Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• In 2018, the Department of Defence Production instituted a new framework titled ‘Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti’ which aims to provide a boost to the IPR culture in indigenous defence industry.
• The Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) has been entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating and implementing the programme.
• The end objective of the programme is to inculcate IP culture in Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem.

Explanation :

• Launched in 2011, National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) is a network project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• The project aims to enhance resilience of Indian agriculture to climate change and climate vulnerability through strategic research and technology demonstration.
• It consists of four components viz. Strategic Research, Technology Demonstration, Capacity Building and Sponsored/Competitive Grants.
• The four modules of NICRA – natural resource management, improving soil health, crop production and livestock – is aimed making the farmers self-reliant.

Explanation :

• World Water Day is an annual UN observance day -22 March.
• The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
• The theme of focuses on topics relevant to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), which is in line with the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6.
• The World Water Day has been observed since 1993 and intends to raise awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water.

Explanation :

• Namda is a type of traditional Kashmiri carpet made from sheep wool.
• The Namda carpets are made by felting sheep wool rather than by weaving. Many layers of sheep wool are flattened over each other using a tool called ‘‘pinjra’ and pressed with application of water.
• They are then embroidered with colored threads by the Kashmiri Aari Embroidery technique.
• The art consists of floral patterns which provide the themes for these masterpieces and flowers, leaves, buds and fruits are the essence of the designs.
• It is practiced as a craft in several cultures especially the countries throughout Asia such as Iran, Afghanistan and several places in Ladakh, Kutch and Kashmir and Rajasthan in India.

Explanation :

• Huntington’s disease, also known as Huntington's chorea, is a fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain.
• It deteriorates a person’s physical and mental abilities usually during their prime working years and has no cure.
• It is known as the quintessential family disease because every child of a parent with HD has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the faulty gene.

Cause

• It is caused by an expansion of a repeating CAG triplet series in the hunting in gene on chromosome 4, which results in a protein with an abnormally long polyglutamine sequence.

Symptoms

• Personality changes, mood swings & depression
• Forgetfulness & impaired judgment
• Unsteady gait & involuntary movements (chorea)
• Slurred speech, difficulty in swallowing & significant weight loss

Treatment

• There is currently no cure for Huntington's disease and no way to slow or stop the brain changes it causes. Treatments focus on managing symptoms.

Explanation :

• Teesta River (or Tista River) is a 315 km long river that rises in the eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal .
• The river originates from the Pahunri (or Teesta Kangse) glacier above 7,068 metres (23,189 ft), and flows southward through gorges and rapids in the Sikkim Himalaya.
• It is joined by the river Rangpo Chu at Rangpo settlement (which is the entrance to East-Sikkim) and then it forms a boundary between Sikkim and West Bengal. The River then flows through Darjeeling district.
• The main tributary of river Teesta, the Rangit River meets it just before the Teesta bridge.
• Teesta joins the Bramhaputra River (Jamuna River) at Fulchhari in Bangladesh.

Explanation :

• Coal Bed Methane (CBM), also known as Coal Seam Gas, is an unconventional form of natural gas found in coal deposits or coal seams.
• It is formed during the process of coalification, the transformation of plant material into coal.

Composition

• The composition of CBM in a sample of coal varies widely across several locations in the country.
• Generally, it consists predominantly of methane gas (CH4) although it can contain trace amounts of ethane (C2H6), carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O).

Extraction

• CBM can be recovered from underground coal before, during, or after mining operations.
• It can also be extracted from “unminable” coal seams that are relatively deep, thin or of poor or inconsistent quality.
• Vertical and horizontal wells are used to develop CBM resources.
• Extraction requires drilling wells into the coal seams and removing water contained in the seam to reduce hydrostatic pressure and release absorbed (and free) gas out of the coal.

Applications

• Power Generation: CBM has become increasingly used as a source of energy .It can be used in place of natural gas in gas turbines for power generation.
• Manufacturing: CBM can also be used as a feedstock for manufacturing fertilizers and plastics.

Explanation :

• On the basis of the recommendations of the 12th Plan Working Group on Sustainable Groundwater Management of the erstwhile Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog), the ambitious National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM) was launched in 2012, with CGWB as the executing body.

Aim

• To cover more than 25 million square kilometres that have been delineated hydrogeologically mappable.

Key Points

• One of the major objectives of NAQUIM is to promote participatory groundwater management. This can be achieved by empowering communities with a seamless flow of information and understanding of local aquifers.

Structurally there are four stages of activities in NAQUIM-

• Collection, compilation and analysis of existing data. Based on the data requirement protocol, data gaps are identified;
• The required data is then generated in data gap areas/domains through an array of scientific investigations;
• Integration of data, developing lithologic models and configuring aquifers. The hydraulic properties, resource behaviour, water level regime and chemical quality is established in space-time domain;
• Various supply and demand side interventions are worked out and recommended to sustainably use groundwater. Here, local issues are also addressed.

Explanation :

• Introduced in April, 2017, Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana is a scheme for providing Physical Aids and Assisted-living Devices for Senior citizens belonging to BPL category.

Key Points

• This is a Central Sector Scheme, fully funded by the Central Government. The expenditure for implementation of the scheme will be met from the "Senior Citizens' Welfare Fund".
• The Scheme will be implemented through the sole implementing agency - Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO), a PSU under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Under the scheme, the physical aids will be provided only to the senior citizens of the nation.
• This implies those who are aged above 60 years will get free assisted living aids and physical devices which are required for their sustainability.
• Also the govt. has selected the list of cities where the scheme will be implemented.
• The main criteria for the senior citizens to get full benefits of the scheme is that they must belong to BPL family and should hold valid BPL card issued by the concerned authority.

Explanation :

• The United Nations Charter established six main organs of the United Nations, including the Security Council in 1945.
• It gives primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security to the Security Council, which may meet whenever peace is threatened.
• The council has 15 members: five permanent and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
• The five permanent members are- United States, the Russian Federation, France, China and the United Kingdom.

Non-Council Member States

• A State which is a Member of the United Nations but not of the Security Council may participate, without a vote, in its discussions when the Council considers that country's interests are affected.
• Both Members and non-members of the United Nations, if they are parties to a dispute being considered by the Council, may be invited to take part, without a vote, in the Council's discussions; the Council sets the conditions for participation by a non-member State.