DAY – 13 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 13)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2021

Solution: B

Shankardev was born in Assam, and was a very famous playwright, poet, saint and scholar. He was famous introducing and reforming various cultural art forms like Ankia Nat, Bhaona, Borgeet, Sattriya dance. He was the one who popularized Vaishnavism in Assam. He started the Ekasarana movement (Neo-Vaishnavite movement).

His most famous work is “Kirtana Ghosha”, written in a simple language understood by the masses. He wrote in Assamese and Brajavali.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave the Achintaya Bheda-Abheda philosophy.

Solution: B

The National Education Policy 2020 aims to pave way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems in the country.  This policy will replace the 34 your old National Policy on Education (NPE),1986.

H i g h l i g h t s

School Education 

• New Policy aims for universalization of education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030.
• NEP 2020 will bring 2 crore out of school children back into the main stream through open schooling system.
• The current 10+2 system to be replaced by a new 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively. This will bring the hitherto uncovered age group of 3-6 years under school curriculum, which has been recognized globally as the crucial stage for development of mental faculties of a child. The new system will have 12 years of schooling with three years of Anganwadi/ pre schooling.
• Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools ; Vocational Education to start  from Class 6 with Internships
• Teaching up to at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/ regional language. No language will be imposed on any student.
• Assessment reforms with 360 degree Holistic Progress Card, tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning Outcomes
• A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, NCFTE 2021, will be formulated by the NCTE in consultation with NCERT.   By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree .

Higher Education

• Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised to 50 % by 2035 ;  3.5 crore seats to be added in higher education.
• The policy envisages broad based, multi-disciplinary, holistic Under Graduate  education with flexible curricula, creative combinations of subjects, integration of vocational education and  multiple entry and exit points with appropriate certification. UG education can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period.
• Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate  Transfer of Credits
• Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), at par with IITs, IIMs, to  be set up as models  of best multidisciplinary education of global standards in the country.
• The National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture and building research capacity across higher education.
• Higher Education Commission of India(HECI) will be set up as a single overarching umbrella body the for entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education. HECI to have  four independent verticals  – National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for regulation, General Education Council (GEC ) for standard setting, Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) for funding,  and National Accreditation Council( NAC) for accreditation. Public and private higher education institutions will be governed by the same set of norms for regulation, accreditation and academic standards.
• Affiliation of colleges is to be phased out in 15 years and a stage-wise mechanism is to be established for granting graded autonomy to colleges. Over a period of time, it is envisaged that every college would develop into either an Autonomous degree-granting College, or a constituent college of a university.

Others

• An autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration.
• NEP 2020 emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups
• New Policy promotes Multilingualism in both schools and higher education. National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit , Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up
• The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1642061

Solution: A

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World is an annual flagship report jointly prepared by:

1. Food and Agriculture Organization.
2. International Fund for Agricultural Development.
3. United Nations Children’s Fund.
4. World Food Programme.
5. World Health Organization.

Objective of the report: To inform on progress towards ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition and to provide in depth analysis on key challenges for achieving this goal in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Context:

The latest edition (SOFI 2020) was released on July 13^th.

1. A new feature of SOFI 2020 is a detailed analysis of the “cost and affordability of healthy diets around the world”.

India-specific observations:

1. Hundreds of millions of people in India above the international poverty line of $1.90 purchasing power parity (PPP) per person per day cannot afford a healthy or nutritious diet.
2. This analysis confirms the fact that the problem of poor nutrition in India is largely on account of the unaffordability of good diets, and not on account of lack of information on nutrition or tastes or cultural preferences.
3. Those we officially count as poor in India – with a cut-off that is lower than the international norm of $1.9 a day – cannot afford a nutrient-adequate diet let alone a healthy diet.
4. Overall, the report estimates that 18% of South Asians (numbering 586 million people) cannot afford the nutrient-adequate diet and 58% of South Asians (1,337 million people) cannot afford the healthy diet.

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/07/28/the-state-of-food-security-and-nutrition-in-the-world-2020-sofi-2020/

Solution: D

The government released a good governance index to assess the state of governance in the country. States and Union Territories were divided into three groups. They were measured on 50 indicators in 10 sectors of governance. Tamil Nadu emerged on top of the Index among 18 big states in the country. In the north-east and hill category, Himachal Pradesh topped the ranking, Puducherry stood first among union territories

Source: RSTV: IN DEPTH- GOVERNANCE INDEX

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/08/20/rstv-in-depth-governance-index-2/

Solution: C

Government of India has offered assistance for road development projects to build physical connectivity with Myanmar.

These include:

• upgradation of the Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyoa road (about 160 kms) in Myanmar across the border from Manipur;
• Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project which envisages development of road and inland waterways from Sittwe port in Myanmar to Mizoram;
• upgradation of Rhi-Tiddim Road (about 60 kms) in Myanmar adjoining Mizoram; and
• some segments of Trilateral Highway Project (about 1360 kms) connecting Moreh (Manipur, India) to Mae Sot (Thailand) through Myanmar.

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/08/24/rstv-the-big-picture-indias-act-east-policy-2/

Solution: B

The Barakah nuclear power plant is the United Arab Emirates’s first nuclear power station, the first nuclear power station in the Arabian Peninsula, and the first commercial nuclear power station in the Arab World.

Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung, located in the North Sumatra province, erupted recently.

India and Maldives on Sunday signed 5 MoUs for establishing the Addu Tourism zone in five islands of Addu atoll at a cost of 2.49 million USD.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-mount-sinabungs-recent-volcanic-eruption-why-it-happened-and-who-are-at-risk-7306952/

http://ddnews.gov.in/national/india-maldives-sign-5-mous-establishing-addu-tourism-zone

Solution: A

The Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, known in short as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, was adopted by the International Labour Organization in 1999 as ILO Convention No 182. It is one of eight ILO fundamental conventions.

Solution: D

What is the Bhadbhut project?

It is planned to be a 1.7-km causeway-cum-weir barrage with 90 gates, across the river Narmada, 5 km from Bhadbhut village, and 25 km from the mouth of the river, where it flows into the Gulf of Khambhat. The barrage will stop most of the excess water flowing out of the Sardar Sarovar Dam from reaching the sea and thus create a “sweet water lake” of 600 mcm (million cubic metres) on the river.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/barrage-across-narmada-promise-of-sweet-water-worries-about-hilsa-6558972/

Solution: D

A Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire-purchase, insurance business, chit business but does not include any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity, industrial activity, purchase or sale of any goods (other than securities) or providing any services and sale/purchase/construction of immovable property.

NBFCs are doing functions similar to banks. What is difference between banks & NBFCs?

NBFCs lend and make investments and hence their activities are akin to that of banks; however there are a few differences as given below:

1. NBFC cannot accept demand deposits;
2. NBFCs do not form part of the payment and settlement system and cannot issue cheques drawn on itself;

iii. deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available to depositors of NBFCs, unlike in case of banks.

https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/FAQView.aspx?Id=92

Solution: D

Criteria to give status of Special Category States are:

1. The state which is facing the problem of resources crunch
2. Low per capita income
3. Non-viable nature of state finances
4. Economic and infrastructural backwardness
5. Presence of sizeable tribal population
6. Hilly and difficult terrain
7. Strategic location along international borders
8. Low population density

Currently 11 states have Special Status, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Solution: D

The National Institution for Transforming India, also called NITI Aayog, was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015. NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs.

While designing strategic and long term policies and programmes for the Government of India, NITI Aayog also provides relevant technical advice to the Centre and States.

Functions of NITI Ayog

• To evolve a shared vision of national development priorities sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States in the light of national objectives
• To foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the States on a continuous basis, recognizing that strong States make a strong nation.
• To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government
• To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy
• To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefiting adequately from economic progress.
• To design strategic and long term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and monitor their progress and their efficacy. The lessons learnt through monitoring and feedback will be used for making innovative improvements, including necessary mid-course corrections
• To provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and international like-minded Think tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions.
• To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and other partners.
• To offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter­ departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.
• To maintain a state-of-the-art Resource Centre, be a repository of research on good governance and best practices in sustainable and equitable development as well as help their dissemination to stake-holders
• To actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and initiatives, including the identification of the needed resources so as to strengthen the probability of success and scope of delivery
• To focus on technology upgradation and capacity building for implementation of programmes and initiatives.
• To undertake other activities as may be necessary in order to further the execution of the national development agenda, and the objectives mentioned above

Solution: B

The Sanchi Stupa is one of India’s primary Buddhist sites and contains some of the oldest stone structures in the country. It took seven years of dedicated excavation and restoration by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).  

Stupas are semi-spherical domes with square bases that contain small receptacles for relics. There is generally a path for circumambulation around the outer structure of the stupa. They were initially built outside monasteries by pilgrims. Sanchi is regarded as one of the first monastic stupas.

Buddha never visited Sanchi. Neither did foreign travellers like Hiuen Tsang, who extensively documented the holy Buddhist circuit in India, but did not mention Sanchi in his writings.  Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

https://indianexpress.com/article/parenting/events-things-to-do/know-your-monument-sanchi-stupas-contribution-to-indian-architecture-5862460/

Solution: B

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy Rates for P&K Fertilizers for the year 2019-20. The NBS Scheme for fertilizer was initiated in the year 2010 and is being implemented by the Department of Fertilizers.

Under the scheme, a fixed amount of subsidy, decided on an annual basis, is provided on each grade of subsidised phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers, except for urea, based on the nutrient content present in them.

In India, urea is the only controlled fertilizer and is sold at a statutory notified uniform sale price.

Solution: C

IEA is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis.

India is not a member country of International Energy Agency.

The annual World Energy Outlook is the International Energy Agency’s flagship publication, widely recognised as the most authoritative source for global energy projections and analysis. It represents the leading source for medium to long-term energy market projections, extensive statistics, analysis and advice for both governments and the energy business.

https://www.iea.org/weo/

Solution: B

Hunar Haats are organised by Ministry of Minority Affairs under USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) scheme. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

The USTTAD scheme aims at preserving & promoting the rich heritage of the traditional arts & crafts of the Minority communities.

Hunar Haats provide a platform to master artisans and craftsmen to display their rich heritage and skill, on the other hand these exhibitions bring both domestic and international markets to the artisans and craftsmen, empowering them with various resources. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

The National Minority Finance Development Corporation also supports them with financial aid/ loans etc. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/hunar-haat-to-be-held-in-jaipur-from-aug-24/1602759