UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 31 January 2024

Solution: b)

Statement 2 is incorrect.

• Laughing gull, a migratory bird from North America, has been sighted for the first time in the country at the Chittari estuary in Kasaragod district.
• The bird, known for its unique laughter-like calls, has travelled thousands of kilometres from North America to the coastal region of the State.
• The bird has a dark upper part, black legs, long drooping bill, and a dark smudge on the back of the head.

Source

Solution: b)

Statement 3 is incorrect.

The Forest Rights Act (FRA), officially known as the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, is a piece of legislation that enables tribal communities and forest-dwelling citizens to claim legal rights over the forest land they have occupied for generations but in many cases, denied a say or authority in its management or free access to forest produce.

It gives gram sabhas, or village councils, the right to decide on how best their forest land can be used. Any transfer of forest land for non-forestry use now requires their consent. 

Source

Solution: b)

Statement 3 is incorrect.

• Researchers introduced a ground-breaking study on “electronic soil” (eSoil) in hydroponics, offering the potential for sustainable urban agriculture and food security.
• eSoil is an electrically conductive growth substrate derived from cellulose and a conductive polymer (PEDOT).
• It stimulates plant roots and the growth environment with low power, providing a safer and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional methods.
• eSoil works by electrically stimulating plant roots.
• This promotes effective and sustainable development, expanding the range of crops that can be grown hydroponically—without soil, using only water, nutrients, and a substrate.
• The benefits of eSoil include low energy consumption, safety, and its compatibility with hydroponics, enabling urban agriculture to meet the challenges of a growing population and climate change.

Source

Solution: c)

About Nandankanan Zoological Park

It is located 15 km from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, and was inaugurated in 1960. It holds the distinction of being the first zoo in India to join the World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA), a global alliance dedicated to animal care and conservation. Recognized for breeding Indian pangolins and white tigers, it is also a breeding ground for leopards, mouse deer, lions, ratel, and vultures. Nandankanan was the world’s first captive crocodile breeding centre, successfully breeding gharials in captivity in 1980.

Source

Solution: c)

Article 298 grants the Centre and the state governments the power to carry on trade or business, acquire, hold, and dispose of property, and make contracts for any purpose, while Article 299 delineates the manner in which these contracts will be concluded. Articles 298 and 299 came after the Constitution came into effect and the government entered into contracts even in the pre-independence era. According to the Crown Proceedings Act of 1947, the Crown could not be sued in court for a contract it entered into.

Article 299 of the Constitution provides that “all contracts made in the exercise of the executive power of the Union or of a State shall be expressed to be made by the President or by the Governor of the State” and that all such contracts and “assurances of property made in the exercise of that power shall be executed” on behalf of the President or the Governor by persons in a manner as directed and authorised by them.

The objective behind Article 299(1), as per the 1954 top court ruling in ‘Chatturbhuj Vithaldas Jasani v. Moreshwar Parashram & Ors’, is that there must be a definite procedure according to which contracts must be made by agents acting on the government’s behalf; otherwise, public funds may be depleted by unauthorized or illegitimate contracts. It implies that contracts not adhering to the manner given in Article 299(1) cannot be enforced by any contracting party.

However, Article 299 (2) says that essentially, neither the President nor the Governor can be personally held liable for such contracts.