10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: August 28, 2020

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Contingency Fund of India is established by the Contingency Fund of India Act 1950, not the CF of RBI.

As per Section 47 of the RBI Act, profits or surplus of the RBI are to be transferred to the government, after making various contingency provisions, public policy mandate of the RBI, including financial stability considerations.

RBI’s income comes mainly through interest on the securities it holds. RBI’ Surplus represents the amount RBI transfers to the government. There are two unique features about RBI’s financial statements. It is not required to pay income tax and has to transfer to the government the surplus left over after meeting its needs.

Statement 2 is correct. Contingency Fund of the RBI is a specific provision meant for meeting unexpected and unforeseen contingencies, including depreciation in the value of securities, risks arising out of monetary/exchange rate policy operations, systemic risks and any risk arising on account of the special responsibilities enjoined upon the Reserve Bank. This amount is retained within the RBI.

Statement 1 is correct. Goods & Services Tax Council is a constitutional body for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods and Service Tax. As per Article 279A of the Constitution, the GST Council which will be a joint forum of the Centre and the States

Statement 2 is correct. The Goods and Services Tax Council consist of the following members:

-the Union Finance Minister as Chairperson;

-the Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance;

-the Ministers in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by State Governments.

Statement 3 is correct. Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax Council is taken at a meeting, by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting, in accordance with the following principles, namely:

-the vote of the Central Government has a weightage of one third of the total votes cast, and

-the votes of all the State Governments taken together have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast, in that meeting.

Both statements are correct.

Commerce and Industry Minister recently launched the National GIS-enabled land bank system prototype for six states with more states to be added in future. The Land Bank information system will help investors to get real-time information about the availability of industrial land and resources.

The system is being developed by integration of Industrial Information System (IIS) with State GIS Systems. This is a prototype only and will be developed further with inputs from states, to make it an effective, transparent mechanism of land identification and procurement.

IIS portal is a GIS-enabled database of industrial areas/clusters across the states. More than 3,300 industrial parks across 31 States/UTs covering about 475,000 hectares land have been mapped on the System. Information available includes forest, drainage; raw material heat maps (agricultural, horticulture, mineral layers); multiple layers of connectivity.

The Remote Learning Reachability report has been issued by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently.

– At least a third of the world’s schoolchildren, 463 million children globally, were unable to access remote learning when COVID-19 shuttered their schools.

– Just 24% of Indian households have internet connections to access e-education.

# UNICEF’s Framework for Reopening Schools, issued jointly with UNESCO, UNHCR, WFP and the World Bank, offers practical advice for national and local authorities.

75 tribal groups have been categorized by Ministry of Home Affairs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG). PVTGs reside in 18 States and UT of A&N Islands.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs implements the Scheme of “Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)” exclusively for Conservation-cum-Development of PVTGs.

The five PVTGS residing in Andamans are Great Andamanese, Jarwas, Onges, Shompens and North Sentinelese.

Koraga is a PVTG in Kerala.

Statement 1 is correct. The National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country.

National Health Authority (NHA), the autonomous body under the Government of India, has been authorized to implement the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM). The implementation of NHDM is to be done through the State governments as health is the state subject.

The NHA is the apex body responsible for implementing India’s flagship public health assurance scheme ‘Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana’ (AB-PMJAY) at the national level.

Statement 2 is incorrect. One can create a Health ID for their child below 18 years through the same process as for adults, i.e. using basic details, Mobile No. or Aadhaar.

Surinsar and Mansar Lakes are considered as twin lakes, located at a distance of 9 km (5.6 mi) away from each other near Jammu. The Surinsar Mansar Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the midst of both lakes.

Surinsar-Mansar Lakes are listed in Wetlands of International Importance under Ramsar Convention.

The Surinsar Lake is rain-fed without permanent discharge and Mansar Lake is primarily fed by surface run-off and partially by mineralized water through paddy fields, with inflow increasing in rainy season.

Both statements are correct.

UNICEF, as part of its Reimagine campaign aims to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from aggravating a lasting crisis for children, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, appealed for urgent investment to bridge the digital divide, reach every child with remote learning, and, most critically, prioritize the safe reopening of schools.

UNICEF Reimagine is an urgent appeal to governments, the public, donors and the private sector to support UNICEF’s efforts to respond, recover and reimagine a world currently besieged by COVID-19.

Statement 1 is correct. Outer Space Treaty 1967 provisions:

States-parties commit not to:

-Place in orbit around the Earth or other celestial bodies any nuclear weapons or objects carrying WMD.

-Establish military bases, test “any type of weapons,” or conduct military exercises on the moon and other celestial bodies.

Other treaty provisions:

-Space should be accessible to all countries and can be freely and scientifically investigated.

-Space and celestial bodies are exempt from national claims of ownership.

-Countries are to avoid contaminating and harming space or celestial bodies.

-Countries exploring space are responsible and liable for any damage their activities may cause.

-Space exploration is to be guided by “principles of cooperation and mutual assistance,” such as obliging astronauts to provide aid to one another if needed.

Statement 2 is correct. India signed the Outer Space Treaty on March 3, 1967 and it was deposited on January 18, 1982.

Option 1 and 2 are correct. Passive immunity is the transfer of antibody produced by one human or another animal to another. Passive immunity provides protection against some infections, but this protection is temporary.

-The most common form of passive immunity is that which an infant receives from its mother. Antibodies are transported across the placenta during pregnancy. As a result, a full-term infant will have the same antibodies as its mother. These antibodies will protect the infant from certain diseases for up to a year.

-Many types of blood products contain antibody. Some products (e.g., washed or reconstituted red blood cells) contain a relatively small amount of antibody and some (e.g., intravenous immune globulin and plasma products) contain a large amount which is used for antibody transfusion.

Option 3 is incorrect. Active immunity is stimulation of the immune system to produce antigen-specific humoral (antibody) and cellular immunity. Unlike passive immunity, which is temporary, active immunity usually lasts for many years, often for a lifetime.

-One way to acquire active immunity is to survive infection with the disease-causing form of the organism.

-Another way to produce active immunity is by vaccination. Vaccines interact with the immune system and often produce an immune response similar to that produced by the natural infection, but they do not subject the recipient to the disease and its potential complications.