UPSC Quiz – 2020 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 14th Oct 2020

Solution (c)

Engage with Science:

• Engage with Science by Vigyan Prasar is another initiative to build interest and create a community of practice with students, teachers, and scientists connecting the high school students to the higher education institutions.
• Vigyan Prasar is an autonomous body under the DST to help India’s science popularisation agenda through several strategic initiatives.
• This is an interactive platform that will be built on the Over-The-Top (OTT) platform to encourage and inspire high school students to pursue science and technology for a career.
• An OTT media service is any online content provider that offers streaming media as a standalone product.
• The term is commonly applied to video-on-demand platforms, but also refers to audio streaming, messaging services, or internet-based voice calling solutions.
• It needs access to the internet and smartphones, tablets, laptop/computers.

Solution (a)

• The report The Human Cost of Disasters 2000-2019” is published by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). The report did not touch on biological hazards and disease-related disasters like the coronavirus pandemic.
• International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is observed on 13th October every year.

Findings:

• 7,348 major disaster events had occurred between 2000 and 2019, affecting 4.2 billion people and costing the global economy some USD 2.97 trillion.
• 6,681 climate-linked disasters had been recorded in the period 2000-19, up from 3,656 during the previous 20-year-period.

• Major floods had more than doubled to 3,254, there had been 2,034 major storms up from 1,457 in 20 years.
  • India is the 2nd most affected country by floods after China.
• Extreme heat is proving especially deadly. Heatwaves of 2015 in India resulted in 2,248 deaths.
• The deadliest single disaster in the past 20 years was the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, with 2,26,400 deaths, followed by the Haiti earthquake in 2010, which claimed some 2,22,000 lives.
• The data showed that Asia has suffered the highest number of disasters in the past 20 years with 3,068 such events, followed by the Americas with 1,756 and Africa with 1,192.
• In terms of affected countries, China topped the list with 577 events followed by the United States with 467 and India (321 events).

Solution (c)

• The Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) scheme was launched in November 2015 with an objective to reduce the demand for physical gold and shift a part of the domestic savings – used for the purchase of gold – into financial savings.
• The Gold Bonds are issued as Government of India Stock under the Government Securities (GS) Act, 2006.
• These are issued by the RBI on behalf of the Government of India.
• Bonds are sold through Commercial banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL), designated post offices (as may be notified) and recognised stock exchanges viz., National Stock Exchange of India Limited and Bombay Stock Exchange, either directly or through agents.
• The bonds are restricted for sale to resident individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), trusts, universities and charitable institutions.
• The price of the gold bonds is calculated based on the spot price of gold as provided by the Mumbai-based India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA).
• For the seventh tranche, a price of Rs. 5,051 per unit is applicable. Those purchasing the bonds through an online mode – using a digital mode of payment – get a discount of Rs. 50 on each unit.
• Gold bonds can be purchased in the multiples of one unit, up to certain thresholds for different investors.
• The upper limit for retail (individual) investors and HUFs is 4 kilograms (4,000 units) each per financial year. For trusts and similar entities, an upper limit of 20 kilograms per financial year is applicable.
• Minimum permissible investment is 1 gram of gold.
• The gold bonds come with a maturity period of eight years, with an option to exit the investment after the first five years.
• A fixed rate of 2.5% per annum is applicable on the scheme, payable semi-annually.
• The interest on Gold Bonds shall be taxable as per the provision of Income Tax Act, 1961.

Solution (a)

• World Post Day: It is celebrated each year on 9th October, to commemorate the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Swiss capital, Berne.
• It was declared as World Post Day by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1969.
• Purpose: To create awareness about the role of the postal sector in the lives of people and business and its contribution to the social and economic development of the country
• National Postal Week is celebrated from 9th to 15th October every year

• The Universal Postal Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal systems.
• Its headquarters are located in Berne, Switzerland.

Solution (d)

Mount Kilimanjaro 

• Located in Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s tallest mountain at about 5,895 meters.
• It is also the largest free-standing mountain rise in the world, meaning it is not part of a mountain range.
• Kilimanjaro is a stratovolcano or composite volcano (a term for a very large volcano made of layers of ash, lava, and rock) and is made up of three cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira.
  • Kibo is the summit of the mountain and the tallest of the three volcanic formations. While Mawenzi and Shira are extinct, Kibo is dormant and could possibly erupt again.

• The mountain is also known for its snow-capped peak which might disappear within the next 20 years or so as per the warnings by the scientists.
• In 1973, the mountain and its six surrounding forest corridors were named Kilimanjaro National Park in order to protect its unique environment.
  • The park was named a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site in 1987.