UPSC Exam: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Aug 25 - Aug 31

Both A and R are incorrect.

Appointed by the British Monarch on the advice of the dominion cabinet.

Both are incorrect.

They are not enforceable by the courts for their violation.

All four are correct

2 and 3 only

1 and 2 only

3 only

Both 1 and 2

1 and 3 only

Karachi, 1931 

2-3-1-4

Only 1 is correct. Helena Blavatsky founded the Theosophical Society in 1875.

Pattabhi Sitaramaiyya

Only 1 is correct. Kakori Conspiracy was hatched by Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan.

V D Savarkar

Both are correct

Both are correct

Bhagat Singh

All are correct

1 only does not flow.

Andhra Pradesh

All four. Tropic of Cancer passes through – Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.

Saffron Cultivation

Vindhya

Arakan Yoma

Palk Strait

Honshu and Kyushu respectively

2, 3 and 5

Andes of South America

Kadaknath chicken gets GI tag- Madhya Pradesh

• The protein-rich meat of Kadaknath, chicks and eggs are sold at a much higher rate than other varieties of chicken.
• The breed is native to Jhabua, Alirajpur and parts of Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

• Assam has an estimated 2,645 rhinos. The 434 sq km Kaziranga National Park has the highest number of the animal in the state.
• The Manas National Park and the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary have around 100 rhinos each while the Orang National Park has around 30 rhinos.

Both are correct. 

• A concentration margin would be levied on individuals and institutions whose exposure account for a major chunk of the total exposure in that respective equity or commodity derivative contract.
• Incidentally, ‘concentration margin’ is a normal practice in many exchanges globally, including the NASDAQ.

Both are correct. 

• Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) launched its latest communication satellite, GSAT-6A, which will provide mobile communication to India through multi beam coverage facility, on board GSLV-F08 from here.
• Isro said the satellite will provide services for defence purposes and will not add any transponder capacity for general uses.
• GSAT-6A’s predecessor GSAT-6 has been in orbit providing communication services since its launch almost three years ago in August 2015.
• Isro’s GSLV-F08 rocket launched the satellite, marking its 12th flight sixth flight with indigenous Cryogenic upper stage.

Both are correct.

• Another high point of the launch of GSAT 6 is the induction of high-thrust Vikas engine and electromechanical actuation system.
• The launch is also crucial since Isro will be validating the high-thrust Vikas engine and other systems which would be eventually used in the future missions, including India’s second moon mission, Chandrayaan-II.
• The satellite will also provide a platform for developing technologies such as demonstration of 6 metre S-Band Unfurlable Antenna for communication purposes, hand-held ground terminals and network management techniques that could be useful in satellite based mobile communication applications, the space agency said.

2 only is correct. 

• Isro is preparing for the launch of a navigation satellite in the 2018-2019 financial year and is also planning to send its second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-II, in this year.
• GSAT-6A, like its predecessor GSAT-6 is a high-power S-band communication satellite built on I-2K satellite bus with a mission life of about ten years.

Both are correct. 

Algorithmic Trading/Algo Trading /Black Box Trading

• It is a trading system that utilizes advanced and complex mathematical models and formulas to make high-speed decisions and transactions in the financial markets.
• Algorithmic trading involves the use of fast computer programs and complex algorithms to create and determine trading strategies for optimal returns.
• Algorithmic trading is not an attempt to make a trading profit. It is simply a way to minimize the cost, market impact and risk in execution of an order
• It is widely used by investment banks, pension funds, mutual funds, and hedge funds because these institutional traders need to execute large orders in markets that cannot support all of the size at once.

Both are correct

2 only is correct. 

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)

• It is a centrally sponsored scheme launched in 2013 to provide strategic funding to eligible State higher educational institutions.
• Despite being voluntary, all States except a Union Territory (Lakshadweep) are a part of RUSA.

Funding

The central funding is in the ratio of

• 60:40 for general category States
• 90:10 for special category states
• 100% for union territories

Funding is conditional to performance

The salient objectives of RUSA are to:

• Ensure reforms in the affiliation, academic and examination systems.
• Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational institutions and ensure capacity building at all levels of employment.
• Create an enabling atmosphere in the higher educational institutions to devote themselves to research and innovations.
• Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities of higher education to SC/STs and socially and educationally backward classes; promote inclusion of women, minorities, and differently abled persons.

So the scheme is largely based on the conditional release of funds linked to reforms in the key areas of governance, learning-teaching outcomes, reaching out to the unreached and infrastructure support.

Both are correct. 

Autism

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by troubles with social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.

There is no definitive cure.

Autism spectrum disorder impacts the nervous system and affects the overall cognitive, emotional, social and physical health of the affected individual.

