Daily Current Affairs Quiz: October 2,2021

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

8^th Edition of the “India Sri Lanka bilateral joint Exercise” called Mitra Shakti will be conducted from October 4 to October 15, 2021 at Combat Training School, Ampara in Sri Lanka.

About:

• In the joint exercise, all arms contingent of 120 personnel from the Indian Army will participate along with the battalion of the Sri Lankan Army.
• This exercise will be conducted with the aim of promoting close relations between Armies of India and Sri Lanka.
• It also seeks to enhance inter-operability and share best practices to counter insurgency and terrorism operations.
• It will involve tactical level operations at the sub unit level.
• Operations will be held in international Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism environment.
• The exercise will act as the catalyst to bring synergy and cooperation at grass root level between the Indian army and Sri Lankan Army.

Background

7^th Edition of Exercise Mitra Shakti was conducted in the year 2019 at Foreign Training Node (FTN), Pune, Maharashtra. It was conducted with the aim of building and promoting positive relations between armies of both the countries. It also incorporated the current dynamics of United Nations peacekeeping operations by means of practical & comprehensive discussions as well as tactical exercises.

India-Sri Lanka relations

Bilateral relations between India and Sri-Lanka are historic. Only 4% of Sri Lankans are having a negative view regarding India. Both the countries are also close on economic terms. India is the largest trading partner of Sri Lanka. Both the countries share a maritime border. India is separated by Sri Lanka, by the Palk Strait. They are republics within the Commonwealth of Nations

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

The Indian men’s table tennis team has won bronze medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships being held in Doha, Qatar.

About:

• Indian team won bronze after losing to South Korea by 0-3 in the semi-finals.
• Team was assured of winning a medal after beating Iran by 3-1 in the quarterfinals on September 29.
• Both the semi-finalists won a bronze medal.
• Asian Table Tennis Championships

It is a biennial table tennis tournament and is regarded as continental championships by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The tournament was organized by the Table Tennis Federation of Asia (TTFA) from 1952 to 1972. Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) started its own Asian Championships because of conflict between national table tennis associations in Asia.

International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)

ITTF is the governing body of all the national table tennis associations. It looks after the rules & regulations and seeks technological improvement for table tennis. The body is responsible for organizing numerous international competitions such as World Table Tennis Championships.

World Table Tennis Championships

This tournament has been held since 1926. Since 1957, it is held biennially. Under the tournament, five individual events including men’s singles, women’s singles, women’s double, men’s doubles and mixed doubles, are held in odd numbered years.

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

The International Monetary Funds (IMF) has released its report called “Global Financial Stability Report”, highlighting how digital currency assets brings in financial stability challenges.

About:

• In its report, IMF notes that rapid growing crypto ecosystem presents new opportunities to the world. However, this digital currency assets also pose several financial stability challenges.
• According to report, Technological innovation is starting a new era of making payments and other financial services faster, cheaper, more accessible. Such transaction also allows to flow across borders swiftly.

Innovative services

In its report, IMF highlights that, crypto asset technologies are a potential tool for faster and cheaper cross-border payments. Using these technologies, bank deposits can be transformed into a stable coin, allowing instant access to financial products from digital platforms. It also allows instant currency conversion. According to IMF, the decentralised finance can become a platform for more inclusive innovative and transparent financial services.

Challenges with the cryptocurrencies

• According to IMF, rapid growth and increasing adoption of crypto assets pose financial stability challenges.
• Such decentralised currencies could also lead to instability as they are extremely volatile. They are much more volatile than the equities or commodities or exchange rates.
• Its transaction costs are fairly expensive as compared to digital money.
• As per report, such transaction destabilizes the capital flows. It also poses several operational and financial integrity risks from the provides of crypto asset.

What are cryptocurrencies?

Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies where encryption techniques are used for regulating the generation of units and verifying the transfer of funds. Such systems are operating independently of any central bank.

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

Union Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated India’s Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020.

About:

• At the expo, India has deployed the largest number of participants.
• It has a state-of-the-art 8,750 square metre pavilion with the message that “India is out to grab once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in order to explore solutions to challenges that hampers its growth.

Showcasing Ancient and Future India

India Pavilion at Dubai Expo has been conceived as a hi-tech structure. It is a civilisational confluence of ancient India as well as future India. It is a massive four-floor structure that has been designed to attract anyone who walks in with the popular exports in India including yoga, literature, Ayurveda, heritage, arts, cuisine and space technology. Exterior of the pavilion is real showstopper.

Theme of Pavilion

Innovative facade comprises of 600 individual kinetic blocks. Each of the facade can turn on its own axis in order to construct a picture on the basis of multiple themes. Pavilion has been installed under the overarching theme of ‘India on the move’ and ‘India the diverse’. Facade on both the sides of the pavilion comprise of face of Mahatma Gandhi while metamorphosing front will showcase “constant change” and “timeless endurance” to mark the 75-year-old journey of India.

Primary Themes of the pavilion

Zones in the pavilion are identified on the basis of 11 primary themes namely, Climate & Biodiversity; Urban & Rural Development; Space; Tolerance & Inclusivity; Knowledge & Learning; Golden Jubilee; Travel & Connectivity; Health & Wellness; Global Goals; Food Agriculture & Livelihoods and Water.

Significance of India Pavilion

India pavilion is being viewed as long-term strategic investment. About 490 crore rupees has been invested on it. Pavilion design is so flexible that it can be used for offices and a space for trade or cultural event.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

American Space Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently decided to stop sending active commands to its missions on the MARS for next few weeks till the time “Mars solar conjunction” remains in effect.

What is Solar Conjunction?

• As per NASA, during the Mars solar conjunction period, Earth and the MARS will be on opposite sides of the Sun.
• This position of both the planets will affect any communication attempt made by NASA for connecting with its Mars missions because Sun radiates hot & ionized gas from its corona.

How Solar Conjunction affects the missions on MARS?

• These gases can interfere with radio signals if the agency try to communicate with spacecraft at Mars.
• These radiations will stand in the middle of both the planets and corrupt commands. It could also result in unexpected behaviour from NASA’s deep space explorers.
• Thus, NASA has decided to stop sending signals.

Will it completely halt the work?

No, this period would not halt the work on the red Planet completely because, engineers have already sent the list of simple commands to spacecrafts to carry works few weeks.

NASA’s mission on MARS

Presently, NASA has its Perseverance rover, Curiosity Rover, Ingenuity helicopter, stationary InSight lander stationed on the MARS apart from three orbiters. During the Mars solar conjunction period, these missions will work on different commands, sent to them beforehand. Perseverance rover will take weather measurements with the help of its Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) sensors. Rover will look for dust devils with its cameras and capture new sounds with the help of microphones.