DAY – 4 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2020

Solution: D

Exercise Malabar is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners. Originally begun in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States, Japan became a permanent partner in 2015.

Past non-permanent participants are Australia and Singapore. The annual Malabar series began in 1992 and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises.

Solution: A

The flagship publication series of the International Organization for Migration, the World Migration Report presents data and information on human migration together with analysis of complex and emerging migration issues. Released biennially, the World Migration Report 2020 is the tenth edition in the series.

Solution: A

Prior to the fifth century, logic was not a well-established discipline. The Nyaya Sutra seems to have been compiled around AD 400. It mentions four proofs or pramanas comprising perception, inference, comparison, and testimony. We find detailed discussions regarding valid and invalid   knowledge, and aspects of each kind of proof are treated in detail. Although debating devices were used in theological disputes, they could not have been developed in isolation from other disputes, including land disputes.

They consider the life, death and salvation to be like mysteries that can be solved through logical and analytical thinking. Furthermore, they argue that acquiring ‘real knowledge’ can only accrue salvation. This school of thought was supposed to be founded by Gautama who is also identified as the author of the Nyaya Sutra.

On the concept of God, they argue that the creation of the Universe was through God’s hands. They also believe that God not only created the Universe but also sustained and destroyed it. This philosophy constantly stressed on systematic reasoning and thinking.

Solution: C

Vitamin- D and its significance

It is produced when sunlight (or artificial light, particularly in the ultraviolet region of 190-400 nm wavelength) falls on the skin and triggers a chemical reaction to a cholesterol-based molecule, and converts it into calcidiol in the liver and into calcitriol in the kidney.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning that it dissolves in fats and oils and can be stored in your body for a long time.

It is known to help in having the right amount of calcium in the bones, catalyse the process of protecting cell membranes from damage, and preventing the inflammation of tissues and helping stop tissues from forming fibres and weakening bones from becoming brittle, leading to osteoporosis.

Solution: B

Brihaspati laid the foundation stone of this school and it was supposed to be one of the earliest schools that developed a philosophical theory. The philosophy is old enough to find mention in the Vedas and Brihadarankya Upanishad. The Charvaka School was the main propounder of the materialistic view to achieve salvation. As it was geared towards the common people, the philosophy was soon dubbed as Lokayata or something derived from the common people.

They denied the existence of any supernatural or divine agent who could regulate our conduct on earth. They argued against the need to achieve salvation and also denied the existence of brahma and God. They believed in anything that could be touched and be experienced by the human senses.

Solution: B

Chabahar Port is a seaport in Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman. It serves as Iran’s only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports named Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti, each of which has five berths.

This is the gas field which is located in Persian Gulf under the control of Iranian sovereignty and India is progressing on acquisition and exploration of this.

Solution: C

Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is founded in 1899. It is an intergovernmental organization located at The Hague, the Netherlands.

It provides a forum for the resolution of international disputes through arbitration and other peaceful means.

It provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes between member states, international organizations, or private parties arising out of international agreements. In PCA, parties can themselves select the arbitrators.

The organization is not a United Nations agency but has observer status in the UN General Assembly. The rulings of PCA are binding but the tribunal has no powers for enforcement. India is a party to it.

https://pca-cpa.org/en/about/

Solution: D

The word ‘Mimamsa’ literally means the art of reasoning, interpretation and application. This school focuses on the analysis of the texts of Samhita and Brahmana that are portions of the Vedas. They argue that the Vedas contain the eternal truth and they are the repositories of all knowledge. If one has to attain religious merit, acquire heaven and salvation, they would have to fulfill all the duties which are prescribed by the Vedas.

The texts that describe the Mimamsa philosophy in detail, are the Sutras of Jaimini, which were supposedly composed in the 3^rd century BCE. Further inroads into the philosophy were made by two of their greatest proponents: Sabar Swami and Kumarila Bhatta.

They argue that salvation is possible through performing rituals but it is also necessary to understand the justification and reasoning behind Vedic rituals. It was necessary to understand this reasoning if one wanted to perform the rituals perfectly, which will allow them to attain salvation.

The main focus of this philosophy was on the ritualistic part of the Vedas, i.e. to achieve salvation one has to perform the Vedic rituals. As most humans did not understand the rituals properly, they would have to take assistance of the priests.

