[MISSION 2022] INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 23 March 2022 ) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Chauth and sardeshmukhi were the taxes collected not in the Maratha kingdom but in the neighbouring territories of the Mughal empire or Deccan sultanates.

• Chauth was one fourth of the land revenue paid to the Marathas in order to avoid the Maratha raids.

• Sardeshmukhi was an additional levy of ten percent on those lands which the Marathas claimed hereditary rights.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/03/23/row-over-the-shivaji-statue-in-telanganas-bodhan-town/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S3: The commission submits its report to the President annually on the working of safeguards and measures required for effective implementation of Programmers/ Schemes relating to welfare and socio-economic development of STs.
• S2: Power of the Commission to act as a Civil Court
  • While investigating any matter referred to in sub-clause (a) or inquiring into specific complaints under sub-clause (b) of the clause (5) of Article 338(A) of the Constitution, the Commission shall have the powers of a Civil Court trying a suit and in particular in respect of the following matters:
    • Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath.
    • Requiring the discovery and production of any document.
    • Receiving evidence on affidavits.
    • Requisitioning of any public record or copy thereof from any court of office.
    • Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses the documents.
    • Any other matter which the President may, by rule, determine.
• S1: NCST was established by amending Article 338 and inserting a new Article 338A in the Constitution through the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/03/23/national-commission-for-scheduled-tribes-ncst-2/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S3: While the Secretary-General of the United Nations receives instruments of ratification and accession and the UN provides support for meetings of states party to the Convention, the United Nations Secretariat has no direct operational role in the implementation of the Convention.

• S1and S2: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982. It lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world’s oceans and seas establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/03/23/treaty-of-the-high-seas/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• S1: The Commission is the most powerful air pollution monitoring body set up by the Centre to date. The rulings by the commission on air pollution will override anything contained in any other law.
  • The powers of the commission will also supersede that of any other body in matters of air pollution. Therefore, in cases where conflict may arise between orders or directions issued by the other state governments, state pollution control boards or even the Central Pollution Control Board, the orders of the commission will prevail.
• S2: It will also be monitoring the measures taken by the states to prevent stubble burning.
• S3: The Commission will be headed by a full-time chairperson with experience of not less than 15 years in the field of environmental protection and pollution control or having administrative experience of not less than 25 years. 

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/03/23/national-mission-on-use-of-biomass-in-coal-based-thermal-power-plants-2/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Fly ash from coal-fired thermal power stations is an excellent potential raw material for the manufacture of construction material like blended cement, fly ash bricks, mosaic tiles and hollow blocks. It also has other, high volume applications and can be used for paving roads, building embankments, and mine fills.
• Fly ash contains trace concentrations of heavy metals and other substances that are known to be detrimental to health in sufficient quantities. Potentially toxic trace elements in coal include arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, barium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, radium, selenium, thorium, uranium, vanadium, and zinc.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/03/23/fly-ash-9/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• An Indian Army contingent has arrived in Seychelles for the ninth edition of the Joint Military Exercise Lamitiye 2022 between the Indian Army and Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF).
• Seychelles is an Archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, comprising about 115 islands.
• Lamitiye, which in Creole means friendship, is a biennial training event being conducted in Seychelles since 2001.
• The aim is to build and promote bilateral military relations in addition to exchanging skills, experiences and good practices between both armies.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/03/23/mission-2022-insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-23-march-2022/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Navroz is the new year celebrations for Parsis (Zoroastrians) and Muslims (both Shia and Sunni).
• It is celebrated on 21st March every year.
• In 1079 AD, a Persian (Iranian) king named Jalaluddin Malekshah introduced this festival to generate revenue and collect taxes from people.
• It was observed on March 21 to mark the beginning of spring and the day of equinox.
• It is inscribed in the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of India.
• In India it is known as Jamshed Navroz.

Refer: facts for prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/03/23/mission-2022-insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-23-march-2022/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Valmiki Tiger Reserve forms the eastern most limit of the Himalayan Terai forests in India, and is the only tiger reserve of Bihar.

Refer: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-and-biodiversity/border-forest-officials-seize-live-pangolins-deer-horns-on-bihar-nepal-border-81907

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• The Bengal tiger, Hoolock Gibbon and snow leopard will be greatly affected due to changing climate in south Asia, according to projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Sixth Assessment Report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, released February 28, 2022.
• “Under different scenarios, future climate change could reduce the extent of a suitable habitat for giant pandas, the moose, black muntjac, the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey in China, Persian leopard in Iran, Bengal tiger and four tree snail species in Thailand,” the report said

Refer: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-and-biodiversity/bengal-tiger-hoolock-gibbon-snow-leopard-to-face-climate-change-wrath-new-ipcc-report-81735

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Red Sanders (Red Sandalwood) has fallen back into the ‘endangered’ category in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. The species, Pterocarpus santalinus, is an Indian endemic tree species, with a restricted geographical range in the Eastern Ghats.

• The species is endemic to a distinct tract of forests in Andhra Pradesh.
• Red Sanders is known for their rich hue and therapeutic properties, are high in demand across Asia, particularly in China and Japan, for use in cosmetics and medicinal products as well as for making furniture, woodcraft and musical instruments.
• It is listed under Appendix II of CITES and is banned from international trade. The harvest of the tree is also restricted at the state level, but despite this illegal trade continues.

Refer: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-and-biodiversity/red-sanders-falls-back-in-iucn-s-endangered-category-81053