UPSC 2023: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Aug 06 - Aug 12

• It is a variety of chilli from Nagaland and is one of the hottest chillies in the world.
• It is also known as ghost pepper and bhut jolokia.
• It got Geographical Indication certification in 2008.
• As per the Scoville scale, the unit used to measure spicy heat of chilli peppers, Bhut jolokia measures over a million units.

• Kathputli from Rajasthan and Putala Nach from Assam are forms of string puppets.
• Tholu Bommalata from Andhra Pradesh and Tolpavakoothu from Kerala are forms of shadow puppetry.

Read more  Forms of String puppets in India and Puppetry – Ancient Form of Art and Different Types in India

West to East: Ashgabat-Dushanbe-Astana-Bishkek.

               Saree                                                                GI Tag accorded to

• Kancheepuram Silk                                                        Tamil Nadu
• Arani Silk                                                                          Tamil Nadu
• Baluchari Saree                                                               West Bengal
• Patan Patola                                                                     Gujarat
• Venkatagiri Sarees                                                          Andhra Pradesh

In India, if a religious sect/community is given the status of a national minority:

• It can establish and administer exclusive educational institutions.
• It can derive benefits from the Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme.
• Prime Minister’s 15 point Programme for minorities is a programme launched by the Indian government for the welfare of religious minorities.

• Bhitarkanika Wetland was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2002.
• Its fauna includes Indian python, king cobra, black ibis, darters.
• It has one of the largest populations of the saltwater crocodile.
• It is located in the Kendrapara district of Odisha.

The crowding-out effect is a theory that argues increased government spending reduces private spending in the economy. It refers to increased government borrowing and spending causing a reduction in private spending. Because government borrowing increases the cost of private loans and uses up capital that may have been deployed elsewhere, private sector investments go down.
Borrowing overseas through the issue of sovereign bonds will not lead to crowding out effect.
Government increasing direct public sector expenditure, government funding infrastructure development projects, government selling new bonds in the money market can lead to the crowding out of private investments.

Parambikulam – Bandipur – Pench – Panna- Dudhwa.

• Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan is a programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class 12.
• It has subsumed Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teachers’ Education.

Read more: Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan – Integrated Scheme for School Education

‘evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA)’ project helps in the detection of gravitational waves that are emitted by super-massive black holes.

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched the scheme with the aim of providing additional income to farmers.
• The farmers will be provided assistance to install standalone solar pumps or solarise agricultural feeders.
• The farmers have the option of selling additional power through solar power projects set up on their barren lands, to the grid.

Read more on Kusum Scheme.

• Tropospheric Ozone (bad ozone) is a highly reactive oxidant that significantly reduces crop productivity, decreases the plants’ ability to sequester carbon and aggravates lung diseases.
• It is the main component of urban smog.
• Most of the ultraviolet radiations from the Sun is absorbed by the stratospheric ozone also known as good ozone.

• Zoonosis is another name for zoonotic disease. This type of disease passes from an animal or insect to a human.
• Zoonotic infections can be bacterial, viral, or parasitic.
• Scrub Typhus, Brucellosis, Anthrax are all examples of zoonotic diseases.

Read more on Zoonotic Diseases – Definition, Types. How Zoonotic Diseases Spread?

Article 51 of the Indian Constitution which is a Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP), states the state shall endeavour to :

1. promote international peace and security and maintain just and honourable relations between nations,
2. foster respect for international law and treaty obligations,
3. and to encourage settlements of international disputes by arbitration.

Portuguese-English-Danes-French
In 1498, Vasco da Gama of Portugal discovered a new sea route from Europe to India. He reached Calicut by sailing around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope. This was the first arrival of Europeans in India by sea route.
The British East India Company was established in 1600.
The Danish formed an East India Company and arrived in India in 1616.
French East India Company was established in 1664.

• The Dutch East India Company was created in 1602 as “United East India Company” and in India, they established the first factory in Masulipatanam in 1605, followed by Pulicat in 1610, Surat in 1616, Bimilipatam in 1641 and Chinsura in 1653.
• The Dutch had the shortest presence in India in comparison to the Portuguese and the English. Dutch presence on the Indian subcontinent lasted from 1605 to 1825.
• The Battle of Colachel was fought in 1741 between the Indian kingdom of Travancore and the Dutch East India Company. During the Travancore-Dutch War, King Marthanda Varma’s forces defeated the Dutch East India Company’s forces.

