1) Consider the following statements with respect to Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019
It seeks to declare the practice of instant Triple Talaq as void and illegal.
It makes declaration of talaq a cognizable offence, attracting up to three years’ imprisonment with a fine.
Under the bill, an affected muslim woman is entitled to seek subsistence allowance for her dependent children but only for the first two children.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
The bill seeks to declare the practice of instant Triple Talaq as void and illegal and makes it a cognizable offence.
It also provides allowance to women victims and their dependent children.
The offence is made compoundable with the permission of the Magistrate at the instance of the married Muslim woman upon whom talaq is pronounced.
2) Consider the following statements with respect to Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019
It seeks to amend the Companies Act, 2013.
Under the Bill, any unspent annual CSR funds must be transferred to one of the funds under Schedule 7 of the Act within six months of the financial year.
Under the bill, it has been made mandatory for companies to have physical address and register to crack down on shell companies.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was recently passed by the Parliament.
It amends the Companies Act, 2013.
Under the Act, if companies which have to provide for CSR, do not fully spent the funds, they must disclose the reasons for non-spending in their annual report.
Under the Bill, any unspent annual CSR funds must be transferred to one of the funds under Schedule 7 of the Act (e.g., PM Relief Fund) within six months of the financial year.
To crack down on shell companies, the minister said it has been made mandatory to have physical address and register to ensure such companies exist on ground.
3) With respect to Henderson Island sometimes seen in the news recently, consider the following statements:
It is an uninhabited coral atoll.
It lies at the centre of the South Pacific Gyre.
It was included on the UN World Heritage List in 1988.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
Henderson Island is an uninhabited coral atoll that lies almost exactly halfway between New Zealand and Peru, with 5,500 kilometres (3,400 miles) of the ocean in either direction.
Despite its extreme isolation, a freak confluence of geography and ocean currents means Henderson has one of the highest concentrations of plastic pollution on the planet.
Henderson lies at the centre of the South Pacific gyre, a vast circular ocean current that runs anti-clockwise down the east coast of Australia and up the west coast of South America.
The gyre should be a boon for the 10-kilometre-by-five speck of land, carrying rich nutrients into the waters surrounding Henderson to feed huge colonies of sea birds.
The atoll's ecosystem is so rich that Henderson was included on the UN World Heritage List in 1988, with the body hailing it as an untouched paradise.
4) Which of the following is/are not the applications of 5G technology?
Reduce Pharmaceutical R&D costs
Development of Robotics in surgery
Improved public safety with more efficient trackers
Intelligent fleet and logistics management
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
5G technology promises accelerated download and upload speeds.
Network latency, or the lag in data communication between wireless devices, is minimal on 5G networks.
Also, 5G is a more versatile technology and can therefore be operated over three different spectrum bands, resulting in superior coverage and reception.
Applications
Health Care
Reduce Pharmaceutical R&D costs
Video/3D Video appointments for non-life threatening ailments
Development of robotics in surgery
More efficient health and fitness monitors
Smart Cities and Homes
3D Video calls and holograms
Innovative augmented and Virtual Reality applications
Improved public safety with more efficient trackers
Remote device control
Transport
Connected vehicles which allow data collection from traffic signals and road-side sensors will lead to
Reduced congestion
Intelligent fleet and logistics management
Autonomous cars with little or no help from humans can
Improve road safety
Increase mobility
5) 2021–2030 is observed by the United Nations (UN) as the decade of?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
6) Which of the following languages is/are not mentioned in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution?
Nepali
Bodo
Santhali
English
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists of the following 22 languages:-
Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution.
Sindhi language was added in 1967.
Thereafter three more languages viz., Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were included in 1992.
Subsequently Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali were added in 2004.
Union Culture Minister has recently announced the inclusion of Nepali and Santhali languages in the Scheme for grant of Senior/Junior Fellowships of Culture Ministry.
7) Which of the following best describes the term Kleptocracy?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
8) Consider the following statements
It is a designated Ramsar Site.
It is the largest brackish, humid tropical wetland ecosystem located on the southwest coast of India.
It supports the third largest waterfowl population in India during the winter months.
Identify the wetland that correctly matches with the above description:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
Vembanad Lake, a designated Ramsar site and one of the most polluted waterbodies in the world.
It is the largest brackish, humid tropical wetland ecosystem on the southwest coast of India, fed by 10 rivers and typical of large estuarine systems on the western coast, renowned for its clams and supporting the third largest waterfowl population in India during the winter months.
9) Which of the following is/are the challenges for 5G technology implementation in India?
Low Spectrum Fees
Financial Stress faced by the telecom service providers
Fast pace of approvals from different government agencies
Strengthening the security apparatus with evolving technologies
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
Challenges for 5G implementation in India
High Spectrum Fees
Financial Stress faced by the telecom service providers
Slow pace of approvals from different government agencies
Permission from multiple local authorities to use public infrastructure for installing small cell network
Strengthening the security apparatus with evolving technologies
10) Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) sometimes seen in the news recently belonged to which of the following space agencies?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a space telescope for NASA’s Explorers program
It was launched in 2018 to detect small planets with bright host stars in the solar neighbourhood.
The spacecraft will be looking for a phenomenon known as a transit, where a planet passes in front of its star, causing a periodic and regular dip in the star’s brightness.
It will do an all-sky survey from an orbit between the Earth and the moon.
Three new planets, which orbit a star situated 73 light years away from the Earth, have been discovered using TESS, NASA's planet hunting satellite.
