Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept that suggests that it is the responsibility of the corporations operating within society to contribute towards economic, social and environmental development that creates positive impact on society at large.
• In India, the concept of CSR is governed by clause 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.
• As per as CSR is concerned, the Companies Act, 2013 is a landmark legislation that made India the first country to mandate and quantify CSR expenditure.
• The amendment notified in the Companies Act, 2013 requires companies with a net worth of INR 500 crore (US $70 million) or more, or an annual turnover of INR 1000 crore (US $140 million) or more, or net profit of INR 5 crore (US $699,125) or more, to spend 2 percent of their average net profits of three years on CSR.
• The corporations are required to setup a CSR committee which designs a CSR policy which is approved by the board and encompasses the CSR activities the corporations is willing to undertake.

Examples of CSR

• Environmental management, ex- waste reduction and sustainability
• Responsible sourcing, ex- using only fair trade ingredients
• Improvement of working standards and conditions
• Contributing to educational and social programs
• Employee volunteering
• Socially responsible investment
• Development of employee and community relations

Explanation :

• Bhaona,is a traditional form of entertainment, with religious messages, prevalent is Assam, India.
• It was created by MahapurushaSrimantaSankardeva, in sixteenth century, in order toconvey religious messages to villagers through entertainment.
• It is a presentation of the AnkiaNaat of Assam.
• A Bhaona, involving dialogues, songs and dances by performers in costumes and ornaments, usually involves 40-50 people, including those playing heavy drums and cymbals.
• In Bhaona cultural glimpses of Assam, Bengal Orissa, Mathura and Brindavan can be seen. The Sutradhaar, or narrator begins the story, first in Sanskrit and then in either Brajboli or Assamese.

Explanation :

• National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) was founded on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi on 2^nd October, 1958, in order to promote the trade of agricultural produce and forest resources across the nation.
• Registered under the Multi State Co-operative Societies Act, it is the national level marketing agency for agricultural products in the Cooperative Sector.
• Objective: To promote Co-operative marketing of Agricultural Produce to benefit the farmers.
• It is the nodal agency to implement price stabilization measures under "Operation Greens" which aims to double the farmers' income by 2022.

Explanation :

• A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center, a closed low-level circulation and a spiral arrangement of numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rainfall.
• Most tropical cyclones originate in the doldrums near the Equator, approximately 10 degrees away.
• The weakest tropical cyclones are called tropical depressions. If a depression intensifies such that it’s maximum sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour, the tropical cyclone becomes a tropical storm.
• Once a tropical cyclone reaches maximum sustained winds of 74 miles per hour or higher, it is then classified as a hurricane, typhoon, or tropical cyclone, depending upon where the storm originates in the world.

Eye of Cyclone

• A mature tropical cyclone is characterised by the strong spirally circulating wind around the centre which is called the eye. It is an area with calm weather descending air.

Conditions for formation of Tropical Cyclone-

• Large sea surface with a temperature higher than 27° C
• Presence of the Coriolis force
• Small differences in the vertical wind speed
• A pre-existing weak- low-pressure area or low-level-cyclonic circulation
• Upper divergence above the sea level system.

Cyclone names in different regions-

• Cyclones in the Indian Ocean
• Willy-willies in Western Australia
• Hurricanes b Atlantic
• Typhoons in the Western Pacific and the South China Sea

Explanation :

• The Non-Aligned Movement was founded under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Sukarno of Indonesia.
• The basic concept for the group originated in 1955 during discussions that took place at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference held in Indonesia.
• The first NAM Summit Conference took place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1961.

Objective

• It sought to create an independent path in world politics that would not result in member States becoming pawns in the struggles between the major powers.

Members

• It has 120 members, comprising 53 countries from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 2 from Europe (Belarus, Azerbaijan). There are 17 countries and 10 international organizations that are Observers at NAM.

Explanation :

• Thotlakonda Buddhist Complex is situated on a hill near Bheemunipatnam, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
• It came to light during an aerial survey by the Indian Navy for setting up a Naval Base. After its discovery, major excavations have been conducted by the Andhra Pradesh State Archaeology Department during 1988 - 1993.
• The excavations established the existence of a Hinayana Buddhist complex which flourished 2000 years ago.
• Thotlakonda Complex is a dwelling of various Stupas, Viharas and Chaityas.

Explanation :

• Skandagupta was a son of the Gupta emperor Kumaragupta-I. He ascended the throne in 455 AD and ruled till 467 AD.
• By defeating Pushyamitras during his initial years of ascendancy, Skandagupta proved his ability to rule and took upon himself the title of
• He not only defended the great culture of India but also from external aggression and defeated the Huns (Bhitari pillar inscription), who had invaded India from the North West.
• Skandagupta issued five types of gold coins: Archer type, King and queen type, Chhatra type, Lion-slayer type and Horseman type.
• His silver coins are of four types: Garuda type, Bull type, Altar type and Madhyadesha type.

Explanation :

• BRAHMOS is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO) and the NPOM of Russia.
• It is a two-stage (solid propellant engine in the first stage and liquid ramjet in second) air to surface missile.
• It operates on ‘Fire and Forget Principle’, adopting varieties of flights on its way to the target. Its destructive power is enhanced due to large kinetic energy on impact.
• Its cruising altitude could be up to 15 km and terminal altitude is as low as 10 meters.
• It carries a conventional warhead weighing 200 to 300 kgs.
• The missile has flight range of up to 290-km with supersonic speed all through the flight, leading to shorter flight time, consequently ensuring lower dispersion of targets, quicker engagement time and non-interception by any known weapon system in the world.

Explanation :

• Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2014 enables any person (i.e. a whistleblower) to report an act of corruption, willful misuse of power or discretion, or criminal offence by a public servant.
• This includes all public servants, including Ministers, Members of Parliament, the lower judiciary, regulatory authorities, central and state government employees,
• Such disclosures are made to a specified Competent Authority who must conduct a discreet inquiry and conceal the identity of the complainant and public servant.
• The maximum time period for making a complaint is seven years.
• The act is not applicable to the Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel and officers, constituted under the Special Protection Group Act, 1988.
• The Whistleblowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced in LokSabha on May 11, 2015 and passed in that House on May 13, 2015. Bill amends the Act to prohibit the disclosure of 10 categories of information to a Competent Authority.

Explanation :

• Siachen Glacier is located in the Karakoram Range system of Kashmir near the India–Pakistan border, extending for 70 km from north-northwest to south-southeast.
• It is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world's non-polar
• It is the source for the 50-mi-long Nubra River, a tributary of the Shyok, which is part of the Indus River system.