Prelims Booster Plan 2020 Flash Cards Set-4 To 6

Prelims Booster Plan 2020 Flash Cards
Static + Current Flash Cards Set-4 to 6 [Total 50 Concepts]

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Contents
Set-4 Static Flash Cards ................................................................................................................. 1
Set-5 Static Flash Cards ............................................................................................................... 19
Set-6 Static Flash Cards ............................................................................................................... 34
Set-4 Static Flash Cards
Que-1
Tiger faced dance is the folk dance of which Indian state?
Answer: Karnataka
Enrich Your Learning:
Huli Vesha or Pili Yesais or Tiger faced dance:
• Huli Vesha or Pili Yesais a folk dance famous in coastal Karnataka
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• It is performed during Navratri to honour the Goddess Durga whose favoured animal is
the tiger.
• Huli Vesha is performed by local youth.
• While Pili means "tiger" in Tulu, dancers also painted themselves with leopard or cheetah
motifs.
Que-02
Pookode Lake and Vellayani Lake are located in which Indian state?
Answer:
Pookode Lake and Vellayani Lake are located in Kerala state on India.
Pookode Lake
• Pookode Lake in Wayanad is a natural freshwater lake at an altitude of 770 meters above
sea level near Kalpetta, Kerala.
• The perennial freshwater lake has the shape of an Indian map.
• It is nestled between evergreen forests and surrounded by the Western Ghats.
• It is the highest altitude freshwater lake in Kerala, it is the smallest too.
• Pookode Lake is also the point of origination for Panamaram River, that flows through
the valley to join Kabini River.
• Blue lotus and numerous fresh water fishes can be sited in the lake.
Vellayani Lake
• Locally known as Vellayani Kayal, is the largest freshwater lake in Kerala, situated in the
Trivandrum city.
• The water from the lake is mostly used for irrigation and drinking purposes and for
harvesting lotus flowers.
• Till 1953, it was used only to grow lotus flowers for the Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple.
• It is a common practice to dewater the lake twice annually for paddy cultivation by the
farmers.
Que-03
Gram Panchayat Development Plan is formulated a) annually or b) five years?
Solution: GPDP is an annual plan of each panchayat where the villagers would decide where the
money should be spent.
Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP):
• In 2015, the Fourteenth Finance Commission grants were devolved to Gram Panchayats
that provided them with an enormous opportunity to plan for their development
themselves.
• GPDP is an annual plan of each panchayat where the villagers would decide where the
money should be spent.
• Since then, local bodies, across the country are expected to prepare Gram Panchayat
Development Plans.
Details:
• GPDP planning process has to be based on full convergence with Schemes of all related
Central Ministries / Line Departments related to 29 subjects enlisted in the Eleventh
Schedule of the Constitution.
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• GPDP campaign will be an intensive and structured exercise for planning at Gram Sabha
level through convergence between Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and concerned Line
Departments of the State.
• GPDP is conducted from 2nd October to 31st December, every year across the country,
under the People’s Plan Campaign (PPC).
• Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Rural Development, has mandated Self Help
Groups under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-
NRLM) to participate in the annual GPDP planning process and prepare the Village
Poverty Reduction Plan (VPRP).
Village Poverty Reduction Plan (VPRP):
• VPRP is a comprehensive demand plan prepared by the Self Help Group (SHG) network
and their federations for projecting their demands and local area development which
needs to be integrated with the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).
• The VPRP is presented in the Gram Sabha meetings from Oct. to Dec. every year.
• It is an integral component of the convergence effort between the DAY-NRLM and
Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Key fact:
• Article 243G of the Constitution intended to empower the Gram Panchayats (GPs) by
enabling the State Governments to devolve powers and authority in respect of all 29
Subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule for local planning and implementation of
schemes for economic development and social justice.
Que-04
As per the recent guidelines of RBI, what is the criteria for Primary (Urban) Co-operative Bank if
it wants to become a Small Finance Bank (SFB)?
Solution:
• Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs), desirous of voluntarily transiting into SFBs
initial requirement of net worth shall be at Rs 100 crore, which will have to be increased
to Rs 200 crore within five years from the date of commencement of business.
Why in news?
• In December 2019, RBI issued revised guidelines for ‘on tab’ licensing of small finance
banks (SFB).
o An 'on-tap' facility mean the RBI will accept applications and grant license for
banks throughout the year.
Guiltiness for ‘on tab’ licensing of SFBs
• Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs), desirous of voluntarily transiting into SFBs
initial requirement of net worth shall be at Rs 100 crore, which will have to be increased
to Rs 200 crore within five years from the date of commencement of business.
• Small finance banks will be given scheduled bank status immediately upon
commencement of operations.
• Payments banks can apply for conversion after five years of operations if they are eligible
as per revised guidelines.
o The promoter of a payments bank is eligible to set up an SFB, provided that both
banks come under the non-operating financial holding company (NOFHC)
structure (on-deposit taking NBFC).
Small Finance Banks (SFBs)
• Small finance banks are a type of niche banks in India.
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• It primarily undertakes basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to

unserved and underserved sections such as small business units, small farmers, Micro,
Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and various other unorganised sectors.
• RBI issued guidelines for setting up SFBs in 2014.
• The minimum paid-up equity capital for small finance banks is Rs. 100 crores.
Que-05
Which Tirthankara of Jainism was the earliest exponent of Karma philosophy in recorded
history?
Answer: Parshvanatha
Parshvanatha:
• Parshvanatha was the 23rd Tirthankara, according to Jainism.
• Parshvanatha was the first Tirthankara for whom there is historical evidence, but this
evidence is intricately interwoven with legend.
• Parshvanatha established the “fourfold restraint,” the four vows taken by his followers
(not to take life, steal, lie, or own property) that, with Mahavira’s addition of the vow of
celibacy, became the five “great vows” (mahavratas) of Jain ascetics.
• While Parshvanatha allowed monks to wear an upper and lower garment, Mahavira
gave up on clothing altogether.
• According to tradition, the two sets of views were reconciled by a disciple of each of the
Tirthankaras, with the followers of Parshvanatha accepting Mahavira’s reforms.
• The legends surrounding Parshvanatha emphasize his association with serpents.
• Parshvanatha attained moksha on Mount Sammeta (Madhuban, Jharkhand) in the Ganges
basin
Que-06
Yanadi tribe and Betta Kurumba tribe are from which Indian state/s?
Answer:
Yanadis are one of the major schedule tribe of Andhra Pradesh and Betta Kurumba tribe is found
in regions of Karnataka.
Yanadi tribe
• Yanadis are one of the major schedule tribe of Andhra Pradesh located in Southern India.
• The Yanadi is a nomadic tribe.
• There are mainly four kinds in the Yanadi tribe. There are Reddy Yanadi, Challa Yanadi,
KappalaYanadis and Adaviyanadis.
o The Reddy Yanadis were employed as their trackers and hunters.
o Challa Yanadis were doing low grade jobs, as scavengers and were give challa
(buttermilk) as payment.
o Kappala Yanadis are mostly fisher men.
o Adavi Yanadis are those who live in forests even now far away from human
habitation
• Majority of the Yanadis follow Hindu religion.
• Yanadis follow the custom of magic. Yanadis irrationally follow and believe these black
magic techniques and outcomes.
Betta Kurumba tribe
• The Betta Kuruba tribe lives in the hilly regions of Karnataka, and is one of the few
indigenous communities of the Nilgiris.
• Traditionally, the Kuruba people drew sustenance from hunting, gathering and collecting
wild honey.
• They are also cultivating millets like ragi and samai on a small scale mainly on hill slopes
and mountain ridges.
• The Kurumba houses known as "Gudlu" are temporary constructions in the forests.
• Now, they are mainly engaged in agriculture and those who do not own lands work as
casual agricultural labourers.
• The Kurumbas are hardworking people, but the economic condition of the Kurumbas is
very poor.
• They have not been notified as a Scheduled Tribe.
Que-07
Doubts and disputes in connection with the election of a President or Vice - President shall be
settled by a) Election Commission or b) Supreme Court?
Solution: Supreme Court
Article 71 of Indian Constitution:
• It deals with matters relating to, or connected with, the election of a President or Vice-
President.
The Article deals with:
1. All doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with the election of a President or
Vice - President shall be inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court whose decision
shall be final.
2. If the election of a person as President or Vice - President is declared void by the
Supreme Court, acts done by him in the exercise and performance of the powers and
duties of the office of President or Vice-President, as the case may be, on or before the
date of the decision of the Supreme Court shall not be invalidated by reason of that
declaration.
3. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament may by law regulate any matter
relating to or connected with the election of a President or Vice-President.
4. The election of a person as President or Vice-President shall not be called in question on
the ground of the existence of any vacancy for whatever reason among the members of
the electoral college electing him.
Que-08
India’s ‘Natural rate of population’ in year 2018 was higher than in 2010. Do you agree?
Solution: No
Correct Statement:
• Rate of natural increase of India fell gradually from 21.74 persons per thousand
populations in 1969 to 10.62 persons per thousand populations in 2018.
Natural rate of population increase
• The rate of natural increase refers to the difference between the number of live births
and the number of deaths occurring in a year, divided by the mid-year population of that
year, multiplied by a factor (usually 1,000).
• It is equal to the difference between the crude birth rate and the crude death rate. This
measure of the population change excludes the effects of migration.
Natural rate of population increase in India
• In 2018, rate of natural increase for India was 10.62 persons per thousand populations.
• Rate of natural increase of India fell gradually from 21.74 persons per thousand
populations in 1969 to 10.62 persons per thousand populations in 2018.
Que-09
What do you mean by the term ‘Agro ecology’?
Answer:
Agro ecology has been identified as an integration of science, practices and social processes.
Agro ecology
• Agro ecology is based on applying ecological concepts and principles to optimize
interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment.
• Agro ecology is farming that centers on food production that makes the best use of
nature’s goods and services while not damaging these resources.
• It takes into consideration the social aspects that need to be addressed for a sustainable
and fair food system.
• Agro ecology is based on context-specific design and organization, of crops, livestock,
farms and landscapes.
• It works with solutions that conserve above and below ground biodiversity as well as
cultural and knowledge diversity with a focus on women’s and youth’s role in agriculture.
• Agro ecology is the basis for evolving food systems that are equally strong in
environmental, economic, social and agronomic dimensions.
• To harness the multiple sustainability benefits that arise from agro ecological approaches,
an enabling environment is required, including adapted policies, public investments,
institutions and research priorities.
Significance
• It can support food production and food security and nutrition while restoring the
ecosystem services and biodiversity that are essential for sustainable agriculture.
• Agro ecology can play an important role in building resilience and adapting to climate
change.
Que-10
In context of Interference of light, what is Destructive interference?
Answer:
Destructive interference
• Destructive interference occurs at any location along the medium where the two
interfering waves have a displacement in the opposite direction.
• The interference of a crest with a trough is an example of destructive interference.

