Current Affairs MCQs [ 16 and 17 Nov 2017 ] PIB TheHindu IndianExpress & Other leading newspapers

Sumant Kumar, B.Tech NIT Allahabad sumant.magadh@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/SumantKM/

Consider the following list: 1. Highveld and Middleveld 2. Victoria Falls 3. Matapo Hills 4. Mozambique shares its

borders with this country In which one of the following countries will you find the above-mentioned physical/political features? a) Zambia b) South Africa c) Zimbabwe d) Malawi Solution: c.

• Victoria Falls is a transboundary property – both Zimbabwe and Zambia are responsible for its protection, and they do so in a participatory manner.

• Zimbabwe is a landlocked country. It shares its borders on the south with the Republic of South Africa and is bounded on the southwest and west by Botswana, on the north by Zambia, and on the northeast and east by Mozambique. It does NOT share a border with Namibia.

UPSC Prelims 2017 Mediterranean Sea is a border of which of the following countries? 1. Jordan 2. Iraq 3. Lebanon 4. Syria

The countries with coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. • In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas

Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri and Dhekelia have coastlines on the sea.

Select the correct answer using the code given below: (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 3 and 4 only (d) 1, 3 and 4 only Ans C

• On the Eastern shore, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Israel have their coastline on the Mediterranean Sea.

Consider the following statements, with reference to Bharat Stage Emission Standards. 1. These are emission standards instituted by the Government of India to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. 2. The stoppage of production of Maruti-800 is because of regulation of emission. 3. At present India has adopted Bharat Stage -V emission norms. 4. Under Bharat Stage - III, two wheelers were allowed to emit upto 1g/km of carbon monoxide. Which of the statements given above are correct? (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 1, 3 and 4 (c) 1, 2 and 4 (d) All of these Ans C

Bharat Stage Emission Standards are emission standards • instituted by the Government of

India

• to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles.

• The phasing out of 2 stroke engine and stopping the production of Maruti-800 was done under this initiative.

• The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the central pollution control board under the ministry of environment and forests.

• The standards based on European regulations were first introduced in 2000.

Why BS thing in news now?

• Government is aiming to implement introduction of the cleaner Bharat Stage- VI fuel in the country by 2020. It intends to skip BS-V.

• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has set a deadline of 2017 by which time all the vehicles in the country must be BS-IV-compliant and 2020 for the rollout of BS-VI fuel.

Arrange the following mountain ranges of Peninsular India from North to South. 1. Maikala range 2. Balaghat range 3. Kaimur range 4. Ajanta range Codes (a) 3, 1, 4, 2 (b) 1, 2, 3, 4 (c) 3, 1, 2, 4 (d) 1, 2, 4, 3 The correct order of given mountain, ranges from North to South is: Kaimur range, Maikala range, Balaghat range and Ajanta range . These are ranges of Central India. Most of them lies in Madhya Pradesh.

The ‘Henderson-Brooks Report’, sometimes mentioned in the news, is related to which one of the following events? a) Gulf War of 1991 b) Financial Crisis of 2008 c) 1962 India-China War d) India’s Economic Reforms of 1991 Solution: c.

The U.S. President Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on 8 December 1953 led to the formation of the a) Nuclear Suppliers Group b) International Atomic Energy Agency c) Multilateral Export Control Regime d) a, b and c Solution: b. The IAEA was created in 1957 in response to the deep fears and expectations generated by the discoveries and diverse uses of nuclear technology. • The Agency’s genesis was U.S. President

Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on 8 December 1953.

Which of the following is/are main mission(s) of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 1. Promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy by its member states. 2. Implementing safeguards to verify that nuclear energy is not used for military

purposes. Which of the above statement(s) is/are true? 1. Only 1 2. Only 2 3. Both 1 and 2 4. Neither 1 nor 2

Ans C The IAEA : three main missions: 1. Promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy by its member states, 2. implementing safeguards to verify that nuclear energy is not used for military

purposes 3. promoting high standards for nuclear safety.

The IAEA was established as an autonomous organisation on 29 July 1957. With reference to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which of the following statement is/are correct?

o It is the world’s central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field.

o Its headquarter is located in Gevena o The organization was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

Select the correct answer using the code given below. o 1 and 2 only o 2 and 3 only o 1 and 3 only o 1, 2 and 3

Ans C • It is the world’s central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-

operation in the nuclear field.

• The IAEA’s headquarter is located in Vienna.

• The IAEA and its former Director General, Mohamed El Baradei, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 7 October 2005.

Bio-medical Waste includes which of the following? 1. Human anatomical

waste 2. Animal anatomical

waste

Biomedical waste comprises human & animal anatomical waste, treatment apparatus like needles, syringes and other materials used in health care facilities in the process of treatment and research.

3. Treatment apparatus

Select the correct answer using the code given below. (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 1 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 Ans D

• This waste is generated during diagnosis, treatment or immunization in hospitals, nursing homes, pathological laboratories, blood bank, etc.

• 85% of the hospital waste is non-hazardous, 15% is infectious/hazardous.

• Mixing of hazardous results in to contamination and makes the entire waste hazardous. Hence there is necessity to segregate and treat.

