സിവില്‍ സര്‍വ്വീസ് പരീക്ഷ: ഹൈഡ്രജന്‍ ഇന്ധനമായി ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നതിന്‍റെ ഗുണങ്ങൾ ഏതാണ് ?

Answer (b)

•    The Gini Coefficient, which is derived from the Lorenz Curve, can be used as an indicator of economic development in a country. The Gini Coefficient measures the degree of income equality in a population.
•    The Gini Coefficient can vary from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (perfect inequality). A Gini Coefficient of zero means that everyone has the same income, while a Coefficient of 1 represents a single individual receiving all the income.

Answer (c)

•    The finance minister announced that a new centrally sponsored scheme, PM AatmaNirbharSwasth Bharat Yojana, will be launched with an outlay of about Rs 64, 180 crores over 6 years. 
•    This will develop capacities of primary, secondary, and tertiary care Health Systems, strengthen existing national institutions and create new institutions, to cater to the detection and cure of new and emerging diseases. This will be in addition to the National Health Mission.
•    The main interventions under the scheme are:
o    Support for 17,788 rural and 11,024 urban Health and Wellness Centers;
o    Setting up integrated public health labs in all districts and 3382 block public health units in 11 states;
o    Establishing critical care hospital blocks in 602 districts and 12 central institutions;
o    Strengthening of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), its 5 regional branches and 20 metropolitan health surveillance units;
o    Expansion of the Integrated Health Information Portal to all States/UTs to connect all public health labs;
o    Operationalisation of 17 new Public Health Units and strengthening of 33 existing Public Health Units at Points of Entry, that is at 32 Airports, 11 Seaports and 7 land crossings;
o    Setting up of 15 Health Emergency Operation Centers and 2 mobile hospitals; and
o    Setting up of a national institution for One Health, a Regional Research Platform for WHO South-East Asia Region, 9 Bio-Safety Level III laboratories, and 4 regional National Institutes for Virology.

Answer (c)

Some factors affecting Transparency are:
•    Transparency of Atmosphere: Aerosols (smoke, sooth), dust, water vapour, clouds etc. effect transparency.
•    If the wavelength (X) of the radiation is more than the radius of the obstructing particle (such as a gas), then scattering of radiation takes place.
•    If the wavelength is less than the obstructing particle (such as a dust particle), then total reflection takes place.
•    Absorption of solar radiation takes place if the obstructing particles happen to be water vapour, ozone molecules, carbon dioxide molecules or clouds.
•    Most of the light received by earth is scattered light.
•    Land-Sea Differential: Albedo of land is much greater than albedo of oceans and water bodies. Especially snow-covered areas reflect up to 70%-90% of insolation.
•    Average penetration of sunlight is more in water – up to 20 metres, than in land – where it is up to 1 metre only. Therefore, land cools or becomes hot more rapidly compared to oceans. In oceans, continuous convection cycle helps in heat exchange between layers keeping diurnal and annual temperature ranges low.
•    The specific heat of water is 2.5 times higher than landmass, therefore water takes longer to get heated up and to cool down.
•    Aspects of Slope: The direction of the slope and its angle control the amount of solar radiation received locally. Slopes more exposed to the sun receive more solar radiation than those away from the sun’s direct rays.
•    Slopes that receive direct Sun’s rays are dry due to loss of moisture through excess evaporation. These slopes remain barren if irrigational facilities are absent. But slopes with good irrigational facilities are good for agriculture due to abundant sunlight available. They are occupied by dense human settlements.
•    Slopes that are devoid of direct sunlight are usually well forested.
•    The number of Time Zones has no relation with regard to Temperature Distribution on Earth.

Answer (b)

•    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation committee has recommended that the Great Barrier Reef should be added to a list of “in danger” World Heritage Sites.
•    This is because of its dramatic coral decline. A World Heritage property can be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger by the World Heritage Committee when it finds that the condition of the property corresponds to at least one of the criteria listed. 
 

