Civil Service Exam : പരിസ്ഥിതിശാസ്ത്രത്തില്‍ 'അപ്പോസ്മാറ്റിസം' എന്ന പദം എന്തിനെ സൂചിപ്പിക്കുന്നു ?

Answer (a)

Statement 1 is correct. The term ‘Scheduled Tribes’ first appeared in the Constitution of India.
•    Article 366 (25) of the Constitution of India defined scheduled tribes as “such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this constitution”.
•    Article 342 prescribes the procedure to be followed in the matter of specification of scheduled tribes.

Statement 2 is not correct. The first specification of Scheduled Tribes in relation to a particular State/ Union Territory is by a notified order of the President, after consultation with the State governments concerned. These orders can be modified subsequently only through an Act of Parliament.

Answer (d)

The Constitution of India prevents Indian citizens from holding dual citizenship. As such the OCI is not actual citizenship of India according to Indian law. A person can register himself as an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Cardholder under section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Benefits to an OCI Cardholder: 
o    Multiple entry lifelong visa for visiting India for any purpose
o    Parity with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in respect of all facilities available to them in economic, financial, and educational fields except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.
o    Registered Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder shall be treated at par with Non-Resident-Indians in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children.
o    Registered Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder shall be treated at par with resident Indian nationals in the matter of tariffs in airfares in domestic sectors in India.
o    Registered Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder shall be charged the same entry fee as domestic Indian visitors to visit national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India.
The OCI Cardholder is not entitled to:
o    Vote in elections to Lok Sabha, State assemblies, panchayats, etc.
o    Be a member of Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council or Parliament
o    Hold Constitutional posts such as President, Vice President, Judge of Supreme Court or High Court, etc.
o    Appointment to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of any State except for appointment in such services and posts as the Central Government may, by special order, in that behalf, specify.
o    Acquire agricultural or plantation properties in India. 

Answer (b)

Statement 1 is not correct. The terms for war in the Rig Veda are gavishthi or search for cows, and cow seems to have been the most important form of wealth. Whenever we hear of gifts made to priests, they usually consist of cows and women slaves and never of land. The Rig Vedic people may have occasionally occupied pieces of land for grazing, cultivation, and settlement, but the land did not form a well-established type of private property.
Statement 2 is correct. The Rig Vedic people had superior knowledge of agriculture. The plowshare is mentioned in the earliest part of the Rig Veda, though some consider it to be an interpolation, and was possibly made of wood. They were acquainted with sowing, harvesting, and threshing, and knew about the different seasons. Agriculture was also well known to the pre-Aryans who lived in the area associated with the Vedic people but was perhaps used primarily to produce fodder. 
Statement 3 is correct. The Rig Veda mentions such artisans as the carpenter, chariot-maker, weaver, leatherworker, and potter. This indicates that they practiced all these crafts. The term ayas, used for copper or bronze, shows that metalworking was known.

Answer (c)

In the early centuries of Islam, a group of religious-minded people called Sufis turned to asceticism and mysticism in protest against the growing materialism of the Caliphate as a religious and political institution.
Sufi Beliefs and Practices
o    They were critical of the dogmatic definitions and scholastic methods of interpreting the Quran and Sunna (traditions of the Prophet) adopted by theologians.
o    Instead, they laid emphasis on seeking salvation through intense devotion and love for God by following His commands, and by following the example of the Prophet Muhammad whom they regarded as a perfect human being. The Sufis thus sought an interpretation of the Quran on the basis of their personal experience. Hence statement 1 is correct.
o    Institutionally, the Sufis began to organize communities around the hospice or khanqah (Persian) controlled by a teaching master known as shaikh (in Arabic), pir or murshid (in Persian). He enrolled disciples (murids) and appointed a successor(Khalifa). He established rules for spiritual conduct and interaction between inmates as well as between laypersons and the master. Hence statement 3 is correct.
o    Relation with the political establishment- A major feature of the Sufi tradition was austerity, including maintaining a distance from worldly power. However, this was by no means a situation of absolute isolation from political power. The Sufis accepted unsolicited grants and donations from the political elites. The Sultans, in turn, set up charitable trusts as endowments for hospices and granted tax-free land (inam). Hence statement 2 is not correct.

Answer (b)

•    Disinvestment means the sale or liquidation of assets by the government, usually Central and state public sector enterprises, projects, or other fixed assets.
•    To address various problems associated with central public enterprises, the government has brought out this policy to completely overhaul the government’s presence in various sectors and minimize the number of PSUs to an absolute minimum.
•    This Policy covers existing CPSEs, Public Sector Banks, and Public Sector Insurance Companies.
•    Objectives of this policy are:
o    Minimizing the presence of Central Government Public Sector Enterprises including financial institutions and creating new investment space for the private sector.
o    Post disinvestment, economic growth of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs)/ financial institutions will be through the infusion of private capital, technology, and best management practices. Will contribute to economic growth and new jobs.
o    Disinvestment proceeds will be used to finance various social sectors and developmental programs of the government. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
•    National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is a fund created by the Government of India in 2015 for enhancing infrastructure financing in the country. The objective of NIIF is to maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure development in commercially viable projects, both greenfield and brownfield, including stalled projects.
•    Various sectors in which government enterprises are present are classified as strategic and non-strategic sectors. The strategic sectors are classified as :
o    Atomic energy, Space and Defence
o    Transport and Telecommunications
o    Power, Petroleum, Coal, and other minerals
o    Banking, Insurance, and financial services
•    In strategic sectors, there will be a bare minimum presence of the public sector enterprises. The remaining CPSEs in the strategic sector will be privatized or merged or made subsidiaries with other CPSEs or closed.
•    In non-strategic sectors, CPSEs will be privatized, otherwise shall be closed.
•    Strategic disinvestment would imply the sale of a substantial portion of the Government shareholding of a central public sector enterprise (CPSE) of up to 50%, or such a higher percentage as the competent authority may determine, along with transfer of management control. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
 

Answer (a)

•    In India, the first official rural and urban poverty lines at the national level were introduced in 1979 by Y. K. Alagh Committee and official poverty counts began for the first time. Later, in 1993, D. T. Lakdawala Committee extended these poverty lines to states and over time allowed official poverty counts over time and in the states.
•    In 2005, recognizing that the rural poverty line was too low, the government appointed the Tendulkar committee to take a fresh look at the poverty lines. Reporting in 2009, the Tendulkar Committee revised upward the rural poverty line. Continued media criticisms led the government to appoint the Rangarajan Committee in 2012.
•    Reporting in June 2014, the Rangarajan Committee recommended raising further both the rural and urban poverty lines. The decision is yet to be taken on the Rangarajan Committee recommendations.
 

Answer (d)

Lord William Bentinck (1828-1835): During his tenure as Governor-General following were the various events that took place:
•    Abolition of sati and other cruel rites (1829).
•    Suppression of thug (1830).
•    Charter Act of 1833.
•    Resolution of 1835, and educational reforms and introduction of English as the official language.
•    Annexation of Mysore (1831), Coorg (1834) and Central Cachar (1834).
•    Treaty of 'perpetual friendship with Ranjeet Singh.
•    Abolished the provincial court of appeal and circuit.
 

Answer (d)

Statement 1 is correct. Brucellosis is a bacterial infection that spreads from animals to people. Most commonly, people are infected by eating raw or unpasteurized dairy products. Sometimes, the bacteria that cause brucellosis can spread through the air or direct contact with infected animals.

Statement 2 is correct. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followed by blisters inside the mouth and on the feet that may rupture and cause lameness.  FMD has very severe implications for animal farming, since it is highly infectious and can be spread by infected animals comparatively easily through contact with contaminated farming equipment, vehicles, clothing, and feed, and by domestic and wild predators. Its containment demands considerable efforts in vaccination, strict monitoring, trade restrictions, quarantines, and the culling of both infected and healthy (uninfected) animals. 

Statement 3 is correct. Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), also known as goat plague, is a viral disease of goats and sheep characterized by fever, sores in the mouth, diarrhea, pneumonia, and sometimes death. It is caused by a morbillivirus in the family of paramyxoviruses, which is related to rinderpest, measles and canine distemper. Cattle and several wild ruminants have been infected but goats and sheep are the usual targets.
 

Answer (d)

About BugunLiocichla
•    It’s one of the few new bird species to have been discovered in India since 1947 as well as in the last decade.
•    They are found only in the Singchung village of Arunachal Pradesh.
•    It has been named after the Bugun tribe.
•    IUCN status: Critically Endangered (CR).
•    Threat: Activities like timber extraction, forest clearance, and infrastructure development have threatened its habitat.
 

Answer (b)

•    Aposematism also called aposematic mechanism is biological means by which a dangerous organism advertises its dangerous nature to a potential predator.
•    Aposematism always involves advertising signals, which may take the form of conspicuous coloration or other perceivable characteristics.
•    Aposematic, or warning, mechanisms have evolved along with protective systems; it is advantageous for the protected organism not to risk the injury that is likely to occur in even a successfully repelled attack by a predator. 
•    Aposematic signals are beneficial for both predator and prey, since both avoid potential harm.