UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 25th JUNE 2021

Solution (c)

Virtual Water (VW) is the water involved in the production and trade of food and non-food commodities and services. It is that “invisible” water that has been consumed throughout the lifecycle of the product or service.

The concept of VW was first conceived in the 1990s to understand how water-stressed countries could provide their people with essential items such as water-intensive products like food, clothing, and shelter, which can define its trade characteristics. For example, a country with limited water resources would rather import water-intensive cotton than use their precious water in cultivating it.

Significance of Virtual Water Analysis:

• Better planning and implementation of sustainable agriculture which is crucial for achieving water and food security.
• The pressure on the freshwater resources in water parched states can be reduced by diversifying the production areas through the use of VW flows analysis to produce agro-climatically suitable food grains.
• It can help India in achieving UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 on ensuring sustainable production patterns and to SDG 6 that aims to increase water use efficiency across all sectors to substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity by 2030.

Article Link: IIT-Guwahati team recommends Virtual Water analysis for better water management policies in India

Solution (b)

Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil, followed by Malaysia – both countries account for 84% of the worlds palm production.

Malaysia has surpassed Indonesia to become the biggest crude palm oil (CPO) exporter to top consumer India in 2020/21, after Indonesia imposed heavy taxes on exports of the edible oil last year. It comes after Indonesia imposed higher levies on crude palm oil exports in December to raise funds for its ambitious palm-based biodiesel programme, aimed at maximising domestic use of the edible oil.

India is the largest importer of crude palm oil in the world. India buys palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while other oils including soyoil and sunflower oil come from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and Russia.

Article Link: Malaysia surpasses Indonesia to become India’s top palm oil supplier

Solution (d)

Presidio Principles: It is an initiative from World Economic Forum’s Global Blockchain Council intended to lay out a foundational set of principles for those building with blockchain technology and decentralised infrastructure.

These principles will provide creators of blockchain applications with a baseline for designing systems that preserve the rights of their participants.

Principles aim to preserve following participant rights: 

• Transparency and accessibility
• Agency and interoperability
• Privacy and security
• Accountability and governance

Article Link: Presidio Principles: Foundational Values for a Decentralized Future

Solution (a)

The List of World Heritage in Danger is designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action.

Armed conflict and war, earthquakes and other natural disasters, pollution, poaching, uncontrolled urbanization and unchecked tourist development pose major problems to World Heritage sites. Dangers can be ‘ascertained’, referring to specific and proven imminent threats, or ‘potential’, when a property is faced with threats which could have negative effects on its World Heritage values.

Inscribing a site on the List of World Heritage in Danger allows the World Heritage Committee to allocate immediate assistance from the World Heritage Fund to the endangered property.

It also alerts the international community to these situations in the hope that it can join efforts to save these endangered sites. The listing of a site as World Heritage in Danger allows the conservation community to respond to specific preservation needs in an efficient manner. Indeed, the mere prospect of inscribing a site on this List often proves to be effective, and can incite rapid conservation action.

From India the Group of Monuments at Hampi was included in the list of World Heritage in Danger from 1999-2006 and Manas Wildlife Sanctuary was in the list from 1992-2011. Later both the sites were removed from the list after improvements in management and conservation.

Article Link: UNESCO to downgrade status of Great Barrier Reef; Australia blames political interference

Solution (b)

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is a UN Special Political Mission established to assist the state and the people of Afghanistan in laying the foundations for sustainable peace and development.

UNAMA was established on 28 March 2002 by United Nations Security Council Resolution.

According to recent UNAMA report, civilian casualtiess have increased by 29% in the first quarter of 2021, compared to last year, and women casualties increased by 37% and child casualties by 23%.

Article Link: Afghan violence has risen: Jaishankar