Interference of light
• An important characteristic of light waves is their ability, under certain circumstances, to
interfere with one another.
• Wave interference is a phenomenon that occurs when two waves meet while traveling
along the same medium.
• The interference of waves causes the medium to take on a shape that results from the net
effect of the two individual waves upon the particles of the medium.
• Thomas Young was 19th century physicist who demonstrated interference showing that
light is a wave phenomenon and who also postulated that different colors of light were
made from waves with different lengths.
• Wave interference can be constructive or destructive in nature.
• Interference is demonstrated by the light reflected from a film of oil floating on water.
• Another example is the soap bubble that reflects a variety of beautiful colors when
illuminated by a light source.
• Spectacular example of naturally occurring interference, the Morpho didius butterfly
thrives in the Amazon rain forest and exhibits one of the most beautiful forms of
iridescence seen in the insect world.
Constructive interference
• Constructive interference occurs at any location along the medium where the two
interfering waves have a displacement in the same direction.
• If at a given instant in time and location along the medium, the crest of one wave meets
the crest of a second wave, they will interfere in such a manner as to produce a "super-
crest."
• Similarly, the interference of a trough and a trough interfere constructively to produce a
"super-trough."
Que-11
What do you know about the Chaolung Sukapha which was one of the ruler in 13th-century?
Answer & Enrich Your Learning:
Chaolung Sukapha:
• Sukapha was a 13th-century ruler who founded the Ahom kingdom that ruled Assam for
six centuries. Contemporary scholars trace his roots to Burma.
• Sukapha was a leader of the Ahoms. He reached Brahmaputra valley in Assam from
upper Burma in the 13th century with around 9,000 followers.
• In 1235 CE, Sukapha and his people settled in Charaideo in upper Assam where
heestablished his first small principality, and expanded the Ahom kingdom.
Socio-religious practices:
• The founders of the Ahom kingdom had their own language and followed their own
religion. Over the centuries, they accepted the Hindu religion and the Assamese
language.
• They did not impose their tradition and culture on those living here.
• Sukapha developed very amiable relationships with the tribal communities living here
and Intermarriage also increased assimilation processes.
Why is Sukapha important?
• Sukapha’s significance — especially in today’s Assam — lies in his successful efforts
towards assimilation of different communities and tribes.
• He is widely referred to as the architect of Bor Asom or greater Assam.
• To commemorate Sukapha and his rule, Assam celebrates Asom Divas on December 2
every year.
Que-12
Van allen radiation belts can be seen in which layer of Earth’s atmosphere?
Answer:
Van allen radiation belts can be seen in exosphere (upper layer) of Thermosphere.
Troposphere
• The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere and site of weather on Earth.
• On the top of troposphere, a layer of air called the tropopause, which separates the
troposphere from the stratosphere.
• The troposphere is wider at the equator (10mi) than at the poles (5mi).
• It contains 75% of atmosphere's mass and 99% of the water vapor in the atmosphere.
• They are greatest above the tropics and decrease toward the polar regions.
• Most prevalent gases are nitrogen (78 percent) and oxygen (21 percent), with the
remaining 1- percent consisting of argon, (0.9 percent) and traces of hydrogen ozone and
other constituents.
• It does not contain ozone.
• Temperature and water vapor content in the troposphere decrease rapidly with altitude.
• The temperature in the troposphere can reach -80oC.
• The uneven heating of the regions of the troposphere by the sun causes convection
currents, large-scale patterns of winds.
Mesosphere
• The mesosphere extends from stratopause to 80–85 km.
• Most meteoroids get burnt in this layer.
• Temperature decreases with altitude in the mesosphere.
• Mesopause is a thin layer of extremely cold atmosphere that separates the mesosphere
from the Ionosphere above.
• The mesopause that marks the top of the mesosphere, is the coldest place around Earth
with an average temperature around −85 °C. The temperatures at that point may drop to
−100 °C.
• Due to the cold temperature ice clouds are formed as water vapour frizzes. These clouds
are called Noctilucent clouds.
• The noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere, located in the
mesosphere at altitudes of around 76 to 85 kilometers.
Thermosphere
• Thermosphere is above the Mesopause layer.
• Temperature increases rapidly with increasing height.
• It is divided into two layers:
Ionosphere
• It extends from 80 km to 640 km. There are many ionic layers in this sphere.
• D Layer reflects the signals of low frequency radio waves but absorbs the signals of
medium and high frequency waves. This layer disappears with the sunset.
• E layer also known as Kennelly Heaviside layer, reflects the medium and high frequency
radio waves back to the earth.
• SPORADIC E layer is associated with high velocity winds. This layer reflects very high
frequency radio waves.
• E2 layer is produced due to reaction of ultra-violet solar photons with oxygen molecules
and this layer also disappear during night.
• F layers consists of two sub layers F1 and F2 layers, collectively they are called ‘Appleton
layer’. This layer reflect medium and high frequency radio waves back to the earth.
• G layer most probably persists day and night but is not detectable.
Exosphere
• It represents the uppermost layer of the atmosphere.
• The density becomes extremely low and the atmosphere resembles a nebula because it is
highly rarefied.
• The temperature becomes 15000c at its outer limit.
• The atmosphere above ionosphere is called outer atmosphere having exosphere and
magnetosphere.
• This zone is characterized by van allen radiation belts having charged particles trapped by
earth’s magnetic field, aurora australis and aurora borealis.
• Aurora are cosmic glowing lights produced by a stream of electron discharged from the
sun’s surface due to magnetic storm.
• Auroras are seen as unique multicolored fireworks hanging in the polar sky during mid
night.
Que-13
International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is aimed at?
Answer:
IPPC is aimed to secure cooperation among nations in protecting global plant resources from the
introduction and spread of plant pests, in order to preserve food security, biodiversity and
facilitate trade.
International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
• The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an intergovernmental treaty
signed by over 180 countries.
• The treaty is aimed to protect the world's plant resources from the spread and
introduction of pests, and to promote safe trade.
• The Convention introduced International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs)
as its main tool to achieve its goals, making it the sole global standard setting organization
for plant health.
• The IPPC is one of the "Three Sisters" recognized by the World Trade Organization's
(WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement, along with the Codex
Alimentarius Commission for food safety standards and the World Organization for
Animal Health (OIE) for animal health standards.
Implementing the IPPC: Governing bodies and structure
• The Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) is the IPPC main governing body,
holding its sessions annually.
• The CPM Bureau provides guidance to the IPPC Secretariat on activities, particularly those
related to financial and operational management.
• The Standards Committee (SC) is overseeing the IPPC standard setting process to develop
international standards.
• The Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC) provides technical
guidance to enhance the capacity of contracting parties.
• The Strategic Planning Group (SPG) undertakes specific activities on behalf of the CPM.
• The IPPC Secretariat, established in 1992 and hosted at FAO headquarters in Rome.
Que-14
What do you understand by the term ‘Holography’?
Answer:
Holography is a class of methods for recording and reconstructing three-dimensional images,
which are based on interference phenomena.
Holography
• A hologram is a real world recording of an interference pattern which uses diffraction to
reproduce a 3D light field, resulting in an image which still has the depth, parallax, and
other properties of the original scene.
• Holographic images are called holograms. Holography is the science and practice of
making holograms.
• A hologram is a photographic recording of a light field, rather than an image formed by a

