Prelims Objective Practices Questions

(I.) Who started the newspaper Al Hilal?
A.) Maulana Azad
B.) Mohammmad Ali
C.) Hasrat Mohani
D.) Muhammad Ali Jinnah

(II.) Consider the following statements
1. Servants of Indian Society was founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
2. Sudharak was the periodical which projected the views of the Society
3. Gopal Ganesh Agarkar started the periodical Sudharak
Which of the above statements is /are correct?
A.) Only 1 and 3
B.) 1, 2 and 3
C.) Only 1 and 2
D.) Only

(III.) Which of the following is/are feature/features of Swadeshi movement?
1. Emphasis on self-reliance
2. Extensive participation of the peasantry
3. Cultural revivalism
Select the correct code:
A.) Only 3
B.) Only 2 and 3
C.) Only 1 and 3
D.) 1, 2 and 3

Prelims Specific Facts

NEWS – 1

• Recently, a skin infection was reported among 100 students of Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT) in Majhitar, East Sikkim. This infection was reported after they came in touch with Nairobi flies.
• Highlights Number of Nairobi flies is increasing rapidly on the campus. The flies move to new areas to search for food supply and breeding grounds.
• About Nairobi flies
  Nairobi flies are also known as dragon bugs or Kenyan flies. They are small, beetle-like insects. They are categorized among two species, namely Paederus eximius and Paederus sabaeus. They are found in orange and black colour. Flies prosper in areas of high rainfall. They get attracted towards bright light, similar to most insects.
• How flies affect humans?
  Nairobi flies usually attack pests consuming crops and pests that are good for humans. But they sometimes come in direct contact with humans, harming them. These flies do not bite. But if they are disturbed while sitting on skin, a “potent acidic substance” called pederin is released. Pederin causes burns and irritation, resulting into colouring or lesions or unusual on the skin. The skin starts to heal after a week or two. However, it can also lead to secondary infections, if the infected person scratches the irritated skin.

NEWS – 2

• Recently, a team of researchers published paper on fossil discovery of Eoscansor cobrensis from New Mexico. Paper was published “Annals of the Carnegie Museum” journal.
• About Eoscansor cobrensis
  Eoscansor cobrensis is a reptile, belonging to Pennsylvanian subperiod of Carboniferous period, around 305 million years ago. It used to live in area around present-day New Mexico.
  The species belong to Varanopidae, which is an extinct family of reptiles. They were similar to monitor lizards. The ancient reptile was 24.5 cm in length and 58.3 g in weight.
  Other aspects of its anatomy highlights are “Eoscansor cobrensis” was a climber, and possibly arboreal meaning that, the species was living in trees.
  

NEWS – 3

• The World Kiswahili Language Day is observed across the world on July 7, annually. The day is observed following a declaration led by UNESCO member states.This year marks the 1st observance of this day. Resolution 71/328 deals with the adoption of “World Kiswahili Language Day”. It was adopted during 41st session of UNESCO on November 23, 2021.This general conference proclaimed to celebrate July 7 as World Kiswahili Day, annually.
• About Kiswahili language
  Kiswahili language is widely spoken in Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only African language, to become the official language of African Union. It is also the first African language that United Nations has recognized in this manner.
  
  

NEWS – 4

• He Global Liveability Index 2022 was published by the “Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), recently.
• Key Facts
  The Global Liveability index ranks cities across the globe for their “liveability quotient”, on the basis of certain criteria.
  In the latest index, top 10 world’s most liveable city list is dominated by Western European countries.
  Indian cities have performed poorly this year.
• Cities Ranking
  Vienna has topped the ranking. It is followed by Copenhagen, at second position. Among the least 10 liveable cities, Tehran, Karachi, Dhaka and Lagos have been listed.
• Indian cities
  Bengaluru have been ranked at 146th position. It is the least liveable city in India.
  Delhi has been placed at 140th, Mumbai has been placed at 141st, For the first time, Chennai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have been included to the list. Chennai is at 142nd and Ahmedabad is at 143rd . Before this year’s index, only Delhi and Mumbai got featured among 173 cities that are ranked in the index.

NEWS – 5

• State Ranking Index for National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2022 was released by Central government recently. In the index, Odisha has emerged as number one state in India.
• Odisha’s Ranking
  Odisha was ranked first, for bringing resilient food systems in state, in a bid to optimise the delivery of benefits. This announcement was made by Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal during a Food & Nutrition Security Conference of Food ministers.
  Odisha received an index score of 0.836.
• Ranking of other States
  Uttar Pradesh has been ranked second, with index score of 0.797.
  Andhra Pradesh has been third, with score of 0.794.
• Assessment Framework for Ranking
  The assessment framework to rank States and Union Territories was prepared on three important pillars. These pillars enfold end-to-end implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA) via Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The three pillars include:
  1. Coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act
  2. Delivery platform and
  3. Nutrition initiatives.

NEWS – 6 – Centre to promote dragon fruit cultivation

• Following in the footsteps of the Gujarat and Haryana governments, the Centre has decided to promote the cultivation of dragon fruit, known as a “super fruit” for its health benefits. The Centre feels that considering the cost effectiveness and global demand for the fruit due to its nutritional values, its cultivation can be expanded in India. At present, this exotic fruit is cultivated in 3,000 hectares; the plan is to increase cultivation to 50,000 hectares in five years.
• The Gujarat government recently renamed dragon fruit as kamlam [lotus] and announced an incentive for farmers who cultivate it.
• The benefit is that this fruit can be cultivated in degraded and rainfed land,”.

