UPSC 2021: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Oct 02 - Oct 08

1, 3 and 4 only are correct.

• The current account deficit is a measurement of a country’s trade where the value of the goods and services it imports exceeds the value of its exports.
• If the currency is overvalued, imports will be cheaper, and therefore there will be a higher quantity of imports resulting in a Current Account Deficit.
• One of the reasons for the Current Account Surplus is an increase in exports.
• A period of consumer-led economic growth will cause deterioration in the current account. Higher consumer spending will lead to higher spending on imports. The recession of 2009 also led to a temporary improvement in the deficit as consumers cut back on spending.
• If a country’s inflation rises faster than its main competitors then it will make the exports less competitive and imports more competitive for that country. This will lead to deterioration in the current account.

3 only is correct.

• Environment Pollution Control Authority is a Supreme Court-mandated body tasked with taking various measures to tackle air pollution in the Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region).
• The body is constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• It is mandated to enforce the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region).
• The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) is a national initiative introduced by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to measure the air quality of a metropolitan city, by measuring the overall pollution level and the location-specific air quality of the city.

2, 3, 4 and 5 only have the GI tag.

• Channapatna toys – Karnataka, Etikoppa Toys and Kondapalli Bommalu (Toys) – Andhra Pradesh have been given the Geographical Indication Tag.
• Sawantwadi toys refer to handmade works of art made of wood in Sawantwadi, a town in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.
• To mark the occasion of 151 years of postcards in India, Maharashtra Circle of India Post will release picture postcards on ‘Sawantwadi Toys’. The postcard is inspired by the Prime Minister’s speech on the country’s ability to become a “toy hub”.

All three are correct.

• BrahMos is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO) and the NPOM of Russia.
• Brahmos is named after the rivers Brahmaputra of India and Moskva of Russia.
• BrahMos is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage which brings it to supersonic speed and then gets separated. The liquid ramjet or the second stage then takes the missile closer to 3 Mach speed in cruise phase.
• It can be launched from land, air, and sea.

Statement 2 only is correct.

• Mizoram shares an international border with Myanmar and Bangladesh.
• Among States, Mizoram has the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes (94.43) and Uttar Pradesh has the lowest proportion of Scheduled Tribes (0.57).
• It has the highest proportion of tribal population among all the states in India.
• Tripura, Manipur and Assam border the state.

All three are correct.

• CQV belongs to the Simbu serogroup.
• One of the arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), the CQV may cause febrile illnesses, meningitis, and paediatric encephalitis among humans.
• Arbovirus is an informal name used to refer to any viruses that are transmitted by arthropod vectors.
• It infects both humans and economically important livestock species.
• The presence of CQV in Culex mosquitoes in China and pigs in Vietnam suggests the susceptibility of Asian countries to CQV.

None of the statements is incorrect.

Both statements are incorrect.

• Malabar Exercise is an annual Trilateral Maritime Exercise conducted between the navies of India, the United States and Japan.
• Although it started off in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between India and the US, Japan joined in 2015 to make it a trilateral exercise.

Statement 1 is incorrect.

• The RBI Governor will chair the committee.
• The governor does not enjoy a veto power to overrule the other panel members but will have a casting vote in case of a tie.
• The committee will have six members. Of the six members, the government will nominate three. No government official will be nominated to the MPC.
• The other three members would be from the RBI with the governor being the ex-officio chairperson.
• Members of the MPC will be appointed for a period of four years and shall not be eligible for reappointment.

Statement 1 is only correct.

• Marginal standing facility (MSF) is the rate at which banks can borrow overnight funds from RBI against the approved government securities.
• It is a window for banks to borrow from the Reserve Bank of India in an emergency situation when inter-bank liquidity dries up completely.
• Banks borrow from the central bank by pledging government securities at a rate higher than the repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility. The MSF rate is pegged 100 basis points or a percentage point above the repo rate.
• Generally, banks are allowed to borrow under MSF within a cap (based on SLR reserves or NDTL). An increase in this cap will open up more avenues for the bank to borrow from the RBI. Hence an increase in the cap for MSF will increase liquidity with banks.

1, 2, 4 and 5 only are correct. Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan border the Caspian Sea.

Both are correct.

• Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) indicates the proportion of highly liquid assets held by banks to ensure their ability to meet short-term obligations.
• The LCR is calculated by dividing a bank’s high-quality liquid assets by its total net cash flows, over a 30-day stress period. The high-quality liquid assets include only those with a high potential to be converted easily and quickly into cash.

2, 3 and 5 only are correct.

• The crops that are sown in the rainy season are called Kharif crops.
• The crops that are sown in the winter season are called Rabi crops.
• Rice, Cotton, Groundnut, Fennel, Soyabean are Kharif crops.
• The Rabi crops in India are wheat, barley, mustard, sesame and peas.

