Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• On March 27, 2019, India conducted Mission Shakti, an anti-satellite missile test, from the Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Island launch complex, Odisha(formerly known as Wheeler Island).
• This was a technological mission carried out by DRDO. The satellite used in the mission was one of India’s existing satellites operating in lower orbit.
• The significance of the test is that India has tested and successfully demonstrated its capability to interdict and intercept a satellite in outer space based on complete indigenous technology.
• The test made India the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to have tested an ASAT weapon.

Explanation :

• Dhrupad is the most ancient style of Hindustani classical music that has survived until today in its original form. The Dhrupad tradition is a major tradition of Indian culture.
• The word ‘Dhrupad’ is derived from DHRUVA the steadfast evening star that moves through our galaxy and ‘Pada’ meaning poetry.
• It is a form of devotional music that traces its origin to the ancient text of Samaveda. The Samavedawas chanted with the help of melody and rhythm called Samgana.
• Gradually this developed into other vocal style called ‘Chhanda’ and ‘Prabandha’ with introduction of verse and meter. The fusion of these two elements led to the emergence of Dhrupad.
• The nature of Dhrupad music is spiritual, seeking not to entertain, but to induce feelings of peace and contemplation in the listener.
• Performance of Dhrupad is done in two parts viz. the Alap and Bandish.
• In the Alap, the singer uses syllables from Sanskrit Mantra which add texture to the notes. The Raga is slowly and methodically developed in a meditative mode.

Explanation :

• Blue Flag is an international certification of environmental properties and cleanliness on beaches.
• A ‘Blue Flag’ beach provides hygienic and clean bathing water, basic infrastructure to tourists and sustainable development in the area.
• This Certification is accorded by an international agency Foundation for Environment Education(FEE), Denmark based on 33 stringent criteria in four major heads i.e.
• -Environmental Education and Information,
• -Bathing Water Quality,
• -Environment Management and Conservation and
• -Safety and Services in the beaches.
• The programme originally started in France in 1985. It was presented to the FEE in 1987. It then became the European Blue Flag.
• In 2001, when South Africa became the first country outside of Europe to join the programme, the initiative changed its name to International Blue Flag.
• Spain has the largest number of 566 Blue Flag beaches while Greece and France have 515 and 395 such Blue Flag beaches respectively.
• Chandrabhaga beach located on the Konark coast of Odisha is the first beach in the country to receive Blue Flag Certification.

Explanation :

Adjournment Motion

• It is introduced only in the Lok Sabha to draw the attention of the House to a definite matter of urgent public importance.
• It involves an element of censure against the government, therefore Rajya Sabha is not permitted to make use of this device.
• It is regarded as an extraordinary device as it interrupts the normal business of the House. It needs the support of 50 members to be admitted.
• The discussion on this motion should last for not less than two hours and thirty minutes.
• The power of adjournment lies with the presiding officer of the House.

Adjournment Sine Die

• Adjournment sine die means terminating a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period.
• In other words, when the House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly, it is called adjournment sine die.
• The power of adjournment sine die lies with the presiding officer of the House.

Explanation :

Supplementary Grant

• It is granted when the amount authorised by the Parliament through the appropriation act for a particular service for the current financial year is found to be insufficient for that year.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General of India brings such excesses to the notice of the Parliament.
• The Public Accounts Committee examines these excesses and gives recommendations to the Parliament.

Additional Grant

• It is granted when a need has arisen during the current financial year for additional expenditure upon some new service not contemplated in the budget for that year.

Token Grant

• It is granted when funds to meet the proposed expenditure on a new service can be made available by re-appropriation.
• A demand for the grant of a token sum (of Re 1) is submitted to the vote of the Lok Sabha and if assented, funds are made available.
• Re-appropriation involves transfer of funds from one head to another. It does not involve any additional expenditure.

Constitutional Provision

• Article 115: Supplementary, additional or excess grants.
• Article 116: Votes on account, votes of credit and exceptional grants.