The effect of autism can be minimized by early diagnosis and with the right interventions.

Both are correct. 

• INS Tarkash (F50) is the fifth Talwar-class frigate constructed for the Indian Navy. She is part of the second batch of Talwar-class frigates ordered by the Indian Navy. She was built at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia. She was commissioned to Navy service on 9 November 2012 at Kaliningrad and joined the Western Naval Command on 27 December 2012.
• Tarkash belongs to the Talwar class of guided missile frigates. These are modified Krivak III-class frigates built by Russia. These ships use stealth technologies and a special hull design to ensure a reduced radar cross section. Much of the equipment on the ship is Russian-made, but a significant number of systems of Indian origin have also been incorporated.

Both are correct. 

• Forest Survey of India (FSI) analyses the data by overlaying the digitised boundaries of forest areas to pinpoint the location to the exact forest compartment.
• The resolution of these satellites are up to 375m x 375m, which means that such fires can be detected if their extent is above half the pixel, i.e. about seven hectares.
• The FSI relays news of the fire to the concerned State, so that the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) in charge of the forest where the fire is raging is informed.

United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Both are correct. 

• Inadequate waste management can cause pollution, growth and multiplication of vectors like insects and rodents and may lead to transmission of diseases like typhoid, cholera and AIDS through syringes and needles. Besides, its impact on environment, especially in developing countries, must also be considered.
• Biomedical wasteis any kind of waste containing infectious (or potentially infectious) materials. It may also include waste associated with the generation of biomedical waste that visually appears to be of medical or laboratory origin (e.g., packaging, unused bandages, infusion kits, etc.), as well research laboratory waste containing biomolecules or organisms that are restricted from environmental release.
• As detailed below, discarded sharps are considered biomedical waste whether they are contaminated or not, due to the possibility of being contaminated with blood and their propensity to cause injury when not properly contained and disposed of. Biomedical waste is a type of biowaste.
• Biomedical waste may be solid or liquid. Examples of infectious waste include discarded blood, sharps, unwanted microbiological cultures and stocks, identifiable body parts (including those as a result of amputation), other human or animal tissue, used bandages and dressings, discarded gloves, other medical supplies that may have been in contact with blood and body fluids, and laboratory waste that exhibits the characteristics described above. Waste sharps include potentially contaminated used (and unused discarded) needles, scalpels, lancets and other devices capable of penetrating skin.

1 only is correct. 

• The Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 seeks to recognise forest rights of forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDSTs) who have been occupying the land before October 25, 1980.

• An FDST nuclear family would be entitled to the land currently occupied subject to a maximum of 2.5 hectares. The land may be allocated in all forests including core areas of National Parks and Sanctuaries.

Both are correct. 

Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

• France is a dialogue partner of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), but it has been clamouring to be a full member. As per the membership criteria, only littoral states can be part of IORA. France claims qualification through its territories in the Indian Ocean.
• India has been positive about French ambitions in IORA. However, the former French colonies of Mauritius and Seychelles are largely opposed to France becoming a member of the IORA as they believe that their voice in the group could get muffled.

Both are correct. 

Indian Ocean Commission

• It is an intergovernmental organization that was created in 1982 at Port Louis, Mauritius and institutionalized in 1984 by the Victoria Agreement in Seychelles.
• The COI is composed of five African Indian Ocean nations: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion (an overseas region of France), and Seychelles.
• COI’s principal mission is to strengthen the ties of friendship between the countries and to be a platform of solidarity for the entire population of the African Indian Ocean region. COI’s mission also includes development, through projects related to sustainability for the region, aimed at protecting the region, improving the living conditions of the populations and preserving the various natural resources that the countries depend on.
• France has also offered that India become a member of the Indian Ocean Commission and encouraged “its growing involvement in European Union projects for the Indian Ocean”.

3 only is correct. 

A seed village is one wherein trained group of fanners are involved in production ‘of seeds of various crops and cater to the needs of themselves, fellow fanners of the village and fanners of neighbouring villages in appropriate time and at affordable cost is called “a seed village”.

Major focus areas are:

• Organizing seed production in cluster (or) compact area
• Replacing existing local varieties with new high yielding varieties.
• Increasing the seed production
• To meet the local demand, timely supply and reasonable cost
• Self-sufficiency and self-reliance of the village
• Increasing the seed replacement rate
• This allows seed to be available at the door steps of farms at an appropriate time and at an affordable cost. It also facilitates fast spread of new cultivars of different kinds.

Both are correct.

• World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grant making, education, and training.
• Every two years WMF publishes the World Monuments Watch (formerly the World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites).