MCQ Online Test: Welfare Schemes-1 - UPSC MCQ

Answer: c

Explanation:

The project - 'Sustainable Action for Climate Resilient Development in Majuli' has been initiated by Assam Government with the aim to combat climate change & reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Mitigation through forestry activities & biodiversity conservation will be the starting points for the carbon neutral agenda.

The project will be designed and implemented in partnership with other departments of the district for which a district level committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner has been constituted.

Answer: d

Explanation:

The Government has issued the notification for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop) Rules, 2016 and the objectives of these rules is to make pet shops accountable and to prevent cruelty inflicted on animals kept in such pet shops.

The proposed Rules provide as under: 

• It will be mandatory for all pet shop owners to register themselves with the State Animal Welfare Board of the respective State Governments/Union Territories.

• Such shops will be registered only after inspection by the representatives of State Board, a veterinary practitioner and a representative of Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

• The rules define space requirement for birds, cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pig, hamster, rats and mice in the pet shops.

• It defines the basic amenities, power back-up, general care, veterinary care and other operational requirement for animals kept in pet shops.

• It is mandatory to maintain proper records of sale, purchase, death of animals in pet shop, sick animals etc.

Answer: d

Explanation:

The Women and Child Development Ministry has been prioritising issues related to the safety of women at the highest level with a holistic approach with a view to balance both preventive & curative aspects, proper & effective implementation of various laws and provisions available for the safety of girls/women.

To supplement the ongoing efforts towards gender equality, the Mahila Police Volunteer Initiative was envisaged in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs to facilitate Police force through community volunteerism. Police play an important role in the safety and security of citizens in general and women in particular.

In order to provide a link between police and community and facilitate women in distress, one Mahila Police Volunteer (MPV) is envisaged per Gram Panchayat across the country. These will be selected through a laid out procedure from among the empowered, responsible, socially aware women who will facilitate police outreach on gender concerns.

Answer: b

Explanation:

The Mission is being implemented under the Ministry of urban development, during 2015-2022 and provides central assistance to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and other implementing agencies through States/UTs for:

1) In-situ Rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers using land as a resource through private participation

2) Credit Linked Subsidy

3) Affordable Housing in Partnership

4) Subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancement.

Credit linked subsidy component is being implemented as a Central Sector Scheme while other three components as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).

A Technology Sub-Mission under the Mission has been set up to facilitate the adoption of modern, innovative and green technologies and building material for fast and quality construction of houses. Technology sub-mission also facilitates the preparation and adoption of layout designs and building plans suitable for various Geo-climatic zones. It will also assist States/Cities in deploying disaster resistant and environment-friendly technologies.

Answer: a

Explanation:

‘GARV-II’ App of Government of India has the aim to provide access to electricity to all households in the country. Under this module, village-wise and habitation-wise baseline data on household electrification for all States, as provided by them, has been incorporated.

This app is an important part of the ‘Digital India Initiative’ of Government of India and will contribute in further development of the villages. The status of village-wise works sanctioned under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and release of funds to the States for these projects has also been mapped in ‘GARV-II’ to monitor the progress of works in each village.

Answer: c

Explanation:

In the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Lanura village of Budgam district became the first village in the state to go cashless. At least one member of every household in the village has been trained to use the Electronic Payment System (EPS) and so far, 150 people were trained for the purpose.

Lanura village is located some 30 kilometres away from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The village falls in Panchayat Bugroo-B in block Khansahab of the district.

Answer: d

Explanation:

India has 4th in the Global Wind Power Installed Capacity Index 2016. At present, the cumulative installed wind power generation capacity of India is 25088 MW. The Index for 2016 has been topped by China followed by USA and Germany. The cumulative installed wind power generation capacity of China is 145362 MW. The cumulative installed wind power generation capacity of USA is 74471 MW while Germany has the capacity of 44947 MW. In 2015-2016, India has installed 31472 solar pumps, which is higher than the total number of pumps installed during last 24 years. As on 31st October 2016, 92305 solar pumps have been installed in the country. During 2016-2017, 51 MW installations of biomass power plants were achieved against a target of 400 MW.

Answer: c

Explanation:

With the successful test-fire of Agni 5, the missile becomes part of the Indian military’s inventory and also restores some of the missile balance that is in China's favour. Important feature of Agni 5 is it has three-stage solid fuelled missile with composite motor casing in the third stage. Agni 5 is capable of carrying multiple warheads and would also display counter-measures against anti-ballistic missile systems. Unlike other missiles of Agni series, Agni-5 is the most advanced having some new technologies incorporated with it in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine.

