November 2021 Flashcards
The farm laws were withdrawn on which festival?
Guru Purab
Name the three farm laws
- Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020.
- Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020.
- Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020
What are the features of the
Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020?
- Expands scope of trade areas of farm produce.
- Allows e-trading and e-commerce for farm produce.
- Prohibits state governments from levying a fee or tax on agri transactions in an ‘outside area’.
What are the features of the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020?
- Provides a legal framework for farmers to enter to contracts with corporates.
- Provides a dispute resolution mechanism.
What are the features of the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020?
– Removes cereals, pulses, potato, onions, edible oilseeds, and oils, from the list of essential commodities.
When were the Farm Laws passed?
September 2020
Name the SC case in which it stayed the implementation of the farm laws and appointed a committee to look into the same.
Rakesh Vaishnav v. Union of India
____ is an online trading platform for agricultural commodities in India.
National Agriculture Market or eNAM
APMCs are regulated by states through their adoption of a ___.
Agriculture Produce Marketing Regulation (APMR) Act
A total of ___ commodities are covered by MSP mechanism.
23
The National Commission on Farmers was chaired by ___.
Prof. M. S. Swaminathan
____ is known as the father of the green revolution in India. ____ is the father of the green revolution worldwide.
M.S. Swaminathan, Norman Borlaug
Article ___ of the Constitution gives Parliament the power to make laws for the whole or any part of India, and state legislatures the power to make laws for the state.
Article 245
The ___ Schedule deals with the three lists.
Seventh Schedule
The Union List has ___ items.
The Concurrent List has ___ items.
The State List has ___ items.
97
52
61
Agriculture is in item ___ in the ___ list. However, item ___ of the union list allows the Parliament to ___, including agriculture.
14, state list
33, regulate trade and any industry
Name the centrally sponsored scheme that was recently resumed after being suspended in April 2020.
Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)
MPLADS has been resumed with the MPs getting ₹___ instead of the annual approved ₹___.
2 crore, 5 crore
When was MPLADS introduced?
1993
What is the full form of the NIPUN Bharat Scheme?
National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy
The Minister of Education is ___.
The first Minister was ___.
Dharmendra Pradhan, Abul Kalam
NIPUN Bharat was launched under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of ___.
Samagra Shiksha
The objective of NIPUN Bharat Scheme is to create an environment to ensure ___, so that every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy by the end of ___ level, by ___.
Universal acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy, Grade 3, 2026-27
The ___ in ___ made education an enforceable right (Right to Education) under Article ___.
86th Amendment, 2002
Article 21A
National Education Day
International Day of Education
November 11th
January 24th
Recently, the President awarded the respective cities in the __th Edition of ___ for their performance in maintaining cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation.
6th Edition of the Swachh Survekshan (SS), 2021
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is a country-wide campaign initiated by in ___.
2014
SBM is being implemented by the ___ (Minister?) and by the ___ (Minister?) for urban and rural areas respectively.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (Hardeep Singh Puri)
Ministry of Jal Shakti (Gajendra Singh Shekhawat)
Motto of Swachh Bharat Mission
One step towards cleanliness (Ek kadam swachhata ki or)
Logo of Swachh Bharat Mission
Mahatma Gandhi’s Spectacles
The cleanliness survey in Swachh Bharat is called ___. The first edition was launched in ___. They surveys are conducted by the ___.
Swachh Survekshan
2016
Quality Council of India
As per Swachh Survekshan 2021, Cleanest City with >1 Lakh Population? Fastest Mover?
Indore, Madhya Pradesh (5th Consecutive Time)
Fastest Mover: Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh
As per Swachh Survekshan 2021, Cleanest City with <1 Lakh Population?
Vita, Maharashtra
As per Swachh Survekshan 2021, Cleanest Ganga Town?
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
As per Swachh Survekshan 2021, Cleanest Cantonment?
Ahmedabad Cantonment (Gujarat)
As per Swachh Survekshan 2021, Cleanest State with >100 Urban Local Bodies? Fastest Mover?
Chhattisgarh (3rd Consecutive Time)
Fastest Mover: Karnataka
As per Swachh Survekshan 2021, Cleanest State with <100 ULBs? Fastest Mover?
Jharkhand
Fastest Mover: Mizoram
Name the five cities categorised as ‘Divya’ (Platinum) under the Prerak Daaur Samman, a new performance category under the SS 2021.
Indore, Surat, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi Municipal Council and Tirupati
Name the top performer cities under the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge.
Indore, Navi Mumbai, Nellore, and Dewas
Name the top performer states under the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge.
Chhattisgarh and Chandigarh
Under the Star Rating Protocol of Garbage Free Cities, ___ cities were certified as 5-star cities.
9 cities
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan deals with which SDG?
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.
World Toilet Day
19th November
The central government is preparing to give a fresh push to the establishment of an ___ on the lines of the central civil services.
It is a reform push to centralise the recruitment of judges at the level of additional district judges and district judges for all states.
All India Judicial Service (AIJS)
Recently, India was re-elected to the executive board of which specialised agency of the UN? What term?
