UPSC Quiz – 2024 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 26th October 2024

·       It is located between Asia and Europe.

·       It lies to the east of the Caucasus Mountains and to the west of the vast steppe of Central Asia.

·       The sea was named for the Kaspi, ancient peoples who once lived on its western shores.

·       The mean salinity of the Caspian Sea is now about one-third that of the oceans.

·       Three major rivers—the Volga, the Ural, and the Terek—empty into the Caspian from the north.

·       Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is the largest city on the Caspian. Another important city along the Caspian is Iran’s Nowshahr.

·       It promotes, through its network of cultural centres, Indian culture abroad.

·       ICCR was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, independent India’s first Education Minister.

Objectives:

·       to actively participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes pertaining to India’s external cultural relations;

·       to foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries;

·       to promote cultural exchanges with other countries and people;

·       It administers various scholarship programs annually and awards about 3000+ scholarships under 21 different schemes to foreign students from about 180 countries.

·       Amongst these 21 schemes, six are funded by ICCR from its grant, and others are administered on behalf of MEA and the Ministry of Ayush.

·       The scholarships offer studies in a variety of courses from undergraduate to postdoctoral level in different leading universities and educational institutions spread all over India.

·       It has been conducted since 1994.

·       SIMBEX, which began as ‘Exercise Lion King’ in 1994, has since evolved into one of the most significant bilateral maritime collaborations between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).

·       It holds the distinction of being the longest continuous naval exercise that the Indian Navy has conducted with any other country.

·       This year’s edition aims to further strengthen the strategic partnership between India and Singapore by enhancing interoperability, improving maritime domain awareness, and fostering cooperation to address common maritime challenges.

·       The Harbour Phase will include Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEEs), cross-deck visits, sports fixtures, and pre-sail briefings between personnel from both navies.

·       The Sea Phase will witness advanced naval drills, including live weapon firings, anti- submarine warfare (ASW) training, anti-surface and anti-air operations, seamanship evolutions, and tactical manoeuvres.

·       Other names: They are known as the “fire cat” in Thailand and Burma, and as the “rock cat” in parts of China.

·       Appearance: Their fur ranges in color from cinnamon to various shades of brown, and also gray and black (melanistic).

·       They are solitary and territorial. Once considered nocturnal, a radio-tracking study showed them to be diurnal and crepuscular.

·       These are polygynous (mating with multiple females) with no breeding season.

·       Habitat: This cat is known to occur across a wide range of habitats, including dry deciduous forests, subtropical evergreen forests, tropical rainforests, temperate and sub-alpine forests, and at elevations ranging from 0 m to 3,738 m.

·       Distribution: The species occurs in Southeast Asia, from Nepal and Tibet to Southern China, Sumatra and India.

·       IUCN: Near threatened

·       CITES: Appendix I

·       Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972: Schedule 1

·       Threats: Habitat destruction that follows deforestation, as well as a decreasing number of ungulate prey. Another major threat is the illegal wildlife trade.

·       Environmental Ship Index (ESI) identifies seagoing ships that perform better in reducing air emissions than required by the current emission standards of the International Maritime Organization.

·       The ESI evaluates the amount of nitrogen oxide (NOX), sulphur oxide (SOX) that is released by a ship and includes a reporting scheme on the greenhouse gas emission of the ship.

·       The ESI is a good indication of the environmental performance of ocean-going vessels and will assist in identifying cleaner ships in a general way.

·       All stakeholders in maritime transport can use the ESI as a means to improve their environmental performance and as an instrument to reach their sustainability goals.

·       Mormugao Port – is India’s first port to introduce Green Ship Incentives through the ESI, aligning with global efforts to reduce air emissions in shipping.

·       Mormugao Port Authority has gained global recognition by being listed as an incentive provider on the Environment Ship Index (ESI) portal, acknowledged by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH).

·       This achievement highlights the port’s commitment to promoting environmentally friendly practices for seagoing vessels.

·       Mormugao stands out in Asia alongside Japan and Oman, which also offer similar incentives.

·       Harit Shrey – Is a scheme that was launched in October 2023 that offers port fee discounts based on ESI ratings of commercial ships.

·       The “Harit Shrey” initiative has provided benefits to numerous vessels, encouraging eco-friendly practices.