1. With respect to National Cyber Coordination Centre, Consider the following statements:
1) It is jurisdictionally under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
2) It coordinates with Computer Emergency Response Team-India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (b) 2 only
Explanation:
In NEWS: India in final stages of clearing national cyber security strategy
● India is in the final stages to clear a National Cybersecurity Strategy in the wake of growing cyber attacks and threats from nation-state actors against the country
● There are about 4 million malware that are detected every day and India is one of the most cyber-attacked nations in the world.
● With the policy comes the challenge to address cyber skilling. Reports estimate that there will be about 1.5 million job vacancies in cybersecurity by 2025 in India.
National Cyber Coordination Centre:
● The National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) is an operational cybersecurity and e-surveillance agency in India.
● It is jurisdictionally under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Hence statement (1) is incorrect
● Aim: To help the country deal with malicious cyber-activities by acting as an Internet traffic monitoring entity that can fend off domestic or international attacks
● It coordinates with multiple security and surveillance agencies as well as with CERT-In of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Hence statement (2) is correct.
● Components of the NCCC include a cybercrime prevention strategy, cybercrime investigation training and review of outdated laws.
● It will be India’s first layer for cyber threat monitoring and all communication with government and private service providers would be through this body only.
● The NCCC will be in virtual contact with the control room of all ISPs to scan traffic within the country, flowing at the point of entry and exit, including the international gateway.
● Global Cybersecurity Index (ITU)
● Cybershikshaa
● One of the reasons for that is that we have a large attack surface with 1.15 billion phones and more than 700 million Internet users.
2. Which one of the following statements is correct regarding ‘Podu’?
a) It is a traditional system of water management used by communities in India.
b) It is a village administration system during Pandyas.
c) It is a traditional system of cultivation used by tribes in India.
d) It is a purifier technique for clean water.
Answer: (c) It is a traditional system of cultivation used by tribes in India
Explanation:
In NEWS: Explained: What is ‘podu’ land issue in Telangana?
● Telangana government wants to shift out all farmers from the forests to the periphery by allotting lands to them for cultivation.
● Tribal farmers who have been traditionally cultivating for decades will not be affected by this drive against illegal encroachers.
What exactly is the ‘podu’ land issue?
● Telangana government has red-flagged encroachment of forests by non-tribals, who are indulging in the practice of shifting agriculture (podu). Hence option (c) is correct.
● Several political leaders have raised the issues of shifting agriculture and deforestation wherein encroachers clear a portion of land to raise crops one season and move to a different location next season, thereby clearing large areas of forests.
● The government now wants to shift out all farmers from the forests to the periphery by allotting lands to them for cultivation.
What will happen to the tribals?
● Tribal farmers who have been traditionally cultivating for decades will not be affected by this drive against illegal encroachers. The government has, in fact, given land ownership titles to tribals.
What will happen to the non-tribal farmers?
● These farmers can apply to the state government to allocate them land outside the forests. Those who are shifted out of the forests will be given land ownership certificates, power supply facility, water, and Rythu Bandhu benefits (welfare program to support farmer’s investment for two crops a year by Telangana government), and farmer insurance schemes would be extended to them.
Jhum
North-eastern India
Vevar and Dahiyaar
Bundelkhand Region (Madhya Pradesh)
Deepa
Bastar District (Madhya Pradesh)
Zara and Erka
Southern States
Batra
South-eastern Rajasthan
Podu
Andhra Pradesh
Kumari
Hilly Region of the Western Ghats of Kerala
Kaman, Vinga and Dhavi
Odisha
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/telangana-podu-land-issue-explained-7592834/
3. The term “khatduh” is seen in news, it is related to which of the following options?
a) Traditional method of property sharing
b) Buddha Relics
c) A style of tribe painting
d) Musician in North India
Answer: (a) Traditional method of property sharing
Explanation:
In NEWS: Matrilineal Meghalaya to give land rights to men
● Matrilineal Meghalaya is set to break the tradition of parents bequeathing the lion’s share of parental property to the khatduh, which means the youngest daughter in the Khasi language.
