ENGLISH QUIZ 07.052020

1.Consider the following statements related to BoBBLE:

1. Monsoons, cyclones can be predicted more accurately now.

2. The researchers from a number of other institutions of repute from Kerala, Tirupati,

Visakhapatnam, and Hyderabad were part of the project.

Which of the above statement/statements are correct?

A. 1 only

B. 2 only

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2

2.Consider the following statements related to China’s central bank digital currency:

1. Recently, China has started testing its official digital currency which is unofficially called “Digital Currency Electronic Payment, DC/EP”.

2. According to reports, China’s central bank has been conducting research on its digital currency                   since 2012.

3. This Chinese digital currency is very similar to Bitcoin and Facebook’s digital currency Libra.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 1 and 2 are correct

B. 1 and 3 are correct

C. 2 and 3 are correct

D. All of the above

3.Consider the following statements related to Gilgit Baltistan:

1. Pak SC decision on elections in Gilgit Baltistan illegal.

2. Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) was formerly known as the Northern Areas.

Which of the above statement/statements are correct?

A. 1 only

B. 2 only

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2

4.Which of the following steel companies of India has withdrawn its membership from the Indian Steel Association (ISA)?

A. Tata steel

B. JSW “Steamle Ltd.

C. Steadle Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL)

D. National Steel Corporation Ltd. (RINL)

5.As per the survey ‘Research and Development (R&D) Statistics and Indicators 2019-20’ conducted by the National Science and Technology Management Information (NSTMIS) what is India’s rank in a scientific publication among the countries?

A. Fifth

B. Third

C. Fourth

D. Sixth

6.The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the licence of which of the following co-operative Banks?

A. Nutan Citizen Co-operative Bank Ltd.

B. Bhuj Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd.

C. CKP Co-Operative Bank

D. Mehsana Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd.

7.Sandeep Kumari has been given a 4 year ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after failing a drug test, she is associated with which sports?

A. Archery

B. Badminton

C. Gymnastics

D. Discas throw

8.International Day of the Midwife was celebrated on:

A. 5 May

B. 4 May

C. 3 May

D. 2 May

ANSWERS:-

Answer: 1)A

Explanation

A team from IISC, Bengaluru, and the UK based the University of East Anglia have recently created a blueprint under the ‘The Bay of Bengal Boundary Layer Experiment’ for accurate prediction of monsoon, tropical cyclones, and other weather-related forecasts.

BoBBLE (The Bay of Bengal Boundary Layer Experiment)

• It is a project funded by the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK.
• The researchers from a number of other institutions of repute from Kerala, Goa, Visakhapatnam, and Hyderabad were part of the project.
• The team has carried out studies of oceanographic properties onboard RV Sindhu Sadhana in the southern Bay of Bengal.
• After the studies, a blueprint for future weather system observational experiments was created for accurately forecasting rainfall.

Key processes in the southern BoB:

1. The saline Southwest Monsoon Current (SMC), a major control on the salt and SST distribution of the BoB, is shown to be controlled by both local (wind stress curl) and remote (equatorial wave propagation) factors, strongly linked to subseasonal variability over the wider Indian Ocean basin.
2. The high salinity core (HSC) of the SMC is shown to have its origins in the western equatorial Indian Ocean, reaching the BoB via the Somali Current, the Equatorial Undercurrent and the SMC.
3. Seasonal reversals that occur at the Somali Current and SMC junctions act as ‘railroad switches’ diverting water masses to different basins in the northern Indian Ocean.
4. Barrier layer formation and erosion in the southern BoB are found to be largely controlled by differential advection and resulting mixing driven by shear stress.
5. Chlorophyll in the southern BoB is strongly influenced by mixed layer processes and barrier layer strength.

What are monsoons?

• Monsoons are seasonal winds which reverse their direction with the change of season. The monsoon is a double system of seasonal winds. They flow from sea to land during the summer and from land to sea during winter.
• Monsoons are peculiar to Indian Subcontinent, South East Asia, parts of Central Western Africa etc.
• Indian Monsoons are Convection cells on a very large scale. They are periodic or secondary winds which seasonal reversal in wind direction.
• Monsoons are also often associated with conditions like ‘El Nino’ (Spanish for ‘Little Boy’) that occurs every 2 to 7 years and La Nina.

El Nino and Indian Monsoon

• El Nino is a narrow hot stream that flows near the Peruvian coast in December. In Spanish it is called “Child Christ” because this stream takes birth around Christmas.
• It is a temporary replacement for the Perubian or Humboldt cold current which usually flows along the coast.
• It flows once every three to seven years and is prone to large scale floods and droughts in tropical regions of the world.
• Sometimes it becomes very intense and raises the water temperature of the Peruvian coast by 10 ° C.
• This warming of the tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean affects the air pressure at the global level and the winds including the monsoon of the Indian Ocean.
• El Nino studies show that when the temperature in the southern Pacific Ocean increases, there is less rainfall in India.
• El-Nino has a great impact on the Indian monsoon and is used for forecasting the long period of monsoon.
• Meteorologists think that the 1987 severe drought in India was caused by El-Nino.
• In 1990–1991, El-Nino was seen as a severe form. Due to this, the arrival of monsoon in most parts of the country was delayed by 5 to 12 days.

