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

ANSWER: Chromium

Explanation:

• BARC has developed a simple, user friendly, quick and cost effective kit for onsite determination of Cr(VI), which meets IS10500 as well as EPA criterion.
• It provides the much needed solution to measure the level of Chromium contamination in drinking water and tap water, lakes, rivers as well as ground water.
• The procedure involves adding a specified amount of specific reagents to the water sample and identifying the developed colour.
• The colour develops within 5 minutes and the distinction can be made with naked eye.

ANSWER: Chromium VI

Explanation:

• Chromium in the environment primarily exists as Trivalent Chromium Cr (III) and Hexavalent Chromium Cr (VI).
• Chromium Cr (VI) is toxic and the World Health Organization has classified it as carcinogenic and can cause stomach ulcers and cancers and severe damage to kidneys and liver.

ANSWER: 50

Explanation:

• As per Indian standard IS10500 for drinking water, the maximum permissible concentration of Cr(VI) in drinking water is 50 microgram per litre.
• The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends a still lower permissible concentration of 10 microgram per liter.
• Detection of Cr(VI) at such low levels is not only technically challenging but also expensive and time consuming since it involves collection of water samples from affected areas, transport to laboratory, storage and finally analysis.
• The new BARC portable kit method can be used for limited water samples with errors due to conversion of Cr(III) to Cr(VI) and vice versa during transport and storage.

ANSWER: Bangladesh

Explanation:

• AIR would be launching an exclusive service for Bangladesh and Bengali diaspora titled “Akashvani Maitree”, AIR’s cross-border Bangla service.
• The service will be broadcast in India and Bangladesh on 596 KHz.
• The Bangla radio service, launched in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation Movement and discontinued in 2010, was to go on air on June 28 with a mix of news and cultural programming.
• The re-launch of the channel on 596 KHz has twin objectives- To counter the presence of CRI (Chinese Radio International with its strong programming) and to attract Bengali-speaking listeners from both countries. Live-streaming of programmes online will cater to the Bengali diaspora.

ANSWER: Both 1 and 2

Explanation:

• A “binding” national water quality standards for every kind of use is proposed to be introduced.
• A “binding” national water footprint standards for “every activity or product” are also sought to be evolved. The draft law says it would be the “duty” of everyone to strive towards reducing their “water footprint”.
• Industries, in particular, will be asked to state their water footprint in their annual reports, along with an action plan to progressively reduce it over time.
• To deal with inter-state water disputes, the draft law proposes the establishment of “appropriate institutional arrangements”.
• “The upper basin state shall adopt a cautious and minimalist approach to major interventions in the inter-state rivers…,” it says, while stressing that none of the states in a basin “owns the river”.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• The bill seeks to make groundwater a common pool resource, reduce its pollution and degradation, and protect ecosystems and their biological diversity.
• The bill seeks to move groundwater away from its current avatar under the Easements Act as a private property resource to a Common Pool Resource.
• The State will hold groundwater as a resource in public trust.
• In the true spirit of decentralisation and the principle of subsidiarity, it seeks to empower Gram Panchayats and Nagarpalikas through a process of Gram Sabhas and Ward Sabhas to develop management plans for groundwater use in public domain and through people’s participation and approval.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Some of the objectives of the Model Bill for Conservation, Protection and Regulation of Groundwater include:

• Ensure the realisation of the fundamental right to life through the provision of water.
• Meet food security, livelihoods, basic human needs, livestock and aquatic life.
• Protect ecosystems and their biological diversity.
• Reduce and prevent pollution and degradation of groundwater.

One of the biggest challenges for sustainable management of groundwater comes from overexploitation and overuse, beyond the annual recharge. The other comes from pollution, from natural mineral occurrences such as with fluoride and arsenic and with man-made sources such as industrial effluents, fertilizers and sewage.

ANSWER: Sasser La

Explanation:

• An ancient camping site dating ninth millennium BC has been discovered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under Ministry of Culture, on the way to Saser La which leads to the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh.
• Saser Pass, Saser La, or Sasser Pass (el. 5,411 m or 17,753 ft) is a high mountain pass in Ladakh and India on the ancient summer caravan route from Leh in Ladakh to Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. It leads from the head of the Nubra Valley into the upper Shyok valley, on the way to the even higher, but easier, Karakoram Pass.
• A charcoal sample collected from the Site, was subsequently sent to BETA LAB, Florida, USA, for radiocarbon date determination in order to understand the antiquity of the above stated camp-site.
• The outcome i.e. 8500 BC (10500 years before present) was beyond even ASI’s expectation. Such an early antiquity on the basis of a scientific date was the very first for that region.

ANSWER: Meghalaya

Explanation:

• Tirot Sing, also known as U Tirot Sing, was one of the chiefs of the Khasi people in the early 18th century.
• He died on 17 July 1835. His death is commemorated in Meghalaya India as U Tirot Sing Day. His death anniversary is commemorated every year as a state holiday in Meghalaya.
• Tirot Sing fought with only with native weapons such as a sword and shield.

ANSWER: Power Sector

Explanation:

• ‘TARANG’ (Transmission App for Real Time Monitoring & Growth) Mobile App & Web Portal has been developed by Rural Electrification Corporation Transmission Projects Company Limited (RECTPCL), a subsidiary of REC Ltd, under the guidance of Ministry of Power.
• TARANG is a powerful monitoring tool that tracks upcoming transmission projects and monitor the progress of Inter-State & Intra-State transmission systems in the country, being developed through Regulated tariff mechanism as well as Tariff Based Competitive Bidding(TBCB) route.
• Introduction of the electronic platform shall enhance ease, accountability & transparency and would boost confidence of investors in power transmission sector.
• Better price discovery shall ultimately benefit the power consumers in India.