lens.
• Unlike normal photographic images, they do not use a mapping of individual objects
points to individual points in the hologram; in that sense, they are not images.
• The holographic medium, for example the object produced by a holographic process
(which may be referred to as a hologram) is usually unintelligible when viewed under
diffuse ambient light.
• It is an encoding of the light field as an interference pattern of variations in the opacity,
density, or surface profile of the photographic medium.
• When suitably lit, the interference pattern diffracts the light into an accurate
reproduction of the original light field, and the objects that were in it exhibit visual depth
cues such as parallax and perspective that change realistically with the different angles of
viewing.
• View of the image from different angles represents the subject viewed from similar
angles.
• In this sense, holograms do not have just the illusion of depth but are truly three-
dimensional images.
• Holography is distinct from lenticular and other earlier autostereoscopic 3D display
technologies, which can produce superficially similar results but are based on
conventional lens imaging.
Applications
• Security holograms e.g. for passports, ID cards and credit cards, which are essentially used
for making it substantially more difficult to produce convincing illegal copies, since the
details of the required hologram are difficult to measure.
• Despite the typical image imperfections, holograms can be attractive as pieces of art.
• For research purposes, holographic images of tiny objects can be made not only with
light, but also with coherent X-rays, as can be generated with free electron lasers.
Key Fact
• The Nobel Prize 1971 in Physics was awarded to Dennis Gabor for his invention and
development of holographic methods; his first demonstration was done in 1947.
Que-15
Sohrai Khovar Painting is the painting art of which Indian State?
Answer: Jharkhand
Sohrai Khovar Painting:
• Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting was given the GI tag by the Geographical Indications
Registry headquartered in Chennai.
• The Sohrai Khovar painting is a traditional and ritualistic mural art being practised by
local tribal women during harvest and marriage seasons using naturally available soils of
different colours in Jharkhand.
• The painting is primarily being practised only in the district of Hazaribagh. However, in
recent years, it has been seen in other parts of Jharkhand.
• Traditionally painted on the walls of mud houses, they are now seen on other surfaces,
too.
• The style features a profusion of lines, dots, animal figures and plants, often
representing religious iconography.
Que-16
Where the Taiga forests found?
Answer:
Taiga forests found in northern circumpolar forested regions which extends across Europe, North
America, and Asia.
Taiga forests
• Taiga, also called boreal forest is a biome of vegetation composed primarily of cone-
bearing needle-leaved or scale-leaved evergreen trees.
• It is found in northern circumpolar forested regions characterized by long winters and
moderate to high annual precipitation.
• The taiga means “land of the little sticks” in Russian, takes its name from the collective
term for the northern forests of Russia, especially Siberia.
• It occupies about 17 percent of Earth’s land surface area in a circumpolar belt of the far
Northern Hemisphere.
• The taiga is characterized predominantly by a limited number of conifer species– pine
(Pinus), spruce (Picea), larch (Larix), fir (Abies) and to a lesser degree by some deciduous
genera– birch (Betula) and poplar (Populus).
Taiga Biome
• The taiga biome is the largest terrestrial biome and extends across Europe, North
America, and Asia.
• It is located right below the tundra biome.
• The taiga biome is also known as coniferous forest or boreal forest.
• This biome typically has short, wet summers and long, cold winters.
• Precipitation is moderate in the taiga. It gets plenty of snow during the winter and plenty
of rainfall during the summer.
• Fires are very common in the taiga biome.
• There is not much variety in plants. Majority of the plants are conifer trees that is why
coniferous forest.
• The conifer trees in the taiga biome are referred to as evergreen.
Que-17
The collegium system of judges is mentioned in the original Constitution of India. True or False?
Solution: False. The collegium system of judges finds no mention in the original Constitution of
India.
Selection procedure of Chief Justice of India:
• The senior-most judge of the Supreme court is generally considered for holding the office
of the Chief Justice of India.
• When the incumbent CJI is about to retire, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company
affairs use to seek the recommendation of the CJI to appoint the next CJI.
• After receiving the recommendation of the CJI, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company
affairs forward the issue to the Prime Minister who will further move the proposal to the
President of India for the final approval.
The procedure of an appointment:
• The Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the other judges of the highest judiciary are appointed
by the President of India under the Article 124 (2) of the Constitution.
Role and composition of the collegium:
• The collegium system was commissioned by two judgments of the Supreme Court in the
1990s.
• It has no mention in the original Constitution of India or its successive amendments.
• The Supreme Court collegium consists of the four senior-most judges and the Chief
Justice.
• The collegium of the five judges is responsible for a major role in the Indian judiciary
which includes the appointment and transfer of the judges of the High Court and the
appointment of the Supreme Court judges.
• Article 222 of the Constitution provides for the transfer of a judge from one High Court to
another.
• The collegium sends its final recommendation to the President of India for approval.
• The President can either accept it or reject it. In the case it is rejected, the
recommendation comes back to the collegium.
• If the collegium reiterates its recommendation to the President, then he/she is bound by
that recommendation.
Three Judges case:
• The Collegium system was evolved through Supreme Court judgments in the Three Judges
Cases.
• First Judges Case (1981): It ruled that the consultation with the CJI in the matter of
appointments must be full and effective. However, it rejected the idea that the CJI’s
opinion should have primacy.
• Second Judges Case (1993): It introduced the Collegium system, holding that consultation
really meant concurrence. It added that it was not the CJI’s individual opinion, but an
institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges in the
Supreme Court.
• Third Judges Case (1998): Supreme court expanded the Collegium to a five-member body,
comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues.
Criticism of collegium system:
• The lack of transparency in collegium system has resulted in nepotism and elevation of
judges based on personal relationships and past favours instead of merit or seniority.
• The selection of CJI is made from very small group of candidates.
• The most pronounced attempt at reforming the Collegium System was the National
Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), which was passed by Parliament in 2014 as
the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act.
• However, it was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme court based on the
infringement on judicial independence.
Que-18
In context of budgetary documents, which budgetary paper shows the liabilities of the
Government on account of securities (bonds) issued in lieu of oil and fertilizer subsidies in the
past?
Solution:
• Receipt Budget shows liabilities of the Government on account of securities (bonds)
issued in lieu of oil and fertilizer subsidies in the past. This was earlier called 'Statement of
Revenue Foregone' and brought out as a separate statement in 2015-16. This has been
merged in the Receipts Budget from 2016-17 onwards.
Budget documents of 2020-21:
The Budget documents presented to Parliament comprise, besides the Finance Minister's Budget
Speech, of the following:
A. Annual Financial Statement (AFS):

