1. Consider the following statements with respect to Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in India.
- Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) include cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease.
- Cancer is the leading cause of NCD related deaths in India.
- Currently urban regions had higher rates of all metabolic NCDs than rural areas with exception of prediabetes.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
- a. Only one
- b. Only two
- c. All Three
- d. None
2. Drip Pricing, often seen in the news, refers to?
- a. It is a mechanism announced by RBI to support local exporters to deal with increasing inflation
- b. It is a technique in which multinational companies fix their product’s pricing of their international products
- c. It is a technique in which firms advertise only part of a product’s price and reveal other charges later at final billing
- d. It is the pricing mechanism which includes the cost of subsidies offered by the government to recover the subsidy cost from the end consumer
- Drip pricing is a pricing technique in which firms advertise only part of a product’s price and reveal other charges later at final billing.
- Deceptive online patterns are a violation of the Consumer Protection Act.
- A robust self-regulatory mechanism for the larger framework on online deceptive patterns is the need of the hour.
3. Which of the following governs the naming of newly identified animal species?
- a. International Zoological Society
- b. Respective national governments
- c. International Union for Conservation of Nature
- d. International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature
Prelims Specific News Items
Space Debris
- It is any piece of machinery or debris left by humans in space.
- It can refer to dead satellites, bits of debris or paint flecks that have fallen off a rocket.
The Kessler syndrome is a scenario in which the density of objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascade that increases the likelihood of further collisions
- Russia has the most space debris with over 7000 rocket bodies floating in space.
WEF Guidelines
- The guidelines are not exactly rules, and are, therefore, non-binding.
- Post-mission disposal (PMD) – The guidelines say that spacecraft operators try to get satellites removed from low-Earth orbit within 5 years after the end of the mission.
- In case operators are not able to maintain control of the satellite and de-orbit it, they must ensure that it does not turn into space debris.
- Collision avoidance systems – Missions that orbit above an altitude of 375 kilometres should have an ability to actively manage the orbit.
- The guidelines encourage a propulsion-based system but other technologies could be more appropriate depending on the situation.
- Data sharing and traffic management – Every satellite operator should try to proactively coordinate with other operators and entities to create operational coordination agreements and space situational awareness information-sharing.
2. Justice Clock
Recently, Justice Clocks have been installed across the court complexes of high courts.
- Justice Clock is a LED display message sign board system (electronic signage system).
- It is to make effective use of database created through National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) and to make the information available to public.
- Initiative of Ministry of Law and Justice.
- Aim – To bring awareness to the public about justice sector, advertising the various schemes of the department and to give status of various fields to the public.
- Contents displayed – The clock will display the schemes of the Department of Justice and how citizens can benefit from the projects such as e-Courts, Access to Justice and Legal Aid to Poor.
- At present the following contents are being displayed
- Live Case Status (The details of ongoing cases in respective Court rooms are displayed during Court proceedings.)
- Case Pendency in District Courts
- Ecourts videos
- NJDG Public Portal and District Court Services videos
- A total of 39 Justice Clocks are functional in 25 High Courts.
3. Cassini Spacecraft
- It is a joint NASA-European space agency mission.
- Cassini-Huygens is an unmanned spacecraft sent to the planet Saturn in 2004.
- It is the 4th space probe to visit Saturn (Pioneer 11, Voyager1, Voyager 2) and the first to enter orbit.
- Its design includes a Saturn Orbiter and a Lander called “Huygens” for the moon Titan.
- This was the first landing ever accomplished in the outer solar system.
4. Sea Slaters
A new study has found that diffused light pollution in the night sky could be confusing a species of woodlouse called Sea slaters.
- Sea slaters are members of a group of crustaceans called the Isopoda (iso meaning “same” and pod meaning “foot”).
- It is a species of woodlouse.
- It is also known as the common sea slater, or sea roach.
- Scientific Name – Ligia oceanica.
- Habitat – It is semi-terrestrial and lives in Europe and Indo-Pacific region.
- It is found on rocky shorelines, wharf pilings, and harbor areas where it inhabits the borders of the land and sea.
- It is an herbivore and scavenger and eat dead plant and fungal matter thus acting as important “natural recycler”.