Daily Current Affairs Quiz: April 29, 2022

ANSWER: D

• Asurgarh fortified settlement (ninth century BC) in Odisha’s Kalahandi district, has been ascertained to be the oldest among the major fortified settlements in the State.
  • Archaeologists deployed Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon technique, a technology that allows to distinguish different types of atoms on the basis of differences in atomic weights (mass).
• Major Findings:
  • Cultural sequence of the site could be divided into three phases:
    • Iron Age (ninth century BC to fourth century BC),
    • Early Historic or Rampart phase (second century BC to first century AD), and
    • Late Period/Dedine of the settlement (second century AD to third-fourth century AD).
  • Antiquities found include Beads of coral, lapis lazuli, carnelian, glass, jasper, garnet, shell, agate, milky quartz, terracotta, kaolin, and soft stone, and circular discs made out of potsherds and stone.
  • Only site in Odisha which shows highly skiled engineering of water management in comparison to contemporary sites.
• Other early historic sit es in Odisha include Sisupalgarh (near Bhubaneswar); Jaugarh, a fortified settlement on the Rushikulya valley (Ganjam); Khalkattapatna (Puri); the port site of Manikpatna (Puri) etc.

ANSWER: A

• Over the past week, the total electricity shortage in India hit 623 million units (MU).

Reasons for power shortages

• Heatwave conditions have increased the demand for energy intensive cooling infrastructure.
• States are reluctant to purchase power from the open market due to high rates and competition among states.
• Thermal plants usually face coal shortages during monsoon, however now, coal shortage started early due to lesser coal supply and shortage of wagons for ferrying coal to plants.
• Due to Russia-Ukraine Crisis, the global coal prices increased by 250% over the last few months.

Power generation via coal

• About 70% of India’s power demand is met by coal-fired power plants.
• India is the world’s 2nd largest coal producer, with the world’s 5th largest reserves as on 2020.

Classification of coal

• Anthracite (best quality): Carries 80 to 95 per cent carbon content, found in small quantity in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Bituminous: Carries 60 to 80 per cent of carbon content and a low level of moisture content. Found in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
• Lignite– It carries 40 to 55 percent carbon content. Found in Rajasthan, Lakhimpur(Assam) and Tamil Nadu.

ANSWER: A

• The government is planning to revamp the Civil Registration System (CRS) to resolve the current issues of timeliness, efficiency, and uniformity, leading to delayed and under-coverage of birth and death.

About CRS

• It is a continuous, permanent, compulsory recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events, like births, deaths, and stillbirths.
• The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 provides for the compulsory registration of births and deaths.
• Chief Registrar is mandated to publish a statistical report on the registered births and deaths during the year.
• It is one of the main sources of data on vital events in India others are Sample Registration System (SRS) and Population Census.
• It is also linked to National Population Register.
• CRS is thus the only source for providing vital rates at the district level on regular basis, as the population Census is a decennial exercise and Sample Registration System is an annual exercise.
• CRS provide legal identity to individual and access to the rights of a citizen Including entitlements such as social benefits etc.
• The Registrar General of India (RGI) under Ministry of Home Affairs coordinates and unifies the activities of registration throughout the country. However, implementation is vested with the state governments.

ANSWER: D

• It is a report released by the World Bank.

Key findings are

• Increase in energy prices over the past two years has been the largest since the 1973 oil crisis.
• Price increases for food commodities and fertilizers, which rely on natural gas as a production input, have been the largest since 2008.
• Global food and fuel price shocks linked to the war are set to last until at least the end of 2024 and raise the risk of stagflation.

ANSWER: D

• The Cabinet has approved the opening of a new Indian Mission in Lithuania in 2022.

About Lithuania

• Lithuania is an eastern European country situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea.
• Largest among the three Baltic states, it shares its borders Latvia on the north, Belarus on the east and south, and Poland and the Kaliningrad region of Russia on the southwest.
• It shares a maritime border with Sweden.
• Geographical Features:
  • Largest River: Neman (Nemunas).
  • Highest Point Location: Mount Juozapine.

ANSWER: C

• The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases The World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2022 focuses on enhancing social dialogue towards a culture of safety and health.
• World Day for Safety and Health at Work represents the awareness and promotion of ways that help prevent occupational diseases and accidents worldwide. It represents the development and maintenance of a robust Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) management system. And ever since the pandemic, the OSH management system has gained more importance than it had before.
• This year’s theme of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is ” Participation And Social Dialogue In Creating A Positive Safety And Health Culture”
• The Annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work was first observed in 2003 by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).It stresses the importance of the prevention of accidents and diseases at work. The day is considered as a crucial tool for carving out a top-shelf political position for occupational safety and health.

ANSWER: A

• Jamtara in Jharkhand has become the only district in the country where all gram panchayats have community libraries. This district with a population of about eight lakh has a total of 118-gram panchayats under six blocks and each panchayat has a well-equipped library that is open for students from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Career counselling sessions and motivational classes are also held free of cost here. Sometimes, IAS and IPS officers also visit these libraries to guide students. Everyone is welcome to visit these innovative sites.
• Gradually, libraries were set up in panchayats such as Chandradeep, Panjaniya, Menjhia, Gopalpur, Shaharpura, Champapur, and Jhilua.The villagers elected a President, Treasurer, and Librarian from amongst themselves, to run these libraries.

ANSWER: A

• The city of Agra in Uttar Pradesh has become the first in India to adopt vacuum-based sewer. These vacuum sewers will be placed in public areas. The maintenance and complete care of the sewers for up to five years will be done by the Netherlands company.
• The vacuum sewer is expected to be deployed in Kochi Municipal Corporation in Kerala after a successful trial in Agra.
• This technology is presently being employed in low-lying areas. Agra Smart City Ltd. has connected roughly 240 houses in the low-lying area near the Taj Mahal to a vacuum-based sewer system for Rs. 5 crores, where traditional sewer systems cannot be utilised.
• In this area, 112 chambers have been built with Geographic Information System (GIS)- based sensors to help locate the chamber’s position and the problem.
• The sewer connection project is estimated to cost Rs. 100 crores. iv.A 53-km sewer pipe has been installed, connecting 60,000 houses.