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1. Consider the following statements regarding Solid Waste Management in India.
1. In India, Generator will have to pay ‘User Fee’ to waste collector and for ‘Spot Fine’ for Littering and Non-segregation.
2. Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 focus on segregation of waste at source, responsibility on the manufacturer to dispose of sanitary and packaging wastes, user fees for collection, disposal and processing from the bulk generator.
3. The Rules for the Safe Treatment of Legacy Waste prescribe bio-remediation and bio-mining in all open dumpsites and existing operational dumpsites in India.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer-d
Explanation-
Solid Waste Management
What is Solid Waste?
Solid waste is the unwanted or useless solid materials generated from human activities in residential, industrial or commercial areas.
It may be categorised in three ways, according to its origin (domestic, industrial, commercial, construction or institutional), contents (organic material, glass, metal, plastic paper etc.) and hazard potential (toxic, non-toxin, flammable, radioactive, infectious etc.).
Types of Solid Waste
It can be classified into different types depending on their source:
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): It consists of household waste, construction and demolition debris (CnD), sanitation residue and waste from streets, generated mainly from residential and commercial complexes. As per the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) it includes commercial and residential waste generated in municipal or notified areas in either solid or semi-solid form excluding industrial hazardous wastes but including treated bio-medical wastes.
Industrial Solid Waste (ISW): In a majority of cases it is termed as hazardous waste as they may contain toxic substances, are corrosive, highly inflammable, or react when exposed to certain things e.g. gases.
Biomedical Waste or Hospital Waste: It is usually infectious waste that may include waste like sharps, soiled waste, disposables, anatomical waste, cultures, discarded medicines, chemical wastes, etc., usually in the form of disposable syringes, swabs, bandages, body fluids, human excreta, etc. These can be a serious threat to human health if not managed in a scientific and discriminate manner.
Legislation in India
Solid Waste Management Rules 2016:
These rules replace the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, are now applicable beyond municipal areas and have included urban agglomerations, census towns, notified industrial townships etc.
They focus on segregation of waste at source, responsibility on the manufacturer to dispose of sanitary and packaging wastes, user fees for collection, disposal and processing from the bulk generator.
It has also been advised that the bio-degradable waste should be processed, treated and disposed of through composting or bio-methanation within the premises as far as possible and the residual waste shall be given to the waste collectors or agency as directed by the local authority.
The rules promote the use of compost, conversion of waste into energy, revision of parameters for landfills location and capacity.
The government has also constituted a Central Monitoring Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary, MoEF&CC to monitor the overall implementation of the rules.
The Rules for the Safe Treatment of Legacy Waste prescribe bio-remediation and bio-mining in all open dumpsites and existing operational dumpsites in India.
Apart from this, Article 51 A (g) of the Constitution of India makes it a fundamental duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.
There are several problems in India in how waste is treated:
First, segregation of waste into organic, recyclable and hazardous categories is not enforced at source.
As a result, mixed waste lands up in the landfills, where waste-pickers, in hazardous conditions, try to salvage the recyclables, which are of poor quality and quantity by then.
Second, ideally, waste management should not be offered free of cost to residents. Only if residents pay will they realise the importance of segregation and recycling.
Third, there is the issue of logistical contractors who are motivated to dump more garbage in landfills as their compensation is proportional to the tonnage of waste. They are also prone to illegally dump waste at unauthorized sites to reduce transportation costs.
Fourth, and importantly, organic farming and composting are not economically attractive to the Indian farmer, as chemical pesticides are heavily subsidised, and the compost is not efficiently marketed.
There are solutions to the garbage pandemic through the crucial processes of material recycling and composting.
Efficient composting is possible through an optimal combination of microbes and temperature to produce a nutrient-dense soil conditioner.
2. Consider the following statements with respect to the Vaccines.
1. Vaccines are administered to healthy individuals to prevent diseases caused by infectious agents to which they might be exposed in the future.
2. Tremendous genetic variability of pathogens is one of the most important challenges for vaccine development.
3. Vaccination of a sufficient number of individuals in a population can, by induction of herd immunity, impact the transmission dynamics of pathogen.
4. A vaccine can confer only active immunity and not passive immunity.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) All of the above
Answer-A
Explanation-
Vaccine
Vaccine is the suspension of weakened, killed, or fragmented microorganisms or toxins or of antibodies or lymphocytes that is administered primarily to prevent disease.
A vaccine can confer active immunity against a specific harmful agent by stimulating the immune system to attack the agent. Once stimulated by a vaccine, the antibody-producing cells, called B-lymphocytes, remain sensitized and ready to respond to the agent should it ever gain entry to the body.
