest novelists and poets of India.
• He composed the song Vande Mataram in Sanskrit, which was a source of inspiration to the people in their freedom struggle.
• His epic Novel Anandamath was set in the background of the Sanyasi Rebellion (1770-1820). The Novel made Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay an influential figure on the Bengali renaissance.
• He also founded a monthly literary magazine, Bangadarshan, in 1872

• The magazine stopped publication in the late 1880s, but was resurrected in 1901 with Rabindranath Tagore as its editor

• His famous novels include Kapalkundala, Debi Choudhurani, Bishabriksha (The Poison Tree), Chandrasekhar, Rajmohan’s wife and Krishnakanter Will.

Aurobindo Ghosh founded the English newspaper Bande Mataram

Source: PIB

Recently, the forest department of Odisha busted an organised trafficking racket recently and seized seven Bengal monitor lizards — five dead and two alive.

• The Bengal monitor or common Indian monitor (Varanus bengalensis) is a large lizard that is mainly terrestrial. It is 61-175 cm long. The monitors are carnivorous and non-poisonous.
• Bengal monitor is a lesser-known species and does not enjoy the same status as crocodiles and other reptiles
• The monitor lizard is protected under Schedule I of WPA but is regularly killed for its meat, blood and oil. Its genitals are sold as a charm or an aphrodisiac as well as cure for several ailments
• The species is listed under the ‘Least Concern’ category on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List but its population is dwindling due to rampant poaching

• It plays an important role in maintaining the balance and health of the forest ecosystem

Source: Down To Earth

In 2006, the Supreme Court issued following directives for police reform in Prakash Singh and others vs Union of India and others.

• Fixing the tenure and selection of the DGP to avoid situations where officers about to retire in a few months are given the post.
• A minimum tenure was sought for the Inspector General of Police so that they are not transferred mid-term by politicians.
• Postings of officers being done by Police Establishment Boards (PEB) comprising police officers and senior bureaucrats

• Setting up the State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA)
• Separation of investigation and law and order functions to better improve policing
• Setting up State Security Commissions (SSC) that would have members from civil society and forming a National Security Commission.

Source: Article

All statements are correct. 

• Particulate matter, or PM, is the term for particles found in the air, including dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. 

• Particles can be suspended in the air for long periods of time. 
• Some particles are large or dark enough to be seen as soot or smoke. Others are so small that individually they can only be detected with an electron microscope. 
• Many manmade and natural sources emit PM directly or emit other pollutants that react in the atmosphere to form PM. 

• Gestational exposure to PM2.5 was also associated with an increased likelihood of pregnancy loss and this remained significant after adjusting for other factors. 

• Each increase in 10 µg/m³ was estimated to increase a mother’s risk of pregnancy loss by 3%. The increase in risk was greater for mothers from rural areas or those who became pregnant at an older age, compared to younger mothers from urban areas. 

• NASA’s GISS Global Climate Model not only calculates the amount of sun’s energy blocked by the airborne pollutants but also estimates the amount of particular matter deposited on surface worldwide. 

Source: Article 

• A committee under Sunil Mehta was set up to give recommendation on formation of an Asset Reconstruction Company for quicker resolution on stressed assets 

Source: Article 

4 major islands of Japan from North to South are: 

• Hokkaido 
• Honshu 

• Shikoku 
• Kyushu 

Source: Article 

• Counter-cyclical Fiscal Policy refers to the steps taken by the government that go against the direction of the economic or business cycle.   

• This means that during a recession or slowdown, the government increases expenditure and reduces taxes to create a demand that can drive an economic boom.    
• On the other hand, during a boom in the economy, the policy aims at raising taxes and cutting public expenditure to control inflation and debt.   

Source: Article