UNESCO
2021-25
The UNESCO is headquartered at the ___ in ___.
World Heritage Centre in Paris, France
Director-General of the UNESCO
Audrey Azoulay (France)
UNESCO was founded on ___ as the successor to ___.
16th November 1945
League of Nations’ International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
Name the three constitutional organs of the UNESCO.
The General Conference, the Executive Board, and the Secretariat.
Which body selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
World Heritage Committee?
What is the full name of the Heritage Convention? When was it signed? When did it come into force?
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
It was signed in 1972.
It came into effect in 1975.
Name the country with the most World Heritage Sites.
Italy, 58 sites
How many World Heritage Sites in India? What is the number of each type?
40 sites:
32 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed
Name the only Mixed Heritage Site of India.
Kanchenjunga National Park, Sikkim
First Heritage Sites of India. When were they added?
Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves in 1983
Latest Heritage Site to be added from India.
Dholavira, Gujarat
Recently, ___ was removed from the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Liverpool
Minister of Culture
G. Kishan Reddy
World Heritage Day
What is this day also called?
18th April
International Day for Monuments and Sites
International Day of Tolerance
Why is it celebrated on this day?
16th November
Founding of the UNESCO in 1945, signing of the World Heritage Convention in 1972.
On the Intl. Day of Tolerance, the ___ prize is given by the UNESCO. The latest winner of this prize was ___.
UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Prize for Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence
CRC (Centre Resolution Conflicts)
(Intl. Day of Tolerance is on 16th November)
Name the new variant of COVID-19.
Omicron (B.1.1.529)
The Omicron variant was first detected in
South Africa
The WHO’s ___ has declared Omicron to be a ___.
Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE), Variant of Concern
Name the two current naming systems used for COVID-19 variants.
- WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE): after Greek alphabets
- PANGOLIN software, uses dynamic nomenclature
Expand PANGOLIN. Who was it developed by?
Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak Lineages, Andrew Rambaut
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease first identified in ___ in December 2019. It is caused by ___.
Wuhan, China
SARS-CoV-2
The name of COVID-19 was given by
WHO (International Commission on Taxonomy of Viruses)
The diagnostic method of COVID-19 is by
Detection of the virus’ nucleic acid
By rRT-PCR (real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction)
From a nasopharyngeal swab.
Name the ‘black fungus’ that was seen in the news in May 2021.
Mucormycosis
Name India’s vaccine diplomacy policy.
Also name its Indian Ocean Policy
Vaccine Maitri Mission SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region)
Name India’s COVID-19 digital service app developed in 2020.
Aarogya Setu
The ___ app handles the details of India’s COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Co-Win (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network)
The Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine is a ___ vaccine, marketed by the ___ in India as ___.
Live attenuated
Serum Institute of India (SII)
Covishield
Pfizer vaccine is a ___ vaccine.
mRNA
Sputnik V Vaccine, made by ___, is a ___ vaccine from ___.
Gamaleya Institute, Adenovirus Viral Vector, Russia
The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine is a ___ vaccine.
Adenovirus
Name the main mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
Moderna, Pfizer
Name India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. It is a ___ vaccine developed by ___.
Covaxin, inactivated, Bharat Biotech and ICMR
Corbevax is developed by ___.
Biological E. Limited
ZyCov-D Vaccine is developed by ___.
Zydus
How many COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for emergency use in India? Name them.
7 Vaccines.
Oxford–AstraZeneca, Covishield, Covaxin, Moderna, Sputnik-5, Zy-CoV-D, J&J
USA has approved ___ COVID-19 vaccines.
Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
Bharat Biotech is headquartered in ___. Its head is ___.
Hyderabad, Krishna Ella
Name the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. What COVID-19 vaccine is it developing? Where is it headquartered? Who is its head?
Serum Institute of India
Covishield
Pune
Adar Poonawala
Minister of Health and Family Welfare
Mansukh Mandaviya
Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation constituted under the ___.
Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
Who is the Drugs Controller General of India?
Dr. V. G. Somani
The ___ is the apex body in India for biomedical research.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
President promulgated two Ordinances to extend the tenure of Directors of probe agencies ___ and ___ up to five years.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED)
Name the Ordinances promulgated recently to extend the tenure of the chiefs of probe agencies CBI and ED.
The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 and
The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021
CBI operates under which ministry?
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Director of CBI
Subodh Kumar Jaiswal
When was the CBI formed?
1942
The ED is under which ministry?
Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance
Director of ED
Sanjay Kumar Mishra
Name the city that was recently added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Srinagar
Name the first meeting held by India on Afghanistan.
Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan
NSA of India
Ajit Doval
First NSA of India
Brajesh Mishra
When was the office of the NSA established? During the tenure of which PM?
1998, Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The Global Drug Policy Index was released by
Harm Reduction Consortium
The Global Drug Policy Index was led by?
India’s rank?
Bottom country?
Top: Norway
India: 18th
Bottom: Brazil
The Climate Change Performance Index is released by
Germanwatch
In the Climate Change Performance Index,
Which country was ranked at the top?
