UPSC Quiz – 2020: IAS Daily Current Affairs Quiz Day 190

Solution (b)

2020 CD3, also known by its internal designation C26FED2, is a tiny near-Earth asteroid and temporary satellite of Earth.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/express-explained-what-is-mini-moon-6290115/

Solution (c)

Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is an autonomous organization of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, located in Pragathi Nagar, Hyderabad. ESSO-INCOIS was established as an autonomous body in 1999 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and is a unit of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO). ESSO- INCOIS is mandated to provide the best possible ocean information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community through sustained ocean observations and constant improvements through systematic and focussed research.

It has launched three ocean-based specialised products/services — the Small Vessel Advisory and Forecast Services System (SVAS), the Swell Surge Forecast System (SSFS) and the Algal Bloom Information Service (ABIS).

While SVAS is aimed at improving the operations of numerous small marine vessels, particularly fishing vessels, the SSFS forewarns the coastal population about swell waves. The coastal region experiences frequent damages caused by swell waves that originate from the distant Southern Indian Ocean.

The ABIS provides information on harmful algal blooms that are detrimental to coastal fisheries and also tend to cause respiratory problems in the coastal population.

The SVAS is an innovative impact-based advisory and forecast service system for small vessels operating in Indian coastal waters, said an Incois release. It warns users about potential zones where vessel overturning can take place, 10 days in advance. The advisories are valid for small vessels of beam width up to 7 m. This limit covers the fishing vessels used in all the nine coastal States and Union Territories.

The warning system is based on the Boat Safety Index (BSI) derived from wave model forecast outputs such as significant wave height, wave steepness, directional spread and the rapid development of wind at sea, which is boat-specific.

The SSFS is designed to predict the kallakkadal, or swell surge, that occurs along the Indian coast, particularly the West. These are flashflood events that take place without any noticeable advance change in local winds or any other apparent signature in the coastal environment. Kallakkadal is a colloquial term used by Kerala fishermen to refer to the ‘freaky’ flooding episodes. 

The ABIS tracks the increasing frequency of algal blooms, a major concern due to its ill-effects on fishery, marine life and water quality. This service helps fishermen, marine fishery resource managers, researchers, ecologists and environmentalists.

Source: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/incois-launches-three-ocean-based-services/article30913932.ece

Solution (a)

Towards the south from Udupi to Kasaragod of Tulu Nadu region, the form of Yakshagana called as ‘Badagu thittu’ and towards north upto Uttara Canara it’s called ‘Thenku Thittu’. Both of these forms equally played all over the region.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/breaking-barriers-with-yakshagana/article30891127.ece

Solution (c)

MIEWS Dashboard and Portal is a ‘first-of-its-kind’ platform for ‘real time monitoring’ of prices of tomato, onion and potato (TOP) and for simultaneously generating alerts for intervention under the terms of the Operation Greens (OG) scheme. The portal would disseminate all relevant information related to TOP crops such as Prices and Arrivals, Area, Yield and Production, Imports and Exports, Crop Calendars, Crop Agronomy, etc in an easy to use visual format.

Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1604442

Solution (a)

It is located in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.