Solution: B

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Gramin:

• Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development.
• The erstwhile rural housing scheme Indira Awaas yojana (IAY) has been restructured into Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana –Gramin (PMAY-G) from 01.04.2016.
• PMAY-G aims at providing a pucca house, with basic amenities, to all houseless householder and those households living in kutcha and dilapidated house, by 2022.
• Target: Construction of 2.95 crore houses with all basic amenities by the year 2022.
• Cost sharing: The cost of unit assistance in this scheme is shared between Central and State Governments in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90: 10 for North Eastern and Himalayan States.
• The scheme envisages training of Rural Masons with the objective of improving workmanship and quality of construction of houses while at the same time, increasing availability of skilled masons and enhancing employability of such masons.
• Selection of beneficiaries: Based on housing deprivation parameters of Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011, subject to 13 point exclusion criteria, followed by Gram Sabha verification.

Solution: D

The Yoga school literally means the union of two major entities. They argue that human being can achieve salvation by combining meditation and physical application of yogic techniques.

The physical aspect of this school deals primarily with exercises in various postures that are also called asanas. There are several types of breathing exercises that are called pranayams. Other means of achieving mukti or freedom are:

Solution: D

Drug Discovery Hackathon 2020 (DDH2020) launched

• It is first of its kind National initiative for supporting drug discovery process.
• It will see participation from professionals, faculty, researchers and students from varied fields like Computer Science, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Medical Sciences, Basic Sciences and Biotechnology.
• The Hackathon consists of challenges that are posted as problem statements and, are based on specific drug discovery topics which, are open to the participants to solve.
• It will have three Tracks.
• Track 1 will primarily deal with drug design for anti-COVID-19 hit/lead generation.
• Track 2 will deal with designing/optimizing new tools and algorithms which will have an immense impact on expediting the process of in silico drug discovery.
• Track 3 is called “Moon shot” which allows for working on problems which are ‘out of the box’ nature.

It is a joint initiative and the participants are:

• MHRD’s Innovation Cell (MIC).
• All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
• Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC).
• MyGov as well as private players.

Solution: D

The Bibek Debroy Committee, which was set up to suggest ways to mobilise resources for the Indian Railways and restructure the Railway Board, had favoured privatisation of rolling stock: wagons and coaches.

Solution: C

Svetambara School:

Svetambaras follow the preachings of Prasvanatha, i.e. they believe in only four restraints (except Brahmacharya) to be followed to attain Kevalya. Svetambara believe that the 23rd and 24th tirthankara did marry, unlike thought by Digambara. Sthulabhadra was a great exponent of this school and stayed in Magadha unlike Bhadrabahu who went to Karnataka.

The monks of Svetambara School can have simple white clothing, a begging bowl, a brush to remove insects from their path, books and writing materials with them. They believe tirthankaras can be men or women, and say that Malli began her life as a princess. Svetambara tradition of Jainism indicates five eternal substances in existence: Soul (jiva), Matter (pudgala), Space (akasha), motion (Dharma) and rest (Adharma), unlike Digambaras which add the sixth eternal substance as time (Kala).

Solution: D

International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)

• It is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject, which will be the world’s largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment.
• It is an experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor that is being built in southern France.
• The goal of ITER is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energyfor peaceful use.
• The project is funded and run by seven member entities: The European Union, China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

What will ITER do?

• Produce 500 MW of fusion power
• Demonstrate the integrated operation of technologies for a fusion power plant
• Achieve a deuterium-tritium plasma in which the reaction is sustained through internal heating
• Test tritium breeding
• Demonstrate the safety characteristics of a fusion device.

Solution: B

Vajrayana Buddhism (Tantric Buddhism)

Scholars contemplate that Vajrayana school developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Shaivism, i.e., they say, it was influenced by Hinduism.

The main deity is Tara (a lady)

It involved combining Brahmanical (Veda based) rituals with Buddhist philosophies.

Vajrayana is based on Mahayana Buddhist philosophy.

This school believes in Tantra’s, Mantras and Yantras superiority due to being a faster vehicle to liberation containing many skillful methods of tantric ritual.

According to this school, the mantra is an easy path to achieve Buddhahood without the difficulties as compared to striving for six perfections or Paramitas under Mahayana.

5.7 % of the world Buddhist population follows it. Other countries following it include Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia, Kalmykia, etc.

