IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Sep 17 & 18, 2016

ANSWER: Andhra Pradesh

Explanation:

• State-of-the-art Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) Advanced Night Vision Products Factory is being setup in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district to cater to the country’s futuristic requirements for night vision products.
• BEL, a Navratna defence public sector undertaking, is setting up the plant at Nimmaluru village, near Machilipatnam.
• The new facility is coming up about 16 km from an existing unit of BEL at Machilipatnam.
• 87 per cent products to be manufactured at the plant will be supplied to the defence forces. BEL has been engaged in design, development and manufacturing of Electro Optics equipment and Night Vision Products for defence and paramilitary forces.
• New products like IR seekers & missile warning systems, tank sights, weapons sights, thermal imager based multi-function sights, EO system for radar and AD guns, Border surveillances system un-cooled TI weapon sights, night sights for CQB carbine, compact multi-purpose stabilized systems for advanced light helicopters shall be designed and manufactured in this factory.

ANSWER: IIT Guwahati

Explanation:

• PARAM-ISHAN supercomputing facility is established at IIT, Guwahati.
• PARAM-ISHAN have power of 250 Teraflops and three hundred tera bites capacity and this will not only augment the research initiatives in the Institute, but also help in creating an ecosystem for attracting right talents to the field of research.
• PARAM-ISHAN can be used in the application areas like Computational Chemistry, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Computational Electromagnetic, Civil Engineering Structures, Nana-block Self Assemble, Optimization etc. North East India receives heavy rainfall during monsoon, which leads to flooding and landslides. PARAM-ISHAN can be used for Weather, climate modeling and seismic data processing.

ANSWER: 2, 3

Explanation:
CBDT will be sending out such certificates of appreciation to individual tax payers by e-mail in various categories on the basis of the level of taxes paid by them for the current Assessment Year 2016-17 where taxes have been paid in full and tax payers have no outstanding tax liabilities and where the return is e-filed within the prescribed due date. The tax payers may display these certificates in their homes / offices. The categories for individual taxpayers and the number of certificates being issued in the first round are:

• Platinum - Tax contributed Rs. 1 Crore and above
• Gold - Tax contributed Rs. 50Lakh to Rs. 1 Crore
• Silver - Tax contributed Rs. 10Lakh to Rs.50 Lakh
• Bronze - Tax contributed Rs. 1Lakh to Rs.10 Lakh

While it is widely acknowledged that the Nation meets its obligations towards spending in various social sector and welfare schemes and infrastructure development out of revenues mobilized through tax payments by millions of honest tax payers, this step marks the first effort by the Government to directly communicate to the tax payer its appreciation for that contribution.

ANSWER: Both 1 and 2

Explanation:

• With a view to provide support to old and differently abled passengers requiring assistance at the stations, Ministry of Railways has decided to introduce Yatri Mitras Sewa for enabling passengers to book wheelchair services cum porter services.
• A Yatri Mitra can either be a Sahayak or any other person provided by IRCTC or the service provider appointed by IRCTC for this purpose.
• Yatri Mitra shall provide Wheel chair cum porter services to differently abled, ailing and old persons.

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:

• The responsibility of providing Yatri Mitra Sewa has been entrusted with IRCTC.
• IRCTC may provide this service ‘Free of cost’ through some NGO, charitable trust, PSUs etc. under CSR.
• However, if this service can’t be provided ‘Free of Cost’ due to lack of response from NGOs, Charitable trust, PSUs etc, IRCTC may arrange this service on payment basis through a service provider or on its own.
• IRCTC may also arrange these services through existing Battery Operated Car (BOC) Operator, wherever, an agency is providing the service.
• The Yatri Mitra Sewa shall be operated for arriving, transferring and departing passengers.
• The service will be available at major stations.

ANSWER: Construction Industry

Explanation:

• Geo-Textile is considered green technology, used in Construction Industry.
• Geotextiles are permeable fabrics which, when used in association with soil, have the ability to separate, filter, reinforce, protect, or drain.
• Typically made from polypropylene or polyester, geotextile fabrics come in three basic forms: woven (resembling mail bag sacking), needle punched (resembling felt), or heat bonded (resembling ironed felt).
• Geotextiles were originally intended to be an alternative to granular soil filters.
• Geotextiles and related products have many applications and currently support many civil engineering applications including roads, airfields, railroads, embankments, retaining structures, reservoirs, canals, dams, bank protection, coastal engineering and construction site silt fences or geotube.
• Usually geotextiles are placed at the tension surface to strengthen the soil.
• It is used in environmental engineering.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• Geotextiles are also used for sand dune armoring to protect upland coastal property from storm surge, wave action and flooding.
• Geotextile sand-filled units provide a "soft" armoring solution for upland property protection.
• Geotextiles are used as matting to stabilize flow in stream channels and swales.
• Geotextiles can improve soil strength at a lower cost than conventional soil nailing in addition, geotextiles allow planting on steep slopes, further securing the slope.
• Geotextiles have been used to protect the fossil hominid footprints of Laetoli in Tanzania from erosion, rain, and tree roots.
• In building demolition, geotextile fabrics in combination with steel wire fencing can contain explosive debris.
• Coir (coconut fiber) geotextiles are popular for erosion control, slope stabilization and bioengineering, due to the fabric's substantial mechanical strength.
• Coir geotextiles last approximately 3 to 5 years depending on the fabric weight. The product degrades into humus, enriching the soil.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• The Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism is a proposed treaty which intends to criminalize all forms of international terrorism and deny terrorists, their financiers and supporters access to funds, arms, and safe havens.
• It was proposed by India in 1996.
• Currently, the negotiations of the Comprehensive Terrorism Convention are deadlocked because of differences over the definition of terrorism.
• The issue was once again pushed by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in his address at the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly held on September 27, 2014.
• After July 1, 2016 Dhaka attack, India pushed for the implementation of UN convention on international terrorism.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Many groups opposed the CCIT with the following concerns -

• US and its Allies - Concerns over definition of terrorism, including acts of US Soldiers in international interventions without UN mandate.
• Latin American Countries - Concerns over International humanitarian laws and Human Rights being ignored.
• Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) - Concerns that convention will be used to target Pakistan, and restrict rights of self-determination of groups in Palestine, Kashmir, etc.