A vaccine may also confer passive immunity by providing antibodies or lymphocytes already made by an animal or human donor.
Vaccines are usually administered by injection (parenteral administration), but some are given orally. Vaccines applied to mucosal surfaces, such as those lining the gut or nasal passages, seem to stimulate a greater antibody response and may be the most-effective route of administration.
The first vaccine was introduced by British physician Edward Jenner, who in 1796 used the cowpox virus (vaccinia) to confer protection against smallpox, a related virus, in humans.
Vaccine Types
The challenge in vaccine development consists in devising a vaccine strong enough to ward off infection without making the individual seriously ill. To that end, researchers have devised different types of vaccines.
Weakened, or attenuated, vaccines consist of microorganisms that have lost the ability to cause serious illness but retain the ability to stimulate immunity. They may produce a mild or subclinical form of the disease. Attenuated vaccines include those for measles, mumps, polio (the Sabin vaccine), rubella, and tuberculosis. Inactivated vaccines are those that contain organisms that have been killed or inactivated with heat or chemicals.
Inactivated vaccines elicit an immune response, but the response often is less complete than with attenuated vaccines. Because inactivated vaccines are not as effective at fighting infection as those made from attenuated microorganisms, greater quantities of inactivated vaccines are administered. Vaccines against rabies, polio (the Salk vaccine), some forms of influenza, and cholera are made from inactivated microorganisms.
Another type of vaccine is a subunit vaccine, which is made from proteins found on the surface of infectious agents. Vaccines for influenza and hepatitis B are of that type. When toxins, the metabolic by-products of infectious organisms, are inactivated to form toxoids, they can be used to stimulate immunity against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough (pertussis).
In the late 20th century, advances in laboratory techniques allowed approaches to vaccine development to be refined. Medical researchers could identify the genes of a pathogen (disease-causing microorganism) that encode the protein or proteins that stimulate the immune response to that organism. That allowed the immunity-stimulating proteins (called antigens) to be mass-produced and used in vaccines. It also made it possible to alter pathogens genetically and produce weakened strains of viruses. In that way, harmful proteins from pathogens can be deleted or modified, thus providing a safer and more-effective method by which to manufacture attenuated vaccines.
Recombinant DNA technology has also proven useful in developing vaccines to viruses that cannot be grown successfully or that are inherently dangerous. Genetic material that codes for a desired antigen is inserted into the attenuated form of a large virus, such as the vaccinia virus, which carries the foreign genes “piggyback.” The altered virus is injected into an individual to stimulate antibody production to the foreign proteins and thus confer immunity. The approach potentially enables the vaccinia virus to function as a live vaccine against several diseases, once it has received genes derived from the relevant disease-causing microorganisms. A similar procedure can be followed using a modified bacterium, such as Salmonella typhimurium, as the carrier of a foreign gene.
Vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV) are made from viruslike particles (VLPs), which are prepared via recombinant technology. The vaccines do not contain live HPV biological or genetic material and therefore are incapable of causing infection. Two types of HPV vaccines have been developed, including a bivalent HPV vaccine, made using VLPs of HPV types 16 and 18, and a tetravalent vaccine, made with VLPs of HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18.
Another approach, called naked DNA therapy, involves injecting DNA that encodes a foreign protein into muscle cells. The cells produce the foreign antigen, which stimulates an immune response.
Special attributes of vaccines
Vaccines benefit both individuals and populations.
Vaccines represent one of the most effective and cost effective public health innovations of all time.
To be most effective, vaccines need to be administered to the targeted cohorts of individuals in advance of pathogen exposure.
Vaccination of a sufficient number of individuals in a population can, by induction of herd immunity, impact the transmission dynamics of pathogen spread in a population such that even unimmunized individuals are less likely to become infected.
With sufficiently high and prolonged immunization coverage, and depending on whether nonhuman reservoirs for pathogen persistence exist, it is possible to eradicate infectious diseases from human populations (as was accomplished with smallpox and is now being pursued for poliovirus).
For many contemporary global health threats (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, malaria, and pandemic influenza), the development of effective vaccines is considered to represent the most promising strategy for public health protection.
