Current Affairs Quiz Today – 16th Jan 2021

ANS: (A) Bihar

Explanation:

• The Nagi and Nakti bird sanctuaries are two sanctuaries in Bihar, so close to each other that they can be taken as one bird area.
• Nagi is 7 km from Jhajha in the Jamui District, and Nakti is a further 4 km from Nagi, occupying similar habitat.
• Bihar’s first state-level bird festival ‘Kalrav’ will be held at the world-famous Nagi-Nakti bird sanctuaries from January 15, 2021.

ANS: (C) 3 only

Explanation:

• Signed in 1992, the Open Skies Treaty permits each state-party to conduct short-notice, unarmed, reconnaissance flights over the others’ entire territories to collect data on military forces and activities.
• It is an agreement that allows the signatory-countries to monitor arms development by conducting unarmed surveillance flights over each others’ territories.
• India is not a member of this treaty.

ANS: (D) Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

• Thiruvalluvar, also called Valluvar, was a Tamil poet-saint.
  • He is regarded as a cultural and moral icon for Tamils across caste and religious lines.
  • Some people consider Thiruvalluvar as a Hindu, some trace his past to Jainism while the Dravidian groups count him as a saint, as he dismissed the caste system.
  • His primary work Thirukkural (contribution to Tamil Literature) contains 1330 couplets (kurals).
    • The text is divided into three parts with teachings on dharma, artha, and kama (virtue, wealth and love). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The Thiruvalluvar University was established in Vellore district of Tamilnadu by the Government of Tamilnadu in October 2002.
• In 1976, a temple-memorial called Valluvar Kottam was built in Chennai and houses one of the largest auditoriums in Asia. hence, statement 2 is correct.
• In the early 16^th century, a temple dedicated to Thiruvalluvar was built within the Ekambareswarar temple complex in Mylapore, Chennai.

ANS: (A) 1 only

Explanation

• Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) aims at blending ethanol with petrol, thereby bringing it under the category of biofuels and saving millions of dollars by cutting fuel imports and decreasing carbon emissions.
  • E20 Fuel: Earlier, the Indian government had invited public comments for introducing adoption of E20 fuel (a blend of 20% ethanol with gasoline).
  • The target is to achieve 20% blending of ethanol by 2025. The current permissible level of blending is 10% of ethanol, though India reached only 5.6% of blending in 2019. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana, 2019: The objective of the scheme is to create an ecosystem for setting up commercial projects and to boost research and development in the 2G Ethanol sector. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• National Biofuel Policy 2018: The Policy categorises biofuels as “Basic Biofuels” viz. First Generation (1G) bioethanol & biodiesel and “Advanced Biofuels” – Second Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-in fuels, Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-CNG etc. to enable extension of appropriate financial and fiscal incentives under each category.

ANS: (B) 1 and 2 only

Explanation:

• Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was a nuclear arms-control accord reached by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1987 in which the two nations agreed to eliminate their stocks of intermediate-range and shorter-range (or “medium-range”) land-based missiles which could carry nuclear warheads.
• It also covered all land-based missiles, including those carrying nuclear warheads but did not cover sea-launched missiles.
• The United States withdrew from the Treaty on 2nd August 2019.