UPSC 2020: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz May 09 - May 15

All the statements are correct.

Both are correct.

Both are incorrect. Jizya was not a pilgrimage tax. Barids were intelligent officers.

All the statements are correct.

Port city of Lothal.

Both are correct.

Both are correct.

Sun Temple, Modhera

All three are correct.

Both are correct.

Pangea broke up into two continents 200 million years ago – Statements is incorrect. Pangea began to break apart 175 million years ago.

Both are correct.

Both are correct.

1 and 2 only are correct.

• National Health Authority is the apex body responsible for implementing Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).
• National Health Authority is the successor of the National Health Agency, which was functioning as a registered society.
• NHA is governed by a Governing Board chaired by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare. It is headed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), an officer of the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, who manages its affairs.

Uranus.

Uranus has five major moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon.

Both are correct.

• Initially SEBI was a non-statutory body without any statutory power. However, in 1992, the SEBI was given additional statutory power by the Government of India through an amendment to the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
• In April 1988 the SEBI was constituted as the regulator of capital markets in India under a resolution of the Government of India.
• In 2015, the Forward Market Commission was merged with SEBI.
• With this, the regulation of commodity derivatives market has shifted to SEBI under Securities Contracts Regulation Act (SCRA) 1956.

Both are correct statements.

Both are correct.

• Currently, the total number of migratory fauna from India numbers 457 species.
• Birds account for the largest share of the migratory species, accounting for about 83% (380 species).
• India alone accounts for around 450 species of the total 650 species globally listed under the CMS Appendices.

Statement 1 is only correct.

• The fishing cats are found in very few places in the south and south-east Asia.
• It is broadly but discontinuously distributed in Asia and is primarily found in the Terai region of the Himalayan foothills in India and Nepal, in eastern India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
• Since 2016, the fishing cat is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, which means that it faces a high threat of extinction in the wild.
• In India, the fishing cat is included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and thereby protected from hunting.

1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Statement 3 is incorrect.

1 and 2 only are correct.

Telangana.

All the statements are correct.

• A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as of special cultural or physical significance.
• UNESCO designation as a World Heritage Site provides prima facie evidence that such culturally sensitive sites are legally protected pursuant to the Law of War, under the Geneva Convention, its articles, protocols and customs, together with other treaties including the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and international law.
• In July 2019, Jaipur was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites from India. With this, India got its 38th UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • The capital city of Jaipur, included in the list of world heritage sites, was founded in 1727 by the then Kachwaha Rajput ruler of Amber, Sawai Jai Singh II.
  • The city was established on the plains and built according to a grid plan interpreted in the light of Vedic architecture.
• India has 38 world heritage sites that include 30 Cultural heritage sites, 7 Natural sites and 1 mixed site.

All the statements are correct.

Judicial Intervention:

• The 10th Schedule bars any court from having any jurisdiction in respect of matters connected with the disqualification of a member of a House under the Schedule.
• Further, Articles 122 and 212 expressly prevent the intervention of courts in the proceedings of Parliament and State Legislature.

• • The doctrine of Basic Structure, as declared in the Kesavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala consequently include bar of formal jurisdiction related to Articles 122 and 212.
• However, the power of the Supreme Court and the High Courts with respect to issuing writs, as given by Articles 32 and 226, remain applicable.
  • In Chandra Kumar vs. Union of India, the Supreme Court held that if any provision of any law takes away the writ jurisdiction of any court, it will be deemed as a violation of the basic structure of the Constitution.
• In the Kihoto Hollohan vs. Zachillhu and Others verdict, Supreme Court laid down a balance between the judiciary’s intervention and the level of autonomy and discretion of speaker with respect to disqualification on the ground of defection:
  • The law initially stated that the decision of the Presiding Officer is not subject to judicial review.
  • This condition was struck down by the Supreme Court and allowed appeals in the Supreme Court and High Courts against the Presiding Officer’s decision.
  • However, it held that there may not be any judicial intervention until the Presiding Officer gives his order.
  • In 2015, the Hyderabad High Court refused to intervene after hearing a petition which alleged that there had been a delay by the Telangana Assembly Speaker in acting against a member under the anti-defection law.

Afforestation method.

• ‘Miyawaki forests’ is a highly successful technique, pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki.
• The concept involves raising indigenous and native trees in dense plantations mimicking forest settings. It involves the preparation of the substrate if the land involved is much degraded.
• It promotes natural vegetation on degraded land.

Both are incorrect.

• The Eat Right India Movement is a year-long social and mass media campaign of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). It is the new healthy eating approach which places citizens at the centre of a Health Revolution through food and fitness.
• The strength of the ‘The Eat Right Movement’ lies in its holistic and collaborative approach, with stakeholders on both the demand and supply-side joining to make a difference through some clearly identified steps.
  • On the demand side, the Eat Right Movement focuses on empowering citizens to make the right food choices.
  • On the supply side, it nudges food businesses to reformulate their products, provide better nutritional information to consumers and make investments in healthy food as responsible food businesses.
• ‘The Eat Right Movement’ brings together three ongoing initiatives of FSSAI:
  • Safe and Nutritious Food Initiative, focused on social and behavioural change around food safety and nutrition at home, school, workplace and on-the-go;
  • The Eat Healthy Campaign focused on reduction of high fat, sugar and salt foods in the diet; and
  • Food Fortification, focused on promoting five staple foods – wheat flour, rice, oil, milk and salt that are added with key vitamins and minerals to improve their nutritional content.

None of the above.

• India is not part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China citing sovereignty concerns over the passing of CPEC through PoK.
• India decided against signing onto the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership fearing that it would affect the domestic producers.
• The Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF), was created by the U.S., Japan and Australia as also the Blue Dot network.
• The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim, promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It includes both China and the U.S.

Flies.

• Drosophila is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called “small fruit flies”.
• Drosophila is one of the most widely used and preferred model organisms in biological research. They are ideal for the study of genetics and development given the close relationship between fruit fly and human genes.

All are correct statements.