Table of Contents
MCQ 1
- Parliament has passed the National Institute of Design Bill, 2019 recently, declaring NID, Ahmedabad as an institution of national importance.
- The institute functions as an autonomous body under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
- Parliament has passed National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019, with the Lok Sabha approving it on 26 November 2019.
- The bill was already passed by Rajya Sabha on 6 August 2019. The Bill will now be placed before President to seek his assent, before it becomes a law. National Institute of Design Bill, 2014
- Declared NID as an ‘Institution of National Importance
Key Provisions of Bill
- The bill seeks to amend National Institute of Design Act, 2014 that declared National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad as an institution of national importance. The bill will help fulfil the aspirations of a new and modern India.
- It also seeks to declare 4 National Institutes of Design (NID) as institutions of national importance. These institutes are located at Kurukshetra in Haryana, Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Jorhat in Assam. The four institutes will have the standards at par with the institute in Ahmedabad and will impart quality education in the field of design.
- At present, these institutes are registered as Societies under Societies Registration Act, 1860 and thus do not have the power to grant degrees/diplomas. Once these four institutes are declared as institutions of national importance, they be granted the power to grant degrees and diplomas.
- The National Institute of Design (NID) is a design school in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Gandhinagar India.
- The institute functions as an autonomous body under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
- NID is recognized by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research under Ministry of Science and Technology, as a scientific and industrial design research organization.
MCQ 2
Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Post Facto, the Agreement for establishment of Strategic Partnership Council between India and ______
- Japan
- Sri Lanka
- Saudi Arabia
- Iran
Cabinet approves India-Saudi Arabia Agreement on Strategic Partnership Council
- Union Cabinet headed Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Post Facto the Agreement signed by Prime Minister for establishment of Strategic Partnership Council between India and Saudi Arabia.
- The agreement was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on 29 October 2019 during former’s two-day visit to the Gulf Kingdom.
- The council will be headed by PM Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed and meet every 2 years. It will coordinate decisions regarding strategically important issues.
Significance:
- Strategic Partnership Council Agreement will significantly boost strategic ties between India and Saudi Arabia and will open new avenues of partnership in strategic areas such as defence, counter-terrorism, energy security as well as renewable energy.
- The Agreement will enable leadership at highest-level in both India & Saudi Arabia to meet regularly as well as monitor progress in ongoing initiatives/projects under strategic partnership. The proposal aims to benefit citizens with improved economic and commercial linkages with Saudi Arabia irrespective of any gender/class/income bias.
MCQ 3
- The Sumatran rhinoceros, also known as the Asian twohorned rhinoceros is officially extinct now on IUCN list.
- It never inhabited India in the geological past.
Choose correct
(A)Only 1
(B)Only 2
(C)Both
(D)None
- Like both African species, it has two horns; the larger is the nasal horn, typically 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in), while the other horn is typically a stub. A coat of reddish-brown hair covers most of the Sumatran rhino’s body.
- Members of the species once inhabited rainforests, swamps, and cloud forests in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.
- In historical times, they lived in southwest China, particularly in Sichuan
- Malaysia’s last male and female Sumatran rhinoceroses died in May and November 2019, respectively. The species is now considered to be locally extinct in that country, and only survives in Indonesia. There are fewer than 80 left in existence
MCQ 4
Madden–Julian oscillation is related to
- Quantum mechanics
- Biodiversity
- Atmosphere
- Geology
- The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is the largest element of the intraseasonal (30- to 90-day) variability in the tropical atmosphere. It was discovered in 1971 by Roland Madden and Paul Julian of the American National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). It is a large-scale coupling between atmospheric circulation and tropical deep atmospheric convection.
- Unlike a standing pattern like the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Madden–Julian oscillation is a traveling pattern that propagates eastward, at approximately 4 to 8 m/s (14 to 29 km/h, 9 to 18 mph), through the atmosphere above the warm parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans. This overall circulation pattern manifests itself most clearly as anomalous rainfall.
- The Madden–Julian oscillation is characterized by an eastward progression of large regions of both enhanced and suppressed tropical rainfall, observed mainly over the Indian and Pacific Ocean. The anomalous rainfall is usually first evident over the western Indian Ocean, and remains evident as it propagates over the very warm ocean waters of the western and central tropical Pacific.
- This pattern of tropical rainfall generally becomes nondescript as it moves over the primarily cooler ocean waters of the eastern Pacific, but reappears when passing over the warmer waters over the Pacific Coast of Central America. The pattern may also occasionally reappear at low amplitude over the tropical Atlantic and higher amplitude over the Indian Ocean. The wet phase of enhanced convection and precipitation is followed by a dry phase where thunderstorm activity is suppressed. Each cycle lasts approximately 30–60 days.
