DAY – 37 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 37)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2021

Solution: A

Advantage of aeroponics over hydroponics

• Aeroponics can limit disease transmission since plant-to-plant contact is reduced.
• The enhanced oxygen availability at the root zone leaves disease-causing pathogens dormant.
• Improves uptake of minerals by plants and development of healthy root systems.
• Helps in faster and better growth of plants with a plentiful supply of oxygen, water and nutrients.
• Plants in a true aeroponic conditions have 100% access to the CO2 concentrations for photosynthesis.
• This leads to a multi-fold increase in plant metabolism, which in turn results in a vast increase in production.
• Any species of plants can be grown in a true aeroponic system because the microenvironment of an aeroponic can be finely controlled.
• Aeroponically grown plants have high dry weight biomass (essential minerals).
• According to NASA, aeroponically grown plants require ¼ the nutrient input compared to hydroponics.

Unlike hydroponically grown plants, aeroponically grown plants will not suffer transplant shock when transplanted to soil

Solution: D

The System of Rice Intensification involves cultivating rice with as much organic manure as possible, starting with young seedlings planted singly at wider spacing in a square pattern; and with intermittent irrigation that keeps the soil moist but not inundated, and frequent inter cultivation with weeder that actively aerates the soil.

SRI is not a standardized, fixed technological method. It is rather a set of ideas, a methodology for comprehensively managing and conserving resources by changing the way that land, seeds, water, nutrients, and human labour are used to increase productivity from a small but well-tended number of seeds. As Father de Laulanié observed, SRI is an amalgamation of multiple beneficial practices.

Paddy Cultivation: Some Myths

Everybody believes that rice is an aquatic plant and grows best in standing water. Rice is not an aquatic plant; it can survive in water but does not thrive under reduced oxygen (hypoxic) levels. Rice plants spend lot of its energy to develop air pockets (aerenchyma tissue) in its roots under continuous inundation. Nearly 70% of rice root tips get degenerated by flowering period.

SRI: Debunking myths

Under SRI paddy fields are not flooded but kept moist during vegetative phase. Later only one inch water is maintained. SRI requires only about half as much water as normally applied in irrigated rice. Over 1,00,000 farmers are experimenting with this system worldwide at present.

SRI Paddy Cultivation requires less water, involves less expenditure and gives more yields. Thus it is beneficial for small and marginal farmers.SRI was first developed in Madagascar during 1980’s. Its potential is under testing in China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. In Andhra Pradesh. SRI was experimented in all the 22 districts during 2003 Kharif with encouraging results.

SRI Technology Uses Less External Inputs

In SRI paddy cultivation, less quantity of seeds – 2 kg / acre is required. Hence fewer plants per unit area (25 x 25 cm) whereas in mainstream chemical intensive paddy cultivation requires 20 kg seed per acre. (1 acre= apprx 0.4 ha).

SRI is initially labour intensive

• Needs 50% more man-days for transplanting and weeding.
• Mobilises labour to work for profit.
• It offers an alternative to the resource poor, who put in their family labour.
• Once the right skills are learnt and implemented, the labour costs will be lesser.

SRI encourages rice plant to grow healthy with

• Large root volume
• Profuse and strong tillers – Maximum tillering (30 tillers/plant can be easily achieved; 50 tillers per plant are quite attainable) occurs concurrently with panicle initiation. Under excellent management even 100 fertile tillers per plant or even more can be achieved due to early transplanting and absence of die back of roots.
• Non lodging
• Big panicles
• More and well filled grain panicles and higher grain weight
• Resists insects because it allows rice to absorb soil nutrients naturally

Solution: A

Indigenous technologies practiced by farmers

  Application of buttermilk @ 5 lit./40 Kg seed of pulses viz. lentil, arhar, chickpea to protect the crop from wilt disease in district Chitrakoot.

  Farmers of district Shahjahanpur, broadcast 8 kg common salt to protect the paddy crop from blight disease.

  In districts Allahabad, Saharnapur, Siddharthnagar and Gonda, dry neem leaves and kanja leaves are used by the farmers to store the grain like wheat, rice etc.

  Mixed cropping of arhar & jowar to protect the arhar from wilt disease in district Gonda.

