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(PRELIMS & MAINS Focus)


Orans

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Syllabus

Context: Residents from around 40 villages of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan have walked 225 kilometres to protect community-conserved sacred spaces known as ‘orans’. Currently, the biodiversity hotspots are classified as wastelands.

About orans:

About KRAPAVIS:

Source:  DownToEarth

Previous Year Question

Q.1) Consider the following pairs:

Wetland/Lake:                                                  Location

  1. Hokera Wetland                                       Punjab
  2. Renuka Wetland                               Himachal Pradesh
  3. Rudrasagar Lake                                      Tripura
  4. Sasthamkotta                                          Tamil Nadu

How many pairs given above are correctly matched? (2022)

  1. Only one pair
  2. Only two pairs
  3. Only three pairs
  4. All four pairs

Q.2) With references to India, Didwana, Kuchaman, Sargol and khatu are the names of (2021)

  1. Glaciers
  2. Mangrove areas
  3. Ramsar sites
  4. Saline lakes

Goa Liberation Day

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Syllabus

Context: President Droupadi Murmu tweeted her greetings to the nation on December 19, marking Goa Liberation Day, which is celebrated annually to mark the success of ‘Operation Vijay’ undertaken by the Indian armed forces to defeat Portuguese colonial forces and liberate Goa in 1961.

About Goa Liberation Day:

History of Goa:

Goa’s Independence:

Source:  Indian Express

Previous Year Question

Q.1) With reference to Indian history, consider the following statements:

  1. The Dutch established their factories/warehouses on the east coast on lands granted to them by Gajapati rulers.
  2. Alfonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate.
  3. The English East India. Company established a factory at Madras on a plot of land leased from a representative of the Vijayanagara empire.

Which of the statements given above are correct? (2022)

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Panini’s ‘Ashtadhyayi

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Syllabus

Context: Recently Cambridge scholar claims to have solved Sanskrit’s biggest puzzle—a grammar problem found in the ‘Ashtadhyayi’, an ancient text written by the scholar Panini towards the end of the 4th century BC.

About Panini, the ‘father of linguistics’:

About Ashtadhyayi

Significance of Asthadhyayi:

Source: Indian Express

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) According to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, which of the following are correct?

  1. A person could be a slave as a result of a judicial punishment.
  2. If a female slave bore her master a son, she was legally free.
  3. If a son born to a female slave was fathered by her master, the son was entitled to the legal status of the master’s son.

Which of the statements given above are correct? (2022)

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Zonal Councils

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Syllabus

In News: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah presided over the 25th Eastern Zonal Council meeting .

Aim of Zonal councils:

Zonal Councils:

Organisational structure:

Role & Objective:

Functions:

Source: PIB

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) Which of the following bodies does not/do not find mention in the Constitution? (2013)

  1. National Development Council
  2. Planning Commission
  3. Zonal Councils

Select the correct answer using the codes given below

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3 only

Tal Chhapar sanctuary

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Syllabus

In News: The Tal Chhapar blackbuck sanctuary in Rajasthan has received a protective cover against a proposed move of the State government to reduce the size of its eco-sensitive zone.

Tal Chhapar blackbuck sanctuary:

Biodiversity:

Threats:

Initiatives:

Black buck:

Source: The Hindu

Previous Year Questions

Q1.) With reference to India’s Desert National Park, which of the following statements are correct? (2020)

  1. It is spread over two districts.
  2. There is no human habitation inside the Park.
  3. It is one of the natural habitats of Great Indian Bustard.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Global Biodiversity Framework

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Syllabus

In News: Over 190 nations adopt landmark biodiversity pact to restore natural ecosystems

Aim:

About Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF):

Significance for India:

Source: Newsonair


Deepfakes

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Syllabus

In News: The Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s cyberspace watchdog, is rolling out new regulations to restrict the use of deep synthesis technology and curb disinformation.

Deep synthesis:

Deepfakes:

China’s new policy to curb deepfakes:

India:

The European Union’s Code of Practice

U.S’s bipartisan Deepfake Task Force Act 2021

Source: The Hindu

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) Which one of the following statements best describes the role of B cells and T cells in the human body ? (2022)

  1. They protect the body from environmental allergens.
  2. They alleviate the body’s pain and inflammation.
  3. They act as immunosuppressants in the body.
  4. They protect the body from the diseases caused by pathogens.

