Daily Current Affair Quiz: 13th April 2020
1. Which of the following statements are true?
1. Freedom in the World 2020 report ranks India among least free democracies.
2. Freedom in the World is a yearly survey by U.S.-based NGO Democracy Alliance that measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation and significant related and disputed territories around the world.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Ans: a
Justification:
- Freedom in the World is a yearly survey by U.S.-based NGO Freedom House that measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation and significant related and disputed territories around the world. The report derives its methodology from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.
- Freedom in the World 2020 report ranks India among least free democracies. It ranks India at the 83rd position, along with Timor-Leste and Senegal. This is near the bottom of the pile among the countries categorised as “Free”, with only Tunisia receiving a lower score.
- India scored 34 out of 40 points in the political rights category, but only 37 out of 60 in the civil liberties category, for a total score of 71, a drop from last year’s score of 75.
2. Wheat leaf rust-disease is caused by
(a) Fungus
(b) Virus
(c) Bacteria
(d) None of the above
Ans: a
Justification:
- Wheat leaf rustis a fungal disease that affects wheat, barley and rye stems, leaves and grains. In temperate zones it is destructive on winter wheat because the pathogen overwinters. Infections can lead up to 20% yield loss, which is exacerbated by dying leaves, which fertilize the fungus.
3. Which of the following statements are true?
1. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is a scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for providing LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households
2. The Scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households, interest free loan to purchase stove and refill by Oil Marketing Companies.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Ans: c
Justification:
- Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is a scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for providing LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. The Scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households, interest free loan to purchase stove and refill by Oil Marketing Companies.
- The administrative cost of Rs. 1600 per connection, which includes a cylinder, pressure regulator, booklet, safety hose, etc. is borne by the Government.
4. Which of the following statement/s is/are true.
1. Payment Aggregators are entities that facilitate e-commerce sites and merchants to accept various payment instruments from the customers for completion of their payment obligations without the need for merchants to create a separate payment integration system of their own.
2. RBI decided to regulate PAs and provide baseline technology-related recommendations to Payment Gateaways, keeping in mind the important function these intermediaries play in facilitating online payments.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Ans: c
Justification:
- PAs are entities that facilitate e-commerce sites and merchants to accept various payment instruments from the customers for completion of their payment obligations without the need for merchants to create a separate payment integration system of their own. • PAs facilitate merchants to connect with acquirers. In the process, they receive payments from customers, pool and transfer them on to the merchants after a time period.
- Entities like Billdesk, CCAvenue, Firstdata, Techprocess were original players in this space. Then came the wave of startups who transformed the gateway business altogether. Players like Razorpay, VAJIRAM AND RAVI The Recitals (March 2020) Page 99 Cashfree, Paytm Payment Gateway and others started offering payment services to ecommerce companies.
- RBI decided to regulate PAs and provide baseline technology-related recommendations to PGs, keeping in mind the important function these intermediaries play in facilitating online payments.
5. The North Sea is bounded by
1. Denmark
2. Germany
3. Belgium
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Ans: d
Justification:
- Environmental organisations from across central and eastern Europe have criticized the DanubeOder-Elbe Canal project.
- The Canal intends to connect the Danube, Oder and Elbe rivers and thus provide another navigable link from the Black Sea to the North and Baltic Seas.
- The North Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is bounded by the UK, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
