DAY – 40 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2020

Solution: A

State Energy Efficiency Index 2019 has been released.

The first such Index, the “State Energy Efficiency Preparedness Index 2018”, was launched on August 1, 2018.

About the index:

It tracks the progress of Energy Efficiency (EE) initiatives in 36 states and union territories based on 97 significant indicators.

For a rational comparison, the States or Union Territories are grouped into four groups based on the aggregated Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) required to meet the state’s actual energy demand (electricity, coal, oil, gas, among others) across sectors.

The Index categorises states as ‘Front Runner’, ‘Achiever’, ‘Contender’ and ‘Aspirant’ based on their efforts and achievements towards energy efficiency implementation.

There isn’t any ‘front runner’ state this year.

The index has developed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in association with the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE).

The objective behind releasing this Index is to help states in contributing towards national goals on energy security and climate action by:

1. Helping drive energy efficiency policies and program implementation at the state and local level.
2. Tracking progress in managing the states’ and India’s energy footprint.
3. Institutionalising data capture and monitoring of energy efficiency activities by states.

Performance of various states:

• Karnataka, HP, Haryana and Puducherry were the best performers.
• Manipur, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir were the least performers.

Solution: D

NIRF Ranking 2020 released

What is NIRF?

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) has been accepted by the MHRD and launched on 29th September 2015.  It is used for ranking institutions of higher education in different categories and domains of knowledge.

Parameters used for ranking institutions:

1. Teaching, Learning and Resources.
2. Research and Professional Practices.
3. Graduation Outcomes.
4. Outreach and Inclusivity.
5. Peer Perception.

Why is NIRF used?

1. It encourages institutes to compete against each other and simultaneously work towards their growth.
2. These rankings also attract foreign students, providing a solid base for the ‘Study in India’ programme for the growth of higher education in India.
3. It is also one of the criteria for private institutions assessment for the Institutions of Eminence (IoE) Scheme.

What changes have been made in this edition?

This is the fifth consecutive edition of these rankings.

This year ‘Dental’ category has been introduced for the first time bringing the total tally to 10 categories/subject domains.

Why Indian institutions do not fare well in International rankings like QS World university rankings?

In international rankings, Indian institutions struggle on the “internationalisation” parameter in global rankings. It is due to the high weightage given to the perception which is a subjective parameter.

Whereas, in NIRF, 90% of the parameters are completely objective and fact-based, while only 10% is based on the subjective parameter of perception by academic peers and employers.

Solution: C

The Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) was constituted on 26.10.2010 under the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007 vide Government of India Gazette Notification dated 26th October 2010. The Act provides for the establishment of the WDRA to exercise the powers conferred on it and to perform the functions assigned to it under the Act, Rules and Regulations for the development and regulation of warehouses, negotiability of warehouse receipts and promote orderly growth of the warehousing business in the country.

The WDRA is a Statutory Authority under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India. The Authority has its Headquarters in New Delhi.

Solution: D

Context: NITI Aayog with Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner has released the India Innovation Index (III) 2019.

Key findings:

1. Karnataka is the most innovative major state in India.
2. Others in top 10: Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Haryana, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh.
3. The top ten major states are majorly concentrated in southern and western India.
4. Sikkim and Delhi take the top spots among the north- eastern & hill states, and union territories/city states/small states respectively.
5. Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh are the most efficient states in translating inputs into output.

 About the index:

The index attempts to create an extensive framework for the continual evaluation of the innovation environment of 29 states and seven union territories in India and intends to perform the following three functions:

1. Ranking of states and UTs based on their index scores.
2. Recognizing opportunities and challenges.
3. Assisting in tailoring governmental policies to foster innovation.

Solution: C

With two top trading countries i.e. USA and United Arab Emirates, India has consistently run trade surplus since 2014-15. On the other hand, India has trade deficit continuously since 2014-15 with respect to other major trading partners i.e. China PRP, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Germany, Korea RP, Indonesia and Switzerland. India had trade surplus with Hong Kong and Singapore till 2017-18, before it changed to trade deficit in 2018-19.

Solution: B

Law commission of India

Context: The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of the 22nd Law Commission, which advises the government on complex legal issues.

