Daily Quiz #7 UPSC Prelims Marathon – August 8, 2019

Explanation:
•Uranium Corporation of India Limited was incorporated on 4th October 1967. It is a Public Sector Enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy with a special standing at the forefront of Nuclear Power cycle. Fulfilling the requirement of uranium for the Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors, UCIL plays a very significant role in nuclear power generation of the country.
•Uranium ore mined in India are of very low grade as compared to those available in other countries. After recovery of uranium in the mill, bulk of the material processed emerges as tailings. Its radioactivity content is very low. The tailings slurry along with liquid effluents is neutralized with lime to remove the soluble daughter nuclides and heavy metals. The coarse fraction is used to backfill the mines.
•The slurry containing fine particles is pumped into a tailing pond where the solids settle and the water effluent from the pond is received back at the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) where it is treated to ensure that it conforms to the limits prescribed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the Pollution Control Board.

Explanation: the Rotterdam Convention was adopted on 10 September 1998 by a Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Convention entered into force on 24 February 2004. The Convention covers pesticides and industrial chemicals that have been banned or severely restricted for health or environmental reasons by Parties and which have been notified by Parties for inclusion in the PIC procedure. One notification from each of two specified regions triggers consideration of addition of a chemical to Annex III of the Convention. Severely hazardous pesticide formulations that present a risk under conditions of use in developing countries or countries with economies in transition may also be proposed for inclusion in Annex III. The Convention creates legally binding obligations for the implementation of the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure. It built on the voluntary PIC procedure, initiated by UNEP and FAO in 1989 and ceased on 24 February 2006.

Explanation: The Bio-NEST (Bio-Incubator Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies) was supported by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a unit of the Department of Biotechnology. Bio-NEST was launched by BIRAC with a vision that focused on fostering the biotech innovation ecosystem in the country. Unlike start ups in the IT sector, enterprising ideas in the biotech sector need incubation support of a different kind where they need a landing space to test their ideas, run their operations, have access to high end instrumentations and locate in a place where they connect with other start ups and mentors. Bio-NEST program provides support to establish bio-incubators either as a standalone entity or as a part of the academia. Through Bio-NEST, BIRAC has supported 40 bio-incubators creating a cumulative area of 391849 sq. ft. for budding entrepreneurs.

Explanation: Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) is the lead Centre for development and realization of earth-to-orbit advanced propulsion stages for Launch Vehicles and also the in-space propulsion systems for Spacecrafts. The LPSC activities and facilities are spread across its two campuses viz., LPSC Headquarters and Design Offices at Valiamala/Thiruvananthapuram, and Spacecraft Propulsion Systems Unit at LPSC, Bangalore/Karnataka.

Explanation: In June 2018, the international community gathered in Vienna to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE+50). During this meet, India announced a capacity building training programme UNNATI (UNispace Nanosatellite Assembly &Training by ISRO) on Nanosatellites development through a combination of theoretical coursework and hands-on training on Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT). The first batch of the above programme began on January 15th, 2019 and extends upto March 15th, 2019. 30 participants from 17 countries were chosen for the first batch of the UNNATI programme. Theoretical sessions of the programme are scheduled in ISRO Guest House, Devanahalli and the practical sessions will be held in URSC campus.