Solution (a)

National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) scheme is launched by the Ministry of Education.

It has been launched under National Education Policy 2020.

The objective of this scheme is for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27.

NIPUN Bharat aims to cover the learning needs of children in the age group of 3 to 9 years. It envisages making the experience of learning at the foundational stage Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive, Enjoyable, and Engaging.

NIPUN Bharat will be implemented by the Department of School Education and Literacy.

A five-tier implementation mechanism will be set up at the National- State- District- Block- School level in all States and UTs, under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha.

Following outcomes have been envisaged from implementation of the goals and objectives of NIPUN Bharat Mission:

• Foundational skills enable to keep children in class thereby reducing the dropouts and improve transition rate from primary to upper primary and secondary stages.
• Activity based learning and conducive learning environment will improve quality of education.
• Innovative pedagogies such as toy-based and experiential learning will be used in classroom transaction thereby making learning a joyful and engaging activity.
• Intensive capacity building of teachers will make them empowered and provide greater autonomy for choosing the pedagogy.
• Holistic development of the child by focusing on different domains of development like physical and motor development, socio-emotional development, literacy and numeracy development, cognitive development, life skills etc. which are interrelated and interdependent, which will be reflected in a Holistic Progress Card.
• Children to achieve steeper learning trajectory which may have positive impacts on later life outcomes and employment.
• Since almost every child attends early grades, therefore, focus at that stage will also benefit the socio-economic disadvantageous group thus ensuring access to equitable and inclusive quality education.

Article Link: Union Education Minister launches NIPUN Bharat Programme

Solution (b)

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental organization of 13 countries.

Mission of the organization is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets, in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers, and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.

The current OPEC members are the following: Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

In addition to formal OPEC members, 10 additional oil exporting countries, led by Russia, form the OPEC+ cartel, which since 2016 cooperate in fixing the global crude oil prices by agreeing to production quotas that keep global production below demand/consumption.

The OPEC+ countries are: Russia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, South Sudan and Sudan.

Article Link: OPEC+ fails to reach output deal

Solution (b)

An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.

However, Countervailing Duties (CVDs) are tariffs levied on imported goods to offset subsidies made to producers of these goods in the exporting country.

In order to protect their respective economy, many countries impose duties on products they believe are being dumped in their national market; this is done with the rationale that these products have the potential to undercut local businesses and the local economy.

In the long-term, anti-dumping duties can reduce the international competition of domestic companies producing similar goods.

In Indi Directorate General of Trade Remedies is responsible for carrying out investigations and recommending, where required, under the Customs Tariff Act, the amount of anti-dumping duty/countervailing duty on the identified articles as would be adequate to remove injury to the domestic industry.

Article Link: Govt not to impose anti-dumping duty on certain copper items from China, five other countries

Solution (d)

The Constitution provides for the abolition or creation of legislative councils in states. Accordingly, the Parliament can abolish a legislative council (where it already exists) or create it (where it does not exist), if the legislative assembly of the concerned state passes a resolution to that effect. Such a specific resolution must be passed by the state assembly by a special majority, that is, a majority of the total membership of the assembly and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the assembly present and voting. 

This Act of Parliament is not to be deemed as an amendment of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368 and is passed like an ordinary piece of legislation (ie, by simple majority).

Article Link: West Bengal Assembly passes resolution to set up Legislative Council

Solution (c)

Tillari Conservation reserve is located in the state of Maharashtra. Tillari is a reserve in Western Ghats.

It connects Mhadei sanctuary in Goa and Bhimgad in Karnataka.

It has semi-evergreen forest, tropical moist deciduous forests, and a number of unique trees, butterflies, and flowers.

Conservation reserves and community reserves in India are terms denoting protected areas of India which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests of India. 

Such areas are designated as conservation areas if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities and community areas if part of the lands is privately owned. Administration of such reserves would be through local people and local agencies like the gram panchayat, as in the case of communal forests.

Article Link: King Cobra sighted at Tillari conservation reserve in Maharashtra