• The core budget document, shows estimated receipts and disbursements by the
Government of India for a particular financial year (FY) in relation to estimates for
previous FY.
• The receipts and disbursements are shown under the three parts, in which Government
Accounts are kept viz.,(i) Consolidated Fund, (ii) Contingency Fund and (iii) Public Account.
• Under the Constitution, Annual Financial Statement distinguishes expenditure on revenue
account from other expenditure. Government Budget, therefore, comprises Revenue
Budget and Capital Budget. The estimates of expenditure included in the Annual Financial
Statement are for the net expenditure, i.e., after taking into account the recoveries, as
will be reflected in the accounts.
B. Demands for Grants (DG):
• Article 113 of the Constitution mandates that the estimates of expenditure from the
Consolidated Fund of India included in the Annual Financial Statement and required to be
voted by the Lok Sabha, be submitted in the form of Demands for Grants. The Demands
for Grants are presented to the Lok Sabha along with the Annual Financial Statement.
• More than one Demand may be presented for a Ministry or Department. A separate
Demand is presented for Union Territories without Legislature.
• Each Demand initially gives separately the totals of (i)'voted' and 'charged' expenditure;
(ii) the 'revenue' and the 'capital' expenditure and (iii) the grand total on gross basis of the
amount of expenditure for which the Demand is presented. This is followed by the
estimates of expenditure, amounts of recoveries and net amount of expenditure under
different major heads of account.
C. Finance Bill
• At the time of presentation of the Annual Financial Statement before the Parliament, a
Finance Bill is also presented in fulfilment of the requirement of Article 110 (1)(a) of the
Constitution, detailing the imposition, abolition, alteration or regulation of taxes
proposed in the Budget.
• It also contains other provisions relating to Budget that could be classified as Money Bill.
A Finance Bill is a Money Bill as defined in Article 110 of the Constitution.
D. Statements mandated under FRBM Act:
i) Macro-Economic Framework Statement
It is presented to Parliament under Section 3 of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management
Act, 2003.
What does it contain?
• An assessment of the growth prospects of the economy along with the statement of
specific underlying assumptions.
• An assessment regarding the GDP growth rate, the domestic economy and the stability of
the external sector of the economy, fiscal balance of the Central Government and the
external sector balance of the economy.
ii) Medium-Term Fiscal Policy cum Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement
Presented to Parliament under Section 3 of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act,
2003.
It sets out the three-year rolling targets for six specific fiscal indicators in relation to GDP at
market prices, namely (i) Fiscal Deficit, (ii) Revenue Deficit, (iii) Primary Deficit (iv) Tax Revenue (v)
Non-tax Revenue and (vi) Central Government Debt.
• Assessment of the balance between revenue receipts and revenue expenditure and the
use of capital receipts for the creation of productive assets.
• Outlines for the existing financial year, the strategic priorities of the Government relating
to taxation, expenditure, lending and investments.
• Explains how the current fiscal policies are in conformity with sound fiscal management
principles and gives the rationale for any major deviation in key fiscal measures.
E. Expenditure Budget
• The provisions made for a scheme or a programme may be spread over a number of
Major Heads in the Revenue and Capital sections in a Demand for Grants.
• In the Expenditure Budget, the estimates made for a scheme/programme are brought
together and shown on a net basis on Revenue and Capital basis at one place.
F. Receipt Budget
Estimates of receipts included in the Annual Financial Statement are further analysed in the
document "Receipt Budget".
• Details of tax and non-tax revenue receipts and capital receipts and explains the
estimates.
• Statement on the arrears of tax revenues and non-tax revenues, as mandated under the
Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Rules, 2004.
• Trend of receipts and expenditure along with deficit indicators, statement pertaining to
National Small Savings Fund (NSSF), Statement of Liabilities, Statement of Guarantees
given by the government, statements of Assets and details of External Assistance
• Shows liabilities of the Government on account of securities (bonds) issued in lieu of oil
and fertilizer subsidies in the past. This was earlier called 'Statement of Revenue
Foregone' and brought out as a separate statement in 2015-16. This has been merged in
the Receipts Budget from 2016-17 onwards.
G. Expenditure Profile
i) This document was earlier titled Expenditure Budget - Vol-I. It gives an aggregation of various
types of expenditure and certain other items across demands.
ii) Under the present accounting and budgetary procedures, certain classes of receipts, such as
payments made by one Department to another and receipts of capital projects or schemes, are
taken in reduction of the expenditure of the receiving Department. While the estimates of
expenditure included in the Demands for Grants are for the gross amounts, the estimates of
expenditure included in the Annual Financial Statement are for the net expenditure, after taking
into account the recoveries. The document, makes certain other refinements such as netting
expenditure of related receipts so that overstatement of receipts and expenditure figures is
avoided.
The document contains statements indicating major variations between previous two Budget
Estimates (BE) and Revised Estimates (RE).
Contributions to International bodies and estimated strength of establishment of various
Government Departments and provision thereof are shown in separate Statements.
A statement each, showing (i) Gender Budgeting and (ii) Schemes for Development of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes including Scheduled Caste Sub Scheme (SCSS) and Tribal Sub Scheme
(TSS) allocations and (iii) Schemes for the Welfare of Children are also included in this document.
It also has statements on (i) the expenditure details and budget estimates regarding Autonomous
Bodies and (ii) the details of certain important funds in the Public Account.
iii) Scheme Expenditure
• The Demands for Grants of the various Ministries show the Scheme expenditure under
the two categories of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and Central Sector Schemes
separately.
• The Expenditure Profile also gives the total provisions for each of the Ministries arranged
under the various categories- Centrally Sponsored Schemes, Central Sector Schemes,
Establishment, Other Central Expenditure, Transfer to States etc.
iv) Public Sector Enterprises
• A detailed report on the working of public sector enterprises is given in the document
titled 'Public Enterprises Survey' brought out separately by the Department of Public
Enterprises.
• A report on the working of the enterprises under the control of various administrative
Ministries is also given in the Annual Reports of the various Ministries.
v) Commercial Departments
• Railways is the principal departmentally-run commercial undertaking of Government. The
Budget of the Ministry of Railways and the Demands for Grants relating to Railway
expenditure are presented to the Parliament together with the Union Budget from the
financial year 2017-18 onwards.
• The Expenditure Profile has a separate section on Railways to capture all the salient
aspects of the demand for grants of Railways and other details. The total receipts and
expenditure of the Railways are, incorporated in the Annual Financial Statement of the
Government of India. Details of other commercially run departmental under takings are
also shown in a statement.
vi) The receipts and expenditure of the Ministry of Defence Demands shown in the Annual
Financial Statement, are explained in greater detail in the document Defence Services Estimates
presented with the Detailed Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Defence.
vii) The details of grants given to bodies other than State and Union Territory Governments are
given in the statements of Grants-in-aid paid to non-Government bodies appended to Detailed
Demands for Grants of the various Ministries.
H. Budget at a Glance
This document shows:
• In brief, receipts and disbursements along with broad details of tax revenues and other
receipts.
• provides details of resources transferred by the Central Government to State and Union
Territory Governments.
• Shows the revenue deficit, the gross primary deficit and the gross fiscal deficit of the
Central Government.
• Includes a statement indicating the quantum and nature (share in Central Taxes,
grants/loan) of the total Resources transferred to States and UTs.
I. Memorandum Explaining the Provisions in the Finance Bill
• To facilitate understanding of the taxation proposals contained in the finance Bill, the
provisions and their implications are explained in the document titled Memorandum
Explaining the Provisions in the Finance Bill.
J. Output Outcome Monitoring Framework
• Outcome Budget with Output-Outcome Monitoring Framework (OOMF) for Central
Sector Schemes (CSs) and Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) with financial outlay of
`500 crore and more each, will be laid in the House along with Budget 2020-2021.
• With regard to CS and CSS schemes with outlay less than `500 crore each, the output-
outcome monitoring framework with itemized expenditure of the schemes will be
prepared by the respective Ministry/ Department and the same will be presented in the
Parliament along with the Detailed Demand for Grants (DDG).
K. Key Features of Budget 2020-21
• The Document is a snapshot summary of the economic vision of the Government and the
major policy initiatives in the thrust areas of the economy for growth and welfare.
• Major milestones achieved in fiscal consolidation and management of the Government
finances along with a bird’s eye view of the key budget proposals for the fiscal year 2020-
2021 are also included in the document.
Que-19
The concept of Blue Growth is similar in many respects to that of the Blue Economy. True or
False?
Answer:
True.
The concept of Blue Growth is similar in many respects to that of the Blue Economy.
Blue Growth Initiative
• The Blue Growth Initiative is FAO’s framework for sustainably developing fisheries and
aquaculture.
• Blue Growth differs from business as usual in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, which
focused on single interests, such as producing more fish or safeguarding the environment,
and did not prioritize social benefits.
• The concept of Blue Growth is similar in many respects to that of the Blue Economy—a
concept that came out of Rio +20, which centres on the pillars of sustainable
development: environmental, economic, and social.
Objective
• To maximize economic and social benefits while minimizing environmental degradation
from these sectors.
• The goal of Blue Growth Initiative aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development (supported by the Sustainable Development Goals—SDGs).
A sustainable aquaculture strategy needs:
• A recognition of the fact that farmers earn a fair reward from farming
• To ensure that benefits and costs are shared equitably
• To promote wealth and job creation
• To make sure that enough food is accessible to all
• To manage the environment for the benefit of future generations
• To ensure that aquaculture development is orderly, with both authorities and industry
well organized
Aquaculture to develop its full potential so that:
• Communities prosper and people are healthier.
• There are more opportunities for improved livelihoods, with an increased income and
better nutrition.
• Farmers and women are empowered.
Que-20
Article 78 of the Indian Constitution deals with?
Solution: It deals with the duties of Prime Minister as respects the furnishing of information to
the President.
Duties of Prime Minister:
• Article 78 of the Indian constitution deals with the duties of Prime Minister as respects
the furnishing of information to the President.
The duties of the Prime Minister include:
• To communicate to the President all decisions of the council of ministers relating to the
administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation.
• To furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and
proposals for legislation as the President may call for.
• If the President so requires, to submit for the consideration of the council of ministers
any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been
considered by the council.
Que-01
The role of the Indians carrying trade in the overseas was maximum during the Vijayanagara
Kingdom. Is this True or False?
Solution:
False, it was Muslims who has the maximum trade in overseas. They used to trade in Horses,
Pearls Velvet etc.
Vijayanagara Kingdom
Foreign Trade
• The foreign trade account known from the Amuktamalyada of Krishnadeva Raya,
Domingo Paes and Nuniz.
• They give vivid description of horse trade. The Arabs and later the Portuguese controlled
horse trade. Horses were brought from Arabia, Syria and Turkey to the west coast ports.
Goa supplied horses to Vijaynagar as well as the Deccani Sultanates.
• Importation of horses was of great military importance' for the southern states as good
horses were not bred in India.
• The role of the Indians in the overseas carrying trade was minimal.
• Barbosa mentions that Indian overseas trade was completely controlled by Muslim
merchants. They used to get special treatment from the rulers. He says that on returning
from the Red Sea the king assigned them a mayar bodyguard, a Chetti accountant and a
broker for help in local transactions.
• Besides horses, ivory, pearls, spices, precious stones, coconuts, palm-sugar, salt, etc.
were also imported.
• Pearls were brought from the Persian Gulf and Ceylon and precious stones from Pegu.
• Velvet was imported from Mecca and satin, silk, damask and brocade from China.
• Exports - White rice, Sugarcane (other than palm-sugarcane) and iron.
• Diamonds were exported from Vijaynagar. The principal mines were on the bank of the
Krishna river and in Kurnool and Anantapur.
Internal Trade and Urban Life

• The local and long distance trade increased under the Vijayanagara rulers.
• Roads and roadside-facilities for travellers between towns were excellent.
• Carts were used for the transport of grains over short distance.
• Riverine shipping especially the backwater-system on the west-coast.
• Pack-animals for long distance transport.
• In some places armed guards for long distance transport were employed.
• Encouragement to town based trade and auxiliary trade in regular and periodic fairs.
These fairs were conducted by trade associations of a nearby town and under the-
supervision of the leader of trade association called pattanaswami.
• The existence of 80 major trade centres.
• There were many bazaars where business was carried on by merchants. They paid rents
to the towns.
• Markets for agricultural and nonagricultural products were separate in accordance with
the left and right hand caste affiliations.
• The Vijaynagara state possessed an urban quality which is not witnessed in any other
South Indian state of the time.
• The capital city integrated within its precincts markets, palaces, temples, mosques, etc.
• This urban quality was, however, completely destroyed by the middle-16th century.
Que-02
Sonowal Kachari are the indigenous people of a) Assam or b) Sikkim?
Solution: Assam
Sonowal Kachari:
• The Sonowal Kachari are one of the indigenous people of the state of Assam in Northeast
India.
• They are of Tibeto-Burman origin, and are closely associated with the other ethnic groups
of Assam which are commonly referred to as Kachari.
• The name Sonowal comes from the word Son which means gold in Assamese.
• The traditional occupation of Sonowal kacharis was gold panning, that is extracting gold
from the riverbeds.
• The Constitution Order (Scheduled Tribes), 1950 had listed Sonowal Kachari as a
Scheduled Tribe as per the Constitution of India in the state of Assam.
• The headquarters of the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council is at Dibrugarh, Assam.
Que-03
Which Ministry of India governs the observances of State mourning over the death of foreign
dignitaries?
Solution: Ministry of Home Affairs
Flag of India flown at half-mast:
• The flag of India is flown at half-mast for the death of a President, Vice-President, or
Prime Minister all over India.
• For the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, it
is flown in Delhi.
• For a Union Cabinet Minister, it is flown in Delhi and the state capitals, from where he or
she came.
• For a Minister of State, it is flown only in Delhi.
• For a Governor, Lt. Governor, or Chief Minister of a state or union territory, it is flown in
the concerned state.
• If the intimation of the death of any dignitary is received in the afternoon, the flag shall
be flown at half-mast on the following day also at the place or places indicated above,
provided the funeral has not taken place before sunrise on that day.
• On the day of the funeral of a dignitary mentioned above, the flag shall be flown at half-
mast at the place of the funeral.
Half-mast day and day of National rejoicing:
• In the event of a half-mast day coinciding with the Republic Day, Independence Day,
National Week (6 to 13 April), any other particular day of national rejoicing as may be
specified by the Government of India, or a state, on the anniversary of formation of that
state, flags are not permitted to be flown at half-mast except over the building where
the body of the deceased is lying until it has been removed and that flag shall be raised to
the full-mast position after the body has been removed.
• Observances of State mourning on the death of foreign dignitaries are governed by
special instructions issued from the Ministry of Home Affairs in individual cases.
• However, in the event of death of either the Head of the State or Head of the
Government of a foreign country, the Indian Mission accredited to that country may fly
the national flag on the above-mentioned days.
Que-04
Industrial Finance Corporation of India is one of the four All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs)
regulated and supervised by the Reserve Bank. True OR False.
Solution: False
Correct Statement:
• Currently, the four AIFIs regulated and supervised by the Reserve Bank are Export-Import
Bank of India (EXIM Bank), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
(NABARD), National Housing Bank (NHB) and Small Industries Development Bank of India
(SIDBI).
Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI)
• IFCI is a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC).