Explanation :

• Maharashtra is set to become the first coastal state to declare a state mangrove tree species as a symbol to enhance conservation of the salt-tolerant vegetation.
• Earlier, Maharashtra has declared the State Tree (Mango), State Animal (Indian Giant Squirrel), State Bird (Yellow-footed Green Pigeon), State Butterfly (Blue Mormon), and State Flower (Jarul) to focus on their ecological significance.

Sonneratiaalba

• Also known as mangrove apple and as white chippi in Marathi, it grows up to five feet and bear white flowers with a pink base as well as green fruits, that resemble apple and are used to make pickles.
• They often grow on newly-formed mudflats and play an important role in combating land erosion.
• The flowers, which bloom at night, are pollinated by nocturnal creatures like bats.

Explanation :

• Rogan painting is an art of cloth printing practiced in the Kutch District of Gujarat.
• It is the technique of painting on fabric, crafted from a thick brightly coloured paint like substance made with castor seed oil.
• Rogan Art, an ancient textile art, with its origins in Persia, came to Kutch around 300 years ago.
• Traditionally, the craft was used to beautify bridal clothing of the regional tribes.
• Beautiful borders and floral patterns on ghagras, odhanis and bed spreads were painstakingly painted.
• The intricate motifs – geometric flowers, peacocks, the tree of life, etc. – are drawn from the history and folk culture of the Kutch region.

Explanation :

• The Malabar Rebellion, also known as the MoplahRebellion, was an armed revolt staged by the Mappila Muslims of Kerala in 1921.
• The most prominent leaders of the rebellion were VariankunnathKunjahammad Haji, SithiKoyaThangal and Ali Musliyar.
• Three different political movements merged to trigger the rebellion —one, the tenancy movement, was rooted in local agrarian grievances (particularly in south Malabar); the other two were the Khilafat (Caliphate) movement and the Non-Cooperation movement, launched jointly by the All-India Khilafat Committee and the Indian National Congress.
• In August 1920, Gandhi along with Shaukat Ali (the leader of the KhilafatMovement in India) visited Calicut to spread the combined message of non-cooperation and Khilafat among the residents of Malabar.
• In response to Gandhi’s call, a Khilafat committee was formed in Malabar and the Mappilas, under their religious head MahadumTangal of Ponnani pledged support to the Non-cooperation Movement.
• The Moplah tenants agitated against the Hindu landlords (locally referred to as Janmi) and the British government.
• Most of their grievances were related to the security of tenure, high rents, renewal fees and other unfair exactions of the landlords.
• The British government responded with much aggression, bringing in Gurkha regiments to suppress it and imposing martial law.
• Wagon Tragedy: A noteworthy event of the British suppression was the wagon tragedy when approximately 60 Mappila prisoners on their way to prison, were suffocated to death in a closed railway goods wagon.

Explanation :

• A ramjet is a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor. Fuel is injected in the combustion chamber where it mixes with the hot compressed air and ignites.
• A ramjet-powered vehicle requires an assisted take-off like a rocket assist to accelerate it to a speed where it begins to produce thrust.
• Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) and can operate up to speeds of Mach 6. However, the ramjet efficiency starts to drop when the vehicle reaches hypersonic speeds.
• A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine as it efficiently operates at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion. Thus it is known as Supersonic Combustion Ramjet, or Scramjet.
• A dual mode ramjet (DMRJ) is a type of jet engine where a ramjet transforms into scramjet over Mach 4-8 range, which means it can efficiently operate both in subsonic and supersonic combustor modes.

Explanation :

• The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier international forum for global economic cooperation.
• Formed in 1999, the G-20 has the mandate to promote global economic growth, international trade, and regulation of financial markets.
• The members of the G20 are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union.
• Because the G-20 is a forum, not a legislative body, its agreements and decisions have no legal impact, but they do influence countries' policies and global cooperation.
• It does not have any permanent secretariat or headquarters.
• The G-20's ranks include all members of the Group of Seven (G-7), a forum of the seven countries with the world's largest developed economies: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Objectives

• Policy coordination between its members in order to achieve global economic stability, sustainable growth.
• To promote financial regulations that reduce risks and prevent future financial crises.
• To create a new international financial architecture.

Significance

• G20 members account for 85 percent of the world economy, 75 percent of global trade, and two-thirds of the world's population, including more than half of the world's poor.