• The term of the previous law panel had ended in August last year.
• With the cabinet approval, the law ministry will now notify the new panel, which will have a term of three years.

Composition:

1. Apart from having a full-time chairperson, the commission will have four full-time members, including a member-secretary.
2. Law and Legislative Secretaries in the Law Ministry will be the ex-officio members of the commission.
3. It will also have not more than five part-time members.
4. A retired Supreme Court judge or Chief Justice of a High Court will head the Commission.

Roles and functions:

1. The Law Commission shall, on a reference made to it by the Central Government or suo motu, undertake research in law and review of existing laws in India for making reforms and enacting new legislation.
2. It shall also undertake studies and research for bringing reforms in the justice delivery systems for elimination of delay in procedures, speedy disposal of cases, reduction in cost of litigation, etc.

About the law commission of India:

It is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India.

• Originally formed in 1955, the commission is reconstituted every three years and so far, 277 reports have been submitted to the government.
• The last Law Commission, under Justice B.S. Chauhan (retd.), had submitted reports and working papers on key issues such as simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies and a uniform civil code.

Prior to independence, the First Law Commission was established in 1834 by the British Government under the Chairmanship of Lord Macaulay.

Solution: A

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority

Background:

The NPPA currently fixes price of drugs on the National List of Essential Medicines under schedule-I of DPCO. So far, around 1,000 drugs have been price-capped through this mode.

The trade margin rationalisation has been rolled out as proof of concept, stressing on the new paradigm of self-regulation by the industry.

What is the “Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO)” ?

The Drugs Prices Control Order, 1995 is an order issued by the Government of India under Sec. 3 of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to regulate the prices of drugs.

The Order interalia provides the list of price controlled drugs, procedures for fixation of prices of drugs, method of implementation of prices fixed by Govt., penalties for contravention of provisions etc.

For the purpose of implementing provisions of DPCO, powers of Govt. have been vested in NPPA. Later, the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO) 2013 was notified.

Why the DPCO is issued under Essential Commodities (EC) Act ?

Drugs are essential for health of the society. Drugs have been declared as Essential and accordingly put under the Essential Commodities Act.

Are all the drugs marketed in the country under price control ?

No. The National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) 2011 is adopted as the primary basis for determining essentiality, which constitutes the list of scheduled medicines for the purpose of price control. The DPCO 2013 contains 680 scheduled drug formulations spread across 27 therapeutic groups. However, the prices of other drugs can be regulated, if warranted in public interest.

What is NPPA and its role ?

• National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), was established on 29th August 1997 as an independent body of experts as per the decision taken by the Cabinet committee in September 1994 while reviewing Drug Policy.
• The Authority, interalia, has been entrusted with the task of fixation/revision of prices of pharmaceutical products (bulk drugs and formulations), enforcement of provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order and monitoring of the prices of controlled and decontrolled drugs in the country.

Solution: B

Parts or the whole of four Northeastern States – Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura – fall under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which makes special provisions for “tribal areas”.

Solution: D

National Testing Agency

About NTA:

In pursuance of the Budget Announcement 2017-18, the Union Cabinet, in November 2017, approved creation of the National Testing Agency (NTA) as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the country.

Constitution:

• NTA will be chaired by an eminent educationist appointed by MHRD (Ministry of Education).
• The CEO will be the Director General to be appointed by the Government.
• There will be a Board of Governors comprising members from user institutions.
• The Director General will be assisted by 9 verticals headed by academicians/ experts.

Finances:

NTA will be given a one-time grant of Rs.25 crore from the Government of India to start its operation in the first year. Thereafter, it will be financially self-sustainable.

Solution: D

All of them are covered under Employees’ State Insurance Scheme’

https://www.india.gov.in/spotlight/employees-state-insurance-scheme

Solution: C

Nehru Yuva Kendras were established in the year 1972 with the objective of providing rural youth avenues to take part in the process of nation building as well providing opportunities for the development of their personality and skills.

In the year 1987-88, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan(NYKS) was set up as an autonomous organization under the Government of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, to oversee working of these Kendras. NYKS is the largest grassroots level youth organization; one of its kind in the world. It channelizes the power of youth on the principles of voluntarism, self-help and community participation.