• It was set up in 1948 as Industrial Finance Corporation of India, through `The Industrial
Finance Corporation of India Act, 1948’ of Parliament. After repeal of this Act in 1993, IFCI
became a Public Limited Company and in 2015, it became a Government Company.
• IFCI is also a Systemically Important Non-Deposit taking Non-Banking Finance Company
(NBFC-ND-SI), registered with the Reserve Bank of India.
• Objective: To provide medium to long term financial assistance to the manufacturing,
services and infrastructure sectors.
• Through its subsidiaries IFCI has diversified into a range of other businesses including
broking, venture capital, financial advisory, depository services, factoring etc.
• IFCI was one of the promoters of National Stock Exchange (NSE), Stock Holding
Corporation of India Ltd (SHCIL), Technical Consultancy Organizations (TCOs) and social
sector institutions like Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Nidhi (RGVN), Management Development
Institute (MDI) and Institute of Leadership Development (ILD).
Venture Capital Fund & Credit Enhancement Guarantee for SC Entrepreneurs
• Central Government in FY 2014-15 has mandated IFCI for setting up of a Venture Capital
Fund to promote entrepreneurship among the Scheduled Castes (SC).
o Govt. contributed Rs.200 crores while IFCI has committed Rs.50 crores as lead
investor and sponsor of the Fund.
o IFCI’s subsidiary IFCI Venture Capital Funds Ltd., is the Investment Manager of the
Fund.
• Government of India has also provided Rs.200 Crore to IFCI Ltd. in March 2015 under the
Scheme of Credit Enhancement Guarantee for Scheduled Caste (SC) Entrepreneurs for
providing guarantee to banks against loans to young and start-up entrepreneurs
belonging to SC to encourage entrepreneurship in lower strata of the society.
Que-05
Mention the economic role of temples of Vijayanagara Kingdom.
Solution:
Temples were centres of economic activity carrying banking activities, irrigation work and
landholders.
Vijayanagara Kingdom
Economic Role of Temples
• The temples emerged as important landholders.
• Hundreds of villages were granted to the deities.
• Temple officers managed the devadana villages to ensure that the grant was utilized
properly.
• Cash, endowments were also made by the state to the temples for providing ritual
service.
• Temples took up irrigational work also.
• Those who gave cash grants to temples also received a share of the food offering
(prasadam) derived from (he increased productivity).
• Temples in South India were important centres of economic activity. They also carried on
banking activities.
• They employed a number of persons. Mahalingam refers to an inscription which
mentions a temple which employed 37 servants.
• They gave loans to individuals and village assemblies for economic purposes.
• Thus, the temples functioned almost as an independent economic system encompassing
persons and institutions that were bound together by economic links.
Society
• The social structure of the South Indian macro-region (Vijaynagara Empire) is a unique
variant of the Indian society. The uniqueness of the social structure was of three-fold:
- Secular functions of the South Indian Brahmans
- Dual division of lower social groups
- Territorial segmentation of the society.
• The Brahmans live in localities where they controlled land, and their prestige and power
was also derived from their control over those dependent on land. They also enjoyed
prestige due to their sacral functions as a priestly class.
• The emergence of a large number of Vedic temples endowed with villages (devadanas)
gave the Brahmans as temple functionaries the power to exercise ritual control over all
other castes and religious institutions.
• Territorial segmentation of society.
• People gave preference to cross-cousin and maternal uncle-niece marriages.
• The dual division of lower castes referred to by the right and left-hand designations
(Vaishnavas corresponding to the right hand division and the Saivites corresponding to
the left hand castes).
• The right-hand castes were involved primarily in Agricultural production and local trade
whereas left-hand castes were engaged in mobile artisan production and extensive
trade in non-agricultural products.
• The peasant was the basis of the social order on whom all other sections of the society
depended.
• The satkams, the Tamil poetic genre, regard the leading peasantry as pure sat-sudras.
They claimed ritual purity and respectable secular rank for them.
• Temples played an important role in delineating or determining social groupings who
were the participants in the worship of a particular deity.
• An important characteristic of lineage in the South Indian kingship is marked by the
common devotion to the lineage tutelary.
• The non-Brahman priests of the peasants tutelary shrines (e.g. amman) also participated
in the management of great shrines of Siva and Yishnu where the Brahman priests
predominated.
• The matha the seat of sectarian organisation located at great shrines, consisted of
persons of both the Brahman and non-Brahman orders. Thus, the social organisation of
this period comprised of the Brahmans, the left and right-hand castes which included
respectable agricultural castes, namely vellals and lower castes like the weavers.
Que-06
Pennar river originates from?
Solution: Nandi Hills in Karnataka
Pennar river:
• The Uttara Pinakini (aka Pennar) is a river of southern India.
• The Penna rises in the Nandi Hills in Karnataka state, and runs North and East through
the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to empty into the Bay of Bengal.
• It is 597 kilometres long, with a drainage basin covering in Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh.
• The river basin lies in the rain shadow region of Eastern Ghats and receives 500 mm
average rainfall annually.
• The river is seasonal; its main source of the water is rains.
Brahmani river:
• The Brahmani is a major seasonal river in the Odisha state of Eastern India.
• The Brahmani is formed by the confluence of the Sankh and South Koel rivers, and flows
through the districts of Odisha.
• Together with the river Baitarani, it forms a large delta before emptying into the Bay of
Bengal at Dhamra, Odisha.
Que-07
The ‘internal disturbance’ in a state should only be ‘man made’ which allows the state
government to request armed forces help from union government. Is this True or False?
Solution:
False, as the ‘internal disturbance’ could be man-made as well as nature-made for which help of
armed forces could be asked.
CONSTITUTIONAL JURISDICTIONS OF UNION AND STATES
• A State Government has the sole responsibility for maintaining public order except
where the use of the armed forces of the Union is called for (Entry 1 of List II).
• The State Government may request the Union Government to make available Union
armed forces to help restore public order. Even where the public disorder is not so
serious as to fall in the category of an "internal disturbance" as contemplated in Article
355 of the Constitution, the Union Government may accede to the request.
• An "internal disturbance", however, is far more serious than "public disorder" and differs
from it in degree as well as kind. The former has the characteristics of domestic chaos
and inter alia endangers the security of the State. It may be man-made (e.g. a wide-
spread and violent agitation or a communal flare-up) or Nature-made (e.g. a natural
calamity that paralyses administration in a large area of a State).
• Article 355 imposes a duty on the Union Government to protect a State against such an
internal disturbance.
• Not only an armed force of the Union but also a force which is not an armed force (e.g., a
force of technical experts), and which is subject to the control of the Union, may be
deployed in a State in aid of the civil power.
• Another type of situation wherein the Union Government may deploy its armed forces,
even suo motu, would be when Union property (e.g. installations, factories, office
buildings etc.) situated in a State needs special protection which the State Governments
not able to provide.
• Such subjects could be Railways, Ports, Airways and Posts and Telegraphs.
• When Union armed forces are deployed in a State, the State authorities concerned have
to act in concert with the forces. it is implied in Article 355 that the Union Government
has the overriding power to ensure such coordination.
• If a State Government withhold their cooperation, the Union Government is empowered
to issue a formal direction under Article 257 or even Article 355.
• Failure to comply with such a direction may attract the sanction of Article 365 and action
under Article 356 to proclaim President's rule.
Examples
• The Union Government deployed the Central Reserve Police Force suo motu only on three
occasions, viz. once in Kerala in September, 1968 for the protection of Union
Government offices in Trivandrum during the strike of Union Government employees,
and twice in West Bengal in 1969, for the protection of Farakka Barrage.
Que-08
In context of economics, what’s the underlying meaning of ‘Debt for nature swaps’?
Solution:
• Debt for nature swaps are financial transactions in which a portion of a developing
nation's foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for local investments in environmental
conservation measures.
Debt for nature swaps
• Debt for nature swaps are financial transactions in which a portion of a developing
nation's foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for local investments in environmental
conservation measures.
How it works?
• Debt for nature swaps is a voluntary transaction whereby the donor(s) cancels the debt
owned by a developing country’s government.
• In exchange for debt forgiveness, the debtor-government commits to invest the accrued
savings in conservation and/or climate-related expenditures.
• The proceeds from DNS are often allocated to local environmental trust funds, which
disburse grants to conservation projects or directly fund parks and protected areas
systems.
• Swap agreements can be categorized by the creditor, i.e. public/bilateral swaps and
private/commercial swaps.
o A bilateral-DNS is negotiated between the creditor and debtor government in
exchange for conservation activities in the debtor country.
o A commercial-DNS involves a commercial creditor and a third-party donor but can
also include official creditors, making deals of a hybrid type.
Pros and Cons Disadvantages of Debt for nature swaps
Pros
• Debtor-country reduces its debt obligations—including payments in foreign currencies—
and frees up resources for environmental spending.
• Creditors can increase the value of their remaining debt and improve their environmental
credentials.
• DNS can leverage funds for conservation. They can be used as co-financing or matching
funds for larger conservation endeavors.
• A long-term funding mechanism for conservation, DNS stimulate the creation of

