Current Affairs Quiz , 11 Dec 2018

1) PCS 1x to boost Ease of Doing Business ranking have been launched by

a) EXIM Bank of India
b) Indian Ports Association
c) NITI Aayog
d) Confederation of Indian Industries

Answer: b
• Indian Ports Association (IPA), under the guidance of Ministry of Shipping launched the Port Community System ‘PCS1x’.
• ‘PCS 1x’ is a cloud-based new generation technology, with a user-friendly interface.
• This system seamlessly integrates 8 new stakeholders besides the 19 existing stakeholders from the maritime trade on a single platform.
• The platform offers value added services such as notification engine, workflow, mobile application, track and trace, better user interface, better security features, improved inclusion by offering dashboard for those with no IT capability.
• The system enables the single sign-on facility to provide the one-stop interface to all the functionalities across all stakeholders.
• Another major feature is the deployment of a world class state of the art payment aggregator solution which removes the dependency on bank-specific payment ecosystem.
• The System offers a database that acts as a single data point to all transactions.
• It captures and stores data on its first occurrence thereby reducing manual intervention, the need to enter transaction data at various points and thereby reducing errors in the process.
• The platform has the potential to revolutionize maritime trade in India and bring it at par with global best practices and pave the way to improve the Ease of Doing Business world ranking and Logistics Performance Index (LPI) ranks.

2) Which of the following communities have not been awarded religious minority status in India?

a) Jains
b) Parsis
c) Sikhs
d) Lingayats

Answer: d
• The Union government told the Karnataka High Court that it has rejected the recommendation of the State government to grant religious minority status to Lingayat and Veerashaiva community.
• Earlier in November the Union government in the letter written to the State government, has reiterated the earlier stand of the Centre that Lingayat/Veerashaiva community is part of Hindu religion.
• Later the Karnataka State Minorities Commission constitutes a seven-member panel to look into the demand for minority status and the committee recommended in favour of the demand.
• Following this, the State government in March this year wrote to the Union government recommending the grant of minority status.
• The Lingayat/ Veerashaiva community a politically dominant group in Karnataka are devotees of Siva.
• The Lingayat follow 12th century saint philosopher Basavanna who rejected ritualistic worship and pre-eminence of Vedas.
• The Veerashaiva sect of the community also worships Shiva idols and practices other Hindu customs.
• Community has strong presence in the state especially in the north. Lingayats constitute 17% of the total population in Karnataka.
• They are dominant in close to 100 of the 224 assembly seats, mostly in North Karnataka.
• The community has been demanding status of a separate religion for a long time.
• Issue came in centre stage when Chief Minister Siddharamaiah promised to consider the demand.
• One part of community demands the minority status for both Veerashaiva and Lingayat consider the same, while another wants it only for the Lingayats as it considers Veershaivas to be Hindus.

3) ENSURE Portal has been developed by which of the following organisations?

a) NABARD
b) National Informatics Centre
c) Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare
d) NITI Aayog

Answer: a
• Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare launched a portal ENSURE- National Livestock Mission-EDEG developed by NABARD and operated under the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries.
• Under the Mission’s component called Entrepreneurship Development and Employment Generation (EDEG), subsidy payment for activities related to poultry, small ruminants, pigs etc. through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) goes directly to the beneficiary’s account.
• In order to make it better, simpler and transparent, the NABARD has developed an online portal “ENSURE” so that the information related to beneficiary and processing of application can be made readily available.
• Under the new process controlling officer/branch manager of the bank, after scrutinizing & sanctioning of proposal, uploads the subsidy claims in the portal.
• The subsidy will be approved within 30 days from the date of sanction of loan.
• Earlier, even after the loan approval, subsidy took a long time to reach the beneficiary’s account.
• Through this process, the flow of information/funds will also be quicker and more accountable.
• The burden of extra interest due to delay in the disbursal of the subsidy would now be reduced after the launch of the portal.
• Access from the portal will also be on real-time basis and list of beneficiaries can be easily prepared.

4) OSIRIS-Rex Mission of NASA recently found the presence of water in which of the following asteroids?

a) Ceres
b) Bennu
c) Oumuamua
d) Vesta

Answer: b
OSIRIS- Rex Mission:
• The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) is a NASA asteroid study and sample-return mission.
• The mission’s main goal is to obtain a sample of at least 60 grams (2.1 oz) from 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid, and return the sample to Earth for a detailed analysis.
• The material returned is expected to enable scientists to learn more about the formation and evolution of the Solar System, its initial stages of planet formation, and the source of organic compounds that led to the formation of life on Earth.
• If successful, OSIRIS-REx will be the first U.S. spacecraft to return samples from an asteroid.
• It is the third planetary science mission selected in the New Frontiers program, after Juno and New Horizons.

5) Which of the following medical devices are notified as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act?

a) Nebulizers
b) Blood pressure monitor
c) Digital thermometers
d) All of the above

Answer: d
• Commonly used medical devices such as nebulizers, blood pressure monitors, digital thermometers and glucometers have been notified as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, a step which will enable the government to ensure their quality and performance.
• The Drug Controller-General of India (DCGI) would regulate the import, manufacture and sale of these devices from January 1, 2020.