Current Affairs Quiz Today – 23rd Dec. 2020

ANS: (D) Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• Leopards are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ by IUCN.
• Leopards are in maximum number in the Western Ghats region.

ANS: (D) Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

• TheNational Green Highways Mission (NGHM) has been launched by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) following the promulgation of ‘Green Highways Policy’ in September 2015. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• The objective of the Project is to demonstrate safe and green National Highway corridorsin selected States and enhance the institutional capacity of the MoRTH in mainstreaming safety and green technologies. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• It should not be confused with the Green Energy Corridor which is a comprehensive scheme for evacuation & integration of renewable energy (RE).

ANS: (D) Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

• Recently, the USA has awarded the ‘Legion of Merit’ to the Prime Ministers of India, Japan and Australia.
  • All these four countries were key to reviving the Quadrilateral grouping since 2017, which is part of the Indo-Pacific strategy and is aimed at countering the growing dominance of China in the region.
• It is one of the USA’s highest military decorations,the award was instituted in 1942 by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
  • It is awarded to members of the US armed forces and also members of foreign (i.e. non-USA) armed forces and sometimes heads of state or government.
  • The award is presented to foreign recipients in four categories: Chief Commander, Commander, Officer and Legionnaire.
  • There have been two Indian recipients of the honour in the past: Field Marshal K M Cariappa in 1950, and Gen S M Srinagesh in 1955. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

ANS: (A) Its extract is widely used in pharmaceutical industry.

Explanation:

1. Himalayan trillium:
2. The Himalayan trillium, a common herb of the Himalayas was declared ‘endangered’ by the IUCN.
3. The herb has numerous uses for human beings thus inviting people to utilize it, paving way for overutilization.
4. Temperate and sub-alpine zones of the Himalayas at an altitude of 2400 meters to 4000 meters.
5. India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan has been home to this specie.
6. used for the preparation of steroidal and sex hormones.

ANS: (B) 2 and 3 only

Explanation

• A volcano is an opening on the surface that allows material warmer than its surroundings to escape from its interior.
• There arethree reasons why magma might rise and cause eruptions onto Earth’s surface:
  • Magma can rise when pieces of Earth’s crust calledtectonic plates slowly move away from each other.
  • Magma also rises when thesetectonic plates move toward each other.
  • A final way thatmagma rises is over hot spots. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
    • Hot spots are the hot areas inside of Earth. These areas heat up magma which then becomes less dense and rises.
  • Kilauea Volcano,also called Mount Kilauea (“Much Spreading” in Hawaiian), is located in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the southeastern part of the island of Hawaii, U.S.A.
  • It ranks among the world’s most active volcanoes. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • Barren Island, Andaman Islands (India’s only active volcano). Barren Island is an island located in the Andaman Sea. It is the only confirmed active volcano in South Asia, and the only active volcano along a chain of volcanoes from Sumatra to Myanmar. Hence, statement 3 is correct.