Miscellaneous

Question 1

SFOORTI APP

Answer 1

Ministry of Railways has launched the Smart Freight Optimisation and Real Time Information (SFOORTI)
Application
• It helps freight managers plan traffic flows and optimize freight operations through Freight Operation
Information System Map View, a Geographic Information System (GIS) based monitoring and management
tool.
• It can track both passenger and freight trains (loading and utilization) over Zones/Divisions/ Sections in single
GIS View.

Question 2

Nilambur Teak

Answer 2

• It is also known as Malabar teak and the Mecca of Teak.
• It is the first forest produce to get GI tag.
• It is known for its durability, earthy colour and larger size.
• It exhibits high resistance to fungal decay and shows antioxidant properties making it ideal for usage in
construction purposes like Buckingham Palace, the Kabba building in Mecca, the Titanic etc.
• It is also known for hydrophobicity and its oily nature.
• Teak also has the highest capacity for carbon sequestration among trees in India.

Question 3

Liveability Index

Answer 3

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has decided to bring out a liveability index of 116 cities with
funding from World Bank

Question 4

Composite District Infrastructure Index

Answer 4

prepared by Ministry for DoNER = better targeting of schemes and projects within the North Eastern Region (NER) in order to reduce intra-regional disparity.
It Is based on 7 broad indicators –
Transport facilities
Energy
Water supply
Education
Health facilities
Communication infrastructure
Banking facilities

Question 5

DARPAN (The Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India)

Answer 5

Union Ministry of Communications. It is an Information Technology (IT) modernization project. It offers core banking services to the account holders. The project intends to provide low power technology solution to each branch postmaster (BPM). This will enable each of approximately 1.29 lakhs branch post offices (BOs) to improve service delivery. It will increase revenue using retail post business; provide third-party applications; and make disbursements for social security schemes such as MGNREGS

Question 6

Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS)

Answer 6

It is a joint Government, International Diamond Industry, and Civil Society initiative to stem the flow of Conflict Diamonds (rough diamonds used to finance the conflicts and topple the established government). It was started in 2003 after the United Nations General Assembly
adopted a landmark resolution in 2000. It also finds
mention in the United Nations Security Council resolutions. India is one of the founding member of KPCS. According to the KPCS terms, member states have to meet the ‘minimum requirements’ and also put in place national legislations and institutions, export,
import and internal controls, commit to transparency and
exchange of statistical data
Plenary was held at Brisbane which resolved to create an Ad hoc Committee on Review and Reform.
Ad-hoc committee on Review and Reform has been established with india as the chair, and Angola as the vice-chair.
India has also been appointed as the Kimberly Process (KP) Vice Chair for 2018 & Chair for 2019 in the last plenary held in Dubai

Question 7

ECO-NIWAS (Energy Conservation–New Indian Way for Affordable & Sustainable homes) portal

Answer 7

Increasing awareness about sustainable building and
energy efficient homes in the country.
• Portal is developed by Bureau of Energy Efficiency under Ministry of Power

Question 8

SAMEEP Program

Answer 8

Student and MEA Engagement Program (SAMEEP) is an outreach program to familiarise the students in India about the functioning of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and also take India’s global engagement and its foreign policy to the grass root levels.
• It is voluntary in nature under which MEA officers, under-secretary and above will visit their hometowns and cities and their Alma Maters to bring the foreign policy to the masses and raise their interest in diplomacy as a career option.

Question 9

Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar

Yojana or Saubhagya scheme

Answer 9

aims to provide electricity connections to over 40 million families in rural and urban areas by December 2018.

Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is the Nodal Agency for the operationalization of the scheme
throughout the country.

Question 10

Prime Minister’s Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative (PMLERI)

Answer 10

It aims to reduce dependency on diesel, kerosene and firewood in the region through setting up small/micro hydel projects, solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plants, solar thermal systems such as water heating, solar cookers etc.
 It is being implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
 The Biaras project has been developed by Kargil Renewable Energy Development Agency (KREDA) under Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. It has become the first project to be commissioned under PMLERI.

