സിവില്‍ സര്‍വ്വീസ് പരീക്ഷ: ഇന്ത്യയുടെ സാംസ്കാരിക പാരമ്പര്യത്തില്‍ 'പംഖിഡാ' എന്നറിയപ്പെടുന്നത് എന്തിനെയാണ് ?

Answer (c)

Statement 1 is correct. ‘Negative liberty’ seeks to define and defend an area in which the individual would be inviolable, in which he or she could ‘do, be or become’ whatever he or she wished to ‘do, be or become’. This is an area in which no external authority can interfere. It is a minimum area that is sacred and in which whatever the individual does, is not to be interfered with. The existence of the ‘minimum area of non-interference is the recognition that human nature and human dignity need an area where the person can act unobstructed by others.
Statement 2 is correct. Positive liberty recognizes that one can be free only in society (not outside it) and hence tries to make that society such that it enables the development of the individual whereas negative liberty is only concerned with the inviolable area of non-interference and not with the conditions in society, outside this area, as such.

Answer (b)

    The acceptance of the principle of linguistic states did not mean, however, that all states immediately became linguistic states. There was an experiment of ‘bilingual’ Bombay state, consisting of Gujarati- and Marathi-speaking people. After a popular agitation, the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were created in 1960.
    In Punjab also, there were two linguistic groups: Hindi-speaking and Punjabi-speaking. The Punjabi-speaking people demanded a separate state. But it was not granted with other states in 1956. Statehood for Punjab came ten years later, in 1966 when the territories of today’s Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were separated from the larger Punjab state.
    Another major reorganization of states took place in the northeast in 1972. Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972. Manipur and Tripura too emerged as separate states in the same year. The states of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh came into being in 1987. Nagaland had become a state much earlier in 1963.
    Language did not, however, remain the sole basis of the organization of states. In later years sub-regions raised demands for separate states on the basis of a separate regional culture or complaints of regional imbalance in development. Three such states, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand, were created in 2000.
 

Answer (c)

    Phytoplankton is microscopic marine algae. Phytoplankton is the base of several aquatic food webs. In a balanced ecosystem, they provide food for a wide range of sea creatures including whales, shrimp, snails, and jellyfish. 
    Like land plants, phytoplankton has chlorophyll to capture sunlight, and they use photosynthesis to turn it into chemical energy. They consume carbon dioxide and release oxygen. All phytoplankton photosynthesize, but some get additional energy by consuming other organisms. 
    Phytoplanktons live in watery environments, both salty and fresh. 
    El Niño events influence weather patterns beyond the Pacific; in the eastern Indian Ocean around Indonesia, for example, phytoplankton productivity increases during El Niño because of the better conducive conditions of temperature and nutrient availability. 
 

Answer (d)

    E-waste-connected health risks may result from direct contact with harmful materials such as lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, brominated flame retardants or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), PVCs, etc from inhalation of toxic fumes, as well as from accumulation of chemicals in soil, water and food. In addition to its hazardous components, being processed, e-waste can give rise to a number of toxic by-products likely to affect human health. 
    It is estimated that more than 50MT E-Waste is generated globally every year - A report of the United Nations predicted that by 2020, E-Waste from old computers would jump by 400% on 2007 levels in China and by 500% in India - Additionally E-Waste from discarded mobile phones would be about seven times higher than 2007 levels in China and in India 18 timers higher by 2020. China already produces about 2.3 million tonnes of E-Waste domestically second only to the US with about 3 million tonnes. 
    Many of which contain toxic material consisting of: 
o    Ferrous and non-ferrous metals plastic 
o    Iron and steel – 50% 
o    Plastic- 21% 
o    Non-ferrous material – 13% 
o    Mercury, arsenic, lead 

Answer (c)

Both statements 1 and 2 are correct. 
    Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) is a zero-subsidy scheme launched by the Government in 2015 with an aim of replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs.
    It is touted as the world’s largest domestic lighting project.
    Also known as the LED-based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP), it aims to promote the efficient usage of energy for all i.e., its consumption, savings and lighting.
    Every domestic household having a metered connection from their respective Electricity Distribution Company is eligible to get the LED bulbs under the Scheme.
    The scheme has been implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power.

Answer (d)

Statement 1 is correct. The bill seeks to establish the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NBFID) as the principal development financial institution (DFIs) for infrastructure financing.
Statement 2 is correct. This was introduced in the 2021 budget. NBFID will be set up as a corporate body with authorised share capital of one lakh crore rupees.
Statement 3 is correct. It may raise money in the form of loans or otherwise both in Indian rupees and foreign currencies, or secure money by the issue and sale of various financial instruments including bonds or debentures.  It may borrow money from the central government, Reserve bank of India (RBI), scheduled commercial banks, mutual funds, and multilateral institutions such as the World bank and Asian development bank (ADB).  
 

Answer (c)

Statement 1 is correct.  The HL-2M Tokamak reactor is China’s largest and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device.
The mission is named Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST).
Statement 2 is correct. It is located in Sichuan province and was completed late last year, the reactor is often called an “artificial sun” on account of the enormous heat and power it produces.
It uses a powerful magnetic field to fuse hot plasma and can reach temperatures of over 150 million degrees Celsius- approximately ten times hotter than the core of the sun.
Scientists hope that the device can potentially unlock a powerful clean energy source.

Answer (c)

    Operation Sankalp was started in June 2019 after there were explosions on board two oil tanker ships in the Gulf of Oman amid increased tensions between Iran and the U.S.
    Since then, an Indian Navy ship with an integral helicopter embarked has been continuously deployed in the north-west Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf.
    It ensures the safety of India's Mercantile Marine in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
    The Indian Navy launched 'Operation Vanilla' to provide relief and assistance to the cyclone-hit population of Madagascar.

Answer (c)

    The first period which extends from 1885 to 1903 was a period of Moderate nationalism and the Indian nationalist leaders guiding and directing the Congress came to be known as the Moderates.
    The main moderate leaders were DadabhaiNaoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, D.E. Wacha, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, W.C. Banerjee and Surendranath Banerjee. 
    At the beginning of the twentieth century, a few new Indian nationalist leaders emerged on the Indian political scene challenging the exploitative and oppressive rule of the British Government with extra-Constitutional means and methods. 
    These leaders initially included BalGangadharTilak, LalaLajpatRai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghosh, Raj Narain Bose, Ashwini Kumar Datta, and Vishnu ShastriChiplunkar.

Answer (d) 

    Pankhida is a form of regional music sung by the peasants of Rajasthan while doing work in the fields, the peasant sings and speak while playing algoza and manjira. 
    The literal meaning of the word Pankhida is Lover.