● The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) is scheduled to introduce the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Khasi Inheritance of Property Bill, 2021, for equal distribution of parental property among siblings, both male and female.
Matrilineal Meghalaya:
● Matrilineal Meghalaya is set to break the tradition of sharing parental property to the khatduh, which means the youngest daughter in the Khasi language. Hence option (a) is correct
● The matrilineal tradition which the Khasi and other subgroups practice in Meghalaya is unique within India.
● Khasi are an ancient tribe said to be the largest surviving matrilineal culture in the world.
● Matrilineal principles among the Khasi are emphasised in myths, legends, and origin narratives.
Property rights
● The youngest daughter of the family, the Ka Khadduh, inherits all ancestral property.
● After marriage, husbands live in the mother-in-law’s home.
● The mother’s surname is taken by children.
● When no daughters are born to a couple, they adopt a daughter and pass their rights to property to her.
● The birth of a girl is celebrated while the birth of a son is simply accepted.
● There is no social stigma attributed to a woman remarrying or giving birth out of wedlock as the “Khasi Social Custom Lineage Act” gives security to them.
● Care of children is the responsibility of mothers or mothers-in-law.
4. Which of the following statements is incorrect regarding Biodiversity Hotspot(s)?
a) They are regions with high species richness and a high degree of endemism.
b) It must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics
c) It has to have lost at least 70% of its original habitat.
d) Sundalands are not part of Biodiversity hotspots in India
Answer: (d) Sundalands are not part of Biodiversity hotspots in India
Explanation:
In NEWS: ‘NE states accounted for 76% of India’s tree cover loss in past 20 years’: Study
● Assam alone contributed 14% of the total loss followed by Mizoram at 13%. Tripura was the lowest contributor among NE states with 5.5%
● India lost nearly 2 million hectares (Mha) of tree cover between 2001 and 2020, an overall decrease of nearly 5% tree cover since 2000. Seven states in the northeast accounted for three-fourth of that loss
● Research by the University of Maryland in the United States, using over a million satellite images, found that in the past two decades, northeastern states accounted for 76.7% of the 1.93 Mha of tree cover lost in that period.
● Tree cover loss is not the same as deforestation. Tree cover can refer to trees in plantations as well as natural forests, and tree cover loss is the removal of tree canopy due to human or natural causes, including fire the study released by Global Forest Watch, which partners Google, USAID among others
● The two hill districts of Karbi Anglong (97.4kha) and Dima Hasao (63.2kha) accounted for the majority share (60%) of tree cover loss in Assam.
● The small state of Mizoram, which lost 247 thousand hectares (kha) of tree cover, contributed 13% of India’s total tree cover loss. The three districts of Champhai (67.6kha), Lunglei (46kha) and Aizawl (42.1kha) accounted for 63% of the loss.
Biodiversity Hotspot(s):
● Biodiversity hotspots are regions with high species richness and a high degree of endemism.
● The British biologist Norman Myers coined the term “biodiversity hotspot” in 1988 as a biogeographic region characterized both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss.
● Conservation International (CI) adopted Myers’ hotspots and in 1996, the organization made the decision to undertake a reassessment of the hotspots concept.
● The 35 biodiversity hotspots cover 2.3% of the Earth’s land surface, yet more than 50% of the world’s plant species and 42% of all terrestrial vertebrate species are endemic to these areas.
Biodiversity hotspots in India:
● Himalaya: Includes the entire Indian Himalayan region (and that falling in Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar).
● Indo-Burma: Includes entire North-eastern India, except Assam and Andaman group of Islands (and Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China)
● Western Ghats and Sri Lanka: Includes entire Western Ghats (and Sri Lanka).
● Sundalands: Includes Nicobar group of Islands (and Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines). Hence option (d) is incorrect.