Question 11

India Road Assessment Programme (IndiaRAP)

Answer 11

Recently International Road Assessment Programme has launched India Road Assessment Programme (IndiaRAP) that will rate highways’ safety levels, and seek to eliminate the most unsafe roads.
 International Road Assessment Program (IRAP) is a charity which is dedicated towards preventing road accidents and making roads safe.
 The IndiaRAP programme is being supported by FedEx Express and will be hosted by the Asian Institute of Transport Development.
 It will also build local capacity and expertise by connecting Indian road safety experts with colleagues from around the world.
 It will provide road safety rating by using IRAP’s evidence-based Star Rating methodology and investment planning tools which will provide a simple and objective measure of the level of safety. (1 being worst and 5 being best-rated roads).
 IndiaRAP will seek to eliminate one and two star rated roads and promote construction and design of safe
and smart roads in the country.

Question 12

Nivesh Bandhu

Answer 12

The portal would provide information on Central and State Governments’ investor friendly policies, agro-
producing clusters, infrastructure, and potential areas of investment in the food processing sector.
 Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has also launched the Food Regulatory Portal.
 It has been planned as a single interface for food businesses to cater to both domestic operations and food imports.
 It hosts multiple IT platforms at one point to facilitate food businesses and reduce compliance burden.

Question 13

Deen Dayal Sparsh Yojana- (Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude &; Research in Stamps as
a Hobby-SPARSH Yojana)

Answer 13

It is a pan India scheme launched by the government to increase the collection and study of postal stamps.
 There is a component of annual scholarship for rewarding meritorious students pursuing Philately as a
hobby.
 The Concerned schools would also be provided with Philately mentor to guide the young philatelists in
order to pursue their hobby and projects.

Question 14

Swachh Iconic place

Answer 14

It is an initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
 The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation will be the coordinating Ministry for this initiative, in association with the Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and the concerned State governments.
Government will undertake a special clean-up initiative focused on 100 iconic heritages, spiritual and cultural places in the country.
All Iconic Sites have designated PSUs for financial and technical support.
Meenakshi Sundreshwar temple won the award for best Swachh iconic place

Question 15

Meenakshi Sundareshwar Temple, TN

Answer 15

The current structure of temple was built in 1623- 1655 AD by Nayaka rulers of Madurai though its history can be traced to 6th century BC Pandyan rule in ancient city of Madurai.
 The temple is dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort, Shiva, here named Sundareswarar.
The temple is a masterpiece of Dravidian architecture with temple tank, large Vimana, 14 Gopurams, and Mandapam with 1000 pillars.

Question 16

Paryatan Parv

Answer 16

It was organized from 5th October to 25th October with the objective of drawing focus on the benefit of tourism, showcasing cultural diversity and reinforcing the principle of “Tourism for all”.
 The programme focused on encouraging Indians to explore their own country (Dekho Apna Desh). Tourism
events such as interactive sessions and workshops on skill development and innovation in the sector would
be conducted across all states.

Question 17

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)

Answer 17

It is an international coalition of non-government organizations running the campaign to advocate
United Nations Weapon Ban treaty in about 100 countries.
It is a broad-based and inclusive campaign which is committed to work towards drawing the attention of global community towards the humanitarian catastrophic consequence of any use of nuclear weapons.
 Due to their efforts, the United Nations’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was officially adopted in July 2017 and will come into force after ratification by 50 countries.

Question 18

Which state cabinet recently approved the Favourable Climate change policy focusing on ‘Climate proof’
village.

Answer 18

Maharashtra

Question 19

Delamanid

Answer 19

NEW TB DRUG
Delamanid will be inducted parallel to Bedaquiline under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program
(RNTCP) and not replace it.