Unlike drugs that are administered to individuals with (or at risk for) specific diseases, vaccines are commonly administered to healthy individuals. As a result, the risk-to-benefit ratio for vaccines requires that vaccines meet especially high standards of safety and tolerability.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/vaccine-development
3. Consider the following statements regarding the Current Account Deficit (CAD).
1. It is the sum of the balance of trade, net factor income and net transfer payments.
2. A country with rising CAD shows that it has become uncompetitive, and investors may not be willing to invest there.
3. CAD and Fiscal Deficit are together known as twin deficits and both often reinforce each other.
4. India’s CAD narrowed sharply to 0.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) recently.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) All of the above
Answer-d
Explanation-
Current Account Deficit (CAD)
India’s current account deficit (CAD) narrowed sharply to $1.4 billion or 0.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the December quarter, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said recently.
Current Account Deficit
The current account measures the flow of goods, services, and investments into and out of the country. It represents a country’s foreign transactions and, like the capital account, is a component of a country’s Balance of Payments (BOP).
There is a deficit in Current Account if the value of the goods and services imported exceeds the value of those exported.
A nation’s current account maintains a record of the country’s transactions with other nations that includes net income, including interest and dividends, and transfers, like foreign aid. It comprises of following components:
o Trade of goods,
o Services, and
o Net earnings on overseas investments and net transfer of payments over a period of time, such as remittances.
It is measured as a percentage of GDP. The formulae for calculating CAD is:
Current Account = Trade gap + Net current transfers + Net income abroad
Trade gap = Exports – Imports
A country with rising CAD shows that it has become uncompetitive, and investors may not be willing to invest there.
In India, the Current Account Deficit could be reduced by boosting exports and curbing non-essential imports such as gold, mobiles, and electronics.
Current Account Deficit and Fiscal Deficit (also known as “budget deficit” is a situation when a nation’s expenditure exceeds its revenues) are together known as twin deficits and both often reinforce each other, i.e., a high fiscal deficit leads to higher CAD and vice versa.
4. Consider the following statements regarding the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
1. The board was formed in 1928 as a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act.
2. The state associations elect their representatives who in turn elect the officials at BCCI.
3. BCCI is regulated by the rules and regulations of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Government of India.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer-b
Explanation-
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
BCCI is the national governing body for cricket in India. The board was formed in December 1928 as a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act.
The BCCI is India’s richest sporting body and the richest cricket board in the world.
BCCI does not depend on the Government of India for its finances. Hence BCCI is not a government body.
BYJU is the current the official Indian cricket team sponsor for a period of almost 3 years. The deal period will begin from 5 September, 2019 until 31 March, 2022.
BCCI headquarter is in Wankhede Stadium, Churchgate, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
BCCI has its own constitution which has specified the rules and regulations for players and administrators for its smooth functioning.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will still receive ($293 million) the largest share in the new revenue model put in place by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that will be effective from 2016 to 2023.
England Cricket Board (ECB) will receive $143m, Zimbabwe Cricket Board $94m and the remaining seven Full Members $132m each.
BCCI has international affiliation from ICC while it has regional affiliation from the Asian Cricket Council as well.
The President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India is the highest post at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which runs Cricket in India.
What were Mudgal Committee‘s findings?
The Supreme Court appointed a special committee under Mukul Mudgal to investigate irregularities in the IPL and BCCI following the spot-fixing scandal.
In November 2014, the Committee found IPL COO, Sundar Raman, CSK Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra guilty of betting.
The report found BCCI Chief N Srinivasan guilty of not acting against the accused despite knowing their violations.
What were Lodha Committee‘s recommendations?
In January 2015, the SC appointed a committee headed by Justice (Retd) RM Lodha to determine punishments for those named in the Mudgal Committee report and to recommend reforms for cricket in India particularly suggesting amendments to the processes followed by BCCI.
The Lodha Committee report banned the owners of CSK and RR for life, from taking part in any BCCI related cricket activities in India.
The CSK and the RR franchises have been barred in the IPL for 2 years.
Eligibility – As regards the office bearers of BCCI – president, VP, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer – certain eligibility criteria has been fixed. i.e
He must be an Indian,
not be above the age of 70,
not be a minister or government servant, and
who has not held office in the BCCI for a cumulative period for nine years.
Tenure – Each office bearer will have a tenure of three years and no office bearer can hold the office for more than three terms. No office-bearer can hold two terms consecutively.
Bringing BCCI under of the purview of RTI Act.
It legalized betting.
The panel felt that the move would help curb corruption in the game and recommended that except for players and officials, people should be allowed to place bets on registered sites.
Further, each state is to have only one official cricket association registered with the BCCI.
IPL and BCCI are to have separate governing bodies.
Three authorities, an ombudsman for internal disputes, an ethics officer and an electoral officer are to be appointed to oversee BCCI activities.
