1.Consider the following statements regarding Central Water Commission
1.It is presently functioning as an attached office of the Ministry of Jal Shakti
2.It is charged with the general responsibilities of initiating and coordinating schemes of control, utilization and conservation of water resources throughout the country.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Explanation:
In NEWS: Indian reservoirs brimming as monsoon advances
- Major reservoirs in India are already brimming and their storage level is much more than what it was this time in 2019, even as the southwest monsoon advances over India.
- The live storage available in 123 reservoirs monitored by Central Water Commission (CWC) was 194 per cent of the live storage of corresponding period of last year and 171 per cent of storage of average of the last 10 years.
- This also raises fears of floods caused by these reservoirs if the water levels are not managed efficiently.
About Central Water Commission
- Central Water Commission is a premier Technical Organization of India in the field of Water Resources and is presently functioning as an attached office of the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Hence statement 1 is correct
- The Commission is entrusted with the general responsibilities of initiating, coordinating and furthering in consultation of the State Governments concerned, schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources throughout the country, for purpose of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water Power Development. Hence statement 2 is correct
- Central Water Commission CWC is headed by a Chairman, with the status of Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India.
- The work of the Commission is divided among 3 wings namely, Designs and Research (D&R) Wing, River Management (RM) Wing and Water Planning and Projects (WP&P) Wing
Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/water/indian-reservoirs-brimming-as-monsoon-advances-71996
2.Consider the following statements regardingLocust Warning organization
- It is associated with Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage of the Ministry of Agriculture.
- It has a field headquarters at Jodhpur in Rajasthan
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Explanation:
In NEWS: India’s locust control wing is oldest in world
- India has the world’s oldest desert locust control programme. The British government established the Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) in 1939 in Karachi following a deadly locust plague between 1926 and 1931.
- Between 1939 and 1946, the main function of the organization was surveillance in the Thar desert and issuance of warnings to the then Indian states about the possibility of desert locust swarms and amalgamated in 1946 with the Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage (PPQS) of the Ministry of Agriculture. Hence statement 1 is correct
- LWO carries out locust surveys or population monitoring activities in line with a survey schedule finalized at the beginning of every locust season, prepares and submits the locust survey reports for the department of agriculture and cooperation; coordinates with state governments and the Border Security Force (BSF) for locust control operations
- LWO also organises the Indo-Pak locust officers border meeting for exchange of information on locusts, situation in their respective countries during locust season (June to November).
- It has a field headquarters at Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Hence statement 2 is correct
- The LWO implements the Locust Control and Research scheme.
- The LWO publishes a fortnightly bulletin on the locust situation.
About PPQS
- Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine & Storage (PPQS) was established in the year 1946 on the recommendation of Woodhead Commission as an apex organization for advising the Government of India and state governments on all the matter related to Plant Protection.
- It is an attached Office of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
3.Consider the following statements regarding Locusts
- Locusts do not attack people or animals and there is an evidence that locusts carry diseases that could harm humans.
- Only four species of locusts are found in India.
- The most devastating of all locust species is the Desert Locust
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- 2 and 3 only
- 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1 only
Answer: (a) 2 and 3 only
Explanation:
In NEWS: Locusts invade Delhi-NCR
- Moisture due to monsoonal rains and a west-to-east monsoon wind pattern have brought locusts to the national capital for the first time
- LWO teams are on their way to Delhi to control the pests.
- Till June 19, according to the data of LWO, a total area of 99,916 hectares had been affected by locusts in Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
About Locusts
- Locusts are a group of short-horned grasshoppers. The word “locust” is derived from the Vulgar Latin locusta, meaning grasshopper.
- Locusts can eat a large variety of plants. A small swarm of the desert locust, which contains about 40 million insects, can eat on average as much food in one day as about 10 elephants, 25 camels or 2,500 people.
- Adult locust swarms can fly up to 150 km a day with the wind. This swarm originated in the Horn of Africa, where excess rains triggered a breeding boom.
- India is most at risk of a swarm invasion just before the onset of the monsoon. The most devastating of all locust species is the Desert Locust(Schistocerca gregaria). Hence statement 3 is correct
- Swarms have devastated crops and been a contributory cause of famines and human migrations since prehistory
- Locusts do not attack people or animals. There is no evidence that suggests that locusts carry diseasesthat could harm humans. Hence statement 1 is incorrect
- At present the primary method of controlling Desert Locust swarms and hopper bands is with mainly organphosphate chemicals
- India has also ordered for specialised insecticide sprayers with the UK. Drones will also be used to spray the resting places.
Only four species of locusts are found in India. Hence statement 2 is correct
- Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) – regarded as the most important in India as well as internationally.
- Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria)
- Bombay Locust ( Nomadacris succincta)
- Tree locust (Anacridium sp.)
Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/locusts-invade-delhi-ncr-72003
4.What is the aim of Project STARS?
- It is a project looking for ways to use remote sensing technology to improve agricultural practices
- It aims to create an integrated steel hub in Eastern India.
- It is a global project to explore strategies for development and deployment of renewables.
- It aims to strengthening the school education system and to support the goal of providing education to all.
Answer: (d) It aims to strengthening the school education system and to support the goal of providing education to all.
Explanation:
In NEWS: World Bank’s STARS to shine on State
- Kerala is among the six States in the country to benefit from the World Bank’s $500 million Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) Programme aimed at improving the quality and governance of school education
- According to WB, India has made significant strides in improving access to education across the country.
- Between 2004-05 and 2018-19, the number of children going to school increased from 219 million to 248 million. However, the learning outcomes of students across all age groups remain below par.
- The project will be implemented through the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the flagship central scheme of India. Six states included in the project are Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan.
- More than 52% of children in government-run schools in the six project states belong to vulnerable sections, such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and minority communities.
- The project will help improve the learning assessment systems, strengthen classroom instruction, and remediation, facilitate school-to-work transition, and strengthen governance and decentralized management.
- It will also address “the ‘learning outcome’ challenge and help students better prepare for the jobs of the future.
- STARS builds on the partnership between India and the World Bank since 1994 for strengthening the school education system and to support the goal of providing education to all. Hence option (d) is correct
5.Section 497 of IPC violates which of the following article in the constitution of india?
- Only Article 14
- Only Article 15
- Article 14 and 15
- Article 14, 15 and 21
Answer: (d) Article 14,15 and 21
Explanation:
In NEWS: SC refuses to review decriminalisation of adultery
- 2018 Constitution Bench judgment, which struck adultery out of the penal statute book, is upheld
- Section 497 (adultery) of the Indian Penal Code cannot “command” married couples to remain loyal to each other for the fear of penal punishment. Two individuals may part if one cheats, but to attach criminality to infidelity is going too far.
- The original judgment in 2018 was based on a writ petition filed by a Kerala resident, Joseph Shine.
- The petition says, Section 497 IPC is unconstitutional as it discriminates against men and violates Article 14, 15 and 21. Hence option (d) is correct
- The Bench had also held that Section 198 (2) of the CrPC, which gave the cuckolded husband the exclusive right to prosecute his wife’s lover, was manifestly arbitrary.
About Section 497:Adultery (repealed)
- ‘Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offense of rape, is guilty of the offense of adultery, and shall be punished’. In such cases, the wife shall not be punishable as an abettor.
- It treats a married woman as the commodity of her husband.
- While Section 497 gave husbands the exclusive right as an aggrieved party to prosecute the adulterer in a case involving his wife
- Secondly, the provision does not confer any right on the wife to prosecute her husband for adultery.
- The law also does not take into account cases where the husband has sexual relations with an unmarried woman
6.Consider the following statements regarding Ebola virus disease
- It was first identified in 1976 in the South Africa
- Fruit bats are natural host of this virus
- It is not spreading through sexual transmission
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- 2 and 3 only
- 2 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1 only
Answer: (b) 2 only
Explanation:
In NEWS: Democratic Republic of Congo calls end to 2nd-deadliest Ebola outbreak ever
The second-deadliest Ebola virus disease outbreak in the eastern area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was over, said the country’s government June 25, 2020.
About Ebola virus disease
- Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a rare but severe, often fatal illness in humans.
- Symptoms: Fever, Fatigue, Muscle pain, Headache, Sore throat
- It was first identified in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC). Hence statement 1 is incorrect
- Fruit bats are natural host of this virus. It spreads through contact with body fluids of inflected persons such as blood, urine and saliva. Hence statement 2 is correct
- The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
- Ebola spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with:
- Blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola
- Objects that have been contaminated with body fluids (like blood, feces, vomit) from a person sick with Ebola or the body of a person who died from Ebola.
- It also spreads through sexual transmission. Hence statement 3 is incorrect
7.What is/are the consequence/consequences of a country comes in the FAFT’s grey list?
- Economic sanctions from IMF, World Bank, ADB
- Problem in getting loans from IMF, World Bank, ADB and other countries
- Reduction in international trade
- International boycott
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1,2 and 3 only
- 2 and 4 only
- 2,3 and 4 only
- 1,2,3 and 4
Answer: (d) 1,2,3 and 4
Explanation:
In NEWS: Brief reprieve
- According to reports in Pakistan and India, the Financial Action Task Force, the global watchdog group, has decided to grant Pakistan and other countries on its watch list a threemonth extension on fulfilling commitments, in view of the
- Pakistan was placed on the grey list or “increased monitoring” list in June 2018, and given time until October 2019, in order to complete a 27point action plan on countering terror fi