• The Sun is the largest object in our solar system, comprising 99.8% of the system’s mass.
• The diameter of the Sun is 109 times that of the Earth.

• The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission is a robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of the planet Mars. It is intended to study the interior structure and composition of Mars as well as to detect Marsquakes and other seismic activity, advancing understanding of the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets.
• It is part of NASA’s Discovery Program.
  • The Discovery Program is a series of Solar System exploration missions funded by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through its Planetary Missions Program Office.
• As of June 2021, the most recently selected Discovery missions are VERITAS and DAVINCI+, the fifteenth and sixteenth missions in the program.

• Though the Rajya Sabha has no power either to reject or to amend a Money Bill or vote on the Demands for Grants, it can discuss the Annual Financial Statement.

• Article 39 A of the Constitution of India provides for free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society, to promote justice on the basis of equal opportunity.
• Article 14 and Article 22 (1), obligate the State to ensure equality before the law. To receive those services, the person acquiring them should fall under the following categories:

• Direct seeding is the sowing of seeds directly in the soil, by-passing the need for nurseries and irrigation.
• Direct seeded crops require less labour and tend to mature faster than transplanted crops. In this method, plants are not subjected to stresses such as being pulled from the soil and re-establishing fine rootlets. It will save energy and planting cost is saved.
• It is an economical measure that helps in conserving water, nutrients, etc.

• Under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, disabilities have been increased from 7 to 21.
• Only the Central Governments will have the power to add more types of disabilities.
• State governments must take measures to minimise the impact of disability.
• Every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education.

• Halam Tribes are native to the state of Tripura, Assam and Mizoram.
• The name Halam was coined by the Tipra Maharaja. As per their oral tradition they called themselves “Riam”.
• Longai River is a trans-boundary river in India and Bangladesh.

All India Scheduled Castes Federation and The Independent Labour Party were established by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

• Article 22 deals with the protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. This article is applicable to both citizens and non-citizens. This provision extends certain procedural safeguards for individuals in case of an arrest.
• Under the preventive detention as enshrined under Article 22, a person cannot be detained for more than three months.
• The grounds of detention should be communicated to the detenu.
• Both the Parliament and the State Legislature can make a law of Preventive Detention for reasons connected with the security of a state and maintenance of public order. For reasons connected to defence, only the parliament can make laws of preventive detention.

• Zika Virus infection is caused by the Zika Virus (ZIKV) belonging to the Flaviviridae family.
• It is an infection transmitted through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.
• Zika virus infection during pregnancy results in birth defects in newborn babies, a condition called microcephaly and can also cause temporary paralysis in adults.

Copenhagen Consensus is a project that seeks to establish priorities for advancing global welfare using methodologies based on the theory of welfare economics using cost-benefit analysis. The project considers possible solutions to a wide range of problems, presented by experts in each field. These are evaluated and ranked by a panel of economists.

• USTTAD Scheme aims at upgrading the Skills and Training of minority communities by the preservation of traditional ancestral Arts and Crafts. It also envisages boosting the skill of craftsmen, weavers and artisans who are already engaged in the traditional ancestral work.
• Hamari Dharohar is a scheme to preserve the rich heritage of minority communities under the overall concept of Indian Culture.
• Nai Manzil Scheme aims to benefit the minority youths who do not have a formal school-leaving certificate in order to provide them with formal education and skills, and enable them to seek better employment and livelihoods in the organised sector.
• The Sakhi scheme aims to facilitate access to an integrated range of services including medical aid, police assistance, legal aid/case management, psychosocial counselling, and temporary support services to women affected by violence.
• The “Sanskritik Sadbhav Mandap” is being constructed by Union Minority Affairs Ministry under Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karykram (PMJVK). It is a community centre that will be utilized for various socio-economic-cultural activities, skill development training, coaching, different sports activities, relief activities during disasters such as Corona.

• Radhakanta Deb was the first President of the British Indian Association.
• Madras Mahajana Sabha was established by M. Veeraraghavachariar, G. Subramania Iyer and P. Anandacharlu.
• Surendranath Banerjee founded the Indian Association.