20 JULY CURRENT AFFAIRS (MCQ)

Q1. Consider the following statement in context of flash floods:

1. They are highly localized events of long duration with a very high peak.
2. India has launched first- of-its-kind Flash Flood Guidance services for South
   Asian countries.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution: b)
Explanation:
What are Flash floods?
• Flash floods are defined as those flood events where the rise in water is either
during or within a few hours of the rainfall that produces the rise.
• Therefore, flash floods occur within small catchments, where the response
time of the drainage basin is short.
• They are highly localized events of short duration with a very high peak. 1 is
incorrect.
• They usually have less than six hours between the occurrence of the rainfall
and peak flood.
Flash Flood Guidance
• India has launched first- of-its-kind Flash Flood Guidance services for
South Asian countries — India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka
— to issue impact-based forecasting of floods, which are very sudden and of
short duration, at watershed and also city level. 2 is correct.
• The Flash Flood Guidance is a robust system designed to provide the
necessary products in real-time to support the development of warnings for
flash floods about 6- 12 hrs. in advance at the watershed level
with resolution of 4kmx4km for the Flash Flood prone South Asian
countries viz. India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Q2. Consider the following statements about World Meteorological Organization
(WMO):

1. WMO is not an agency of the United Nations.
2. WMO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution: b)
Explanation:
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental
organization with a membership of 193 Member States and Territories.
• It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO),
the roots of which were planted at the 1873 Vienna International
Meteorological Congress.
• WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations for
meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related
geophysical sciences. 1 is incorrect.
• WMO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. 2 is correct.

Q3. Consider the following statements:

1. Kalapani is a territory disputed between India and Nepal which is under
   Nepal administration.
2. Kalapani lies at a tri-junction of India, Bhutan and Nepal.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution: d)

Explanation:
Kalapani is a territory disputed between India
and Nepal, but under Indian administration
as part of Pithoragarh district in the
Uttarakhand state. 1 is incorrect.
• The valley of the Kalapani forms the
Indian route to Kailash–Mansarovar,
an ancient pilgrimage site.
• Kalapani lies at a tri-junction of India, China and Nepal, on the dividing line
of the Kali River watershed and Tinkar River watershed. 2 is incorrect.

Q4. Consider the following statements regarding United Nation General Assembly-

1. Out of 193 members of United Nation, 190 members represent in General

Assembly.

2. President of Assembly is elected each year to serve a three-year term of office.
3. Decisions regarding admission of new members, budgetary matters require
   a two-third of majority of General Assembly.
   Which of the following statements are correct?
   a) 1 and 2 only
   b) 2 and 3 only
   c) 3 only
   d) 1,2 and 3

Solution: c)
Explanation:
General Assembly
• The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking, and
representative organ of the UN.
• All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly,
making it the only UN body with universal representation. Hence, statement
1 is incorrect.
• Each year, in September, the full UN membership meets in the General
Assembly Hall in New York for the annual General Assembly session, and
general debate, which many heads of state attend and address.

• Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security,
admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds
majority of the General Assembly. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.
• The President of the General Assembly is elected each year by assembly to
serve a one-year term of office. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

Q5. Which of the following country/continent/trade organization have largest
carbon market in world?
a) European Union
b) United States of America
c) China
d) India

Solution: c)
Explanation:
China’s national carbon market, the world’s largest emissions trading system, will
begin its online trading July 16, 2021. The market will initially cover more than
2,200 companies in China’s power sector, which are responsible for 14 per cent of
the global greenhouse gas emissions (or 40-50 per cent of the country’s GHG
emissions).
The carbon market is not new to the country. It began its exercise of building the
market right after it emerged as the world’s number one GHG emitter in 2010,

overtaking the United States-China developed pilots. It housed the world’s second-
largest carbon market as pilot, covering about a GtCO2e (global annual CO2

equivalent emissions)

Q6. Which of the following can be considered as consequence of Anti-Microbial
Resistance (AMR)?

