DAY – 49 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 49)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2021 – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: B

Climate vulnerability assessment map

For preparing communities and people to meet the challenge arising out of climate changes, a pan India climate vulnerability assessment map is being developed. Such climate vulnerability atlas has already been developed for 12 states in the Indian Himalayan Region, using a common framework.

The map is being developed under a joint project of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

It is being developed for preparing communities and people to meet the challenge arising out of climate changes.

This research programme of DST is being implemented as part of the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC).

Solution: D

The National Green Tribunal has sought a report from the authorities on the current status on disposal and management of fly ash. The report has been sought, following a plea alleging unscientific handling of fly ash generated by a unit of NTPC.

Fly ash, the end product of combustion during the process of power generation in the coal based thermal power plants, is a proven resource material for many applications of construction industries and currently is being utilized in manufacturing of Portland Cement, bricks/blocks/tiles manufacturing, road embankment construction and low-lying area development, etc. At present, 63% of the fly ash is being utilised and target is for 100% utilisation of the fly ash. There is need for education and awareness generation. Road contractors and construction engineers need to know the benefits of using fly ash in construction.

• Fly ash is a major source of PM 2.5 (fine, respirable pollution particles) in summer. It becomes air borne, and gets transported to a radius of 10 to 20 kms.
• It can settle on water and other surfaces.
• Fly ash contains heavy metalsfrom coal, a large amount of PM 2.5 and black carbon (BC).
• Proper disposal of fly ash is still not happening in many places.

Solution: A
About International Energy Forum (IEF):

The International Energy Forum (IEF) aims to foster greater mutual understanding and awareness of common energy interests among its members.

The 72 Member Countries of the Forum are signatories to the IEF Charter, which outlines the framework of the global energy dialogue through this inter-governmental arrangement.

Covering all six continents and accounting for around 90% of global supply and demand for oil and gas, the IEF is unique in that it comprises not only consuming and producing countries of the International Energy Agency and OPEC, but also Transit States and major players outside of their memberships, including Argentina, China, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa.

Solution: D
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.

This sub-regional organization came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. It constitutes seven Member States: five deriving from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.

Solution: C

English Channel:

• French inventor crosses the English Channel on his hover board.
• The English Channel is a part of the Atlantic Ocean.
• It separates the island of Britain (part of the UK) from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
• It’s approximately 350 miles long, and at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover.

Solution: A

The Blue Carbon Initiative is a global program working to mitigate climate change through the restoration and sustainable use of coastal and marine ecosystems. The Initiative currently focuses on mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses. The Blue Carbon Initiative brings together governments, research institutions, non-governmental organizations and communities from around the world.

The Initiative is coordinated by Conservation International (CI), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (IOC-UNESCO).

The Blue Carbon Initiative focuses on mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses, which are found on every continent except Antarctica.

https://www.thebluecarboninitiative.org/

Solution: B

From the north to the south, Northern Plains can be divided into three major zones: the Bhabar, the Tarai and the alluvial plains. The alluvial plains can be further divided into the Khadar and the Bhangar.

Bhabar is a narrow belt ranging between 8-10 km parallel to the Shiwalik foothills at the break-up of the slope. As a result of this, the streams and rivers coming from the mountains deposit heavy materials of rocks and boulders, and at times, disappear in this zone.

South of the Bhabar is the Tarai belt, with an approximate width of 10-20 km where most of the streams and rivers re-emerge without having any properly demarcated channel, thereby, creating marshy and swampy conditions known as the Tarai.

This has a luxurious growth of natural vegetation and houses a varied wildlife. The south of Tarai is a belt consisting of old and new alluvial deposits known as the Bhangar and Khadar respectively.

Solution: A

Senkaku Islands are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. They are located roughly due east of Mainland China, northeast of Taiwan, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands.

Japanese call them Senkaku, and designate them as sovereign territory claiming to have started inhabitation there.  Also that China, contested Japanese sovereignty only after 1968, when a UN body cited the possibility of oil reserves in the area.

Solution: C
The International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, also known as the Hague Code of Conduct (HCOC), was established on 25 November 2002 as an arrangement to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles.

Solution: A

Particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) (earlier: Primitive tribal group) is a government of India classification created with the purpose of enabling improvement in the conditions of certain communities with particularly low development indices. Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) are more vulnerable among the tribal groups.

75 tribal groups have been categorized by the Ministry of Home Affairs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG)’s.

Among the 75 listed PVTG’s the highest number are found in Odisha (13), followed by Andhra Pradesh (12).

Solution: C

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition is a voluntary partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions and civil society organizations committed to improving air quality and protecting the climate through actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants.

