DAY – 35 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 35)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2021 – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: C

Patua Art

The art of Bengal, Patua art dates back around a thousand years. It started out as a village tradition by painters telling Mangal Kavyas or auspicious stories of Gods and Goddesses.

Paitkar Painting

Practiced by the tribal people of Jharkhand, Paitkar paintings or scroll paintings are considered one of the ancient schools of painting in the country. This old form of painting has cultural association with Ma Mansa, one of the most popular goddesses in tribal household.

Manjusha Painting

This art form belongs to Bhagalpur region of Bihar. It is also known as Angika art, where ‘ang’ refers to one of the Mahajan Pada. Since snake motifs are always present, it is also called snake painting. These paintings are executed on boxes of jute and paper.

Phad Painting

It is predominantly found in Rajasthan and is a scroll-type art. It is religious in nature and comprises of drawings of local deities, Pabuji and Devnarayan.

Solution: A

International Maritime Organization (IMO)

• The International Maritime Organization – is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.
• The IMO’s primary purpose is to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping.
• The IMO adopted the Hong Kong Convention in 2009. It is aimed at ensuring that ships being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health, safety and the environment. Hong Kong Convention 2009 is not yet in force.
• IMO is governed by an assembly of members and is financially administered by a council of members elected from the assembly.
• The IMO is not responsible for enforcing its policies. There is no enforcement mechanism to implement the policies of the IMO.
• The IMO’s structure comprises the Assembly, the Council, the Maritime Safety Committee, the Marine Environment Protection Committee, the Legal Committee, the Technical Cooperation Committee, and the secretariat, headed by a Secretary-General.
• India joined the IMO in 1959. The IMO currently lists India as among the 10 states with the ‘largest interest in international seaborne trade’.

Solution: A

The Three Seas Initiative is a flexible political platform, at Presidential level, launched in 2015. The Initiative includes the 12 EU Member States located between the Adriatic, the Baltic and the Black Seas: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

It aims to promote economic growth, security and a stronger and more cohesive Europe.

Solution: A

Whiteflies are one of the top ten devastating pests in the world that damage more than 2000 plant species and also function as vectors for some 200-plant viruses.

Cotton is one of the worst-hit crops by whiteflies. As two-third of the cotton crop was destroyed by the whiteflies in Punjab in 2015

Even though Bt cotton is also genetically-modified cotton is developed, it is resistant to two pests only and not resistant to whiteflies.

Solution: C

Industrial Security Annex (ISA)

• It would allow Indian private sector to collaborate with the U.S defence industry (ISA is particularly essential as the Indian industry looks for a greater role in defence manufacturing).
• Till now, sharing of information was limited to the Indian government and the defence public sector undertakings.
• The ISA will give a boost to the Indian private sector looking for a greater role in defence manufacturing
• ISA is part of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA).

Solution: B

Huntington Disease (HD)

It is a progressive genetic disorder which affects the brain. It causes uncontrolled movements, impaired coordination of balance and movement, a decline in cognitive abilities, difficulty in concentrating and memory lapses, mood swings and personality changes.

Mutations in the HTT gene (also called Huntington or HD gene) cause Huntington Disease (HD)

Huntington disease affects an estimated 3 to 7 per 100,000 people of European ancestry. The disorder appears to be less common in some other populations, including people of Japanese, Chinese, and African descent.

Solution: D

About Rashtriya Gokul Mission:

• Rashtriya Gokul Mission is launched for conservation and development of indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner.
• It is a project under National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development.
• Rashtriya Gokul Mission will be implemented through the “State Implementing Agency (SIA viz Livestock Development Boards).
• State Gauseva Ayogs will be given the mandate to sponsor proposals to the SIA’s (LDB’s) and monitor implementation of the sponsored proposal.
• All Agencies having a role in indigenous cattle development will be the “Participating Agencies” like CFSPTI, CCBFs, ICAR, Universities, Colleges, NGO’s, Cooperative Societies and Gaushalas with best germplasm.
• Funding Pattern: Scheme is implemented on 100% grant-in-aid basis throughout the country.

Solution: A

International Solar Alliance

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an alliance of more than 122 countries initiated by India, most of them being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, now extended to all members of UN.
• The Paris Declaration establishes ISA as an alliance dedicated to the promotion of solar energy among its member countries.
• The primary objective is to collectively work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil based fuels.
• Objectives: The ISA’s major objectives include global deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity and mobilisation of investment of over US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by 2030.
• As an action-oriented organisation, the ISA brings together countries with rich solar potential to aggregate global demand, thereby reducing prices through bulk purchase, facilitating the deployment of existing solar technologies at scale, and promoting collaborative solar R&D and capacity building.
• When the ISA Framework Agreement entered into force on December 6th, 2017, ISA formally became a de-jure treaty based International Intergovernmental Organization, headquartered at Gurugram, India.
• The ISA Framework Agreement has a total of 14 articles. There are no targets or legal obligations imposed on member-countries.