  Planting of marigold after 8-10 lines of tomato or chilli to protect the crop from mosaic and nematode in Gonda

  The farmers practice putting of twigs in field crops for sitting of owl to control the rats in Sultanpur district.

  Mixed cropping like arhar + urd + til + bajra is practiced in Varanasi and Mirzapur district to protect the crop from wilt.

  Spreading of cooked rice in field crop attract the birds who eat hairy catter pillar also. (Varanasi).

  The farmers of Ghaziabad to control the aphids spray water in mustard crop.

  Ash dusting is practiced in Zaid vegetables to control the red beetle in most districts of UP.

  Cutting of upper portion of leaves before transplanting of paddy to prevent the attack of stem borer in district Bijnour and Ghaziabad.

Solution: D

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax (or consumption tax) used in India on the supply of goods and services. It is a comprehensive, multistage, destination-based tax: comprehensive because it has subsumed almost all the indirect taxes except a few state taxes. Multi-staged as it is, the GST is imposed at every step in the production process, but is meant to be refunded to all parties in the various stages of production other than the final consumer and as a destination-based tax, it is collected from point of consumption and not point of origin like previous taxes.

Goods and services are divided into five different tax slabs for collection of tax – 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. However, petroleum products, alcoholic drinks, and electricity are not taxed under GST and instead are taxed separately by the individual state governments, as per the previous tax system.

Solution: A

State Election Commissions (SECs) conducts elections to Corporations, Municipalities and other Local Bodies.

Solution: D

All the pairs given above are matched correctly.

Solution: B

Debt Recovery Tribunals facilitates the debt recovery involving banks and other financial institutions with their customers. DRTs are established under Recovery of Debts due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act (RDBBFI), 1993.

It enforces provisions of the recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions (RDDBFI) Act, 1993 and also Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interests (SARFAESI) Act, 2002.

A Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) can hear cross suits, counter claims and allow set offs. It cannot hear claims of damages or deficiency of services or breach of contract or criminal negligence on the part of the lenders.

However, it cannot hear claims of damages or deficiency of services or breach of contract or criminal negligence on the part of the lenders.

Solution: A
About International Energy Forum (IEF):

The International Energy Forum (IEF) aims to foster greater mutual understanding and awareness of common energy interests among its members.

The 72 Member Countries of the Forum are signatories to the IEF Charter, which outlines the framework of the global energy dialogue through this inter-governmental arrangement.

Covering all six continents and accounting for around 90% of global supply and demand for oil and gas, the IEF is unique in that it comprises not only consuming and producing countries of the International Energy Agency and OPEC, but also Transit States and major players outside of their memberships, including Argentina, China, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa.

Solution: C

About Survival International

We are Survival, the global movement for tribal peoples’ rights. We’re the only organization that champions tribal peoples around the world. We help them defend their lives, protect their lands and determine their own futures

Solution: D
The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is a multilateral export control regime. It is an informal and voluntary partnership among 35 countries to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying above 500 kg payload for more than 300 km.

It aims to limit the proliferation of missile and other unmanned delivery systems that could be used for chemical or nuclear attacks. India recently became the member of MTCR.

India is a member country of MTCR.

Solution: D
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.

This sub-regional organization came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. It constitutes seven Member States: five deriving from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.

Solution: A

Solution: C

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body
established in 1989 by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions.

The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

Solution: C

Nirbhaya Fund was created by the Ministry of Finance in 2013, dedicated for implementation of initiatives aimed at enhancing the safety and security for women in the country.

It is a non-lapsable corpus fund.

It is being administered by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.  Ministry of Women and Child Development is the nodal authority for appraising/recommending the proposals/schemes to be funded under fund.

Some of the schemes under the funds:

One Stop Centre Scheme, also known as “Sakhi Centres” aims at establishing centres to facilitate women affected by violence. Mahila Police Volunteers (MPVs) will act as a link between police and community and help women in distress.

Solution: B

Padmavat is an epic poem written in 1540 by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi, who wrote it in the Hindustani language of Awadhi, and originally in
the Persian Nastaʿlīq script. It is the oldest extant text among the important works in Awadhi.

It relates an allegorical fictional story about the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji’s desire for the titular Padmavati, the Queen of Chittor. Alauddin Khalji and Padmavati’s husband Ratan Sen are historical figures, whereas Padmavati is a fictional character.