10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: September 6, 2020

Statement 1 is incorrect. Wolbachia are extremely common and natural bacteria that occur naturally in 60 per cent of insect species, including some mosquitoes, fruit flies, moths, dragonflies

Statement 2 is correct. It is often reported to be used in prevention of mosquito-borne viral diseases. However, it is not usually found in the Aedes aegypti mosquito (responsible for transmitting viruses such as Zika, dengue and chikungunya).

Prevention methods involve introducing Wolbachia into populations of Aedes aegypti. When the Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes breed with their wild counterparts, the percentage of mosquitoes carrying the bacterium grows.

Wolbachia has been seen to decrease the lifespan of Aedes aegypti, carriers of mosquito-borne diseases, and decreases their efficacy of pathogen transmission.

The World Mosquito Program uses safe and natural bacteria called Wolbachia to prevent the transmission of mosquito-borne viral diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

Haemodynamic monitoring is the study of how blood flows through the cardiovascular system (i.e. the heart and blood vessels). The purpose of the cardiovascular system is to deliver blood carrying oxygen and other vital nutrients to the cells and tissues the body.

The results of haemodynamic monitoring allow the healthcare team to check whether a person has:

-enough blood, to decide whether more or less is needed

-a suitable blood pressure

-structural problems with their heart that stops it from working properly

-good heart rate, to decide the heart needs more support.

Both statements are correct.

Open Market Operations (OMOs) are the market operations conducted by the RBI by way of sale/ purchase of G-Secs to/ from the market with an objective to adjust the rupee liquidity conditions in the market on a durable basis.

When the RBI feels that there is excess liquidity in the market, it resorts to sale of securities thereby sucking out the rupee liquidity. Similarly, when the liquidity conditions are tight, RBI may buy securities from the market, thereby releasing liquidity into the market.

The Vice President recently released ‘The State of Young Child in India’ report prepared by Mobile Creches a policy advocacy organisation which works with the underprivileged children across India. It a comprehensive account of the challenges related to early child development in India.

The Young Child Outcomes Index in the report measures health, nutrition and cognitive growth with the help of indicators such as infant mortality rate, stunting and net attendance at the primary school level. As per the report Kerala, Goa, Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Mizoram are among the top five States for well-being of children.

The report has also developed the Young Child Environment Index to understand the policy and environment enablers that influence a child’s well-being. According to the environment index, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh secured the top five positions.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States (AREAS) is an initiative of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).

Statement 2 is correct. Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal agency at the central level for promotion of grid-connected and off-grid renewable energy in the country. Ministry’s programmes are implemented in close coordination with State Nodal Agencies (SNAs) for renewable energy (RE).

Over the period the SNAs have developed considerable knowledge and experience in planning and implementation of RE programmes. For SNAs to interact and learn from each other’s experiences and also share their best practices and knowledge regarding technologies and schemes/programmes, MNRE took an initiative in this regard in consultation with SNAs, and Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States (AREAS) was formed and registered as a society in 2014.

Published recently by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Principles and Guidelines on Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities were adopted jointly by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility.

They have been endorsed by the ICJ and the International Disability Alliance.

Statement 1 is correct. Accelerating CCUS Technologies (ACT) is an initiative to facilitate the emergence of CO2 Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) via transnational funding of projects aimed at accelerating and maturing CCUS technology through targeted innovation and research activities.

ACT is an ERA NET Cofund, which is a tool established by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme for research and innovation.

Statement 2 is correct. The ACT members are funding agencies from: The Alberta province in Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Nordic Region, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, and the USA.

# Department of Science & Technology (DST) recently invited proposals from Indian researchers in the area of Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage (CCUS) under ACT initiative.

Statement 1 is correct. The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its two Optional Protocols.

The ICCPR obligates countries that have ratified the treaty to protect and preserve basic human rights, such as: the right to life and human dignity; equality before the law; freedom of speech, assembly, and association; religious freedom and privacy; freedom from torture, ill-treatment, and arbitrary detention; gender equality; the right to a fair trial; right family life and family unity; and minority rights.

Statement 2 is correct. India acceded to the ICCPR on 10 Apr 1979.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry established by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act 1985.

Statement 2 is correct. The functions of APEDA include:

-Development of industries relating to the scheduled products for export

-Fixing of standards and specifications for the scheduled products for the purpose of exports;

-Improving of packaging of the Scheduled products;

-Improving of marketing of the Scheduled products outside India;

-Promotion of export-oriented production and development of the Scheduled products;

-Training in various aspects of the industries connected with the scheduled products.

# “Scheduled products” means any of the agricultural or processed food products included in the Schedule of the Act, which includes Fruits, Vegetables and their Products, Meat and Meat Products, Poultry and Poultry Products, Dairy Products etc.

Turkey borders both Black Sea as well as Mediterranean Sea.