According to CI, to qualify as a hotspot a region must meet two strict criteria:
● It must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5% of the world’s total) as endemic – which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable.
● It has to have lost at least 70% of its original habitat. (It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation). In other words, it must be threatened.
5. Bugun liocichla species is associated with which one of the following?
a) Butterfly
b) Fish
c) Frog
d) Bird
Answer: (d) Bird
Explanation:
In NEWS: Film screening, bird watching, trekking: How Arunachal celebrated 15 years of Bugun Liocichla
● Arunachal Pradesh forest minister, Mama Natung, spoke of the possibilities at the five-day Bugun Liocichla Utsav (from 10-15 October) at Eaglenest wildlife sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh.
● The festival was held to commemorate 15 years of the bird’s discovery. It comprised film screening, quiz, bird watching, snake handling workshop, trekking, talent hunt, rope course, adventure activities, T-shirt painting and photography.
● Bugun liocichla was the first bird discovered since India’s Independence. The bird is seen in select pockets of Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary. Hence option (d) is correct.
● Bugun liocichla has made the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary and SBVCR a must-visit destination for tourists and wildlifers
● The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has classified this species as critically endangered.
Eagle Nest:
● Eaglenest or Eagle’s Nest Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area of India in the Himalayan foothills of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh.
● It conjoins Sessa Orchid Sanctuary to the northeast and Pakhui Tiger Reserve across the Kameng river to the east.
● The sanctuary derives its name from the Red Eagle Division of the Indian army which was posted in the area in the 1950s.
● The sanctuary is notable as a prime birding site due to the extraordinary variety, numbers and accessibility of species.
● Eaglenest is the site where Bugun liocichla (a passerine bird species) was first discovered in 1995 and again observed and described in 2006.
6. Consider the following statements regarding National Fund to Control Drug Abuse:
1) It was created in accordance with a provision of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
2) It would be used to combat illicit trafficking of narcotics, rehabilitating addicts, and preventing drug abuse.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Explanation:
In NEWS: Use anti-drug fund for de-addiction services, not just policing: Social Justice Ministry
● The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has recently recommended that the National Fund to Control Drug Abuse be used to carry out de-addiction programmes, rather than just policing activities
● The fund, which was created in accordance with a provision of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, had a nominal corpus of ₹23 crore. Hence statement (1) is correct.
● Under the NDPS Act, the sale proceeds of any property forfeited, grants made by any person and institution, and income from the investments of the fund, go towards the fund.
● The Act states that the fund would be used to combat illicit trafficking of narcotics, rehabilitating addicts, and preventing drug abuse. Hence statement (2) is correct.
● A proposal to decriminalise possession of “small quantities” of drugs, as defined in the NDPS Act, had also been sent to the Department of Revenue under the Finance Ministry.
● According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s Crime in India 2020 report, a total of 59,806 cases were lodged under NDPS Act, of which 33,246 pertained to cases of possession of drugs for personal use, and 26,560 cases of possession of drugs from trafficking.
● The number of drug users in the country is in the crores. According to the Social Justice Ministry and All India Institute of Medical Sciences’ report on magnitude of substance use in 2019, there were 3.1 crore cannabis users (of which 25 lakh were dependent users) and 2.3 crore opioid users (of which 28 lakh were dependent users).
7. Consider the following statements regarding National Population Register:
1) It will be conducted by the Office of the Registrar General of India.
2) It is being prepared under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955.
3) It will collect both demographic data and biometric data.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 and 3 only
b) 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
Explanation:
In NEWS: Updated NPR form appears to retain contentious questions
● The latest form of the National Population Register (NPR) appears to have retained contentious questions such as “mother tongue, place of birth of father and mother and last place of residence”, according to a document compiled by a committee under the Registrar General of India and shared with District Census officers.
National Population Register:
● It is mandatory for every “usual resident of India” to register in the NPR.
● A “usual resident of the country” is one who has been residing in a local area for at least the last six months, or intends to stay in a particular location for the next six months.
