GK Quiz | 8 October 2020

Q1. With reference to the PM SVANidhi Scheme, consider the following statements

1. Under the scheme, farmers can avail working capital loan of up to Rs 10, 000.
2. Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) is the technical partner for implementation of this scheme.

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:

Statement 1 and 2: Foodtech major Swiggy has recently signed a MoU with the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs or MoHUA to bring India’s street food vendors on to its online platform.

Following are some important features of the Scheme

• Under the scheme, street vendors can avail working capital loan of up to Rs 10,000.
• On early or timely repayment of the loan, the street vendor will get an interest subsidy of 7% per year which will be credited to their bank accounts every six-months.
• It will be valid until March 2022. 
• It will manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises.
• Small industrial Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will act as the implementation agency.
• There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan.

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

 

Q2. The Countries which are considered in grey list of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) may face economic sanctions from

1. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
2. Asian Development Bank (ADB)
3. World Bank

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

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

Solution: C)

Explanation:

About the Financial Action Task Force (FATF):

• It is an inter-governmental body founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7.
• The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
• Its purpose is to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
• Its president is a senior official appointed by the FATF Plenary from among its members for a term of one year.
• FATF has maintained two lists namely the FATF greylist (formally called the "Other monitored jurisdictions") and the FATF blacklist (formally called the "Call for action").
• The countries that support terror funding and money laundering activities are put in the FATF blacklist. These countries are known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs).
• Countries that are considered safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put in the FATF grey list.
• Countries which are considered in the grey list may face:

• Economic sanctions from Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Reduction in international trade.
• Problem in getting loans from IMF, World Bank, ADB and other countries
• International boycott

Hence, option C is correct.

 

Q3. K.V. Kamath Committee, frequently seen in news, is related to-

1. Restructuring of loans impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic
2. LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) marketing
3. Clause 6 of Assam Accord
4. Implementation of National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

Solution: A)

Explanation:

In August 2020, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up a committee headed by K.V. Kamath on restructuring of loans impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The committee was to scrutinize restructuring of loans above Rs 1500 crore.

Recommendations:

• The committee recommended five financial parameters to gauge the health of sectors facing difficulties- total outside liabilities to adjusted tangible networth, total debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda), debt service coverage ratio (DSCR), current ratio and average debt service coverage ratio (ADSCR).
• Graded approach for the restructuring of stressed accounts based on severity of the impact on the borrowers- Banks can classify the accounts into mild, moderate and severe as recommended by the committee.
• The committee has identified 26 sectors including hospitality, power, tourism, real estate, auto, aviation and construction.

The resolution under this framework is applicable only to those borrowers who have been impacted on account of Covid. Only those borrowers which were classified as standard and with arrears less than 30 days as at March 1, 2020 are eligible under the Framework.

Hence, option A is correct.

 

Q4. Consider the following statements

1. Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) prohibits the production highly-enriched Uranium and Plutonium.
2. United States has the most nuclear warheads followed by China.

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: A)

Explanation:

Statement 1 and 2:  Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) is a proposed international agreement that prohibits the production of two main components of nuclear weapons: highly-enriched Uranium and Plutonium.

As of early-2020, the world’s combined inventory of nuclear warheads remains at a very high level roughly 13,410 warheads. Approximately 91% of all nuclear warheads are owned by Russia and the United States.

France and Israel have relatively stable inventories, the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom are reducing their overall warhead inventories, while China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea are increasing their warhead inventories. Russia has the most nuclear warheads roughly 6,375 followed by the United States (5800).

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

 

Q5. Consider the following statements

1. India has recently signed Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
2. The New START Treaty is a treaty between the United States of America and Germany.

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:

Statement 1 and 2: About Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT):

• It was negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
• It intends to ban all nuclear explosions - everywhere, by everyone.
• It will enter into force after all 44 States listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty will ratify it.
• It opened for signature on 24^th September 1996.
• India, Pakistan and North Korea have not yet signed the Treaty.

