IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Mar 24, 2016

ANSWER: Sixth

Explanation:

• Mass extinctions are periods in Earth's history when abnormally large numbers of species die out simultaneously or within a limited time frame.
• The most severe occurred at the end of the Permian period when 96% of all species perished.
• Holocene extinction- Currently ongoing. Sixth. Extinctions have occurred at over 1000 times the background extinction rate since 1900. This mass extinction is considered a result of human activity.

ANSWER: 1, 2

Explanation:

• A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda having animals like Octopus, Squids and Cuttlefish
• These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles (muscular hydrostats) modified from the primitive molluscan foot.
• Fishermen sometimes call them inkfish, referring to their common ability to squirt ink.

ANSWER: Colored pigment cells

Explanation:

• Most cephalopods possess chromatophores - colored pigment cells that expand and contract in accordance with their counterparts to produce color and pattern - which they can use in a startling array of fashions.
• Cephalopods can change their colors and patterns in milliseconds, whether for signalling (both within the species and for warning) or active camouflage, as their chromatophores are expanded or contracted.
• Coloration is typically stronger in near-shore species than those living in the open ocean.
• These creatures’ (cephalopods like Octopus, Squids and Cuttlefish) change colour in response to external factors such as the presence of a predator.

ANSWER: Invisibility

Explanation:

• The technology is being used for developing invisibility cloaks.
• Using a technology known as visual appearance modulation, the material they developed has one side that contains tiny light-sensitive cells that are sensitive to the colours of the environment.
• Once colours are detected, electrical signals trigger the top layer to imitate those colours using heat-sensitive dyes, a process that takes place in as fast as two to three seconds.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for India to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement, an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and thule Persian Gulf.
• The Ashgabat Agreement has Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as founding members. Kazakhstan has also joined this arrangement subsequently.
• Accession to the Agreement would enable India to utilise this existing transport and transit corridor to facilitate trade and commercial interaction with the Eurasian region.
• Further, this would synchronize with our efforts to implement the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) for enhanced connectivity.
• India’s intention to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement would now be conveyed to the Depository State (Turkmenistan). India would become party to the Agreement upon consent of the founding members.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for India to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement, an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and thule Persian Gulf.
• The Ashgabat Agreement has Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as founding members. Kazakhstan has also joined this arrangement subsequently.
• Accession to the Agreement would enable India to utilise this existing transport and transit corridor to facilitate trade and commercial interaction with the Eurasian region.
• Further, this would synchronize with our efforts to implement the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) for enhanced connectivity.
• India’s intention to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement would now be conveyed to the Depository State (Turkmenistan). India would become party to the Agreement upon consent of the founding members.

ANSWER: Turkmenistan

Explanation:

• Ashgabat is capital of Turkmenistan.
• Bishkek is capital of Kyrgyzstan.
• Tashkent is capital of Uzbekistan.
• Astana is capital of Kazakhstan.
• The Ashgabat Agreement has Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as founding members. Kazakhstan has also joined this arrangement subsequently. India too is interested in joining the agreement.

ANSWER: 2, 3

Explanation:

• GSAT-11 is an Indian communication satellite which is proposed to be launched by GSLV-MkIII, an indigenously developed spacecraft propelled by cryogenic engine. GSAT-11, a communication satellite with 32 high-power spot beams for providing high bandwidth VSAT communication is currently under development at DOS/ISRO facilities.
• The satellite is aimed at providing advanced telecom and DTH services in the country.
• GSAT-11 can transmit data at a speed of 10 Gigabytes per second to the entire nation.
• The under-construction GSAT-11 satellite will also integrate the internet and entertainment.
• GSAT-11 will be ready for launch by the end of 2016.
• The ground segment is being realized to address the rural communication requirements.
• GSAT-11 will augment Ku-band capacity which can be utilized for various services like VSATS, broadband etc.
• The ground segment of GSAT-11 will enable the utilization of a small portion of the bandwidth for societal services apart from providing in orbit testing support. It will also provide a high throughput capacity of about 10 Gbps to render broadband connectivity especially in rural areas.

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• Its applicability has been expanded to manufacturer, dealer, refurbisher and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) to address leakage of e-waste to informal sector at all the stages of channelization.
• Taking into account the lack of any regulation for management of CFL and other mercury containing lamp, CFL has been included in Schedule I which provide the list of EEE to which this rules is applicable.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• Exemption continues for micro enterprises; however small enterprises, which have been referred as one of the major source of generation of e-waste, have been included in the rules for responsibility as manufacturer, without burdening them with EPR responsibility as applicable to Producers.
• Need for separate EPR authorization from each state lead to significant delays and thus failure in implementation of EPR There had been significant lack of initiatives from Producers w.r.t. implementation of EPR and for capacity building and awareness initiatives, though mandated in the rules due to lack of elaborate procedure for the same in the rules which has now been elaborated step- wise.