Answer: b

Explanation: 

In order to make strong its air defence capabilities, India has successfully test fired Agni 5 recently,  a new and long range surface-to-air missile from Kalam island off the Odisha coast.  Now Agni-5 has became India's longest range nuclear capable missile developed by DRDO. Agni 5 is the inter-continental surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile, the latest in India's "Agni" family of medium to inter-continental range missiles, has gone through four trials now. The Agni 5 missile laced with new technology for navigation and guidance, gives India a strategic depth it needs to contain its enemies. After a few more trials, it will soon join India's military arsenal.

Answer: c

Explanation:

In an attempt to raise awareness among consumers about online safety, Google India has partnered with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for rolling out a nationwide ‘Digitally Safe Consumer’ campaign. Google, along with Department of Consumer Affairs, will undertake a year—long campaign focussed on building capacities of consumer organisations, personnel of Consumer Affairs department and counsellors of National Consumer Helpline on Internet safety and related issues.

This campaign will add to Google’s existing campaigns guiding users to navigate the web and manage their digital lives safely and leverage the web to the fullest. In a bid to provide training and information on online safety tools, Google with the help of partner agencies will work towards advocating digital security and privacy needs through workshops training about 500 people, including 250 consumer organisations across the country.

Answer: b

Explanation: 

In a study by a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has highlighted the effect of biomass burning in increasing atmospheric aerosols and in turn atmospheric warming through light absorption. While the role of black carbon produced by biomass burning in increasing atmospheric warming has already been well established, this study highlights the lesser-known role of brown carbon.

Compared with earlier studies carried out in the U.S, absorption of light of 365 nanometre wavelength was found to be five times higher in Kanpur, which has a high biomass burning area. Also, brown carbon accounts for about 30 per cent of light absorption in Kanpur. The results were published on November 24 in the journal Scientific Reports.

Answer: b

Explanation:

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) of Ministry of Women and Child Development has been conferred the Skoch Silver and Skoch Order-of-Merit award. This award has been conferred on them for developing an electronic drop box, POCSO e-Box for registering complaints about Child Sexual Abuse.

The POCSO e - box is an exceptional concept for receiving the online complaint of Child Sexual Abuse directly from the victim and it also maintains the confidentiality of the victim/ complainant. With the e-box, it is easy to register the complaint through a step-by-step guided process.

Answer: a

Explanation:

Google Maps Toilet Locator App has been developed as a combined endeavour of the Ministry of Urban Development and Google. They have partnered together to enable this service.

It is a unique mobile app recently launched by the government to enable people to locate the nearest public toilet for use in five cities in the National Capital Region and Bhopal and Indore in Madhya Pradesh. This app also gives information about the nature of the toilet seat available, free or payment for use, working hours etc.

It would help in addressing open urination and open defecation problems in urban India. Right now, this facility is available in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida and the two cities of Madhya Pradesh but soon will be extended to other cities in due course.

Answer: c

Explanation:

The National Mathematics Day is observed every year on 22nd December to celebrate the birth anniversary of Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. This year, it is celebrated more thoughtfully as 2016 marks the 129th birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Srinivasa Ramanujan was one of the great Indian mathematicians of his times as he compiled more than 3,900 mathematical results and equations. His, Ramanujam Prime and Ramanujam theta discoveries had also inspired further research on the subject till this date. He is entitled of making extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions.

Answer: a

Explanation:

Coal Mitra is a Web portal for flexibility in Utilization of Domestic Coal. It has been designed to bring about flexibility in Utilization of Domestic Coal by transferring the reserves to more cost efficient State/Centre owned or Private sector generating stations, leading to lower generation costs and ultimately lesser cost of electricity for the consumers.

The web portal would be used by the State/Central Gencos to display information about normative fixed and variable charges of electricity. It would also host data on Operational and Financial parameters of each coal based station; Quantity and source of supply coal to the power plant; and Distance of Power plant from the Coal mine.

Answer: d

Explanation:

SAAW is an indigenously designed and developed 120 kg class smart weapon, developed by DRDO which is capable of engaging ground targets with high precision up to a range of 100 km.

The Defence and Research Development Organization (DRDO) successfully flight tested the Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW), from an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft.

The lightweight, high-precision guided bomb is one of the world class weapons systems. The captive and release trials were tracked by Radar and Telemetry ground stations at ITR during the entire duration of the flight. 

Answer: a

Explanation:

Tantalum carbide (TaC) and hafnium carbide (HfC) are refractory ceramics, meaning they are extraordinarily resistant to heat. They are materials that can withstand temperatures of nearly 4,000 degrees Celsius.

