DAY – 52 (InstaTest-52): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2023: Topic – ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY and AGRICULTURE, Revision of Tests 33 & 34, September 2022 CA

Solution: B

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act:

Passed in 1967, the law aims at the effective prevention of unlawful activities, associations in India.

The Act assigns absolute power to the central government, by way of which if the Centre deems an activity as unlawful then it may, by way of an Official Gazette, declare it so.

• It has the death penalty and life imprisonment as the highest punishments.

Under UAPA, both Indian and foreign nationals can be charged.

• It will apply to the offenders in the same manner, even if a crime is committed in a foreign land, outside India.
• Under the UAPA, the investigating agency can file a charge sheet in a maximum of 180 days after the arrests and the duration can be extended further after intimating the court.

As per amendments of 2019:

• The Act empowers the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to approve the seizure or attachment of property when the case is investigated by the said agency.
• The Act empowers the officers of the NIA, of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate cases of terrorism in addition to those conducted by the DSP or ACP or above rank officer in the state.
• It also included the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist.

Solution: B

The Counter-Terrorism Committee of UNSC: It was established by Security Council resolution 1373 adopted unanimously in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. It aims at enhancing the legal and institutional ability of countries to counter terrorist activities at home and around the world.

Points for the consideration of the Counter Terror Committee by the External Affairs Minister:

• Effective and sustained efforts to counter terror-financing
• Collaboration: Normative efforts of the UN need to be coordinated with collaborations with fora like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
• International cooperation and concerted actions against terrorists and their sponsors including the dismantlement of terrorist safe havens, etc
• Break Terrorism’s nexus: As transnational organised crime like arms and illicit drug trafficking is now established”.
• UN Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism: India will be making a voluntary contribution of half a million dollars to the UN Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism this year.
  • UN Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism: It was established by the Secretary-General in 2009

Solution: D

Objectives of CTC:

• Financing: Taking steps to criminalize the financing of terrorism
• Freezing: any funds related to persons involved in acts of terrorism
• Deny all forms of financial support for terrorist groups
• Suppress the provision of safe haven, sustenance or support for terrorists
• Share information with other governments on any groups practising or planning terrorist acts.

Solution: D

What is the TReDS Platform?

TReDS is an institutional mechanism set up to facilitate the discounting of invoices for MSMEs from CPSE and corporate buyers through multiple financiers.

Why?

MSME receives orders but payment for the order is made only on delivery of the order. Meanwhile, they need capital to produce the order. Also, Delayed payments by the public (CPSEs) and private organizations result in a shortage of working capital for the MSMEs in their regular business operations. That’s where TReDs come in. Through this, MSMEs get instant short-term capital but at a discounted rate based on the invoices.

How does it work?

Invoice discounting is the working principle of TReDS. This involves three participants — MSME supplier, corporate/CPSE buyer, and financier. The process is as follows:

There are currently three TReDS based portals: RXIL (Receivables Exchange of India), M1Xchange, and Invoicemart.

Solution: A 

Glyphosate: It is a non-selective herbicide (kills both ally types of plants).  It is also used to regulate plant growth and ripen specific crops. It is banned in 28 countries, including Australia, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Sri Lanka, as it may be carcinogenic (as per a WHO study) and remains as a residue in the environment for up to 6 months.

Usage of glyphosate in India: It is widely used in plantation agriculture. It is also used to control weeds in afforestation activities and in areas along irrigation channels, Railway tracks etc. It may also be combined with BT cotton, leading to high usage in Deccan belts.

Solution: D

Solution: B

The FM’s call for industrial investment

What is the current scenario?

• Gross fixed capital formation is primarily driven by the public sector.
• The share of manufacturing in the country’s GDP, too, has remained stagnant at about 16-17% for decades now (as against the target of 25%).
• Demand in consumption is low ( below the pre-pandemic level) but is expected to pick up.
  • As per an online survey, there is high purchase intention for cars and two-wheelers, a diverging trend for property, and moderation for some consumer durables including computers/laptops, refrigerators, and ACs.
• Household savings intention remains high with 56% of respondents indicating they plan to increase their savings by year-end.

