1) Consider the following statements with respect to Locust Swarms
They are usually found in the Horn of Africa, West Asia and in the Indian Subcontinent.
Locust invasions usually occur in areas that receive less than 200mm of rain annually.
The primary method of controlling locust swarms is by spraying small amounts of concentrated insecticide.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Locust Swarms, which are usually found in the Horn of Africa, West Asia and theIndian Subcontinent, have the potential to damage the livelihood of a tenth of the world’s population.
The current locust invasion in Gujarat is the highest in recent times.
Locust invasion usually occur in areas that receive less than 200mm of rain annually.
This is an area of about 16 million sq km, consisting about 30 countries.
Locusts travel at 16-19 kmph, and swarms can cover 130 km or more in a day.
Usually, there are 40 million, and sometimes as many as 80 million locust adults in each sq km of a swarm.
The last major upsurge in India occurred in 1993, which saw the incursion of 172 locust swarms.
India has only one locust breeding season – from July to October.
The primary method of controlling locust swarms is by spraying small amounts of concentrated insecticide using vehicle mounted and aerial sprayers.
A total of 3,10,548 hectares have been treated up to the December 15, 2019.
Sharing borders with neighbouring Pakistan, Gujarat is under attack from hoppers — new-born locusts — that have flown in across the international border.
As the swarms mature, they have ravaged farms in north Gujarat, devastating farms in the three border districts — Banaskantha, Patan and Kutch.
The locusts, known as tiddis locally, have wreaked havoc on standing crops including castor, cumin, jatropha and cotton, and fodder grass in around 20 talukas.
Gujarat has not witnessed such an invasion of locusts since 1993-94.
According to local experts, the State administration has been caught napping despite an alert from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of a massive locust attack in South Asia, covering Pakistan and India.
2) Consider the following statements with respect to Digital Village
It is a village where citizens can avail various e-services of the central and the State governments, as well as of private players.
It was conceptualised by the Common Service Centre (CSC) SPV under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Digital Village, which was conceptualised by the Common Service Centre (CSC) SPV under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, is a village where citizens can avail various e-services of the central and the State governments, as well as of private players.
These include banking, insurance, tele-medicine, pension and e-governance services.
Such villages are also equipped with LED bulb assembly unit, sanitary napkin unit, and rural-Wifi infrastructure.
The government is aiming to convert at least 15% of the total villages to digital village in the next 3-4 years.
3) With respect to Intersex, consider the following statements
Individuals who identify as Intersex have a gender that is different from the one traditionally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Tamil Nadu government has recently banned sex normalisation surgeries on intersex children except in life-threatening circumstances.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
The term intersex is often confused with transgender, the two in-fact have very different meanings.
Individuals who identify themselves as transgender or transexual have a gender that is different from the one traditionally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth, while intersex refers to people born with biological or physical characteristics that are more diverse than stereotypical male or female bodies.
For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside.
Or a person may be born with genitals that seem to be in-between the usual male and female types—for example, a girl may be born with a noticeably large clitoris, or lacking a vaginal opening, or a boy may be born with a notably small penis, or with a scrotum that is divided so that it has formed more like labia.
Tamil Nadu government has recently banned sex normalisation surgeries on intersex children except in life-threatening circumstances.
If adopted nationally, India could become only the third country after Malta and Taiwan, to have a legal regime which protects the rights of intersex children.
4) Consider the following statements with respect to Saptamatrikas
They are a group of seven female deities worshipped in Jainism.
The earliest epigraphic evidence so far for the Saptamatrika cult was issued by the Satavahana king Vijaya in 207 A.D.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
In a significant find, the Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India has recently discovered the earliest epigraphic evidence so far for the Saptamatrika cult.
It is also the earliest Sanskrit inscription to have been discovered in South India as on date.
Saptamatrikas are a group of seven female deities worshipped in Hinduism as personifying the energy of their respective consorts.
The inscription is in Sanskrit and in Brahmi characters and was issued by Satavahana king Vijaya in 207 A.D.
It was discovered in Chebrolu village in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.
5) Consider the following statements with respect to Good Governance Index
It is a uniform tool to assess the status of governance and impact of various interventions taken up by State governments and Union Territories.
The index divides the country in to three categories and assessed its performance in 10 governance sectors.
The rankings were launched by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, and the Centre for Good Governance.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Tamil Nadu topped the Good Governance Index launched by the Centre recently.
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh followed among the ‘Big States’.
Among the ‘Big States’, the poor performers are Odisha, Bihar, Goa, and Uttar Pradesh with Jharkhand coming last.
The States and UTs are divided into three groups — Big States, North-East and Hill States, and Union Territories.
Among the North-East and Hill States, Himachal Pradesh was ranked first, followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Mizoram and Sikkim.
The worst performers in this group are Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, with Arunachal Pradesh coming last.
Puducherry is the best governed Union Territory followed by Chandigarh and Delhi. Lakshwadeep is the worst performing UT.
The rankings were launched by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, and the Centre for Good Governance.
The Index was scientifically designed based on various parameters of governance and is a uniform tool to assess the status of governance and impact of various interventions taken up by State governments and Union Territories.