1. Overuse of Antibiotics in Animals
2. Misuse of antibiotics
3. Poor infection prevention and control

Select the correct answer using the code below-
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1,2 and 3

Solution: d)
Explanation:
Overuse and misuse of antimicrobials is one of the main drivers of antimicrobial
resistance. As the global antimicrobial consumption in terrestrial and aquatic food
animal production accelerates, which is linked with expanded production to meet
increasing demand for animal-source nutrition, monitoring antimicrobial use
becomes more and more relevant.
Antibiotic resistance is accelerated by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, as
well as poor infection prevention and control.
The report, titled Antimicrobial consumption and resistance in bacteria from humans
and animals, analysed possible relationships between antimicrobial consumption
(AMC) in humans and food-producing animals, and the occurrence of antimicrobial
resistance (AMR) in bacteria from humans and food-producing animals in the
European Union (EU) / European Economic Area (EEA).

Q7. Which of the following reports are released by the World Economic Forum?

1. Global IT Report
2. Global Risk Report
3. Global Travel and Tourism Report

Select the correct answer using the code below-
a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1,2 and 3

Solution: d)
Explanation:
• Major reports published by WEF:
o Global Competitiveness Report
o Global IT Report

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o Global Gender Gap Report
o Global Risk Report
o Global Travel and Tourism Report

Q8. With reference to the UMANG App, consider the following statements:

1. The UMANG mobile app provides access to high impact services of various
   organizations exclusively in the domain of central government.
2. It was launched in 2014.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution: d)
Explanation:
Both statements are incorrect.
• The UMANG mobile app (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance)

is a Government of India single, unified, secure, multi-channel, multi-
platform, multi-lingual, multi-service mobile app, providing access to high

impact services of various organizations (Central and State). It was launched
in 2017.
• UMANG app has already started to provide map functionality through
MapmyIndia in the following services:
• Mera Ration – Through UMANG, users can identify and navigate to the
‘Nearest Fair Price Shops’as shops are visible in the form of pointers on
MapmyIndia integrated map.
• eNAM – Through UMANG, ‘Mandi Near Me’ service will help users to identify
and navigate to the nearby mandis pointed on the map.
• Damini – ‘Damini Lightning Alerts’ service is to provide lightning alerts to
users by giving a visual ofnearby areaswhere lightning has struck in the last
few minutes. This alert mechanism provides the possibility of lightning
strikes on map view.

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• The international version called ‘UMANG International’ was launched in
2020 to mark three years of UMANG.
o The international version is for select countries that include USA, UK,
Canada, Australia, UAE, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia and New
Zealand.
o It will help Indian international students, NRIs and Indian tourists
abroad, to avail Government of India services, anytime.
o It will also help in taking India to the world through ‘Indian Culture’
services available on UMANG and create interest amongst foreign
tourists to visit India.

• UMANG attained ‘Best m-Government service’ award at the 6th World
Government Summit held at Dubai, UAE in February 2018.

Q9. CoRe Competitiveness and Resilience Partnership was recently seen in the

news, It is announced by-
a) India and Japan

b) India and United States
c) United States and Japan
d) India and Sri-Lanka

Solution: c)
Explanation:
The United States and Japan pledge to revitalize an Alliance and make practical
commitments to fulfil its potential. Together they will advance innovation, end this
pandemic and protect the world from future ones, combat the climate crisis, and
enhance our people-to-people ties. Through these concrete initiatives, the United
States and Japan will deliver results for the people, the Indo-Pacific, and the world.
Together, the United States and Japan will:
• Advance secure and open 5G networks, including Open Radio Access
Networks (“Open-RAN”), by fostering innovation and by promoting
trustworthy vendors and diverse markets.
• Strengthen competitiveness in the digital field by investing in research,
development, testing, and deployment of secure networks and advanced ICT
including 5G and next-generation mobile networks (“6G” or “Beyond 5G”).

