10 PM Daily Current Affairs Quiz | February 28 2021

Statement 1 is incorrect. Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain.

Statement 2 is correct. TB bacteria are spread through the air from one person to another. The TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.

Statement 3 is correct. Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease.

# The Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) was launched in 1997 with implementation of Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course Strategy, Programme is further renamed as National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme in the year 2020 by Central TB Division and aims to eliminate TB by 2025.

The members of the G20 are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.

Its members account for more than 80 percent of world GDP, 75 percent of global trade and 60 percent of the population of the planet.

The forum has met every year since 1999 and since 2008 has included a yearly Leaders’ Summit, with the participation of the respective Heads of State and Government.

# Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs participated virtually in the First G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the Italian Presidency recently.

Statement 1 is incorrect. AIIB has non-regional members as well. Membership in AIIB is open to members of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the Asian Development Bank.

Statement 2 is correct. In 2018, AIIB was granted Permanent Observer status in the deliberations of both the United Nations General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, the two development-focused principal organs of the global body.

Statement 3 is incorrect. AIIB provides non-sovereign backed financing as well. Sovereign-Backed financing is considered a loan to, or guaranteed by, a member. Non-sovereign Backed financing includes any financing to or for the benefit of a private enterprise or a sub-sovereign entity (such as a political or administrative subdivision of a member or a public sector entity) that is not backed by a guarantee or counter-guarantee and indemnity provided by the member to the Bank.

# The Government of India and AIIB recently signed a loan agreement for a $304 million Assam Intra-State Transmission System Enhancement Project to improve reliability, capacity and security of the power transmission network in the State of Assam.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) is a non-governmental International Organization which provides a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience in dam engineering.

The Organization leads the profession in ensuring that dams are built safely, efficiently, economically, and without detrimental effects on the environment.

Statement 2 is correct. ICOLD was founded in 1928 and has National Committees from more than 100 countries with approximately 10 000 individual members.

The Committee for International Commission on Large Dams, (INCOLD) is the Indian Committee interacting with ICOLD Central Office in Paris and helps in dissemination, in India, of information about new developments in dam engineering, besides projecting India’s expertise at international level through participation in various events of ICOLD.

# International Commission on Large Dams (INCOLD) in collaboration with Central Water Commission (CWC), Dam Rehabilitation Improvement Project (DRIP) and National Hydrology Project (NHP) is organising Symposium on “Sustainable Development of Dams and River Basins” under the aegis of ICOLD at New Delhi.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Digital Media Ethics Code Relating to Digital Media and OTT Platforms are to be administered by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).

MIB shall formulate an oversight mechanism. It shall publish a charter for self-regulating bodies, including Codes of Practices. It shall establish an Inter-Departmental Committee for hearing grievances.

Statement 2 is correct. Publishers of news on digital media would be required to observe Norms of Journalistic Conduct of the Press Council of India and the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act thereby providing a level playing field between the offline (Print, TV) and digital media.

The NITI Aayog comprises of the Prime Minister of India as the Chairperson; Governing Council comprising the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories. Further, Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers nominated by the Prime Minister as ex-officio members of the NITI Aayog.

The current composition of the NITI Aayog includes the following as Ex-officio Members:

–Shri Raj Nath Singh, Minister of Defence

–Shri Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs

–Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs

–Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Minister of Rural Development; Minister of Panchayati Raj.

# The sixth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog was held recently.

The Government announces, Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for major agricultural commodities each year in both the Crop seasons CACP recommends MSP for twenty-two (22) crops and Fair & Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane.

Apart from Sugarcane for which FRP is declared by the Department of Food & Public Distribution, twenty-two crops covered under MSP are Paddy, Jowar, Bajra, Maize, Ragi, Arhar, Moong, Urad, Groundnut-in-shell, Soyabean, Sunflower, Seasamum, Nigerseed, Cotton, Wheat, Barley, Gram, Masur (lentil), Rapeseed/Mustardseed, Safflower, Jute and Copra.

In addition, MSP for Toria and De-Husked coconut is fixed by the Department on the basis of MSP’s of Rapeseed/Mustardseed and Copra respectively.

NAFED, Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) National Consumer Cooperative Federation of India Ltd. (NCCF), Small Farmers Agro Consortium (SFAC) are the central agencies for procurement of oilseeds & pulses. However, NAFED is also an additional central agency for procurement of cotton, in addition to Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) under the DAC.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) is an initiative by Ministry of MSME to promote Cluster development. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is the nodal Agency for promotion of Cluster development for Khadi.

# USTTAD scheme of Ministry of Minority Affairs aims to preserve heritage of traditional arts and crafts of minority communities and build capacity of traditional crafts persons and artisans.

Statement 2 is correct. SFURTI clusters are of two types i.e., Regular Cluster (500 artisans) with Government assistance of up to Rs.2.5 crore and Major Cluster (more than 500 artisans) with Government assistance up to Rs.5 crore.

The artisans are organized into SPVs which can be (i) a Society registered under Societies (Registration) Act, 1860, (ii) a Co-operative Society under an appropriate statute, (iii) a Producer Company under Section 465 (1) of Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), (iv) a Section 8 Company under the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013) or (v) a Trust.

Under the Scheme, the Ministry supports various interventions including setting up of infrastructure through Common Facility Centers (CFCs), procurement of new machineries, creating raw material banks, design intervention, improved packaging, improvement of marketing Infrastructure, improved skills and capacity development through training and exposure visits, etc.

The Sahara Desert has been hit by an icy blast with temperatures dipping below freezing recently. Aïn Séfra in Algeria – known as “The Gateway to the Desert” – is around 1,000 metres above sea level and surrounded by the Atlas Mountains, also experienced snowfall.

Statement 1 is correct. There are 16 countries, 3 continents and 6 water bodies through which the Tropic of Cancer passes including Egypt, Libya, Niger, Algeria, Mali, Western Sahara, Mauritania.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Sahara Desert does not cover the are under South Sudan.

The Karlapat sanctuary is located in Kalahandi district, Odisha covering a dense patch of lush green dry deciduous forest. The sanctuary is rich in wildlife such as leopard, gaur, sambar, nilgai, barking deer, mouse deer,soft claws ottawa, a wide variety of birds and reptiles. 

# Recently six elephants died of Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS) in Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary.