Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993.
• It is a key document regarding sustainable development. It comes under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• It has two supplementary agreements, the Cartagena Protocol and Nagoya Protocol.

Main Goals

• Conservation of biological diversity.
• Sustainable use of its components.
• Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.

Members

• 196 countries are a party to the CBD.
• India is also a party to the Convention. India ratified it in 1994.The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was enacted for giving effect to the provisions of the Convention.

Cartagena Protocol

• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another.
• It was adopted on 29 January 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the CBD and entered into force on 11 September 2003.

Nagoya Protocol

• The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity is another supplementary agreement to the CBD.
• It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD.
• It was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan and entered into force on 12 October 2014.

Explanation :

• On March 27, 2019, India conducted Mission Shakti, an anti-satellite missile test, from the Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Island launch complex, Odisha(formerly known as Wheeler Island).
• This was a technological mission carried out by DRDO. The satellite used in the mission was one of India’s existing satellites operating in lower orbit.
• The significance of the test is that India has tested and successfully demonstrated its capability to interdict and intercept a satellite in outer space based on complete indigenous technology.
• The test made India the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to have tested an ASAT weapon.

Explanation :

• Dhrupad is the most ancient style of Hindustani classical music that has survived until today in its original form. The Dhrupad tradition is a major tradition of Indian culture.
• The word ‘Dhrupad’ is derived from DHRUVA the steadfast evening star that moves through our galaxy and ‘Pada’ meaning poetry.
• It is a form of devotional music that traces its origin to the ancient text of Samaveda. The Samavedawas chanted with the help of melody and rhythm called Samgana.
• Gradually this developed into other vocal style called ‘Chhanda’ and ‘Prabandha’ with introduction of verse and meter. The fusion of these two elements led to the emergence of Dhrupad.
• The nature of Dhrupad music is spiritual, seeking not to entertain, but to induce feelings of peace and contemplation in the listener.
• Performance of Dhrupad is done in two parts viz. the Alap and Bandish.
• In the Alap, the singer uses syllables from Sanskrit Mantra which add texture to the notes. The Raga is slowly and methodically developed in a meditative mode.

Explanation :

• Blue Flag is an international certification of environmental properties and cleanliness on beaches.
• A ‘Blue Flag’ beach provides hygienic and clean bathing water, basic infrastructure to tourists and sustainable development in the area.
• This Certification is accorded by an international agency Foundation for Environment Education(FEE), Denmark based on 33 stringent criteria in four major heads i.e.
• -Environmental Education and Information,
• -Bathing Water Quality,
• -Environment Management and Conservation and
• -Safety and Services in the beaches.
• The programme originally started in France in 1985. It was presented to the FEE in 1987. It then became the European Blue Flag.
• In 2001, when South Africa became the first country outside of Europe to join the programme, the initiative changed its name to International Blue Flag.
• Spain has the largest number of 566 Blue Flag beaches while Greece and France have 515 and 395 such Blue Flag beaches respectively.
• Chandrabhaga beach located on the Konark coast of Odisha is the first beach in the country to receive Blue Flag Certification.

Explanation :

Adjournment Motion

• It is introduced only in the Lok Sabha to draw the attention of the House to a definite matter of urgent public importance.
• It involves an element of censure against the government, therefore Rajya Sabha is not permitted to make use of this device.
• It is regarded as an extraordinary device as it interrupts the normal business of the House. It needs the support of 50 members to be admitted.
• The discussion on this motion should last for not less than two hours and thirty minutes.
• The power of adjournment lies with the presiding officer of the House.

Adjournment Sine Die

• Adjournment sine die means terminating a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period.
• In other words, when the House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly, it is called adjournment sine die.
• The power of adjournment sine die lies with the presiding officer of the House.

Explanation :

Supplementary Grant

• It is granted when the amount authorised by the Parliament through the appropriation act for a particular service for the current financial year is found to be insufficient for that year.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General of India brings such excesses to the notice of the Parliament.
• The Public Accounts Committee examines these excesses and gives recommendations to the Parliament.