Answer: 2)B

Explanation

Recently, China has started testing its official digital currency which is unofficially called “Digital Currency Electronic Payment, DC/EP”.

DC/EP

• According to reports, China’s central bank has been conducting research on its digital currency since 2014.
• This Chinese digital currency is very similar to Bitcoin and Facebook’s digital currency Libra.
• Like other digital currencies, this new currency of China can also be stored in Digital Wallet.
• The most prominent difference between the new digital currency of China and other currently existing digital currencies is that the currency of China will be controlled by the Chinese government and its central bank, but the current digital currencies are not controlled by any bank or government .

e- RMB:

• The digital currency – known as the e-RMB – “will not be issued in large amounts” for public use in the short term, and the digital currency in circulation would “not lead to an inflation surge”.
• Initially it will be tested in three major cities of Shenzhen, Suzhou and Chengdu.
• People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank, will be the sole issuer of the digital yuan, initially offering the digital money to commercial banks and other operators.
• Public would be able to convert money in their bank accounts to the digital version and make deposits via electronic wallets.

India’s Stand on Digital Currency

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had banned cryptocurrencies in 2018.
• RBI had considered cryptocurrencies as a poor unit of account and also demonstrated by their frequent and high fluctuation in value.
• RBI also stated that it pose several risks, including anti-money laundering and terrorism financing concerns (AML/CFT) for the state and liquidity, credit, and operational risks for users.
• It had also said that it would seriously consider developing a sovereign digital currency when the time is appropriate
• Subsequently, the Supreme Court has struck down a circular of the RBI, which bans financial institutions from enabling deals in digital or cryptocurrencies.
• The ban was challenged by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMA) sighting that dealing and trading in cryptocurrency was a legitimate business activity and that the RBI did not have jurisdiction over it as these assets could be classified as commodities rather than currency.

Answer: 3)C

Explanation

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a “strong protest”  over an order by the Pakistan Supreme Court allowing the Imran Khan government to hold elections in the region of Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Gilgit-Baltistan

• Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) was formerly known as the Northern Areas.
• It is an integral part of the Indian Union Territory of Ladakh but is currently under Pakistani occupation.
• Gilgit Baltistan has been under the control of Pakistan since April 1949, when the leadership of the so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was forced to sign away this territory to Pakistan.
• However, the region does not have any place in the constitutional framework of Pakistan and has been kept under the tight control of the central government. The region functioned as a “provincial autonomous region” since 2009.
• Gilgit-Baltistan shares a border with Azad Kashmir, together with which it is referred to by the United Nations as “Pakistan administered Kashmir”.

What’s the issue?

• In a recent order, the Pakistan Supreme Court allowed the amendment to the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order of 2018 to conduct the general elections in the region.
• Gilgit-Baltistan has functioned as a “provincial autonomous region” since 2009.
• Besides, India has conveyed that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, are an integral part of India by virtue of its fully legal and irrevocable accession.

What did India say?

• Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision to hold elections in Gilgit Baltistan, the Indian government said that Pakistan has illegal occupation of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, therefore Pakistan has no right to hold elections here.
• In 1994, the Government of India passed a resolution in Parliament, describing Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as an integral part of India and asked Pakistan to relinquish its hold over the region. India reiterated the 1994 resolution on the order of the Pakistani Supreme Court.
• According to Pakistani media, India summoned a Pakistani diplomat and claimed that the entire territory of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh including Gilgit Baltistan is an integral part of India due to its entire legal and irreversible merger.

What does Pakistan say?

• Pakistan rejected India’s response and said that it is baseless and misleading.
• Pakistan Foreign Ministry said that there is no legal basis for India’s claim. Pakistan said that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed area and it can be decided by free and fair referendum.
• The international community also considers this area disputed. The Pakistan government summoned the Indian diplomat and registered his displeasure with him.

Gilgit-Baltistan

• Gilgit-Baltistan is divided into seven districts.
• Two districts are in Baltistan division and five districts are in Gilgit division.
• This region has its own assembly.
• Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is Sunni-dominated while Gilgit-Baltistan is Shia-dominated.
• It has a population of about 2 million.
• Most of its area is hilly.
• There are more than 50 peaks above 7,000 meters.
• Here K2 is the second highest peak in the world.
• The world’s longest three glaciers (excluding Dhruv region) are in Gilgit-Baltistan.
• The boundaries of this region meet India, Pakistan, China and Afghanistan. It has China and Afghanistan in the north, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the west and India in the east.
• Pakistan claims that it treats the citizens of Gilgit-Baltistan the same as other citizens of the country. But the local people have been accusing the Pakistan government of ignoring them.
• Due to this, there were many movements in this area. The local public tells CPEC the move of the Government of Pakistan. People say that their human rights and resources are in danger.

