UPSC 2020: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz UPSC 2020: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Jan 03 - Jan 10

All are incorrect.

STATEMENT 1 is incorrect: The maximum strength of the State Council is fixed at one-third of the total strength of the assembly and the minimum strength is fixed at 40. It means that the size of the council depends on the size of the assembly of the concerned state.

STATEMENT 2 is incorrect: The Chairman of the Legislative Council is elected by the council itself from amongst its members and not by the governor.

STATEMENT 3 is incorrect: The Parliament can abolish a legislative council (where it already exists) or create it (where it does not exist), if the legislative assembly of the concerned state passes a resolution to that effect.

Both are incorrect.

STATEMENT 1 is incorrect: A Supreme Court judge holds the office till the age of 65 whereas a HC judge holds the office till the age of 62.

STATEMENT 2 is incorrect: The grounds of removal are two—proved misbehaviour or incapacity.

Read more on the Supreme Court of India.

Both are correct.

Read more on the Right to Education Act.

Both are correct. Read more on the Election Commission of India.

Article 30. Read more on Articles 29 & 30.

Only 1 is correct. The scheme is optional for the farmers who have not availed institutional credit, while all the farmers who have borrowed institutional loans from banks are covered under the scheme mandatorily. Read more on the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

All three are correct.

The Krishi Karman Awards are given to the best performing states in food grain production.

1 is only correct. The System is implemented by the Election Commission.

Both are correct. Read more on Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) at PIB dated 3rd Dec 2019.

Guru Gobind Singh

2 is only correct. The Sikh ruler at that time was Maharaja Duleep Singh. Read more on the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845 – 1846).

British India and Nepal

1 is only correct. It was part of the Third Anglo-Maratha War.

Pindaris

After the second Anglo-Maratha war, Shinde and Holkar had lost many of their territories to the British. They encouraged the Pindaris to raid the British territories. The Pindaris, who were mostly cavalry, came to be known as the Shindeshahi and the Holkarshahi after the patronage they received from the respective defeated Maratha leaders. The total strength of the Pindaris in 1814 was estimated at 33,000. The Pindaris frequently raided villages in Central India. The result of the Pindari raids was that Central India was being rapidly reduced to the condition of a desert because the peasants were unable to support themselves on the land. They had no option but to join the robber bands or starve. In 1815, 25,000 Pindaris entered the Madras Presidency and destroyed over 300 villages on the Coromandel Coast. Another band swept the Nizam’s kingdom while a third entered Malabar. Other Pindari raids on British territory followed in 1816 and 1817. Francis Rawdon-Hastings saw that there could not be peace or security in India until the predatory Pindaris were extinguished and launched an operation against them during the Third Anglo-Maratha War.

Name of the first interstellar object discovered in our solar system

Only 1 and 3

Recently, Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway celebrated the 10th anniversary of its official opening. It is located on a remote island in the Arctic Ocean and it houses the world’s largest collection of seeds. The seeds can be of use in the event of a global catastrophe or when some species is lost due to natural disasters. It is therefore also referred to as the doomsday vault.

A temperature of -18 degree Celsius is required for optimal storage of the seeds, which are stored and sealed in custom made three-ply foil packages. The low temperature and moisture levels inside the Vault ensure low metabolic activity, keeping the seeds viable for long periods of time.

All of the above

• Millets are naturally rich in nutrients such as iron, zinc and calcium, among others.
• Till recently, these grains were addressed as coarse cereals, now, they have been renamed as nutri-cereals.
• It requires minimum inputs and is an economically viable option if marketing avenues are created.
• Millets can grow in poor soil conditions with less water, fertiliser and pesticides.
• They can withstand higher temperatures, making them the perfect choice as ‘climate-smart’ cereals.
• As against the requirement of 5,000 litres of water to grow one kilogram of rice, millets need hardly 250-300 litres.
• Millets are being seen as a solution to lifestyle disorders.
• As urban consumers cope with a range of lifestyle-related disorders, these grains are gradually gaining in popularity.
• Small millets such as kodo and kutki, among others, have a cultivation history of 3,000-5,000 years and were major food crops once upon a time.
• They might prove to be a potential new tool for the government to fight socio-economic issues such as malnutrition and rural poverty while addressing sustainability concerns.

All of the above

Harmful effects of Plastic on:

Environment:

• The surfaces of tiny fragments of plastic may carry disease-causing organisms and act as a vector for diseases in the environment. Microplastics can also interact with soil fauna, affecting their health and soil functions.
• For example earthworms, make their burrows differently when microplastics are present in the soil, which affects the earthworm’s fitness and the soil condition.
• Chlorinated plastic can release harmful chemicals into the surrounding soil, which can then seep into groundwater or other surrounding water sources, and also the ecosystem.
• This causes a range of potentially harmful effects on the species that drink the water.
• With the breakdown of plastic particles, they gain new physical and chemical properties, increasing the risk that they will have a toxic effect on organisms.
• Also it is observed that the larger the number of potentially affected species and ecological functions, the more likely it is that toxic effects will occur.

Health:

• Additives such as phthalates and Bisphenol A (widely known as BPA) leach out of plastic particles.
• These additives are known for their hormonal effects and can disrupt the hormone system of vertebrates and invertebrates alike. In addition, nano-sized particles may cause inflammation, traverse cellular barriers, and even cross highly selective membranes such as the blood-brain barrier or the placenta.
• Within the cell, they can trigger changes in gene expression and biochemical reactions.
• It has already been shown that when passing the blood-brain barrier nanoplastics have a behaviour-changing effect in fish.

All of the above

Only 2 and 3

Both 1 and 2 are correct.

World Bank

All of the above

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