Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Extra Neutral alcohol (ENA) is a colourless food-grade alcohol without any impurities.It has neutral smell and taste, and typically contains 96% alcohol by volume (ABV).
• It is derived from different sources — sugarcane molasses and grains and is used in the production of alcoholic beverages such as whisky, vodka, gin, cane, liqueurs, and alcoholic fruit beverages.
• In India, almost 90% of ENA is used for potable alcohol, which accounts for an annual production capacity of nearly 2.7 Billion Litres.

Applications

• Essential ingredient in the manufacturing of several cosmetics and personal care products such as perfume, toiletries
• In the production of paints and ink for the printing industry
• In pharmaceutical products in products such as antiseptics, drug, syrups, medicated sprays, etc.

Explanation :

• In order to encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote cultural heritage of Nagaland, the Government of Nagaland organizes the Hornbill Festival every year in the first week of December.
• The Festival is named after the Indian Hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in folklore in most of the state’s tribes.
• The Festival is held at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama which is about 12 km from Kohima.
• The aim of the festival is to revive and protect the rich culture of Nagaland and display its extravaganza and traditions.

Significance

• The Hornbill Festival has contributed significantly to enhancing the state's tourism brand. Tourism promoters believe that the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland allows tourists to have an insight into the different tribes of Nagaland.
• It fosters understanding of the rich cultural heritage of the state, its resourceful architecture and its ethnic cuisine.

Great Hornbill

• The great hornbill (Bucerosbicornis) also known as the great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family.
• It is found in India, southwestern China, Bangladesh, western Thailand, mainland Southeast Asia, including Laos, the Malaysia Peninsula and Sumatra.
• Conservation Status
  • -IUCN Status: Vulnerable
  • -It is also listed in Appendix I of CITES

Ecological Significance

• Due to its large gape, Horbill is able to transport and disperse the seeds of various important trees like trees knema and Myristica, which tend to be too large for other organisms.

Explanation :

• On 2^nd December, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putinremotely inaugurated the “Power of Siberia” gas pipeline - a massive cross-border undertaking not only central to China’s energy security but also for bolstering special ties between Beijing and Moscow.
• The 30-year project is anchored by a $400 billion gas deal.
• The gas pipeline traverses three Russian constituent entities, namely the Irkutsk and Amur Regions and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
• Gas is being sourced from Chayandinskoye and Kovytka fields in eastern Siberia, and is then piped to Blagoveshchensk — the last town on the Russian side of the border. From there, it is tunneled under the Amur River, before entering Heihe on the Chinese side.

Statistics

• Length: around 3,000 kilometers.
• Diameter: 1,420 millimeters.
• Working pressure:9.8 MPa.
• Export capacity: 38 billion cubic meters per year.

Significance

• Power of Siberia contributes to socio-economic development in Russia’s Far East. The gas pipeline facilitates gas supplies to and gas infrastructure expansion in the Russian regions, as well as the advancement of state-of-the-art gas processing and gas chemical facilities.

Explanation :

• The Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) barter mechanism was established in January 2019 by the so-called E3 i.e. France, Germany and United Kingdom, to allow European entities to maintain trade with Iran.
• The basic aim is to circumvent U.S. sanctions against trade with Iran by bypassing dollar transactions.
• The barter mechanism is part of Europe's attempt to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or "nuclear deal") which saw Iran cease work on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting of international sanctions.
• However, the system has not yet enabled any transactions.
• On 2^nd December, 2019, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden joined the INSTEX.

Explanation :

• Tanbo Art is a rice paddy art developed by the farmers of Inakadate village in Japan to beautify their paddy fields.
• It is done on rice paddies (tanbo) as the canvases on which to create giant paintings with different-colored rice plants. Seedlings that will grow to have leaves and florets of various colors (such as green, purple, and yellow) are planted in accordance with a plan to have a vivid picture appear as the plants grow. The colors of the art pieces change with the seasons.
• There are no dyes to create the different colors and hues.
• Often, hundreds of villagers work together to plant the rice by hand and create these massive works of art. While planting, different areas of the rice paddy are roped off, so people know which type of rice to put where- kind of like painting by numbers.
• Rice is planted in the spring, and then harvested in the fall. When it gets close to harvest, the color changes to a beautiful hue called koganeiro, which is often translated as golden or honey-colored.

