10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: July 31, 2020

Lead can be found in all of the above materials.

Lead is a naturally occurring element found in small amounts in the earth’s crust. While it has some beneficial uses, it can be toxic to humans and animals, causing health effects.

Lead and lead compounds have been used in a wide variety of products found in and around our homes, including paint, ceramics, pipes and plumbing materials, solders, gasoline, batteries, ammunition, and cosmetics.

Sindoor (vermillion), a traditional cosmetic powder used by women in the Indian subcontinent, also has traces of lead.

The report ‘Toxic Truth: Children’s exposure to lead pollution undermines a generation of potential’ launched by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and international non-profit organization Pure Earth claims that a third of the world’s children — around 800 million — are affected by lead poisoning.

Option 1 is correct. Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) portal and application provides digital platform to teachers giving them an opportunity to learn and train themselves and connect with teacher community. This initiative has been taken forward to enhance coverage and improve the quality of e-content for teachers.

Option 2 is incorrect. The ‘Shodhganga: a reservoir of Indian Theses’ provides a platform for research students to deposit their Ph.D. theses and make it available to the entire scholarly community in open access.

Option 3 is correct. The SWAYAM PRABHA is a group of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high-quality educational programmes on 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite.

SWAYAM is a Massive open online course (MOOC) platform.

Both statements are incorrect.

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), has launched AIM iCREST – an Incubator Capabilities enhancement program for a Robust Ecosystem focused on creating high performing Startups.

AIM has joined hands with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation – organizations that can lend credible support and expertise in the entrepreneurship and innovation space. These partnerships will provide global expertise and showcase proven best practices to the AIM’s incubator network.

AIM iCREST has been designed to enable the incubation ecosystem and act as a growth hack for AIM’s Atal and Established incubators across the country.

Under the initiative, the AIM’s incubators are set to be upscaled and provided requisite support to foster the incubation enterprise economy that will help them to significantly enhance their performance. This will be complemented by providing training to entrepreneurs, through technology driven processes and platforms.

Statement 1 is correct. NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance is a rover mission launched recently from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station USA, targeted at a more-than 40km-wide, near-equatorial bowl called Jezero Crater on Mars.

It is equipped to directly detect life – either current or in fossilized form and will also be collecting important data about Mars’ geology and climate.

NASA’s Perseverance is the third mission launched to Mars inside 11 days in 2020, after launches by the UAE (Hope) and China (Tianwen-1).

Statement 2 is correct. Perseverance is the first rover to bring a sample-gathering system to Mars that will package promising examples of rocks and sediments for return to Earth by a future mission. A Mars Sample Return campaign is being planned by NASA and the European Space Agency.

Option 1 is correct. In May 2016, ‘Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy’ under the Chairmanship of Late Shri T.S.R. Subramanian, Former Cabinet Secretary, submitted its report.

Option 2 is correct. In June 2017 a ‘Committee for the Draft National Education Policy’ was constituted under the Chairmanship of Padma Vibhushan, Dr. K. Kasturirangan, which submitted the Draft in May, 2019.

Option 3 is incorrect. Madhav Gadgil Committee refers to the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, an environmental research commission appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India.

Statement 1 is correct. Seroprevalence surveys use serology tests to identify people in a population or community that have antibodies against an infectious disease.

Antibodies are specific proteins made in response to infections. Antibodies are detected in the blood of people who are tested after infection; they show an immune response to the infection.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely.

The Seroprevalence survey measures the percentage of people who have already been infected by the disease. Therefore, a low positivity result of the survey does not indicate Herd Immunity, it can either be achieved through large scale vaccination or naturally when large portion of population gets infected and generates antibodies against the disease.

The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another in the international interbank market for short-term loans.

It serves as a globally accepted key benchmark interest rate that indicates borrowing costs between banks. The rate is calculated and published each day by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

It is based on five currencies including the U.S. dollar, the euro, the British pound, the Japanese yen, and the Swiss franc.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Governor, before entering upon his office, makes and subscribes to an oath or affirmation in the presence of the Chief Justice of the High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to the State. [Article 159]

In order to resign from office, the Governor may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his/her office. [Article 156(2)]

Statement 2 is correct. Article 167 of the Constitution provides for the duties of Chief Minister as respects the furnishing of information to Governor, etc.

It shall be the duty of the Chief Minister of each State:

-to communicate to the Governor of the State all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation;

-to furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation as the Governor may call for; and

-if the Governor so requires, to submit for the consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a Minister but which has not been considered by the Council.

Statement 1 is correct. The policy envisages broad based, multi-disciplinary, holistic Under Graduate education with flexible curricula, creative combinations of subjects, integration of vocational education and multiple entry and exit points with appropriate certification.

UG education can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period. For example, Certificate after 1-year, Advanced Diploma after 2 years, Bachelor’s Degree after 3 years and Bachelor’s with Research after 4 years.

Statement 2 is incorrect. NEP 2020 envisages a shift from summative assessment to regular and formative assessment.

Board exams for Grades 10 and 12 will continue, but to be redesigned with holistic development as the aim.

A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), will be set up as a standard-setting body.

Statement 3 is correct. Special emphasis will be given on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) which include gender, socio-cultural, and geographical identities and disabilities. A Gender Inclusion Fund and Special Education Zones to be set up for disadvantaged regions and groups.

Statement 1 is correct. The shorter the frequency, the larger is the bandwidth. The use of shorter frequencies (millimeter waves between 30GHz and 300GHz) for 5G networks is the major reason why 5G can be faster. The high-band 5G spectrum provides the expected boost not only in speed but also in capacity, low latency, and quality.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Latency rate refers to the delay between the sending and receiving of information. 5G technology offers an extremely low latency rate of about 1 millisecond. Latency for 4G is around 20-30 milliseconds.