Solution (a)

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent “conflict diamonds” from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in the Fowler Report.

Solution (b)

A three-day naval exercise, Za’ir-Al-Bahr (Roar of the Sea) is being conducted between November 17 and November 21, 2019 between the Indian and Qatar Naval Forces.

Solution (c)

NISHTHA – National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement is an initiative to build capacities of teachers and school principals at the elementary stage.

The initiative is an Integrated Teacher Training Programme of the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of HRD as part of its National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the Elementary level under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha during 2019-20.

The programme aims to build the capacities of around 42 lakh participants covering all teachers and Heads of Schools at the elementary level in all Government schools, faculty members of State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs), District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) as well as Block Resource Coordinators and Cluster Resource Coordinators in all States and UTs.

The objectives of Nishtha mega-training programme are:

• To equip all the elementary stage teachers on learning outcomes, school based assessment, learner –centred pedagogy, new initiatives in education and addressing diverse needs of children through multiple pedagogies, etc.
• To monitor and provide extensive support to the teachers using multiple modes up to the classroom level, in view of improving learning outcomes of the students.
• To orient state functionaries and school principlas on learning outcomes, national achievement survey, learner- centred pedagogy and new initiatives in school education so that they are able to monitor schools and extend support to schools for the implementation of new initiatives.

Solution (c)

Core > Corona > Photosphere.

The temperature at the core of the Sun is nearly 15 million degrees Celsius, while that at its surface layer, known as the photosphere, is merely 5,700 degrees C. The natural thing to expect is that still further outwards, in its atmosphere, known as the corona, the temperatures would be comparable to that at the surface (photosphere). However, the temperature of the corona is much higher. It starts increasing outside the photosphere, reaching a value of about one million degrees or more in the corona.

Read More – https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/long-standing-conundrum-on-the-suns-atmosphere-solved/article29993252.ece

Solution (a)

A gravastar is an object hypothesized in astrophysics as an alternative to the black hole theory by Pawel O. Mazur and Emil Mottola. It has usual black hole metric outside of the horizon, but de Sitter metric inside. On the horizon there is a thin shell of matter. The term “gravastar” is a portmanteau of the words “gravitational vacuum star”.

Read More – https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/weeding-out-black-hole-mimickers-by-looking-at-gravitational-waves/article29993235.ece