UPSC 2021: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz May 08 - May 14

Statement 3 is incorrect.

Primary Deficit is Fiscal Deficit net of Interest Payment. Primary Deficit is the difference between the current year’s fiscal deficit (total income – total expenditure of the government) and the interest paid on the borrowings. The surplus of Revenue Expenditure over Revenue Receipts is Revenue Deficit. The excess of total expenditure over total receipts excluding borrowings is called Fiscal Deficit.

1 and 3 only are correct.

1 and 2 only are correct.

• National Health Authority is the apex body responsible for implementing Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).
• National Health Authority is the successor of the National Health Agency, which was functioning as a registered society.
• NHA is governed by a Governing Board chaired by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare. It is headed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), an officer of the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, who manages its affairs.

Only statement 3 is correct.

• Qutub-ud-din-Aibak laid the foundation of the Qutb Minar in Delhi.
• It was named after a Sufi saint Khwaja Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki.
• Qutb Minar was completed by Aibak’s successor and son-in-law Iltutmish.
• Firoz Shah Tughlaq replaced the top storey which was damaged by lightning and also added one more storey.
• Qutub Minar is a centrally-protected monument under the ASI, and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Only 2 is correctly matched. Operation Samudra Setu: INS Jalashwa and INS Magar; Operation Nistar: INS Sunayna

All the statements are correct.

All the statements are incorrect.

• “Ekuverin” is the bilateral military exercise conducted between India and the Maldives.
• The Indian Air Force recently delivered 6.2 million tonnes of essential medicines to the Maldives under Operation Sanjeevani.
• India is the fourth largest trade partner of the Maldives after the UAE, China and Singapore.

1 and 3 only are correct.

• Sa-Dhan is an association of microfinance institutions (MFIs) recognized by the RBI.
• It is also recognized as National Support Organization (NSO) by the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).
• It was given the status of a self-regulatory organization (SRO) by RBI in 2015.
• This gave it the powers to monitor MFIs and ensure the lenders are in compliance with the rules.
• Sa-Dhan was the second association in the business of micro-lending to be given the SRO status by RBI.
• The first one to be given SRO status was the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN).

1 only is correct.

• Rath Yatra is a festival dedicated to Lord Jagannath (Lord Krishna), Goddess Subhadra (his sister) and Lord Balaram (his elder brother).
• Rath Yatra is widely celebrated and is one of the biggest festivals of India.
• The term especially refers to the annual Rath Yatra in Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and other East Indian states, particularly, the Odia festival.
• The Puri Yatra to the maternal uncle’s place is also called the Gundicha Yatra, named after Gundicha Devi, the maternal aunt of Lord Jagannath.
• It is not included in UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.

1 and 2 only are correct.

• Luhman 16 is a binary star system.
• It is the third closest system to the Sun after Alpha Centauri and Barnard’s star.
• This pair of brown dwarfs referred to as Luhman 16A and Luhman 16B orbit each other, casting a dim light.
• They are at a distance of about 6.5 light-years from the Sun.

2 and 3 only are correct.

• On January 30 2019, the Indian Sundarbans was accorded the status of ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention.
• It is the 27th Ramsar Site in India.
• The part of the Sundarbans delta, which lies in Bangladesh, was accorded the status of a Ramsar site in 1992.
• It is a UNESCO world heritage site.

All the statements are correct.

• The marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) refers to the minimum interest rate of a bank below which it cannot lend, except in some cases allowed by the RBI.
• It is an internal benchmark or reference rate for the bank.
• The MCLR methodology for fixing interest rates for advances was introduced by the Reserve Bank of India with effect from April 1, 2016. This new methodology replaced the base rate system introduced in July 2010.

All the statements are correct.

• Styrene is an organic compound with the formula C8H8. It is a derivative of benzene (C6H6).
• Styrene is also produced naturally in some plants.
• Short-term exposure to the substance can result in respiratory problems, irritation in the eyes, irritation in the mucous membrane, and gastrointestinal issues.
• Styrene is a chemical used to make latex, synthetic rubber, and polystyrene resins.

2, 4 and 7 are not members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

• BCG vaccine is primarily used to protect children against TB in high-risk countries.
• Lopinavir-ritonavir is used for treating HIV, ribavirin for treating chronic hepatitis C virus, and injectable interferon beta-1b is used by multiple sclerosis patients.

All the statements are correct. Read more about the Tenth Schedule.

Both statements are correct.

• Sal forest tortoise has been recently assessed as critically endangered.
• According to the IUCN, the population of the species may have fallen by about 80% in the last three generations (90 years). Once widely distributed the Sal tortoise is now no longer common over its habitat.
• Being widely distributed does not mean that it cannot be threatened.

All the statements are correct. Read more on the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Both are incorrect.

• Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated in the Eastern Ladakh region.
  • An endorheic basin is a limited drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans.
• It is not a part of the Indus river basin area and forms a separate geographically landlocked river basin.
• It extends from India to the Tibetan Autonomous Region, China. Approximately 60% of the length of the lake lies within the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

All the statements are correct.

• The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay.
• ELISA assay technique is designed for detecting and quantifying substances such as peptides, proteins, antibodies and hormones.
• Because the ELISA can be used to evaluate either the presence of antigen or the presence of antibody in a sample, it is a useful tool for detecting various kind of diseases, such as dengue, malaria, HIV test or West Nile virus.
• It has also found applications in the food industry in detecting potential food allergens, such as milk, peanuts, walnuts, almonds and eggs.
• ELISA can also be used in toxicology as a rapid presumptive screen for certain classes of drugs.

Cholanaikkans are a prominent tribe of Kerala.

Both statements are correct. Read more about the League of Nations.

Statement 1 is only correct.

• Article 23 of the Indian Constitution provides for the right against forced labour.
• Article 42 of the Indian Constitution deals with ensuring just human conditions of work and maternity leaves.
• It is one of the Directive Principles of State Policy and is not legally enforceable by law.

Both statements are correct regarding the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

Dahla Dam recently seen in news is in Afghanistan.

Karl Marx explained the process of class struggle with the help of dialectical materialism. Dialectical materialism is a philosophy of science, history, and nature developed in Europe and based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.