Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC / IAS / 5-08-19 | Free PDF

MCQ 1

1. INF treaty is signed recently as arms control agreement between the united states and Russia.
2. The US And the Russia Agreed to eliminate within three years all missiles of 500-5,500 km range and not to develop, produce or deploy these in future.

Choose correct

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

• The U.S has withdrawn from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

What’s the issue?

• US in early December last year announced that it would suspend its obligations under the INF treaty by Feb. 2, citing Russian “cheating,” unless Moscow comes into compliance with the terms of the pact. The U.S. government says the new Russian missile violates provisions of the pact that ban production, testing and deployment of landbased cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 310 to 3,400 miles.
• What would happen in the absence of treaty?
• It is unclear what INF-prohibited systems the United States could deploy to Europe or Asia in the near term. The U.S. military has not developed any land-based missiles within the prohibited ranges for decades and has only just started funding a new ground-launched cruise missile to match the 9M729.
• Moscow is in a very different position and could rapidly expand deployment. The number of operational 9M729 missiles has been quite limited, but released from its official obligations under the treaty, Moscow could deploy more units rapidly.
• Russia could also effectively reclassify the RS-26 Rubezh, an experimental system that has been tested just above the INF Treaty’s 5,500-kilometer limit. To avoid violating the INF, Russian officials previously described the RS-26 as an intercontinental ballistic missile. However, it could form the basis for a missile of a slightly shorter range if Moscow wished to boost its INF forces — without counting it under the U.S.-Russian New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, governing longer-range systems.
• This move is also likely to undermine the 2010 New START treaty governing U.S. and Russian long-range nuclear systems. The INF Treaty’s demise will undercut New START by reopening questions on the relationship between intermediate and strategic systems that have been resolved for 30 years by the elimination of ground-based, intermediate-range missiles.

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty:

• The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty, formally Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles) is a 1987 arms control agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union.
• Under the INF Treaty, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. agreed to eliminate within three years all ground-launched-missiles of 500-5,500 km range and not to develop, produce or deploy these in future. • The U.S. destroyed 846 Pershing IIs and Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCMs) and the U.S.S.R., 1,846 missiles (SS-4s, SS-5s and SS-20s), along with its support facilities.

 Importance of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in U.S.-Russia relations:

• Under the Treaty, the two parties agreed that a whole important class of nuclear weapons would be removed from Europe, and only tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) or short-range missiles mostly deployed on the territory of Germany would remain.
• The INF Treaty for years served to mitigate fears of both parties in relation to possibility of military escalation, operational miscalculation, and helping to shift the logic of MAD [mutually assured destruction] to the higher “more sensitive” political level.

MCQ 2

 National Skill Certification Body, Unified National Accreditation board & Kaushal Mart, these are components of

1. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
2. Skill India
3. SANKALP
4. Udaan

• SANKALP Scheme
• Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) project focuses on skill development.
• It is programme of ‘Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship’.
• It is an outcome oriented project supported by ‘World Bank’.
• It aims to implement the mandate of the National Skill Development Mission (NSDM).
• It focuses on district level skilling ecosystem through seamless convergence and coordination.
• It has a special focus on decentralized planning and quality improvement.
• It covers the overall skilling ecosystem of both Central & State agencies.
• Four key areas identified under the scheme are,
• Institutional Strengthening (National,State&District level)
• Quality Assurance of skill development programs
• Inclusion of marginalized population in skill development and
• Expanding Skills through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).
• An award has also launched to promote skill planning at the district level, namely “District Skill Development Plan (DSDP) Awards”.
• The key components of this scheme are,
• National Skill Certification Body – An independent body for regulating skill assessment.
• Unified National Accreditation board – A standard registration and accreditation criteria for trainers & training centres.
• National Skill Research Division – It is an independent think tank with an objective to analyse labour markets to help make policies that suit the current trends.
• Kaushal Mart – This is a consolidated Skilling Resource Marketplace which offers a credible platform for an exchange of skilling resources.
• Takshila: National Portal for trainers – This functions as the central archive of information regarding the skill development of Trainers.

