UPSC Quiz – 2023 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 26th September 2023

·       The USA (NSA)

·       The UK (GCHQ)

·       Australia (ASD)

·       Canada (CSEC)

·       New Zealand (GCSB)

·       It is a Secret agreements that allow secretive intelligence agencies in in the alliance countries to spy on the world.

·       The alliance comprises series of bilateral agreements on surveillance and intelligence-sharing.

·       The United Kingdom-United States Communication Intelligence Act (UKUSA Agreement) is the foundation of the Five Eyes alliance.

·       Though these arrangements are commonly referred UKUSA agreement, the documents underpinning the Five Eyes alliance are numerous, intricate and secret.

Intelligence-sharing agreements have now expanded beyond the Five Eyes to include other states such as:

·       9 Eyes – The Five Eyes, with the addition of Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Norway.

·       14 Eyes – The 9 Eyes, with the addition of Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Sweden.

·       41 Eyes – All of the above, with the addition of the allied coalition in Afghanistan.

·       It includes other well-known marine creatures like starfish and sea cucumbers.

·       Sea urchins are characterized by their spherical to somewhat flattened, spiny bodies, and they are found in oceans worldwide, from shallow coastal waters to deep-sea environments.

·       They live on the ocean floor, usually on hard surfaces, and use tube feet or spines to move about.

·       The largest urchin (known from a single specimen) is Sperostoma giganteum of deep waters off Japan.

·       They have a globular body and a radial arrangement of organs, shown by five bands of pores running from mouth to anus over the test (internal skeleton).

·       The pores accommodate tube feet, which are slender, extensible, and often sucker-tipped.

·       They have a hard exoskeleton, or test, made up of interlocking plates or ossicles, which are often covered with movable spines.

·       From nodules on the test arise long, movable spines and pedicellariae (pincerlike organs); these structures may have poison glands.

Feeding:

·       They are herbivorous, primarily feeding on algae and plant material.

·       They use their specialized mouthparts, called Aristotle’s lantern, to scrape algae and other food sources from rocks or the seafloor.

·       It is given to overseas Indians.

·       OCI Scheme was introduced by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955, in August 2005.

·       It provides long-term visa-free travel and stay in India and gives the cardholders a host of privileges normally not given to a foreign national.

Who is eligible for an OCI card? As per the ministry’s statement, a foreign national –

·       who was a citizen of India at the time of, or at any time after 26 January, 1950;

·       who was eligible to become a citizen of India on 26th January, 1950;

·       who belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15th August, 1947; who is a child or a grandchild or a great-grandchild of such a citizen;

·       who is a minor child of such persons mentioned above;

·       who is a minor child and whose both parents are citizens of India or one of the parents is a citizen of India – is eligible for registration as an OCI cardholder.

Entitlements:

·       A registered OCI is granted multiple entry, multipurpose, life-long visa for visiting India.

·       He/she is exempted from registration with the Foreign Regional Registration Officer or Foreign Registration Officer for any length of stay in India.

·       He/she is entitled to general ‘parity with Non-Resident Indians in respect of all facilities available to them in economic, financial and educational fields except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.

OCI cardholder is NOT entitled to:

·       OCI is not to be misconstrued as ‘dual citizenship’. OCI does not confer political rights to vote;

·       to be a member of a Legislative Assembly or of a Legislative Council or of the Parliament of India;

·       to hold Indian constitutional posts such as that of the President, Vice President, Judge of the Supreme Court or High Court etc.;

·       He/she cannot normally hold employment in the Government;

·       to undertake any Missionary work, Mountaineering and Journalism work without prior permission of the Govt. of India;

·       OCI cardholder shall also require Protected Area Permit (PAP)/Restricted Area Permit (RAP) to visit any place which falls within the Protected/Restricted Area notified by the Government as in the case of any other foreigner.

·       The wetland gets its name from its high productivity Kole literally translates to bumper crop in Malayalam.

·       It contributes to 40% of rice production in the state.

·       It is one of the largest brackish, humid tropical wetland ecosystem on the southwest coast of India.

·       The wetlands are fed by 10 rivers and is a typical large estuarine systems on the western coast.

·       One of the specialties of this wetland cultivation is its dewatering scheme.

·       Each year, before the season starts, all farming clusters, known as padasekharams, have to follow dewater their land before sowing.

·       This collaborative ritual or kootaima reeti is what protects Kole as a wetland.

Cabomba furcuta

·       Cabomba furcuta is a species of aquatic plant in the water and is popularly called as Pink Bloom.

·       The submerged perennial aquatic plant grows in stagnant to slow-flowing freshwater.

·       Threats – Due its massive flowering, has been a new threat to the kole fields, in addition to water hyacinth and Salvinia molesta.

·       It is a visual treat and a potential outspread in water bodies by active stem propagation, hindering penetration of light into the water.

·       Boundaries: It is bordered by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Vietnam.

·       The South China Sea and the East China Sea together form the China Sea.

·       The two major archipelagos are known as the Paracel Islands, controlled by China, and the Spratly Islands.

·       Climate: Weather in the sea is tropical and largely controlled by monsoons.

·       It is the second most used sea lane in the world. It is a significant trade route for crude oil from the Persian Gulf and Africa through the Strait of Malacca to Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.

·       Major Ports: Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.