Weekly Current Affairs: Quizzes 11/07/2022 to 16/07/2022

EXPLANATION:

• SIBs have 45 percent less global warming potential than lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and about 25 percent less than NMC batteries in the cradle-to-gate life cycle comparison. Currently, the two dominant commercial options to fulfill energy storage needs in India are lithium-ion batteries (LIB) and lead-acid batteries (LAB). LABs are hugely popular in India — especially for the manufacturing of two and three-wheeler electric vehicles — owing to their affordability, material accessibility, and recycling rates. Hence statement (1) is correct.
• Sodium-Ion Batteries (SIBs) are rechargeable like LIBs and require sodium ion movement between electrodes during the charging and discharging of the battery. Apart from being the drivers of EV manufacturing in the world, they are used for energy storage in electronics and off-grid power supply. Hence statement (2) is incorrect.

EXPLANATION:

• All 54 Commonwealth members have agreed to voluntarily dedicate a ‘living land’ in their respective countries to future generations, in line with the strategy set for the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The non-binding Living Lands Charter mandates that member countries will safeguard global land resources and arrest land degradation while acting against climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable management. Hence statement (1) is incorrect.
• The Living Lands Charter helps to encapsulate the combined effort to hold the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It aimed to support member countries to effectively deliver their commitments under the three Rio conventions — UN Convention on Biological Diversity, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Hence statement (2) is correct. (Words-127)

EXPLANATION:

• Researchers of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a new Graphic Processing Unit (GPU)-based machine learning algorithm that can help scientists better understand and predict connectivity between different regions of the brain.
• The algorithm, called Regularized, Accelerated, Linear Fascicle Evaluation, or (ReAl-LiFE), can rapidly analyse the enormous amounts of data generated from diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) scans of the human brain. Hence option (a) is correct.
• Using ReAL-LiFE, the team was able to evaluate dMRI data over 150 times faster than the existing state-of-the-art algorithms.Tasks that previously took hours and days can now be done within seconds and minutes.

EXPLANATION:

• It is an automated platform leveraging the latest technology which will provide seamless and timely disbursal of Pay & Allowances to around 15,000 Indian Coast Guard personnel. Hence statement (1) is correct.
• This module has been developed under the aegis of the Defence Accounts Department and will be operated by the Pay Accounts Office Coast Guard, Noida. The launch marked the beginning of the Centralised Pay System (CPS), the foundation of which is being laid down by the Defence Accounts Department Headquarters to provide one-stop pay accounting solutions for all organisations under the Defence Ministry. Hence statement (2) is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The Ministry of Textiles (MoT) has launched the PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel Parks (MITRAs) Scheme to strengthen the Indian textile industry. It enables the scale of operations, reduces logistics cost by housing the entire value chain at one location, attracts investment, generates employment, and augments export potential. Hence statement (1) is correct.
• PM MITRA Parks will be set up on the basis of proposals received from State Governments. The scheme will develop integrated large-scale and modern industrial infrastructure facilities for the total value-chain of the textile industry, for example, spinning, weaving, processing, garments, textile manufacturing, processing & printing machinery industry. Hence statement (2) is correct.
• PM MITRA Parks will be set up on the basis of proposals received from State Governments having ready availability of contiguous and encumbrance-free land parcels of minimum 1000 acres. Hence statement (3) is incorrect. (Words-140)

EXPLANATION:

• The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module is a platform that will help perform in-orbit experiments using the final, and otherwise discarded, stage of ISRO’s workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV is a four-stage rocket where the first three spent stages fall back into the ocean, and the final stage (PS4) — after launching the satellite into orbit — ends up as space junk. Hence statement (1) is incorrect.
• POEM has a dedicated Navigation Guidance and Control (NGC) system for attitude stabilisation, which stands for controlling the orientation of any aerospace vehicle within permitted limits.The NGC will act as the platform’s brain to stabilise it with specified accuracy. Hence statement (2) is correct. (Words-114)

EXPLANATION:

• Hoolock Gibbons
• The forests of northeast India are well known for the rich biodiversity they support, both faunal and floral. These forests also support the highest diversity of primates in India, including the only apes found in the country, the western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) and the eastern hoolock gibbon (Hoolock leuconedys).
• The western hoolock gibbon has a much wider range, as it is found in all the states of the northeast, restricted between the south of the Brahmaputra river and east of the Dibang river.
• The eastern hoolock gibbon inhabits specific pockets of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India, and southern China and northeast Myanmar.
• Of the two, the western hoolock is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List, while the eastern hoolock is listed as Vulnerable. Hence statement (b) is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Replacing SUPs with biodegradable SUPs will not eliminate the problem of microplastics that are now poisoning our food chain and are even being found in our bloodstream. Hence statement (1) is incorrect.
• Plastic carry bags, for instance, will not be banned, they will still be available but the thickness has been regulated to be more than 75 microns till December 31, 2022, and more than 120 microns from December 31, 2022 onward. The list of the banned single-use plastic items includes plastic cups, plates, cutlery, ice cream sticks, candy sticks, straws, wrapping and polystyrene (thermocol/Styrofoam). Hence statement (2) is incorrect. (Words- 101)

EXPLANATION:

• In case of any non-compliance or contravention of the current provisions of the EPA, or of the rules under this Act, the violator can be punished with imprisonment for up to five years or with a fine up to Rs 1,00,000, or both. If the violation continues beyond a period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender can be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years. Hence statement (1) is incorrect.
• The EPA, an overarching law that supersedes other environment laws such as the Water and Air Act, which will also be decriminalised. Hence statement (2) is correct. (Words-108)

EXPLANATION:

• The zero duty access for Indian products to the UAE is set to expand over 5-10 years to 97 per cent of UAE tariff lines corresponding to 99 per cent of India’s exports by value. Hence statement (1) is correct.
• India will benefit from preferential market access provided by the UAE on over 97 % of its tariff lines which account for 99% of Indian exports to the UAE. Hence statement (2) is correct.
•  India has excluded certain goods from the agreement through a “sensitive list” of products amounting to 10 percent of tariff lines that are excluded completely from the agreement. Hence statement (3) is incorrect. (Words-106)

EXPLANATION:

• The Permian era is a period spanning 298.9 million-252.2 million years ago. This was a time before the dinosaurs ruled the planet. Global ocean temperatures were 10 degrees higher than today. Oxygen levels were 80% lower. During this period, land masses collided to form the supercontinent Pangaea. The supercontinent was arid; only a few parts received rainfall round the year. But towards the end of the era, a series of volcanic eruptions occurred in central Siberia, injecting massive amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. The change in climate after the volcanic eruptions was a death knell for the flourishing and diverse life forms. Many long-lived lineages vanished. Roughly 96% of marine species and 70% of land species went extinct. Hence, the scientists refer to this period as the ‘Great Dying’. Hence option (c) is correct. (Words-134)

EXPLANATION:

• Antibody, also called immunoglobulin, is a protective protein produced by the immune system in response to the presence of a foreign substance, called an antigen. A wide range of substances are regarded by the body as antigens, including disease-causing organisms and toxic materials. Hence statement (1) is correct.
• IgG (Immunoglobulin G) is the main antibody in blood and it has a powerful ability to bind to bacteria and toxins, and thus it takes on an important role in the biological defence system. IgG is the only isotype that can pass through the placenta, and IgG transferred from the mother's body protects a newborn. Hence statement (2) is incorrect. (Words-106)