 

About the New Start Treaty:

• It is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation, signed on 8^th April 2010 in Prague, and entered into force on 5^th February, 2011.
• It will lapse in February 2021 unless extended for a five-year period.

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

 

Q6.  Consider the following statements

1. The USA has recently got access to Andaman and Nicobar Islands under the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) for the first time.
2. LEMOA does not allow the signed countries to have access to each other’s designated military facilities for refueling.

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: A)

Explanation:

Statement 1 and 2:  For the first time, the USA got access to Andaman and Nicobar Islands under the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) as recently, a USA Navy P-8A long range Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) landed at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands for refuelling under the bilateral logistics support agreement.

India and the United States signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016. It allows both countries to have access to each other’s designated military facilities for refueling and replenishment.

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

 

Q7. Which of the following statement is/are true regarding Precision Agriculture?

1. It is based on sustainable agriculture and healthy food production
2. It increases chemical application in crop production.
3. It causes soil degradation.

Select the correct answer using codes given below:

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

Solution: A)

Explanation:

Statement 1,2 and 3: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has recently organized a session on “Sensors and Sensing for Precision Agriculture”.

About precision agriculture:

• It is based on sustainable agriculture and healthy food production
• It is an approach where inputs are utilized in precise amounts to get increased average yields, compared to traditional cultivation techniques such as crop rotation, agroforestry, etc.
• Following are some benefits of precision agriculture:

• Prevents soil degradation
• Increases agriculture productivity
• Disseminates modern farm practices to improve the quality, quantity and reduced cost of production
• Changes the socio-economic status of farmers
• Reduces chemical application in crop production
• Efficient use of water resources

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

 

Q8. Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) comes under-

1. Ministry of Education
2. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
3. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
4. Ministry of Science and Technology

Solution: B)

Explanation:

About Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC):

• It was established in 2015.
• It is an autonomous national institute of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• It is dedicated to the task of developing man-power for popularizing the use of Indian Sign Language, teaching and conducting research in Indian Sign Language.

Hence, option B is correct.

 

Q9. Which of the following lake is surrounded on all sides by the Aravali hills?

1. Deepor Beel
2. Bhojtal
3. Sambhar Lake
4. Wular lake

Solution: C)

Explanation: About Sambhar Lake:

• It is the largest inland saline water body of India.
• It is located near Jaipur in Rajasthan and surrounded on all sides by the Aravali hills.
• In March 1990, it was given the status of a Ramsar Site.
• It is an Important Bird Area (IBA) due to migratory avifaunal population, especially flamingo and waterfowl.

Deepor Beel is located in Assam. Bhojtal is located in Madhya Pradesh and Wular lake is in Jammu and Kashmir.

Hence, option C is correct.

 

Q10. With reference to CRISPR-Cas9 tool, consider the following statements

1. Using the tool, the DNA of microorganism, plants and animals can be changed with extremely high precision.
2. It helps to better withstand droughts and pests.
3. It is basically a gene-editing technology that is used for changing the genome of an organism.

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

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

Solution: D)

Explanation:

Statement 1,2 and 3: Recently, Emmanuelle Charpentier of France and Jennifer Doudna of the US won the Nobel chemistry prize for CRISPR-Cas9 DNA snipping “Scissors”.

About the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats):

• It is basically a gene-editing technology that can be used for the purpose of altering genetic expression or changing the genome of an organism.
• Using the tool, the DNA of microorganism, plants and animals can be changed with extremely high precision.
• It is contributing to new cancer therapy and experts hope that it could one day make inherited disease curable through gene manipulation.
• Its main application includes correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of diseases and improving crops.
• It behaves like a cut-and-paste mechanism on DNA strands that contain genetic information.
• It had contributed to significant gains in crop resistance and helped to better withstand droughts and pests by altering crop’s genetic code.

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