Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Coastal stretches of creeks, bays, seas, rivers and back waters that are affected by the tidal actions of up to 500 metres from the High Tide Line and the land between the Low Tide Line and the High Tide line are Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZ).
• The coastal areas have been classified into four categories—CRZ-I, CRZ-II, CRZ-III and CRZ-IV.
• CRZ-I: these are ecologically sensitive areas; these are essential in maintaining the ecosystem of the coast. They lie between low and high tide line. Exploration of natural gas and extraction of salt are permitted here.
• CRZ-II: these areas are urban areas located in the coastal areas. Now under new coastal zone regulations 2018, the floor space index norms have been de-freezed.
• CRZ-III: these are rural and urban localities which fall outside the CRZ-I and CRZ-II. Only certain activities related to agriculture even some public facilities are allowed in this zone.
• CRZ-IV: this lies in the aquatic area up to territorial limits. Fishing and allied activities are permitted in this zone. Solid waste should be let off in this zone. This zone has been changed from 1991 notification, which covered coastal stretches in islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep.

Explanation :

• Miyawaki is a technique pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki that helps build dense, native forests.
• It involves planting dozens of native species in the same area, and becomes maintenance-free after the first three years.
• In this, multi-layered saplings are planted close to each other. This blocks sunlight from reaching the ground and prevents weeds from growing, thus keeping the soil moist. The close cropping further ensures that the plants receive sunlight only from the top thus enabling them only to grow upwards than sideways.
• The approach is supposed to ensure that plant growth is 10 times faster and the resulting plantation is 30 times denser than usual.

Explanation :

• Epiphany is a feast day, or a day of commemoration, which in Christianity marks the visit of the Magi (meaning the Three Wise Men or Three Kings) to the Infant Jesus (Christ from his nativity until age 12).
• According to Christian belief, the Magi — Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar (or Casper), the kings of Arabia, Persia, and India, respectively — followed a miraculous guiding star to Bethlehem, where they paid homage to the Infant Jesus.
• The visit is believed to signify Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people).
• It is among the three oldest and major festival days in Christianity, the two others being Christmas and Easter. It is celebrated on January 6 by a number of Christian sects, including Roman Catholics, and on January 19 by some Eastern Orthodox churches.
• In Goa, the celebration is known by its Portuguese name ‘Festa dos Reis’, and in parts of Kerala by its Syriac name ‘Denha’.

Explanation :

• On 9^th January, 2020, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy launched Amma Vodi Scheme in Chittoor district. It is one of the nine flagship programmes of Andhra Government.
• The scheme will be commencing from 26^th January, 2020 on the eve of Republic Day.
• Amma Vodi is available to ration card holders, who fall under the Below Poverty Line and clear a few more criteria related to their economic status.
• The scheme aims at benefitting school students studying in classes I to XII. It includes both public and private schools.
• Amma Vodi scheme will be exclusively offered for students who are undergoing their education in Government and private schools in AP, and Intermediate students pursuing in government and private colleges.
• Under the scheme, an amount of Rs.15,000 per year will be offered to support a student towards his education.

Explanation :

• Seke means "golden language" which originated in the Mustang district of Nepal.
• According to the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA), Seke is one of the over 100 indigenous languages of Nepal and is mainly spoken in the five villages of Chuksang, Chaile, Gyakar, Tangbe and Tetang in the Upper Mustang district.
• It is one of the endangered languages in the world. There are just 700 Seke speakers left in the world.
• According to ELA, difficult conditions at home and job prospects elsewhere have brought speakers of Seke to places such as Pokhara, Kathmandu and even New York. Therefore, the vulnerability of the language is linked to the migration of people to places where Seke is not spoken, which has reduced the intergenerational transmission of the language. Furthermore, the younger generation does not find much use in learning the language, giving preference to Nepali and English.

Explanation :

• Tulu belongs to the southern branch of the family of Dravidian languages. It descends directly from Proto-Southern Dravidian, which in turn descends directly from Proto-Dravidian, the hypothesized mother language from which all Dravidian languages descend.
• Tulu is a text book example of linguistic discrimination. Its speakers are concentrated in two coastal districts of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district of Kerala.
• Kasaragod district is called ‘Sapta Bhasha Samgama Bhumi (the confluence of seven languages)’, and Tulu is among the seven.
• The cities of Mangaluru, Udupi and Kasaragod are the epicentres of Tulu culture.
• Apart from Tulu Nadu, a significant emigrant population of Tulu speaking people is found in Maharashtra, Bengaluru, Chennai, the English-speaking world, and the Gulf countries.
• The oldest available inscriptions in Tulu are from the period between 14th to 15th Century AD.These inscriptions are in the Tigalari script and are found in areas in and around Barkur which was the capital of Tulu Nadu during the Vijayanagar period.

Explanation :

• Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) was set by the Government of India on 18th November 2004 as the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.
• It is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by the Finance Minister.
• FIU-IND is a multi disciplinary body with a sanctioned strength of 75 personnel. These are being inducted from different organizations namely Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Department of Legal Affairs and Intelligence agencies.
• FIU-IND is responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing the global efforts against money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Explanation :

• The idea of creation of Zonal Councils was mooted by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1956 when during the course of debate on the report of the States Re-organisation Commission.
• The Zonal Councils are the statutory (and not the constitutional) bodies, established by an Act of the Parliament- States Reorganisation Act of 1956.
• The act divided the country into five zones- Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern and provided a zonal council for each zone.
• North Eastern Council (NEC) is a statutory advisory body constituted under the NEC Act 1971 and came into being on the 7th November, 1972 at Shillong. Eight States of Northeast India viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, are members of the council, with their respective Chief Ministers and Governors representing them.

Composition

• The Zonal Council meetings are chaired by the Union Home Minister. The Chief Ministers and two Ministers from the member States are the members ineach Zonal Council. In case of UTs, there are two members from each UT.

Zonal Councils and Member States

• The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, , Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territories of Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
• The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
• The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal.
• The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
• The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Explanation :

• The structure, known as the ‘Taj of the Deccan’ because of its striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal, was commissioned by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1660 in the memory of his first wife Dilras Banu Begum (posthumously known as Rabia-ud-Daurani).
• Also called the Tomb of the Lady, Bibi Ka Maqbara was designed by Ataullah, the son of Ahmad Lahauri, the architect of the Taj Mahal which explains its appearance heavily based on the prime marvel.

Explanation :

• Yakshagana is a traditional Indian theatre form, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala.
• It combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form.
• It is traditionally presented from dusk to dawn.It typically begins in the twilight hours, with an initial beating of the drums of several fixed compositions, called abbara or peetike.
• Yakshagana evolved as a dance form during the Bhakti Movement. Narahari Tirtha, a disciple of Madhvacharya, is said to be the first person to introduce Yakshagana in Udupi. Its stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and other Hindu epics.

Types

• TenkutittuStyle: It is prevalent in Dakshina Kannada. Tenkutittu is noted for its incredible dance steps; its high flying dance moves; and its extravagant rakshasas (demons).
• Badagutittu Style: It is prevalent in Uttara Kannada District and places more emphasis on facial expressions, matugarike (dialogues), and dances appropriate for the character depicted in the episode.