● It will be conducted by the Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI) under the Home Ministry. Hence statement (1) is correct.
● Only Assam will not be included, given the recently completed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
● The NPR is being prepared under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. Hence statement (2) is correct.
● The data for the NPR was first collected in 2010 along with the house listing phase of Census 2011.
● In 2015, this data was further updated by conducting a door-to-door survey.
● The NPR exercise is conducted at the local, sub-district, district, state and national levels.
● The NPR will collect both demographic data and biometric data. Biometric data will be updated through Aadhar details. Hence statement (3) is correct.
● Unlike the NRC, the NPR is not a citizenship enumeration drive, as it would record even a foreigner staying in a locality for more than six months.
8. Consider the following statements regarding Bush Frog:
1) It is endemic to the Eastern Ghats.
2) It has been listed as least concern species under the IUCN Red data list.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation:
In NEWS: Why cardamom farmers welcome these frog species endemic to the Western Ghats
A frog species endemic to the Western Ghats has been identified as cardamom-friendly, killing moths that are known to destroy cardamom’s pseudostem, a major menace faced by farmers.
Bush Frog:
● It is endemic to the Western Ghats. Hence statement (1) is incorrect.
● The bush frog’s life cycle is entirely different unlike other frog species and water sources are not primarily needed for the growth of its eggs.
● It eats up the shoot borer Conogethes punctiferalis that enters through immature panicles and attacks the shoots and stems, thus destroying cardamom plants, often on a large scale.
● Distribution: the Western Ghats)and is familiar to cardamom planters.
● The bush frog is also common in the CHR (Cardamom Hill Reserve) areas of Udumbanchola and Peerumade in the Idukki district.
● Unlike other frog species, the bush frog’s life cycle is entirely different, and water sources are not primarily needed for the growth of its eggs.
● IUCN Status: Critically Endangered. Hence statement (2) is incorrect.
9. Consider the following statements regarding Skill Impact Bond (SIB):
1) It is the impact bond involving the public, private partners, and a public-private partnership organization.
2) It is launched by the National Skill Development Corporation.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Explanation:
In NEWS: India’s first ‘Skill Impact Bond’ launched, fund to benefit 50,000 youth
● The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) recently launched the first-of-its-kind and the largest ‘Impact Bond’ for skilling in India in collaboration with global partners, involving a USD 14.4 million fund which will benefit 50,000 youth by making them employment ready. Hence statement (2) is correct.
● Along with the NSDC, the global coalition comprises HRH Prince Charles’s British Asian Trust, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF), The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), HSBC India, JSW Foundation, and Dubai Cares, with FCDO (UK).
● The Skill Impact Bond (SIB) is also the first impact bond involving the public, private partners, and a public-private partnership organization. Hence statement (1) is correct.
● Skill Impact Bond is a collaborative effort of NSDC and esteemed global organizations and people who share their vision to improve skilling outcomes in India.
● This landmark financial instrument applies an entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy and ensures accountability which contributes to the achievement of set objectives. The project has the potential to make a transformational impact especially in the lives of women.
● The target group includes 60% women and girls and the objective is to equip them with skills and vocational training and provide access to wage employment in Covid-19 recovery sectors including retail, apparel, healthcare, and logistics.
10. Which one of the following ancient towns is well-known for its elaborate system of water harvesting and management by building a series of dams and channelizing water into connected reservoirs?
a) Dholavira
b) Kalibangan
c) Rakhigarhi
d) Ropar
Answer: (a) Dholavira
Explanation:
● Dholavira is located on Khadir bet island in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. In protohistoric times, water levels in the Rann may have been higher than they are today, allowing boats to sail from the coast up to the site. The architecture of Dholavira shows a large-scale use of sandstone, combined in places with mudbrick—a feature of the Harappan sites of Gujarat. The city had an impressive and unique water harvesting and management system.
● Dams were built across these to channelize their water into reservoirs. Hence option (d) is correct.