Additional Grant

• It is granted when a need has arisen during the current financial year for additional expenditure upon some new service not contemplated in the budget for that year.

Token Grant

• It is granted when funds to meet the proposed expenditure on a new service can be made available by re-appropriation.
• A demand for the grant of a token sum (of Re 1) is submitted to the vote of the Lok Sabha and if assented, funds are made available.
• Re-appropriation involves transfer of funds from one head to another. It does not involve any additional expenditure.

Constitutional Provision

• Article 115: Supplementary, additional or excess grants.
• Article 116: Votes on account, votes of credit and exceptional grants.

Explanation :

• Maharashtra is set to become the first coastal state to declare a state mangrove tree species as a symbol to enhance conservation of the salt-tolerant vegetation.
• Earlier, Maharashtra has declared the State Tree (Mango), State Animal (Indian Giant Squirrel), State Bird (Yellow-footed Green Pigeon), State Butterfly (Blue Mormon), and State Flower (Jarul) to focus on their ecological significance.

Sonneratiaalba

• Also known as mangrove apple and as white chippi in Marathi, it grows up to five feet and bear white flowers with a pink base as well as green fruits, that resemble apple and are used to make pickles.
• They often grow on newly-formed mudflats and play an important role in combating land erosion.
• The flowers, which bloom at night, are pollinated by nocturnal creatures like bats.

Explanation :

• Rogan painting is an art of cloth printing practiced in the Kutch District of Gujarat.
• It is the technique of painting on fabric, crafted from a thick brightly coloured paint like substance made with castor seed oil.
• Rogan Art, an ancient textile art, with its origins in Persia, came to Kutch around 300 years ago.
• Traditionally, the craft was used to beautify bridal clothing of the regional tribes.
• Beautiful borders and floral patterns on ghagras, odhanis and bed spreads were painstakingly painted.
• The intricate motifs – geometric flowers, peacocks, the tree of life, etc. – are drawn from the history and folk culture of the Kutch region.

Explanation :

• The Malabar Rebellion, also known as the MoplahRebellion, was an armed revolt staged by the Mappila Muslims of Kerala in 1921.
• The most prominent leaders of the rebellion were VariankunnathKunjahammad Haji, SithiKoyaThangal and Ali Musliyar.
• Three different political movements merged to trigger the rebellion —one, the tenancy movement, was rooted in local agrarian grievances (particularly in south Malabar); the other two were the Khilafat (Caliphate) movement and the Non-Cooperation movement, launched jointly by the All-India Khilafat Committee and the Indian National Congress.
• In August 1920, Gandhi along with Shaukat Ali (the leader of the KhilafatMovement in India) visited Calicut to spread the combined message of non-cooperation and Khilafat among the residents of Malabar.
• In response to Gandhi’s call, a Khilafat committee was formed in Malabar and the Mappilas, under their religious head MahadumTangal of Ponnani pledged support to the Non-cooperation Movement.
• The Moplah tenants agitated against the Hindu landlords (locally referred to as Janmi) and the British government.
• Most of their grievances were related to the security of tenure, high rents, renewal fees and other unfair exactions of the landlords.
• The British government responded with much aggression, bringing in Gurkha regiments to suppress it and imposing martial law.
• Wagon Tragedy: A noteworthy event of the British suppression was the wagon tragedy when approximately 60 Mappila prisoners on their way to prison, were suffocated to death in a closed railway goods wagon.

Explanation :

• A ramjet is a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor. Fuel is injected in the combustion chamber where it mixes with the hot compressed air and ignites.
• A ramjet-powered vehicle requires an assisted take-off like a rocket assist to accelerate it to a speed where it begins to produce thrust.
• Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) and can operate up to speeds of Mach 6. However, the ramjet efficiency starts to drop when the vehicle reaches hypersonic speeds.
• A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine as it efficiently operates at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion. Thus it is known as Supersonic Combustion Ramjet, or Scramjet.
• A dual mode ramjet (DMRJ) is a type of jet engine where a ramjet transforms into scramjet over Mach 4-8 range, which means it can efficiently operate both in subsonic and supersonic combustor modes.