UPSC 2017: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz - April 02 - 08

Explanation: Russian troops arrive in Pakistan for joint military exercise ‘Friendship 2016’

Bidriware:

• Bidriware is a metal handicraft from Bidar.
• Developed in the 14th century C.E. during the rule of the Bahamani Sultans.
• The term ‘Bidriware’ originates from the township of Bidar, which is still the chief centre for the manufacture of the unique metalware
• Due to its striking inlay artwork, Bidriware is an important export handicraft of India and is prized as a symbol of wealth.
• The metal used is a blackened alloy of zinc(90%) and copper(10%) inlaid with thin sheets of pure silver.
• This native art form has obtained Geographical Indications (GI) registry.

Explanation :

General anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) is an anti-tax avoidance Rule of India. It is framed by the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.

The regulation allows tax officials to deny tax benefits, if a deal is found without any commercial purpose other than tax avoidance. It allows tax officials to target participatory notes. Under GAAR, the investor has to prove that the participatory note was not set to avoid taxes. It also allows officials to deny double taxation avoidance benefits, if deals made in tax havens like Mauritius were found to be avoiding taxes.

• Worked amongst Udhampur and Ramban at a rise of 1,200 meters on a standout amongst the most troublesome landscapes of the Himalayas, the Chenani-Nashri passage is the nation’s longest street burrow as well as happens to be Asia’s longest bi-directional parkways burrow.

A perfect case of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’ activity of the Government of India, the passage is 9.2 km long with twin-tube all-climate entry. It shapes some portion of the venture for extending of the National Highway No-44 or the old NH-1A from Jammu to Srinagar.

The standards, based on European regulations were first introduced in 2000. Progressively stringent norms have been rolled out since then. All new vehicles manufactured after the implementation of the norms have to be compliant with the regulations. Since October 2010, Bharat Stage (BS) III norms have been enforced across the country. In 13 major cities, Bharat Stage IV emission norms have been in place since April 2010 and It’s enforced for whole country from April 2017. In 2016, the Indian government announced that the country would skip the BS-V norms altogether and adopt BS-VI norms by 2020.

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.

Celebes crested macaque under serious threat cause of habitat loss and hunting.

The macaques and some other animals at the market are protected by Indonesian law but trade in exotic creatures is still thriving.

It has been classified as critically endangered under IUCN’s Red Data book.

The standards, based on European regulations were first introduced in 2000. Progressively stringent norms have been rolled out since then. All new vehicles manufactured after the implementation of the norms have to be compliant with the regulations. Since October 2010, Bharat Stage (BS) III norms have been enforced across the country. In 13 major cities, Bharat Stage IV emission norms have been in place since April 2010 and It’s enforced for whole country from April 2017. In 2016, the Indian government announced that the country would skip the BS-V norms altogether and adopt BS-VI norms by 2020.

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.

The institution, one of the two important seats of Buddhist teaching in India during the Pala dynasty rule, was established by King Dharmapala as a centre of Buddhist and Tantric learning.

Uttarayan Festival:

• International Kite festival held at Ahmadabad, Gujarat.
• It is the sign for farmers that the sun is back and that harvest season is approaching which is called Makara Sankranti.
• The idea of flying kites to celebrate Uttrayan was introduced by Muslims from Persia, today regardless of background or beliefs, everyone are welcomed to fly kite in Gujarat in January.

T he Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 35 member countries, founded in 1960 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.

So, it is not an UN agency.

It is a forum of countries describing themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems, identify good practices and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries.

Its head quarter is at Paris, France.

Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) is a tax avoidance strategy used by multinational companies, wherein profits are shifted from jurisdictions that have high taxes (such as the United States and many Western European countries) to jurisdictions that have low (or no) taxes (so-called tax havens).

Explanation: New species of long legged; tree- dwelling crabs have been discovered by Scientist in Western Ghats of Kerala. First of its kind to offer a record of an arboreal crab — a species that lives in trees.

The new species named Kani maranjandu after the Kani tribe in Kerala

Masala bonds are bonds issued outside India but denominated in Indian Rupees.

Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill: introduced in Lok Sabha to accord constitutional status to the Backward Classes commission.

U.K., India unveil joint ‘green’ fund.

Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) or monkey fever:

• Kyasanur Forest disease (KFD) is a tick-borne viral hemorrhagic fever endemic to South Asia.
• The disease is caused by a virus
• The disease was first reported from Kyasanur Forest of Karnataka in India in March 1957. The disease first manifested as an epizootic (a disease event in a nonhuman animal population) outbreak among monkeys killing several of them in the year 1957. Hence the disease is also locally known as Monkey Disease or Monkey Fever
• Reservoir hosts for the disease: porcupines, rats, squirrels, mice and shrews.
• The vector for disease transmission is Haemaphysalis spinigera, a forest tick. Humans contract infection from the bite of the tick.

Statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) is the Indian government term for reserve requirement that the commercial banks in India require to maintain in the form of gold, government approved securities before providing credit to the customers.

Reverse repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India in case of India) borrows money from commercial banks within the country. It is a monetary policy instrument which can be used to control the money supply in the country.

NEERI falls under the Ministry of Science and Technology (India) of central government.

States will be ranked on innovations from 2017

• NITI Aayog, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) together launched a mega initiative “India Innovation Index”.
• It will rank states on Innovations through country’s first online innovation index portal that will capture data on innovation from all Indian states on innovation and regularly update it in real time.
• The India Innovation Index Framework will be structured based on the best practices followed in Global Innovation Index (GII) indicators and additionally by adding India-centric parameters those truly reflect the Indian innovation ecosystem.

The Global Innovation Index (GII)

• The Global Innovation Index (GII), co-published by World-Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cornell University and INSEAD with CII as a Knowledge Partner since inception,has been ranking world economies including India since 2007 according to their innovation capabilities and outcomes using 82 indicators among a host of other important parameters.
• It has established itself as both a leading reference on innovation and a ‘tool for action’ for policy makers.
• India currently ranks 66^th out of 128 countries on the Global innovation Index (GII) 2016.

Phytorid Wastewater Treatment Technology

• CSIR-NEERI’s technology involves a constructed wetland exclusively designed for the treatment of municipal, urban, agricultural and industrial wastewater
• The system is based on the specific plants, such as Elephant grass (Pennisetumpurpurem), Cattails (Typha sp.), Reeds (Phragmitessp.), Cannas pp. and Yellow flag iris (Iris pseudocorus), normally found in natural wetlands with filtration and treatment capability. Some ornamental as well as flowering plants species such as Golden Dhuranda, Bamboo, Nerium, Colosia, etc. can also be used for treatment as well as landscaping purposes
• The phytorid technology treatment is a subsurface flow type in which wastewater is applied to cell / system filled with porous media such as crushed bricks, gravel and stones. The hydraulics is maintained in such a manner that wastewater does not rise to the surface retaining a free board at the top of the filled media
• The system consists of the following three zones: (i) inlet zone comprising of crushed bricks and different sizes of stones, (ii) treatment zone consisting of the same media as in inlet zone with plant species, and (iii) outlet zone
• The treated effluent is useful for municipal gardens, fountains  and irrigation

The regulator will perform four primary functions—

 1) Tariff determination

2) Ensuring fair play and level playing field for stakeholder investment;

3) Setting efficiency and performance standards; and

4) Dissemination of information

The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait, historically known as the Dover Narrows is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and North Sea.