DAY – 62 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 62 )INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2021

Solution: D

Sedimentary cycles are the ones in which the reservoir is the Earth’s crust.

Sedimentary cycles include those of phosphorus, Sulphur, iron, calcium, and other more-earthbound elements.

Nitrogen cycle is a part of gaseous cycle.

Solution: D

OPEC:

• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a group of oil-producing nations that was first established in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1961.
• It is a permanent, intergovernmental organization, created at the Baghdad Conference in 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
• OPEC is one of the most powerful international organizations in the world and was a major player in the shift towards state control over natural resources.
• Headquarters of OPEC is located in Vienna, Austria

Membership:

• Majority OPEC Countries belong to Africa.  Africa has 7 countries while Asia has 5 countries as members of OPEC
• The OPEC Statute distinguishes between the Founder Members and Full Members – those countries whose applications for membership have been accepted by the Conference.
• The Statute stipulates that “any country with a substantial net export of crude petroleum, which has fundamentally similar interests to those of Member Countries, may become a Full Member of the Organization, if accepted by a majority of three-fourths of Full Members, including the concurring votes of all Founder Members.”
• The Statute further provides for Associate Members which are those countries that do not qualify for full membership, but are nevertheless admitted under such special conditions as may be prescribed by the Conference.
• Currently, the Organization has a total of 15 Member Countries. The current OPEC members are the following: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea,
• Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
• Indonesiais a former member, and Qatar will no longer be the member of OPEC starting on 1 January 2019.

 79.4% of the world’s proven oil reserves are located in OPEC Member Countries, with the bulk of OPEC oil reserves in the Middle East, amounting to 64.5% of the OPEC total.

Solution: C

NITI Forum for North East was constituted in February 2018, to identify various constraints in the way for accelerated, inclusive but sustainable economic growth in the North East Region of our country and also to recommend suitable interventions for addressing the identified constraints. It is the first ever Regional Forum constituted by NITI Aayog.

The Forum is co-chaired by the Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog and Minister of State for M/o Development of North Eastern Region. The North Eastern Council (NEC) works as the Secretariat of the Forum. It has representation from all the NE States and the concerned Central Ministries/Departments. Its members include eminent experts and representatives of reputed institutions of North East, like IIT Guwahati, IIM Shillong, NERIST, RIS, RFRI etc.

The agenda of the NE Forum includes strategies for improving rail, road and air connectivity, tapping the potentials of hydel resources in the region, development of agriculture and allied sectors, and promotion of tourism in the region.

New Industrial Policy for North Eastern States

To boost industrialization in NE States, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) was implementing North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIP), 2007. The policy ended on 31 March 2017.

A Committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of CEO, NITI Aayog to examine and suggest a roadmap for a new industrial policy for the North Eastern and the Himalayan States. The Committee finalized its recommendations after having consultations with the NE States and other stakeholders.

Based upon those recommendations, the DIPP prepared North East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS) 2017, with a projected outlay of INR 3,000 crore up to March 2020, which was approved by the Cabinet in March, 2018.  The NEIDS, 2017 has the provisions to incentivize new industrial units in both the manufacturing and the services sector. Two meetings of NEIDS has been held so far.

Solution: D

Lauriya Nandagarh

Rampurva Bull capital

Lomas Rishi Caves

Elephant, Dhauli

Solution: B

Unlike the question hour, the zero hour is not mentioned in the Rules of
Procedure. Thus it is an informal device available to the members of the
Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice. The zero hour starts
immediately after the question hour and lasts until the agenda for the day (ie, regular business of the House) is taken up. In other words, the time gap
between the question hour and the agenda is known as zero hour. It is an
Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures and has been in
existence since 1962.

Solution: C

National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board set up in August 1992, is responsible for promoting afforestation, tree planting, ecological restoration and eco-development activities in the country, with special attention to the degraded forest areas and lands adjoining the forest areas, national parks, sanctuaries and other protected areas as well as the ecologically fragile areas like the Western Himalayas, Aravallis, Western Ghats, etc.

