GK Quiz | 21 November 2020

Q1: With reference to the Indira Gandhi Matritva Poshan Yojana, consider the following statements:

1. Under the scheme, mothers will get Rs 5,000 for the second child.
2. It is being implemented in Jharkhand for six years.
3. Under the scheme, beneficiaries will have to submit an Aadhaar card to receive money.

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: D)

Explanation:

Statements 1,2 and 3: Recently, Rajasthan Government has launched a maternity benefit scheme for four districts. This Scheme will be called Indira Gandhi Matritva Poshan Yojana.

About Indira Gandhi Matritva Poshan Yojana:

• Under this, mothers will get Rs 6,000 for the second child.
• It is being implemented in Udaipur, Pratapgath, Banswara and Dungarpur on pilot basis for five years and these districts were selected because nutrition indicators among children and anaemia levels among mothers are worse than the average for the State.
• Beneficiaries will receive cash in five installments upon meeting certain conditions.
• Unlike the Central scheme, beneficiaries will not have to submit an Aadhaar card for the State scheme and the money will be transferred directly to their bank accounts.
• Its objective is to compensate mothers for the loss of wages during pregnancy and after childbirth and to curb wasting and stunting among children as well as anaemia among mothers.

So, all statements are incorrect and hence, option D is correct.

 

Q2: With reference to the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), consider the following statements:

1. It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women.
2. Under the scheme, mothers get Rs 6,000 in five installments upon meeting certain conditions.
3. It is a central sector scheme.

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

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

Solution: A)

Explanation:

Statement 1,2 and 3:  About Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY):

• It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women.
• It is a maternity benefit rechristened from erstwhile Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) which was launched in 2010.
• It provides a partial wage compensation to women for wage-loss during childbirth and childcare and to provide conditions for safe delivery and good nutrition and feeding practices.
• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under which cost sharing ratio between the Centre and the States & UTs with Legislature is 60:40 while for North-Eastern States & three Himalayan States; it is 90:10. It is 100% Central assistance for Union Territories without Legislature.
• Under the scheme, the maternity benefits are available to all Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers (PW&LM) except those in regular employment with the Central Government or State Government or Public Sector Undertaking or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being in force.
• Under the scheme, mothers get Rs 5,000 for their first child in three installments on fulfilling the respective conditionality, namely, early registration of pregnancy, ante-natal check-up and registration of the birth of the child and completion of first cycle of vaccination for the first living child of the family.

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

 

Q3: Which of the countries is/are the members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)?

1. India
2. China
3. Argentina
4. Peru

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

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

Solution: B)

Explanation:

About Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC):

• It is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific.
• Its aim is to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration.
• It has 21 member economies namely, Australia, Brunei, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Vietnam and The Russian Federation.
• India is an observer of APEC since 2011 and has applied for its membership.

Hence, option B is correct.

 

Q4: Which of following statement(s) is/are incorrect about Cord blood?

1. It is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta post-delivery.
2. It contains hematopoietic stem cells.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

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

Solution: D)

Explanation:

Statements 1 and 2:  Recently, Community Cord Blood Banking has helped save the life of a seven-year-old girl from Nashik in Maharashtra who was suffering from aplastic anaemia. Community Cord Blood Banking is a stem cell banking initiative, introduced by LifeCell in 2017.

About Cord blood banking:

• It is the process of collecting the cord blood and extracting and cryogenically freezing its stem cells and other cells of the immune system for potential future medical use.
• Globally, it is recommended as a source of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for haematological cancers and disorders where its use is recommended. For all other conditions, the use of cord blood as a source of stem cells is not yet established.

 Cord Blood (short for umbilical cord blood):

• It is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta post-delivery.
• It contains special cells called hematopoietic stem cells that can be used to treat some types of diseases.
• Uses:

• It can treat cancer, blood diseases like anemia, and some immune system disorders, which disrupt your body’s ability to defend itself.
• Stem cells from cord blood rarely carry any infectious diseases and are half as likely to be rejected as adult stem cells.
• The fluid is easy to collect and has 10 times more stem cells than those collected from bone marrow.

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

 

Q5: Which of the following countries is/are not a Five Eyes Country?

1. Canada
2. India
3. United States
4. France

Select the answer using the codes given below:

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

Solution: C)

Explanation:

About Five Eyes:

• It is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, began in 1946 when the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to an open exchange of intelligence on the communications of foreign nations.
• It was expanded when Canada joined the alliance in 1948, followed by Australia and New Zealand in 1956.
• These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement which is a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.

Hence, option C is correct.

 

Q6: Consider the following statements:

1. Global HIV Prevention Coalition (GPC) was established in 2017 to support global efforts to accelerate HIV prevention.
2. India’s unique HIV prevention model is centered around the concept of Social Contracting through which the Targeted Interventions (TI) programme is implemented.

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:

Statement 1 and 2: Global HIV Prevention Coalition (GPC) was established in 2017 to support global efforts to accelerate HIV prevention. It is a global coalition of United Nations Member States, donors, civil society organizations. It includes the 25 highest HIV burden countries, UNAIDS Cosponsors, donors, civil society and private sector organizations.

India’s unique HIV prevention model aims to provide outreach, service delivery, counselling & testing and ensuring linkages to HIV care and is centered around the concept of Social Contracting through which the Targeted Interventions (TI) programme is implemented.

So, statement 1 and 2 are correct and hence, option C is correct.

 

Q7: With reference to the National Supercomputing Mission, consider the following statements:

1. It was launched in 2019.
2. Its aim is to connect national academic and R&D institutions with a grid of more than 70 high-performance computing facilities at an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 crores over the period of ten years.
3. It is implemented and steered jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).

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

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

Solution: A)

Explanation:

Statement 1,2 and 3: About National Supercomputing Mission:

• It was launched in 2015.
• Its aim is to connect national academic and R&D institutions with a grid of more than 70 high-performance computing facilities at an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 crores over the period of seven years.
• It is implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

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