Solution: C

Antarctic Treaty:

Context:

23 June 2021- 60th anniversary of the entry into force of the Antarctic Treaty (23 June 1961).

Significance of the treaty:

1. Negotiated during the middle of the Cold War by 12 countries with Antarctic interests, it remains the only example of a single treaty that governs a whole continent.
2. It is also the foundation of a rules-based international order for a continent without a permanent population.

But, the treaty was negotiated in a very different era and is it still relevant today?

While the Antarctic Treaty has been able to successfully respond to a range of challenges, circumstances are radically different in the 2020s compared to the 1950s.

1. Antarctica is much more accessible, partly due to technology but also climate change.
2. More countries now have substantive interests in the continent than the original 12.
3. Some global resources are becoming scarce, especially oil.
4. There is also uncertainty as to China’s intentions in Antarctica. China joined the treaty in 1983 and became a consultative party in 1985.
5. This will inevitably result in increased attention being given to the potential for Antarctic mining to take place sometime in the future.

Therefore, Calls to revisit the prohibition on Antarctic mining would seem inevitable.

About the Antarctic Treaty:

Signed between 12 countries in Washington on 1st December 1959 for making the Antarctic Continent a demilitarized zone to be preserved for scientific research only.

• The twelve original signatories are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the UK and the US.
• The treaty entered into force in 1961 and currently has 54 parties.
• Headquarters: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude.

Provisions:

1. Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only(Art. I).
2. Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and cooperation toward that end shall continue(Art. II).
3. Scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available(Art. III).
4. Article IV effectively seeks to neutralise territorial sovereignty in Antarctica.
5. The treaty also put a freeze on any disputes between claimants over their territories on the continent.

Antarctic Treaty System:

As disputes have arisen over the years, many have been addressed through the expansion of the treaty framework with these agreements. This framework is now referred to as the “Antarctic Treaty System”.

The Antarctic Treaty system is made up of four major international agreements:

1. The 1959 Antarctic Treaty.
2. The 1972 Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals.
3. The 1980 Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
4. The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.

Solution: B

Chandrayan II is India’s second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1. It is developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the mission was launched from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 22 July 2019 to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III).

If successful, India will be the 4th country ever to soft land on the lunar surface after USA, Russia and China.

The primary objective of Chandrayaan-2 is to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface. Scientific goals include studies of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, and signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.

Chandrayaan-2:

Context:

Chandrayaan-2, hovering over the Moon, has found new developments on the hot outermost layer of the bright star known as Corona. These include:

1. Abundances of magnesium, aluminium and silicon in the solar corona.
2. Around 100 microflares were observed, providing new insights about coronal mass heating.

Reasons behind coronal heating problem:

The corona emits ultraviolet, X-rays and consists of ionised gas at temperatures exceeding 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, while just 1,000 miles below, the surface known as the photosphere simmers at just 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This mysterious difference in temperatures is called the coronal heating problem.

• As per the latest findings, the high temperatures could be due to strong magnetic fields present above the Sunspots (dark patches seen in visible images of the Sun).

Chandrayaan-2 Mission:

The Chandrayaan-2 mission, which was lost after it hard landed on the dark side of the Moon in 2019, remains active in the form of its orbiter hovering over the Moon.

Scientists used the Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) onboard Chandrayaan-2 in September 2019 to study the Sun.

• The primary objective of Chandrayaan 2 was to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface.
• The mission consisted of an Orbiter of the Moon, Vikram (after Vikram Sarabhai) – the lander and Pragyan (wisdom) – the rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon.

Solution: D

About the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO):

It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.

It’s creation was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

• It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.

The SCO’s main goals are as follows:

Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states; promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.

Membership:

SCO comprises eight member states, namely the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Solution: B

Wetlands International is a non-profit organization established in 1937 as ‘International Wildfowl Inquiry’.

HQ is in Netherlands. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

It is an independent, not-for-profit organization, supported by government and NGO membership from around the world.

Solution: B

The Montreux Record is a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of international importance where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference and therefore in need of priority conservation attention.

It is maintained as part of the Ramsar List.

At present, there are two Indian sites Loktak Lake, Manipur and Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan on the Montreux Record.  Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Solution: B

The Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism is a proposed treaty which intends to criminalize all forms of international terrorism and deny terrorists, their financiers and supporters access to funds, arms, and safe havens.

It is a draft proposed by India in 1996.

This proposed treaty NOT adopted yet by UN. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Solution: D

The report examines four overall areas of inequality between men and women in 130 economies around the globe, over 93% of the world’s population:

• Economic participation and opportunity – outcomes on salaries, participation levels and access to high-skilled employment
• Educational attainment – outcomes on access to basic and higher level education
• Political empowerment – outcomes on representation in decision-making structures

Health and survival – outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio. In this case parity is not assumed, there are assumed to be fewer female births than male (944 female for every 1,000 males), and men are assumed to die younger. Provided that women live at least six percent longer than men, parity is assumed. But if it is less than six percent it counts as a gender gap.