Their ability to withstand extremely harsh environments means that refractory ceramics could be used in thermal protection systems on high-speed vehicles and as fuel cladding in the super-heated environments of nuclear reactors. 

Answer: c

Explanation:

ABHAY is an advanced Active-cum-Passive integrated SONAR system designed and developed for the smaller platforms such as shallow water crafts and coastal surveillance/patrol vessels.

HUMSA-UG has been designed for upgrading the existing HUMSA SONAR system of the Indian Naval platforms and AIDSS is a distress SONAR is an Emergency Sound Signalling Device which is used to indicate that a submarine is in distress and enable quick rescue and salvage.

NACS on the other hand will determine the in-situ performance of the SONAR systems which are used to find the frequency-dependent 3-D transmission and reception characteristics of the SONAR. It is also used to measure the magnitude and phase characteristics of the SONAR transmission and reception electronics and the transducers. 

Answer: d

Explanation:

Supercomputers play an important role in the field of computational science, and are used for a wide range of computationally intensive tasks in various fields, including quantum mechanics, weather forecasting, climate research, oil and gas exploration, molecular modeling and physical simulations.

India's supercomputer program was started in late 1980s.PARAM 8000 is considered India's first supercomputer. It was indigenously built in 1991 by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing. India has 9 systems on the Top500 list of world’s fastest supercomputers and SahasraT by Indian Institute of Science has topped the rank among Indian supercomputers.

Answer: a

Explanation:

The Union Government has recently announced the formation of new committee to form a strategy to accelerate the process of transforming India into a cashless economy.

The other members of the committee are the Secretary of the Department of Financial Services, Secretary of Department Of Industrial Policy & Promotion and Secretary of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, Secretaries of the IT and Rural Development Ministries, Managing Director of the National Payments Corporation of India and the Chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The task of the committee is to identify various obstructions affecting access of digital payments. The committee was constituted following a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office to back up the demonetization move.

Answer: b

Explanation:

Ministry of Steel is facilitating an Industry driven institutional mechanism namely Steel Research & Technology Mission of India (SRTMI), to facilitate joint collaborative research projects in the iron & steel sector in India.

SRTMI is an industry driven initiative which has been setup as a Registered Society wherein Ministry of Steel is a facilitator. It will be governed and administered by a Governing Body comprising the steel CEOs, Domain Experts and a representative of Ministry of Steel

Answer: a

Explanation:

Rustom-2 completed its first flight on 16th of November 2016 in Challakere near Bangalore. It is established by the Aeronautical Development Establishment in the DRDO. The Rustom is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance unmanned combat air vehicle being developed by Defense Research and Development Organization for the three services, Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force of the Indian Armed Forces.

Rustom-2 is developed by India on the lines of the American Predator drones. Rustom is derived from the NAL's LCRA (Light Canard Research Aircraft) developed by a team under the leadership of late Prof Rustom Damania in the 1980s. Rustom will replace or supplement the Heron UAVs in service with the Indian armed forces.

Answer: b

Explanation:

Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana launched by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is a new scheme to scale up an ecosystem of entrepreneurship for youngsters. Under the scheme, the central government will arrange entrepreneurship education and training programs for youngsters for next 5 years and more than 7 Lakh youngsters will be provided entrepreneurship education and training through institutes across India.

Answer: d

Explanation:

The 1st International Agro biodiversity Congress was held in New Delhi and throughout the Congress, delegated discussed various aspects of access, conservation and use of agro biodiversity. Then, the delegates unanimously adopted the Preamble and Delhi Declaration on Agro biodiversity Management at the concluding session.

The Declaration called upon nations to accord top priority to the agro biodiversity conservation and their sustainable use towards achieving targets of SDGs relating to poverty alleviation, food and nutritional security, good health, gender equity and partnership. Moreover, it recognized the importance of traditional knowledge on agro biodiversity of farm men and women, pastoralists and other tribal and rural communities and their central role in its conservation and use for a food and climate resilient world. 

Answer: a

 Explanation:

 The largest asteroid in the Solar System is Vesta. Ceres is much more massive and hence it has been promoted to dwarf planet status.Psyche, the largest metallic asteroid in our solar system is about 300 kilometres across earth and made of almost pure nickel-iron metal. Psyche is located in the asteroid belt and it is thought to be the remnant core of a budding planet that was mostly destroyed by impacts years ago.

New observations from the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility show evidence of water or hydroxyl on its surface. Water-rich minerals detected on Psyche may have been delivered by carbonaceous asteroids.