QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 14 September 2018

Solution: d.

This is a clarification for the first question of the quiz on 11^th August (Click HERE).

Under Price Support Scheme (PSS), the procurement of oil seeds (this includes groundnuts and copra), pulses and cotton through Central Nodal Agencies at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) is also undertaken. This scheme is implemented at the request of the concerned State Government which agrees to exempt the procured commodities from levy of mandi tax and assist central nodal agencies in logistic arrangements including gunny bags, provide working capital for state agencies, creation of revolving fund for PSS operations etc. as required under the Scheme guidelines.

The basic objectives of PSS are to provide remunerative prices to the growers for their produce with a view to encourage higher investment and production and to safeguard the interest of consumers by making available supplies at reasonable prices with low cost of intermediation.

PIB (2017): Mechanism to procure bumper crops;

NAFED Price Support Scheme;

In the news: PM-AASHA;

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Solution: a.

The umbrella policy — Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA)

clubs together an existing procurement scheme (PSS) with newly introduced options — meant for oilseeds only — of additional procurement by private traders or a cash payment scheme.

In the news: PM-AASHA;

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Solution: c.

Elephant birds were once a common sight on Madagascar.
They weighed at least half a tonne, stood at around 3m tall and laid giant eggs, which were bigger even than those of the dinosaurs (see image: the giant egg is equivalent in volume to 150 chicken eggs).

The elephant birds, Aepyornis and Mullerornis, lived among other remarkable species on the island, including giant lemurs, which also died out. There are a number of theories about why and when this happened, and how much humans were involved.

Humans seem to have coexisted with elephant birds and other now-extinct species for over 9,000 years, apparently with limited negative impact on biodiversity for most of this period, which offers new insights for conservation today.

In the news (BBC): Prehistoric humans are under suspicion of wiping out the largest birds that ever lived after fossilised bones were discovered with telltale cut marks. According to scientists, it’s evidence that the elephant birds of Madagascar were hunted and butchered for food. The remains have been dated to about 10,000 years ago. Until now, the first settlers were thought to have arrived on the island about 2,500 to 4,000 years ago. This does push back the date of human arrival by 6,000 years, at least.

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Solution: c.

TH: Indians have registered a 50% increase in the prevalence of ischemic heart disease and stroke over the period from 1990 to 2016, with the number of diabetes cases climbing from 26 million to 65 million. In the same period, the number of people ailing from chronic obstructive lung disease went up from 28 million to 55 million. While it is known that NCDs have been increasing in India, a major finding of concern is that the highest rate of increase in ischemic heart disease and diabetes is in the less developed States of India.

TH: India’s proportional contribution to global suicide deaths is high and increasing. India’s contribution to global suicide deaths increased from 25.3% in 1990 to 36.6% in 2016 among women, and from 18.7% to 24.3% among men. Suicide Death Rate (SDR) in India is higher than expected for its socio-demographic index level, especially for women, with substantial variations in the magnitude and men-to-women ratio between the states.

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Solution: d.

The India State-level Disease Burden Initiative is a joint study of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and other institutes, including the Public Health Foundation of India and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

In the news: TH1; TH2;

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