Question 20

“North East Calling” Festival

Answer 20

The “North East Calling” Festival is an event to promote
the art, culture, heritage, cuisine, handicrafts, business
and tourism in North East India.
 This Festival has been organised by the MoDNER’s
“Destination North East”.

Question 21

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

Answer 21

 IRRI is an international agricultural research and training organisation with Headquarter at Philippines.

 It aims to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure environmental sustainability of rice farming.

Question 22

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), South Asia Regional Center (ISARC)

Answer 22

will be set up in the campus of National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in Varanasi.
 A Centre of Excellence in Rice Value Addition (CERVA) will be established in Varansi which will include a modern and sophisticated laboratory with capacity to determine quality and status of heavy metals in grain and straw.
This is going to be the first international Center in the eastern India and will play a major role in harnessing
and sustaining rice production.

Question 23

Aaykar Setu

Answer 23

 Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), a department under the Ministry of Finance has launched a new app known as Aaykar Setu.
 The app is part of the Digital India initiative to help users understand the various nuances of direct taxes, file income tax, apply for PAN, check TDS statement, and even share grievances with the right authorities. It also lets users link their Aadhaar to their PAN

Question 24

Mizo Peace Accord

Answer 24

The Mizo Peace Accord was signed between the Government of India and Mizo National Front (MNF) on June 30, 1986 after 20 years of insurgence and violence in the state of Mizoram.
 In 1959, Mizo hills were devastated by a famine known as “Mautam”. The Mizo Society (later called as Mizo National Front) took lead in demanding relief from the famine and protested against the inaction of the government.
 Post-famine, it became goal of the MNF to demand for sovereign independence of Greater Mizoram, which would be independent of India and would include borderline territories of Tripura, Manipur and Cachar districts of Assam.

Question 25

Golden Peacock Awards

Answer 25

 Golden Peacock Awards was constituted in 1991 by the Institute of Directors.
 It is regarded as a benchmark for corporate excellence globally.
Indian Railways Organization for Alternate Fuel (IROAF) has been awarded the National level “Golden Peacock Award for the Year 2017 for Eco-Innovation”
IROAF received the award for substitution of fossil fuels (Diesel) by environment-friendly CNG in DEMU passenger train services.

Question 26

Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management

DGARM

Answer 26

The Central Board of Excise and Customs has setup Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM).
DGARM would provide intelligence inputs and carry out big data analytics and use both external and internal sources for data mining.
 DGARM has four verticals and will be headed by an official rank of Additional Director General or principal ADG who will report to the Chairman of CBEC.
 The four verticals are namely:
o National Targeting Centre - It is responsible for application of a nationally coordinated approach to risk analysis and targeting of risky goods and passengers crossing the borders of the country.
o Centre for Business Intelligence and Analytics - It will be responsible for identification of information requirements of the CBEC. It will utilise internal data fields to do so.
o Risk Management Centre for Goods and Services Tax - It will institutionalise mechanism to collect necessary inputs, adopt the coordinated approach and share the outcome for risk-based identification for the purpose of scrutiny, audit and enforcement functions.
o Risk Management Centre for Customs - It will be responsible for assessment and targeting of risky cargo crossing the borders through sea, air and land.

Question 27

complete yoga village

Answer 27

Kunnamthanam in Kerala has become a complete yoga village with at least one member of each family in the panchayat trained in yoga.

Question 28

INAM-PRO

Answer 28

 It is a web portal designed by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) and launched by the Ministry two years back
 It is a common platform to bring cement buyers and sellers together.
 The portal facilitated comparison of price, availability of materials etc. and made it very convenient for the prospective buyers to procure cement at reasonable rates in a transparent manner.

Question 29

INAM Pro +

Answer 29

It is an upgraded version of INAM-PRO to include everything related to construction materials, equipments/machinery and services like purchase/hiring/lease of new/used products and services in the domains of Construction Materials

Question 30

Moncoes do Reino’ (Monsoon correspondence)

Answer 30

Under a new agreement to promote cooperation in the field of archiving, Portugal has handed over a collection of documents known as ‘Moncoes do Reino’ (Monsoon correspondence) to India.
 The collection consists of direct correspondence from Lisbon to Goa and documents trade rivalries with the Arabs and European powers and their relations with neighbouring kings in South Asia and East Asia.

