23 November 2021 Current Affairs Quiz

Answer: C

What is the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)?
o The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was established with the primary objective of providing access to ‘Basic’ telecom services to people in the remote and rural areas at reasonable and affordable prices.
o Universal Service stands for universal, interdependent and intercommunicating, affording the opportunity for any subscriber to any exchange to communicate with any other subscriber of any other exchange.
o The USOF proposes to meet its social, economic, political and constitutional objectives which are as follows:
○ To extend the telecommunication network.
○ To stimulate the uptake of Internet and Communication Technologies (ICT) services.
○ To bring the underserved and unserved areas of the country into the telecom spectrum and narrow down the access gap.
○ To use the pooled USO levy for an equitable distribution through target subsidies.
o Subsequently, the scope was widened to provide subsidy support for enabling access to all types of telegraph services including mobile services, broadband connectivity, and creation of infrastructure like Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) in rural and remote areas.
o With access to affordable telecom services in remote and rural areas, the USOF is the right step towards stemming urban migration. This would ensure to generate employment opportunities in the rural areas which would help generate more income.

Who are the partners of USOF?
As per the Department of Telecommunications, there are 24 partners of USOF. It includes:
o Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
o Tata Tele Services Limited
o Reliance Communications Limited
o Vodafone
o Bharti Airtel Limited, etc.

Answer : b
Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)
• The scheme will be implemented in all the states, to promote the usage of farm mechanization and increase the ratio of farm power to cultivable unit area up to 2 kW/ha.
Mission Objectives
a. Increasing the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers and to the regions where availability of farm power is low
b. Promoting ‘Custom Hiring Centres’ to offset the adverse economies of scale arising due to small landholding and high cost of individual ownership
c. Creating hubs for hi-tech & high value farm equipments
d. Creating awareness among stakeholders through demonstration and capacity building activities
e. Ensuring performance testing and certification at designated testing centers located all over the country.
Components of SMAM
a. Promotion and Strengthening of Agricultural Mechanization through Training, Testing and Demonstration – Central Sector Scheme
b. Demonstration, Training and Distribution of Post Harvest Technology and Management (PHTM) – Central Sector Scheme
c. Financial Assistance for Procurement of Agricultural Machinery and Equipment – Centrally Sponsored Scheme
d. Establish Farm Machinery Banks for Custom Hiring – Centrally Sponsored Scheme
e. Establish Hi-Tech, High Productive Equipment Hub for Custom Hiring – Centrally Sponsored Scheme
f. Promotion of Farm Mechanization in Selected Villages – Centrally Sponsored Scheme
g. Financial Assistance for Promotion of Mechanized Operations/hectare Carried out Through Custom Hiring Centres – Centrally Sponsored Scheme
h. Promotion of Farm Machinery and Equipment in North-Eastern Region – Centrally Sponsored Scheme

• SMAM will have Central Sector Schemes under component No.1 & 2.
• Centrally Sponsored Schemes are covered under component No. 3 to 8 in which Government of India contributes 60% and states contribute 40%.
• Funding pattern for states of Northern-Estern and Himalayan region, the share of Govt. of India & State Govt. is 90:10.

Answer: A

Answer : c
Jigyasa Programme
• It is a student – scientist connect programme launched by the Government of India in 2017.
• The focus of this scheme is on connecting school students and scientists so as to extend student’s classroom learning with well-planned research laboratory based learning.
• The programme would be implemented by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in collaboration with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS).
• It is one of the major initiatives taken up by CSIR at national level for further widening and deepening its Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR).
• On the one hand, this programme would explain the culture of curiousness and scientific nature on the other.
• Student Residential Programmes, scientists as teachers and teachers as scientists, lab specific activities/Onsite Experiments, visits of scientists to Schools/Outreach Programmes, science and maths Clubs, projects of National Children’s Science Congress and tinkering laboratories are some of the activities included under the programme.

Answer : c
• The high methane content and calorific value combined with the low quantity of hydrogen sulphide and impurities makes Bio-CNG an ideal fuel for automobiles and power generation.
• The low emission levels of Bio-CNG also make it a more environment-friendly fuel than biogas.
• The Bio-CNG process also produces enriched organic manure which can be used as fertiliser.