IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Feb 24, 2016

ANSWER: 1, 2

Explanation:

• The Tiger Range Countries (TRC) – countries where tigers still roam free i.e. in the wild
• Only 13 countries that have the pride of having tigers in the wild and tiger-bearing areas in the world.
• Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam.
• Sometimes North Korea too is included. Whilst there have been no recent tigers sightings in North-Korea, it is the only country listed which has not ratified CITES.

ANSWER: Automobile Industry

Explanation:

• A new state of the art and modern test facilities have been installed as a part of the National Automotive Testing and R & D infrastructure project (NATRiP) at International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar in Gurgaon district of Haryana.
• The NATRiP project was setup in line with the vision of automotive mission plan 2016. It represents a unique joining of hands between the Government of India, a number of State Governments and Indian Automotive Industry to create a state of the art Testing, Validation and R&D infrastructure in the country.
• NATRIP has facilitated introduction of automotive safety, emission and performance standards in the country which are at par with global standards and fast catching up with the best standards across the globe to ensure seamless integration of Indian automotive industry with the global industry.
• There would be setting up of a National Automotive Board which will encompass all the Seven NATRiP Centers spread across the country – Pune, Ahmednagar, Chennai, Manesar, Indore, Silchar and Raebarelli.

ANSWER: India has observer status

Explanation:

• CERN - "Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire", or European Council for Nuclear Research, a provisional body founded in 1952 with the mandate of establishing a world-class fundamental physics research organization in Europe. At that time, pure physics research concentrated on understanding the inside of the atom, hence the word "nuclear".
• At present, India has an observer status, which allows only participation in CERN meetings.
• After playing a significant role in the discovery of the god particle, India is set to become an associate member of the CERN.
• A Delegation from CERN, Geneva started its tour of India to report to the CERN Council about India's institutional and scientific strengths to become an Associate Member of this leading high energy physics laboratory.
• Once India becomes an Associate Member, Indian industry will be able to bid for CERN contracts, thus opening up opportunities in areas of advanced technologies; technology transfer will be facilitated; Indian scientists will be able to get appointments in CERN for longer periods; India will be able to participate in the scientific decision making to a greater degree; Indian students and post-doctoral fellows will have much greater opportunities to participate in CERN's schools, workshops, summer programmes; etc.

ANSWER: 1

Explanation:

• New National Pension System (NPS) administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
• EPF is administered by Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (abbreviated to EPFO), a statutory body of the Government of India under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• The GPF is administered by central as well as state governments. Mostly the GPF of employees in one state is administered by the state rules.

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• The GPF is offered to government employees, while EPF benefits are mandatory for all organizations with 20 or more employees earning up to Rs. 15,000 a month.
• Those earning over the Rs.15,000 ceiling can contribute to EPF on a voluntary basis.
• The EPF schemes cover Indian workers as well as International workers (for countries with which bilateral agreements have been signed. As of now 14 Social Security Agreements are operational).

ANSWER: Resistance of microbes against medication

Explanation:

• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including antibiotic resistance, is the resistance of a microbe to an antimicrobial medication that used to be effective in treating or preventing an infection caused by that microbe.
• There are three main ways by which resistance can occur: by natural resistance in certain types of bacteria, by genetic mutation, or by one species acquiring resistance from another.
• The first step in addressing the problem of AMR is to avoid the need for antibiotics at all in the first place.

ANSWER: H L Dattu

Explanation:

• Former Chief Justice of India H L Dattu will be the next Chairman of National Human Rights Commission.
• The post had been lying vacant since May 11 last year, when Mr. K.G. Balakrishnan demitted office after his five-year term. Justice Cyriac Joseph had been functioning as the acting chairperson since then.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• The implication of these guidelines is that start-ups and software developers will continue to have the freedom to innovate without worrying about litigation in this area and infringement notices.
• Mere computer programmes — those not in conjunction with a novel hardware — will not be granted patent in India, according to the latest guidelines of the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM). The Office of CGPDTM supervises the working of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) laws in India.
• The new guidelines have been aligned to the Patents Act. The objective of the guidelines is to bring out clarity in terms of exclusions expected under sub-section 3(k) of the Patents Act so that eligible applications of patents relating to Computer Related Inventions (CRIs) can be examined speedily, the CGPDTM said. The sub-section 3(k) says mathematical methods or business methods or computer programme per se or algorithms are not patentable.
• The CGPDTM asked the patent examiners to rely on a three stage test in examining CRI patent applications. ‘Properly construe the claim and identify the actual contribution; If the contribution lies only in mathematical method, business method or algorithm, deny the claim,’ it said. ‘The computer programme in itself is never patentable... If the contribution lies in the field of computer programme, check whether it is claimed in conjunction with a novel hardware and proceed to other steps to determine patentability with respect to the invention,’ it added.