10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: September 23, 2020

Statement 1 is correct. The United Nations Charter established six main organs of the United Nations, including the Security Council. It gives primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security to the Security Council, which may meet whenever peace is threatened.

According to the Charter, the United Nations has four purposes:

-to maintain international peace and security;

-to develop friendly relations among nations;

-to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights;

-to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

Statement 2 is correct. Uniting for Consensus (UFC) also called the Coffee Club developed in the 1990s in opposition to the possible expansion of permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council.

It aims to counter the bids for permanent seats proposed by G4 nations (Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan) and is calling for a consensus before any decision is reached on the form and size of the Security Council.

In 2005, Italy, Argentina, Canada, Colombia and Pakistan, representing a larger group of countries called Uniting for Consensus led by Italy, proposed to the General Assembly another project that maintains five permanent members and raises the number of non-permanent members to 20.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education.

It is not a statutory body but a society registered under the Societies Registration Act.

Statement 2 is correct. The major objectives of NCERT and its constituent units are to:

-undertake, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education;

-prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, journals and develops educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc.

-organise pre-service and in-service training of teachers;

-develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices;

-act as a nodal agency for achieving the goals of Universalisation of Elementary Education.

The World Energy Outlook (WEO), International Energy Agency’s flagship publication, provides critical analysis and insights on trends in energy demand and supply, and what they mean for energy security, environmental protection and economic development.

The first WEO was published in 1977 and it has been an annual publication since 1998.

International Energy Agency (IEA), in collaboration with NITI Aayog, presented a ‘Special Report on Sustainable Recovery’ recently.

Part of IEA’s flagship World Energy Outlook series, the report proposes a number of actions that could be taken over the next three years to revitalize economies and boost employment while making energy systems cleaner and more resilient.

The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is mandated to recommend minimum support prices (MSPs) to incentivize the cultivators to adopt modern technology, and raise productivity and overall grain production in line with the emerging demand patterns in the country.

CACP submits its recommendations to the government in the form of Price Policy Reports every year, separately for five groups of commodities namely Kharif crops, Rabi crops, Sugarcane, Raw Jute and Copra.

As of now, CACP recommends MSPs of 23 commodities, which comprise 7 cereals (paddy, wheat, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, barley and ragi), 5 pulses (gram, tur, moong, urad, lentil), 7 oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, soyabean, seasmum, sunflower, safflower, nigerseed), and 4 commercial crops (copra, sugarcane, cotton and raw jute).

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) of the Union government takes a final decision on the level of MSPs and other recommendations made by CACP.

Both statements are correct.

Terms of trade are defined as the ratio between the index of export prices and the index of import prices. It measures how many units of exports are required to purchase a single unit of imports.

If the export prices increase more than the import prices, a country has a positive Terms of Trade, as for the same amount of exports, it can purchase more imports.

The ratio is calculated by dividing the price of the exports by the price of the imports and multiplying the result by 100.

When more capital is leaving the country than is entering into the country then the country’s TOT is less than 100%. When the TOT is greater than 100%, the country is accumulating more capital from exports than it is spending on imports.

The 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by establishing standard traffic rules among the contracting parties.

The convention was agreed upon at the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Conference on Road Traffic, 1968 and concluded in Vienna on 8 November 1968. It came into force on 21 May 1977.

Statement 1 is correct. The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic is the newest of three conventions that governs International Driving Permits. The other two are the 1926 Paris International Convention relative to Motor Traffic and the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic.

Statement 2 is incorrect. India has not signed or ratified the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic 1968. India has signed and ratified the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic.

# The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has advised the States and Union Territory administrations to stamp International Convention of Road Traffic of 19th September 1949 on the first page of International Driving Permit, IDP issued by them.

Viruses are small particles of genetic material that are surrounded by a protein coat.

Statement 1 is correct. Each one consists of genetic material—either DNA or RNA—encapsulated in a protein pocket called a capsid. Some are additionally enveloped in a soft, lipid wrapping.

Statement 2 is correct. Due to their simple structure, viruses cannot move or even reproduce without the help of a host cell. But when it finds a host, a virus can multiply and spread rapidly.

To identify the correct host, viruses have evolved receptors on their surfaces that match up with those of their ideal target cell, letting the virus get its genetic material inside and hijack its host’s cellular machinery to help it reproduce by multiplying the virus’ genetic material and proteins.

# Viruses and bacteria are two types of potentially disease-causing (pathogenic) particles. Viruses are much smaller than bacteria and can’t reproduce without the assistance of a host. Bacteria are capable of reproducing on their own.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Myelin is an insulating layer, or sheath that forms around nerves, including those in the brain and spinal cord. It is made up of protein and fatty substances.

Statement 2 is correct. This myelin sheath allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along the nerve cells. If myelin is damaged, these impulses slow down. This can cause diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

# Coronaviruses have been postulated to cause demyelinating disease through the direct effect on oligodendrocytes (cells in the nervous system), and through immune mechanisms in which similarities between the virus and myelin lead to T-cells attacking the body’s own myelin. [The Hindu]

Option 1 is incorrectly matched. Hypoesthesia is a decrease in your normal sensations such as touch or temperature.

Anosmia is an absent or decreased sense of smell.

Option 2 is correctly matched. Ageusia is the loss of taste functions of the tongue.

Option 3 is correctly matched. Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep at night

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. SAARC comprises of eight Member States: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on 17 January 1987.

Statement 1 is correct. The observer countries to the SAARC are Australia, China, the European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and the United States..

Statement 2 is correct. The Agreement for the Establishment of South Asian University was signed by the Ministers of Foreign/External Affairs of SAARC countries during the Fourteenth SAARC Summit (New Delhi, 2007). SAU started its operations from the academic year 2010