Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• The RTI Act was passed by Parliament on 15^th June, 2005 and came fully into force on 12^th October, 2005 replacing the erstwhile Freedom of information Act, 2002.
• It mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information by various public authorities under Central Government as well as the State Governments.
• The office of Central Information Commission (CIC) was established in 2005 by the Central Government under the provisions of Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
• The basic object of the RTI Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense.

Explanation :

• The real founder of Chalukyas of Badami was a chieftain Pulakesin I, who made himself master of a town called Vatapi, which is modern Badami of Karnataka in around 543 AD.
• He assumed the titles of Satyashraya, Vallabaha and Dharmamaharaja.
• The Aihole inscription was written by the Ravikirti, court poet of Chalukya King, Pulakeshi II (Grandson of Pulakesin I) who reigned from 610 to 642 CE.
• The poetic verses (Shilalekh) of Ravikirti, in praise of the king, can be read in the Meguti temple.
• The inscription is in the Sanskrit language, which uses the old Kannada script.
• Aihole in Karnataka state, India, is known as Cradle of Indian architecture.

Explanation :

• The Cauvery, also known as ‘Ponni’ in Tamil, is the fourth-largest river in south India. Originating in the Western Ghats at Talakaveri in Karnataka’s Kodagu district, it passes through Tamil Nadu. The river bisects the state into north and south and finally reaches the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar, also known as Kaveripoompattinam in Tamil Nadu.
• It’s basin is spread over 81,155 square kilometres (sq km) in the states of Karnataka (34,273 sq km), Tamil Nadu (43,856 sq km), Kerala(2,866 sq km) and the Union Territory of Puducherry (160 sq km).
• Harangi, Hemavati, Kabini, Bhavani, LakshmanaTirtha, Noyyal and Arkavati are some of the imporatnat tributaries of Cauvery River.

Mekedatu Project

• It is being set up by the Karnataka government in Ramanagaram district in Mekedatu, across the river Cauvery from Tamil Nadu.
• It is aimed at solving the drinking water problems of Bengaluru and adjoining districts.

Explanation :

• Green crackers are developed by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in collaboration with eight other government labs.
• CSIR had taken up the project to develop eco-friendly crackers in the wake of directions of the Supreme Court restricting the use of fireworks to address the growing problem of pollution in different parts of the country.
• The green crackers do not have barium and strontium salts as constituents and so creates less polluting particles. This means, however, that unlike earlier, the fireworks will have a limited colour palette, producing mainly white and yellow sparks.
• A green logo as well as a Quick Response (QR) coding system has been developed for differentiation of green crackers from conventional crackers.

Explanation :

• GEMINI or GAGAN Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information is based on GAGAN (GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation) satellite system developed by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Airports Authority of India (AAI).
• The GAGAN satellite system consists of three geosynchronous satellites namely the GSAT-8, GSAT-10 and GSAT-15 and these three cover the entire Indian Ocean region constantly.
• However, the device only allows one-way communication — it can’t be used by fishermen to make calls, for instance.

Benefits

• Mobile phone frequencies cannot be accessed 10-12 km beyond the coast and with GEMINI this range can increase to 300 nautical miles, allowing better communication.
• Through the new system, all the key alerts and messages will be send directly to the fishermen venturing in deep sea, providing them the accurate information about any disaster, thus help in saving precious human resources.

Explanation :

• On 10^th October, 2019, HRD Ministry launched a unique initiative, the Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme-DHRUV, which will act as a turning point in the lives of extra ordinarily talented students, from the premises of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Headquarters at Bengaluru.

Objective

• To encourage talented students to realize their full potential and henceforth, contribute to society.

About DHRUV Programme

• The programme will cover two areas namely, Science and Performing Arts.
• Overall 60 students will be selected (30 from each area) from across the country. The students will be broadly from classes 9 to 12 from all schools including government and
• Every student selected under this programme will be called as ‘Dhruv Tara’. The students will thus both shine through their achievements and light a path for others to follow.

Significance

The programme will prove to be a turning point for the students as well as the society, and it is through their achievements that the world will know ‘Saare Jahan se accha Hindustan Hamara’.

Explanation :

• Department of Disinvestment was renamed as Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) from 14th April, 2016.
• It is mandated to look in to the matters relating to the management of Central Government investments in equity including disinvestment of equity in Central Public Sector Undertakings and sale of Central Government equity through offer for sale or private placement or any other mode in the erstwhile Central Public Sector Undertakings.
• Public Sector Units (PSUs) for strategic sale were identified by NITI Aayog till now but from now onwards, DIPAM and NITI Aayog will jointly identify PSUs for strategic disinvestment.

Vision

• Promote people’s ownership of Central Public Sector Enterprises to share in their prosperity through disinvestment.
• Efficient management of public investment in CPSEs for accelerating economic development and augmenting Government’s resources for higher expenditure.

Explanation :

• Incorporated in 1958 as a Government of India fully owned public enterprise, NMDC is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel.
• The company has been categorised by the Department of Public Enterprises as " NAVRATNA" Public Sector Enterprise in 2008. In 1998, it was conferred the Mini Ratna status.
• NMDC is India's single largest iron ore producer, producing about 30 million tonnes of iron ore.
• Since inception it has been involved in the exploration of wide range of minerals including iron ore, copper, rock phosphate, limestone, dolomite, gypsum, bentonite, magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite, beach sands etc.

Navratna Companies

• Navratna scheme was introduced in 1997, to identify Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) that had comparative advantages and to support them in their drive to become global giants.
• It gives a company enhanced financial and operational autonomy and empowers it to invest up to 1000 crore or 15% of their net worth on a single project without seeking government approval.
• The prime criteria for getting Navratna status is that the renowned company must holds a status of Miniratna category-1 along with few independent directors at Miniratna level.

Explanation :

• The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the administration of the tribal areas in the four northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram as per Article 244(2).
• It provides provision for creation of the District Councils and regional councils. Each district / regional council is a body corporate which is empowered for administration of the area under its jurisdiction. They are named as “District council of (name of district) and Regional Council of (name of region)
• The Governor is empowered to include any other area, exclude any area, increase, decrease, diminish these areas and alter the names and boundaries of these autonomous districts and regions.
• The sixth schedule to the Constitution includes 10 autonomous district councils in 4 states. These are:

• Assam: Bodoland Territorial Council, Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council and Dima Hasao Autonomous District Council.
• Meghalaya: Garo Hills Autonomous District Council, Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council.
• Tripura: Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
• Mizoram: Chakma Autonomous District Council, Lai Autonomous District Council, Mara Autonomous District Council.

Tribes to be excluded

• The five minor tribes - Bodo-Kachari, Hajong, Koch, Mann and Rabha are grouped together as ‘unrepresented tribes’ for nomination in Meghalaya’s autonomous tribal councils.
• These minor tribes are indigenous to Meghalaya and have been living in the state much before its creation in 1972.

Explanation :

• The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region extends 3,500 km over all or part of eight countries from Afghanistan in the west to Myanmar in the east.
• It encompasses an area of mountains in the eight countries of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.
• The HKH region - part of the Third Pole due to its largest permanent snow cover after the North and South poles, sustains the livelihoods of 240 million people living in the mountains and hills.
• It is the source of ten large Asian river systems - the Amu Darya, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra (Yarlungtsanpo), Irrawaddy, Salween (Nu), Mekong (Lancang), Yangtse (Jinsha), Yellow River (Huanghe), and Tarim (Dayan).