UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative of subject-wise quizzes. These quizzes are designed to help you revise some of the most important topics from the static part of the syllabus. Attempt today’s subject quiz on Environment, Geography, Science and Technology to check your progress. Come back tomorrow to solve the Economy Quiz.

With reference to the water-soluble fertilisers, consider the following statements:

1. It should have a minimum 30 per cent content of total nutrients.

2. It should have a minimum 50 per cent of the primary nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium).

3. It does not have secondary nutrients.

4. It can be applied to crops only through drip irrigation and not by spraying directly.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) All four

Explanation

— Nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) fertilisers are technically decontrolled: manufacturers or importers only receive a per-tonne subsidy linked to their individual N, P, K, and S content.

— Effective from April 2023, the Department of Fertilisers has prescribed maximum profit margins over cost to determine the “reasonableness” of their MRPs. Companies charging more wouldn’t be paid any subsidy by the Centre under NBS.

— The Central Government, in October 2015, issued “general specifications” for the commercialisation of these fertilisers that, being 100 per cent soluble in water, can be applied to crops through drip irrigation or spraying directly to the plant leaves, instead of normal field application in the soil. Hence, statement 4 is not correct.

— The specifications required WSFs to have:

(i) a minimum 30 per cent content of total nutrients; Hence, statement 1 is correct.

(ii) 25 per cent primary (NPK); and Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

(iii) the balance secondary (S, calcium, magnesium) and micro (zinc, boron, manganese, iron, copper, molybdenum) — and maximum prescribed limits for contaminants (lead, cadmium, arsenic, total chloride and sodium). Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

Consider the following payloads:

1. Electro Optical Infrared Payload (EOIR)

2. Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry payload (GNSS-R)

3. Janus-1 & AzaadiSAT-2 passenger satellites

4. SiC UV Dosimeter

Which of the payloads given above were launched by the ISRO’s latest Earth Observation Satellite, EOS-08?

(a) 1, 2 and 3

(b) 2, 3 and 4

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 4

Explanation

— The Earth Observation Satellite-8 (EOS-8) was launched by the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)-D3.

— The primary objectives of the EOS-08 mission include designing and developing a microsatellite, creating payload instruments compatible with the microsatellite bus, and incorporating new technologies required for future operational satellites.

— EOS-08 carries three payloads:

(i) Electro Optical Infrared Payload (EOIR),

(ii) Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry payload (GNSS-R), and

(iii) SiC UV Dosimeter.

— The EOIR payload is intended to capture images in the Mid-Wave IR (MIR) and Long-Wave IR (LWIR) bands, both during the day and at night, for applications such as satellite-based surveillance, disaster monitoring, environmental monitoring, fire detection, volcanic activity observation, and industrial and power plant disaster monitoring.

— The GNSS-R payload illustrates the use of GNSS-R-based remote sensing for a variety of applications, including ocean surface wind research, soil moisture assessment, cryosphere studies over the Himalayan region, flood monitoring, and inland water body detection.

— In the Gaganyaan Mission, the SiC UV Dosimeter measures UV irradiance at the Crew Module’s viewport and functions as a high-dose gamma radiation warning sensor.

— The two passenger satellites Janus-1 & AzaadiSAT-2 were launched using the EOS-07 satellite.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

(Other Source: http://www.isro.gov.in)

The term “Teraflops” is used for:

(a) measuring speed with a video camera

(b) measuring the speed of the wind

(c) measuring the computing power of a system

(d) measuring the distance between astronomical objects

Explanation

— The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has relaxed some provisions in its norms to procure computing capacity for artificial intelligence (AI) solutions under the country’s ambitious Rs 10,300 crore AI Mission.

— The move is part of the Rs 10,370 crore IndiaAI Mission to establish a computing capacity of more than 10,000 GPUs and also help develop foundational models with a capacity of more than 100 billion parameters trained on datasets covering major Indian languages for priority sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and governance.

— In the corrigendum, the government has reduced FP16 to 150 TFLOPS (from 300 TFLOPS) and reduced AI compute memory requirement from 40 GB to 24 GB.

— TFLOPS is a unit that measures the computing power of a system. For example, if a system has 10 TFLOPS of FP16 performance, it means it can carry out 10 trillion FP16 calculations every second.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

With reference to the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD), consider the following statements:

1. It provides a rapidly deployable capability only against short-range ballistic missile threats.

2. It has been developed by Israel.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

— Even as Israel faces increasing criticism for targeting UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, the US, underlining its “ironclad commitment to the defence of Israel”, has announced it will send its advanced missile defence system THAAD, along with troops to operate it, to the West Asian nation.

— THAAD stands for Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence, and the battery is used to intercept and destroy enemy missiles.

— A THAAD battery consists of 95 soldiers, six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors (eight per launcher), radar surveillance and radar, and a tactical fire component, according to a paper by the US Congressional Research Service.

— THAAD provides a “rapidly deployable capability against short-range (up to 1,000 km), medium-range (1,000–3,000 km), and limited intermediate-range (3,000–5,000 km) ballistic missile threats inside or outside the atmosphere during their final (terminal) phase of flight,” the paper says. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

— The THAAD can defend a larger area than the older Patriot Air and Missile Defense System. It has been developed by Lockheed Martin Corporation. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

Which of the following is/are advantages of DNA profiling?

1. Monozygotic twins can be identified.

2. Wildlife species and endangered species can be identified.

3. It can determine the origin of species.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 2 and 3

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 only

(d) 1 and 2

Explanation

— DNA profiling or DNA typing has shown to be the most effective approach for determining the origin of biological specimens.

— It has been extremely useful in solving murders, sexual assaults, and a variety of other horrible crimes.

— There are various advantages of DNA profiling, including:

(i) The potential for discrimination is great. Individuals as close as siblings (exception: monozygotic twins) can be identified. Hence, 1 is not correct.

(ii) In contrast to dermal fingerprinting, DNA profiling can be performed on any biological material and is not limited to any single organ or location of the body.

(iii) Because of its high sensitivity, DNA profiling can be performed on degraded or small amounts of biological material.

(iv) The species of origin and gender can be identified. Hence, 3 is correct.

(v) It is possible to identify wildlife and endangered species, as well as biological warfare agents. Hence, 2 is correct.

(vi) DNA profiling improves judicial administration while also saving money on inquiry time and resources.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

(Other Source: wbja.nic.in)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 80)

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Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 79)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 79)

Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 79)

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