- Because of this pattern, the Madden–Julian oscillation is also known as the 30- to 60-day oscillation, 30- to 60-day wave, or intraseasonal oscillation.
MCQ 5
- Malabar Tree Toad is a Critically Endangered species of amphibian endemic to the Western Ghats
- Its population is shrinking mainly due to habitat loss, climate change and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a deadly fungus that has been decimating entire amphibian populations worldwide.
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
- The Malabar tree toad (Pedostibes tuberculosus), or warty Asian tree toad, is a species of toad found in forests along the Western Ghats of India south of Goa. It is a small species and is found in wet tree hollows or leaf bases containing water. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Pedostibes, also known as Asian tree toads. Malabar Tree Toad
- It is a very rare species of amphibian endemic to the Western Ghats.
- It is an endangered species that spends most of its life on trees, coming to the ground only during the first monsoon showers to mate.
- Its population is shrinking mainly due to habitat loss, climate change and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a deadly fungus that has been decimating entire amphibian populations worldwide.
- The Metastring Foundation, a citizen-based conservation non-profit based in Bengaluru, was awarded a grant of Rs 15 lakh for one year for its project on the Malabar Tree Toad.
- It is working to train and equip citizens for mapping the range of an extremely rare species of toad as only sporadic records are available. MCQ 6 Gamosa is a A. Tribal dance B. Harvest festival C. Assamese towel D. A citrus fruit recently discovered in Assam
MCQ 6
Gamosa is a
- Tribal dance
- Harvest festival
- Assamese towel
- A citrus fruit recently discovered in Assam Gamosa
- It is a symbol of Assamese culture. It is equivalent to towel by meaning ‘Ga’ means ‘body’ and ‘mosa’ means ‘wipe’ (literally meaning a towel but multifunctional in practice).
- It is mostly woven out of white threads with colourful and intricate inlays in red.
- There are different varieties woven for religious and auspicious occasions.
- It is also known as ‘Bihuwaan’ and it is an essential part of Bihu festival of Assam.
- It is valued as a gift for visitors, used as a scarf, anti-dust mask, wrapped around the head as a turban.
- It has been assigned a new function for conservation of rare freshwater turtles.
- Conservationists are using this cultural icon to carry forward the message of turtle conservation, with gamosas woven with turtle images.
MCQ 7
- MILAN 2020 is a biannual naval exercise held under the command Indian Navy.
- USA and Russia have been invited while Pakistan and China are not.
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
India to host naval drill Milan 2020 in March;
to see participation of several countries In a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said that 41 nations from South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe that share defence cooperation with India have been invited for the drill
MILAN 2020
- It is a biennial naval exercise held under the command Indian Navy.
- The Last (10th) edition was held in 2018 and the next (2020) is going to be held in Vishakhapatnam.
- In its forthcoming edition, 41 countries have been invited for the participation.
- USA and Russia have been invited while Pakistan and China are not.
- The areas of cooperation include Capacity Building, Marine Domain Awareness, Training, Hydrography, Technical Assistance, Operational Exercise etc.
- The countries to whom invitations have been sent are Indonesia, France, Mozambique, Sudan, Israel, Qatar, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, Somalia, Kenya, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Myanmar, New Zealand, USA, Tanzania, Comoros, Maldives, Brunei, Philippines, Japan, UK, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Mauritius, Cambodia, Singapore, South Korea, South Africa, Kuwait, Iran, Madagascar, Bangladesh, Russia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Bahrain, UAE and Seychelles
MCQ 8
- The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency
- It is headquartered in Bern, Spain.
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None
UNWTO
- UNWTO is responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
- It is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.
- The UNWTO Executive Council represents the Organization’s governing body.
- The executive council take all necessary measures in consultation with the Secretary-General, for implementation of its own decisions and recommendations of the Assembly.
- The Council meets at least twice a year.
- The council consists of 30 Full Members elected by the assembly.
- Suman Billa, the former director and secretary of Kerala Tourism, will join the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) as the director, technical cooperation and silk road development.
- It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism knowledge.
- It encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism to maximize the contribution of tourism to socio-economic development, while minimizing its possible negative impacts, and is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), geared towards eliminating poverty and fostering sustainable development and peace worldwide.
MCQ 9
Recognise the personality
- In his book, Gulamgiri, he thanked Christian missionaries and the British colonists for making the lower castes realize that they are worthy of all human rights.
- He is credited with introducing the Marathi word dalit (broken, crushed) as a descriptor for those people who were outside the traditional varna system
(A) B.R. Ambedkar
(B) Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy
(C) Jyotirao Phule
(D) Narayana Guru
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