Indian and World Geography - GS questions based on daily current affairs

ANSWER: Period between ice ages

Explanation:

• Interglaciation is the term used by geologists to refer to the alternating periods of warming and cooling in the earth’s past.
• The cooler times are called the “glacial period” during which ice shelves from the Arctic slowly creep southward and spread across the earth.
• Times when the earth is covered in these large ice sheets are known as glacial periods (or ice ages).
• When the ice sheets are not spread, it is called an interglacial period.
• The most recent glacial period occurred between about 120,000 and 11,500 years ago.
• Since then, the earth has been in an interglacial period called the Holocene.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has constituted a negotiations committee to assess availability and utilisation of waters of Mahanadi and its tributaries.
• The committee will also examine existing water sharing agreements on river Mahanadi.
• It will consider claims of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand regarding availability and utilisation of waters of these rivers.
• The committee has been set up with reference to complaint of State of Odisha under section 3 of the ISRWD Act, 1956 regarding utilisation of waters of Mahanadi Basin.
• The committee will be chaired by Member (WP&P), Central Water Commission.
• It will have 11 other members comprising representatives from the States of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, Union Ministries of Agriculture, Environment Forest and Climate Change, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, India Meteorological Department and Central Water Commission.
• The committee has been asked to submit its report within three months.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
Cities with heavily built-up areas and concrete structures are supposed to have higher temperature than non-urban regions due to urban heat island effect.

Contrary to this common notion, a “majority” of 84 cities across India, particularly those in central India and Gangetic Basin, have lower daytime temperature from March to May compared with the surrounding non-urban areas (taken as 1 km radius of the city).

The results based on a 13-year land surface temperature record from satellite sensors is not in agreement with the general understanding of urban climate and surface urban heat island effect in tropical cities.

The results once again highlight the importance of increasing the vegetation cover in cities to effectively mitigate the urban heat island effect.

While cities have lower daytime temperature than surrounding non-urban areas from March to May, it is the reverse during nights.

During night time, the cities, particularly those in the Gangetic Basin, were hotter than non-urban areas.

This is prominent in cities that are located in the arid region. This was not seen in coastal cities.

The relatively high vegetation cover leading to higher evapo-transpiration compared with nearby non-urban areas leads cooler urban areas during the day in summer.

While the cities have more trees, the non-urban areas are mostly crop lands and are barren during the summer months.

The absence of evapo-transpiration during night and the heat contained in the concrete structures increases the night time temperature in the cities during March to May.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
The Prime Minister had listed the 10-point agenda for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) during his inaugural speech at the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016, which was held in New Delhi in November 2016.

The all-inclusive agenda presents a holistic approach to disaster risk management and addresses a whole range of issues, from community preparedness to use of technology and international cooperation.

The Prime Minister’s 10-point agenda on DRR is -

1. All development sectors must imbibe the principles of disaster risk management.
2. Work towards risk coverage for all-starting from poor households to SMEs to multi-national corporations to nation states.
3. Encourage greater involvement and leadership of women in disaster risk management.
4. Invest in risk mapping globally. For mapping risks related to hazards like earthquakes we have accepted standards and parameters.
5. Leverage technology to enhance the efficiency of our disaster risk management efforts.
6. Develop a network of universities to work on disaster issues.
7. Utilise the opportunities provided by social media and mobile technologies.
8. Build on local capacity and initiative.
9. Opportunity to learn from a disaster must not be wasted. After every disaster, there are papers on lessons that are rarely applied.
10. Bring about greater cohesion in international response to disasters.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• With the completion of this project, water would be made available to Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.
• Haryana would have the biggest share of 48 per cent of the total water resources.

ANSWER: 10

Explanation:
The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has moved forward with its plan to develop 10 special Solar Zones designed to accelerate the development of large-scale solar PV capacity in the country.

Eyeing 2022’s 100 GW of solar PV target, the Indian ministry has sanctioned the implementation of these zones, which will each cover approximately 10,000 hectares of government-owned or privately owned wasteland, uncultivable land or fallow land in one or more than one patches.

The purpose of each Solar Zone is to act as a flagship demonstration facility highlighting the efficacy and affordability of solar power, with the aim being to encourage project developers and investors to pour more funds and effort into India’s growing solar industry.

Each Zone will enable states to attract significant investment and create employment opportunities while also contributing towards meeting Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
A target of 40 GW grid connected solar rooftops to be achieved by 2022 has been set.

So far, about 500 MW have been installed and about 3,000 MW has been sanctioned which is under installation.

All major sectors i.e. Railways, Airports, Hospitals, Educational Institutions; Government Buildings of Central/State/PSUs are being targeted besides, the private sector.

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has tied up with ISRO for Geo tagging of all the Rooftop plants using ISRO’s VEDAS Portal.

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:
The location of the Science City should be either a State capital or a city of the State having a sizeable population of not less than 50 Lakhs.

While deciding location for a Science City the primary concern shall be to ensure that it can draw at least 10 lakh visitors per year for self-sustainability.

The new Science Cities shall be set up preferably only in those places where no major Science Centre exists.

However, in locations where footfall to the science centre is substantial i.e., it qualifies for a science city, the science centre could be upgraded to a Regional Science City or a separate Science City could be set up depending upon the importance of the place.

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
India has the largest bovine population in the world. At 199m cattle it has 14% of the world cattle population and with 105m buffaloes it has 53% of the world buffalo population of which 79% of the cattle are Indigenous and 21% are Exotic and Crossbred varieties.

80% of the Indigenous cattle are Non-descript and 20% belong to 37 breeds recognised by National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) with 13 breeds of Water buffaloes.

The Indigenous bovine breeds are sturdy, endowed with the quality of heat tolerance, resistance to diseases and ticks with the ability to thrive under extreme climatic conditions and survive with low inputs.

However, most of the indigenous have low genetic potential for milk production and are suited for draught animal power. But, some breeds have potential to be highly productive under optimal nutrition and farm management conditions along with selective genetic breeding.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Shortcomings in Animals Trade Market:

• No authentic organized market
• Difficult to get quality- disease free high genetic merit germplasm.
• Misleading valuation due to lack of traceability and tracking.
• Other malpractices include Horns removed & Teeth filed to mislead for their age.