Day-250 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS

Answer: B
Explanation:
• Option B is Correct: Project DANTAK was established in 1961 under the leadership of the Third King of Bhutan and then Indian Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru.It was established with the objective of developing roads, telecommunication networks and other landmark infrastructure-related projects in Bhutan. Border Roads Organization (BRO) functions as the Nodal agency.

Answer: B
Explanation:
Option B is correct: The education minister released an indicative and suggestive implementation plan for school education called SARTHAQ.
⮚ ‘Students’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement through Quality Education (SARTHAQ).
● Launched in pursuance of the goals of NEP2020 and to assist States/UTs in this task.
● The programme aims at providing an all-around development for the students at the primary and secondary levels.
● It will also establish a safe, secure, inclusive and conducive learning environment for students as well as teachers.
● The major focus is to define activities in such a manner which clearly delineates goals, outcomes and timeframe i.e., it links recommendation of NEP.

Answer: D
Explanation:
All the above-given payment modes are initiatives of the NPCI.
● RuPay: It is a domestic card scheme of India that has a magnetic stripe along with an EMV chip. The card is now accepted at all ATMs and has been issued cooperative banks and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in India.
● National Common Mobility Card: It enables customers to make use of their existing Debit/Credit card for payments across all segments including metro, bus, suburban railways, toll, parking, smart city and retail. The service area feature of this card supports operator specific applications e.g., monthly passes, season tickets, etc.
● Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM): Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is a mobile payments application based on NPCI’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). It provides the facility to easily send or receive money from other customers using the UPI.
● Unified Payments Interface (UPI): Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was introduced in 2016 as an instant interbank payment system. This payment system was developed to provide a mobile platform for instant transfer of funds between two bank accounts.
● Bharat Bill Payment System: The Bharat Bill Payment System is an initiative taken by NPCI along with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for payment of all bills. It will provide an interoperable and accessible bill payment service to its customers.

Answer: A
Explanation:
• Option A is correct: The Thwaites Glacier, sometimes referred to as the Doomsday Glacier, is an unusually broad and vast Antarctic glacier flowing into the Pine Island Bay. Researchers at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg released a new finding related to the melting of the Thwaites Glacier. They found that the melting was worse than previously thought.

Answer: A
Explanation:
• The SWIFT – Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication – is a secure financial message carrier — it transports messages from one bank to its intended bank recipient. Its core role is to provide a secure transmission channel between banks.