GK Quiz | 25 August 2020

Q1. Consider the following statements with reference to the National Council for Transgender Persons:

1. It has been constituted by NITI Aayog.
2. The Prime Minister of India will serve as its chairperson.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Solution: D)

Explanation:

Statements 1 and 2: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has recently constituted the National Council for Transgender Persons under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

About the National Council for Transgender Persons:

• Its objective is to ensure that transgender welfare boards are set up in all State and to mainstream the transgender community’s concerns, focusing on livelihood issues as well as to raise awareness about the trans community.
• Functions:
• Monitoring and evaluating the impact of policies and programmes designed for achieving equality and full participation of transgender persons.
• Advising the Central government on the formulation of policies, programmes, legislation and projects with respect to transgender persons
• Reviewing and coordinating the activities of all the departments.
• Performing such other functions as prescribed by the Centre
• Redressing grievances of transgender persons
• Composition:
• The Union Minister of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will serve as its chairperson. It will consist of -
• Representatives from five states or Union Territories (one each from the north, south, east, west and northeast regions), on a rotational basis, and
• Five members of the transgender community (one each from the north, south, east, west and northeast regions) and the tenure of the community members shall be three years.
• It also includes officials of the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Housing and Urban Affairs, Home Affairs, Minority Affairs, Rural Development and Labour and Employment, Human Resources Development, the Department of Legal Affairs, the Department of Pensions and Pensioners Welfare and the NITI Aayog.

So, both statements are incorrect. Hence, option D correct.

 

Q2. Which of the following is/are the features of Aarogya Setu?

1. E-pass integration
2. QR Code scanning
3. User Status

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 2 only
4. 1,2 and 3

Solution: D)

Explanation: Recently, the government has added a new feature 'Open API Service' for its contact tracing app Aarogya Setu.

About Aarogya Setu:

• It was developed by the National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.
• It is an Indian open-source COVID–19 "contact tracing, syndromic mapping and self-assessment" digital service, launched in April 2020.
• Motto- ‘Main Surakshit, Hum Surakshit, Bharat Surakshit’.
• Features:
• Sharing of Health status with family/known persons, etc.
• QR Code scanning,
• User Status (tells the risk of getting COVID-19 for the user)
• E-pass integration
• Self-Assess (helps the users identify COVID-19 symptoms and their risk profile)
• COVID-19 Updates (gives updates on local and national COVID-19 cases)

Hence, option D is correct.

 

Q3. Consider the following statement regarding Jal Jeevan mission:

1. Its main aim is to provide piped water supply to all household by 2024.
2. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is the nodal ministry for the implementation of the mission.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are incorrect?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Solution: C)

Explanation:

Statements 1 and 2: About Jal Jevan Mission:

• Mission was announced in August 2019 with an objective to provide piped water supply (Har Ghar Jal) to all rural households by 2024.
• It focuses on integrated demand and supply-side management of water at the local level.
• It is based on a community approach to water.
• It looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority.
• The fund sharing pattern between the Centre and states is 50:50 for states, 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern States and 100% for Union Territories. Thus, it is a centrally sponsored scheme.
• Central sector schemes are the schemes that are directly and entirely funded and executed by the central government. The financial resources are not shifted to states.
• Every village should have Village Action Plan (VAP) which will have the following components:
• Water supply and greywater management.
• Water source & its maintenance
• For the implementation of JJM, there will be National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM) at the Central level, State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) at the State level, District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) at the District level and Village Water Sanitation Committee (VWSC) at Village level.
• Ministry of Jal Shakti is the nodal ministry for the implementation of the mission.

So, both statements are incorrect. Hence, option C is correct.

 

Q4. Recently, a draft titled “Drinking water supply quality management system — requirements for piped drinking water supply service” has been prepared by-

1. Bureau of Indian Standards
2. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
3. NITI Ayog
4. Ministry of Jal Shakti

Solution: A)

Explanation:

The Bureau of Indian Standards has recently prepared a draft standard for the supply system of piped drinking water.

About the draft:

• It outlines the process of water supply, from raw water sources to household taps
• The draft has been developed keeping in view the Centre’s Jal Jeevan Mission which aims for providing safe and adequate drinking water to all rural households by 2024 through tap connections.
• It outlines the requirements for a water supplier or a water utility on how they should establish, operate, maintain and improve their piped drinking water supply service.
• It sets the Indian Standard (IS) 10500 for the treated water for drinking.
• It also adopted a concept of district metering area (DMA) where possible. DMA is a concept for controlling leakages in the water network, which is essentially divided into a number of sectors, called the DMAs, and where flow meters are installed to detect leaks.
• It mentions that water should be sampled at the treatment plant every four hours against quality parameters.
• It provides for the installation of valves and meters and other appurtenances throughout the distribution system as control devices and for water audit.

Hence, option A is correct.

 

Q5. Consider the following statements about electoral bond:

1. It is a financial instrument for making donations to political parties.
2. It may be purchased by a citizen of India, or entities incorporated or established in India.
3. All political parties are eligible to receive these Bonds.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 2 only
3. 1,2 and 3
4. 1 and 2 only

Solution: D)

Explanation:

Statements 1, 2 and 3: About Electoral bond:

• It is a financial instrument for making donations to political parties.
• It can be bought for any value, in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh or Rs 1 crore.
• It does not carry the name of the payee.
• These bonds may be purchased by a citizen of India, or entities incorporated or established in India.
• A person being an individual can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.
• Eligibility: Only the registered Political Parties which have secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last Lok Sabha elections or the State Legislative Assembly are eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds.