The detailed role and functions of the NAEB are given below.

Evolve mechanisms for ecological restoration of degraded forest areas and adjoining lands through systematic planning and implementation, in a cost effective manner;

Restore through natural regeneration or appropriate intervention the forest cover in the country for ecological security and to meet the fuelwood, fodder and other needs of the rural communities;

Restore fuelwood, fodder, timber and other forest produce on the degraded forest and adjoining lands in order to meet the demands for these items;

Sponsor research and extension of research findings to disseminate new and proper technologies for the regeneration and development of degraded forest areas and adjoining lands;

Create general awareness and help foster people’s movement for promoting afforestation and eco-development with the assistance of voluntary agencies, non-government organisations, Panchayati Raj institutions and others and promote participatory and sustainable management of degraded forest areas and adjoining lands;

Coordinate and monitor the Action Plans for afforestation, tree planting, ecological restoration and eco-development and

Undertake all other measures necessary for promoting afforestation, tree planting, ecological restoration and eco-development activities in the country.

Solution: A

Future Investment Initiative (FII)

• It is an initiative of Saudi Arabia
• The Future Investment Initiative (FII) is widely described as “Davos in the desert”.
• The informal name derives from the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting that is held in Davos, Switzerland, where world leaders discuss agendas for pressing international issues.
• It seeks to diversify the Country’s economy and reduce its dependence on petroleum products.
• It is hosted by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund.
• The first event was in October 2017 and featured the announcements of the launch of NEOM, a proposed $500bn independent economic zone in the northwest of Saudi Arabia.
• The second event was in October 2018. The third event is being held on 29-31 October 2019.

Solution: C

Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI):

• It is an international and multi-stakeholder initiative to guide the responsible development and use of AI, grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth. (it will not regulate)
• This is also a first initiative of its type.
• GPAI will be supported by a Secretariat, to be hosted by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, as well as by two Centers of Expertise- one each in Montreal and Paris.
• The OECD will also be a Permanent Observer to the GPAI’s governing bodies.
• Recently, India joins Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) as a founding member to support the responsible and human-centric development and use of AI.

Founding members:

Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union.

Solution: C

The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by WWF, the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a “relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species dynamics, and environmental conditions”. So, for example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, and the North American Great Lakes get none.

The WWF assigns a conservation status to each ecoregion in the Global 200: critical or endangered; vulnerable; and relatively stable or intact. Over half of the ecoregions in the Global 200 are rated endangered.

Solution: A

Pyramid of Energy is always upright. Hence statement 3 is incorrect.

Pyramid of numbers

Pyramid of Biomass

Solution: B

Accessible India Campaign:

• Accessible India Campaign (AIC) is the nationwide flagship campaign of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Aim: The aim of the Campaign is to make a barrier free and conducive environment for Divyangjans all over the country. The campaign has the vision to build an inclusive society in which equal opportunities are provided for the growth and development of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) so that they can lead productive, safe and dignified lives.
• Implementation: For creating universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, the campaign has been divided into three verticals: Built Environment; Transport and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) ecosystem.

Targets:

• Completing accessibility audit of at least 25-50 most important government buildings in 50 cities and making them fully accessible by the end of this year.
• Making 50% of all the government buildings of NCT and all the State capitals fully accessible by December 2018.
• Completing accessibility audit of 50% of government buildings and making them fully accessible in 10 most important cities/towns of States not covered in targets (i) and (ii) by December 2019.

Accessible India Campaign is in line with the Article 9 of UNCRPD (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) to which India is a signatory since 2007.

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.

Solution: C

The Reserve Bank developed and strengthened various segments of the financial markets by broadening participation, easing access and transaction norms, improving financial market infrastructure and pursuing rigorous surveillance to maintain market integrity. Management of liquidity conditions, accordingly, became a dominant objective during the year.