Question 31

Kanyashree Prakalpa scheme

Answer 31

 West Bengal Government’s Kanyashree Prakalpa scheme has won the United Nations Public Service Award.
 India was named first in the Asia-Pacific group for the category: ‘Reaching the Poorest and Most Vulnerable through Inclusive Services and Participation’.
 It aims to improve status of adolescent girls from disadvantaged families (annual family income not more than Rs. 1, 20,000) through small cash transfers.
 Increased educational attainment by incentivizing schooling of all teenage girls, prevention of child marriage and financial inclusion are some of its objectives.

Question 32

Indian Navy’s first indigenously built Floating Dock (FDN-2) was launched at shipyard in Kattupalli, Near Ennore port, Chennai.

Answer 32

 The floating dock is 185 metres long and 40 metres wide. It will enable docking of all kinds of vessels.
 This will include naval ships and submarines of up to 8,000 tonnes displacement.
 It would include draughts of up to seven metres, during both day and night.
 FDN-2 will be based in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
 It will enhance the Navy’s technical repair infrastructure.

Question 33

End of Train Telemetry (EoTT)

Answer 33

The Indian Railways will soon introduce End of Train Telemetry (EoTT) equipment used to establish communication between the locomotive driver and the last wagon of the train ensuring that the train is running with all coaches/wagons as a complete unit.
 In case of a train parting, the system is designed to indicate to the driver the parting of the train and to apply brakes to the rear unit.

Question 34

Pervasive SUB

Answer 34

Scientists have developed new, groundbreaking software that allows hearing and visually impaired individuals to enjoy watching television in real time without any intermediaries.
The software known as Pervasive SUB compiles all the subtitles of television channels and sends them to a central server which forwards them to Smartphones and tablets.
 It is then sent to the Braille line of the user using GoAll app which is compatible with different Braille lines.
 This app controls the speed of the Braille lines in order to synchronise it with the TV broadcast.

Question 35

Indo-HCM

Answer 35

India’s first ever Highway capacity Manual (Indo-HCM) has been released by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
 Indo-HCM project was approved in 2012 and has been developed by CSIR-CRRI.
 The manual lays down guidelines for capacity augmentation and management of different types of roads and their intersections and the level of services to be put in place.
 The manual will guide Road Engineers and Policy Makers in the scientific planning and expansion of road infrastructure in the country and help supplement the efforts such as Bharatmala programme and also help in reducing road accidents by promoting safer road designs.
 It has also underscored the need to popularise the use of new material like fly-ash, plastic, oil slag and municipal waste in road construction.

Question 36

Paris Principles

Answer 36

They were adopted in 1993 by United Nations General Assembly which provides the international benchmarks for accreditation of NHRIs by GANHRIs (Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institution).

According to Paris Principles NHRIs need to:
 Protect the human rights, including receiving, investigating and resolving complaints, mediating conflicts and monitoring activities
 Promote human rights through education, outreach, training, capacity building etc.

Question 37

Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institution (GANHRI)

Answer 37

 Formerly known as International Coordinating Committee (ICC) of National Human Rights Institutions, it was established in 1993.
 Levels of Accreditations of GANHRIs are:
o “A” Voting members – They comply fully with Paris Principle and can participate as voting member in international and regional work and meetings of national
institutions.
o “B” Observer member: They do not comply with the Paris Principles and hasn’t submitted the required documents
o “C” Non-member: They do not comply with Paris Principles and have no rights or privileges with ICC.

NHRC has retained the status A of accreditation of United Nations mandated GANHRI for fourth consecutive term.
NHRIs are accredited if they are found fully compliant with the UN mandated Paris Principles after a review process by GANHRI through sub-committee on Accreditation every five years.