UPSC Quiz – 2020: IAS Daily Current Affairs Quiz Day 104

Solution (c)

The Gibraltar Arc is a geological region corresponding to an arc like mountain belt surrounding the Alboran Sea, between the Iberian Peninsula and Africa.

It consists of the Betic Ranges in southern Spain, and the Rif mountains in North Morocco.

It is as considered one of the narrowest landforms on Earth.

The Gibraltar Arc is located at the western end of the Mediterranean Alpine belt and formed during the Neogene due to convergence of the Eurasian and African plates.

The Arc has two sections: the Internal and External Zones. The Internal Zone, which is located on the inner side of the arc, adjacent to the Alboran Sea, mostly consists of high-pressure, low-temperature metamorphic rocks. The External Zone, located on the outer side of the arc, is mostly made of sediments deposited on the passive margins of Africa and Iberia. These rocks became highly deformed during the westward emplacement of the hinterland of the subduction system, with some units in the External Rif having undergone medium-pressure, low-temperature metamorphism during the Oligocene.

Solution (d)

Snow leopards occur in the Himalayan and Trans-Himalayan areas of five states in northern India. The total range is estimated to cover 126,842 square kilometres. The five states are Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Solution (a)

Blackbuck: Bishnois, situated in Western Rajasthan, they are known as protectors of Blackbuck.

Lion: Maldharis, a nomadic tribe of cattle-rearers, have been acknowledged for their support in conservation methods of lions.

Solution (d)

Anil Kakodkar (2012)- High Level Safety Review Committee (Railways) – The Committee recommends a total financial investment of Rs 1,00,000 crore over a five year period 

Sam Pitroda Committee on modernization of Indian Railways

Railway Safety Review Committee (Khanna Committee) was set up in 1998 under the Chairmanship of Justice H.R. Khanna In 1998, the Railway Ministry constituted Justice Khanna Committee to review the implementation of the recommendations of all previous accident inquiry committees, to examine the adequacy of existing organization and practices for safe running of trains and to suggest safety measures.

Ashok Dalwai Committee – Doubling Farmers Income

Solution (c)

Edge computing is the practice of processing data near the edge of your network, where the data is being generated, instead of in a centralised data-processing warehouse.

Edge computing is a distributed, open IT architecture that features decentralised processing power, enabling mobile computing and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. In edge computing, data is processed by the device itself or by a local computer or server, rather than being transmitted to a data centre.

Edge computing enables data-stream acceleration, including real-time data processing without latency. It allows smart applications and devices to respond to data almost instantaneously, as its being created, eliminating lag time. This is critical for technologies such as self-driving cars, and has equally important benefits for business.

Edge computing allows for efficient data processing in that large amounts of data can be processed near the source, reducing Internet bandwidth usage. This both eliminates costs and ensures that applications can be used effectively in remote locations. In addition, the ability to process data without ever putting it into a public cloud adds a useful layer of security for sensitive data.