IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Mar 10, 2016

ANSWER: 1, 3

Explanation:

• As per RBI, growth of card acceptance infrastructure like automated teller machines (ATMs) and point-of-sale (PoS) terminals is not on a par with that of card issuance.
• Debit cards vastly outnumber the volume of credit cards issued in the country. Further, a high number of debit cards have been issued in recent times under the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yogana, especially to customers in rural areas and smaller towns.
• Cash continues to be the predominant mode of payment as it appears to be “costless” in comparison to the visible costs associated with card/electronic payments.
• Some of the factors that have inhibited growth in the acceptance infrastructure are lack of adequate and low-cost telecom infrastructure and lack of incentive for merchants for acceptance of cards, among others.

ANSWER: Marshall Islands

Explanation:

• The tiny Marshall Islands will seek to persuade the UN’s highest court to take up a lawsuit against India, Pakistan and Britain which they accuse of failing to halt the nuclear arms race.
• In 2014, the Marshall Islands, a Pacific Ocean territory with 55,000 people, accused nine countries of “not fulfilling their obligations with respect to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament”.
• They included China, Britain, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, and the U.S.
• But the court only admitted three cases brought against Britain, India and Pakistan because they already recognised the ICJ’s authority.
  
• India has already made a written presentation to the ICJ reiterating that Marshall Islands’ argument of the NPT is not valid before India as it is not a signatory to the NPT.

ANSWER: PMO

Explanation:

• The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) created the position of the National Cyber Security Coordinator in 2014.
• Gulshan Rai is appointed the first Cyber Security Chief.
• Digital India initiative will increase the relevance of the internet and expose the country to large cyber-attacks.
• It is proposed that India must develop defensive as well as offensive cyber strategies.

ANSWER: Climate Engineering

Explanation:

• Most climate engineering efforts can be divided into two categories - the management of carbon and the management of sunlight.
• For management of sunlight, the techniques being considered are marine cloud brightening, cirrus cloud manipulation and stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI).
• Low, warm clouds tend to be highly reflective to sunlight, especially when the cloud is bright due to the presence of smaller droplets (because of the Twomey effect). Therefore, modifying these clouds to make them more reflective cools the climate. This proposed technique is known as 'marine cloud brightening', 'marine sky brightening' or 'cloud whitening' of low cloud.

ANSWER: SO₂

Explanation:

• Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), the boldest and also the most risky of climate engineering interventions, involves spraying into the stratosphere fine, light-colored particles designed to reflect back part of the solar radiation before it reaches and warms the earth.
• SAI proponents claim that this could bring down the global temperature by as much as 1°C — a substantial amount in the climate change context.
• The optimal gases for injection, such as sulphur dioxide SO2 can be produced in abundance.
• There are also precedents from nature. The 1991 volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines injected 20 megatonnes of SO2 into the stratosphere, cooling the globe significantly for a couple of years.
• But SAI also has the potential for disastrous side effects, crossing national boundaries. The Pinatubo volcanic eruption is also said to have reduced precipitation, soil moisture, and river flow in many regions. Injection of sulphur compounds into the stratosphere is likely to increase acid deposition on the ground and also contribute to ozone layer depletion.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• In 2013 SC first held that legislators, on conviction, would be immediately disqualified from holding membership of the House without being given three months’ time for appeal, as was the case before. Before this verdict, convicted lawmakers would file an appeal in the higher court and continue in the House.
• In March 2014, the Supreme Court passed an interim order that criminal trials, especially those dealing with corruption and heinous offences, involving elected representatives should be completed in a year. This order prevented lawmakers from sitting in the House as their cases dragged on.
• Opening its third chapter against corruption in politics, the Supreme Court three-judge Bench, headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, referred to a Constitution Bench the question whether a legislator facing criminal trial should be disqualified at the very stage of framing of charges against him by the trial court. Should his disqualification be kept in abeyance till he is convicted? i.e. whether the country should even wait until a corrupt legislator is convicted to have him disqualified from Parliament or Assembly?

ANSWER: Retired government servants

Explanation:

• The Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare has initiated scheme ‘Sankalp’ which aims at channelizing skill, experience and time available with retired government servants into meaningful, voluntary contribution to society.
• This would add to the social capital of the country and at the same time restore dignity and purpose to life post-retirement.
• Under the department another scheme ‘Anubhav’ is present where the retiring employees can submit a 5000 words article on their outstanding achievements.
  
• This would also be a portal to share experiences through the articles with the future generations.