UPSC 2022: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Feb 19 - Feb 25

• Gamosa is a symbol of Assamese culture, an important marker of cultural identity for the Assamese.
• This small piece of cloth has high esteem and wide usage in Assamese culture.
• It is also known as ‘Bihuwaan’, as it is an essential part of the Bihu festival of Assam.
• It is generally a white rectangular piece of cloth with primarily a red border on three sides and red woven motifs on the fourth.
• Although cotton yarn is the most common material for making/weaving gamosas, there are special occasion ones made from Pat silk.
• Assam has traditionally had two types of gamosas – the uka and the phulam.
• The uka or plain kind is used to wipe sweat or dry the body after a bath.
• The phulam is decorated with floral motifs to be gifted as a memento or during festivals such as Bihu.

• The Senkaku Islands dispute, or Diaoyu Islands dispute, concerns a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the Diaoyu Islands in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and Tiaoyutai Islands in the Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan).
• They are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.
• It concerns a territorial dispute between Japan and China.

President’s Rule is initially valid for a period of six months. Later, it can be extended for a period of three years with parliamentary approval, every six months. When President’s rule is imposed, the governor carries on with the administration of the state on behalf of the President. President’s Rule can be revoked anytime after such a proclamation has been made by a subsequent proclamation by the President. A proclamation of revocation does not require approval by the Parliament.

• In March 2020, the central government introduced a scheme that aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units.
• The scheme was introduced to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on import bills.
• Apart from inviting foreign companies to set shop in India, the scheme also aims to encourage local companies to set up or expand existing manufacturing units.
• The objective is to make India more compliant with WTO (World Trade Organisation) commitments and also make it non-discriminatory and neutral with respect to domestic sales and exports.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the pharmaceuticals and IT hardware sectors, among others.

• Krishnadeva Raya of the Tuluva dynasty was the most famous king of the Vijayanagar Empire.
• Krishnadevaraya published several works – Amuktamalyada, Madalsa Charitra, Jambavati Kalyan, etc. He is said to have been a master of several languages.
• Harihara and Bukka founded Vijayanagar City in 1336 CE on the southern banks of the Tungabhadra.
• They made Hampi the capital city.
• They served under Vira Ballala III, the Hoysala King.

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was established in July 1989 by a Group of Seven (G-7) Summit in Paris, initially to examine and develop measures to combat money laundering.
• In October 2001, the FATF expanded its mandate to incorporate efforts to combat terrorist financing, in addition to money laundering.
• In April 2012, it added efforts to counter the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

All the statements are correct.

• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as fuel in heating appliances, cooking equipment, and vehicles.
• It is completely odourless and is made from refining petroleum or natural gas.
• Varieties of LPG bought and sold include mixes that are mostly propane (C₃H₈), mostly butane (C₄H₁₀), and, most commonly, mixes including both propane and butane.

• While Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer, India is the sixth-largest producer of coffee in the world, accounting for about 5% of world coffee production.
• India exports both Robusta and Arabica varieties of coffee.
• India is the only country in the world where the entire coffee cultivation is grown under shade, hand-picked and sun-dried.

• Air Quality Index (AQI) has six categories of air quality. They are: Good, Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor, Very Poor and Severe.
• The measurement of air quality is based on eight pollutants.
• Following pollutants are included in the measurement of Air Quality Index (AQI): Particulate Matter (PM10), Particulate Matter (PM2.5), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Ammonia (NH3), and Lead (Pb).

• Sri Lankan Tamils constitute an overwhelming majority of the population in the Northern Province and are the largest ethnic group in the Eastern Province.
• They are members of the Tamil ethnic group native to Sri Lanka.
• They constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Province and are in the minority throughout the rest of the country. 70% of Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka live in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
• Sri Lanka has been facing diplomatic challenges with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in connection with its civil war.

