Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• The Mizoram government has granted industry status to sports, a move aimed at generating employment.
• Through the new status, the government hopes to commercialise sporting endeavours and woo investors.
• Sports and its infrastructure will be eligible for availing of subsidy, loan and assistance from private and government sources.

Explanation :

• The Katkari is a Scheduled Tribe mostly belonging to the state of Maharashtra, located primarily in Raigad and in parts of Palghar, Ratnagiri and Thane districts as well and in some places of Gujarat.
• They are bilingual, speaking the Katkari language, a dialect of the Marathi-Konkani language.
• The name Katkari is derived from a forest-based activity – the making and barter or sale of Katechu (kath) from the khair tree (Acacia Katechu).
• In Maharashtra, the Katkari has been designated a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), along with two other groups included in this sub-category: the Madia Gond and the Kolam.
• The British administration had classified them under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871.

Explanation :

• As the labour shortage is imminent owing to exodus of migrant labourers amid the ongoing lockdown, farmers in Punjab seem all set to go for direct seeding of rice (DSR).
• DSR refers to the process of establishing a rice crop from seeds sown in the field rather than by transplanting seedlings from nursery.
• In transplanting, farmers prepare nurseries where paddy seeds are first sown and raised into young plants.
• These seedlings are then uprooted and replanted 25-35 days later in the main field with standing water.
• In DSR, as flooding of fields is not done during sowing, chemical herbicides are used to kill weeds.

Advantages

• Water savings
• Less numbers of labourers required,
• Saves labour cost and
• Reduce methane emissions

Disadvantages

• Seeds are exposed to birds, rats, and snails.
• High weeds infestation
• Non-availability of herbicides.
• High requirement of seeds when compared to transplanting.

Explanation :

• Port of Call means an intermediate stop for a ship on its scheduled journey for cargo operation or taking on supplies or fuel.
• It can be defined as the port of a country where cargo or a passenger (cruise) ship halts to discharge or load the cargo or to embark or disembark passengers.
• For the cruise ship, port of call is the premier stop from where they take on passengers for their cruise holidays.
• For cargo ships, a port of call is a port attended within a voyage to load or unload the cargo, or for bunkering or repairs carried out on the ship etc.
• Port of Call can include both inland harbours and marine seaports that cater to vessels transiting internationally.
• When a vessel makes the initial customs entry into a country, the first port which it will attend will be considered as the “First Port of Call”.
• Presently India has six ports of call. They are Kolkata, Haldia, Karimganj, Pandu, Shilghat and Dhubri.

Explanation :

• Konark Sun temple was built by King Narasimhadeva I of the Ganga Dynasty (1238-1264AD) in the 13th century.
• It is located in Eastern Odisha near the sacred city of Puri.
• The temple is designed in the shape of a colossal chariot. It is dedicated to the Sun God.
• There are two rows of 12 wheels on each side of the Konark sun temple.
• The seven horses are said to symbolize the seven days of the week.
• The temple was used as a navigational point by European sailors. They referred to it as the ‘Black Pagoda’ due to its dark colour.
• Also called the Surya Devalaya, it is a classic illustration of the Odisha style of Architecture or Kalinga Architecture.
• Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1984, it remains a major pilgrimage site for Hindus, who gather here every year for the Chandrabhaga Mela around the month of February every year.

Explanation :

• The Charan Paduka Campaign has been launched in Madhya Pradesh for the migrant workers passing through the state.
• Under the campaign the migrant workers are being provided with shoes and slippers to reduce their pain.
• The campaign is being conducted by the Police of Madhya Pradesh.

Explanation :

• The Chhattisgarh government will launch a scheme to ensure “minimum income availability” to farmers of the state through direct bank transfer on the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi 21^st May, 2020.
• Under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, based on registered area and area under cultivation during Kharif crop season 2019, Rs 10,000 per acre will be deposited in the bank accounts of farmers as agriculture assistance grant for sowing crops such as paddy, maize and sugarcane.
• According to the government, at least 19 lakh farmers will benefit from the scheme, for which the state government had allocated Rs 5,756 crore in the budget 2020-21.
• The money will be given to the farmers in four instalments.
• The scheme intends to provide stimulus to the rural economy of the state which is going through a slum due to the lockdown.

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 :