25 August 2021 Daily Current Affairs

Questions

Most volcanoes and earthquakes in the world are located at

 a) The inter-junction of high mountain stretches along the continental belts

 b) Within the plates

 c) Plate margins

 d) Littoral zones of major oceans

2) Consider the following statements regarding Earthquakes and Volcano.

1. Earthquake normally occurs along with the volcanoes.
2. Volcanoes occur only where ocean crust collides with continental crust.
3. Volcanoes are one of the best sources of sulphur.

Select the correct answer code:

 a) 1, 3

 b) 2, 3

 c) 1, 2

 d) 1, 2, 3

3)The thickness of the troposphere is greater at the equator rather than at the poles because of

1. Rotation of the earth pushes the atmosphere near equator to greater heights.

2. Convection currents leading to thermal expansion of the atmosphere at the equator

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

 a) 1 only

 b) 2 only

 c) Both 1 and 2

 d) Neither 1 nor 2

Prelims Specific News Items

Bhuvan Yuktdhara Portal:- It is a new geospatial planning portal that will help in facilitating new MGNREGA assets using remote sensing and geographic information system-based data.

The portal will serve as a repository of geotags created under various national rural development programmes.

The name given is very apt as the word ‘Yukt’ is derived from ‘Yojanam’ (planning) and ‘Dhara’ indicates flow.

2) Sree Narayana Guru:- Sree Narayana Guru (1856-1928)

Narayana Guru was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India.

He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual enlightenment and social equality.

He was in the forefront of the movement for universal temple entry and against the societal ills like the social discrimination of untouchables.

He gave the famous slogan “One Caste, One Religion, One God for All”.

In 1888, he built a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at Aruvippuram which was against the caste-based restrictions of the time.

The social protest of Vaikom Satyagraha (1924-25) was an agitation by the lower caste against untouchability in Hindu society of Travancore.

He taught equality but felt the inequalities should not be exploited to carry out conversions and therefore generate strife in society.

3)‘Economic criterion not sole basis for creamy layer’ :- A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose said this while quashing a Haryana government notification of August 17, 2016, which specified the criteria for exclusion of creamy layer within the backward classes.

In the Indira Sawhney case, also known as the Mandal Commission case, the top court, while calling upon state governments to identify creamy layer amongst the backward classes and exclude them from the purview of reservation, also held that “the basis of exclusion of creamy layer cannot be merely economic”.

What was Haryana’s Notification :- According to the notification issued in pursuance of the powers under Section 5(2) of the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016, children of those with gross annual income of up to Rs 3 lakh shall be the first to get the benefit of reservation in services and admission in educational institutions. The remaining quota shall go to those from the backward classes who earn more than Rs 3 lakh but up to Rs 6 lakh per annum. The sections of backward classes earning above Rs 6 lakh per annum were to be considered as creamy layer.

4) T.N. launches ₹.100 cr. urban employment scheme :– The Tamil Nadu government will implement an urban employment scheme on the lines of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) at a cost of ₹100 crore to improve the livelihood of urban poor.

The urban population in Tamil Nadu was growing fast and it would reach 60% of the total population by 2036. A total of four crore people are now living in urban areas, accounting for 53% of the total population.

The objective of the programme was to provide employment to urban poor, who had lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A committee headed by former RBI Governor C Rangarajan had also recommended that the Tamil Nadu government start an employment scheme in urban areas in the wake of the pandemic.

5) Hair Follicle Test :- Hair follicle test confirms Sanjjanaa Galrani, Ragini Dwivedi consumed drugs. They are from Kannada Film industry.

It is the first time that the hair follicle test, conducted by the Hyderabad-based Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), has been used in a drugs case under NDPS Act in Karnataka. 

WHAT IS A HAIR FOLLICLE TEST?
The hair follicle test, which is also called the hair drug test, is conducted by collecting hair samples from the head. The test detects whether a person has consumed narcotic substances. Certain tests can also give details of the frequency of drug abuse and the type of drugs used — MDMA, phencyclidine, cocaine, opiates, cannabis, mephedrone amphetamine depravities, methadone opiate depravities, etc. It is believed to be the most accurate test to find evidence of drug abuse.

6) Vacancy in Courts :-

7) S-400 air defence deal on track: Rostec :- S-400 is Air defence system aka ‘Triumf’.
It was getting delayed due to CAATSA.

What is CAATSA :- Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act.

It is a law passed by US Congress one year back in 2017. It aims to counter the aggression by Iran, Russia and North Korea through punitive measures.

The Act specifically aims to impose sanctions on Russian oil & gas, defence, security and financial sector.

Why?

• Russia invaded militarily in Ukraine
• Russia allegedly meddled in the 2016 US presidential election

What are the provisions?

• It empowers US president to impose at least 5 of the 12 listed sanctions in the Act on the persons engaged in significant transaction with Russian defence and intelligence sector.

8) G-7 :- The Group of Seven (G7) is an inter-governmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its members are the world’s largest IMF advanced economies and wealthiest liberal democracies.