• Index of Eight Core Industries is prepared and released by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
• Index of Eight Core Industries is released every month. The index is calculated by using the Laspeyres formula of weighted arithmetic mean of quantity relatives.
• The core sectors of the Indian economy are coal, crude oil, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, natural gas, electricity and cement.
• Refinery products category has the highest weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

• Channapattana is a city and taluk headquarter in Ramanagara District in Karnataka.
• It is noted for its famous handmade lacquer wooden toys all over the world and hence popularly known as “Gombegala Ooru” or the “Toy-City” of Karnataka
• Channapatna toys are made of ivory wood and are coloured with vegetable dyes.
• Channapatna toys have been given the Geographical Indication Tag under the World Trade Organization.

According to the latest assessment, Snow Leopard is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.

• National Bamboo Mission is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• It is a sub-scheme under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).
• The bamboo grown outside forest areas has been excluded from the definition of tree by amending Section 2 (7) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 in 2017. This would help in exempting it from trees that need permits for felling or transportation.

Both the statements are correct.

• Chilika Lake is Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon.
• It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the largest brackish water lagoon in the world after the New Caledonian barrier reef.
• The lake is located at the mouth of the Daya River.
• It is a designated Ramsar Site under Ramsar Convention.
• The endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins are found in the lake.

• TEQIP project was started by the Government of India assisted by the World Bank.
• It was launched in December 2002.
• The project is being implemented to improve the quality of education in the technical institutions of India.
• It took graduates from elite institutions to rural and remote engineering colleges in poorer States.
• It is a ₹3,600-crore project that was divided into three phases. The third phase will end in March 2021.
• Among the initiatives was a bid to recruit more than 1,500 faculty from top institutions and send them to colleges that could never have afforded them.
  • They were paid salaries in accordance with the Seventh Pay Commission.

• Devices such as cellphones and wireline telephones require signals to connect from one end to another. These signals are carried on airwave. The airwaves are called spectrum, which is subdivided into bands that have varying frequencies.
• The Union government owns all the publicly available assets within the geographical boundaries of the country including airwaves.
• A firm can bid for spectrum only as per the eligibility point allocated based on its deposit.
• Foreign companies are also eligible to bid for the airwaves. But, they will have to either set up a branch in India and register as an Indian company, or tie up with an Indian company to be able to retain the airwaves after having won the spectrum in the bid.

• Aos are one of the major Naga tribes of Nagaland.
• Some villages in Nagaland are trying to revive a traditional form of punishment using prickly cages meant for shaming offenders.
• Such itchy cages are referred to as khujli ghar in Nagamese, but each Naga community has its own name.
• The Aos, one of the major tribes of Nagaland, call it Shi-ki which means flesh-house.

• The Aravalli Range, an eroded stub of ancient mountains, is the oldest range of fold mountains.
• The mountain range spans across Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan.
• Dhosi Hill, an extinct volcano, is a part of the Aravalli range.

It is a centrally sponsored scheme launched in 2013. It aims to provide strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions. The central funding (in the ratio of 60:40 for general category states, 90:10 for special category states and 100% for union territories) is based on norms and is outcome dependent. Funds flow from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories to the State Higher Education Councils before reaching the identified institutions. It is a scheme under the Ministry of Education (formerly HRD).

• Janaushadhi centres are run as part of the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).
• These centres are run by the Bureau of Pharma PSUs in India (BPPI).
• In these centres, generic medicines are sold at 50% to 90% lesser prices as compared to the market prices of branded medicines.

• Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
• It separates Iran from the Arabian Peninsula.
• It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.

• Himalayan serow is a goat-antelope.
• The Himalayan mammal is a high-altitude dweller usually found 2,000-4,000 metres above sea level.
• It is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List.

The Port of Trincomalee is the largest natural harbour in Sri Lanka. The Port of Colombo is the largest port of Sri Lanka with the most traffic.

• Light Machine Guns (LMGs) are designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon.
• Negev is Israeli LMG.
• SIG-716 assault rifles are American LMG.
• AK-203 assault rifles are Russian LMG.

Manas National Park is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site. It is located in Assam. It is a tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve.

All the statements are correct.

• Lake Natron is a salt lake in Arusha Region in Tanzania.
• It is included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.
• High levels of evaporation cause sodium carbonate decahydrate to be left behind in its bed.
• The lake’s warm water is an ideal breeding ground for the Rift Valley flamingos.