Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• The Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) replacing the erstwhile New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP)was approved in March 2016 and the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) along with the National Data Repository (NDR) were launched in June 2017 as the key drivers to accelerate the Exploration and Production (E&P) activities in India.
• Under OALP, companies are allowed to carve out areas they want to explore oil and gas in.
• It is a step towards improving the Ease of Doing Business in the Indian Exploration and Production sector which comes with attractive fiscal terms like reduced royalty rates , marketing and pricing freedom, submission of Expression of Interests (EoIs) round the year, bid rounds commencing every six months and a single license to cover conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The spider which is endemic to India, belongs to the genus Poecilotheria and is commonly known as the Peacock Parachute Spider. It can be identified based on the banding patterns on the underside of the legs.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorised it as Critically Endangered.
• The known habitat of this species is in the Eastern Ghats especially degraded forests near Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh.
• Tarantulas are considered as biological pest controllers.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The products - the Dindigul lock and the Kandangisaree,were given the GI tag by the Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai on 29^th August, 2019.
• The Dindigul Lock, Hardware and Steel Furniture Workers Industrial Co-operative Society and Amrar Rajiv Gandhi Handloom Weavers Cooperative Production and Sales Society now have the exclusive rights over these products.

Dindigul Lock

• The Dindigul locks are known throughout the world for their superior quality and durability. It is so famous that even the city is called Lock City.The abundance of iron in the region is the main reason for the growth of the lock-making industry.
• The locks are made of iron and brass and are entirely handmade
• There are over 50 varieties of locks including mango lock, trick lock, door lock, and bell lock among others. The most interesting ones are the Kolaikaranpootu (burglar lock) which is designed in a manner that a knife would come out if a wrong key is inserted.
• Despite unique features, the lock industry for the last few years has been gradually dying due to stiff competition from Aligarh and Rajapalayam.

KandangiSaree

• The famous bright-colouredKandangisaree, manufactured in Karaikuditaluk in Sivaganga district are spun by skilled weavers in the dimension 60 warp X 60 weft.
• The main characteristic of the saree is its bright colours that hold strong.
• The original Kandangisaree is manually made using a winding machine, loom, shuttle and bobbin.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The first Conclave of Himalayan States was held in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand on 28^th July, 2019, to discuss priorities of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) in 15th Finance Commission (XV FC).
• It was initiated by Uttarakhand Government Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) as its knowledge partner.
• It had brought together Himalayan States, Central Government on single platform to deliberate on development challenges and potential of IHR and concluded with adoption of Mussoorie Resolution 2019.
• Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur, took part in the conclave.
• Himalayan states sought Green Bonus from Centre considering their contributions to environmental conservation and to compensate Himalayan states for their disadvantages.

Indian Himalayan Region (IHR)

• It consists of following states - Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura
• It accounts for 16% of land area of India and most of the area is covered by snow-clad peaks, glaciers of higher Himalaya, dense forest cover of mid-Himalaya.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• Indian journalist Ravish Kumar on was awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award for the year 2019.
• He is NDTV India's senior executive editor is one of India's most influential TV journalists.
• He is among five individuals who were declared winners of the award.
• The four other winners of the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award are KoSwe Win from Myanmar, Angkhana Neelapaijit from Thailand, Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab from Philippines and Kim Jong-Ki from South Korea.

Ramon Magsaysay Award

• Established in 1957, it is Asia’s highest honour and is often regarded as the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
• It was established by the trustees of the New York City based Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Philippine government in the memory of Philippines’ third President Ramon Magsaysay.
• It is awarded annually to individuals or organizations from Asia region for their selfless and philanthropic service.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in consultation with the government, constituted a 6 member committee headed by the former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan in December, 2018, to review the economic capital framework of the Reserve Bank of India.
• Composition-
• Former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan (Chairman)
• Former Deputy Governor of RBI Rakesh Mohan (deputy chairman)
• Economic Affairs Secretary Subash Chandra Garg (member),
• RBI Deputy Governor N.S. Vishwanathan (member)
• RBI board member Bharat Doshi (member)
• RBI board member Sudhir Mankad (member)
• The panel’s recommendation for transfer of excess reserves includes both the contingency fund and currency and gold revaluation reserve. Therefore, both the given statements are incorrect.

Source:Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• On 29^th July, 2019, Odisha bagged the geographical indication (GI) tag for its “Odisha Rasagola”.
• The formal certification was issued by Chennai-based GI registry on its website.
• The GI tag for the same product from both the states will now be recognised by two distinct texture and taste.
• While West Bengal claimed that the idea of this delicacy was conceived by Nobin Chandra Das (birth 1845) at his Bagbazar residence in Kolkata, Odisha locals cite that their rasagola dates back to the 12th century when these were being offered at the PuriJagannath Temple.

GI Tag

• A GI refers to a name or distinctive sign that is used on a product i.e., usually owned collectively, and can be used to distinguish goods on the basis of its geographical origin and unique characteristics.
• Also, the GI tag helps in marketing and branding of a local product, and can draw penalties if someone is found copying outside that geographical region.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) announced that it would set up a Pashmina testing centre in Leh, in partnership with the lab of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh to check the quality of Pashmina collected.
• BIS would train the locals, with the cooperation of Leh Hill Council, in marking of the standards to save the time and money.

Pashmina Wool

• Pashmina is a fine type of Kashmiri wool which comes from 4 distinct breeds of the Cashmere goat namely:
• Changthangi (or Kashmir Pashmina goat) from the Changthang Plateau in Kashmir region
• Malra from Kargil area in Kashmir region
• Chegu from Himachal Pradesh
• Chyangara (or Nepalese Pashmina goat) from Nepal.
• In India, pashmina is obtained from Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, Lahaul and SpitiValley of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Kashi, Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts of Uttarakhand.
• Kashmir Pashmina has been assigned Geographical Indication (GI) tag under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The CVC has constituted a four-member Advisory Board for Banking Frauds (ABBF)  headed by former Vigilance Commissioner T M Bhasinto examine bank fraud over Rs 50 crore and recommend action.
• Other members of the panel are Madhusudan Prasad - former Urban Development Secretary, D K Pathak - former Director General of the Border Security Force and Suresh N Patel - former MD and CEO of Andhra Bank. The tenure of the Chairman and members would be for a period of two years from August 21, 2019.
• The panel in its previous avatar called the Advisory Board on Bank, Commercial and Financial Frauds.
• The board's jurisdiction would be confined to those cases involving the level of officers of General Manager and above in the PSB in respect of an allegation of a fraud in a borrowal account.
• CBI may also refer any case or matter to the board where it has any issue or difficulty or in technical matters with the PSB concerned.
• So, the statements given as 2 and 4 are correct while 1 and 3 incorrect.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• Rajasthan’s free medicine scheme secured the highest position with first ranking issued by the National Health Mission (NHM) among the sixteen states of the country.
• The scheme was launched on 2nd October 2011 and it provides 2 components:
  • Free Medicines: To provide commonly-used essential medicines free of cost to patients visiting government healthcare institutions (introduced on 2nd October 2011), and
  • Free Tests: To provide free tests (introduced on 7th April 2011)
• The number of free medicines has been increased from 608 to 712 and free tests from 70 to 90.

Significance

• The initiative was taken aiming to reduce out of pocket expenditure (OOPE) and improve footfalls in public health facilities.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online