India’s rank?
Top: Sweden (4th as no country received top 3)
India: 10th
Recently, the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, COP___ was held in ___, ___.
COP26, in Glasgow, UK.
Where will COP27 be held?
Egypt
COP26 is also called is also called CMP__ and CMA__.
CMP16, CMA3
Expand CMP and CMA
CMP: COP serves as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol
CMA: COP serves as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement
Who was the President of COP26?
Alok Sharma
Where was the UNFCCC signed?
It was signed at United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), ‘Earth Summit’
Where and when was the Earth Summit held?
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992
Where is the Secretariat of the UNFCCC?
Bonn, Germany
When was the UNFCCC signed? When did it come into force?
1992, 1994
Expand UNFCCC
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
What is the supreme decision-making body of the UNFCCC?
The Conference of the Parties (COP)
Where was COP 1 held?
Berlin, Germany (in 1995)
Which COP was held in India?
COP 8, 2002 was held in New Delhi
Name the conventions signed in the Earth Summit.
- Convention on Biological Diversity
- UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
- UN Convention to Combat Desertification
When was the Kyoto Protocol adopted? When did it come into force?
1997, 2005
What is the name of the amendment to the Kyoto Protocol? When was it signed? When did it come into force?
Doha Amendment
2012, 2020
What was the main goal of the Kyoto Protocol?
The main goal of the Kyoto Protocol was to control emissions of the main human-emitted greenhouse gases.
Name the only country to have withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol.
Canada
When was the Paris Agreement adopted? When did it come into force?
2015 (COP21 in Paris), 2016
What is the main goal of the Paris Agreement?
To keep the rise in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and ideally to limit the increase to 1.5°C.
Which country left the Paris Agreement, but later rejoined?
USA
How often are NDCs set?
5 years
What is ‘Ratchet Mechanism’?
Each NDC has to be more ambitious than the last.
Monitoring and evaluation of the progress made in the Paris Agreement is called ___.
Global Stocktake
When will the first Global Stocktake happen?
2023
___ specifies how parties to the Paris Agreement must report on progress in climate change. According to this all parties must submit a ___.
Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF)
Biennial Transparency Report
___ is a planning framework that articulates actionable programs and policies to put a country on a climate-resilient development path
LT- LEDS (Long Term Low GHG Emission Development Strategies)
In the COP26, India pledged a ___, five-point pledge.
Panchamrit
In COP26, India called for developed countries to pledge ___ for developing countries.
$1 trillion
India has pledged net-zero by ___.
2070
India has pledged non-fossil fuel capacity of ___ by ___.
500 GW by 2030
India has pledged __% of energy from renewable sources by ___.
50% by 2030
India has pledged reduction of carbon intensity by ___% by ___.
45% by 2030
India has pledged reduction of Total Projected Carbon Emissions by ___ by ___.
1 billion tonnes by 2030
The ___ is an ___ led effort to cut methane emissions by a ___ by the end of this decade.
Global Methane Pledge, US-EU, by a third
Has the Global Methane Pledge been signed by India?
No
As per IPCC AR6, methane accounts for ___ of the 1.0°C net increase in global average temperature.
Half
Name the pledge in COP26 for conservation of forests. It is led by?
Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, UK-led
Did India sign the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use?
No
Slogan of ISA
One Sun, One World, One Grid
HQ of ISA
Gurugram, India
Director General of ISA
Ajay Mathur
What is the vision of the Green Grids Initiative?
The Sun Never Sets
The Green Grids Initiative has ___ phases.
3 phases (Phase 1: Asia, Phase 2: Africa, Phase 3: global)
Full form of ‘IRIS’.
Infrastructure for Resilient Island States
The IRIS is a part of the ___.
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)
IRIS, a dedicated initiative, will provide technical support and promote disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure assets in ___.
SIDS (Small Island Developing States)
The goal of IRIS will directly contribute to the ___ Pathway.
SAMOA Pathway (SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action)
Under IRIS, ___ will build a special data window for SIDS.
ISRO
Name the three peacetime Gallantry Awards.
Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra
Name the three wartime Gallantry Awards.
Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra and Vir Chakra
Who was awarded the Ashok Chakra in 2021 for being part of an anti-terrorist operation in J&K?
Babu Ram
Who was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra for neutralising terrorists in an operation in Jammu and Kashmir?
Sapper Prakash Jadhav
Who was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for their role in an operation where five terrorists were eliminated and 200 kg explosive material was recovered?
Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal
Who was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for killing an A++ category terrorist during an operation in J&K?
Naib Subedar Sombir
Who was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for leading an op. in which six terrorist commanders were killed.
Major Maheshkumar Bhure
Who was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for fighting Chinese soldiers “till his last breath?”
B. Santosh Babu
Who was accorded the Vir Chakra for his role in pushing back Pakistan’s fighter jets in February 2019?
Abhinandan Varthaman
When were the wartime gallantry awarded instituted?
January 26th 1950