Thus there is greater optimism for economic rebounding and thus FM has called on industries to invest more to reap the benefits of a growing economy.

Solution: B

the Reserve Bank released the results of March 2023 round of its bi-monthly consumer confidence survey (CCS). The survey obtains current perceptions (vis-à-vis a year ago) and one year ahead expectations on general economic situation, employment scenario, overall price situation and own income and spending across 19 major cities. The latest round of the survey was conducted during March 2-11, 2023, covering 6,075 respondents. Female respondents accounted for 52.3 per cent of this sample.

Highlights:

• Consumer confidence continues to recover from the historic low recorded in mid-2021, though it remained in the pessimistic zone; the current situation index (CSI)²rose by 2.2 points on account of improved perception on general economic situation, employment, and household income.
• Households’ overall outlook for the year ahead remained in positive terrain despite marginally lower optimism
• With an uptick in current perception, the sentiments on employment are nearing the levels seen around mid-2019; consumers are also optimistic about the employment outlook as more than half of the respondents expect employment scenario to improve over the next one year
• Household assessment of inflation conditions improved for the current period reflecting more confidence on economic conditions; notwithstanding a marginal uptick in the latest round, inflationary expectations improved over their average level since September 2021.
• Household spending was buoyant on the back of higher essential and non-essential spending; more than a third of the households expect a rise in non-essential outlay over the next year

Solution: C

Solution: C

Namami Gange Programme:

• It is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as a ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in 2014 with a budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore to accomplish the twin objectives of
  • Effective abatement of pollution,
  • Conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
• Since 2014, the Centre had taken up 409 projects with a budget outlay of Rs 32,912.40 crore to clean up the river.

Pollution in the Ganga River:

• At least 71% of the river’s monitoring stations reported alarming levels of faecal coliform in January 2023.
• Faecal coliforms are a group of bacteria found in the gut and faeces of warm-blooded animals, which enters rivers through the discharge of untreated sewage.
• While Uttarakhand had permissible levels of faecal coliform [less than 2,500 most probable number (MPN) per 100 ml], numbers in three other states – UP, Bihar and West Bengal – are alarming.

Why does river Ganga still remain polluted?

• Untreated waste continues to be discharged in 60% of Ganga.
• While the five major states through which the river flows generated 10,139.3 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage, they had a combined sewage treatment capacity of only 40%.
• Uttarakhand is the only state with sufficient treatment capacity.

Solution: B

• Higher biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) at the majority of the stations.
  • BOD is a measure of the oxygen required by aerobic microorganisms to biochemically oxidise organic matter. It affects the amount of dissolved oxygen in rivers.
  • The higher the BOD, the lesser the oxygen available to aquatic life.
• Lax monitoring as the data collection and dissemination remains challenging.

Solution: A

What is CTRI?

The Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI) (est. 2007; maintained by ICMR (under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) a national clinical trial registry in India.

• It is mandatory to register for every trial at CTRI before commencing
• CTRI is a free online public record system for the registration of clinical trials (both public and private research) conducted in India.

Solution: C

Drug approval in India:

A pharmaceutical company in India must have DCGI approval for selling a new prescription drug. They can get DCGI approval once drug regulator CDSCO verifies the quality, safety, and efficacy of drugs including vaccines. Also, required is the approval from respective Ethics Committee where the study is planned and mandatory registration on the ICMR-maintained website

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (statutory body under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940) is India’s national regulatory body for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Solution: B

About Bihu

Solution: C

About Gond Painting

Solution: D

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations and the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security.

It is a member of the United Nations Development Group and part of its executive committee. It has headquarters in Rome and from more than 80 country offices around the world.

WFP works to help people who cannot produce or obtain enough food for themselves and their families.

The WFP was formally established in 1963 by the FAO and the United Nations General Assembly on a three-year experimental basis. In 1965, the programme was extended to a continuing basis.

