UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 27th JULY 2021

Solution (d)

The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve (ISPR) refers to the emergency fuel storage maintained by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle – wholly owned subsidiary of Oil Industry Development Board under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

Strategic crude oil storages are at three underground locations in Mangalore, Visakhapatnam and Padur (Udupi, Karnataka). All these are located on the east and west coasts of India which are readily accessible to the refineries. They have fuel storage of total 5.33 MMT (Million Metric Tonnes).

These strategic storages are in addition to the existing storages of crude oil and petroleum products with the oil companies and serve in response to external supply disruptions.

The government has approved the construction of a new storage facility in Chandikhole (Odisha) and doubling the capacity at Padur. This would raise India’s strategic reserve capacity to 11.83 million tonnes.

Article Link: Centre overhauls petroleum reserve policy to boost private interest

Solution (d)

The Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000, at Vientiane, Laos at the First MGC Ministerial Meeting. 

It comprises six member countries, namely India (Look-East connectivity projects), Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. 

The four areas of cooperation are: 

• Tourism
• Culture
• Education
• Transportation

The organization takes its name from the Ganga and the Mekong, two large rivers in the region. The Mekong region is very important for India’s ‘Act East Policy’ for strengthening its economic integration with Southeast and East-Asian countries. India has accorded high priority to economic engagement with the MGC countries, working towards establishing seamless physical and digital connectivity, as well as capacity building under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration and Narrowing the Development Gap.

Article Link: Mekong region is of great importance to India: EAM Jaishankar

Solution (c)

By building on a proud legacy of enterprise that spanned nearly two and a half centuries, India has acquired an exalted status on the global tea map. 

• The country is the second-largest tea producer in the world.  
• India is also the world’s largest consumer of black tea. 
• India is ranked fourth in terms of tea exports in the world after Kenya, China and Sri Lanka.

India offers high-quality speciality teas, such as Darjeeling, Assam Orthodox and the high-range Nilgiris which have a distinct aroma, strength, colour and flavour.

Article Link: India raises concerns with EU, Russia over tea exports

Solution (b)

Nord Stream 2 pipeline:

In 2015, the Russian energy major Gazprom and five other European firms decided to build Nord Stream 2, valued at around $11 billion. The 1,200-km pipeline will run from Ust-Luga in Russia to Greifswald in Germany through the Baltic Sea, and will carry 55 billion cubic metres of gas per year.

The under-construction pipeline will run along with the already completed Nord Stream 1 system, and the two together will supply an aggregate of 110 billion cubic metres of gas to Germany per year. The pipeline falls in the territory of EU members Germany and Denmark, and is about 98% complete.

Nord Stream projects have been opposed by Ukraine and the United States as well as by other Central and Eastern European countries because of concerns that the pipelines would increase Russia’s influence in Europe, and because of the large reduction of transit fees for use of alternative pipelines in Central and Eastern European countries. The builders contend that the pipeline is more important to Germany than Russia, which could just as easily sell the gas to China.

Article Link: Why the US has changed its mind on Nord Stream 2 pipeline

Solution (b)

The Strait of Hormuz is a channel linking the Persian Gulf (west) with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea (southeast). The strait is 35 to 60 miles (55 to 95 km) wide and separates Iran (north) from the Arabian Peninsula (south).

It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points.

On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman.

A third of the world’s liquefied natural gas and almost 25% of total global oil consumption passes through the strait, making it a highly important strategic location for international trade.