Solution: D

Central Zoo Authority (CZA):

• • CZA is a statutory body chaired by the Environment Minister.
  • It is tasked with regulating zoos across the country.
  • Every zoo in the country must obtain recognition from CZA for its operation.
  • The main objective of the authority is to complement and strengthen the national effort in conservation of rich biodiversity.
  • The authority lays down guidelines and prescribes rules under which animals may be transferred among zoos nationally and internationally.

Composition:

• Apart from the chairman, it consists of 10 members and a member-secretary. Almost all of them are officials in the Environment Ministry and non-government experts are those who are wildlife conservationists or retired forest officers.

Solution: B

Krishi Vigyan Kendra:

• The name means “farm science Centre”.
• KVK is an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS).
• The Centre serves as the ultimate link between the Indian Council of agricultural research and farmers.
• The Centre is usually associated with a local agricultural University.
• It aims to apply agricultural research and practical localised setting.
• As of January 2020, there were approximately 716 KVKs throughout India.
• The KVK scheme is 100% financed by the Government of India

Solution: C

Bodhisattva is the one who has generated Bodhicitta (a spontaneous wish and a compassionate mind) to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. It believes in Universal liberation and is a concept under Mahayana Buddhism.

Buddha in his previous births was Bodhisattva as contemplated in Jataka tales and the stories depict the various attempts of the bodhisattva to embrace qualities like self-sacrifice and morality. Under Theravada Buddhism, a person whose aim is to become fully enlightened is still subject to birth, illness, death, sorrow, defilement, and delusion.

On the path to become a Buddha, a bodhisattva proceeds through ten grounds or bhumis namely Great Joy, Stainless, luminous, radiant, very difficult to train, obviously transcendent, gone afar, immovable, Good discriminating wisdom, and Cloud of Dharma. By passing these 10 bhumis, he becomes an enlightened one.

Solution: C

Syrian and Russian planes have carried out deadly aerial strikes on schools, hospitals and markets in Idlib province. UN investigators have termed these attacks as war crimes.

Idlib is a city in northwestern Syria, 59 kilometers southwest of Aleppo, which is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly 500 meters above sea level.

Solution: D

Teachings of Buddha

The Four Noble Truths of Buddha are:

– The world is full of suffering.

– The cause of suffering is desire.

– If desires are get rid off, suffering can be removed.

– This can be done by following the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path consists of right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Buddha neither accepts god nor rejects the existence of god. He laid great emphasis on the law of karma. He argued that the condition of man in this life depends upon his own deeds.

Solution: A

Bhashan Char island:

• It is also known as Char Piya.
• It is an island in Bangladesh.
• It is located in the Bay of Bengal.
• The island was formed with Himalayan silt in 2006.
• It spans 40 km².
• Why in News? Rohingya refugees on this island will not be allowed to leave unless they agree to return home, Bangladesh authorities said recently.

Solution: D

Kaziranga National Park

• Located in the State of Assam.
• It is the single largest undisturbed and representative area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain.
• It was declared as a National Park in 1974. It has been declared a tiger reserve since 2007.
• It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
• It is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
• Much of the focus of conservation efforts in Kaziranga are focused on the ‘big four’ species— rhino, elephant, Royal Bengal tiger and Asiatic water buffalo.
• Kaziranga is also home to 9 of the 14 species of primates found in the Indian subcontinent.

Solution: D

Mahavira led the life of a householder, but in his quest for truth he abandoned the world at the age of 30 and became an ascetic. He wandered for twelve years from place to place, not staying for over a day in a village and more than five days in a town. During the course of his long journey of twelve years it is said he never changed his clothes, and abandoned them altogether at the age of 42 when he attained omniscience (kaivalya). Through kaivalya he conquered misery and happiness. Because of this conquest he is known as Mahavira or the great hero or jina, that is, the conqueror, and his followers are known as Jainas.

He propagated his religion for thirty years, and his mission took him to Koshala, Magadha, Mithila, Champa, and elsewhere. He passed away at the age of 72 in 468 BC at a place called Pavapuri near modern Rajgir.

Solution: B

Chiang Mai initiative (CMI):

• It is a multilateral currency swap arrangement among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the People’s Republic of China (including Hong Kong), Japan and South Korea.
• Launched in 2010 to manage regional short-term liquidity problems and to avoid relying on the IMF.

Solution: D

The first Jain Council was convened at Pataliputra by Sthulabahu, the leader of the Digambaras, in the beginning of the 3^rd century B.C. The second Jain Council was held at Valabhi in 5^th century A.D. The final compilation of Jain literature called Twelve Angas was completed in this council.