So, statement 1 and 2 are correct and statement 3 is incorrect. Hence, option D is correct.

 

Q6. Which of the following country shares its border with both Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea?

1. Greece
2. Turkey
3. Bulgaria

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 2 only
2. 1 and 3 only
3. 1,2 and 3
4. 1 and 2 only

Solution: A)

Explanation:

Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean by Strait of Gibraltar, almost completely enclosed by land - on the south by North Africa, on the east by the Levant, and on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia.

The countries having a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea are-

• Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt on the southern shore.
• Island nations: Malta, Cyprus.
• Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey on the northern shore.
• Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt on the eastern shore.

Black Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean between Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Western Asia. It is bordered by Ukraine to the north, Russia to the northeast, Turkey to the south, Bulgaria and Romania to the west, and Georgia to the east.

Turkey is bounded by the Black Sea in the north, by the Mediterranean Sea in the south and by the Aegean Sea in the west.

Hence, option A is correct.

 

Q7. Consider the following statements about Santa Ana winds:

1. They are dry, warm (often hot) winds.
2. They blow westward through Southern California toward the coast.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are incorrect?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Solution: D)

Explanation:

Statements 1 and 2: About Santa Ana Winds:

• They are dry, warm (often hot) winds and are sometimes called "devil winds", and are infamous for fanning regional wildfires.
• They blow westward through Southern California toward the coast.
• They originate from cool, dry high-pressure air masses in the Great Basin.
• They're usually seasonal, and typically occur between October and March and peak in December.
• They often bring the lowest relative humidities of the year to coastal Southern California. These low humidities create critical fire weather condition when combined with the warm, compressionally-heated air mass, plus high wind speeds.

So, both statements are correct and hence, option D is correct.

 

Q8. Consider the following pairs:

Theatre Form	State
1. Yakshagana	Tamil Nadu
2. Tamaasha	Maharashtra
3. Oja-Pali	Manipur

Which of the pair(s) given above is/are correctly matched?

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 2 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Solution: B)

Explanation:

Yakshagana is perhaps the oldest theatre form prevalent in Andhra Pradesha and Karnataka. It is believed to be originated in the royal courts of the Vijaynagar empire. It is a temple art form that depicts mythological stories and Puranas. It is performed with vibrant costumes and ornaments, massive headgears and elaborate facial make-up.

Tamaasha is known for its erotic content and humour. It is folk theatre of Maharashtra. The performance is generally accompanied by Lavani songs.

Oja-Pali is a narrative theatre of Assam. Oja is the main narrator while Palis are chorus members. It is primarily associated with serpent goddess or the festival of Manasa.

Hence, option B is correct.

 

Q9. Consider the following statements about Nuakhai Juhar:

1. It is observed to welcome the new rice of the season.
2. It is mainly observed by people of Western Odisha and Southern Chhattisgarh.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Solution: C)

Explanation:

Statements 1 and 2: About Nuakhai Juhar:

• It is also called Nuakhai Parab or Nuakahi Bhetghat.
• It is an agricultural festival of Western Odisha, southern Chhattisgarh and adjoining areas of Simdega (Jharkhand).
• It is observed to welcome the new rice of the season.
• Farmers offer the first produce from their lands to Goddess Samaleswari, the famous ‘Mother Goddess’ of Sambalpur district of Odisha.
• It is seen as a new ray of hope, held the day after the Ganesha Chaturthi festival.

So, both statements are correct and hence, option C is correct.

 

Q10. Consider the following statements regarding Indian National Congress:

1. It was founded at Bombay in December 1885.
2. The first session of the congress was presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji.
3. Belgaum Congress Session of 1924 was the only session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 2 only
3. 1,2 and 3
4. None

Solution: A)

Explanation:

Statements 1,2 and 3: About Indian National Congress:

• It was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa, founded at Bombay in December 1885 at the initiative of retired Civil Service officer A.O. Hume.
• The first session of the congress was presided over by Umesh Chandra Banerjee.
• Belgaum Congress Session of 1924 was the only session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.

So, statements 1 and 3 are correct and statement 2 is incorrect. Hence, option A is correct.

 

Q11. Which of the following is/are the basic characteristics of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)?

1. Homogeneity
2. Relatively physically isolated
3. Absence of written language
4. A slower rate of change

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 3 and 4 only
3. 1, 2 and 4 only
4. 1,2,3 and 4

Solution: D)

Explanation:

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs):

• In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category.
• In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
• Some basic characteristics of PVTGs - they are mostly homogenous, with a small population, relatively physically isolated, social institutes cast in a simple mould, absence of written language, relatively simple technology and a slower rate of change etc.
• In India, tribal population makes up for 8.6% of the total population.
• Out of 705 Scheduled Tribes, 75 are PVTGs.

Hence, option D is correct.

 

Q12. Which states has recently inaugurated the India's longest river ropeway?

1. Assam
2. Arunachal Pradesh
3. Nagaland
4. West Bengal

Solution: A)

Explanation:

Recently, Assam Government has inaugurated a 1.8-km ropeway across the Brahmaputra River. It is described as the longest river ropeway of India.

It connects the southern bank of the Brahmaputra and a hillock behind the Doul Govinda temple in North Guwahati. It connects Kachari ghat located on the southern bank of the river in the main city to the northern part of Guwahati and thus, cuts travel time between the two banks to 8 minutes.

Hence, option A is correct.