UPSC 2022: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Apr 16 - Apr 22

Solar dehydration is used as a way to preserve natural produce, thereby reducing food wastage.
Equipment such as Solar Conduction Dryer (SCD), a portable solar-powered machine that dries vegetables and spices while retaining nutrients are used for dehydrating the natural produce.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are cryptographic assets on blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from each other.
They cannot be traded or exchanged at equivalency like cryptocurrencies.

“Momentum for Change: Climate Neutral Now” is an initiative spearheaded by the UNFCCC Secretariat.

• Uttarakhand is geologically unstable and ecologically sensitive.
• Due to anthropological factors, the frequency and intensity of natural hazards have increased in the fragile state over the last few decades.
• Due to its topography and geology, the state faces the risk of calamitous events like flash floods/floods, cloudbursts, earthquakes, landslides, mudflows, and forest fires among others.

• There is an apparent impact of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on drafting Part III (Fundamental Rights) of the Indian Constitution.
• Every citizen is guaranteed basic human rights under the Indian Constitution.
• India has acceded to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN.
• As per the provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act of 1993, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was established in 1993 as an independent statutory body as a watchdog of human rights in the country.

• ASEAN was founded in 1967 with five members: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. India is not a founding member.
• It is headquartered in Jakarta.
• Myanmar which is a member of ASEAN shares its land border with India.
• ASEAN grouping is not open for membership to all countries in the Asia-Pacific region. ASEAN is an organisation of South-East Asian Nations only.

The Japan Self-Defence Forces also referred to as the Self-Defence Forces (SDF), is the unified military forces of Japan that were established in 1954, and are controlled by the Ministry of Defence.

• The indentured labour system soon died after Gandhi left South Africa. Mahatma Gandhi was instrumental in the abolition of the system of ‘indentured labour’.
• Gandhi did support the resolution on recruiting Indians for World War.
• Consequent to the breaking of the Salt Law by the Indian people, the Indian National Congress was declared illegal by the colonial rulers.

Biopiles and Bioreactors represent ex situ bioremediation techniques.

• Detritus food chain is the type of food chain that starts with dead organic materials. The dead organic substances are decomposed by microorganisms. The organisms that feed on dead organic matter or detritus, are known as detritivores or decomposers. These detritivores are later eaten by predators. In the detritus food chain, the excreted products by one organism is utilized by another organism.
• The detritus food chain helps in solving inorganic nutrients.
• Compared to other kinds of food chains, the detritus food chain has much larger energy flow in a terrestrial ecosystem.

• Eutrophication is the process in which a water body becomes overly enriched with nutrients, leading to plentiful growth of simple plant life. The excessive growth (or bloom) of algae and plankton in a water body are indicators of this process.
• As silt and organic debris pile up, there is increased warming observed in the lake.
• As silt and organic debris pile up, the lake grows shallower and warmer, with warm-water organisms supplanting those that thrive in a cold environment

The four major causes of loss of biodiversity are

• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation
• Over Exploitation
• Alien species invasions
• Co-extinctions

• Secondary succession is faster than primary succession.
• A particular seral stage of succession can be converted to an earlier stage, either naturally or by human intervention.

Wildlife Sanctuaries can be created for a particular species, whereas the National Parks are not primarily focused on a particular species.

• The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate was approved at the IPCC’s 51st Session in September 2019 in Monaco.
• This report assessed the latest scientific knowledge about the physical science basis and impacts of climate change on ocean, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems, and the human communities that depend on them. It also evaluated their vulnerabilities and adaptation capacity and determined that the ocean and cryosphere play a critical role in sustaining life.
• In particular, it shows that the ocean has taken up more than 90% of the heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions and is reducing warming on land. Ocean warming, together with ocean acidification (from carbon dioxide uptake), loss of oxygen, and changes in nutrient supplies is affecting the distribution and abundance of marine life in coastal areas, including in the open ocean and at the seafloor.
• Glaciers and ice sheets all around the world are losing mass at an increasing rate.
• This shows that climate change is rapidly changing these two systems which has larger implications for humanity if remains unchecked.

Self-Explanatory

Grasslands rarely receive enough rain to support trees, however they do possess enough soil nutrients to feed large, grassy expanses.