The State of the World’s Forests published by Food and Agriculture organization and it reports on the status of forests, recent major policy and institutional developments and key issues concerning the forest sector.

Solution: B

Kharif crops, monsoon crops or autumn crops are domesticated plants like rice that are cultivated and harvested during monsoon season, which lasts from June to November depending on the area.

Rice, maize, bajra, ragi, soybean, groundnut, cotton are all Kharif crops.

Rabi crops or rabi harvest are agricultural crops that are sown in winter and harvested in the spring.

Wheat, barley, mustard and green peas are some of the major rabi crops that grow in India.

Solution: D

The Karakoram Pass is a 5,540 m or 18,176 ft mountain pass between India and China in the Karakoram Range. The Karakoram pass falls on the boundary between Indian territory of Ladakh and China’s Xinjiang autonomous region.

Kashmir Stag species doesn’t dominates the area of Karakoram pass region.

It is located around 400 km from Kargil

Solution: D

Kisan Credit Card Scheme:

• The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was announced in the Budget speech of 1998-99 to fulfil the financial requirements of the farmers at various stages of farming through institutional credit.
• The model scheme was prepared by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on the recommendation of V Gupta committee.
• The KCC scheme is being implemented by the all Co-operative banks, Regional Rural Banks and Public Sector Banks throughout the country.
• Scheme covers risk of KCC holders against death or permanent disability resulting from accidents.

Objectives:

• To provide adequate and timely credit support from the banking system to the farmers at the cheap rate of interest.
• To provide credit at the time of requirement.
• To support post-harvest expenses.
• To provide Working capital for maintenance of farm assets and activities allied to agriculture.
• Investment credit requirement for agriculture and allied activities (land development, pump sets, plantation, drip irrigation etc.)
• Consumption requirements of farmers.

Eligibility:

• All farmers – individuals/Joint cultivator owners
• Tenant farmers, oral lessees and share croppers etc.
• Self-help groups (SHGs) or Joint liability groups including tenant farmers.

Other Salient features of the Scheme:

• Revolving cash credit facility involving any number of drawals and repayments within the limit.
• Limit to be fixed on the basis of operational land holding, cropping pattern and scale of finance.
• Entire production credit needs for full year plus ancillary activities related to crop production to be considered while fixing limit.
• Card valid for 5 years subject to annual review. As incentive for good performance, credit limits could be enhanced to take care of increase in costs, change in cropping pattern, etc.
• Conversion/reschedulement of loans also permissible in case of damage to crops due to natural calamities.
• Operations may be through issuing branch (and also PACS in the case of Cooperative Banks) through other designated branches at the discretion of bank.
• Crop loans disbursed under KCC Scheme for notified crops are covered under Crop Insurance Scheme, to protect the interest of the farmer against loss of crop yield caused by natural calamities, pest attacks etc.

Solution: B

Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC)

• Non-Banking Financial Companies are financial institutions engaged in several non-banking businesses like hire purchase, leasing, microfinance, chit fund, gold loan etc.
• These entities are not allowed to offer financial products and services like banks.
• NBFC cannot accept demand deposits;
• According to the RBI, ‘A non-banking institution which is a company and has principal business of receiving deposits under any scheme or arrangement in one lump sum or in installments by way of contributions or in any other manner, is also a non-banking financial company (Residuary non-banking company).’
• NBFCs do not form part of the payment and settlement system and cannot issue cheques drawn on itself;
• NBFCs are defined under section 45 I (c) of the RBI Act, 1934.
• Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956.

Solution: D

Dharwar System

• Formation period ranges from 4 billion years ago to – 1 billion years ago.
• Highly metamorphosed sedimentary rock-system. [formed due to metamorphosis of sediments of Archaean gneisses and schists].
• They are the oldest metamorphosed rocks.
• Found in abundance in the Dharwar district of Karnataka.
• Economically the most important rocks because they possess valuable minerals like high-grade iron-ore, manganese, copper, lead, gold, etc.