Improper disposal of Bio-medical Waste : 1. increases risk of infection 2. encourages recycling of prohibited disposables and disposed drugs 3. develops resistant microorganisms.

Select the correct answer using the code given below. (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 1 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 Ans D The new bio-medical waste management rules 2016 have hence been notified to efficiently manage the generated bio waste in the country.

"Know Your Rights" Programme recently seen in news is related to: (a) enhance awareness on Banking Codes at the grassroot level among the people.

The Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) has announced an initiative as per which it would organise "Know Your Rights" programme in select urban and rural areas of the country to

(b) awareness on voting rights. (c) raise awareness to report crime against women. (d) awareness on government welfare schemes. Ans A

enhance awareness on Banking Codes at the grassroot level among the people. • The move aims to create awareness among the

people about the commitment of the banks towards their customers.

• The programme would be conducted at three levels including Tier II cities, metros and other backward areas.

With reference to the "Corruption Perception Index", recently seen in news, consider the following statements: 1. The index is compiled by

Transparency International. 2. It ranks countries on the score

ranging from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Ans C

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is prepared by the Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI). • It ranks countries on the score in the scale

ranging from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

• For example, New Zealand and Denmark claimed the first place jointly with a score of 90 out of 100.

• CPI 2016 - India has been ranked 79th out of 176 countries in the recently released index.

Facts: • SC : Jails are overcrowded by 150%

• According to official data, two of every three persons incarcerated in India have not yet been convicted of any crime

• The number of convicts in jails grew by 1.4% from 2012 to 2013, but the number of undertrials shot up by 9.3% during the period

• Men make up more than 90% of all prison inmates. Nearly 2,000 children of women inmates live behind bars, 80% of those women being undertrials

Prison Reforms & undertrials Law Commission's view: • The rich and powerful get bail with ease while the commoner and the poor languish in jail

• Prolonged periods in prison where undertrials and convicts were not segregated would only make hardened criminals of the former

• A majority of the undertrials (70.6 per cent) are illiterate or semiliterate and belong to socio-economically marginalised groups. Sixty-seven per cent of the prison population is awaiting trial

• The Commission quoted an expert study which said that a majority of the arrests are for “very minor prosecutions.” Over 60 per cent of arrests were unnecessary and such arrests accounted for 42.3 per cent of jail expenditure

• Pressure on prisons: According to the Prison Statistics of India, the prison occupancy stands at 114 per cent. The prisons have 53,009 officials to take care of 4,19,623 inmates which amounts to one official per eight inmates

• Recommendations

• Amendments to bail provisions: The Commission recommended to the government amendments to the bail provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code with emphasis on the early release on bail of undertrials

• Undertrials who have completed one-third of the maximum sentence for offences up to seven years be released on bail

• Those who are awaiting trial for offences punishable with imprisonment of more than seven years, should be bailed out if they have completed one-half of their sentence

• New legal provisions for remission: The Commission said new legal provisions for remission should be included to cover those undertrials who have already endured the full length of the maximum sentence

In your opinion, what constitutes prison reforms? Critically examine what efforts have been made to reform prisons in India. (200 Words)

Bharat Stage prescribes emission norms for which of the following vehicular exhausts in India? 1. Lead 2. CO 3. NOx 4. Ozone

Select the correct answer using the code given below. (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1, 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 3 and 4 only

Bharat Stage prescribes emission norms for: • For Passenger cars: CO and unburnt Hydrocarbons

(HC)+NOx

• For Heavy diesel vehicles: CO, HC, NOx & PM

Bharat Stage Emission Standards are emission standards • instituted by the Government of India

• to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles.

• The phasing out of 2 stroke engine and stopping the production of Maruti-800 was done under this initiative.

Ans B • The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the central pollution control board under the ministry of environment and forests.

• The standards based on European regulations were first introduced in 2000.

• Government wants to leap directly to BS-VI auto emission norms from the existing BS-IV, skipping BS-V.

Seasonal migration of men and animals from lower to higher altitudes during the summer is known as a) Pastoralism b) Ex-Migration c) Nomadism d) Transhumance Solution: d) • The migration usually happens from plains to pastures on mountains during

summers and again from mountain pastures to plain areas during winters. • Movement in search of pastures is undertaken either over vast horizontal distances

or vertically from one elevation to another in the mountainous regions.

• In mountain regions, such as Himalayas, Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas perform transhumance.

• Similarly, in the tundra regions, the nomadic herders move from south to north in summers and from north to south in winters.

Which of these states is NOT a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)? a) Saudi Arabia b) Iraq c) Iran d) Kuwait Solution: b)

GCC • It is a political and economic union

• It is a regional intergovernmental group

• It includes all Arab states of Persian Gulf except Iraq

• Members:

o Bahrain

o Kuwait

o Oman

o Qatar

o Saudi Arabia

o UAE

• Established : 1981

• HQ : Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

• All members are monarchies, including three constitutional monarchies (Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain), two absolute monarchies (Oman and Saudi Arabia) and one federal monarchy (UAE which is composed of seven member states, each of which is absolute monarchy with its own emir).