Table of Contents
MCQ 1
Provisions related to child abuses are
- Indian Penal Code (IPC),
- Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act
- Information Technology (IT) Act
Choose correct
(A) 1 & 2
(B) 2 only
(C) All
(D) 2 & 3
Child Abuse Prevention and Investigation Unit
- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has set up an Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (OCSAE) Prevention/Investigation Unit at its headquarter in New Delhi.
- The unit will function under the CBI’s Special Crime Zone.
- The unit’s territorial jurisdiction would be throughout the country.
- It will probe offences covered under various provisions of the
- Indian Penal Code (IPC),
- Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act
- Information Technology (IT) Act, apart from other relevant laws.
- It will collect and disseminate information on online child sexual abuse and exploitation.
- India has one of the largest population of children in the world – Census data from 2011 shows that India has a population of 472 million children below the age of eighteen, of which 225 million are girls Protection of children by the state is guaranteed to Indian citizens by an expansive reading of Article 21 of the Indian constitution, and also mandated given India’s status as signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Child sexual abuse laws in India have been enacted as part of the nation’s child protection policies.
- The Parliament of India passed the ‘Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Bill, 2011’ regarding child sexual abuse on 22 May 2012 into an Act.
- The rules formulated by the government in accordance with the law have also been notified on the November 2012 and the law has become ready for implementation. There have been many calls for more stringent laws
MCQ 2
- Ain-i-Akbari is a 16th century document written by Akbar’s court historian Abu’l Fazl allami
- It’s a document about all religious debates under Akbar
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
Ain-i-Akbari
- Ain-i-Akbari is a 16th century document written by Akbar’s court historian Abu’l Fazl in Persian language.
- It deals with the administration of Mughal Emperor Akbar.
- The Akbar Nama is divided into three books:
- The first book dealt with Akbar’s ancestors.
- The second recorded the events of Akbar’s reign.
- The third is the Ain-i Akbari, deals with Akbar’s administration, household, army, the revenues and geography of his empire.
- It provides rich details about the traditions and culture of the people living in India.
- It also got statistical details about crops, yields, prices, wages, and revenues.
- In the early twentieth century, the Akbar Nama was translated into English by Henry Beveridge.
Top Court Referred To Ain-i-Akbari, Travelogues, Reports In Ayodhya Case
- “We are not construing a statute or a pleading. We are looking into historical events knit around legends, stories, traditions and accounts written in a social and cultural context different from our own. There are dangers in interpreting history without the aid of historiography.
- “Application of legal principles to make deductions and inferences out of historical context is a perilous exercise. One must exercise caution before embarking on the inclination of a legally trained mind to draw negative inferences from the silences of history. Silences are sometimes best left to where they belong — the universe of silence,” the top court said.
- On February 7, 2002, counsel for the petitioners in suit number five filed a report before the Allahabad High Court pertaining to the Ayodhya Vishnu Hari temple inscription and under the court’s orders, an estampage was prepared and was deciphered by an epigraphist, the top court said. • It also referred to translated versions of Ain-i-Akbari, which was completed in the 16th century during Mughal emperor Akbar’s regime.
- “The Ain-i-Akbari was the work of Abul-Fazl Allami, who was one of the ministers in Akbar’s court. The Ain-i-Akbari was translated by H Blochmann from Persian to English. By its order dated March 18, 2010, the high court permitted the text to be relied on…,” the bench said.
- It said travelogues of Father Joseph Tieffenthaler, which were translated from Latin to French and then its English translations were filed before the high court, were extensively relied on by counsels arguing in the title dispute.
- The Supreme Court judgement on Saturday cleared the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board to build a mosque. In the process, it settled a fractious issue that goes back more than a century. Top Court Referred To Ain-i-Akbari, Travelogues, Reports In Ayodhya Case
MCQ 3
- ADMM-Plus comprises total 16 nations of RCEP
- ADMM-Plus is the only official framework of Defense Minister’s meetings in the Asia-Pacific Region.
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
- Thailand hosted the 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)- Plus in its capital city Bangkok. ADMM-Plus is key ministerial-level platforms in regional security architecture for promoting strategic dialogue and practical cooperation between ASEAN and its 8 partner countries viz. India, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Russia and US.
- Participants in this edition of ADMM-Plus included Defence Ministers from 17 countries of ADMM-Plus group. Thereby, India was represented by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
- As part of the agenda for ADMM-Plus meeting, Defence Minister of India released ‘Handbook on Military Medicine for ASEAN’ along with Defence Minister of Myanmar Lieutenant General Sein Win. About ADMM-Plus
- It is platform for ASEAN and its eight dialogue partners (Australia,New Zealand, India, China, Russia, US, Japan and South Korea) to strengthen security and defence co-operation for peace, stability, and development in the region. It seeks to promote mutual trust and confidence between defence establishments of ASEAN and its eight partner countries through greater dialogue and transparency. It was established in 2010.
- It was held for first time in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010, in which defence ministers of participating countries had agreed on five areas of practical cooperation, including counter-terrorism, maritime security, peacekeeping operations and humanitarian assistance
MCQ 4
- Border Area Development Programme (BADP) is administered by the Department of Border Management of the Ministry of Defence
- Project Brahmank’, is a part of Border Area Development Programme (BADP).