MCQ 3

IMPacting Research, INnovation and Technology (IMPRINT) and UchhatarAvishkar Yojana (UAY) schemes are by

1. NITI Aayog
2. MHRD
3. MSDE
4. Ministry of commerce & HI

Ministry of Human Resource Development

•  Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurates TechEx – a technology exhibition organized to demonstrate products and prototypes developed under IMPRINT and UAY
• Union Human Resource Development Minister, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated theTechEx – technology exhibition at IIT Delhi today.
• TechEx was organized to demonstrate products and prototypes developed under the two flagship schemes of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) namely IMPacting Research, INnovation and Technology (IMPRINT) and UchhatarAvishkar Yojana (UAY). The Minister also released TechEx Volume containing abstracts of all the IMPRINT and UAY projects.
• IMPRINT scheme was launched in November, 2015 with a view to providing solutions to the most relevant engineering challenges by translating knowledge into viable technology (products or processes) in 10 selected technology domains, namely health care, energy, sustainable habitat, nano-technology hardware, water resources and river systems, advanced materials, Information and Communication Technology, manufacturing, security and defence, and environmental science and climate change. 142 projects at a total cost of Rs.313.30 cr. were approved under the IMPRINT-I. These projects are funded jointly by MHRD and the participating Ministry in the ratio of 50:50.
• UchhatarAvishkar Yojana (UAY) was announced on October 6, 2015 with a view to promoting innovation of a higher order that directly impacts the needs of the Industry and thereby improves the competitive edge of Indian manufacturing. A total of 142 projects, including 83 in Phase-I and 59 in Phase-II) have been approved under UAY at a total cost of Rs.388.86 cr. UAY projects are funded jointly by MHRD, participating Ministries and the Industry in the ratio of 50:25:25. The scheme focusses on a viable industry-academic collaboration where industry shares a part of the cost of research.

 MCQ 4

1. Mechi River is important tributary of Koshi river.
2. Government has approved Rs 4,900 crore Kosi-Mechi Interlinking project for interlinking of Kosi and Mechi rivers of Bihar as the second major river linking project after Godavari & Krishna rivers.

Choose correct

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
 (D) None

• The Mechi River is a trans-boundary river flowing through Nepal and India. It is a tributary of the Mahananda River.
• The Mechi originates in the Mahabharat Range in Nepal. It flows through Nepal, forms the boundary between India and Nepal and then flows through the Indian state of Bihar to join the Mahananda in Kishanganj district.
• The Mechi-Mahananda interfluve is a transitional area between the hills and the plains and exhibits a wide range of topographical variations. The rivers originating in the hills attain a braiding character and have well developed alluvial fans.
• The Mahananda river system of which Mechi is a part has a catchment area of 8,088 square kilometres (3,123 sq mi) in Nepal and 11,520 square kilometres (4,450 sq mi) in India
• The Centre has approved a project worth Rs 4,900-crore Kosi-Mechi river interlining project, providing a major lease of life to Bihar’s Seemanchal region.
• The ambitious Kosi-Mechi project, which is the country’s second major river interlinking project after Ken-Betwa of Madhya Pradesh.
• Kosi-Mechi Interlinking project has not yet received coveted National Project Status. But on the lines of Ken-Betwa project in MP (India’s first Interlinking of rivers project), this project also qualifies for a ‘National Project’ status because of number of reasons, including its huge flood management and irrigation potential.

MCQ 5

1. hardpad disease is caused by A protozoa
2. It affects humans through Dogs

Choose correct

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
 (D) None

• Canine distemper virus (CDV) is an acute and often fatal febrile disease with respiratory and central nervous system signs most commonly seen in the ferret.
• Canine distemper is caused by a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Most terrestrial carnivores are susceptible to natural CDV infection.
• According to recent study published in Threatened Taxa, tigers face glooming threat from Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) transmitted from CDV-infected dogs living in and around wildlife sanctuaries. It has found that 86% of tested dogs around Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan carried CDV antibodies in their bloodstream.
• It is highly contagious viral disease that attacks gastrointestinal, respiratory, central nervous systems, immune system and other vital organs of wide variety of animal species, including dogs, coyotes, foxes, pandas and wolves. In most of the cases, this infection is fatal. It is also known as hardpad disease. It is considered dangerous virus and is blamed for wiping out 30% population of African lions in East African forests.
• Cause: It is caused by single-stranded RNA virus of family Paramyxoviridae (the same family of viruses that causes mumps, measles, and bronchiolitis in humans). This virus is similar to measles virus in humans and rinderpest virus which affects cattle.

MCQ 6

 ISRO laid foundation stone for Space Situational Awareness Control Centre at Peenya, Bengaluru on 2nd August for

1. Control of chandrayaan 2
2. For analysing conditions for Future Manned missions
3. in view of increasing space debris population
4. For finding life in solar system

• Space Situational Awareness & Management (SSAM) has become an internationally significant area due to the ever growing manmade space debris population and the increased collision threat with operational spacecraft. Chairman, ISRO laid foundation stone for Space Situational Awareness Control Centre at Peenya, Bengaluru on 2nd August, which is an important milestone in the progress of ISRO.
• ISRO has taken special attention to this aspect. ISRO has set up a Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management aiming at protecting high valued space assets from space debris close approaches and collisions. To carryout systematically all activities related to SSAM, a control centre is being established at Bengaluru.
• The Control Centre would facilitate the intensified activities foreseen for SSAM, in view of increasing debris population and operational space assets. The control centre would host a range of activities pertaining to protection of Indian Space assets from inactive satellites, pieces of orbiting objects, near earth asteroids and adverse space weather conditions. It would assimilate the tracking data of inactive satellites from indigenous observation facilities and generates useful information from bare observations through analysis. For sustainable use of space, the control centre would enable research activities pertaining to active debris removal, space debris modelling and mitigation.

