Answer (c)
The Indian Parliament, on the other hand, cannot be regarded as a sovereign body in a similar sense as there are legal restrictions on its authority and jurisdiction. The factors that limit the sovereignty of the Indian Parliament are:
o Written Nature of the constitution
o Fundamental rights
o Federal system
o Judicial Review
Answer (a)
Articles 36-51 under Part-IV of the Indian Constitution deal with Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).
They are borrowed from the Constitution of Ireland, which had copied it from the Spanish Constitution.
Answer (a)
In India at many places, the groundwater is threatened with contamination due to sewage from industrial and municipal wastes and effluents, sewage channels and agricultural runoff.
Pollutants like fluorides, uranium, heavy metals and nutrients like nitrates and phosphates are common in many parts of India.
Dissolved nitrates commonly contaminate groundwater.
Excess nitrate in drinking water reacts with haemoglobin to form non-functional methaemoglobin and impairs oxygen transport. This condition is called methemoglobinemia or blue baby syndrome. Hence the second statement is incorrect.
Methaemoglobin is a form of oxygen-carrying metalloprotein haemoglobin. Methaemoglobin cannot bind oxygen, unlike oxyhaemoglobin.
High levels of nitrates may form carcinogens and can accelerate eutrophication in surface waters.
Answer (d)
The species of the genera Alcanivorax, Cycloclasticus, and Thalasso Lituus can degrade various branched-chain and straight-chain saturated hydrocarbons and
even polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; in fact, for some species hydrocarbons are the sole carbon source.
Oil release from petroleum seeps is slow, allowing the local microbial communities to degrade the oil as it enters their environment. Thus, bacteria constitute a natural mechanism for cleaning up oil in the environment.
However, during man-made oil spills, such as the current spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the amount of oil can overwhelm the natural microbial community, allowing the oil to spread and wash up onshore, leading to substantial environmental and ecological problems.
Answer (d)
Statement 1 and 2 are correct. It allows a country to pass a rule on taxing certain products, items, or services and deals and charge companies from a time behind the date on which the law is passed. Countries use this route to correct any anomalies in their taxation policies that have, in the past, allowed companies to take advantage of such loopholes.
Statement 3 is correct. Governments often use a retrospective amendment to taxation laws to “clarify” existing laws, it ends up hurting companies that had knowingly or unknowingly interpreted the tax rules differently. Apart from India, many countries including the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, Australia, and Italy have retrospectively taxed companies.
Answer (a)
In a major boost to exports of Geographical Indication (GI) certified products, a consignment of Dahanu Gholvad Sapota from Maharashtra was shipped to the United Kingdom.
GI certification of Gholvad Sapota is held by Maharashtra Rajya ChikooUtpadak Sangh. The fruit is known for its sweet and unique taste. It is believed that the unique taste is derived from the calcium-rich soil of Gholvad village.
Answer (c)
A blazar is a feeding super-massive black-hole (SMBH) in the heart of a distant galaxy that produces a high-energy jet viewed face-on from Earth.
Like other forms of active galactic nuclei (AGN), blazars are the most luminous and energetic objects in the known universe.
Answer (c)
The United Nations Secretariat held a meeting of what it calls the ‘6+2+1’ group on regional efforts to support peace in Afghanistan - a group that includes six neighbouring countries: China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; global players the United States and Russia, and Afghanistan itself.
Answer (b)
o RastGoftar - DadabhaiNaoroji
o Al Hilal – MaulanaAbulKalam Azad
o Udbodhan - Swami Vivekananda
o Hindoo Patriot - Girish Chandra Ghosh
o ShomPrakash - Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Answer (b)
When a living being (sattva) develops the state of enlightenment (bodhi), that person exhibits four Buddhist virtues, also known as Brahmaviharas. These four Brahmaviharas are as following:
o Maitri (Loving-kindness): It refers to goodwill towards all.
o Karuna (Compassion): It denotes identification of the suffering of others as one’s own.
o Mudita (Empathetic joy): It is the feeling of bliss as others are happy, even if a person has not contributed to it, it is a form of empathetic joy.
o Upeksa (Equanimity): It refers to even-mindedness and serenity, treating everyone impartially.