Weekly Current Affairs: Quizzes, 21 to 26 November, 2022

EXPLANATION:

• According to the Prime Minister, the government has worked towards initiatives like paperless EXIM trade process through e-sanchit, faceless assessment for customs, provisions for e-way bills, FASTag etc. that have greatly increased the efficiency of the logistics sector. PM also underlined the importance of a unified tax system like GST in smoothening the issues of the logistics sector. Change in drone policy and connecting it with the PLI scheme is promoting the use of drones in the logistics sector. “Only after doing so much, we have come out with a National Logistics Policy, ” he explained. “From 13-14 per cent logistics cost, we should all aim to bring it to single-digit as soon as possible. This, in a way, is a low-hanging fruit, if we have to become globally competitive”, the Prime Minister emphasized. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• The government's latest policy comes with a Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan (CLAP) which details the NLP’s specific targets. These include: Reducing India’s logistics cost to be comparable to global benchmarks by 2030 and aiming to be among the top 25 countries by 2030 in the Logistics Performance Index (LPI). Hence statement 2 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The PM-PRANAM scheme seeks to incentivise states that use lesser amounts of chemical fertilisers in a particular year, something that will be gauged against the average quantity of fertilisers used by the state over the past three years. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The total requirement of four main fertilisers in India, namely Urea, DAP (di-ammonium phosphate), MOP (muriate of potash), NPKS (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur), increased by 21 per cent between 2017-18 and 2021-2022, government to increase subsidies it already provides for chemical fertilisers.
• The Union Budget had set aside an amount of Rs 79,530 crore for fertiliser subsidy in 2021-22, the final figure touched Rs 1.62 lakh crore. Given this trend, the introduction of the PM-PRANAM scheme is expected to reduce the burden on the exchequer. Hence statement 2 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Articles 15 (6) and 16 (6) have been inserted in the Constitution, (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019.  This enables the State to provide the benefits of reservation on preferential basis to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs) in civil posts and services in the Government of India and admission in Educational Institutions.  Accordingly, the provision for 10% reservation to the EWS was implemented by the Government in January 2019. Hence statement 1 is incorrect 
• 10% reservation under EWS category is applicable to those persons who are not covered under the existing scheme of reservations for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.

EXPLANATION:

• Sri Lankan President criticises developed nations for reneging on their climate financing contributions. Pointing to the “lack of” capacity as the “biggest obstacle” to the implementation of climate action plans, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed setting up an International Climate Change University in Sri Lanka, with an ancillary institution in the Maldives. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• The presidents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt signed an agreement to develop one of the world's largest onshore wind projects in Egypt.The 10 GW farm would produce 47,790 GWh of clean energy annually and offset 23.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to around 9% of Egypt's current CO2 emissions. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.

EXPLANATION:

• The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks The targets of the campaign are primarily Islamic terrorist groups, with prominent targets including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
• The "war on terror" uses war as a metaphor to describe a variety of actions which fall outside the traditional definition of war taken to eliminate international terrorism. 43rd President of the United States George W. Bush first used the term "war on terrorism" on 16 September 2001, and then "war on terror" a few days later in a formal speech to Congress.Bush indicated the enemy of the war on terror as "a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them." The initial conflict was aimed at al-Qaeda, with the main theater in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a region that would later be referred to as "AfPak".

EXPLANATION:

• Adi Granth is the oldest known manuscript copy outside India of a substantial part of the Sikh scripture, the 'Guru Granth Sahib' or 'Adi Granth'. The original 'Adi Granth', containing verses by the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, and other Sikh Gurus and saints, was compiled in 1603–4 by the fifth Sikh Guru Arjan. This manuscript dates in part from the middle of the 17th century (c. 1660–75), and is therefore one of the twenty oldest known copies in existence. It was purchased by the British Museum in 1884 from the Reverend A Fischer, who had been the principal of a missionary school in Amritsar, Panjab. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.
• Gurmukhi alphabet, writing system developed by the Sikhs in India for their sacred literature. It seems to have been modified from the Lahnda script, which is used to write the Punjabi, Sindhi, and Lahnda (now considered to consist of Siraiki and Hindko) languages. Lahnda, Gurmukhi, and two other scripts used in northwestern India—Sharada and Takri—make up a related group that is probably descended from a common ancestor. According to Sikh tradition, Gurmukhi (literally, “from the mouth of the Guru”) was invented in the mid-16th century by Angad, the second Sikh Guru (head of the Sikh religion), in order to correct certain inadequacies in the Lahnda script so that sacred literature might be accurately recorded. However, the script is known to have existed before Angad’s time, and he is now considered the popularizer or standardizer of Gurmukhi rather than its originator.Hence statement 1 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record, fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat. Extreme heat waves, drought and devastating flooding have affected millions and cost billions this year, according to the WMO Provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022 report. Hence statement 1 is correct
• The tell-tale signs and impacts of climate change are becoming more dramatic. The rate of sea level rise has doubled since 1993. It has risen by nearly 10 mm since January 2020 to a new record high this year. The past two and a half years alone account for 10 percent of the overall rise in sea level since satellite measurements started nearly 30 years ago.
• 2022 took an exceptionally heavy toll on glaciers in the European Alps, with initial indications of record-shattering melt. The Greenland ice sheet lost mass for the 26th consecutive year and it rained (rather than snowed) there for the first time in September.
• The global mean temperature in 2022 is currently estimated to be about 1.15 [1.02 to 1.28] °C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average. A rare triple-dip cooling La Niña means that 2022 is likely to “only” be fifth or sixth warmest. However, this does not reverse the long-term trend; it is only a matter of time until there is another warmest year on record. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Indeed, the warming continues. The 10-year average for the period 2013-2022 is estimated to be 1.14 [1.02 to 1.27] °C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial baseline. This compares with 1.09°C from 2011 to 2020, as estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment report.