 MCQ 7

English channel is located between

1. UK & Iceland
2. UK & Germany
3. UK & Netherland
4. UK & france

MCQ 8

1. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is an energy service company (ESCO) of the Government of India under Ministry of renewable energy
2. EESL has been the main facilitator in providing e-vehicles to various Government agencies.

Choose correct

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

Ministry of Defence

• Army Launches E Car to Combat Pollution
• The Indian Army in step with government policies on environmental protection has launched an ecological initiative with employing E Cars for use of its officials in New Delhi in partnership with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a joint Venture of Central PSUs under Ministry of Power. The introduction of E-Car in Army at Delhi was visualized on World Environment Day and launched on 01 Aug 2019 with flagging off the first lot of E-Cars for Indian Army by QMG, Lt Gen Gopal R. Army plans to operate the first batch of 10 E-Cars as a pilot project and develop further on this initiative and increase the number of E Cars in Delhi to ensure economy, efficiency and minimal emissions.
• It is pertinent to mention that Army has always been at the forefront of environmental initiatives. Indian Army has a large number of Territorial Army Battalions (ECO) which have done a yeoman service in environmental protection initiatives such as forestation. Army units posted in remote and ecologically sensitive areas from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari have been carrying out various activities in close coordination with local populace to conserve the ecological balance and protect the environment.
• Air pollution has been a major challenge in Delhi. Governments across the World are investing a lot of resources in fighting this menace. Electric vehicle technology has proved to be a viable alternative by reducing the carbon emission footprint. Indian companies like Tata Motors and Mahindra have taken a lead in R&D and manufacturing of Electric Cars. EESL has been the main facilitator in providing these vehicles to various Government agencies. Army’s initiative in encouraging these electric vehicles will go a long way in further development of this technology and its adoption for the general public in near future.
• Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is an energy service company (ESCO) of the Government of India and is the world’s largest public ESCO. It is 100% government owned, a joint venture of stateowned NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation and POWERGRID. EESL was formed under India’s Ministry of Power to facilitate energy efficiency projects. Innovative business and implementation models can significantly reduce consumption and costs. EESL also acts as the resource centre for capacity building of state electricity distribution companies, electricity regulatory commissions (ERCs), statedesignated agencies (SDAs), upcoming ESCOs, financial institutions, etc.
• EESL implemented 10 energy efficiency projects during the financial year 2014-2015, with an investment of Rs.147 crores. This saved 285 MW or 96.36 MU and reduces carbon-dioxide emission by 77 million kg per year. EESL says it makes energy efficiency accessible, affordable and safer. • Its programs distributed over 33.66 crore LED light bulbs and replaced 64 lakh street lights with LED lights on 13 August 2018.
• They increased India’s share of the world’s LEDs from 0.1% in 2013-2014 to 12% in 2015-2016.
• EESL has the largest energy efficiency portfolio in the world.
• It created 40,000 jobs directly and 25,000 indirectly
• It is one of the fastest-growing companies in India – 10 fold growth in one year
• Projects include Unnat Joyti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA), Street Light National Programme, National Energy Efficient fan distribution programme, Efficient Buildings programme. EESL is also implementing the world’s largest agricultural demand-side management programme, by distributing efficient smartcontrolled pumps to farmers free of cost, to allow remote operation and monitoring (such as via SMS).
• EESL’s procurement model transformed LED light bulb production, and decreased prices to one-tenth in 2 years.
• EESL projects will receive $454 million funding from Global Environment Facility (GEF – an international partnership of 183 countries), international development banks, United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
• Energy Efficiency Services limited (EESL) has launched the National Energy Efficient Fan Programme (NEEFP) to promote efficient use of energy by increasing the use of energy efficient appliances at the residential level.
• EESL partnered with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for the project Creating and Sustaining Markets for Energy Efficiency, focusing on energy efficiency programmes, and aiming to mitigate CO2 emissions by 60 million tonnes.
• This is one of the largest funding by GEF so far. The project will receive a composite funding of $454 million, consisting of a $20-million grant from GEF and $434 million in loans and equity from other financiers, including a $200 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
• EESL further proposed an Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund for sustainable funding of energy efficiency projects in India.

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