IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - July 29, 2016

ANSWER: Monitor the village electrification process

Explanation:

• Due to tardy performance in the States, the National Democratic Alliance government launched the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) to ensure rapid electrification, feeder separation, and strengthening of rural distribution infrastructure. It is necessary to monitor progress intensively for smooth and fast implementation of electrification.
• To transparently monitor the process, the Central government, in November 2015, appointed 309 young and passionate Grameen Vidyut Abhiyantas (GVAs or rural electrification engineers) from the same areas. Reports by these GVAs are shared through the GARV (Grameen Vidyutikaran) app (http://garv.gov.in) with officials as well as the public.
• It puts pressure on State governments for timely and quality delivery.
• Prior to GVAs, only data provided by the States was available, which in many cases does not represent ground reality. GVAs provide a verification mechanism in a bold, transparent, and reliable manner.

ANSWER: Andhra Pradesh

Explanation:

• Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD), a constituent unit of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), has surveyed and identified resources of the mineral monazite (an ore mineral of thorium rare earth elements and phosphate) in beach and inland sand areas of the country.
• The reserves in descending order are – Andhra Pradesh > Tamil Nadu > Orissa > Kerala > West Bengal > Bihar.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• Five Pan India Mega Circuits have been also identified namely, Ramayana-Krishna- Buddhist Mega Circuit, Himalayan & Adventure, World Heritage, Coastal and Wild Life Circuit identified for development under Swadesh Darshan to showcase India as a Land of Buddha and destination for Spiritual and Religious Tourism.

ANSWER: 2, 3

Explanation:

• EcoTourism Circuit in states of Uttarakhand, Telangana, Kerala.
• Desert Circuit in Rajasthan,
• North East India Circuit in Arunachal, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura under Swadesh Darshan.

ANSWER: 1, 3

Explanation:

• Tribal Circuit in Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Telangana,
• Buddhist Circuit in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh,
• Wild Life Circuit in Madhya Pradesh & Assam

ANSWER: 1

Explanation:

• Coastal Circuit in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Goa,
• Himalayan Circuit in Jammu and Kashmir.
• 11 projects in Amravati, Kamakhya Temple, Patna Sahib, Patna,Vishnupad Gaya, Shri Jaggannath Puri, Amritsar,Ajmer-Pushkar, Varanasi,Mathura-Vrindavan, Kedarnath Dham Uttarakhand have been sanctioned so far under the PRASAD scheme.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• Industry is a State subject.
• The role of Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) is confined to the administration of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and Sectors under its administrative control.
• Union List includes Defence Industries and Industries, the control of which by the Union is in the public interest.

ANSWER: Journalist Visa

Explanation:

• As per extant instructions, foreign nationals coming for shooting of a feature film/ a reality TV show and/ or commercial TV serials can be granted a Business Visa.
• However, foreign nationals coming for shooting of documentary film/ advertisement film are granted Journalist Visa.
• Business Visa is normally granted to a foreign national with a stay stipulation. The maximum period of stay allowed on each visit on a Business Visa is 180 days.
• However, on e-Tourist Visa, a foreigner is permitted to undertake casual business activities and presently, the maximum period for which e-Tourist Visa is granted is 30 days.

ANSWER: 3

Explanation:

• Polio is caused by a human enterovirus called the poliovirus. Wild polioviruses are those that occur naturally.
• The poliovirus consists of an RNA genome enclosed in a protein shell called a capsid. There are three serotypes of wild poliovirus – type 1, type 2, and type 3 – each with a slightly different capsid protein.
• Type 2 poliovirus has been eliminated in the wild – the last wild type 2 poliovirus was detected in India in 1999.
• In this final stage of polio eradication, only type 1 and type 3 wild poliovirus continue to circulate in endemic areas. Both are highly infectious and both cause paralytic polio. Type 1 is the most pervasive strain of poliovirus and type 3 is at very low levels.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• Advantages –
1. As IPV is not a 'live' vaccine, it carries no risk of vaccine-associated polio paralysis.
2. IPV triggers an excellent protective immune response in most people.
• Disadvantages –
1. IPV induces very low levels of immunity in the intestine. As a result, when a person immunized with IPV is infected with wild poliovirus, the virus can still multiply inside the intestines and be shed in the faeces, risking continued circulation.
2. IPV is over five times more expensive than oral polio vaccine.
3. Administering the vaccine requires trained health workers and sterile injection equipment and procedures.
• Safety - IPV is one of the safest vaccines in use. No serious systemic adverse reactions have been shown to follow vaccination.
  
• Efficacy - IPV is highly effective in preventing paralytic disease caused by all three types of poliovirus.