Integration of North-Eastern India and its Significance

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Syllabus

Context: Recently, in  the North East Council (NEC) meeting, the Prime Minister of India has said that red cards have been shown to challenges in the Northeast region, including corruption, political nepotism and unrest in the region.

About North – Eastern India:

Significance of North – Eastern India:

Challenges to the development of the North Eastern Region (NER):

Government of India Initiatives for the sustainable development of NER:

Connectivity Projects: To create alternate routes to the region and decrease its dependence on the Chicken’s Neck, the Indian government has planned additional routes through South East Asia:

Mission Organic Value Chain Development (MOVCD-NER):

Sub Mission on Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP):

North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS):

National Bamboo Mission:

Way Forward:

Thus the government at the Centre must be vigilant about the developments in the region and take steps towards integrating North East India into the mainstream. Various stakeholders, the political parties, the citizens’ organizations, student groups, civil society etc. must work synergistically towards nation building activities.

There needs to be a comprehensive stock-taking of the internal challenges and an identification of regions and sectors where there is potential. Development of socio economic infrastructure, maximum utilization of natural resources, development of entrepreneurial culture and above all extending transnational ties will determine the future of Northeast in the near future is need of the hour.

Source:  Indian Express

Q.1) In which one of the following states is Pakhui wildlife sanctuary located? (2018)

  1. Arunachal Pradesh
  2. Manipur
  3. Meghalaya
  4. Nagaland

Private Member’s Bill for Women’s Reservation

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Syllabus

Context: In the recently concluded Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assemblies’ election the  number of women elected was too is low. In fact Gujarat elected just 8 percent of women legislators in its 182-member assembly and Himachal Pradesh, where every second voter is a female, has elected 67 men and only one woman.

Key highlights from the article:

About Private members bill:

History of Private Member’s Bills in India:

History of Women’s Reservation Bill:

Highlights of Women’s Reservation Bill:

Reasons for women’s reservation bill:

Way Forward:

The Women’s Reservation Bill is an essential short-term solution that needs to be implemented in India as the Indian economy and society are under the influence of male chauvinism since centuries.

So far only two regional political parties in India – Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) have reserved seats for women for election candidatures. Without a gender quota, women’s representation will remain marginal causing a massive deficit in our democracy.

Source: Indian Express


Biodiversity conservation

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Syllabus

In News: A month after the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Egypt, diplomatic retinue went into a contentious huddle again to save the planet — in Montreal, Canada, this time, and as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

What is Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD):

Importance of biodiversity:

India’s scenario:

Challenges to biodiversity:

Suggestions:

Way forward:

Source: The Hindu


Baba’s Explainer – Deepfake technology & China

Deepfake technology & China

Syllabus

Context: The Cyberspace Administration of Chins is rolling out new regulations, to be effective from January 10, to restrict the use of deep synthesis technology and curb disinformation.

Read Complete Details on Deepfake technology & China


Practice MCQs

Daily Practice MCQs

Q.1) There is some concern regarding the deepfake and deep synthesis technology. Why?

  1. They can be used in criminal activities like scams and pornography.
  2. They can create people that do not exist.
  3. They can alter any online content.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

  1. 1 and 3 only
  2. 1,2 and 3
  3. 1 only
  4. 2 and 3 only

Q.2) Consider the following statements:

  1. The Zonal Councils are established under the State’s Reorganization Act 1956
  2. The state of Sikkim is included in Zonal councils.
  3. All the Zonal Councils are headed by the Union Home Minister.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Q.3) Consider the following statements regarding Panini’s Asthadhyayi:

  1. It is a linguistics text that set the standard for how Pali was meant to be written and spoken.
  2. Mahabhasya of Patanjali (2nd century BC) and the Kashika Vritti of Jayaditya and Vamana are associated with Panini.

Which of the statements given is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’ 20th December 2022 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.st


ANSWERS FOR 19th December – Daily Practice MCQs

Answers- Daily Practice MCQs

Q.1) – d

Q.2) – a

Q.3) – d

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