Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Assam government has decided to upgrade the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary into a national park.

About Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary

• Located in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, the 111.19 sq km Dehing Patkai was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 2004.
• It forms the largest stretch of lowland rainforest in the country.
• Dehing is the name of the river that flows through this forest and Patkai is the hill at the foot of which the sanctuary lies.
• The Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary and a part of Dehing Patkai Rainforest, due to their importance for elephant habitat, were declared as Dehing-Patkai Elephant Reserve under Project Elephant.
• There are more than a dozen different ethnic groups living in the area including the indigenous Assamese communities, particularly Tai Phake, Khamyang, Khampti, Singpho, Nocte, Chutia, Ahom, Kaibarta, Moran and Motok, Burmese, and non-indigenous Nepali people.

Explanation :

• The Gujarat government has decided to form a five-member commission to identify members of Rabari, Bharvad and Charan communities, who are eligible for benefits of Schedule Tribe (ST) status.
• In October 1956, the central government conferred ST status on people of Rabari, Bharvad and Charan communities, living in nesses (tiny, oval-shaped hutments made of mud) of Gir, Barda and Alech areas of Gujarat.

Rabari

• They migrated from Rajasthan via Kutch and now most of them live in the Okhamandal region of Jamnagar district.
• They speak ‘Bhopa’ which is a mixture of Gujarati, Kachchi, Marwari words and Pharasi (Persian) and use Gujarati script.
• Their folk songs are called ‘Siya’.

Bharvad

• The Bharwads are pastorals who are permitted to graze their sheep and cattle in certain demarcated areas of the reserved forest.
• They communicate in Gujarati and use Gujarati script.

Charan

• The Charan, also called Gadhvi, is a small tribe in Gujarat and the name Charan is derived from the word ‘Char’ which means grazing.
• They speak Gujarati and use Gujarati script.
• These are traditionally cattle breeders. They have also adopted agriculture as their secondary occupation.

Explanation :

• Under Article 340 of the Indian Constitution, the President may by order appoint a Commission consisting of such persons as he thinks fit to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India and to make recommendations to remove such difficulties and to improve their conditions.
• The One Hundred and Second Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as the Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018, granted constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
• The Amendment Act inserted new Articles 338 B and 342

Explanation :

Ashadhi Bij

• The festival is associated with the beginning of rains in the Kutch region of Gujarat.
• It falls on the second day of Shukla paksha of Ashada month of Hindu calendar.
• During Ashadhi Bij, the moisture in the atmosphere is checked to predict which crop would do best in the coming monsoon.

Sajibu Cheiraoba

• It is celebrated by Meiteis (an ethnic group in Manipur) which is observed on the first day of Manipur lunar month Shajibu, which falls in the month of April every year.

Losoong

• Also known as Namsoong, it is the Sikkimese New Year.
• It is mostly celebrated in the month of December every year with traditional gaiety and colour both by the Lepchas and Bhutias.

Explanation :

Total Solar Eclipse

• It occurs when the Moon completely blocks the solar disk.
• In a total solar eclipse, the narrowest part of the path (where the Sun is completely blocked and the Moon casts its darkest shadow (called the umbra)) is called the “zone of totality”.
• A phenomenon called “Bailey’s Beads” often appears as sunlight shines out through valleys on the lunar surface.

Annular Solar Eclipse

• An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring).

Partial Solar Eclipse

• It occurs when Earth moves through the lunar penumbra (the lighter part of the Moon’s shadow) as the Moon moves between Earth and the Sun.
• The Moon does not block the entire solar disk, as seen from Earth.
• Depending on location during a partial eclipse, one might see anything from a small sliver of the Sun being blotted out to a nearly total eclipse.

Explanation :

• A new species of fish has been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The fish species is named as Schizothorax sikusirumensis.
• The fish species belongs to genus Schizothorax.
• The name of this fish species has been derived from the name of the rivers where it was found- junction of River Siku and Sirum near Gakang area under Mebo circle of East Siang District.

Explanation :

• Gee's golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), also known as simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey found in a small region of western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan.
• It is one of the most endangered primate species of India.
• Their habitat is restricted to the region surrounded by four geographical landmarks: the foothills of Bhutan (North), Manas river (East), Sankosh river (West), and Brahmaputra river (South).
• They are highly dependent on trees, living in the upper canopy of forests. They are also known as leaf monkeys.

Conservation Status

• IUCN List of Threatened Species: Endangered
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES): Appendix I
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 : Schedule I

Ecological Role

• Like most primates who eat fruits, golden langurs likely play a role in seed dispersal, seed predation, and pollination, all of which are critical for forest repopulation.

Explanation :

Mugger

• The mugger crocodile, also called the Indian crocodile, or marsh crocodile, is found throughout the Indian subcontinent.
• It is mainly a freshwater species, and found in lakes, rivers and marshes.

Conservation Status

• IUCN : Vulnerable
• CITES : Appendix I
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 : Schedule I

Saltwater Crocodile

• It is the largest of all living reptiles.
• It is found throughout the east coast of India.

Conservation Status

• IUCN: Least Concern
• CITES: Appendix I (except the populations of Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, which are included in Appendix II).
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 : Schedule I

Gharial

• The Gharial or fish eating crocodile is native to the Indian subcontinent.
• The chambal river in the northern slopes of the Vindhya mountains ( Madhya Pradesh) is known as the primary habitat of gharials.

Conservation Status

• IUCN: Critically Endangered
• CITES : Appendix I
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 : Schedule I

Explanation :

• Axone , also spelled akhuni, is a fermented soya bean of Nagaland, known for its distinctive flavour and smell.
• As much an ingredient as it is a condiment, axone used to make pickles and chutneys or curries.
• It is prepared and eaten across Nagaland mainly by the Sumi (also Sema) tribe.
• It belongs to the broader phenomena of fermentation necessary for food preservation in certain ecological contexts.

Sumi Tribe

• It is one of the major ethnic group in Nagaland.
• The Sumis mainly inhabit Zunheboto district, Dimapur district and Kiphire district although many have spread and are now living in a few more districts within Nagaland.
• Sumi Naga tribe practiced kiti-do and were headhunters as every other Naga tribe.
• Tuluni and Ahuna are the major festivals.

Explanation :

• The Ninth Schedule contains a list of central and state laws which cannot be challenged in courts and was added by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951.
• It was created by the new Article 31B, which along with Article 31A was brought in by the government to protect laws related to agrarian reform and for abolishing the Zamindari system.
• The First Amendment added 13 laws to the Schedule. Subsequent amendments in 1955, 1964, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1984, 1990, 1994, and 1999 have taken the number of protected laws to 284.

Article 31A and 31 B

• While Article 31A extends protection to ‘classes’ of laws, A. 31B shields specific laws or enactments.
• Article 31B also has retrospective operation: meaning if laws are inserted in the Ninth Schedule after they are declared unconstitutional, they are considered to have been in the Schedule since their commencement, and thus valid.
• Although Article 31B excludes judicial review, the apex court has said in the past that even laws under the Ninth Schedule would be open to scrutiny if they violated fundamental rights or the basic structure of the Constitution.