• The landlocked mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh is the subject of an unresolved dispute between Azerbaijan, in which it lies, and its ethnic Armenian majority, backed by neighbouring Armenia.
• Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh.
• It is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Naujawan Bharat Sabha was founded by Bhagat Singh in 1926. Members from the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities were there in the organization. In the year 1929, the association was banned.

2 and 4 only are correct.

1. World Economic Outlook: International Monetary Fund
2. Global Competitiveness Report: World Economic Forum
3. Ease of Doing Business Report: World Bank
4. Global Economic Prospects Report: World Bank

1, 2 and 5 only are correct. Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).

Statement 2 is incorrect. Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip in North-eastern Afghanistan. It separates Tajikistan from Pakistan.

1 and 3 only are correct. Copernicus is an ambitious Earth observation programme. It is coordinated and managed by the European Commission in partnership with the European Space Agency, the EU Member States and EU Agencies. Copernicus is the new name for the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme, previously known as GMES.

Sajjangarh wildlife sanctuary is located in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district.

2 and 3 are incorrect. Rule Number 373 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business provides for the suspension of MPs by the Speaker of the House. While the Speaker is empowered to place a member under suspension, the authority for revocation of this order is not vested in him/her. It is for the House, if it so desires, to resolve on a motion to revoke the suspension. Unlike the Speaker, the Rajya Sabha Chairman does not have the power to suspend a member.

1 only is correct. Countries accepted as AIIB founding members include China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Myanmar, the Philippines, Pakistan, Britain, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany and Spain.
It is headquartered in Beijing, China.
The AIIB members with the largest share of voting power are China (26.5%), India (7.6%) and Russia (6.0%).

All three are correct. The Gulf of Mannar region in Tamil Nadu is one of the four major coral reef areas in India.
The others are the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Gulf of Mannar between Rameswaram and Tuticorin covering 21 islands and the surrounding shallow coastal waters was declared as a Marine National Park in 1986.
The park and its 10 km buffer zone were declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1989.
Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park is a significant habitat for the dugong (commonly known as sea cows), listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

3 only is correct.

• JIMEX is conducted biennially between the Indian Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
• JIMEX series of exercises commenced in January 2012 with a special focus on maritime security cooperation.
• The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in October 2018 off Visakhapatnam, India.
• JIMEX 20 will showcase a high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a multitude of advanced exercises, across the spectrum of maritime operations.

The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It rises near Sihawa in the Raipur district of Chhattisgarh. It is one of the most active silt-depositing streams in the Indian subcontinent. Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

1 only is correct.

• The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act made the right to form co-operative societies a fundamental right as a part of Article 19.
• State Election Commission is not responsible for conducting elections to a co-operative society.
• The state government appoints a body for the conduct of elections to a co-operative society.
• The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to a co-operative society shall vest in such an authority or body, as may be provided by the Legislature of a State.

2 only is correct. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. It is a contagious disease. Humans can also be infected by the foot-and-mouth disease virus, however, the cases are very rare. National Animal Disease Control Programme for FMD and Brucellosis (NADCP) is a Central Sector Scheme where 100% of funds shall be provided by the Central Government to the States/UTs.

None of the statements is correct.

• The Congress Socialist Party was a socialist entity within the Indian National Congress.
• It was founded in 1934 by Congress members who rejected what they believed was a pacifist and anti-rational mysticism of Gandhi. They also rejected the sectarian attitude of the Communist Party of India towards the Congress.
• It was formed with Acharya Narendra Deva as President and Jay Prakash Narayan as General Secretary in 1934.
• The ideal of this party was decentralized socialism in which a there was substantial share in the economic power of co-operatives, trade unions, independent farmers, and local authorities.

Both are correct.

• Particulate matter are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air.
  • PM10 is more likely to deposit on the surfaces of the larger airways of the upper region of the lung. Particles deposited on the lung surface can induce tissue damage, and lung inflammation.
  • PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) can penetrate deeply into the lung, irritate and corrode the alveolar wall, and consequently impair lung function. PM2.5 can even enter the bloodstream.
• The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set limits for SO₂, NO₂, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), Ozone, Lead, Carbon Monoxide, Ammonia, Benzene, Benzo Pyrene, Arsenic, Nickel. Notably, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) do not meet the WHO’s existing standards.

• Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana launched a new initiative called ‘FASTER’ or ‘Fast and Secure Transmission of Electronic Records’.
• Under the initiative, the Supreme Court will instantly transmit bail and other orders to the jail authorities, district courts and the High Courts. This will be done in a secure way electronically.