Current Affairs MCQ for UPSC Exams - 09 December 2019

Q1. India will shortly unveil a National Policy on Official Statisticsin the wake of various controversies related to the alleged suppression of bad news, undermining the credibility of government data, which of the following statements regarding the same stands true ?

1) The policy seeks to create synergy between the Centre and the states in statistical matters besides promoting an ecosystem for “informed debate” on various social and economic issues affecting people’s lives.
2) It had also proposed to make the chief statistician a permanent member of the NSC through the redrafted policy for improved coordination between the NSC and the government.
3) The government is looking to address data quality issues with regard to various surveys and vetting the information collected apart from increasing the sample size of surveys to improve accuracy.

a) 1 & 2 only
b) 2 & 3 only
c) 1 & 3 only
d) all of the above

Q2. Which of the following countries of Europe are landlocked ?

1) Serbia
2) Italy
3) Hungary
4) Austria
5) France

a) 1,2& 3 only
b) 2,3 & 5 only
c) 1,3 & 4 only
d) all of the above

Q3. Which of the following statements regarding Nipah virus stands true ?

1) The virus, identified in 1999 in Malaysia and Singapore, has sparked outbreaks with mortality rates of between 40% and 90% and spread thousands of kilometres to Bangladesh and India.
2) Among its first disease targets is Nipah, a virus carried primarily by certain types of fruit bats and pigs, which can also be transmitted directly from person to person as well as through contaminated food.
3) India has developed vaccines and specific drugs for Nipah virus infection with assistance from World Health Organisation.

a) 1 & 2 only
b) 2 & 3 only
c) 1 & 3 only
d) all of the above

Q4. Scientists have provided ample evidence of the existence of the mystic river Saraswati recently. Which of the following statements regarding the findings stands true ?

1) Scientists reached this conclusion by determining the depositional ages of the coarse-grained white sand layers that occurred 3-10 metres below the modern alluvium of the Ghaggar’s floodplain.
2) The researchers provide evidence that the Saraswati was perennial and had flowed from the Higher Himalayas between 7,000 BC and 2,500 BC, and that the Harappans had built their early settlements along this powerful river between 3,800 BC and 1,900 BC.
3) However the modern Ghaggar has no direct connection to the Higher Himalayas and originates from the foothills of the Himalayas — the Siwaliks.

a) 1 & 2 only
b) 2 & 3 only
c) 1 & 3 only
d) all of the above