10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: June 19, 2020

All of the above have been declared as India’s priorities for its term as non-permanent member of the UNSC.

The Priorities Paper, issued as a brochure by the Ministry of External Affairs, set out the key priorities for India, as under:

1. New Opportunities for progress
2. An Effective response to international terrorism

iii. Reforming the multilateral system

1. A comprehensive approach to international peace and security
2. Promoting technology with a human touch as a driver of solutions

India’s overall objective during this tenure in the UN Security Council will be the achievement of N.O.R.M.S: New Orientation for a Reformed Multilateral System.

All statements are correct regarding the International Criminal Court.

It is a permanent judicial body created by the 1998 Rome Statute which entered into force in 2002.

It prosecutes individuals for international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, crime of aggression and war crimes.

India is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, nor is China. USA signed the statute but has not ratified.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Anti-defection law is not applicable to voting in election of members to Rajyasabha. The Supreme Court in its judgment in the matter of Kuldip Nayar Vs Union of India and Ors, 2006 observed that that an MLA at the most attracts action from the political party to which s/he belongs for voting against party candidate.

Statement 2 is correct. NOTA is not available to electors of Rajyasabha elections, as per Supreme Court NOTA is meant only for universal adult suffrage and direct elections and not polls held by the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote as done in the Rajya Sabha.

Statement 1 is correct. Foreign direct investment tends to involve establishing more of a substantial, long-term interest in the economy of a foreign country such as buying or establishing a manufacturing business, building warehouses, or buying buildings. This makes it much more difficult to liquidate or pull out of the investment.

Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) on other hand refers to investing in the financial assets of a foreign country, such as stocks or bonds available on an exchange. It is often viewed less favorably than FDI because portfolio investments can be sold off quickly and are seen as short-term attempts to make money, rather than a long-term investment in the economy.

Statement 2 is incorrect. As per Economic Survey 2019-2020; nearly 80 per cent of FDI have come mainly from Singapore, Mauritius, Netherlands, USA and Japan in 2019-20.

Also per Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (table below) report Mauritius, Singapore, Netherlands, Japan and USA have been top source of FDI in India for past few years.

An autarky refers to the state of self-reliance or economic independence. It is an economic system or nation characterized by self-sufficiency for its needs and limited trade with outside world.

Oligopoly is a market structure with a small number of firms.

Laissez-faire is an economic system with abstention by governments from interfering in the workings of the free market.

A monopoly is a market structure characterized by a single seller, selling a unique product in the market.

Both statements are correct.

I-Lab (Infectious disease diagnostic lab) is supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, under the COVID Command strategy. It is a mobile testing facility to be deployed in remote areas of the country. It has capability to perform 25 COVID-19 RT-PCR tests/Day, 300 ELISA tests/day, additional tests for TB, HIV etc.

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is an antibody test.

Statement 1 is correct. NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 North American and European countries. It implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed in 1949. Article Five of the treaty states that if an armed attack occurs against one of the member states, it shall be considered an attack against all members.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Japan is not a member of NATO. Turkey is a part-Asian country member of the organization. Other countries like France, USA etc. also have small territories in other continents.

North Macedonia became NATO’s 30th member in March 2020 (not shown in image below).

Statement 1 is correct. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, based on the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program.

Statement 2 is correct. The Moyar River is one of the tributaries of the Bhavani which is a tributary of Kaveri River and it flows through the Niligiri Biosphere Reserve.

Statement 3 is correct. The reserve encompasses tiger reserve of Bandipur, Nagarhole, Mudumalai which are natural habitats of Tigers in India., The faunal elements of the reserve include Panthera tigris (Tiger), Elephas maximus (Elephant), Boss gaurus (Gaur), Macaca silenus (Lion tail macaque) etc.

Statement 1 is correct. A megalith is a large pre-historic stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. These are usually rough/undressed stone that has been used in the construction of various types of Neolithic, Chalcolithic or Bronze Age.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Megalith sites are spread all over India. The oldest megaliths in India are found in the westernmost part of the country, in the present-day Afghanistan in the upper Indus Valley. Burzahom is a major megalith site in Kashmir.

In Southern part of country Hire Benakal (Karnataka), Kudakkal (Thrissur), Chovvanur burial cave (Thrissur), Byse (Karnataka), Kodumanal (Tamilnadu) are some of the major Megalithic sites.

The idea that one’s brain can convince their body that a fake treatment is the real one is called placebo effect. It is the therapeutic outcome derived from an inert treatment, i.e. placebo drug.

A placebo is used in clinical trials to test the effectiveness of treatments. People in one group get the drug being tested, while the others receive a fake drug, or placebo, that they think is the real thing. This way, the researchers can measure if the drug works by comparing how both groups react. If they both have the same reaction (improvement or not) the drug is deemed not to work.