Explanation :

• The Group of Twenty (G-20) is a forum for advancing international cooperation and coordination among 20 major advanced and emerging-market economies.
• Formed in 1999, the G-20 has a mandate to promote global economic growth, international trade, and regulation of financial markets.
• Members: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, United States and the European Union (EU)
• Together, the nations of the G20 account for around 80 percent of global economic output, nearly 75 percent of all global trade, and about two-thirds of the world’s population.
• The G20 Presidency rotates annually according to a system that ensures a regional balance over time. Reflecting its nature as an informal political forum, the G20 does not have a permanent secretariat.

Explanation :

• IOM, or as it was first known, the Provisional Intergovernmental Committee for the Movement of Migrants from Europe (PICMME), was born in 1951 out of the chaos and displacement of Western Europe following the Second World War.
• Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.
• With 173 member states, a further 8 states holding observer status and offices in over 100 countries, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.
• IOM works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assistin the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.
• The IOM Constitution recognizes the link between migration and economic, social and cultural development, as well as to the right of freedom of movement.
• IOM works in the four broad areas of migration management:
  • Migration and development
  • Facilitating migration
  • Regulating migration
  • Forced migration

Explanation :

• The Accelerator Labs are UNDP’s new way of working in development. Together with our core partners, the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany, to find radically new approaches that fit the complexity of current development challenges.
• The labs aims to introduce new services, backed by evidence and practice, and by accelerating the testing and dissemination of solutions within and across countries.
• The lab will identify grassroots solutions together with local actors and validate their potential to accelerate development.
• The labs will also harness the potential of real time data and people’s energy to respond to rapidly evolving challenges that impact development.
• India's Accelerator Lab will be part of a network of 60 global labs covering 78 nations, that will test and scale new solutions to global challenges like climate change and inequality.
• The India Accelerator Lab will work with partners on innovative solutions to some of India’s most pressing challenges, such as air pollution, sustainable water management and climate-resilient livelihoods.

Explanation :

• The Defence Acquisition Council is Defence Ministry’s highest decision making body for capital acquisition proposals forwarded by the Indian armed forces.
• It was set up in 2001 as part of the post-Kargil reforms in defence sector.
• It has the power to approve any deviations in an acquisition, and recommends all big capital defence purchases for approval of the Cabinet committee on security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister.
• It also clears all acquisitions, which includes both imported and those produced indigenously or under a foreign license.

Objective

• To ensure expeditious procurement of the approved requirements of the Armed Forces, in terms of capabilities sought, and time frame prescribed, by optimally utilizing the allocated budgetary resources.

Functions

• in-principle approval of 15 Year Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan for Defence Forces
• accord of Acceptance of Necessity to acquisition proposals
• categorization of the acquisition proposals relating to ‘Buy’, ‘Buy & Make’ and ‘Make’
• issues relating to Single vendor clearance
• decision regarding ‘offset’ provisions in respect of acquisition proposals above Rs. 300 crores
• decisions regarding Transfer of Technology under ‘Buy & Make’ category of acquisition proposals
• Field Trial evaluation.

Explanation :

• Shadow Banking refers to the practice of banking like activities performed by non-banking finance companies, which are not subject to strict regulation. However, these institutions function as intermediaries between the investors and the borrowers, providing credit and generating liquidity in the system.
• It includes money market funds, private equity funds, hedge funds, securitisation, securities lenders, and structured investment vehicles.
• The term “shadow bank” was coined by economist Paul McCulley in a 2007 speech at the annual financial symposium hosted by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
• Unlike traditional banks, shadow banks do not take deposits. Instead, they rely on short-termfunding provided either by asset-backed commercial paper or by the repo market, in which borrowers offer collateral as security against a cash loan and then sell the security to a lender and agree to repurchase it at an agreed time in the future for an agreed price.