environmental trust funds that dispense proceeds over a long period of time.
• Can promote participation by civil society, particularly when local NGOs or environmental
trust funds are among the beneficiaries.
Cons
• DNS have only resulted in relatively small amounts of debt relief, limiting their impact in
reducing developing countries’ debt burden;
• Transaction costs might be high compared to other financing instruments; negotiations
can be time-consuming, spanning several years.
Que-09
Which clauses have been used by the government to declare Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or
Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs)?
Answer:
Section 3(2)(v) and Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 have been used by the
government to declare Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs).
Eco-Sensitive Zone Statutory Backing
• The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 does not mention the word "Eco-Sensitive
Zones".
• Section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any
industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall not
be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards.
• Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 states that central government
can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or
processes on the basis of considerations like the biological diversity of an area, maximum
allowable limits of concentration of pollutants for an area, environmentally compatible
land use, and proximity to protected areas.
• A committee constituted by MoEF puts guidelines laying down parameters and criteria for
declaring ESZs. The guidelines lay out the criteria based on which areas can be declared as
ESZs.
• These include Species Based (Endemism, Rarity etc.), Ecosystem Based (sacred groves,
frontier forests etc.) and Geo-morphologic feature based (uninhabited islands, origins of
rivers etc.).
• The same criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones.
Que-10
What do you understand by the term ‘mirage’? Where it can be commonly observed?
Answer:
A mirage is an optical phenomenon that creates the illusion of water and results from the
refraction of light through a non-uniform medium.
Mirages are most commonly observed on sunny days when driving down a roadway.
Mirage
• When the surface of the earth is hot, the layer of air just touching the surface of the earth
would be close to the temperature of the surface. The temperature of the layers of air
keep reducing as the distance between the layers and the surface of the earth increases.
• The higher the temperature of air, the lower its density.
• Hence, the density of air keeps reducing as we move higher up from the surface of the
earth. When the density of air is lesser, its refractive index is also lesser.
• Consider a ray of light from the sun along a straight line from the sun to a point at some
distance in front of us, when the sun is in front of us.
• If the density of air is uniform, the ray of light would travel along a straight line and touch
the surface of earth at that point.
• However, when the ray of light comes close to the surface of the earth, it finds that the
density of air starts reducing as it is at a higher temperature. Hence the ray of light gets
refracted. As it is passing from a denser medium to a rarer medium and it moves away
from the normal.
• Moving away from the normal means coming closer. Thus this ray of light strikes the
ground at a point closer to us as compared to the straight line path.
• If the angle of incidence of the ray of light is sufficiently low and it becomes greater than
the critical angle, it undergoes total internal refraction.
• Then, the ray of light, instead of striking the ground starts moving in the upward direction
and enters our eyes.
• However, our brain tends to believe that this ray of light has travelled along a straight line
path and extrapolates the path of the ray along a straight line and thus thinks that it has
come from a point on the land some distance away from us.
• Since the colour of the sky, as perceived by us, is blue, we then tend to believe that there
is something bluish on the land some distance away.
• The layers of air of different density are not static and hence the path of the rays
undergoing total internal reflection vary with time.
• Hence we tend to believe that, along the line of sight, the point from where the bluish
light is coming is moving.
• Considering all this, our brain concludes that there is a body of water some distance
away. This is the mirage.
Que-11
In context of society, what are the examples of political forms of Class conflict?
Solution:
The lobbying (legal and illegal) and bribery of legislators
Class conflict
• Class conflict is also referred to as class struggle and class warfare.
• It is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society consequent to
socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor.
• The forms of class conflict include direct violence, such as wars for resources and cheap
labor, assassinations or revolution; indirect violence, such as deaths from poverty and
starvation, illness and unsafe working conditions.
• Economic coercion, such as the threat of unemployment or the withdrawal of investment
capital; or ideologically, by way of political literature.
• The political forms of class warfare are: legal and illegal lobbying, and bribery of
legislators.
• The social-class conflict can be direct as well as indirect.
o Direct - such as dispute between labour and management
o Indirect – such as workers' slowdown of production in protest of unfair labor
practices.
• In the political and economic philosophies of Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin, class
struggle is a central tenet and a practical means for effecting radical social and political
changes for the social majority.
Que-12
Convalescent plasma therapy can be categorised as passive antibody therapy or active antibody
therapy?
Answer:
Convalescent plasma therapy can be categorised as passive antibody therapy as it provides
antibodies from outside to a person with infection to fight a virus.
Convalescent plasma therapy
• Convalescent plasma therapy involves transfusing certain components from the blood of
people who have had virus infection and recovered into people who are very sick with
the same virus or people who are at high risk of getting the virus.
• Convalescent plasma is also known as passive antibody therapy, meaning that while it
can immediately provide a person with antibodies to fight a virus, those antibodies only
last a short period of time in the recipient’s body.
Mechanism
• As people fight the COVID-19 virus, they produce antibodies that attack the virus. Those
antibodies, proteins that are secreted by immune cells known as B lymphocytes, are
found in plasma that helps the blood to clot when needed and supports immunity.
• Once a person has had the virus and recovered, that person has developed antibodies
that will stay in their blood waiting to fight the same virus should it return.
• Those antibodies, when injected into another person with the disease, recognize the
virus as something to attack.
• In the case of the coronavirus, antibodies attack the spikes on the outside of the virus,
blocking the virus from penetrating human cells.
• One person’s donation of plasma can produce two doses of the material needed for
transfusions. A person only needs one transfusion to get enough antibodies to fight a
virus.
Convalescent plasma therapy carries the risk of:
• Allergic reactions
• Lung damage and difficulty breathing
• Transmission of infections, including HIV and hepatitis B and C
Que-13
‘Natura 2000’ is related to what?
Answer:
Natura 2000 is a network of core breeding and resting sites for rare and threatened species, and
some rare natural habitat types which are protected in their own right.
Natura 2000
• Natura 2000 stretches across all 27 EU countries, both on land and at sea.
• The Natura 2000 Viewer is an online tool that presents all Natura 2000 sites.
• It provides key information on designated species and habitats, data on population sizes
and information on conservation status.
• The viewer can be used for general purposes of for more specific searches.
• Natura 2000 is not a system of strict nature reserves from which all human activities
would be excluded. While it includes strictly protected nature reserves, most of the land
remains privately owned.
• The approach to conservation and sustainable use of the Natura 2000 areas is much
wider, largely centered on people working with nature rather than against it.
• Member States must ensure that the sites are managed in a sustainable manner, both
ecologically and economically.
Aim
•To ensure the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and
habitats, listed under both the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive.
Natura 2000 Award
• The Natura 2000 Award is designed to reward excellence in the management of Natura
2000 sites and showcase the added value of the network for local economies.
• It pays tribute to all those who work tirelessly to make Natura 2000 a success whilst
drawing public attention to its substantial achievements.
Que-14
What are the difference between IPv4 and IPv6 addresses?
Answer:
IPv4 & IPv6 are both IP addresses that are binary numbers. IPv4 is 32-bit binary number while
IPv6 is 128-bit binary number address.
IPv4 address are separated by periods while IPv6 address are separated by colons.
Both are used to identify machines connected to a network. In principle, they are the same, but
they are different in how they work.
IP address
• An Internet Protocol address is also known as IP address.
• It is a numerical label which assigned to each device connected to a computer network
which uses the IP for communication.
• IP address act as an identifier for a specific machine on a particular network.
• The IP address is also called IP number and internet address. IP address specifies the
technical format of the addressing and packets scheme.
• Most networks combine IP with a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). It also allows
developing a virtual connection between a destination and a source.
What is IPv4?
• IPv4 was the first version of IP. It was deployed for production in the ARPANET in 1983.
• Today it is most widely used IP version. It is used to identify devices on a network using
an addressing system.
• The IPv4 uses a 32-bit address scheme allowing to store 2^32 addresses which is more
than 4 billion addresses.
• Till date, it is considered the primary Internet Protocol and carries 94% of Internet
traffic.
What is IPv6?
• It is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol. Internet Engineer Taskforce
initiated it in early 1994.
• The design and development of that suite is now called IPv6.
• This new IP address version is being deployed to fulfil the need for more Internet
addresses. It was aimed to resolve issues which are associated with IPv4.
• With 128-bit address space, it allows 340 undecillion unique address space.
• IPv6 also called IPng (Internet Protocol next generation).
Que-15
Enlist the name of all seven species of sea (or marine) turtles.
Answer:
Green, Hawksbill, Loggerhead, Leatherback, Olive Ridley, Kemp's Ridley and Flatback Turtles are
species of sea (or marine) turtles.
Species of sea (or marine) turtles
• Seven different species of sea (or marine) turtles grace ocean waters, from the shallow
seagrass beds of the Indian Ocean, to the colourful reefs of the Coral Triangle and the
sandy beaches of the Eastern Pacific.
• Sea turtles spend the bulk of their lives in the ocean, these highly migratory species
periodically come ashore to either bask or nest.
• All 7 species of marine turtles are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
• 3 are classified as critically endangered by IUCN and a further 3 are classified as
endangered.
1. Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
• The leatherback turtle is the largest sea turtle. These gigantic reptiles can reach lengths
of over 6 feet and weights of over 2,000 pounds.
• Their shell consists of a single piece with five ridges, their skin is dark and is covered with
white or pink spots.
• They are deep divers, dive to over 3,000 feet. This species nests on tropical beaches, but
can migrate as far north as Canada during the rest of the year.
• The majority of loggerhead nesting is concentrated in two main areas of the world — at
Masirah Island, Oman and on the coast of the southeastern United States.
2. Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas)
• The green turtle is large, with a carapace of up to 3 feet long.
• Their carapace can include shades of black, gray, green, brown, or yellow. Scutes may
contain a beautiful pigmentation that looks like a sun's rays.
• Adult green turtles are the only herbivorous sea turtles. When young, they are
carnivorous, but as adults, they eat seaweeds and seagrass. This diet gives their fat a
green tinge.
• Green turtles live in tropical and subtropical waters around the world.
3. Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta Caretta)
• Loggerhead turtles are a reddish-brown turtle with a very large head.
• They are the most common turtle that nests in Florida. Loggerhead turtles can be 3.5 feet
long.
• Loggerheads live in temperate and tropical waters throughout the Atlantic, Pacific, and
Indian Oceans.
4. Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys Imbricate)
• Hawksbill turtles were named for the shape of their beak, which looks similar to the beak
of a raptor.
• These turtles have a beautiful tortoiseshell pattern on their carapace and have been
hunted nearly to extinction for their shells.
• They feed on sponges and have an amazing ability to digest the needle-like skeleton of
these animals.
• They live in tropical and subtropical waters in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
They can be found among reefs, rocky areas, mangrove swamps, lagoons, and estuaries.
5. Kemp's Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
• At 30 inches long and weighing up to 100 pounds, the Kemp’s ridley is the smallest sea
turtle.
• This species is named after Richard Kemp, the fisherman who first described them in
1906.
• They are coastal turtles and found in temperate to subtropical waters in the western
Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
• Kemp's ridleys are most often found in habitats with sandy or muddy bottoms, where it
is easy to find prey. They are famous for nesting in huge groups called ‘arribadas’.
6. Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)
• Olive ridley turtles are named for their olive-colored shell. They are small and weigh less
than 100 pounds.
• They are found in tropical regions around the world.
• During nesting, olive ridley females come to shore in colonies of up to a thousand turtles,
with mass nesting aggregations called ‘arribadas’. These occur on the coasts of Central
America and India.
7. Flatback Turtles (Natator Depressus)
• They are named for their flattened carapace, which is olive-gray in color. This is the only
sea turtle species not found in the United States.
• They are found only in the coastal waters of Australia.
Que-16
What are the types of Carbon nanotubes?
Answer:
Types of nanotubes: Single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs)
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)
• Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an allotrope of carbon.
• Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are cylindrical molecules that consist of rolled-up sheets of
single-layer carbon atoms (graphene).
• They can be single-walled with a diameter of less than 1 nanometer (nm) or multi-walled
(MWCNT), consisting of several concentrically interlinked nanotubes.
• They possess diameters reaching more than 100 nm. Their length can reach several
micrometers or even millimeters.
• They have novel properties that make them potentially useful in a wide variety of
applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other fields of materials science.
• They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique electrical properties and are efficient
conductors of heat.
• Nanotubes are members of the fullerene structural family, which also includes
buckyballs.
Properties
• High thermal conductivity
• High electrical conductivity
• Aspect ratio
• Very elastic ~18% elongation to failure
• Very high tensile strength
• Highly flexible — can be bent considerably without damage
• A low thermal expansion coefficient

