Current Affairs Quiz 30 September 2024

Answer: A

Ans: (c)

Ans;-A

What is BRICS?
· BRICS is the international grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
· This was set up as a move towards greater multi­polarity; hence the spread across three continents and both hemispheres.
· In terms of GDP, China occupies the second position; India the fifth; Brazil the ninth; Russia the 11th; and South Africa the 35th.
· In terms of growth rates, China grew at 6%; India at 4.5%, Russia 1.7%, Brazil 1.2% and South Africa 0.1%.
· BRICS does not exist in form of organization, but it is an annual summit between the supreme leaders of five nations.
· The Chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually among the members, in accordance with the acronym B-R-I-C-S.
· The BRICS seeks to deepen, broaden and intensify cooperation within the grouping and among the individual countries for more sustainable, equitable and mutually beneficial development.
· BRICS takes into consideration each member’s growth, development and poverty objectives to ensure relations are built on the respective country’s economic strengths and to avoid competition where possible.
· BRICS is emerging as a new and promising political-diplomatic entity with diverse objectives, far beyond the original objective of reforming global financial institutions.

Ans;- a) Slow down the speed of neutrons

Explanation;-

• The function of heavy water in a nuclear reactor is to slowing down the speed of neutrons.
• Heavy water is used in certain types of nuclear reactors, where it acts as a neutron moderator to slow down neutrons so that they are more likely to react with the fissile uranium-235 than with uranium-238, which captures neutrons without fissioning.
• Water cooled nuclear reactors slow neutrons down to “thermal” speed to increase the probability of their interactions with other nuclei.

About Heavy Water

• Water containing significantly more than the natural proportions (one in 6,500) of heavy hydrogen (deuterium, D) atoms to ordinary hydrogen atoms.
• Heavy water is used as a moderator in some reactors because it slows down neutrons effectively and also has a low probability of absorption of neutrons.
• Heavy water is one of the two moderators that can be used which allow a nuclear reactor to operate using natural uranium. The other moderator is graphite.
• The heavy water is kept under pressure which increases its boiling point so that it can operate at high temperatures without boiling.
• In the laboratory heavy water is employed as an isotopic tracer in studies of chemical and biochemical processes.
• The heavy water is not manufactured, but rather it is extracted from the quantity that is found naturally in lake water. The water is separated through a series of towers, using hydrogen sulphide as an agent. Owing to AECLs CANDU programme, Canada is the world’s supplier of heavy water.

Ans. A
Island Development Agency
• The Union Government constituted the Island Development Agency on 1st June, 2017 for the development of islands.
• The meetings of the Agency is chaired by the Union Home Minister.

Holistic Development of Islands Program
• For the first time in the country, under the guidance of IDA, an initiative of sustainable development in the identified Islands within scientifically-assessed carrying capacity has been taken-up.
• Development Plans with focus on creation of jobs for the islanders through tourism promotion as well as export of seafood and coconut-based products made in the Islands have been prepared and are being implemented in four islands of Andaman & Nicobar and five islands of Lakshadweep.
• In the second phase, suitable sites in 12 more islands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and 5 islands in Lakshadweep have been covered.