Ans: D

Exp:

A new study by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has concluded that concentration of uranium, a radioactive substance, up to 60 micrograms per litre (millionth of a gram per litre or µg/l) in drinking water was entirely safe, suggesting that the recently formulated “more stringent” national standard of 30 µg/l could be counterproductive.

Statement 1 is incorrect: According to the researchers, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s standards of uranium concentration in drinking water — 30 µg/l — were mere guidelines, and not a recommended safety limit.

• Finland and Slovakia have prescribed safety limits of uranium concentration in drinking water as 100 and 350 µg/l respectively.
• South Africa has a limit of 70 µg/l, the limits in Canada and Australia that have the largest deposits of uranium among others, however, are 20 and 15 µg/l, respectively. 
• Germany, which does not have uranium, has even lower limits.

Statement 2 is correct: For years, the acceptable level of uranium concentration in drinking water in India was 60 µg/l — set by the country’s nuclear safety watchdog, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). 

• In 2021, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the custodian of standards and quality in India, however, announced a new limit of 30 µg/l, in line with recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Ans: D

Exp:

Recently, the CrowdStrike update triggered a global outage resulting in Windows machines experiencing blue screen (BSOD) errors and getting stuck in a recovery loop, causing widespread disruption for Windows users, businesses, and others. 

• • CrowdStrike, a reputed cybersecurity company that protects companies and users from cyberattacks. 
• The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), also known as a stop error, is a protective measure by the Windows operating system. When a BSOD occurs, the computer halts all operations, preventing damage to the system and data corruption. 
  • This error screen is characterised by a blue background with white text, including an error code and a brief description of the problem.
• Common causes of BSOD:
  • Issues with physical components such as RAM, hard drives, or the motherboard can trigger a BSOD. For instance, faulty memory modules or overheating processors can cause the system to crash.
  • Corrupt, outdated, or incompatible drivers can lead to BSODs. This is particularly common with graphics and network drivers. Drivers are software components that allow the operating system to communicate with hardware devices.
  • Incompatible software, malware, or bugs within the operating system itself can cause a BSOD. Recent updates or installations can sometimes introduce conflicts that destabilise the system.
  • Overloading the system with too many processes or running resource-intensive applications can push the hardware beyond its limits, resulting in a crash.

Ans: B

Exp:

Indigenous rights NGO Survival International has released rare pictures of the Mashco Piro tribespeople, one of the world’s 100-odd uncontacted tribes. 

• The Mashco Piro, with a possible population of around 750, are thought to be the largest of such uncontacted tribes.
• Almost all of them live in the jungles of Amazon and Southeast Asia. These nomadic hunter-gatherers live in the Amazon jungles of the Madre de Dios Region, close to Peru’s border with Brazil and Bolivia.

Ans: C

Exp:

Recently, the Union External Affairs Minister of India visited Mauritius and announced that the India-Mauritius health partnership project will supply cost-effective, Made-in-India medicines to augment public healthcare and enhance well-being.

Statement 1 is correct: Bureau of Pharma PSUs in India (BPPI) are running Jan Aushadhi Kendras as a part of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana. 

• These are the centres from where quality generic medicines are made available to all. 

Statement 2 is correct: Recently, the Union External Affairs Minister of India has inaugurated India’s first overseas Jan Aushadi Kendra in Mauritius, testifying to the “close” bilateral cooperation between the two countries, especially in the health sector.

Ans: A

Exp:

The ruling party of India is all set to introduce six bills in the upcoming Parliament session, slated to begin on July 22.

Statement 1 is incorrect: By convention (not mentioned in the Indian Constitution), Parliament meets for three sessions in a year.

• India does not have a fixed parliamentary calendar. The three sessions in a year of India includes the Budget Session, Monsoon Session and Winter Session.

Statement 2 is correct: Budget Session is the 1st session and starts towards the end of January, and concludes by the end of April or first week of May. It is the longest session of Parliament.

• Monsoon Session is the second session that usually begins in July and ends in August.
• Winter Session is the 3rd session that is held from November to December.