IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Apr 19, 2016

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• In Jammu and Kashmir it was implemented twice in since 2015. First from 9, January 2015 to 1, March 2015 - 51 days - Failure of Government formation after fractured verdict in Assembly elections. BJP & PDP reached an understanding to form an alliance to form Government in J&K.
• Second from 8 January 2016 to 4 April 2016 - 101 days - Death of Chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
• Arunachal Pradesh had it from 25 January 2016 to 19 February 2016 - 26 days - 21 Congress MLAs joined hands with 11 of the BJP and two Independents, making the current government a minority government.
• Uttarakhand has it from 27 March 2016
• Collapse of CM Harish Rawat's ministry following a split in the state unit of Congress party. (The Rule was imposed one day before the scheduled floor test sparking controversy).

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• Ephedrine is a medication used to prevent low blood pressure during spinal anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment.
• Both ephedrine and pseudoephedrine increase blood pressure and act as bronchodilators, with pseudoephedrine having considerably less effect.
• Ephedrine was first isolated in 1885. It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system. It is available as a generic medication.
• Ephedrine drug is an ingredient used in manufacturing Mephedrone powder, also known as party drug Meow Meow. Ephedrine powder is used for sniffing as recreational drug.
• Common side effects include, trouble sleeping, anxiety, headache, hallucinations, high blood pressure, fast heart rate, loss of appetite, and inability to urinate. Serious side effects include stroke, heart attack, and abuse.

ANSWER: Health problems due to pollution within a building

Explanation:

• In recent years, there has been an increase in health problems due to air pollution in personal living spaces, known as sick building syndrome (SBS), along with other conditions such as sick car and sick school syndromes.
• Individual carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules and volatile organic compound gas molecules are found in buildings, furniture and even household goods.
• These harmful chemical gases are measured in parts per billion and are extremely difficult to detect with current environmental sensor technology, which can only detect concentrations of parts per million (ppm).

ANSWER: Tatya Tope

Explanation:

• Ministry of Culture has been celebrating the 200^th Birth Anniversary of Tatya Tope during 2015-16 in association with State Government of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
• The Ministry released a Commemorative Coin of Rs. 200/- and a Circulation Coin of Rs. 10/- on Tatya Tope on the occasion of his Martyr Day.
• He was captured by the British Forces on 07 April, 1859 and after a hurried trial for waging war against the East India Company, he was hanged to death on 18 April 1859 at Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh.
• The Government of India is also considering creation of infrastructure in the memory of Tatya Tope by constructing a Memorial at Yeola, Nasik, Maharashtra and a War Museum at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in association with the respective State Governments.
• He was born in Yeola, Nasik, Maharashtra.

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:

• AIR is using both FM transmitters and DRMs (Digital Radio Mondiale) to reach out to India’s neighbors.
• AIR had installed a 20KW FM transmitter in Fazilka, Punjab, to reach those who tune into the Urdu Service of AIR. A television tower — with a 230 metre tower for FM transmission — is reaching Pakistani listeners, where Doordarshan is banned.
• Radio Bangla was discontinued in 2010. With DRM, Radio Bangla will be active again.
• Officials said that this radio transmission had played an important role in the liberation of Bangladesh and we are hoping to have specific programmes to interest listeners, including discussions on rising fundamentalism in Bangladesh, which poses a danger to India.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• Digital Radio Mondale (DRM) is a set of digital audio broadcasting technologies designed to work over the bands currently used for analogue radio broadcasting including AM broadcasting, particularly shortwave, and FM broadcasting.
• DRM is more spectrally efficient than AM and FM, allowing more stations, at higher quality, into a given amount of bandwidth, using various MPEG-4 audio coding formats.
• DRM has the twin capabilities of analogue and digital transmission, which makes it perfect for simulcast modes.
• The Sam Pitroda Committee set up to suggest a road map for the Prasar Bharati, had struck a cautious note in its report: “Digitalize the present AM radio system to a new digital radio transmission after due evaluation, subject to cost and availability of DRM receivers. In the transition period, FM may be expanded as per demand”. AIR, according to officials, has set 2017 as deadline to achieve total digitization.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• Septicemia (or, sepsis) is the leading cause for deaths in hospitals worldwide.
• Sepsis is caused by the overwhelming response of the immune system to an infection.
• The main causative agents of sepsis are Gram-negative bacteria due to their predominance in the normal intestinal flora and the environment. Specifically, it is the endotoxin, a major constituent of the Gram-negative bacterial cell wall that causes sepsis.
• In lieu of expensive and time-consuming methods for diagnosis of sepsis, Prof. Shalini Gupta from the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Delhi and Dr. Venkataraman Sritharan from Hyderabad have developed a low-cost, disposable, point of care device for bedside use for sepsis diagnosis.
• The device is a colorimetric rapid card test to detect endotoxin levels in human serum sample.
• A commonly used antibiotic colistin is combined with (conjugated) gold nanoparticles to act as a detection probe. They used the drug to detect endotoxin as they did not want to use the antibody detection method and it also reduces the cost of testing.
• The device which took about three years to develop won the Gandhian Young Technology Innovation award in March 2016.

ANSWER: Embryos that develop inside eggs remain in the mother's body until they are ready to hatch

Explanation:

• Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, or ovivipary, is a mode of reproduction in animals in which embryos that develop inside eggs remain in the mother's body until they are ready to hatch.
• This method of reproduction is similar to viviparity but the embryos have no placental connection with the mother but receive their nourishment from a yolk sac; the mother's body does provide gas exchange (sharks and rays).

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• Currently, as per the Oath Act, 1969, any person who deposes in the court can swear in the name of God or by placing a hand on a religious book.
• Petitions have been filed in Bombay High Court seeking for people who practice atheism the liberty to take the oath in courts the name of Constitution instead of swearing in the name of God.

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:

• At present, EPF accounts are mandatory for firms hiring 20 employees or more and are funded by employees paying 12 per cent of their salary to the EPFO with employers making a similar contribution.
• According to a February 2016 notification, EPFO subscribers can withdraw only their own share of PF deposit and the balance, comprising the employer’s contribution, only after the employee attains 58 years of age.
• The employer’s share will continue to earn interest as the EPFO had recently approved a plan to credit interest even on inoperative accounts (those with no deposits for three consecutive years).
• The decision to place restrictions on withdrawing PF money was taken after it was found many workers took out all the money from the account immediately on quitting their jobs.
• PF norms may be eased on pressure from trade unions. Subscribers could be allowed to withdraw their entire savings including the employer’s contribution in specific cases such as their own marriage, studying professional courses and illness.