UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 4th August 2021

Solution (d)

North Eastern Council (NEC) is a statutory advisory body constituted under the North Eastern Council Act 1971.

The eight States of Northeast India viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, are members of the council, with their respective Chief Ministers and Governors representing them.

The Council was initially set up as an advisory body but now sanctioned as a Regional planning body since 2002. They now discuss any matter in which the North Eastern States have a common interest and decide the action to be taken on any such matter. This was done so as to take care of the economic and social planning of these states, as well as to provide mediation in the event of inter-State disputes.

The Union Home Minister is ex-officio Chairman and the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) is the ex-officio Vice-Chairman of the NEC.

Article Link: North- East states’ borders to be demarcated through satellite imaging

Solution (b)

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). 

Under the United Nations Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council are:

• to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations;
• to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction;
• to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
• to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;
• to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken;
• to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression;
• to take military action against an aggressor;
• to recommend the admission of new Members;
• to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in “strategic areas”;
• to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.

The UNSC is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions on member states.

The Security Council consists of fifteen members, of which five are permanent: the People’s Republic of China, the French Republic, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America.

Only permanent members can veto any substantive resolution, including those on the admission of new member states to the United Nations or nominees for the office of Secretary-General. 

Unlike permanent members of the council, the non-permanent members do not have veto power. However, they have “collective right of veto” — any resolution of the UNSC has to be passed by at least seven non-permanent members even if all the permanent members support it. Since India is a non-permanent member of UNSC for two years it cannot individually veto on resolutions.

The remaining ten members are elected on a regional basis to serve a term of two years. The body’s presidency rotates monthly among its members. At present, the non-permanent members are Estonia, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Niger, Norway, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam.

During India’s UNSC Presidency, it will:

• Decide the UN body’s agenda for the month and coordinate important meetings on a range of issues.
• Organise key events in three major areas of maritime security, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian PM to preside over a meeting of the UNSC.

Article Link: As India assumes Presidency of UNSC, Jaishankar talks of international law

Solution (a)

Ozone is a molecule of three oxygen atoms bound together (O3). It is unstable and highly reactive.

Ozone is found naturally in small concentrations in the stratosphere, a layer of Earth’s upper atmosphere. Stratospheric ozone has been called “good” ozone because it protects the Earth’s surface from dangerous ultraviolet light.

Ozone can also be found in the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere. Tropospheric ozone (often termed “bad” ozone) is man-made, a result of air pollution from internal combustion engines and power plants.

Automobile exhaust and industrial emissions release a family of nitrogen oxide gases (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), by-products of burning gasoline and coal. NOx and VOC combine chemically with oxygen to form ozone during sunny, high-temperature conditions.

Although ozone pollution is formed mainly in urban and suburban areas, it ends up in rural areas as well, carried by prevailing winds or resulting from cars and trucks that travel into rural areas.

Ozone exposure can aggravate existing respiratory conditions such as asthma; reduce lung function and capacity for exercise and cause chest pains and coughing.

Article Link: Ozone levels exceeding permitted levels: study

Solution (b)

The pangolin, also called scaly anteater, is an elongated, armour-plated insectivore mammal.

Though many think of them as reptiles, pangolins are actually mammals. They are the only mammals wholly-covered in scales and they use those scales to protect themselves from predators in the wild.

Seven species of pangolin are found across the world, of which, two are found in India, namely Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla).

The Indian Pangolin is found throughout the country south of the Himalayas, excluding the north-eastern region while the Chinese Pangolin ranges through Assam and the eastern Himalayas.

As per International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the pangolin is part of the “red list”, while the Indian pangolin is listed as “endangered” and the Chinese pangolin had been listed as “critically endangered”.

All pangolin species are listed in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix I.

In India, pangolins, both Indian and Chinese, are protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.

Article Link: Pangolin found wandering on Noida roads rescued

Solution (c)

The Halam community are various tribes native to the state of Tripura and Assam, Mizoram in India.

Ethnically Halam communities of Tripura belong to the Kuki-Chin tribes of Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group.

Halams live in typical “Tong Ghar” specially made of bamboos and Changrass (thatch). Apart from plain land cultivation, they still practice Jhum cultivation and depand on both the activities.

As per 2011 Census their total population is 57,210, distributed throughout Tripura.

Hi-Hook dance and Rai Balmani Festival are popular among the Halams. 

Article Link: Clash over land at Tripura-Mizoram border