Our global network currently includes over 120 state and non-state partners, and hundreds of local actors carrying out activities across economic sectors.

India is not a member of it.

Solution: C

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC):

It gives power to a District Magistrate, a sub- divisional Magistrate or any other Executive Magistrate on behalf of the State Government to issue an order to an individual or the general public in a particular place or area to “abstain from a certain act” or “to take certain order with respect to certain property in his possession or under his management”.

This order can be passed against a particular individual or general public. The order can be passed even ex-parte.

As held by the Supreme Court, mere apprehension of danger is not a sufficient ground to curb citizens’ rights by invoking Section 144 CrPC.

Section 144 also empowers the authorities to block the internet access. In the Anuradha Bhasin case (Kashmir Internet case- Bhasin Doctrine) and many other cases, the court allowed an internet ban with constant examination and review.

Even Social Media activity can be monitored, or it can even be restricted. Communication blockage can also be imposed, if it will strongly affect public order.

Duration of Section 144 order:

No order under Section 144 shall remain in force for more than two months but the state government can extent the validity for two months and maximum up to six months. It can be withdrawn at any point of time if situation becomes normal.

Solution: D

The Election Commission is a permanent and an independent body
established by the Constitution of India directly to ensure free and fair
elections in the country. Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the
power of superintendence, direction and control of elections to parliament,
state legislatures, the office of president of India and the office of vice president of India shall be vested in the election commission. Thus, the Election Commission is an all-India body in the sense that it is common to
both the Central government and the state governments.

It must be noted here that the election commission is not concerned with
the elections to panchayats and muncipalities in the states. For this, the
Constitution of India provides for a separate State Election Commission

Article 324 of the Constitution has made the following provisions with regard to the composition of election commission:

• The Election Commission shall consist of the chief election commissioner and such number of other election commissioners, if any, as the president may from time to time fix.
• The conditions of service and tenure of office of the election commissioners and the regional commissioners shall be determined by the president.
• The chief election commissioner and the two other election commissioners have equal powers and receive equal salary, allowances and other perquisites, which are similar to those of a judge of the Supreme Court. In case of difference of opinion amongst the Chief Election Commissioner and/or two other election commissioners, the matter is decided by the Commission by majority.
• They hold office for a term of six years or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They can resign at any time or can also be removed before the expiry of their term.

Solution: C

Oslo Accords

Palestinians had threatened to quit Oslo Accords, if U.S. President Donald Trump announces his West Asia peace plan.

Why?

Palestinians’ concerns:

The main worry is that this initiative will turn Israel’s “temporary occupation (of Palestinian territory) into a permanent occupation”.

The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and believe Mr. Trump’s plan buries the two-state solution that has been for decades the cornerstone of international West Asia diplomacy.

What’s the issue?

Under the Oslo Accords of the 1993, both Israel and the Palestinians agreed that the status of settlements would be decided by negotiations. But the negotiations process has been all but dead for several years now.

Israel walked into East Jerusalem in 1967, and subsequently annexed it. For Israel, Jerusalem is non-negotiable.

The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Most of the world’s nations look at it as occupied territory.

About the Oslo Accords:

Formally known as the Declaration of Principles (DOP), the pact established a timetable for the Middle East peace process. It planned for an interim Palestinian government in Gaza and Jericho in the West Bank.

Oslo II, officially called the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza, expanded on Oslo I. It included provisions for the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from six West Bank cities and about 450 towns. Additionally, the pact set a timetable for elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Solution: D

East Asia Summit:

• India hosted an East Asia Summit conference in Chennai with a focus on maritime security cooperation and tackling challenges in the maritime domain.
• It was organized by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in partnership with the governments of Australia and Indonesia.
• This conference is the fourth in a series of EAS Maritime Security Conferences organized by the Indian government.

About East Asia Summit:

• EAS is an initiative of ASEAN and is based on the premise of the centrality of ASEAN.
• It is a forum held annually by leaders of 18 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian regions.
• EAS meetings are held after annual ASEAN leaders’ meetings.
• The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.
• India has been participating in the EAS since its very inception in 2005.
• 14th summit was held in November 2019 in Thailand.
• EAS has evolved as a forum for strategic dialogue and cooperation on political, security and economic issues of common regional concern and plays an important role in the regional architecture.
• There are six priority areas of regional cooperation within the framework of the EAS. These are – Environment and Energy, Education, Finance, Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases, Natural Disaster Management, and ASEAN Connectivity. India endorses regional collaboration in all six priority areas.

• EAS is a region of strong and fast-growing economies. It is considered the third pole of world economy after the US and Europe.