UPSC 2017-18: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Aug 20 - Aug 26

• The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing.
• It strengthens security-related defence of the Indian Internet domain.

The Mrugavani National Park (MNP) is located at Chilkur in Hyderabad, Telangana State and covers an area of 3.6 square kilometers. It is home to Cheetal, Sambar, Wild boar, Jungle Cat, Civet Cat, Mongoose Monitor Lizard, Python, Russell Viper, King Cobra, etc., and has 600 different types of plant life.

Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)

• It is an apex-level body constituted by the government of India.
• FSDC has replaced the High Level Coordination Committee on Financial Markets (HLCCFM), which was facilitating regulatory coordination, though informally, prior to the setting up of FSDC. It is not a statutory body.
• Chairperson: The Union Finance Minister of India

The seventh edition of India, Maldives bilateral EKUVERIN Exercise began at Kadhdhoo, Laamu Atoll, Maldives.

• Salim Ali National park, Dachingham National Park and Kishtwar National Park are located in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

• Sumatran Rhinos once occurred in the foothills of the Himalayas and north-east India.
• Elivra Rat Known only from Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu.
• Distribution of Himalayan Red/Brown bear is across Nepal, Tibet, north India, and north Pakistan.

Mission Kakatiya: Flagship programme of Telangana State government Aim: desilting and restoration of tanks in rural areas. Key improvement: Research by groundwater department found a significant rise in water table levels wherever tanks were restored.

Desert National Park, Rajasthan, India, is situated in the west Indian state of Rajasthan near the town of Jaisalmer. This is one of the largest national parks, covering an area of 3162 km².

Under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, thirteen thematic circuits have been identified, for development namely: North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit.

Article 356. Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in State

(1) If the President, on receipt of report from the Governor of the State or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with he provisions of this Constitution, the President may be Proclamation

(a) assume to himself all or any of the functions of the Government of the State and all or any of the powers vested in or exercisable by the Governor or any body or authority in the State other than the Legislature of the State;

(b) declare that the powers of the Legislature of the State shall be exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament;

(c) make such incidental and consequential provisions as appear to the president to be necessary or desirable for giving effect to the objects of the Proclamation, including provisions for suspending in whole or in part the operation of any provisions of this constitution relating to any body or authority in the State Provided that nothing in this clause shall authorise the President to assume to himself any of the powers vested in or exercisable by a High Court, or to suspend in whole or in part the operation of any provision of this Constitution relating to High Courts

(2) Any such Proclamation may be revoked or varied by a subsequent Proclamation

(3) Every Proclamation issued under this article except where it is a Proclamation revoking a previous Proclamation, cease to operate at the expiration of two months unless before the expiration of that period it has been approved by resolutions of both Houses of Parliament Provided that if any such Proclamation (not being a Proclamation revoking a previous Proclamation) is issued at a time when the House of the People is dissolved or the dissolution of the House of the People takes place during the period of two months referred to in this clause, and if a resolution approving the Proclamation has been passed by the Council of States, but no resolution with respect to such Proclamation has been passed by the House of the People before the expiration of that period, the Proclamation Shall cease to operate at the expiration of thirty days from the date on which the House of the People first sits after its reconstitution unless before the expiration of the said period of thirty days a resolution approving the Proclamation has been also passed by the House of the People

(4) A Proclamation so approved shall, unless revoked, cease to operate on the expiration of a period of six months from the date of issue of the Proclamation: Provided that if and so often as a resolution approving the continuance in force of such a Proclamation is passed by both Houses of Parliament, the Proclamation shall, unless revoked, continue in force for a further period of six months from the date on which under this clause it would otherwise have ceased to operating, but no such Proclamation shall in any case remain in force for more than three years: Provided further that if the dissolution of the House of the People takes place during any such period of six months and a resolution approving the continuance in force of such Proclamation has been passed by the Council of States, but no resolution with respect to the continuance in force of such Proclamation has been passed by the House of the People during the said period, the Proclamation shall cease to operate at the expiration of thirty days from the date on which the House of the People first sits after its reconstitution unless before the expiration of the said period of thirty days a resolution approving the continuance in force of the Proclamation has been also passed by the House of the People

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause ( 4 ), a resolution with respect to the continuance in force of a Proclamation approved under clause ( 3 ) for any period beyond the expiration of one year from the date of issue of such proclamation shall not be passed by either House of Parliament unless

(a) a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation, in the whole of India or, as the case may be, in the whole or any part of the State, at the time of the passing of such resolution, and

(b) the Election Commission certifies that the continuance in force of the Proclamation approved under clause ( 3 ) during the period specified in such resolution is necessary on account of difficulties in holding general elections to the Legislative Assembly of the State concerned: Provided that in the case of the Proclamation issued under clause ( 1 ) on the 6 th day of October, 1985 with respect to the State of Punjab, the reference in this clause to any period beyond the expiration of two years.

Article 365. Effect of failure to comply with, or to give effect to, directions given by the Union Where any State has failed to comply with or to give effect to any directions given in the exercise of the executive power of the Union under any directions given in the exercise of the executive power of the Union under any of the provisions of this Constitution, it shall be lawful for the President to hold that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

Habitat:

• The Lion-tailed macaque is a type of Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats of South India.
• Avoid human presence and they do not live, feed or travel through plantations.

About Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES):

• The summit will promote economic growth, inclusion and opportunities among entrepreneurs from across the world, with a special focus on emerging nations from Africa and Asia. The GES is a personal initiative of US President Barack Obama to bring entrepreneurs from across the globe on one platform.
• The 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) will be hosted by India

Committee of Privileges

• Function: The functions of this committee are semi-judicial in nature. It examines the case of breach of privileges of the House and its members and recommends appropriate action.
• Composition: The Lok Sabha committee has 15 members, while Rajya Sabha committee has 10 members.
• Nomination: The member are nominated by the respective chair of the houses i.e. Speaker in case of Lok Sabha whereas Chairman in case of Rajya Sabha.

Bedaquiline, sold under the brand name Sirturo, is a medication used to treat active tuberculosis. It is specifically used to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis when other treatment cannot be used.

Nitaqat (or Saudisation) scheme

Saudization or Saudisation of the workforce—the replacement of foreign workers with Saudi nationals in the private sector—is the official national policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• NBFCs lend and make investments and hence their activities are akin to that of banks; however there are a few differences as given below:
  1. NBFC cannot accept demand deposits;
  2. NBFCs do not form part of the payment and settlement system and cannot issue cheques drawn on itself;
  3. deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available to depositors of NBFCs, unlike in case of banks.

• UDAN is an innovative scheme to develop the regional aviation market. It is a market-based mechanism in which airlines bid for seat subsidies
• Under this scheme, half of the seats on the plane will be capped at Rs. 2,500 per hour’s flight. Government will subsidise the losses incurred by airlines flying to dormant airports by charging Rs. 2,500 per hour’s flight.
• 80% of the subsidy will be collected by charging a levy of up to Rs. 8,500 on each departing flight of domestic airlines and the rest 20% will come from the respective State governments.
• Government will provide subsidy to airlines for first three years of operations when they will have exclusive flying rights on the selected routes.

• Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary or Heerpora Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Shopian district.
• Critically endangered Pir Panjal markhor is found here.

“Despite the deficit monsoon, unseasonal rains and hailstorm in the major part of the country, the production of horticulture crops have outpaced the production of foodgrains since 2012-13…”
NFSM includes coarse cereals as well as commercial crops.

The Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary (NSBS) is located to the west of Ahmedabad near Sanand Village in Gujarat. It is the largest wetland bird sanctuary in Gujarat and one of the largest in India. It harbors over 250 species of wetland birds such as rosy pelicans, flamingoes, white storks, brahminy ducks and herons.

Nalsarovar was declared as a Ramsar site on 24 September 2012.

Habitat:

• The Nilgiri langur is a a type of Old World monkey found in the Nilgiri Hills of the Western Ghats in South India.
• Its range also includes Kodagu in Karnataka, Kodayar Hills in Tamil Nadu, and many other hilly areas in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

PESA doesn’t deal with creation of autonomous regions in tribal areas.

• ASEAN is India’s fourth largest trading partner with total trade in 2016-17 at $71.69 billion.
• India has suffered a trade deficit in respect of five ASEAN members

• India’s first museum on the Partition of the Indian Sub-continent will soon open in Amritsar, Punjab, which focuses on stories and display memorabilia of survivors.

• The museum will include newspaper clippings and donated personal items meant to tell the story of how the region’s struggle for freedom from colonial rule turned into one of its most violent episodes, as communal clashes left hundreds of thousands of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs dead and another 15 million displaced from their ancestral homes.

Swadesh Darshan Scheme

• Implementing agency: Ministry of Tourism.
• Completely funded by central government.
• Swadesh Darshan Scheme is based on some of tourist circuit that will be covered under the PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) and Swadeshi Darshan.

Gasification is a process that converts organic or fossil fuel based carbonaceous materials into carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This is achieved by reacting the material at high temperatures (>700 °C), without combustion, with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam. The resulting gas mixture is called syngas (from synthesis gas) or producer gas and is itself a fuel.

White-bellied heron

• Scientific name: Ardea insignis
• Habitat: The white-bellied heron, also known as the imperial heron or great white-bellied heron, is a species of large heron found in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in India, northeastern Bangladesh, Burma and Bhutan.
• IUCN classification: Critically Endangered
• Threats: species is threatened by disturbance and habitat degradation.

Theme of World Wetlands Day for 2017 – ‘Wetlands for disaster risk reduction’

World Wetlands Day was celebrated on Feb 2 at Bhoj Wetlands, Bhopal.

Directive principles of state policy because they guide executive on how to govern.

Main objectives of Zero Effect Zero defect’:

• Production mechanisms wherein products have no defects.
• Production process which has zero adverse environmental and ecological effects.

• India recently signed International Expedited Traveler Initiative Programme with the United States. Also called as Global Entry Programme, this scheme will allow expedited entry into the US to low-risk travellers from India., with India making a formal entry into an American initiative.
• The move would facilitate closer business and educational ties between the citizens of India and the U.S.

The IUCN Red Book of Threatened Species, founded in 1964, is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species..

• The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation, located in The Hague, Netherlands.
• The organisation promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention which prohibits the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction. The verification consists both of evaluation of declarations by member states and on-site inspections.
• The organisation was awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
• The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an arms control treaty which outlaws the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and their precursors. The full name of the treaty is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction and it is administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

India’s first-ever railways disaster management centre is expected to come up near Bengaluru, Karnataka by 2018 and will be used to replicate train accidents to improve rescue operation efforts.

It will also have a virtual reality centre for analyzing railway accidents. The focus is on imparting state-of-the-art training on rescue, medical relief and rolling stock restoration techniques in a classroom and also using various simulated teaching aids.