Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are a large group of compounds, whose structure is very close to that of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), but including one or more hydrogen atoms.
• These contain carbon, hydrogen, chlorine and fluorine.
• Under normal conditions, HCFCs are gases or liquids which evaporate easily. They are generally fairly stable and unreactive.
• HCFCs do not usually dissolve in water, but do dissolve in organic (carbon-containing) solvents. HCFCs are also part of a group of chemicals known as the volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are ozone depleting substances and potent greenhouse gases that are controlled under the Montreal Protocol.
• HCFCs are used in a wide variety of applications, including refrigeration, air conditioning, foam blowing, solvents, aerosols and fire suppression.

Explanation :

• On 17th January, 2020, the Ministry of Law and Justice issued an Extraordinary Gazette Notification, declaring the United Arab Emirates to be a “reciprocating territory” under Section 44 A of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908. The notification also declared a list of courts in the UAE to be “Superior Courts” under the same section.
• Apart from UAE, the other countries declared to be “reciprocating territories” are: United Kingdom, Singapore, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago, New Zealand, the Cook Islands (including Niue) and the Trust Territories of Western Samoa, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Aden.

Reciprocating Territory

• Essentially, orders passed by certain designated courts from a ‘reciprocating territory’ can be implemented in India, by filing a copy of the decree concerned in a District Court here.
• The courts so designated are called Superior Courts.
• It simply means that the foreign civil decrees passed by courts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can now be executed in India.

Limitations

• The scope of the Section is restricted to decrees for payment of money, not being sums payable in respect of taxes or other charges of a like nature or in respect of a fine or other penalty.

Impact

• The move is widely seen to act as a major deterrent for those fleeing to India after committing major financial fraud, including bank loan default in UAE.

Explanation :

• The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is the Indian Ocean counterpart of the Pacific El Nino and La Nina.
• It is defined by the difference in sea surface temperature between two areas (or poles, hence a dipole) – a western pole in the Arabian Sea (western Indian Ocean) and an eastern pole in the eastern Indian Ocean south of Indonesia.
• The IOD is one of the key drivers of Australia's climate and can have a significant impact on agriculture. This is because events generally coincide with the winter crop growing season.
• The Indian Monsoon is invariably influenced by the IOD.
• The IOD has three phases: neutral, positive and negative. Events usually start around May or June, peak between August and October and then rapidly decay when the monsoon arrives in the southern hemisphere around the end of spring.

Positive Event:

• warmer sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean relative to the east
• easterly wind anomalies across the Indian Ocean and less cloudiness to Australia's northwest
• less rainfall over southern Australia and the Top End

Negative Event:

• cooler sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean relative to the east
• winds become more westerly, bringing increased cloudiness to Australia's northwest
• more rainfall in the Top End and southern Australia

Explanation :

• A Blue Corner Notice is issued by the international police cooperation body to collect additional information from its member countries about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a crime.
• It makes it mandatory for member countries to share the whereabouts of a person.
• There are seven types of notices — Red Notice, Yellow Notice, Blue Notice, Black Notice, Green Notice, Orange Notice, and Purple Notice.

Explanation :

• Scientists in the United States have named the millimetre-wide robots Xenobots (world’s first living machines) — after the species of aquatic frog found across sub-Saharan Africa from Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa,Xenopus laevis.
• Scientists have repurposed living cells scraped from frog embryos and assembled them into entirely new life-forms.

Application

• The xenobots can move toward a target, perhaps pick up a payload (like a medicine that needs to be carried to a specific place inside a patient) — and heal themselves after being cut.

Explanation :

• The Anti-Defection Law was passed in 1985 through the 52nd amendment to the Constitution. It added the Tenth Schedule to the Indian Constitution.
• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.
• A legislator is deemed to have defected if he either voluntarily gives up the membership of his party or disobeys the directives of the party leadership on a vote.
• The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.
• The law does not specify a time-period for the Presiding Officer to decide on a disqualification plea. Given that courts can intervene only after the Presiding Officer has decided on the matter, the petitioner seeking disqualification has no option but to wait for this decision to be made.

Explanation :

• A letter of intent (LOI) is a document declaring the preliminary commitment of one party to do business with another. The letter outlines the chief terms of a prospective deal.
• A memorandum of understanding (MOU or MoU) is an agreement between two or more parties outlined in a formal document. It is not legally binding but signals the willingness of the parties to move forward with a contract. It is often used at the beginning of a business partnership.
• A Term Sheet is used to show interest in an investment opportunity. Often it is used to outline a potential agreement between an entrepreneur (or startup company) and investors. Term Sheets are used to start the process of establishing agreeable terms. Once both parties are agreed, a formal legal contract can be written.

Explanation :

• On 17^th January, 2020 the Union Minister of Law and Justice inaugurated the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Blockchain Technology set up by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• It has been set up with the aim of providing blockchain as a service and to help all stakeholders to benefit from shared learning, experiences and resources.
• It will focus on building a robust infrastructure to provide Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS).

Blockchain Technology

• Blockchain, sometimes referred to as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), makes the history of any digital asset unalterable and transparent through the use of decentralization and cryptographic hashing.
• It is an especially promising and revolutionary technology because it helps reduce risk, stamps out fraud and brings transparency in a scaleable way for myriad uses.

Explanation :

• The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), also known as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
• Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. These are among the few venomous mammals.
• Males have a spur on the back of their hind feet that is connected to a venom-secreting gland.
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently downgraded the platypus conservation status to Near Threatened from Least Concern.

Ecological Significance

• The Platypus eats all kinds of insect larvae, molluscs, crustacean, fish eggs and sometimes frogs. Since the platypus is a carnivore, it plays the typical role of the carnivore in an ecosystem. It keeps the populations of species in lower levels of the food chain in check.

Explanation :

• The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is the centre piece of global efforts to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons, to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of nuclear disarmament.
• The NPT entered into force in 1970.
• It is aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons including three elements: (1) non-proliferation, (2) disarmament, and (3) peaceful use of nuclear energy.
• The Treaty defines nuclear weapon states (NWS) as those that had manufactured and detonated a nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967. All the other states are therefore considered non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS). The five nuclear weapon states are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• The treaty is reviewed every five years in meetings called Review Conferences of the Parties to the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.