Cuddapah System

• Named after the Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh, due to the large development of outcrops of cudappah rocks
• They were formed when sedimentary rocks like sandstone, limestone etc., and clay were deposited in synclinal folds (between two mountain ranges).
• Outcrops best observed in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh.
• These rocks contain ores of iron, manganese, copper, cobalt, nickel, etc.
• They contain large deposits of cement grade limestones.

Solution: D

Distribution of Natural Gas in India

• Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Khambhat, Bassein field, Bombay High, Barmer in Rajasthan, KG basin, Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Assam, Tripura, etc.
• India’s economically viable reserve of natural gas is 541 BCM (on-shore, Assam, and Gujarat), besides them 190 BCM offshore in Bay of Cambay and 190 BCM(billion cubic metres) in Bombay High.
• Recently a huge reserve of 400 BCM is reported in Tripura Basin. Besides them, 72 BCM is in the Rava structure and a huge reserve is reported around Andaman and Nicobar island.
• On the basis of remote sensing information, Andaman and Nicobar reserves are estimated to be around 1700 BCM. Its economic viability is yet to be established, that’s why production has not yet started. This reserve will solve the problem or need of India for 100 years. This may produce an economic revolution in eastern India.

Solution: B

Similipal Biosphere Reserve: Odisha

About:

• Similipal derives its name from ‘Simul’ (silk cotton) tree.
• It was formally designated a tiger reserve in 1956 and brought under Project Tiger in the year 1973.
• It was declared a biosphere reserve by the Government of India in June, 1994.
• It has been part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserve since 2009.
• It is part of the Similipal-Kuldiha-Hadgarh Elephant Reserve popularly known as Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve, which includes 3 protected areas i.e. Similipal Tiger Reserve, Hadagarh Wildlife sanctuary and Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary.

Location:

• It is situated in the northern part of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. Geographically, it lies in the eastern end of the eastern ghat.

Vegetation:

• Similipal has 1,076 flowering species and 96 species of orchids. It boasts of having tropical semi-evergreen forests, tropical moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous hill forests, high level sal forests and sprawling meadows.

Tribes:

• Two tribes, the Erenga Kharias and the Mankirdias, inhabit the reserve’s forests and practise traditional agricultural activities (the collection of seeds and timber).

Solution: B

Littoral and Swamp Forests

• They can survive and grow both in fresh as well as brackish water (The mixture of seawater and fresh water in estuaries is called brackish water and its salinity can range from 0.5 to 35 ppt).
• Occur in and around the deltas, estuaries and creeks prone to tidal influences (delta or tidal forests).
• Littoral (relating to or on the shore of the sea or a lake) forests occur at several places along the coast.
• Swamp forests are confined to the deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Cauvery.
• Dense mangroves occur all along the coastline in sheltered estuaries, tidal creeks, backwaters, salt marshes and mudflats. It provides useful fuel wood.
• The most pronounced and the densest is the Sunderban in the Ganga delta where the predominant species is Sundri (Heriteera).

Solution: D

Ans. A.

The passage focusses on explaining that truth is relative and each perspective provides an incomplete picture as it is a victim of our biases. A captures the inference of the passage most accurately and critically.

Ans. D.

The passage explains about the self harm principle which Mill talks about to bring some sense to what would govern reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech. Hence option D is the most logical and accurate.

Answer – Option C

Explanation –

Difference in minute between the two clocks in one hour = 1 minute.

Number of hours = 11 hours.

In 11 hours, one of the clock gains 22 minutes and shows the time as 9:22 p.m. The other clock which gains 1 minute per hour shows the time as 9:11 p.m.

Answer: A) 23

Explanation:

Clearly, A’s new position is 15th from the left. But this is the same as B’s earlier position which is 9th from the right.

Answer: C) Wednesday

Explanation:

If day before yesterday was Saturday, so today is Monday.

Thus, tomorrow will be Tuesday and day after tomorrow will be Wednesday.