• Good electron field emitters
Que-17
Who creates the ministries/departments of the government of India?
Solution:
The President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961
• The Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 are made by the President
of India under Article 77 of the Constitution for the allocation of business of the
Government of India.
• The Ministries/Departments of the Government are created by the President on the
advice of the Prime Minister under these Rules.
• The business of the Government are transacted in the Ministries/Departments,
Secretariats and offices (referred to as 'Department') as per the distribution of subjects
specified in these Rules.
• Each of the Ministries is assigned to a Minister by the President on the advice of the
Prime Minister.
• Each department is generally under the charge of a Secretary to assist the Minister on
policy matters and general administration.
• The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the Government of India (Allocation of
Business) Rules 1961.
• The subjects allotted to this Secretariat are:
(i) Secretarial assistance to Cabinet and Cabinet Committees; and
(ii) Rules of Business
Que-18
Which time period is dubbed as the dubbed the Age of Fishes? a) Silurian period or b) Devonian
period
Solution: Devonian period
Devonian:
• The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era.
• It spanned 60 million years from the end of the Silurian period, 419.2 million years ago
(Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous period (358.9 Mya).
• It is named after Devon, England where rocks from this period were first studied.
Events:
• The first significant adaptive radiation of life on dry land occurred during the Devonian.
• Free-sporing vascular plants began to spread across dry land, forming extensive forests
which covered the continents.
• By the middle of the Devonian, several groups of plants had evolved leaves and true
roots.
• By the end of the period the first seed-bearing plants appeared.
• Fish reached substantial diversity during this time leading Devonian to often be dubbed
the Age of Fishes.
• The placoderms (a class of armoured prehistoric fish began dominating) almost every
known aquatic environment.
• The ancestors of all four-limbed vertebrates (tetrapods) began adapting to walking on

land, as their strong pectoral and pelvic fins gradually evolved into legs.
• In the oceans, primitive sharks became more numerous than in the Silurian and Late
Ordovician.
Que-19
What is the significance of Farmers Producer Organization (FPO) for farmers?
Solution:
Farmers get better bargaining power, benefit of economies of scale and better access to
technology, input, finance and market.
Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)
• The Farmers Producer Organization (FPO) is one type of Producer Organization where the
members are farmers.
• A Producer Organization (PO) is a legal entity formed by primary producers, viz. farmers,
milk producers, fishermen, weavers, rural artisans, craftsmen.
• The ownership of the FPO is with its members i.e. farmers.
• A PO can be a producer company, a cooperative society or any other legal form which
provides for sharing of profits/benefits among the members.
• The main aim of PO is to ensure better income for the producers through an
organization of their own. Therefore, an FPO is also tries to increase the income of
farmers.
• Through aggregation, the primary producers can avail the benefit of economies of scale.
They will also have better bargaining power vis-à-vis the bulk buyers of produce and bulk
suppliers of inputs.
• FPOs help in collectivization of such small, marginal and landless farmers in order to give
them the collective strength to deal with such issues.
• Members of the FPO manage their activities together in the organization to get better
access to technology, input, finance and market for faster enhancement of their income.
Que-20
Which country has become the first country to declare a ‘climate emergency’?
Answer:
The UK became the first national government to declare a climate emergency in May 2019.
Climate emergency
• A situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid
potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it.
• “Climate emergency” was chosen by the Oxford Dictionary as the word of the Year 2019.
Climate Emergency Declaration
• A Declaration of Climate Emergency is a piece of legislation passed by a governing body
such as a city council, a county board of supervisors, a state legislature, or even a national
government.
• It puts the government on record in support of taking emergency action to reverse global
warming. Resolutions vary around the world, with many governments including local
climate impacts and new climate targets in their resolution.
• This climate-change-related term is generally used by governments, scientists and climate
activists to underline the catastrophic consequences of the changes in climate for
humans.
• Though a climate emergency declaration doesn’t represent any formal or standard path
to be followed, it admits the measures and actions taken so far to fight climate change
haven’t been enough and represents a formal commitment to set priorities to mitigate
climate change.
Key Fact
• In May 2019, the UK became the first national government to declare a climate
emergency, days after similar declarations from Scotland and Wales.
• New York City became the world’s largest city to declare climate emergency in June,
2019.
Que-01
All voters can be designated as a proxy voter, to vote on their behalf? True or False.
Answer:
• False. Only a service voter may appoint any person as his / her proxy to give the vote on
his/her behalf and in his/her name at the polling station.
Postal Voting:
• Postal voting is a type of voting in elections whereby Electronically Transmitted Postal
Ballot Papers (ETPB) are distributed to electors and returned by post
• While prisoners are not allowed to vote, people under preventive detention can cast their
votes through postal ballots as well
Service Voter:
• According to the Election Commission (EC) of India, the facility is available to a service
voter — that is a voter having a service qualification.
According to the provisions of Representation of People Act, 1950, service qualification means –
• Being a member of the armed forces of the Union.
• Being a member of a force to which provisions of the Army Act, 1950, have been made
applicable whether with or without modification.
• Being a member of an Armed Police Force of a State, and serving outside that state.
• Being a person who is employed under the Government of India, in a post outside India.
Proxy Voter:
• A service voter may appoint any person as his / her proxy to give the vote on his/her
behalf and in his/her name at the polling station.
• The proxy shall have to be an ordinary resident of that constituency. He/she need not be
a registered voter but he/she must not be disqualified to be registered as a voter.
Que-02
Which organisations are involved in the preparation of State of Food Security and Nutrition in
the World, 2020?
Answer:
State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2020 is produced jointly by Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD),
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health
Organization (WHO).
State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2020
It is produced jointly by:
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),
• International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD),
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
• UN World Food Programme (WFP) and
• World Health Organization (WHO).
State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 (SOFI 2020):
• A global study tracking the progress towards ending hunger and malnutrition.
Highlights of SOFI 2020:
• It estimates that almost 690 million people went hungry in 2019 & by nearly 60 million in
five years.
• In 2019, close to 750 million – or nearly one in ten people in the world – were exposed to
severe levels of food insecurity. Food insecurity can result in worsening of diet quality and
as a result, increase the risk of various forms of malnutrition (under as well as
overnutrition).\
• It says that the High costs and low affordability mean billions cannot eat healthily or
nutritiously.
• The hungry are most numerous in Asia but expanding fastest in Africa followed by Latin
America and the Caribbean.
• It forecasts the COVID-19 pandemic could tip over 130 million more people into chronic
hunger by the end of 2020 across the world.
• It says that as more go hungry and malnutrition persists, achieving Zero Hunger by 2030
in doubt.
• Under current food consumption patterns, diet-related health costs linked to mortality
and non-communicable diseases are projected to exceed USD 1.3 trillion per year by
2030.
• The overall percentage of hungry people is 8.9 % globally, but absolute numbers have
been rising since 2014.
• It presents evidence that a healthy diet costs far more than US$ 1.90/day, the
international poverty threshold.
• According to current global estimates, in 2019,
• 3 per cent (144.0 million) of children under 5 years of age were stunted,
• 9 per cent (47.0 million) wasted
• 6 per cent (38.3 million) overweight
• Only in Asia and globally in upper-middle-income countries, are there enough fruits and
vegetables available for human consumption to be able to meet the FAO/WHO
recommendation of consuming a minimum of 400 g/person/day.
• Shifting to healthy diets can contribute to reducing health and climate-change costs by
2030 because the hidden costs of these healthy diets are lower compared to those of
current consumption patterns.
• The report has advised countries to rebalance agricultural policies and incentives towards
more nutrition-sensitive investment and policy actions all along the food supply chain to
reduce food losses and enhance efficiencies at all stages
Que-03
Briefly describe types of space debris?

Answer:
Types of Debris
Debris are also named as space junk and space waste.
Mainly there are two kinds of Debris.
• Natural Debris consists of natural bodies revolving around the sun, like, meteors and
asteroids.
• Artificial Debris consists of man-made objects (usually non-functional) which revolves
around the Earth. (Therefore it is most commonly referred as Orbital Debris).
RemoveDEBRIS Mission
• RemoveDEBRIS is a satellite research project intending to demonstrate various space
debris removal technologies.
• The Mission was developed by European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme with
the collaboration to many other organisations.
• It is an EU (European Union) Framework 7 research project to develop and fly a low cost
in-orbit demonstrator mission.
• The project is based on and aimed at contributing to global/European ADR roadmaps.
• RemoveDEBRIS satellite was released from the International Space Station in June 2018.
• The test was performed in October 2018 and the spacecraft take images of the deployed
target of two CubeSat and its surroundings.
• The first demonstration involves a net that will be deployed (net capture) at the target
CubeSat.
• The second experiment will see the use of a harpoon, which will be launched at a target
plate made of “representative satellite panel materials".
• The third experiment using the other CubeSat involves vision-based navigation.
• The final is to deploy a large dragsail to speed up its de-orbiting process.
Aim of the project
• It aims to de-risk and verify technologies needed for future ADR (Active Debris Removal)
missions.
• It is aimed at performing key ADR technology demonstrations (e.g., capture, deorbiting)
representative of an operational scenario during a low-cost mission using novel key
technologies for ADR.
UN-Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines
• Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful
Uses of Outer Space were adopted by the STSC at its 44th session in 2007.
• From a technical point of view, the guidelines are applicable to mission planning and the
operation of newly designed spacecraft and orbital stages and, if possible, to existing
ones.
• There is a total of seven guidelines:
o Limit debris release during nominal operations
o Minimize break-up potential during operations
o Limit accidental in-orbit collision probability
o Avoid intentional destruction & harmful activities
o Limit the probability of post-mission break-up
o Limit the long-term presence of spacecraft and launcher orbital stages in the LEO
protected region re-entry objects resulting from this recommendation must not pose
an undue risk to the ground population
o Limit the long-term interference of spacecraft and launcher orbital stages with the
GEO protected region
• The Guidelines are not legally binding under public international law.
Liability convention 1972
• The Liability Convention was considered and negotiated by the Legal subcommittee from
1963 to 1972.
• Agreement was reached in the General Assembly in 1971, and the Convention entered
into force in September 1972. Elaborated on Article 7 of the Outer Space Treaty.
• The Liability Convention provides that a launching State shall be absolutely liable to pay
compensation for damage caused by its space objects on the surface of the Earth or to
aircraft, and liable for damage due to its faults in space.
• The Convention also provides for procedures for the settlement of claims for damages.
• The convention is unique in international law being the only fault-based liability regime.
Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC)