The Reserve Bank used several unconventional instruments such as forex swaps, long-term repo, targeted long-term repo, short-term forex swaps and variable rate reverse repo. Several measures were undertaken during the year to streamline regulations relating to the foreign exchange markets to align them with the current business and economic environment.

The Reserve Bank introduced another unconventional liquidity management tool – Targeted Long-Term Repo Operations (TLTROs) under which liquidity availed by banks was to be deployed in investment grade corporate bonds, commercial paper and non-convertible debentures over and above the outstanding level of their investments in these bonds as on March 27, 2020. An amount of ₹1,00,050 crore was taken by the banks under TLTRO.

Furthermore, as a part of the revised liquidity management framework, two new instruments, Long-Term Variable Rate Repo (LTR) and Long-Term Variable Rate Reverse Repo (LTRR), with tenors of more than 14 days, were also announced.

FX swap auctions were actively used as an instrument to manage liquidity in the foreign exchange market in 2019-20. The first USD/INR sell/buy swap auction, amounting USD 2 billion for a period of 6 months, was conducted on March 16, 2020. The Reserve Bank also conducted another 6-month USD/INR sell/buy swap auction of amount USD 2 billion on March 23, 2020 to provide liquidity in the foreign exchange market.

Further, in May 2020, the Reserve Bank decided to extend a line of credit of ₹15,000 crore to the Export Import (EXIM) Bank for a period of 90 days from the date of availment with rollover up to a maximum period of one year so as to enable it to avail a US dollar swap facility to meet its foreign exchange requirements in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solution: C

Three Seas Initiative summit:

• The Three Seas Initiative(3SI) is a forum that brings together Twelve European Union member states between the Adriatic Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea.
• Members: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
• Aim: To promote economic growth, security and a stronger and more cohesive Europe.

Solution: D

A managed-exchange-rate system is a hybrid or mixture of the fixed and flexible exchange rate systems in which the government of the economy attempts to affect the exchange rate directly by buying or selling foreign currencies or indirectly, through monetary policy (i.e., by lowering or raising interest rates on foreign currency bank accounts, affecting foreign investment, etc.). Today, most of the economies have shifted to this system of exchange rate determination. Almost all countries tend to intervene when the markets become disorderly or the fundamentals of economics are challenged by the exchange rate of the time.

Solution: B
The Constitution of India (Article 148) provides for an independent office
of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). He is the head
of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department. He is the guardian of the
public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country at both the levels—the Centre and the state.

He holds office for a period of six years or upto the age of 65 years,
whichever is earlier. He can resign any time from his office by addressing the resignation letter to the president. He can also be removed by the president on same grounds and in the same manner as a judge of the Supreme Court. In other words, he can be removed by the president on the basis of a resolution passed to that effect by both the Houses of Parliament with special majority, either on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. Thus, he does not hold his office till the pleasure of the
president, though he is appointed by him.

CAG audits the accounts related to all expenditure from the Consolidated
Fund of India, consolidated fund of each state and consolidated fund of
each union territory having a Legislative Assembly. He audits all expenditure from the Contingency Fund of India and the Public Account of India as well as the contingency fund of each state and the public account of each state.

Solution: C

The Sultanganj Buddha is a Gupta-Pala transitional period sculpture, the largest substantially complete copper Buddha figure known from the time. The statue is dated by archaeologists to between 500 and 700 AD.

Solution: D

The chariot is actually a shrine dedicated to Garuda, built inside the Vittala Temple Complex.  The massive sculpture of Garuda, Lord Vishnu’s escort once was seated atop the chariot but it is empty at the present date. The Hampi Chariot has earned its name among the other three famous stone chariots in India- One in Konark, Odissa, and the other in Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu).

The chariot was built by King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire during the 16^th century, who got fascinated with the Konark Sun temple chariot while fighting a battle in Odisha. The chariot is meant to represent the beauty and artistic perfection of the Empire.

It has come to have a sacrosanct presence and is internationally recognized as a world heritage site even by the UNESCO.