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
- Border Area Development Programme (BADP)
- BADP was started in the year 1986-87 for balanced development of border areas of states bordering Pakistan, namely, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.
- It was subsequently extended to all the land borders.
- The programme is administered by the Department of Border Management of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
- States are provided a 100% non-lapsable Special Central Assistance fund under BADP to meet the special developmental needs and well being of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international border.
- The programme was amended in 2015 to provide the provision for third party inspection and quality control mechanism under MHA for random inspections of the BADP schemes.
- Recently sisseri River Bridge located at lower Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh was innagurated by Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
- The bridge was under ‘Project Brahmank’, which is a part of Border Area Development Programme (BADP).
About Sisseri River Bridge
- It is a 200-metre long bridge between Jonai-Pasighat-Ranaghat-Roing road and would cut down the travel time from Pasighat to Roing by about 5 hours. The bridge provides connectivity to Tinsukia via Dhola-Sadia bridge. It will also provide connectivity between Dibang Valley and Siang to meet long-pending demand of people of Arunachal Pradesh.
- The Sisseri River bridge was constructed by Project Brahmank of Border Roads Organisation (BRO). BRO has four projects in Arunachal Pradesh namely Arunank, Vartak, Brahmank and Udayak to maintain and develop the difficult geographical terrain and strategically important area.
- Importance: This bridge will be a part of Trans Arunachal Highway and is also strategically important from a military viewpoint and moreover, infrastructural upgradation is necessary for the security of the North-East as well as the entire country.
- Other Infrastructure Projects undertaken by Centre in Arunachal Pradesh: operationalized Pasighat airport, the proposed: Bhalukpong – Tenga – Tawang railway line, Hollongi airport and Sela Pass tunnel. Government is also committed to establish strong and efficient roadways, railways, airways, waterways and digital network in the region. Moreover, government’s Act East Policy would also open new doors of rapid infrastructural development in North-East region of country, but especially in Arunachal Pradesh as it would also act as a bridge between India and South-East Asian countries.
MCQ 5
- The Upper House of the Indian Parliament traces its direct history to the first bicameral legislature introduced in British India in Govt. of India Act 1935
- Every 2 years half of the members retire in RS
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
- On the occasion of its 250th session, Rajya Sabha MPs have made the following suggestions: • Giving all States, irrespective of their population and size, an equal number of seats in the Rajya Sabha.
- All members, irrespective of their parties’ strength in the House, the same amount of time to speak in debates.
Need for Rajya Sabha:
- The Upper House of the Indian Parliament traces its direct history to the first bicameral legislature introduced in British India in 1919 as a consequence of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms.
- Unlike the US Senate which ensures equal representation for all federal units (each state having two representatives), India’s Rajya Sabha does have more members from populous states.
- Even though Indian states are ‘mere administrative units’ which don’t enjoy a constitutionallyassured permanence, their continued existence over all these years and the constitutional separation of power has given them the nature of autonomous units in their own spheres. Therefore, the ‘state-wise’ identity cannot be ruled out completely.
- India’s Rajya Sabha has equal powers to the Lok Sabha except for money bills, where it has no jurisdiction.
Is the Rajya Sabha essential?
- The contemporary argument against it comes from two primary angles:
- The first one suggests that a Lok Sabha that has representation from several regional parties more than adequately represents a federal country.
- The second argument charges that the Rajya Sabha has become a haven for losers in elections, crony capitalists, compromised journalists and party fundraisers.
- It is virtually impossible to abolish the Rajya Sabha without adopting a new Indian Constitution. The bicameral nature of the Indian Parliament is likely to be interpreted as a “basic structure” of the Indian Constitution, rendering it incapable of being amended. Even if this were to be tested, it would be ensnared in a judicial process for a very long time. It is much more practical to try and reform the Rajya Sabha than seeking to abolish it.
Reforms needed:
- Have members of the Rajya Sabha be directly elected by the citizens of a state. This will reduce cronyism and patronage appointments.
- This step should be combined with equal representation for each state (say, five members) so that large states do not dominate the proceedings in the House.
- This streamlined Rajya Sabha should remain deliberative, but there should be deadlines set for responding to bills initiated in the Lok Sabha.
MCQ 6
- Sambhar Lake is the largest lagoon saltwater lake in India
- Its famous for amur falcons
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
- The Sambhar Salt Lake, India’s largest inland salt lake, is located 80 km southwest of the city of Jaipur and 64 km northeast of Ajmer , Rajasthan . It surrounds the historical Sambhar Lake Town.
- The lake receives water from five rivers Medtha, Samaod, Mantha, Rupangarh, Khari and Khandela. Lake has 5700 square km catchment area. The lake is an extensive saline wetland
- During their migration from their breeding area to the winter quarters, they are plump and are hunted for food in parts of northeastern India as well as in eastern Africa. In 2012, mass trapping and capture of migrating Amur falcons in Nagaland (India) was reported in the media and a successful campaign was begun to prevent their killing.
- As part of this campaign, three birds were fitted with 5 gm satellite transmitters that allowed them to be tracked during their migration