The States are assessed on performance in 10 sectors — agriculture and allied sectors, commerce and industries, human resource development, public health, public infrastructure and utilities, economic governance, social welfare and development, judicial and public security, environment, and citizen-centric governance.
These ten Governance Sectors are measured on total 50 indicators.
6) Consider the following statements with respect to 'The Eat Right Movement’
It was launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station is the first station to get 'Eat Right Station' certification.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station has been conferred with 'Eat Right Station' certification with the 5-star rating by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for food safety and hygiene.
The CSMT in Mumbai is the first station on the Central Railway to get this certification.
It has been judged on the basis of compliance of food safety and hygiene, availability of healthy diet, food handling at preparation, transhipment and retail/serving point, food waste management, promotion of local and seasonal food and creating awareness on food safety and healthy diet.
'Eat Right India' movement is built on two broad pillars of 'Eat Healthy' and 'Eat Safe'.
It aims to engage, excite and enable citizens to improve their health and well-being.
Led by FSSAI, it is a collective effort to make both the demand and supply-side interventions through the engagement of key stakeholders.
7) Consider the following statements with respect to Atal Tunnel
It provided all-weather connectivity between Guwahati in Assam and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
It will be the world's longest tunnel above an altitude of 3,000 metres.
The project is being implemented by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
The government named the strategic tunnel under ‘Rohtang Pass’ in Himachal Pradesh after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a tribute to him on his 95th birth anniversary.
Rohtang Tunnel has been renamed as Atal Tunnel.
The foundation stone for the Access Road to the South Portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002.
The 8.8-kilometre long tunnel is the world's longest tunnel above an altitude of 3,000 metres.
It will reduce the distance between “Manali and Leh” by 46 kilometres and save crores of rupees in transport costs.
The completion of the tunnel will also provide all weather connectivity to remote areas of Lahaul and Spiti Valley.
The project is being implemented by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
8) Consider the following statements with respect to Hypersonic weapons
It incorporate the speed of a ballistic missile with the maneuvering capabilities of a cruise missile.
It can travel faster than Mach 5 and has the capability to maneuver during the entire flight.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
President Vladimir Putin claims Russia is the only country in the world to deploy Hypersonic Weapons.
Putin says Russia has surpassed the U.S. in Hypersonic Weapons.
Hypersonic weapons incorporate the speed of a ballistic missile with the maneuvering capabilities of a cruise missile.
Hypersonic weapons refer to weapons that travel faster than Mach 5 (~3,800mph) and have the capability to maneuver during the entire flight.
As a pentagon report stated, While the designed speed of the hypersonic missile is faster than that of sound, its advantage lies in its enhanced maneuverability and smooth flight path, which is much harder to track than that of traditional missiles.
Hypersonic missiles are delivered in two ways:
They can be fired from the last stages of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) or Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) and skip along the top of the atmosphere using specialized jet engines to accelerate to hypersonic speeds; or
They can be launched independently or released from a bomber similar to cruise missiles before accelerating to ultra-high speeds.
The United States, China, and Russia are designing and testing hypersonic missiles.
Lockheed Martin is developing a hypersonic vehicle called the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2), which is a maneuverable rocket-launched aircraft that glides through the Earth’s atmosphere at speeds up to Mach 20 (13,000 mph).
9) Consider the following statements
A social reformer and a successful legislator, served as a member of the Imperial Legislative Council for 11 years (1909–20).
Also called as ‘Mahamana’.
Supported free and compulsory primary education, and the nationalisation of Railways.
Acted as a bridge between the Moderates and the Extremists in the Congress.
Choose the leader for whom the above statement matches
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
December 25 is the birth anniversary of Madan Mohan Malaviya, the famed Indian educationist and freedom fighter.
He is also called as ‘Mahamana’.
He is known for founding the Banaras Hindu University and for becoming one of the torchbearers of the freedom struggle.
He acted as a bridge between the Moderates and the Extremists in the Congress.
Malaviya supported free and compulsory primary education, opposed the system of indentured labour in the British Empire, and supported the nationalisation of railways.
In the freedom struggle, Malaviya was midway between the Liberals and the Nationalists, the Moderates and the Extremists.
In 1930, he participated in it and courted arrest in Salt Satyagraha and the Civil Disobedience Movement.
In 2015, the government bestowed Malaviya with the “Bharat Ratna”, India’s highest civilian honour.
In 2016, the Indian Railways started the Varanasi-New Delhi “Mahamana Express” in the leader’s honour.
10) Consider the following statements with respect to Lemurs
They are endemic to Madagascar.
They are named the World's most Endangered Mammals.
They are very social creatures and live in groups.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
Madagascar’s famous ‘Lemurs’ could lose their rainforest by 2080.
Deforestation and climate change could wipe out much of the island’s rainforests, a new model says.
Lemurs only live in one place in the world, Madagascar and the nearby Comoro Islands, which are off the coast of Mozambique in Africa.
They occupy many different habitats: dry deciduous forests, spiny forests, rain forests, wetlands and mountains.
Lemurs named World's Most Endangered Mammals beating out all other mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and bony fish for the dismal distinction.
Ther are verysocial creatures and live in groups called troops.