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The United States has committed $2.5 billion to this effort, and Japan has
committed $2 billion.
• Build on successful U.S.-Japan cooperation in third-countries and launch a
Global Digital Connectivity Partnership to promote secure connectivity and
a vibrant digital economy while building the cybersecurity capacity of our
partners to address shared threats.
• Strengthen collaboration and information exchange between U.S. and
Japanese ICT experts in global standards development.
• Cooperate on sensitive supply chains, including semi-conductors, and on the
promotion and protection of critical technologies.
• Advance biotechnology for the global good by focusing on genome sequencing
and the principles of openness, transparency, collaboration, and research
integrity.
• Reinforce collaboration and partnerships between research institutions on
quantum information science and technology through joint research and
exchange of researchers.

Q10. Consider the following statement with respect to National Food Security Act,
2013.

1. It has given importance to women as it gives the status of head of household
   to women aged above 18.
2. In this scheme, Priority Households will receive 35 KGS of food grain per
   family and eligible beneficiaries of Antayodaya Ann Yojana will receive 5KGS
   of food-grain per month.
3. The identification of eligible household will be done by Central Government
   on the basis of Socio-Economic Caste Census (2011).
   Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?
   a) 2 only
   b) 2 and 3 only
   c) 1 only
   d) 3 only

Solution: c)
Explanation:

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Statements 2 and 3 are not correct.
The National Food Security Bill, 2013 is a bill enacted by the Indian parliament to
provide for subsidised food and nutritional security to the people, in human life
cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quaintly of quality food at
affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.
This Bill would provide subsidised food grain, through the national Public
Distribution System (PDS) (‘Ration Shops’) to 75% of India’s estimated 833 million
rural population and 50% of an estimated 377 million urban population and
dubbed as one of the largest social security scheme in the world.
According to the World Bank reports India accounts for a third of the world’s poor.

Malnutrition, particularly among children is more common in India than in Sub-
Saharan Africa. According to UNICEF report one in every three malnourished

children in the world lives in India. About, 46 per cent of all children below the age
of three are too small for their age, 47 per cent are underweight and at least 16 per
cent are wasted. Many of these children are severely malnourished
Some of the provisions of this bill has specific entitlements for women and poorest
of the poor of the country. For children in the age group of 6 months to 6 years; an
age-appropriate meal, free of charge, through the local anganwadi(pre-school), for
children aged 6-14 years, one free mid-day meal every day (except on school
holidays) in all government and government-aided schools, up to Class VIII. For
children below six months, “exclusive breastfeeding shall be promoted”. There is
also provision for children who suffer from malnutrition; to provide meals free of
charge “through the local anganwadi”.
This bill has radically altered the definition of ‘head of the house hold’ with long
term implications for social reform and women’s empowerment. A ‘head of the
household’ will be the eldest woman, who is not less than eighteen years of age, in
every eligible household, for the purpose of issue of ‘ration cards’. Where a
household at any time, does not have a women or a women of eighteen years of age
or above, but has a female member below the age of eighteen years, then the eldest
male member of the house hold shall be the head of the household till the female
member attaining the age of eighteen, shall receive the ‘ration card’. Hence,
statement 1 is correct.
Through this scheme, the ‘Priority households’ are entitled to 5 kgs of food grains
per person per month, and ‘Antyodaya’ (Antyodaya Ann Yojana was started in

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March, 2001, for the Below Poverty Line (BPL) households to 35 kgs per household
per month. The prices for the food for the next three years are given in Schedule I
: Rs 3/2/1 per kg for rice/wheat/millets.
The identification of eligible households is left to state governments, subject to the
scheme’s guidelines for Antyodaya, and subject to guidelines to be “specified” by
the state government for Priority households. The identification of eligible
households is to be completed within 365 days. The lists of eligible households are
to be placed in the public domain and “displayed prominently”