Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Mount Harriet National Park is a national park located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India.
• The park, established in 1969, covers about 4.62 km².
• Mount Harriet (383 metres ), which is part of the park, is the third-highest peak in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago next to Saddle Peak (732 metres (2,402 ft)) in North Andaman and Mount Thullier (568 metres (1,864 ft)) in Great Nicobar.
• The park is named in commemoration of Harriet C. Tytler, the second wife of Robert Christopher Tytler, a British army officer, an administrator, naturalist and photographer, who were appointed Superintendent of the Convict Settlement at Port Blair in the Andamans from April 1862 to February 1864.
• The park's well-known faunal species are Andaman wild pigs (an endangered species), saltwater crocodiles, turtles and robber crabs. The park is also a butterfly hotspot.
• The park has evergreen primary forests, and at Chiriyatapu the forest type is mixed deciduous, a combination of primary and secondary forests.
• The three types of forests are categorized as tropical evergreen, hilltop tropical evergreen and littoral.
• The tribal community living in the tropical forest of the park is the Negrito people, who are hunter-gatherers.

Explanation :

• Founded in 1865, the International Telecommunication Union (originally the International Telegraph Union), is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is responsible for issues that concern information and communication technologies.
• Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it is the oldest global international organization.

Sectors

The ITU consists of three sectors:

• Radiocommunication (ITU-R) — ensures optimal, fair and rational use of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum.
• Telecommunication Standardization (ITU-T) — formulates recommendations for standardizing telecommunication operations worldwide.
• Telecommunication Development (ITU-D) — assists countries in developing and maintaining internal communication operations.

Membership

• There are 193 Member States of the ITU, including all UN member states except the Republic of Palau, plus the Vatican City.
• Membership of ITU is open to only UN members, which may join the Union as Member States, as well as to private organizations like carriers, equipment manufacturers, funding bodies, research and development organizations and international and regional telecommunication organizations, which may join ITU as non-voting Sector Members.

Function

• The ITU sets and publishes regulations and standards relevant to electronic communication and broadcasting technologies of all kinds including radio, television, satellite, telephone and the Internet.

India and ITU

• India has been an active member of the ITU since 1869 and has been a regular member of the ITU Council since 1952.
• In November 2018, India was elected as a Member of the ITU Council for another 4-year term (2019-2022).

Explanation :

Explanation :

• The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as the gavial or the fish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the family Gavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians.
• They have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara, hence the name "gharial".
• Gharials live in clear freshwater river systems, congregating at river bends where the water is deeper. They’re not well-suited for land so they generally only leave the water to bask in the sun or to nest.
• Once found from Pakistan to Myanmar, the reptile's range has shrunk to two countries: India, along the Chambal, Girwa, and Son Rivers; and Nepal, along the Narayani River.
• Loss of habitat because of sand mining and conversion to agriculture, depletion of fish resources and detrimental fishing methods continue to threaten the population.

Conservation

• In 1975, the Indian Crocodile Conservation Project was set up under the auspices of the Government of India, initially in Odisha's Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary. It was implemented with financial aid of the United Nations Development Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
• The gharial is listed on CITES Appendix I.
• In India, it is included in Schedule 1 under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
• In Nepal, it is fully protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973.
• It has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2007.

Explanation :

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which 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 Charter was signed during the St.Petersburg SCO Heads of State meeting in June 2002, and entered into force on 19 September 2003.
• 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.
• The organisation has two permanent bodies — the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent.

Members

• Eight Member States- 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.
• Four Observer States - the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Mongolia.
• Six Dialogue Partners - the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Republic of Turkey, and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Explanation :

• River Nila is also known as Bharathapuzha and Ponnani.
• It is the second longest river in Kerala with a length of 209 kilometers.

Origin

• The river originates in the Annamalai hills located in the Western Ghats region in Tamil Nadu.

Course

• It flows in the west direction along with the many of its tributaries including the Tirur River through Palakkad Gap, Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram districts of Kerala.
• The Kannadippuzha and Kalpathippuza, the tributaries of Bharathapuzha meet at Parli and flows in the west direction as Bharathapuzha River.
• The Bharathapuzha River then surrenders itself into the Arabian Sea at Ponnani.