Solution: C

FDI and FPI are a part of capital account and usually recurring expenditure in other countries and recurring income from other countries are part of current account.

Current Account Deficit meaning: CAD is the shortfall between the money flowing in on exports, and the money flowing out on imports.

Current Account Deficit meaning: Current Account Deficit or CAD is the shortfall between the money flowing in on exports, and the money flowing out on imports. Current Account Deficit (or Surplus) measures the gap between the money received into and sent out of the country on the trade of goods and services and also the transfer of money from domestically-owned factors of production abroad.

Solution: B

All the 108 poses of Bharata Natyam, the classical Indian dance are sculpted on the East Gopuram (Tower) of Chidambaram temple complex

Nataraja Temple, also referred to as the Chidambaram Nataraja temple or Thillai Nataraja temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Nataraja – Shiva as the lord of dance – in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The temple has mythical roots and a Shiva shrine existed at the site when the town was known as Thillai.

Solution: C

The United Nations Convention against Corruption is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument.

The Convention’s far-reaching approach and the mandatory character of many of its provisions make it a unique tool for developing a comprehensive response to a global problem.

The Convention covers five main areas: preventive measures, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange. The Convention covers many different forms of corruption, such as bribery, trading in influence, abuse of functions, and various acts of corruption in the private sector.

A highlight of the Convention is the inclusion of a specific chapter on asset recovery, aimed at returning assets to their rightful owners, including countries from which they had been taken illicitly. The vast majority of United Nations Member States are parties to the Convention.

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/

Solution: D

For constructing Maurya history, Greek sources are most important. They have
called Chandragupta as Sanrocotus or Andracotus. On its basis, we can say the Chandragupta was contemporary of Alexander( 356 B.C to 323 B.C.).

Ashoka born in 304 B.C.

We get vital information about water transport from Arthashastra. As per it, it was a focus area of Chandragupta’s period. There was an offi cer at each port to take care of ships and boats going in sea or rivers. All ships and boats were under control of state. Hermits and traders also paid tax.

Bindusar had many sons and daughters. Amongst them, Ashoka was brave and eligible. Mention of Ashoka’s two brothers Suseem and Vigatashok is found in Bauddha Granth Divyadan. Suseem was Ashoka’s step brother and Vigatashok was his younger and own brother.

Solution: A

Indian Coast Guard was constituted in 1977 with following charter of duties: (a) safety and protection of artificial islands, offshore terminals and installations; (b) protection to fishermen including assistance to them at sea while in distress; (c) preserve and protect maritime environment and to prevent and control marine pollution; (d) assisting Customs and other authorities in anti-smuggling operations; (e) safety of life and property at sea and collection of’ scientific data; (f) enforcing the provisions of various enactments in the maritime zones.

The Indian Coast Guard has also been given many additional responsibilities. The major among them are: (a) coastal security in territorial waters; (b) enforcement, monitoring and surveillance of deep sea fishing; (c) search and rescue for merchant ships; (d) marine oil-spill response measures; (e) lead intelligence agency for coastal and sea borders, etc.

Solution: A

Naqqar Khana or Naubat Khana is a term for a drum house or orchestra pit during ceremonies. The name literally means drum-house. They are a distinct sign of Mughal architecture and were constructed under areas their influence in India, Pakistan and nearby countries.

Solution: C

Jataka stories:

The Jātaka tales are a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. The future Buddha may appear as a king, an outcast, a god, an elephant—but, in whatever form, he exhibits some virtue that the tale thereby inculcates.

Avadānas

Avadāna is the name given to a type of Buddhist literature correlating past lives’ virtuous deeds to subsequent lives’ events.

Solution: A

Solution: D

Solution: B

Solution: C

R is the maternal grandmother of M.

Answer.D.

Reading of the passage indicates that I is incorrect and III is correct. The question is talking in general about the arguments against social media ban and not restricting itself specifically to India. Hence II is incorrect.