DAY – 10 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2020

Solution: D

Chiru Goat

• Chiru, or Tibetan antelope, is assessed as ‘Near Threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature 2017.
• The Tibetan antelope is the sole species in the genus Pantholops.
• Endemic to the Tibetan Plateau, the Tibetan antelope inhabits open alpine and cold steppe environments.
• It is a migratory species of the cold desert, moving seasonally between lower and higher altitudes, and can be found between 3,700m and 5,500m.

Solution: D

UNESCO world heritage site:

• A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of special cultural or physical significance.
• The list is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 UNESCO member states which are elected by the General Assembly.
• Each World Heritage Site remains part of the legal territory of the state wherein the site is located and UNESCO considers it in the interest of the international community to preserve each site.

The World Heritage Committee inscribed seven cultural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

These sites include:

• Burial Mounds (Bahrain): The burial mounds are evidence of the Early Dilmun civilization, around the 2nd millennium BCE, during which Bahrain became a trade hub, whose prosperity enabled the inhabitants to develop an elaborate burial tradition applicable to the entire population.
• BudjBim Cultural Landscape (Australia): Composed of channels, dams and weirs, they are used to contain floodwaters and create basins to trap, store and harvest the kooyang eel (Anguilla australis), which has provided the population with an economic and social base for six millennia.
• Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City (China): Located in the Yangtze River Basin on the south-eastern coast of the country, the archaeological ruins of Liangzhu (about 3300-2300 BCE) reveal an early regional state with a unified belief system based on rice cultivation in Late Neolithic China.
• Jaipur City, Rajasthan (India): The fortified city of Jaipur, in India’s northwestern state of Rajasthan was founded in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh II. Unlike other cities in the region located in hilly terrain, Jaipur was established on the plain and built according to a grid plan interpreted in the light of Vedic architecture.
• Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto, (Indonesia): Built for the extraction, processing and transport of high-quality coal in an inaccessible region of Sumatra, this industrial site was developed by the Netherlands’ colonial government from the late 19th to the beginning of the 20th century with a workforce recruited from the local population and supplemented by convict labour from Dutch-controlled areas.
• Mozu-FuruichiKofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan (Japan): Located on a plateau above the Osaka Plain, this property includes 49 kofun (old mounds in Japanese). These kofun have been selected from a total of 160,000 in Japan and form the richest material representation of the Kofun period, from the 3rd to the 6th century CE. They demonstrate the differences in social classes of that period and reflect a highly sophisticated funerary system.
• Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhouang — Plain of Jars (Lao People’s Democratic Republic): The Plain of Jars, located on a plateau in central Laos, gets its name from more than 2,100 tubular-shaped megalithic stone jars used for funerary practices in the Iron Age.

Solution: D

Operation Thirst is an all- India drive launched by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) to curb menace of selling unauthorized packaged drinking water in railway stations.

Solution: C

TerritorialArmy:

• India’s first Governor General Shri C Rajagopalachari formally inaugurated the Indian Territorial Army on October 9 in 1949.
• It is an organization where volunteers apply for a short period of training every year, so as to be ready to tackle any emergent situation or to serve for the defence of India.
• The Territorial Army, also known as the ‘Terriers’, is considered the second line of national defence after the regular Army.
• The Territorial Army is part of a Regular Army and its present role is to relieve the Regular Army from static duties and assist civil administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintenance of essential services in situations where life of the communities is affected or the security of the country is threatened and to provide units for Regulars Army as and when required.
• Territorial Army comes under the Defence Ministry.

Solution: A

International Court of Justice

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial body of the UN. Established in 1946 to replace the Permanent Court of International Justice, the ICJ mainly operates under the statute of its predecessor, which is included in the UN Charter.
• It has two primary functions: to settle legal disputes submitted by States in accordance with established international laws, and to act as an advisory board on issues submitted to it by authorized international organizations.
• All members of the UN are parties to the statute of the ICJ, and non-members may also become parties.

Members of the Court:

• The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. These organs vote simultaneously but separately. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both bodies. In order to ensure a measure of continuity, one third of the Court is elected every three years. Judges are eligible for re-election.
• Only countries are eligible to appear before the ICJ, not individuals, non-governmental organisations, corporations or any other private entities.

Who nominates the candidates?

• Every state government, party to the Charter, designates a group who propose candidates for the office of ICJ judges. This group includes four members/jurists of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (machinery which enables arbitral tribunals to be set up as desired and facilitates their work) also picked by the State. Countries not part of the statute follow the same procedure where a group nominates the candidates.
• Each group is limited to nominate four candidates, two of whom could be of their nationality. Within a fixed duration set by the Secretary-General, the names of the candidates have to be sent to him/her.

What are the qualifications of ICJ judges?

• A judge should have a high moral character.
• A judge should fit to the qualifications of appointment of highest judicial officers as prescribed by their respective states or.
• A judge should be a jury consult of recognized competence in international law.
• The 15 judges of the Court are distributed as per the regions:
• Three from Africa.
• Two from Latin America and Caribbean.
• Three from Asia.
• Five from Western Europe and other states.
• Two from Eastern Europe.

Independence of the Judges:

• Once elected, a Member of the Court is a delegate neither of the government of his own country nor of that of any other State. Unlike most other organs of international organizations, the Court is not composed of representatives of governments. Members of the Court are independent judges whose first task, before taking up their duties, is to make a solemn declaration in open court that they will exercise their powers impartially and conscientiously.
• In order to guarantee his or her independence, no Member of the Court can be dismissed unless, in the unanimous opinion of the other Members, he/she no longer fulfils the required conditions. This has in fact never happened.