Main Tributaries

• Gayathripuzha River, Kannadipuzha River, Kalpathipuzha River and Thuthapuzha River are the main tributaries of the Bharathapuzha.

Explanation :

• The Court of Justice, informally known as the European Court of Justice (ECJ), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law, and is considered the most powerful and influential international court that is realistically possible
• The court was established in 1952 in Luxembourgh, by the Treaty of Paris (1951) as part of the European Coal and Steel Community.
• Following the entrance into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, the ECJ's official name was changed from the "Court of Justice of the European Communities" to the "Court of Justice"
• The Court of Justice consists of 27 Judges who are assisted by 11 Advocates-General. The Judges and Advocates-General are appointed by common accord of the governments of the member states and hold office for a renewable term of six years.
• The President of the Court of Justice is elected from and by the judges for a renewable term of three years.
• It is the highest court of the European Union in matters of Union law, but not national law. It is not possible to appeal against the decisions of national courts in the ECJ, but rather national courts refer questions of EU law to the ECJ.
• The court also acts as arbiter between the EU's institutions and can annul the latter's legal rights if it acts outside its powers.

Explanation :

• Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born on 9 May 1866 in Kotluk village of Guhagar taluka in Ratnagiri district, in present-day Maharashtra (then part of the Bombay Presidency) in a Brahmin family.
• He became a member of the Indian National Congress in 1889, as a protege of social reformer Mahadev Govind Ranade.
• In 1893, Gokhale became the Secretary of the Bombay Provincial Conference and in 1895, he served as the Joint Secretary of the INC along with Tilak.
• He was voted to the Legislative Council of Bombay in 1899, and also to the Governor-General’s Imperial Council in 1901.
• In 1905, Gokhale established the Servants of India Society for expanding education to Indians. He wanted Indians to receive an education that would instill in them a civic and patriotic sense of duty.
• He played a major role in the Morley-Minto reforms.
• In 1908, Gokhale founded the ‘Ranade Institute of Economics’. He discouraged the untouchability and caste-system, pleaded for the liberation of women and supported the cause of female education.
• Gokhale visited Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa in 1912 on the latter’s request. He famously mentored to the father of the nation, who returned to India at Gokhale’s request.
• He launched the English weekly newspaper named The Hitavad (The people's paper) in 1911.

Explanation :

• Toda people are a Dravidian ethnic group who live in the Nilgiri Mountains of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
• The Toda are most closely related to the Kota both ethnically and linguistically.
• The Toda language is a member of the Dravidian family. Linguists have classified Toda (along with its neighbour Kota) as a member of the southern subgroup of the historical family proto-South-Dravidian.
• Their sole occupation is cattle-herding and dairy-work. Holy dairies are built to store the buffalo milk.
• They live in small hamlets called munds. The Toda huts, called dogles, are of an oval, pent-shaped construction.
• Toda Embroidery: In the Toda language it is called pohor. Registrar of Geographical Indication gave GI status for this unique embroidery, a practice which has been passed on to generations.

Explanation :

• The Court of Justice, informally known as the European Court of Justice (ECJ), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law, and is considered the most powerful and influential international court that is realistically possible
• The court was established in 1952 in Luxembourgh, by the Treaty of Paris (1951) as part of the European Coal and Steel Community.
• Following the entrance into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, the ECJ's official name was changed from the "Court of Justice of the European Communities" to the "Court of Justice"
• The Court of Justice consists of 27 Judges who are assisted by 11 Advocates-General. The Judges and Advocates-General are appointed by common accord of the governments of the member states and hold office for a renewable term of six years.
• The President of the Court of Justice is elected from and by the judges for a renewable term of three years.
• It is the highest court of the European Union in matters of Union law, but not national law. It is not possible to appeal against the decisions of national courts in the ECJ, but rather national courts refer questions of EU law to the ECJ.
• The court also acts as arbiter between the EU's institutions and can annul the latter's legal rights if it acts outside its powers.