10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: December 18, 2020

Statement 1 is incorrect. India’s communication satellite CMS-01 was successfully launched by PSLV-C50 on Wednesday December 17, 2020 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

The CMS-01 is envisaged to provide services in the Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum whose coverage will include the Indian mainland, Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. The satellite will be the first in a new series of communication satellites by India after the GSAT and INSAT series.

Statement 2 is correct. After injection, the solar panels of CMS-01 were automatically deployed and ISRO’s Master Control Facility at Hassan has assumed the control of the satellite. In the coming days, orbit raising manoeuvers will be executed to position the satellite in the Geostationary Orbit at its designated location.

Statement 1 is correct. Project Loon, which comprises of helium-filled balloons that aim to deliver internet access to remote parts of the world. These high-altitude balloons are found in the stratosphere and create aerial wireless networks.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Project Loon belongs to Alphabet’s moonshot company X. (Alphabet is parent company of Google).

Last year, the subsidiary announced that its balloons reached 1 million hours of stratospheric flight. And in October, it was revealed that Loon set a new record for the longest stratospheric flight by staying in air for 312 days.

The balloons navigate up or down in the altitude to catch a favorable wind current that takes them to the desired direction. There is no manual control on when the helium balloons will ascend or descend. So, this decision is taken by the data mined by sophisticated algorithms.

Statement 1 is correct. The UK is among the few countries with which India has a trade surplus and both nations share a trade relation of over $15 billion annually.

Statement 2 is incorrect. India and the UK recently agreed on key elements of a 10-year roadmap to enhance their relationship and pledged to fast track talks on a free trade agreement.

India had earlier been negotiating a broad-based trade and investment agreement (BTIA) with the EU. Although talks on India-EU BTIA started in 2007, it has been stuck in issues including market access for automobiles and alcohol and inclusion of labour and environment matters in the pact.

Statement 1 is incorrect. 2020 Human Development Report, ‘The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene‘ has been published by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme.

Statement 2 is correct. India ranked 131 among 189 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) for 2019, slipping two places from the previous year, according to the Human Development Report (HDR) 2020.

India’s HDI value for 2019 is 0.645, which put the country in the medium human development category, positioning it at 131 out of 189 countries and territories. Between 1990 and 2019, India’s HDI value increased from 0.429 to 0.645, an increase of 50.3%.

Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Iceland complete the top five.

The Human Freedom Index presents the state of human freedom in the world based on a broad measure that encompasses personal, civil, and economic freedom. The report is co‐ published by the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute.

The Human Freedom Index 2020, which uses data from 2008 to 2018, by the Cato Institute in the United States and Fraser Institute in Canada, noted a decrease in personal freedoms since 2008 globally.

The jurisdictions that took the top 10 places, in order, were New Zealand, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Estonia, and Germany and Sweden (tied in 9th place).

India ranks at 111 out of 162 countries, China at 129 rank, Bangladesh at 139 and Pakistan at 140.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The right to protest in not explicitly mentioned under the constitution. It is derived from the right to free speech and expression [19(1) (a)]; and right to assemble peacefully without arms [19(1) (b)].

Statement 2 is correct. Article 19 (3) provides that State can make any law imposing, in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right to assemble peaceably and without arms.

The Kushiyara River is a distributary river in Bangladesh and Assam, India. It forms on the India-Bangladesh border as a branch of the Barak River, when the Barak separates into the Kushiyara and Surma. The Kushiyara flows westward forming the boundary between Assam, India, and the Sylhet District of Bangladesh.

At the India-Bangladesh Virtual Summit Bangladesh requested India to inform its border authorities to allow excavation work of the remaining portion of the Rahimpur Khal for utilization of Kushiyara River waters for irrigation purposes. India was also requested to provide early concurrence on the proposed MoU to be signed between the two countries for monitoring the withdrawal of water from the Kushiyara River by both the sides, pending signing of the Treaty/Agreement regarding sharing of water of the Kushiyara River.

Turkey is bounded on the north by the Black Sea, on the northeast by Georgia and Armenia, on the east by Azerbaijan and Iran, on the southeast by Iraq and Syria, on the southwest and west by the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea, and on the northwest by Greece and Bulgaria.

Statement 1 is correct. The Cabinet Committee on Security has announced the National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector, which will mandate service providers to purchase equipment from trusted sources.

The list of the trusted source and product will be decided based on approval of a committee headed by the deputy national security advisor. The committee will consist of members from relevant departments, ministries and will also have two members from the industry and independent experts. The committee will be called the national security committee on telecom.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Telecom service providers (TSPs) are required to connect new devices that are designated trusted products. The present directive does not envisage mandatory replacement of the existing equipment already inducted in the network of TSPs.

Both statements are incorrect.

The Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the formal recognition of Yogasana as a competitive sport recently.

Minister of Sports stated that it is being planned to include Yogasana as a Sport discipline in Khelo India and in the University Games and we will also pitch it at the National Games.

The Secretary AYUSH gave a presentation and explained that the sports discipline of Yogasana is likely to have 51 medals in 4 events & 7 categories. The proposed events for both men and women include Traditional Yogasana, Artistic Yogasana (Single), Artistic Yogasana (Pair), Rhythmic Yogasana (Pair), Free Flow/Group Yogasana, Individual All Round – Championship and Team Championship.