IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Apr 17 & 18, 2016

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• Dubbed mcr-1, the resistance-conferring gene easily transfers between bacteria, benign or otherwise, found in humans, animals or the environment.
• First identified in China last November, the gene has since been discovered in livestock, water, meat and vegetables for human consumption in several countries, and in humans infected with E.coli -– one of the disease-causing bacteria it targets.
• For the first time, mcr-1 has now also been found living in the gut of healthy humans.

ANSWER: Antibiotic

Explanation:

• The gene MCR-1’s resistance to colistin, a life-saving medication which has been around for 60 years, is the latest frustration for physicians battling disease with a shrinking arsenal of antibiotics to treat a wide variety of ailments, many once easily curable.
• Colistin has been available since 1959 in order to treat infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria — a category including the food-poisoning germs E-coli and Salmonella, as well as Acinetobacter which can cause pneumonia or serious blood and wound infections.
• It was abandoned for human use in the 1980s due to high kidney toxicity, but is widely used in livestock farming, especially in China.
• As bacteria have started to develop resistance to other, more modern drugs, colistin had to be brought back as a treatment of last resort in hospitals and clinics.
• Now resistance to that too is becoming a problem.

ANSWER: Fighting radicalization by Islamic State

Explanation:

• Centre plans to announce national social media policy, and nip spreading of false propaganda on the Internet.
• Alarmed that an increasing number of young people are being radicalised by the Islamic State (IS) through online videos and social media groups, the Union government will come up with a “national social media policy” to counter the cyber-threat.
• The policy, which follows a “blueprint” circulated by the Home Ministry to State agencies that deal with de-radicalisation, will focus on countering social media propaganda that follows any communally polarising incident in the country.

ANSWER: Iraq and Syria

Explanation:

• Major IS-controlled areas are in Iraq and Syria.
• ISIS has taken over large swaths of northern and western Iraq as it seeks to create an Islamic caliphate that stretches from Syria to Iraq.
• IS is recruiting young people through social media.

ANSWER: Ink

Explanation:

• The device invented by the IIT students prevents the particulate matter from being released in the air.
• The particulate matters are from diesel generators.
• This device is connected to the exhaust pipe of the generator. With the help of a special solution, this device collects 70% of the soot from smoke. This collected particulate matter is then used to make ink.
• The ink produced using this machine is very useful. You can use it to create design on cloths or paint objects of domestic use.

ANSWER: New Delhi

Explanation:

• National Mission for Clean Ganga under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK) announced the formal launch of Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (CGRBMS) in New Delhi today.
• The Ministry signed a 10 year Memorandum of Agreement with IITK for provision of continual scientific support in the implementation and dynamic evolution of the Ganga River Basin Management Plan.
• The Centre will act as a think-tank to the government as well as knowledge hub to coordinate all activities within the Ganga river basin and these activities will include science, technology, research, innovation, social, economics, finance and investment related aspects.

ANSWER: Interest and relevance of a person in a case

Explanation:

• In law, standing or locus standi is the term for the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party's participation in the case.
• The court generally asks people their locus standi, which means what is your interest or role In filing this case or raising the issue at hand.
• Locus standi means a person who approached the court should show himself that he suffered a legal injury.
• Mere interest is generally not sufficient to file the writ. The person should have more interest than that of an ordinary member.

ANSWER: Penalty imposed on imports for their low prices

Explanation:

• An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.
• Say a cup costs Rs. 10 in India. If other countries try selling the same quality cup at Rs. 2 in India, the domestic manufacturers would suffer.
• This is called ‘dumping’ by the foreign country.
• To avoid this, if India feels that the cup is being sold unjustly at a very low price than its normal value, it can impose anti-dumping duties.
• Sometimes, some countries price the products lower owing to tremendous increase in production and export them at very lower prices.
• The use of anti-dumping measure as an instrument of fair competition is permitted by the WTO. In fact, anti-dumping is an instrument for ensuring fair trade and is not a measure of protection per se for the domestic industry. It provides relief to the domestic industry against the injury caused by dumping.

ANSWER: N-Butyl Alcohol

Explanation:

• Chemical used in fermentation of sugar is N-Butanol or Normal Butanol, or N-Butyl Alcohol.
• n-Butanol occurs naturally as a minor product of the fermentation of sugars and other carbohydrates, and is present in many foods and beverages.
• It is also a permitted artificial flavorant in the United States, used in butter, cream, fruit, rum, whiskey, ice cream and ices, candy, baked goods and cordials.
• It is also used in a wide range of consumer products.
• The largest use of n-butanol is as an industrial intermediate, particularly for the manufacture of butyl acetate (itself an artificial flavorant and industrial solvent).

ANSWER: Rhine

Explanation:

Germany’s example of cleaning up of its river Rhine will be replicated for the Ganga.
• The MoWR signed an agreement with the German International Cooperation (GIZ) of Germany to help with cleaning the Ganga. The ‘Namami Ganga’ is a flagship Rs. 30,000-crore programme of the NDA government to clean the Ganga and restore its flows by 2020.
• The way to do this, according to the government, is to have public sector undertakings develop 52 sewage treatment and effluent treatment plants (STPs) and cleaning up a number of ghats, besides using skimmers at 11 places to take muck out of the river stream.
• Germany, that will contribute Rs. 22.2 crore to the endeavor, will provide technical consultancy to deal with industrial effluents in Uttarakhand, before they empty out into the river.
• Germany’s ultimate goal is to bring back ‘Mother Ganga’ in India to its pristine condition as it has been done successfully for ‘Father Rhine’ in Germany.

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:

• In the case of Israel, technologies for water purification and filtration are likely to be shared.
• UK will share its expertise in reviving aquatic life at the mouth of the Ganga.
• Germany’s example of cleaning up of its river Rhine will be replicated for the Ganga.
• Germany, that will contribute Rs. 22.2 crore to the endeavor, will provide technical consultancy to deal with industrial effluents in Uttarakhand, before they empty out into the river.

ANSWER: Agriculture development tree

Explanation:

• Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry said that the Ministry of Agriculture has adopted a concept- “agriculture development tree”.
• The Ministry has initiated a number of projects for overall development of the farmers within the same tree.
• Government is taking all steps to double the farmers’ income in the next 5 years.
• These projects also include National Agriculture Market.