The Lodha committee stated that politicians and government officials may not hold posts in the BCCI.
5. Consider the following statements with reference to the Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs).
1. ESZs are declared under Environment Protection Act 1986 as the word Eco Sensitive Zones mentioned in this act.
2. ESZs are notified with an aim to create ‘SHOCK ABSORBERS’ for the protected animals and birds, by regulating and managing the activities there.
3. Agriculture practices along with commercial mining and other hazardous activities are prohibited in ESZ area.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 2 only
(d) 2 only
Answer-d
Explanation-
Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs)
Eco-Sensitive Zones or Ecologically Fragile Areas are areas within 10 kms around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
ESZs are notified by MoEFCC, Government of India under Environment Protection Act 1986.
In case of places with sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscape linkage, even area beyond 10 km width can also be included in the eco-sensitive zone.
The basic aim is to regulate certain activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries so as to minimize the negative impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected areas.
The Environment Protection Act, 1986 does not mention the word “Eco-sensitive Zones”.
The section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes shall not be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards
Besides the section 5 (1) of this act says that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of considerations like the biological diversity of an area, maximum allowable limits of concentration of pollutants for an area, environmentally compatible land use, and proximity to protected areas.
The above two clauses have been effectively used by the government to declare Eco-Sensitive Zones or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFA). The same criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones.
Criteria:
The MoEF (Ministry of Environment & Forests) has approved a comprehensive set of guidelines laying down parameters and criteria for declaring ESAs. A committee constituted by MoEF put this together. The guidelines lay out the criteria based on which areas can be declared as ESAs. These include Species Based (Endemism, Rarity etc), Ecosystem Based (sacred groves, frontier forests etc) and Geomorphologic feature based (uninhabited islands, origins of rivers etc).
Activities Allowed in ESZs
Prohibited activities: Commercial mining, saw mills, industries causing pollution (air, water, soil, noise etc), establishment of major hydroelectric projects (HEP), commercial use of wood, Tourism activities like hot-air balloons over the National Park, discharge of effluents or any solid waste or production of hazardous substances.
Regulated activities: Felling of trees, establishment of hotels and resorts, commercial use of natural water, erection of electrical cables, drastic change of agriculture system, e.g. adoption of heavy technology, pesticides etc, widening of roads.
Permitted activities: Ongoing agricultural or horticultural practices, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, use of renewable energy sources, and adoption of green technology for all activities.
Significance of ESZs
To minimize the impact of urbanisation and other developmental activities, areas adjacent to protected areas have been declared as Eco-Sensitive Zones.
The purpose of declaring eco-sensitive zones around protected areas is for creating some kind of a ‘Shock Absorber’ for the protected area.
They also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.
ESZs help in in-situ conservation, which deals with conservation of an endangered species in its natural habitat, for example the conservation of the One-horned Rhino of Kaziranga National Park, Assam.
Eco-Sensitive Zones minimize forest depletion and man-animal conflict. The protected areas are based on the core and buffer model of management, through which local area communities are also protected and benefitted.
Challenges and Threats to Eco-Sensitive Zones
Developmental activities:
Activities such as construction of dams, roads, urban and rural infrastructures in the ESZ, create interference, negatively impact upon the environment and imbalance the ecological system.
For example, construction of road would lead to cutting down of trees which would further impact upon, soil erosion thereby destroy the habitats of the species preserved under the ESZ.
Governance and new laws:
By failing to recognize the rights of forest communities and curbing poaching of animal, legislations like Environmental Protection Act 1986, and Wildlife Protection Act 1972, undermine the ESZs in favour of developmental activities.
For example – the new draft notification for reducing the ESZs of Bannerghatta National Park.
Tourism:
As the pressure of tourism is rising, the government is developing new sites and gateways to the ESZ.
To cater to the increasing demand for eco-tourism, land around parks and sanctuaries is being cleared through deforestation, displacement of local people etc.
The tourists leave behind garbage such as plastic bags and bottles etc. which lead to environmental degradation.
Introduction of exotic species: Exotic species like Eucalyptus and Acacia auriculiformis etc. and their plantations create a competing demand on naturally occurring forests.
Climate change:
Biodiversity and climate change are interconnected, for example, the rise in global temperature has generated land, water and ecological stress on the ESZs.
For example, forest fires or the Assam floods which badly affected the Kaziranga National Park and its wildlife.
Local communities: Slash and burn techniques used in agriculture, pressure of increasing population and the rising demand for firewood and forest produce, etc. exerts pressure on the protected areas.