• IADC is an international governmental forum for the worldwide coordination of activities
related to the issues of man-made and natural debris in space.
• A Steering Group and four specified Working Groups covering measurements (WG1),
environment and database (WG2), protection (WG3) and mitigation (WG4) make up the
IADC.
• IADC members are national or international space and state organizations.
• There are 13 IADC member agencies. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is one of
the member agency of IADC.
Purposes of IADC
• To exchange information on space debris research activities between member space
agencies
• To facilitate opportunities for cooperation in space debris research
• To review the progress of ongoing cooperative activities
• To identify debris mitigation options
Que-04
These military exercises are conducted between which countries: Dharma Guardian and Yudh
Abhyas?
Answer:
Dharma Guardian– annual training event between Indian and Japanese military
Yudh Abhyas– joint military training between India and USA
Dharma Guardian
• It is an annual training event between Indian and Japanese military.
• It is being conducted in India since 2018.
• The scope of this exercise covers platoon level joint training on counter terrorism
operations in jungle and urban scenario.
• This exercises crucial in terms of security challenges faced by both the nations in the
backdrop of global terrorism.
• The joint Military Exercise has been conducted at counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare
School, Vairengte, Mizoram for the second time.
• First exercise was conducted in 2018.
Yudh Abhyas
• Exercise Yudh Abhyas is one of the largest joint running military training and defence
corporation endeavours between India and USA.
• It is hosted alternately between the two countries.
• It provides an opportunity to the armed forces of both countries to train in an integrated

manner at Battalion level with joint planning at Brigade level.
• ln the end, a joint exercise will be undertaken by both countries in an operational setting
under a UN mandate.
• Exercise Yudh Abhyas- 2019 was the 15th edition of exercise which was conducted in USA.
• Yudh Abhyas 2018 commenced at Chaubattia, Uttarakhand.
Que-05
What is the basic principle of Mass spectrometry?
Answer:
Mass spectrometry separates molecules according to their specific mass-to-charge ratio (m/z).
Mass Spectrometry
• Mass spectrometry is an analytical tool useful for measuring the mass-to-charge ratio
(m/z) of one or more molecules present in a sample.
• These measurements can often be used to calculate the exact molecular weight of the
sample components as well.
• Typically, mass spectrometers can be used to identify unknown compounds via
molecular weight determination, to quantify known compounds, and to determine
structure and chemical properties of molecules.
Working Principle
• A mass spectrometer generates multiple ions from the sample under investigation, it then
separates them according to their specific mass-to-charge ratio (m/z), and then records
the relative abundance of each ion type.
Ionization Source
• This method creates positively or negatively charged ions, depending on the
experimental requirements.
• Molecules are converted to gas-phase ions so that they can be moved about and
manipulated by external electric and magnetic fields.
Mass Analyzer
• Once ionized, the ions are sorted and separated according to mass-to-charge (m/z) ratios
and analysed using mass analysers.
• The mass analyser often works in concert with the ion detection system.
Ion Detection System
• The separated ions are then measured and sent to a data system where the m/z ratios
are stored together along with their relative abundance.
• A mass spectrum is generated using this data.
Que-06
The principle of Non-refoulement deals with?
Answer: C
• The principle of Non-refoulement deals with Migrant Issues.
• Non-refoulement is a fundamental principle of international human rights law.
• The principle of guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they
would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other
irreparable harm.
• This principle applies to all migrants at all times, irrespective of migration status.
• The principle applies even to states that are not parties to the 1951 Convention Relating
to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol.
Que-07
National Fossil Wood Park is located in which state of India?
Answer:
The National Fossil Wood Park is a National Geoheritage Monument of India located at Sathanur
in Perambalur district, Tamil Nadu.
National Fossil Wood Park
The park is maintained by the Geological Survey of India.
• The park was established in 1940 and is located between Tindivanam and Pondicherry.
• The park has within its premises fossilised trees hard as rocks. "Kaal Maram" in the local
language translates to Stone Trees, are a geological wonder.
• The park hosts about 200 fossilized trees ranging in size from 3 to 15 metres.
• In essence, these are the petrified wood of trees that existed in the Miocene era, 20
million years ago.
• It is the result of a trees or tree-like plants having completely transitioned to stone by the
process of permineralization. All the organic materials have been replaced with minerals,
while retaining the original structure of the stem tissue.
• The trees belong to several rare species of conifers and palms.
• The trees are believed to have been transported by rivers to their present sites of
deposition in inland seas.
• Ancient Burial Sites were also found in this park.
Que-08
The ACT-Accelerator Hub works in which four areas?
Answer:
The ACT-Accelerator has four areas of work: diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines and the health
system connector.
ACT-Accelerator Hub
• The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT)-Accelerator, is a global collaboration to accelerate
the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and
vaccines.
• It was set up in response to a call from G20 leaders in March and launched by WHO, the
European Commission, France and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in April 2020.
• The ACT-Accelerator is not a decision-making body or a new organization, but works to

speed up collaborative efforts among existing organizations to end the pandemic.
• The initiative aims to scale up delivery of 500 million tests and 245 million courses of
treatments to low- and middle-income countries by mid-2021.
• It also aims to scale up delivery of 2 billion vaccines doses, including 1 billion to be
bought by low- and middle-income countries, by the end of 2021.
• It was launched in April, 2020 to speed up research and development for the new disease.
• The total cost of the ACT-Accelerator's work is less than a tenth of what the IMF estimates
the global economy is losing every month due to the pandemic.
Que-09
Which days are celebrated as National Statistics Day and World Statistics Day?
Answer:
• The National Statistics Day is celebrated on 29th June and World Statistics Day is
celebrated on October 20th.
National Statistics Day
• The National Statistics Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Prof. P C
Mahalanobis, on 29th June, in recognition of his invaluable contribution in establishing
the National Statistical System.
• The theme of Statistics Day, 2020 is selected as SDG- 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote
well-being for all at all ages) & SDG- 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women
and girls).
• The event aims to raise public awareness, especially among the younger generation,
about the role of Statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation.
Aim
• To popularise the use of Statistics in everyday life and sensitise the public as to how
Statistics helps in shaping and framing policies.
P. C. Mahalanobis
• P. C. Mahalanobis is regarded as the Father of Statistical Science in India.
• He founded the Indian Statistical Institute and contributed to the design of large-scale
sample surveys.
• He was one of the members of the first Planning Commission of India.
• He built the statistical database of the Indian economy, inspired research in quantitative
economics, and was the architect of the Second Five Year Plan.
• He was India’s first agriculture statistician and instrumental in setting up and developing
the ministry’s agriculture statistics wing.
• He started publication of Sankhya, a statistical journal of the Institute, in 1933 along the
lines of Karl Pearson’s Biometrika.
• The Central Statistical Unit was established under his guidance and supervision, which
later in 1951, became the Central Statistical Organization (CSO).
• He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Central Government for his Statistical work
and his contribution to India’s second five-year plan.
Key Facts
• In 2019, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation instituted a new award,
namely, Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics for recognizing
outstanding achievement of official statisticians in Central Government, State
Governments and Institutions.
Que-10
Which is the online learning platform to Indian students under Skills Build Reignite?
Answer:
Skills Build online learning platform available to Indian students through Bharatskills
(https://bharatskills.gov.in) of DGT.
Skills Build Reignite
Technology giant IBM in partnership with Directorate General of Training, under the Ministry of
Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, introduced the Skills Build Reignite and the Skills Build
Innovation Camp.
The Skills Build Reignite tends to provide job seekers and entrepreneurs, with access to free
online coursework and mentoring support designed to help them reinvent their careers and
businesses.
Job seekers, individual business owners, entrepreneurs and any individual with learning
aspirations can access industry-relevant content on topics including Artificial intelligence, Cloud,
Data analytics and security to reskill and upskill themselves, at no cost.
Its special feature is the personalized coaching for entrepreneurs, seeking advice to help
establish or restart their small businesses as they begin to focus on recovery to emerge out of the
COVID 19 pandemic.
The Skills Build Innovation camp is a 10-week programme which supports 100 hours of
structured learning to learners who are interested in gaining hands-on project experience to
enhance learning and are intent on building their network and enhance their employability.
Digital classrooms on learning platform are available to students and instructors from the
Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and technical education ecosystem in India.

Prelims Booster Plan 2020 Flash Cards Set-4 To 6

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Prelims Booster Plan 2020 Flash Cards

Static + Current Flash Cards Set-4 to 6 [Total 50 Concepts]

Set-4 Static Flash Cards

• It primarily undertakes basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to

Enrich Your Learning:

• A hologram is a photographic recording of a light field, rather than an image formed by a

A. Annual Financial Statement (AFS):

Set-5 Static Flash Cards

Internal Trade and Urban Life

• IFCI is a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC).

• A long-term funding mechanism for conservation, DNS stimulate the creation of

• A low thermal expansion coefficient

• The ancestors of all four-limbed vertebrates (tetrapods) began adapting to walking on

Set-6 Static Flash Cards

Briefly describe types of space debris?

Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC)

• It provides an opportunity to the armed forces of both countries to train in an integrated

• The ACT-Accelerator is not a decision-making body or a new organization, but works to

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