UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 5th JULY 2021

Solution (d)

Digital India is a programme launched in 2015 to transform India into digital empowered society and knowledge economy.  It would also bring in public accountability through mandated delivery of government’s services electronically.

The Digital India programme has three vision areas: 

• digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen
• governance & services on demand
• digital empowerment of citizens

Digital India, an umbrella programme that covers multiple Government Ministries and Departments, is a consolidation of various smaller initiatives and ideas into a comprehensive vision. Each initiative is implemented as part of a larger goal under the overall coordination done by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY). 

The programme was to provide thrust to the nine pillars of growth areas:

1. Broadband Highways
2. Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity
3. Public Internet Access Programme
4. e-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology
5. e-Kranti – Electronic Delivery of Services, 
6. Information for All
7. Electronics Manufacturing, 
8. IT for Jobs 
9. Early Harvest Programmes

Article Link: Super Six: 6 years of Digital India

Solution (a)

LEAF (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance) Coalition was announced at the Leaders Summit on Climate, 2021.

LEAF coalition will be one of the largest ever public-private efforts to protect tropical forests and intend to mobilize at least USD 1 billion in financing to countries committed to protecting their tropical forests.

It is a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arrest the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.

The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism. 

REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It monetised the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.

Article Link: LEAF Coalition’s proposal is a step forward in saving forests, indigenous peoples

Solution (d)

A Provisioning Coverage Ratio or PCR is the percentage of funds that a bank sets aside for losses due to bad debts. A high PCR can be beneficial to banks to buffer themselves against losses if the NPAs start increasing faster. A quick glance at the PCR ratio of the bank can tell you if the bank is vulnerable to NPAs or not. Typically, a PCR ratio of 70%+ is considered healthy for banks.

Provision Coverage Ratio = Total provisions / Gross NPAs.

Capital adequacy ratio is the ratio of a bank’s capital in relation to its risk weighted assets and current liabilities. A high CAR indicates that the bank has enough capital to manage sudden losses. On the other hand, a low CAR indicates a bank that carries the risk of failure. RBI announces the CAR required for banks in accordance with Basel norms time to time. A CAR of 8-12% is usually considered average.

Article Link: RBI Financial Stability Report: Prices, Covid variants threats to recovery

Solution (c)

The Tillangchong Island is a part of the Nicobar Islands chain, located in the northeast Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.

The island has the largest surviving populations of the endemic Nicobar megapode (Megapodius nicobariensis) and is a protected sanctuary.

This island harbours virtually all animal species found in the Nicobar archipelago, including endemic bird species such as the Nicobar Megapode, Nicobar Sparrowhawk, Glossy Swiftlet, Edible-nest Swiftlet, Andaman Wood Pigeon and Nicobar Parakeet.

Solution (b)

Hyderabad-based technology R&D firm Grene Robotics has designed and developed India’s first indigenous drone defence dome called “Indrajaal”.

The drone defence dome has the capability to autonomously protect an area of 1000-2000 sq km against the aerial threats by assessing and acting on aerial threats such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), loitering munitions, and Low- Radar Cross Section (RCS) targets.

Salient features of Indrajaal are:

• Real-time situational awareness
• Integrated and Intelligent meshed network
• Integrated all current weapons suite and infrastructure
• Honeycombed cell structure for seamlessly built
• Synergic combination of 9-10 technologies
• 24×7 persistent and autonomous monitoring, action and tracking

Article Link: What makes Indrajaal, India’s first autonomous digital drone system unique