Over the years, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan has established a network of youth clubs in villages, where Nehru Yuva Kendras have been set up. NYKS has targeted to identify areas of harnessing youth power for development by forming Youth Clubs, which are village level voluntary action groups of youth at the grassroots level to involve them in nation building activities. The core strength of NYKS lies in its network of youth clubs. Youth Clubs are village based organizations working for community development and youth
empowerment.

The basic objective for creation of youth clubs is to render community support through developmental initiatives involving activities with particular focus on youth empowerment. The implementation of programmes and activities of youth clubs is based on local needs and requirements by mobilizing resources from various government departments and other agencies, which include both national, State level and multilateral institutions. The youth clubs and its member volunteers form the base of the NYKS’s vast national rural network.

Solution: A

The Advertising Standards Council of India

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a self-regulatory organisation which was established in the year 1985 for the regulation of the Advertising industry and to safeguard the interests of the consumers. The ASCI was the formed with the concerted efforts of the four main sectors of the advertising industry viz. Advertisers, Advertising Agencies, the Media (which includes the Broadcasters and the Press) and other associated organisations such as PR Agencies, Market Research Companies etc. The ASCI is registered as a ‘Not-for-Profit Company’ under Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act of 1956.

The organization has a Board of Governors which consists of 16 members who represent Advertisers, Agencies, Media and other individual firms. It also has a Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), which has 21 members out of which 12 members are eminent personalities from various fields such as Engineering, Legal, Medical, Human Resource and Consumer Interest Groups and the rest 9 members are from the Advertising industry.

Solution: D

Gujarat shares longest (mainland) coastline in India. The entire length of India’s coastline is 7516.6 kilometres. The length of Gujarat coastline is 1214.7 kilometres

Solution: B

Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)

About BNHS:

The Bombay Natural History Society, founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research.

BNHS is the partner of BirdLife International in India. It has been designated as a ‘Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’ by the Department of Science and Technology.

Logo: The BNHS logo is the great hornbill.

Internet of Birds: IT consultancy firm Accenture and the Bombay Natural History Society have developed Internet of Birds platform that identifies bird species found in India using Artificial Intelligence technology, including machine learning and computer vision, from digital photos that are uploaded by the public.

Solution: B

NASA has launched a SnowEx seasonal campaign, it focuses on airborne campaigns and field work, and on comparing the various sensing technologies, from the mature to the more experimental, in globally-representative types of snow.

It aims to address the most important gaps in snow remote sensing knowledge and thus lay the groundwork for a future snow satellite mission. It is a five year program.

Solution: D

Border Roads Organization (BRO) celebrated its Raising Day on 07 May 2019.

About BRO:

• Functioning under the control of the Ministry of Defence since 2015, the BRO is engaged in road construction to provide connectivity to difficult and inaccessible regions in the border areas of the country.
• It is staffed by officers and troops drawn from the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Army Service Corps, Military Police and army personnel on extra regimental employment.
• Engineering Service and personnel from the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) form the parent cadre of the Border Roads Organization.
• Currently, the organisation maintains operations in twenty-one states, one UT (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), and neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
• The BRO operates and maintains over 32,885 kilometres of roads and about 12,200 meters of permanent bridges in the country.

Significance of BRO:

• The Border Roads Organization has played a very important role in both maintenance of security and in the development of border areas. Most of the development in the North Eastern states of India can be attributed to the relentless work done by the BRO. Socio economic development in the most inaccessible nooks and corners of our country are a result of the infrastructural work undertaken by the BRO.
• Apart from its work in India, the BRO has undertaken work in numerous countries thus having contributed immensely towards maintaining friendly and diplomatic relations. The highly-skilled BRO personnel undertook and successfully completed construction of the Delaram-Zaranj Highway in Afghanistan in 2008. The Farkhor and Ayni air bases of Tajikistan were also restored and repaired by the BRO.
• The BRO works in close association with the Indian Army in cases of natural disasters. It is the brave men of the BRO who were responsible for much of the reconstruction work undertaken as a result of the 2004 Tsunami in Tamil Nadu, the 2010 Ladakh flash floods and even during the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Floods.

