Current Affairs Quiz 04 April 2023

Ans;- d) None of the above

PM Street Vendor’s Atmanitbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi)

• PM SVANidhi is a Special Micro-Credit Facility.
• PM SVANidhi was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for providing affordable Working Capital loan to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to Covid-19 lockdown.
• Under the Scheme, the vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year.
• The scheme promotes digital transactions through cash back incentives.
• Beneficiaries: 50 lakh Street Vendors.
 
PM SVANidhi and SIDBI

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the Implementation Agency for PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi)
• SIDBI will also manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).
• SIDBI will leverage the network of lending Institutions like Non-Bank Finance Companies (NBFCs), Co-operative Banks etc., for the Scheme implementation.

Ans;- C

What is African Swine Fever?

• African Swine Fever (ASF) does not affect humans but can be catastrophic for pigs.
• In 2019, the outbreak of the disease swept through pig populations in China — which is the largest exporter and consumer of pork — leading to large-scale cullings.
• ASF is a severe viral disease that affects wild and domestic pigs typically resulting in an acute haemorrhagic fever.
• The disease has a case fatality rate (CFR) of almost 100 per cent.
• Its routes of transmission include direct contact with an infected or wild pig (alive or dead), indirect contact through ingestion of contaminated material such as food waste, feed or garbage, or through biological vectors such as ticks.
• Any country with a pig sector is at risk of the spread of the disease and its spread is most likely via meat arriving aboard ships and planes, which is incorrectly disposed of and by meat carried by individual travellers.

What are the symptoms of African swine fever?
• High Fever
• Weakness and Difficulty Standing
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Red or blue blotches on the skin (Particularly around ears and snout)
• Coughing or labored breathing

Solution: b)
Justification: Value of a currency is determined by the forces of supply and demand in the international market. If
the demand for a currency is high, and supply low, its value tends to be higher. Any factor that increases supply or
reduces demand will instead lead to currency depreciation. Currency depreciation can occur due to any number of
reasons – economic fundamentals, interest rate differentials, political instability, risk aversion among investors and
so on. Countries with weak economic fundamentals such as chronic current account deficits and high rates of
inflation generally have depreciating currencies. Currency depreciation, if orderly and gradual, improves a nation’s export competitiveness and may improve its trade deficit over time. But abrupt and sizeable currency depreciation
may scare foreign investors who fear the currency may fall further, and lead to them pulling portfolio investments
out of the company

Answer: D
The President can pardon a death sentence while the governor cannot. Even if a state law prescribes the death sentence, the power to grant pardon lies with the President and not the governor. However, the governor can suspend, remit, or commute a death sentence. In other words, both the governor and the President have concurrent power in respect of suspension, remission, and commutation of a death sentence.

Answer: B

About Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is an intergovernmental organization of 14 nations, founded in 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), and headquartered since 1965 in Vienna, Austria.
• As of 2018, the 14 member countries accounted for an estimated 44 percent of global oil production and almost 82% of the world’s “proven” oil reserves, giving OPEC a major influence on global oil prices that were previously determined by the so-called “Seven Sisters” grouping of multinational oil companies.
• The stated mission of the organization is to “coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets, in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers, and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.