NEWS – 7 – Ukrainian troops killed on Snake Island :Russia

• The tiny island, captured by Russia from Ukraine at the start of the war in February, is strategically important because of its proximity to sea lanes close to Ukraine’s port of Odessa.

NEWS – 8 – Employee perks free from GST

• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has clarified that perks provided by employers to employees are not subject to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and emphasised that only penalties can be levied in cases involving fake invoices as no goods are supplied.

NEWS – 9- RBI moves to stabilise rupee many face economic hurdles

• The Reserve Bank of India announced a slew of measures on Wednesday to bring in dollars, including allowing overseas investors to buy short-term corporate debt and opening of more government securities under the fully accessible route.

Editorial of the Day

1.) Just fine

• Under provisions in the existing legislation, violators are punishable with imprisonment up to five years or with a fine up to one lakh rupees, or with both. Were violations to continue, there is an additional fine of up to 5,000 for every day during which such failure or contravention continues after the conviction. There is also a provision for jail terms to extend to seven years. Under the new amendments proposed, the Ministry says it wants to weed out “fear of imprisonment for simple violations”, and therefore have such violations invite only monetary fines. However, serious environmental crimes that cause grave injury or death would invite imprisonment under the Indian Penal Code. These penalties would be decided by an ‘adjudication officer’ and transferred to an ‘Environment Protection Fund’. Moreover, the quantum of potential fines has been raised from beyond the one lakh rupees to as much as five crore rupees. These proposals are not yet law and have been placed in the public domain for feedback.
• India has a long history of corporate violations as well as a woefully slow redress system. An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment found that Indian courts took between 9-33 years to clear a backlog of cases for environmental violations. Starting with 2018, close to 45,000 cases were pending for trial and another 35,000 cases were added in that year. More than 90% of cases were pending for trial in five of seven major environmental laws. While fines could theoretically help with faster redress, large environmental fines will continue to be contested in courts, adding to the prevailing practice of tardy justice. The threat of imprisonment might have acted as a deterrent in India where the effectiveness of environment regulation is under par. Justice for environmental crimes must be dispensed quickly and equitably before tinkering with the law to make it less foreboding.

2.) A community and a health issue of concern

• The mental health needs of the LGBTQIA++ communities are not different from others, their identities, social contexts and the discrimination give them stressors that impact their mental health, relentlessly, from a young age. Sexual orientation and gender identity are rarely discussed in our social, educational or familial environments, and if ever done, these discussions are stigmatising. Society marginalises LGBTQIA++ people throughout life, no matter how accomplished they may be. This is payment extracted by a he teronormative society that demands assimilation.
• In such an environment, it is hard to come out to yourself; for get the others. Even within the LGBTQIA++ communities, the lines are easily fractured by caste, class, and, more recently, by religious affiliation.
• If they are able to cope with this, there is the constant othering. The life one leads and lived experiences have little or no overlap with those around oneself. In every sense, the person remains an outsider. If a person’s gender identity is different from the sex as signed to them at birth, this conflict and othering is extreme. The person feels trapped and conflict ed, that feeds their gender dyshoria.
• This relentless dissonance and othering can result in internalised homophobia, often leading to anxiety, loneliness and substance use. It is not surprising then, that LGBTQIA++ youth are likely to suffer 1.75 times more anxiety and depression than the rest of society while the transgender community is even more vulnerable as its members suffer 2.4 times higher anxiety and depression.
• A large majority of the psychiatrists in India still consider diverse sexual orientations and gender identities as a disorder and practice ‘correction.
• In an on going study, the Raahat Project found that a large number of trans and gay men preferred to pay and seek help in the private sector rather than access government health care due to harassment and stigma.
• We need comprehensive long term solutions that make queer mental health a priority and ad dress community needs but also engage everyone to change the environment in which they exist.
• Community building is an important part of improving the mental health for LGBTQIA++ people. We need to create supportive, safe and educative spaces, access points for health care and information on mental health. One such project that the Raahat Project has been working on through participatory methods has opened a host of issues that LGBTQIA++ communities face in leading colleges on an ongoing basis. The challenge is on how to address these issues in a holistic way when institutions are so queerphobic.

Explainer of the Day

The proposal for an India-specific norm for assessing vehicular safety in collision

• On June 24, Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari approved a Draft GSR (general statutory rules) Notification seeking comments on a proposal to introduce the Bharat New Car Assessment Program (Bharat-NCAP). It would accord vehicles a star rating based on their performance in crash tests. They are intended to increase the export-worthiness of vehicles and competition on safety parameters among manufacturers, as well as instil consumer confidence in their safety. “Bharat NCAP will prove to be a critical instrument in making our automobile industry Aatmanirbhar with the mission of making India the Number 1 automobile hub in the world,”.
• The voluntary Bharat NCAP would assign vehicles between one and five stars on parameters such as Adult Occupant Protection (AOP), Child Occupant Protection (COP) and Safety Assist Technologies (SAT). It would study frontal impact, side impact and the possibility of a door opening after a crash. The potential impact is studied with the help of dummies, of pre-specified measurements, placed inside the vehicle. The car is crashed into an aluminum deformable barrier impersonating an opposing force of the same magnitude – a crash-like situation, with a 40% overlap.
• Bharat NCAP would conduct its frontal offset crash testing at 64 kmph instead of the prevailing 56 kmph norm. Offset collisions are those where one side of a vehicle’s front and not the full width hits the barrier. Even though the existing regulations adhere to United Nations Regulation 94 for collision testing, its absence in domestic testing norms, and inadequate side protection in vehicles (such as airbags), has been often cited as reasons for the poor performance of Indian vehicles at NCAPS.