Solution: A

The CBI is the main investigating agency of the Central Government.

The establishment of the CBI was recommended by the Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962-1964). It is not a statutory body.

It derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.

The Central Bureau of Investigation traces its origin to the Special Police Establishment (SPE) which was set up in 1941 by the Government of India. The functions of the SPE then were to investigate cases of bribery and corruption in transactions with the War & Supply Deptt. Of India during World War II. Superintendence of the S.P.E. was vested with the War Department. Even after the end of the War, the need for a Central Government agency to investigate cases of bribery and corruption by Central Government employees was felt. The Delhi Special Police Establishment Act was therefore brought into force in 1946. This Act transferred the superintendence of the SPE to the Home Department and its functions were enlarged to cover all departments of the Govt. of India. The jurisdiction of the SPE extended to all the Union Territories and could be extended also to the States with the consent of the State Government concerned.

The DSPE acquired its popular current name, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), through a Home Ministry resolution dated 1.4.1963. Initially the offences that were notified by the Central Government related only to corruption by Central Govt. servants. In due course, with the setting up of a large number of public sector undertakings, the employees of these undertakings were also brought under CBI purview. Similarly, with the nationalisation of the banks in 1969, the Public Sector Banks and their employees also came within the ambit of the CBI.

Solution: B

Indian Space Research Organization has inked a pact with Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) to pave the way for collaboration in establishing optical telescope facilities under Project ‘NETRA’ for tracking space objects. Under the project, the ISRO plans to put up many observational facilities: connected radars, telescopes; data processing units and a control centre.

Solution: C

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for coordinating agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture.

 The Union Minister of Agriculture serves as its president.

Solution: C

Antarctic Oscillation:

• • The Antarctic oscillation (AAO) is a low-frequency mode of atmospheric variability of the southern hemisphere.
  • It is also known as the Southern Annular Mode (SAM).
  • It is defined as a belt of westerly winds or low pressure surrounding Antarctica which moves north or south as its mode of variability.
  • In its positive phase, the westerly wind belt that drives the Antarctic Circumpolar Current intensifies and contracts towards Antarctica, while its negative phase involves this belt moving towards the Equator.
  • Effects: Winds associated with the Southern Annular Mode cause oceanic upwelling of warm circumpolar deep water along the Antarctic continental shelf, which has been linked to ice shelf basal melt, representing a possible wind-driven mechanism that could destabilize large portions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Solution: A

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for constitution of Development and Welfare Board for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Communities (DNCs).

The Government in July 2014 had constituted National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) for a period of three years to prepare a State-wise list of castes belonging to Denotified and Nomadic Tribes and to suggest appropriate measures in respect of Denotified and Nomadic Tribes that may be undertaken by the Central Government or the State Government.

The Commission recommended for the setting of up a Permanent Commission for these communities. Since most of the DNTs are covered in SC, ST or OBC, constitution of a Permanent Commission will not be very effective in implementing development programmes, rather it will look at grievance redressal and will therefore be in conflict with mandate of existing commissions for SCs (National Commission for Scheduled Castes)., STs (National Commission for Scheduled Tribes) and OBCs (National Commission for Backward Classes). The Government has therefore decided to set up a Development and Welfare Board under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 under the aegis of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the purpose of implementing development and welfare programmes for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Communities.

Solution: C

Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) is an autonomous body under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.

It is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and is primary task is the mainstreaming of new construction technologies.

Solution: B

It was launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Western Railway’s Mumbai Central Terminus has become India’s first Eat Right Station.

The movement aims to cut down salt/sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years. It also aims to engage and enable citizens to improve their health and well-being by making the right food choices.

Solution: C

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of the Central Government of India discusses, debates and is the final decision-making body on senior appointments in the national security apparatus ,defence policy and expenditure, and generally all matters of India’s national security. The CCS is chaired by the Prime Minister of India. The CCS consists of the following members:

Prime Minister

Minister of Home Affairs

Minister of Defence

Minister of External Affairs

Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/cabinet-committee-on-security-meet-to-focus-on-india-china-standoff/videoshow/77995301.cms

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.