Solution: B

Tawlhlohpuan, a medium to heavy, compactly woven, good quality fabric from Mizoram is known for warp yarns, warping, weaving and intricate designs that are made by hand. Tawlhloh, in Mizo language, means ‘to stand firm or not to move backward’. Tawlhlohpuan, which holds high significance in the Mizo society, is produced throughout the state of Mizoram. Aizawl and Thenzawl town are the main centre of production.

Assam Lemon, also known as NemuTenga in Assamese, are cultivars of lemon, namely ‘GolNemu’ and ‘KajiNemu’, which are found and cultivated in the Indian state of Assam. These lemons are an important part of Assamese cuisine. The botanical name of Assam Lemon is Citrus limon. recently it  got GI tag

Tirur betel vine from Kerala, which is mainly cultivated in Tirur, Tanur, Tirurangadi, Kuttippuram, Malappuram and Vengara block panchayaths of Malappuram district, is valued both for its mild stimulant action and medicinal properties.

The famous KholaChilli or KholchiMirchi that’s being grown on the hills of Khola village in Canacona taluka region of Goa has received the Geographical Indication tag from the Geographical Indications Registry.

Solution: D

Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC):

• Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland.

Services provided:

• IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely Standard Positioning Services available to all users and Restricted Services provided to authorised users.

Its applications include:

• Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation.
• Disaster Management.
• Vehicle tracking and fleet management.
• Integration with mobile phones.
• Precise Timing.
• Mapping and Geodetic data capture.
• Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers.
• Visual and voice navigation for drivers.

Solution: C

Solution: B

SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting)

• SAFAR was developed indigenously by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and operationalized by India Meteorological Department (IMD).
• It has been introduced for greater metropolitan cities of India to provide location-specific information on air quality in near real time and its forecast 1-3 days in advance for the first time in India.
• It is integral part of India’s first Air Quality Early Warning System operational in Delhi. It will monitor all weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed and wind direction.
• Pollutants monitored: PM1, PM2.5, PM10, Ozone, CO, NOx (NO, NO2), SO2, BC, Methane (CH4), Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), VOC’s, Benzene, Mercury.
• Monitored Meteorological Parameters: UV Radiation, Rainfall, Temperature, Humidity, Wind speed, Wind direction, solar radiation.
• It provides frontier research based scientific accredited robust Air Quality Forecasting system for Indian Metropolitan Cites.

Solution: B

Sericulture in India:

• Sericulture is an agro-based cottage industry having huge employment and income generating potential in rural and semi-urban areas.
• It is estimated that sericulture industry provides employment to approximately 91.20 lakh persons (including 3.40 lakh persons in the State of Tamil Nadu) in rural and semi-urban areas in the country as of March-2019.
• Of these, a sizeable number of workers belong to the economically weaker sections of society, including women. This is mainly due to implementation of Government schemes and efforts made by State/ Central Government.
• India is the 2nd largest producer of silk in the world after China.
• it is largest consumer of silk in the world.
• It is the only country in the world that produces all 5 varieties of silk on a commercial scale– Mulberry, Oak Tasar& Tropical Tasar, Muga and Eri.

Solution: C

ASRAAM (Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile) is the next generation infrared-guided missile designed and built by MBDA UK (formerly Matra BAe Dynamics) to provide enhanced aerial combat capabilities for fighter aircraft.

The ASRAAM missile can be deployed to engage targets within visual range (WVR) combat operations. It offers high speed and exceptional agility during its flight time. It is capable of engaging targets under complex environmental conditions and is compatible with aircraft armed with Sidewinder or AMRAAM missiles.

http://www.defencenews.in/article/IAF-to-adopt-ASRAAM-missile-across-its-fighter-fleet-585757

Solution: A

Shigella infection (shigellosis) is an intestinal disease caused by a family of bacteria known as shigella. The main sign of shigella infection is diarrhea, which often is bloody. Shigella can be passed through direct contact with the bacteria in the stool.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/school-kids-at-risk-from-dirty-kitchens/article28359810.ece

Solution: A

The United Nations population estimates and projections form a comprehensive set of demographic data to assess population trends at the global, regional and national levels. They are used in the calculation of many of the key development indicators commonly used by the United Nations system, including for more than one third of the indicators used to monitor progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-demographic-window-of-opportunity/article28363940.ece

Solution: D

• The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2019applies to establishments employing at least 10 workers, and to all mines and docks.  It does not apply to apprentices.  Further, it makes special provisions for certain types of establishments and classes of employees, such as factories, mines, and building and construction workers.
• The Code repeals and replaces 13 labour laws relating to safety, health and working conditions. These include the Factories Act, 1948, the Mines Act, 1952, and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.

The Code specifies several duties of employers. These include: (i) providing a workplace that is free from hazards that may cause injury or diseases, and (ii) providing free annual health examinations to employees, as prescribed.  In case of an accident at the workplace that leads to death or serious bodily injury of an employee, the employer must inform the relevant authorities.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/worker-safety-code-bill-gets-cabinet-approval/article28364049.ece

Solution: C

Indicating the existence of active human presence in Kerala’s hilly district of Idukki around 3,000 years ago, a group of researchers have located a menhir—a large upright stone usually of prehistoric origin— at Pothamala hills in Nedumkandam. The 20 feet tall menhir is believed to be the largest ever found in the state.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/pothamala-menhirs-stand-guard-on-ancient-necropolis/article28391940.ece