• Sorbitol tends to be commonly found in fruits like apples, apricots, avocado, blackberries, cherries, lychee, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, and prunes. Sorbitol is also manufactured and used as an artificial sweetener. Consuming sorbitol or other sugar alcohols in large amounts can cause bloating and diarrhea in some people, especially if you’re not used to regularly consuming them.
• Formaldehyde is a simple chemical compound made of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon. All life forms – bacteria, plants, fish, animals and humans – naturally produce formaldehyde as part of cell metabolism. Formaldehyde is formed primarily by the combustion of organic materials and several natural and anthropogenic actions. Secondary formation of formaldehyde happens in the atmosphere through oxidation of natural and anthropogenic volatile organic compounds. Formaldehyde’s production and use in the manufacture of resins, preservatives, disinfectants, and a variety of other chemicals may cause its release into the environment through various waste streams.

• Defense Production Act of USA was passed in 1950 in response to the Korean War.
• The act grants emergency powers that allow the U.S. government to control private-sector production decisions.
• As a consequence of the U.S.’s Defense Production Act, federal government purchase orders have to be prioritised over foreign orders.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the US placed export controls on raw materials for COVID-19 vaccines.
• Exports of critical raw materials used in the production of some Covid-19 vaccines were blocked by the US as a result of Biden’s decision to invoke the US Defense Production Act.
• The US restrictions hit the output of major suppliers for the world. This includes vaccines like Covishield and Covovax, which the Serum Institute of India was expected to supply.

• Compulsory licensing (CL) is when a government allows someone else to produce a patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner or plans to use the patent-protected invention itself.
• It is one of the flexibilities in the field of patent protection included in the WTO’s agreement on intellectual property — the TRIPS.
• When a CL is issued, the patent owner would still continue to have rights over the patent, including a right to be paid compensation for copies of the products made under the compulsory licence.

• The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal has been set up under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has been established under the Ministry of Home Affairs to act as a nodal point in the fight against cybercrime.
• I4C has envisaged the Cyber Crime Volunteers Program to bring together citizen volunteers on a single platform to help them contribute to the fight against cybercrime by flagging any unlawful content for facilitating law enforcement agencies.

• India has procured the C-17 Globemaster from the USA.
• C-17 Globemaster is manufactured by Boeing.
• It is a large military transport aircraft used for tactical and strategic airlift missions to transport troops, cargo including heavy weaponry, medical evacuation and airdrop duties.

Deep Time project was held in the Lombrives Cave in France.
Deep Time project investigated how a lack of external contact would affect the sense of time.
It aimed at studying how people adapt to drastic changes in living conditions, environments.

• The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas.
• It is situated to the North of Nubra Valley.

• Forest fires have continued to rage across Mizoram even 48 hours after its breakout.
• The Assam Rifles had deployed personnel and firefighting equipment to the district, while the Indian Air Force had deployed two Mi-17V5 helicopters, equipped with Bambi Buckets, to douse the fire.

India has been ranked 49th in the 2021 edition of the Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI). Finland takes the top spot on the CGGI list.
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions has launched the Good Governance Index (GGI). The purpose behind developing a comprehensive index, termed as Good Governance Index (GGI), is to create a tool that can be used uniformly across the state, and eventually district level, to assess the status of governance and the impact of various interventions taken up by Central and State Governments.

All the statements are correct.

Kundankulam nuclear power plant involves collaboration with Russia.

Project DANTAK was established on April 24, 1961, as a result of the visionary leadership of His Majesty the Third King and then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. Identifying the utmost importance of connectivity in spurring the socio-economic development and growth of Bhutan, DANTAK was tasked with constructing the pioneering motorable roads in the Kingdom.
Over the years, DANTAK has met the myriad infrastructure requirements in Bhutan.
Project DANTAK is commemorating its Diamond Jubilee in Bhutan. Over 1,200 DANTAK personnel laid down their lives while constructing important infrastructure in Bhutan.

While fixing the Minimum Support Price for agricultural produce of all crops, providing free electricity supply to farmers and waiver of agricultural loans by the banking system do not result in any form of capital formation and constitute revenue expenditure for the state, the measures such as Computerization of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, Social Capital Development and Setting up of cold storage facilities by the government amount to public investment in agriculture.