UPSC Current Affairs Quiz, 14 August 2023

The answer is a.
Statements 1 and 2 are wrong. Statement 3 is correct.
Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) was a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to fund States/UTs institutions, with the vision to attain higher levels of access, equity, and excellence in the State higher education system with greater efficiency, transparency, accountability, and responsiveness. The first phase of the scheme was launched in 2013 and the second phase was launched in 2018. Now, in the light of the National Education Policy, RUSA scheme has been launched as Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA).
Statement 1: The scheme is under Ministry of Education.
Statement 2: It is related to higher education. The objective is to improve the overall quality of existing state higher educational institutions by ensuring their conformity to prescribed norms and standards and adoption of accreditation as a quality assurance framework.
Statement 3: It covers government and government-aided institutions of the States and Union Territories.

The answer is b.
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong.
Statement 1: Niger is a landlocked country.
Statement 2: It is a country in West Africa.
Statement 3: Over 80% of its land area lies in Sahara.

The answer is d.
All seven countries border Niger. It is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest.

The answer is c.
All four are found in Kuno National Park. Kuno National Park is a national park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, India. It derives its name from Kuno River. It was established in 1981 as a wildlife sanctuary. In 2018, it was given the status of a national park. It is part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.

The answer is c.
Except eggs, for all others the states can put some rules temporarily to control their prices and availability under Essential Commodities Act 1955. The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was enacted to ensure the easy availability of essential commodities to consumers and to protect them from exploitation by unscrupulous traders. The Act provides for the regulation and control of production, distribution and pricing of commodities which are declared as essential. The Act aims at maintaining/increasing supplies/securing equitable distribution and availability of these commodities at fair prices.