Answer (b)

Statement 1 is not correct. As the population is estimated at less than 250 mature individuals, it is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Statement 2 is correct. The PHCP is a collaboration among Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust of UK, Assam Forest Department, Wild Pig Specialist Group of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.The Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP) follows a two-pronged action plan: conservation breeding of the animal against possible early extinction and re-introduction in selected sites, and habitat management.
 

Answer (a)

•    Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation program, better known as SVEEP, is theflagship program of the Election Commission of India for voter education, spreading voter awareness andpromoting voter literacy in India.
•    SVEEP’s primary goal is to build a truly participative democracy in India byencouraging all eligible citizens to vote and make an informed decision during the elections. 
•    The programme isbased on multiple general as well as targeted interventions which are designed according to the socio-economic,cultural and demographic profile of the state as well as the history of electoral participation in previous rounds ofelections and learning thereof.

Answer (b)

Statement 1 is not correct. Indian constitution is not a completely borrowed constitution, it’s a beautiful patchwork.

Statement 2 is correct. According to the constitution Sovereign power lies with the people which is a feature borrowed from France. Sovereignty implies that India is free and has the authority to conduct its own affairs and governance. In India, the supreme power is possessed by people of the country. The people of the nation elect their representatives to govern them i.e., the Parliament derives its sovereignty from the people of the nation.

Answer (a)

Statement 1 is correct. The famous sites of Old Stone Age are: 
●    The Soan valley and Potwar Plateau on northwest India.
●    The Siwalik hills on north India
●    Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh.
●    Adamgarh hill in Narmada valley
●    Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and
●    Attirampakkam near Chennai
Statement 2 is correct. Mesolithic age findings are
●    Mesolithic remains are found in Langhanj in Gujarat, Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and also in some places of Rajasthan, Utter Pradesh and Bihar 
●    paintings and engravings found at the rock shelters give an idea about the social life and economic activities of Mesolithic people.
●    sites of Mesolithic Age, a different type of stone tools is found. These are tiny stone artefacts, often not more than five centimetres in size, and therefore called microliths
●    a shift from big animal hunting to small animal hunting and fishing.
●    use of bow and arrow also began during this period
●    a tendency to settle for longer periods in an area
●    Animal bones are found in these sites and these include dog, deer, boar and ostrich.
●    Occasionally, burials of the dead along with some microliths and shells seem to have been practised.
Statement 3 is not correct. Domestication of animals, horticulture and primitive cultivationstarted in Mesolithic age.

Answer (d)

•    In south India the emergence of Mysore as a significant power in the mid-eighteenth century was most spectacular. 
•    Haidar modernised his army with French experts, who trained an efficient infantry and artillery and infused European discipline into the Mysore army. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
•    Haidar, and later his son Tipu Sultan, introduced the system of imposing land taxes directly on the peasants and collecting them through salaried officials and in cash, thus enhancing enormously the resource base of the state. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
•    The Mysore empire during the reign of Tipu Sultan commissioned a “state commercial corporation” to set up factories. As Mysore traded in sandalwood, silk, spices, rice and sulphur, some 30 trading outposts were established across Tipu’s dominions and overseas. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer (d)

Hydrogen (H2) is an alternative fuel that can be produced from diverse domestic resources.
•    Hydrogen is an energy carrier that can be used to store, move, and deliver energy produced from other sources.
•    Hydrogen with its abundance, high energy density, better combustion characteristics, non-polluting nature etc. has vast advantages over conventional fuels.
Advantages of hydrogen-based energy:
•    Reduced imports: Hydrogen as an efficient fuel helps to reduce crude oil import and its use as feedstock for ammonia production reduces India’s fertilizer imports. 
•    Hydrogen fuel cell leaves only water vapour and heat as emissions and releases no greenhouse gasses.
•    Abundance: Hydrogen can be produced locally from numerous sources like methane, gasoline, biomass, coal or water.
•    High efficiency: Hydrogen is an efficient energy source, which means that an automobile that utilizes hydrogen energy travels more miles than one with an equal amount of gasoline.
•    High energy density: Hydrogen has the highest energy per mass of any fuel; it is 120 MJ/kg, almost three times more than diesel or gasoline.