EXPLANATION:

• The earthquake events are scaled either according to the magnitude or intensity of the shock. The magnitude scale is known as the Richter scale. The intensity scale is named after Mercalli, an Italian seismologist.Hence statement(2) is correct.
• The magnitude relates to the energy released during the quake. The magnitude is expressed in absolute numbers, 0-10. The intensity scale takes into account the visible damage caused by the event. The range of intensity scale is from 1-12.Hence statement(1) is incorrect.
• Earthquakes are a natural hazard. The following are the immediate hazardous effects of earthquake: (i) Ground Shaking (ii) Differential ground settlement (iii) Land and mudslides (iv) Soil liquefaction (v) Ground lurching (vi) Avalanches (vii) Ground displacement (viii) Floods from dam and levee failures (ix) Fires (x) Structural collapse (xi) Falling objects (xii) Tsunami

EXPLANATION:

• The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities. It consists of the average of five commodity group price indices weighted by the average export shares of each of the groups over 2014-2016.
• Monthly release dates for 2022: 6 January, 3 February, 4 March, 8 April, 6 May, 3 June, 8 July, 5 August, 2 September, 7 October, 4 November, 2 December. Hence statement 2 is incorrect
• The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 135.9 points in October 2022, virtually unchanged from September, with the price indices of all the covered commodity groups, except cereals, down month-on-month. An upturn in the Cereal Price Index countered drops in the indices for vegetable oils, dairy, meat and sugar. With the latest updates, the FFPI has dropped 23.8 points (14.9 percent) from its peak in March this year, but remained 2.7 points (2.0 percent) above its value in the corresponding month last year.
• It is released by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.

• The Central Government amended the Aadhaar regulations requiring card holders to update relevant documents supporting Aadhaar information at least once every 10 years. The amendment of the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations require updation of supporting documents of Aadhaar information at least once every 10 years from the date of enrolment. The update is not mandatory but can be encouraged to maintain the accuracy of the data in the Central Identities Data Repository. Hence, statement 1 is correct. 
• This regulation is limited to updating demographic information and does not involve biometric data like fingerprints. As of June 2022, more than 133 crore Aadhaar cards have been distributed. However, the actual number of Aadhaar card holders is less due to deaths. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• Increasing accuracy of Aadhaar related information can help the government eliminate leakages of government schemes’ benefits that occur due to inaccurate information of Aadhaar cards. Over 100 government schemes (650 state government schemes and 315 central government schemes) use Aadhaar authentication to eliminate deduplication and remove ghost beneficiaries. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• India is set to launch Vikram-S on November 15 from Indian Space Research Organisation’s launchpad at Sriharikota – an island in Andhra Pradesh. Vikram-S, a single stage suborbital launch vehicle, is India’s first privately developed rocket. It was developed by a Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace. Hence, statement 1 is correct. 
• During its maiden launch under Mission Prarambh (beginning), it will carry 3 customer payloads in a sub-orbital flight to help validate the majority of technologies in the Vikram series of space launch vehicles. Of the three payloads launched aboard the Vikram-S under Mission Prarambh, two are for Indian customers and one is for a foreign customer. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The Vikram series has three rockets – Vikram I, II and III. They have unique capabilities such as multi-orbit insertion and interplanetary missions. They can support communication services like broadband internet, GPS, and IoT from space and earth imaging. It will provide customized, dedicated and ride share options, catering to a wide spectrum of small satellite customer base. These rockets can be assembled and launched in less than 72 hours, having the lowest cost in the payload segment. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) was launched at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) is a satellite-based system that enables governments to detect methane emissions and take measures to address them. This data-to-action platform is part of the global endeavor to tackle climate change by curbing greenhouse emissions. It was set up as part of the United Nations Environment Programme’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) strategy to gain policy-relevant data required for mitigating emissions. Hence, statement 1 is correct. 
• Methane accounts for only a minuscule portion of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping atmospheric heat. According to the study by the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), there are 50 “super-emitters” of methane gas in central Asia, west Asia and the southwestern United States. Hence, statement 2 is  not correct.
• The Global Methane Pledge aims to bring down methane emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030 to maintain the 1.5°C temperature limit. Participants of this pledge have set a global emissions target to voluntarily take actions to minimize methane emissions by at least 30 per cent from 2020 levels by the end of this decade. This could eliminate some 0.2°C warming by 2050.Hence, statement 3 is correct.