August 14-2024 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention is enforced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) from September 8, 2017 to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens via ballast water.
  • Ballast water is seawater taken into a ship’s tanks to maintain stability when the ship discharges cargo and rises in the water and is pumped out when the ship loads cargo and sinks deeper.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• India has not signed the BWM Convention.
• The ships in Indian ports are not obligated to follow BWM regulations; no formal checks or regulations on ballast water discharge in Indian ports.
• The Ports are not liable; vessel owners held responsible if evidence of harm is found.

Answer: (a) 1 only; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched Version 2.0 of the ‘FloodWatch India’.
• FloodWatch India, developed by the Central Water Commission (CWC), is a mobile application which aims to deliver real-time updates on flood conditions from 592 monitoring stations across the country.
• It provides additional information regarding the storage positions of 150 major reservoirs in the country to help in better understanding of the possible flood situation in their downstream areas.
• It utilizes advanced technologies such as satellite data analysis, mathematical modelling and real-time monitoring to deliver accurate and timely flood forecasts up to 7 days in advance.
• The app is available in English and Hindi in readable and audio broadcast formats.
• The app can be downloaded free of charge from Android and iOS app stores.
• Central Water Commission:
  • It is India’s apex body dealing with surface water resources established in 1945.
  • It is a technical organization, headquartered in New Delhi, under the Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
  • It is responsible for initiating and coordinating schemes to conserve and manage water resources and assists with flood management, irrigation activities, drinking water supply, and hydroelectricity generation, in consultation with the concerned State Governments.

Answer: (c) Central Water Commission (CWC); Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Securities and Exchange Board of India is established in April 1988 as a non-statutory body, SEBI became statutory on April 12, 1992, under the SEBI Act, 1992.

Statement 2 is correct

• It acts as the principal regulator of the securities market, and watchdog of the Indian capital market functioning under the Ministry of Finance.
• Its headquarters is in Mumbai, with regional offices in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, and Delhi.

Statement 3 is correct

• The Board of Directors has 9 members including chairperson nominated by the Government of India, 2 members from the Union Ministry of Finance, 1 member from the Reserve Bank of India and 5 other members appointed by the Government, including at least 3 full-time Members.

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Both Statement I and Statement II are correct, but Statement II is not the correct explanation for Statement I

• A recent study shows that climate change is affecting the Earth’s rotation.
• Melting polar ice shifts water toward the equator, causing the Earth to bulge and its rotation to slow due to the law of conservation of angular momentum.
• Conservation of angular momentum is a physical property of spinning systems that states that the spin of a system will remain constant unless an external torque is applied to it.
• In the last 20 years, this redistribution has slowed Earth’s rotation by 1.3 milliseconds per century, with projections suggesting up to 2.6 milliseconds more if high emissions continue.
• This slowdown affects precise timekeeping systems, such as atomic clocks, which are crucial for GPS, stock trading, and space travel.
• The Lunar tidal friction also contributes to the Earth’s rotational slowdown by about 2 milliseconds per century, amplifying the effects of climate change.
• Since the 1970s, 27 leap seconds have been added to account for Earth’s slowing rotation. Scientists planned a negative leap second to address this, but accelerating ice melt might delay this.
• Additionally, melting ice drives slight shifts in the Earth’s rotation axis, causing minor changes in where this axis intersects the Earth’s crust over time.
• The Negative Leap Second is a proposed adjustment to Coordinated Universal Time where one second would be subtracted to address Earth’s increasing rotational speed, which shortens days over time.
• This adjustment is planned for 2026 but has never been tested, creating unprecedented potential problems.

Answer: (b) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct, but Statement II is not the correct explanation for Statement I; Difficulty Level: Hard

Explanation

• The ‘Women and Men in India 2023’ report was released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• Highlights of the report:
• Population of India is expected to reach 152.2 Crore by 2036, with female percentage of 48.8% (48.5% in 2011) and sex ratio of 952 (943 in 2011).

Credits: PIB

Credits: PIB

• Declining fertility will reduce the proportion of individuals under 15 years in 2036.
• From 2016 to 2020, Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR) is decreased for the age group of 20-29 and increased for the age group of 35-39 from 32.7 to 35.6.
• Adolescent Fertility Rate (AFR) was 33.9 for illiterate population whereas 11 for the literate in 2020.

Credits: PIB

• Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is reduced to 97 (per lakh live births) in 2018-20.

Credits: PIB

• Decreased Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) to 28, and made female and male IMR equal in 2020.
• Under 5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) decreased from 43 in 2015 to 32 in 2020.
• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) has been increasing from 2017-18. Male LFPR increased from 75.8 to 78.5 and female LFPR increased from 23.3 to 37 by 2022-23.
• Percentage of women electors participated in the election increased from 60% in 1999 to 67.2% in 2019.
• 47.6% of the total recognized start-ups are led by women.

Answer: (c) Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Difficulty Level: Easy