IAS Preparation Questions for Prelims: 21 March 2018
To clear the IAS Exam, continuous efforts to master the current affairs component are a must. To answer current affairs based questions in prelims, one should not only have the preliminary information about the current events, but also the clarity about the issues and concepts involved.
1. Ministry of Women and Child Development conducted a first National workshop on POSHAN Abhiyaan involving all the States and Union Territories at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi. Consider the following statements regarding POSHAN Abhiyaan:
1. POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched on 8th March 2018 by the Prime Minister in Jhunjhunu.
2. The Abhiyaan targets to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2%, 2%, 3% and 2% per annum respectively.
3. The target of the mission is to bring down stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a. 1 only
b. 1 and 2
c. 2 and 3
d. 1, 2 and 3
Answer: d
Explanation:
The Ministry of Women and Child Development conducted a first National workshop on POSHAN Abhiyaan involving all the States and Union Territories at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi today. The Ministry organised the day-long workshop with participation from all the states/UTs to provide a complete orientation on the POSHAN Abhiyaan,to explain the key components of the Abhiyaan, to provide handholding in using the software involved, and to augment the convergence with the different Ministries involved in implementing the Abhiyaan for improved Nutritional outcomes.
POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched on 8th March 2018 by the Prime Minister in Jhunjhunu. The Abhiyaan targets to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2%, 2%, 3% and 2% per annum respectively. The target of the mission is to bring down stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022.
2. Recently, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun has signed a MoU with Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council for Supporting Forest Based Communities. Consider the following statements regarding this:
1. Through this collaboration, TIFAC shall help ICFRE to refine and up-scale the technologies developed, take technologies to the end users including farmers, State Forest Departments, forest-based industries and forest-dependent communities in a more effective manner.
2. ICFRE through its Institutes and Centres located throughout the country is carrying, promoting and coordinating forestry research, extension, education, and their applications.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: c
Explanation:
The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun (an Autonomous Council under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) and Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC), New Delhi (an Autonomous Council under Department of Science and Technology) signed a MoU with an objective to provide livelihood opportunities and augment income of the forest-based communities.
Through this collaboration, TIFAC shall help ICFRE to refine and up-scale the technologies developed, take technologies to the end users including farmers, State Forest Departments, forest-based industries and forest-dependent communities in a more effective manner.
ICFRE through its Institutes and Centres located throughout the country is carrying, promoting and coordinating forestry research, extension, education, and their applications. Currently, ICFRE is focusing on contemporary issues of national and international importance particularly in the area of climate change, forest productivity, biodiversity and skill development.
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3. Recently, the Government has approved the setting up of a Plastic Park in which of the following states?
a. Kerala
b. Jharkhand
c. Haryana
d. Uttar Pradesh
Answer: b
Explanation:
Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has announced that the Government of India has approved the setting up of a Plastic Park in Deoghar District, Jharkhand. The project would be set up at a cost of Rs. 120 crores in an area of 150 acres and a range of polymer products including woven sacks, moulded furniture, water tanks, bottles, pipes mosquito nets, etc would be manufactured. It has great potential for attracting investment for setting up an ecosystem for plastic industry and generates employment opportunities for the local populace.
The project is likely to provide direct employment generation to about 6000 people and indirect employment to over 30000 people. This human resource is of vital importance as the plastic industry is growing at a rapid pace and the polymer consumption in India would double from the current 10 million metric tonnes to 20 million metric tonnes by 2022.
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4. National Cultural Audiovisual Archives (NCAA) becomes the World’s First Trusted Digital Repository, recently. Consider the following statements regarding this:
1. The primary objective of the NCAA is to identify and preserve the cultural heritage of India available in audiovisual form through a process of digitization and making it accessible to the people.
2. NCAA pilot digital repository was developed in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence for Digital Preservation by C-DAC, Pune.
3. At present, NCAA has a total of twenty-one (21) Partnering Institutions from across the country, covering 11 governmental and 10 non-governmental cultural organisations.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a. 1 only
b. 1 and 2
c. 2 and 3
d. 1, 2 and 3
Answer: d
Explanation:
At present, NCAA has a total of twenty-one (21) Partnering Institutions from across the country, covering 11 governmental and 10 non-governmental cultural organisations. The digitization and metadata standards followed by the Project are in parity with international standards within the overall framework of the OAIS model. The digitization standards are in concordance with those prescribed by the International Association of Sound & Audiovisual Archives (IASA) and the metadata schema is extended Dublin Core, followed by galleries, libraries, archives and museums worldwide. The primary objective of the NCAA is to identify and preserve the cultural heritage of India available in audiovisual form through a process of digitization and making it accessible to the people.
National Cultural Audiovisual Archives (NCAA) project of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, implemented by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has been certified as the world’s first Trusted Digital Repository as per ISO 16363:2012 standard, granted by Primary Trustworthy Digital Repository Authorisation Body Ltd. (PTAB), United Kingdom.
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5. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has reconstituted the composition of Committee on Journalist Welfare Scheme and Central Press Accreditation Committee. Consider the following statements regarding the Journalist Welfare Scheme:
1. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has recently increased the provision for Journalist welfare scheme by fivefold to Rs. 1 crore in BE 2018 - 19 from Rs.20 lakh in 2017-18.
2. The scheme aims to provide one-time ex-gratia relief on an urgent basis to journalists and their families in the event of extreme hardship.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: c
Explanation:
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has recently increased the provision for Journalist welfare scheme by fivefold to Rs. 1 crore in BE 2018 - 19 from Rs.20 lakh in 2017-18. The scheme aims to provide one-time ex-gratia relief on an urgent basis to journalists and their families in the event of extreme hardship. This scheme covers journalists accredited to PIB / State Governments / UTs or non-accredited journalists working for a minimum period of five continuous years either whole time or part time as news editor, reporter, photographer, cameramen, photo journalist, and freelance journalist.
The financial assistance available under this scheme is up to Rs. 5 lakh to the family on account of the death of a journalist, up to Rs. 5 lakh to the journalists in case of permanent disability, up to Rs. 3 lakh towards the cost of treatment of major ailments which is not covered by CGHS or any other insurance/health schemes.
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