UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 9th JULY 2021

Solution (d)

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a gravity dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia under construction since 2011.

The primary purpose of the dam is electricity production to relieve Ethiopia’s acute energy shortage and for electricity export to neighbouring countries.

Dispute regarding GERD:

The main waterways of the Nile run through Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt, and its drainage basin runs through several countries in East Africa, including Ethiopia, the portion where this dam is being constructed.

Given the dam’s location on the Blue Nile tributary, it would potentially allow Ethiopia to gain control of the flow of the river’s waters. Egypt lies further downstream and is concerned that Ethiopia’s control over the water could result in lower water levels within its own borders.

Sudan’s location between Egypt up north and Ethiopia down south has caused it to become an inadvertent party to this dispute. Sudan too is concerned that if Ethiopia were to gain control over the river, it would affect the water levels Sudan receives.

Article Link: Saudi Arabia supports Egypt, Sudan ‘water rights’ in dam dispute

Solution (b)

Plasma Kristall Investigation is a Russian-European experiment running on the International Space Station since March 3, 2001.

The research tries to understand the workings of our world on the atomic scale by injecting fine dust particles in a plasma, which turns the dust into highly charged particles. These charged particles bounce off each other and, under the right conditions, the dust particles can arrange themselves to form organised structures or plasma crystals.

Complex phenomena such as phase transitions, for instance from gas to liquid, microscopic motions, the onset of turbulence and shear forces are well known in physics, but not fully understood at the atomic level. The research has helped to understand some of these processes, including how planets form.

According to European Space Agency, the experiment cannot be run on Earth because gravity makes only sagging, flattened recreations possible; if you want to see how a crystal is constituted, you need to remove the force pulling downwards.

The knowledge from the Plasma Kristall experiments can be directly applied to research on fusion physics where dust needs to be removed and the processing of electronic chips, for example in plasma processes in the semiconductor and solar cell industry.

Article Link: Away from Earth, this 20-year-long experiment peeks into an invisible world living among us

Solution (a)

The National Ganga Council (NGC) is an authority created in October 2016 under the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016, dissolving the National Ganga River Basin Authority.

It was established by the Central Government of India, under Section 3(3) of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, which also declared Ganges as the “National River” of India.

The Council has been given overall responsibility for the superintendence of pollution prevention and rejuvenation of River Ganga Basin, including Ganga and its tributaries.

The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairperson for the NGC.

Article Link: Cities along rivers urged to include conservation plans

Solution (d)

The Constitution lays down only two qualifications for the appointment of a person as a governor. These are:

1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. He should have completed the age of 35 years.

Additionally, two conventions have also developed in this regard over the years. First, he should be an outsider, that is, he should not belong to the state where he is appointed, so that he is free from the local politics. Second, while appointing the governor, the president is required to consult the chief minister of the state concerned, so that the smooth functioning of the constitutional machinery in the state is ensured. However, both the conventions have been violated in some of the cases

Article Link: Amid Cabinet reshuffle buzz, eight States get new Governors

Solution (c)

Recently, Government of India created a new Ministry of Co-operation.

The ministry provides a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.

The ministry works in strengthening co-operatives at the grassroot level, working to streamline processes for ‘Ease of doing business’ for co-operatives and enabling the development of Multi-State Co-operatives (MSCS).

97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011 provided constitutional status to co-operatives. It inserted:

• Part IX-B dealing with Co-operatives.
• Article 19(1) (c) making Right to form cooperative societies a fundamental right.
• Article 43B (DPSP) as “the State shall endeavour to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of the co-operative societies”.

Article Link: Modi government creates Ministry of Cooperation for strengthening cooperative movement