INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS (30 January 2020) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• 13 neglected tropical diseases: ascariasis, Buruli ulcer, Chagas disease, dracunculiasis, hookworm infection, human African trypanosomiasis, Leishmaniasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, trachoma, and trichuriasis.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/30/neglected-diseases-2/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The West Asia peace plan was recently unveiled by U.S. President Trump.
• It plans to revive the stalled two-state talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
• It seeks to give the Israelis an expansive state with Jerusalem as its “undivided capital” and tight security control over a future Palestinian state.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/30/west-asia-peace-plan/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network Systems (CCTNS) was conceptualized by the Ministry of Home Affairs in detailed consultation with all stakeholders and is being implemented as a “Mission Mode Project (MMP)” since 2009.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/30/national-crime-records-bureau-ncrb/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The Sutlej River is also known as Satadree. It is the easternmost tributary of the Indus River.
• The source of the Sutlej is west of Lake Rakshastal in Tibet, as springs in an ephemeral stream channel descending from this lake.
• Ropar Wetland in Punjab state is located on the Sutlej river basin.
• The main tributeris of satluj are baspa, Spiti and beas
• Ungti Chu and Pare Chu rivers which drain southeastern part of Jammu and Kashmir state are tributaries of Sutlej river.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/25/sutlej-yamuna-link-syl-canal-2/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• India constituted over 60% of all global polio cases as recently as 2009.
• However, in 2014, India was officially declared polio-free, along with the rest of the South-East Asia Region.
• The National Polio Surveillance Project (NPSP) was established in 1997 for poliovirus surveillance through a collaboration between the WHO and the Government of India. This surveillance effort confirmed the last reported global case of wild poliovirus type 2 in 1999 in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.
• Trivalent OPV contains all three types of poliovirus, while bivalent OPV only contains poliovirus type 1 and 3. This switch means that OPV no longer protects against WPV2. Inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) protects people against all three types of poliovirus.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/25/what-is-a-vaccine-derived-poliovirus/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Gharial: It is listed as a Critically Endangered by IUCN.
• Saltwater Crocodile: It listed as least concern by IUCN.
• Mugger: It is listed as vulnerable by IUCN.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/01/06/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-06-january-2020/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Lonar is one of Maharashtra’s best-kept secrets. Home to the Earth’s largest and only hyper-velocity impact crater in basaltic rock, Lonar is named after the demon, Lonasura, and is ringed by fascinating temples, including one with erotic sculptures reminiscent of Khajuraho.
• The crater was formed fifty-two thousand years ago, when a meteor crashed into the earth at an estimated speed of 90,000kmph, weighing 2 million tonnes. It gouged a hole that was 1.8km wide and 150m deep.
• Over time, the jungle took over, and a perennial stream transformed the base into a tranquil, greenlocale.
• It lies about 150km southeast of Ajanta caves

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization, developing advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.
• Every year, millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean. A significant percentage of this plastic drifts into large systems of circulating ocean currents, also known as gyres. Once trapped in a gyre, the plastic will break down into microplastics and become increasingly easier to mistake for food by sea life.
• Going after it with vessels and nets would be costly, time-consuming, labor-intensive and lead to vast amounts of carbon emission and by-catch. That is why The Ocean Cleanup is developing a passive system, moving with the currents –just like the plastic –to catch it.
• The system consists of a 600-meter-long floater that sits at the surface of the water and a tapered 3-meter-deep skirt attached below. The floater provides buoyancy to the system and prevents plastic from flowing over it, while the skirt stops debris from escaping underneath.
• As the system moves through the water, the plastic continues to collect within the boundaries of the U-shaped system.

(Image: On the left is the cross-section of the 600-m long floater; The floater is shown on the right)

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Westerlies flow between latitudes 30-60 degrees North and 30-60 degrees south. The statement mentions 30N-60S.
• The western cyclonic disturbances are weather phenomena of the winter months brought in by the westerly flow from the Mediterranean region. They usually influence the weather of the north and north-western regions of India. They are a non-monsoonal precipitation pattern driven by the Westerlies.

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Bosporus, also spelled Bosphorus, strait unites the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara and separates parts of Asian Turkey (Anatolia) from European Turkey.