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

Solution (d)

Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER:

• VIPER the first resource mapping mission by NASA on another celestial body. 
• It is a mobile robot that will go to the South Pole of the Moon to get a close-up view of the location and concentration of water ice that could eventually be harvested to sustain human exploration on the Moon, Mars — and beyond. 
• It will explore the relatively nearby but extreme environment of the Moon in search of water ice and other potential resources. 
• This mobile robot will land at the South Pole of the Moon in late 2023 on a 100-day mission. 
• The critical information it provides will teach us about the origin and distribution of water on the Moon and help determine how we can harvest the Moon’s resources for future human space exploration.
• NASA will use the data the rover collects to show where the Moon’s water ice is most likely to be found and easiest to access, making VIPER the first-ever resource mapping mission on another celestial body. 
• The first water maps of the Moon will mark a critical step forward in NASA’s Artemis program to establish a sustainable human presence on the surface of the Moon by 2028.

Article Link: Why has Nasa chosen the Nobile Crater of Moon’s south pole as Viper’s landing site?

Solution (b)

Li-Fi is a wireless communication technology which utilizes light to transmit data and position between devices.

In technical terms, Li-Fi is a light communication system that is capable of transmitting data at high speeds over the visible light, ultraviolet, and infrared spectrums. In its present state, only LED lamps can be used for the transmission of data in visible light

In terms of its end use, the technology is similar to Wi-Fi — the key technical difference being that Wi-Fi uses radio frequency to induce a voltage in an antenna to transmit data, whereas Li-Fi uses the modulation of light intensity to transmit data. Li-Fi can theoretically transmit at speeds of up to 100 Gbit/s. Data transfer can take place more securely as in Li-Fi light is blocked by walls.

Li-Fi technology is used airlines, undersea exploration etc.

Article Link: India’s highest altitude institute in Ladakh gets LiFi network for faster internet

Solution (c)

Priority Sector means those sectors which the Government of India and Reserve Bank of India consider as important for the development of the basic needs of the country and are to be given priority over other sectors. The banks are mandated to encourage the growth of such sectors with adequate and timely credit.

The categories of priority sector are as follows:

1. Agriculture
2. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
3. Export Credit
4. Education
5. Housing
6. Social Infrastructure
7. Renewable Energy
8. Others

Following targets are set by the Reserve Bank of India regarding priority Sector Lending:

• All scheduled commercial banks and foreign banks (with a sizable presence in India) are mandated to set aside 40% of their Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANDC) for lending to these sectors.
• Regional rural banks, co-operative banks and small finance banks have to allocate 75% of ANDC to PSL.

Article Link: Short of lending targets, banks seek priority sector tag for retail, infrastructure

Solution (d)

The agricultural crop year in India is from July to June. The Indian cropping season is classified into two main seasons-(i) Kharif and (ii) Rabi based on the monsoon. 

The terms ‘kharif’ and ‘rabi’ originate from Arabic language where Kharif means autumn and Rabi means spring.

The kharif cropping season is from July –October during the south-west monsoon and the Rabi cropping season is from October-March (winter). 

The crops grown between March and June are summer crops or Zaid crops. 

The kharif crops include rice, maize, sorghum, pearl millet/bajra, finger millet/ragi (cereals), arhar (pulses), soyabean, groundnut (oilseeds), cotton etc. 

The rabi crops include wheat, barley, oats (cereals), chickpea/gram (pulses), linseed, mustard (oilseeds) etc.

Article Link: National conference on Agriculture for Rabi campaign 2021 held

Solution (c)

Measures taken by the Government on the fronts of FDI policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business have resulted in increased FDI inflows into the country. The following trends in India’s Foreign Direct Investment are an endorsement of its status as a preferred investment destination amongst global investors:

• India has attracted total FDI inflow of US$ 27.37 billion during first four months of F.Y. 2021-22 which is 62% higher as compared to corresponding period of F.Y. 2020-21 (US$ 16.92 billion).
• FDI equity inflow grew by 112% in the first four months of F.Y. 2021-22 (US$ 20.42 billion) compared to the year ago period (US$ 9.61 billion).
• Karnataka is the top recipient state during the F.Y. 2021-22 (upto July, 2021) with 45% share of the total FDI Equity inflows followed by Maharashtra (23%) and Delhi (12%).
• ‘Automobile Industry’ has emerged as the top sector during the first four months of F.Y. 2021-22 with 23% share of the total FDI Equity inflow followed by Computer Software & Hardware (18%) and Services Sector (10%) respectively.
• Under the sector `Automobile Industry’, majority of FDI Equity inflow (87%) was reported in the state of Karnataka during the first four months of the current financial year (2021-22).

Article Link: FDI Inflows grow 62% during first four months of current Financial Year over corresponding period last year