History of Gilgit-Baltistan

• At the time of partition of India till 1947, the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan was neither a part of India nor Pakistan like Jammu and Kashmir.
• Actually, in 1935, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir gave the area of ​​Gilgit to the British on a lease for 60 years.
• The British used this area as their tactical strategy and kept the soldiers on the high hills of this place and kept an eye on the surrounding area.
• A troop of the British named Gilgit-Scouts was stationed here.
• At the time of partition, the Dogra kings established their authority in this area by canceling their lease deed with the British. But the commander of the Gilgit-Scouts, Colonel Mirza Hasan Khan, rebelled against Raja Hari Singh of Kashmir and declared independence of Gilgit-Baltistan on 1 November 1947.
• A few days before this, on 26 October 1947, Hari Singh approved the merger of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
• Pakistan occupied the area 21 days after Gilgit-Baltistan declared independence, from which Gilgit-Baltistan was considered as the annexed part of Pakistan till April 2, 1949.
• But on April 28, 1949, an agreement was reached with the government of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under which Gilgit’s case was directly subordinated to the central government of Pakistan.
• This agreement is known as Karachi agreement.

Answer: 4)A

Explanation

Tata Steel Ltd has withdrawn its membership from the Indian Steel Association (ISA), an apex steel industry body. Subsequent to it, the company’s CEO and Managing Director (MD) T V Narendran has also stepped down from the Presidentship of the Association, tenure of which was scheduled to end in August.

An ISA President is elected for a period of two years. Confirming the development, a Tata Steel spokesperson said, “Tata Steel has withdrawn its membership from the Indian Steel Association (ISA) owing to various considerations.

Steel authority of india

• The Steel Authority of India is the largest steel producing company in India.
• It produces fully integrated iron and steel goods.
• The company produces both basic and special steel for domestic construction, engineering, power, railway, motor vehicle and safety industries and for sale in the export market.
• It is a wholly-owned authority of the Government of India. It is one of the largest government companies in India.
• Other members of the steel industry association are: JSW Steel, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL) and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited.

Answer: 5)B

Explanation

The National Science and Technology Management Information System (NSTMIS) has conducted a survey on Research and Development Statistics and Indicators 2019-20. According to this survey, India ranks third in terms of number of scientific publications.

Researchers and scientific publications

• The number of researchers per million populations has doubled since 2000.
• India occupies 3rd rank in terms of number of Ph.D awarded in Science and Engineering (S&E) after USA and China.
• India is placed 3rd among countries in scientific publication as per NSF database.

Patent filing

• India is ranked at 9th position in terms of Resident Patent Filing activity in the world.
• During 2017-18 out of total patents filed in India, 32% patents were filed by Indian residents.
• Patent applications filed in India are dominated by disciplines like Mechanical, Chemical, Computer/Electronics, and Communication.

National Science and Technology Management Information

• The National Science and Technology Management Information System (NSTMIS) is a division of the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• It has been entrusted with the task of building the information base on a continuous basis on resources devoted to scientific and technological activities for policy planning in the country.

Answer: 6)C

Explanation

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled the licence of CKP Co-operative Bank Ltd., Mumbai, to carry on banking business, with effect from April 30, 2020. RBI has been requested to appoint a liquidator. The financial position of the bank is highly adverse and unsustainable. It was not meeting the requirement of minimum capital and reserves of the RBI. Bank is prohibited from the business of ‘banking’ including acceptance and repayment of deposits.

Answer: 7)D

Explanation

Discus thrower Sandeep Kumari has been slapped with a four-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit for flunking a dope test, nearly two years after her sample was deemed clean by the NDTL. The National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) had failed to detect the banned substance, a steroid, which was present in her blood sample, collected by NADA officials during the National Inter-State Championships in June 2018 in Guwahati. Kumari had won the gold with a throw of 58.41m. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) then decided to test the sample of Kumari at its Montreal Laboratory in Canada and it returned positive for anabolic steroid Methenolone in November 2018.

Answer: 8)A

Explanation

International Midwife Day is celebrated on the 5th of May every year, to appreciate the work of midwives. Midwives are women who have practical knowledge of helping pregnant women give birth. In the early times when there were no highly professional and equipped hospitals for pregnant ladies, they used to give birth to a child at home with the help of these midwives. To celebrate these brave women and respect their work, International Midwife Day is celebrated. 2020 theme: ‘Midwives with women: celebrate, demonstrate, mobilise, unite – our time is NOW!’.