QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

1. Consider the following statements with respect to ‘Chalukya dynasty’
1)The Chalukyas ruled over the Deccan plateau in India for over 600 years.
2)The dynasty was confined to present State of Karnataka.
Select the correct statements

a) 1 Only
b) 2 Only
c) Both
d) Only

Solution (a)

• The Chalukyas ruled over the Deccan plateau in India for over 600 years.
• During this period, they ruled as three closely related, but individual dynasties. These are the “Chalukyas of Badami” (also called “Early Chalukyas”), who ruled between the 6th and the 8th century, and the two sibling dynasties, the “Chalukyas of Kalyani” (also called Western Chalukyas or “Later Chalukyas”) and the “Chalukyas of Vengi” (also called Eastern Chalukyas).
• It was spread over Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

2. Consider the following statements with respect to ‘Elastocaloric effect’

1.In the elastocaloric effect, the transfer of heat works much the same way as when fluid refrigerants are compressed and expanded.
2.A good elastocaloric material must exhibit a large latent heat, and a large adiabatic temperature change.
Select the correct statements

a) 1 Only
b) 2 Only
c) Both
d) None

Solution (c)

• Elastocaloric materials are solids capable of stress-induced reversible phase transformations during which latent heat is released or absorbed.
• The elastocaloric effect occurs when stress is applied or removed, and a phase transformation is induced.
• As a result of the entropy difference between the two co-existing phases, the material heats up or cools down.
• A good elastocaloric material must exhibit a large latent heat, a large adiabatic temperature change, good thermal conductivity, long fatigue life, and low cost.
• Shape memory polymers can also exhibit elastocaloric effect.

3. Consider the following statements with respect to ‘SUMAN’ Scheme.

1)Under the scheme, pregnant women, mothers up to 6 months after delivery, and all sick newborns will be able to avail free healthcare benefits.
2)The government will also provide free transport from home to health institutions.
Select the correct statements

a) 1 Only
b) 2 Only
c) Both
d) None

Solution (c)

Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN)

• Under the scheme, pregnant women, mothers up to 6 months after delivery, and all sick newborns will be able to avail of free healthcare benefits.
• The beneficiaries visiting public health facilities are entitled to several free services.
• The government will also provide free transport from home to health institutions.
• There will be assured referral services with the scope of reaching health facility within one hour of any critical case emergency and Drop back from institution to home after due discharge (minimum 48 hrs).
• It will ensure respectful care with privacy and dignity, with early initiation and support for breastfeeding, zero dose vaccination and free and zero expense services for sick newborns and neonates.

4. The proposed ‘Green Wall of India’ will pass through

1)Gujarat
2)Maharashtra
3)Rajasthan
4)Haryana

Select the correct code:

a) 1, 2 and 3
b) 1, 3 and 4
c) 2, 3 and 4
d) All of the above

Solution (b)

It will be a 1,400km long and 5km wide green belt from Gujarat to the Delhi-Haryana border, on the lines of the “Great Green Wall” running through the width of Africa, from Dakar (Senegal) to Djibouti, to combat climate change and desertification.

5. Which of the following pairs are correctly matched?

Schemes -States

1)Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana – Maharashtra
2)Rythu Bandhu – Telangana
3)Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income augmentation (KALIA) – Odisha

Select the correct code:

a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 3
c) 1 and 3
d) All of the above

Solution (b)

Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana – Madhya Pradesh

Rythu Bandhu – Telangana

Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income augmentation (KALIA) – Odisha

6. Consider the following statements with respect to ‘Common Reporting Standard (CRS)’

1)It is an information standard for the Automatic Exchange Of Information (AEOI) regarding bank accounts on a global level, between tax authorities.
2)It is developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Select the correct statements

a) 1 Only
b) 2 Only
c) Both
d) None

Solution (c)

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is an information standard for the Automatic Exchange Of Information (AEOI) regarding bank accounts on a global level, between tax authorities, which the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) developed in 2014.

Its purpose is to combat tax evasion. The idea was based on the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) implementation agreements and its legal basis is the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

7. The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for

a) Contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos
b) Decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves
c) Discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass
d) Invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources

Solution (a)

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2019

“for contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos”

James Peebles “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology”

Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star”