Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Etalin Hydro Electric Power Company Limited (EHEPCL), a joint venture company of Jindal Power Limited (JPL) & Hydro Power Development Corporation of Arunachal Pradesh Limited, is supposed to be built in the biodiversity-rich Dibang river valley of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The project was first identified in 2003 and was granted Terms of Reference (ToRs) by the environment ministry in 2009.
• It envisages construction of two dams - a 101.5 metre high dam on the Dirriver near Yuron village and a 80-metre high dam on Tangon river.
• The Dri and Tangon rivers are tributaries of Dibang.

Reason for Opposition to Project

• The proposed project location falls at the junction of the Palaearctic, Indo-Chinese, and Indo-Malayan bio-geographic regions having luxuriant forests and plethora of flora and fauna.
• About six globally threatened mammal species are found in this region of which three are endangered and three are under the vulnerable category.
• In addition, the entire region falls under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) management categories III and IV, Endemic Bird Area, Global Biodiversity Hotspot, and Key Biodiversity Area indicating its importance at global scale.

River Dibang

• Dibang River, also known as Sikang in Adi and Talon in Idu, is a tributary river of the Brahmaputr (Known as Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh) that originates and flows through the Mishmi Hills & northeast India from the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Sisar, Mathun, Tangon, Dri, Ithun and Emra are the major tributaries of the Dibang.

Explanation :

• Assam Roofed Turtle (Pangshurasylhetensis) is a species of Testudinata in the family Geoemydidae.
• The species occurs in the north-eastern & south-eastern parts of Bangladesh, in India (Assam)and possibly in Bhutan.
• It is found in terrestrial and freshwater habitats in areas with upland tropical moist forest, and fast-flowing streams and perhaps also small rivers.
• The species is protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, and has been classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000.
• It is listed on CITES Appendix II under Pangshura species.

Explanation :

• Budget 2018 amended the Central Road Fund Act, 2000, and renamed the Central Road Fund the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund.
• The objective of the amendment was to use proceeds of the road cess under CRIF to finance other infrastructure projects such as waterways, some portion of the railway infrastructure and even social infrastructure, including education institutions and medical colleges.
• The fund comprises of a cess imposed along with excise duty on petrol and diesel.
• As per the amendment, the share for each infrastructure areas and projects from the CRIF shall be finalised by a Committee, constituted by the Central government. The Committee will be headed by the Finance Minister.
• The amendment prescribes that road cess is first credited to the Consolidated Fund of India and later, after adjusting for the cost of tax collection, should go to the CRIF.
• Now, the administrative control of Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) falls under the Ministry of Finance. Earlier it was under the domain of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Explanation :

• The idea of Fundamental Duties is inspired from the Constitution of Russia.
• The fundamental duties were incorporated in Part IV-A of our constitution by 42^nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976,on the recommendations of Swaran Singh Committee.
• All the eleven duties are listed in Article 51-A of the Constitution.
• The fundamental duties serve as a reminder to citizens that while enjoying their rights, they have also to be quite conscious of duties they owe to their country and society .

Explanation :

• Consultative Committees are constituted by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
• They consist of members of both the Houses of Parliament.
• The Minister/Minister of State in charge of the Ministry concerned acts as the chairman of the consultative committee of that ministry.
• Consultative committees are attached to various ministries/departments of the Central Government.
• The membership of these committees is voluntary and is left to the choice of the members and the leaders of their parties.
• The maximum membership of a committee is 30 and the minimum is 10.
• These committees provide a forum for informal discussions between the ministers and the members of Parliament on policies and programmes of the government and the manner of their implementation.

Explanation :

• The avian botulism is a neuro-muscular illness caused by Botulinum (natural toxin) that is produced by bacteria - Clostridium botulinum.
• Clostridium botulinum is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming, motile bacterium with the ability to produce the neurotoxin botulinum.
• The bacteria cause 4 types of botulism namely infant botulism, wound botulism, foodborne botulism and inhalation botulism.
• Homemade, fermented and preserved foods are common sources of foodborne botulism.

Explanation :

• The Maha bodhi Temple Complex in Bodh Gaya is located in the central part of the state of Bihar, in the northeastern part of India. It is the part of the great Ganges plains.
• The complex is one of the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha.
• The complex is also known by the name BodhimandaVihara that means 'Position of Awakening'.
• The first temple was constructed by King Ashoka in the 3rd century B.C. while the present temple complex is estimated to be erected somewhere between the 6th or 5th century B.C.
• The present Maha bodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya comprises the 50 m high grand Temple, the Vajrasana, sacred Bodhi Tree and other six sacred sites of Buddha's enlightenment, surrounded by numerous ancient Votive stupas.
• It was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002.

Explanation :

• The Union Cabinet, on 21st November, 2019, approved the establishment of the National Institute for Sowa-Rigpa (NISR) in Lehas an autonomous organization under the Ministry of AYUSH.
• The Sowa-Rigpa is a traditional Tibetan system of medicine which is practiced in the Himalayan belt of India and is popular in the states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and West Bengal’s Darjeeling along with the Union Territory of Ladakh.
• Yuthog Yonten Gonpo is believed to be the father of Sowa Rigpa. He had composed rGyud-bZhi (four tantra) the fundamental text book of this medicine. rGyud-bZhi is based on indigenous medicine of Tibet enriched with Ayurveda, Chinese and Greek Medicine.
• The setting up of the NISR would provide an impetus for the revival of Sowa-Rigpa in the Indian Sub-continent.
• The Institute will also provide opportunities for students of Sowa-Rigpa not only in India but also from other countries.

Explanation :

• Ain-i-Akbari (Administration of Akbar) is a 16th-century detailed document of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'lFazl in the Persian language.
• It embodies Ains or rules and regulations framed and put into effect for proper administration by Akbar.
• Though a part of the Akbarnamah, Ain-i-Akbari is itself a voluminous work.
• It is divided into five books. The first book called manzil-abadi deals with the imperial household and its maintenance, and the second called sipah-abadi, with the servants of the emperor, military and civil services. The third deals with imperial administration, containing regulations for the judiciary and the executive. The fourth contains information on Hindu philosophy, science, social customs and literature. The fifth contains sayings of Akbar, along with an account of the ancestry and biography of the author.

Explanation :

• The ASEAN Defence Ministers’s Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) is a platform for ASEAN and its Dialogue Partners to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region.
• The ADMM-Plus countries include ten ASEAN Member State and eight Plus countries, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, ROK, Russian Federation, and the United States.
• The Inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam, on 12th October 2010. The Defence Ministers then agreed on five areas of practical cooperation to pursue under this new mechanism, namely maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping operations and military medicine.

Objectives

• To benefit ASEAN member countries in building capacity to address shared security challenges, while cognisant of the differing capacities of various ASEAN countries
• To promote mutual trust and confidence between defence establishments through greater dialogue and transparency
• To enhance regional peace and stability through cooperation in defence and security, in view of the transnational security challenges the region faces
• To contribute to the realisation of an ASEAN Security Community which, as stipulated in the Bali Concord II, embodies ASEAN’s aspiration to achieve peace, stability, democracy and prosperity in the region where ASEAN member countries live at peace with one another and with the world at large
• To facilitate the implementation of the Vientiane Action Programme, which calls for ASEAN to build a peaceful,secure and prosperous ASEAN.