Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Comptroller and Auditor General(CAG) of India is the apex authority responsible for external and internal audits of the expenses of the National and state governments.
• Part V of the Indian Constitution describes the role and responsibilities of this office in Chapter V.
• The CAG is mentioned in the Constitution of India under Article 148 – 151.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General is one of the few offices directly appointed by the President of India.
• He is the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.
• CAG is the guardian of the public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country at both the levels- the centre and state.
• It audits all expenditure from the Contingency Fund of India and the Public Account of India as well as the Contingency Fund and Public Account of each state.
• He submits his audit reports relating to the accounts of the Centre and State to the President and Governor, who shall, in turn, place them before both the houses of Parliament and the state legislature respectively.
• He submits 3 audit reports to the President: audit report on appropriation accounts, audit report on finance accounts and audit report on public undertakings.

Explanation :

• Ammonium Nitrate (NH4NO3) is a nitrogen-rich white, crystalline chemical which is soluble in water.
• It is a common chemical ingredient of agricultural fertilisers.
• It is used as an ingredient for the production of anaesthetic gases and cold packs.
• It is also the main ingredient in the manufacture of commercial explosives used in mining and construction.
• Pure ammonium nitrate is not an explosive on its own. It is classified as an oxidiser (Grade 5.1) under the United Nations classification of dangerous goods.
• If mixed with ingredients like fuel or some other contaminants, or because of some other external factors, it can be very explosive.

Explanation :

• The Nagara style of temple architecture is found in northern India.
• In the Nagara style, the temple is generally constructed on a upraised platform called jagati.
• Mandapas are present in front of the Garbhagriha. These are adorned with the Shikhara, the tallest one being above the Garbhagriha.
• Unlike the temples in south India, Nagara style doesn’t usually have elaborate boundary walls or gateways (South Indian temples often sport magnificent Gopurams).
• Generally, there is no water tank in the temple premises and the pradakshinapatha is covered.
• NagaraSchool is further subdivided into different schools based on region like Odisha, Khajuraho, Solanki, etc.
• Three subtypes of Nagara temple depending upon the shape of Shikhara- Rekha Prasad / Latina, Phamsana and Valabhi.
• Some of the best examples of the north Indian style (Nagara style) of temple architecture are the Khajuraho Group of temples, Sun temple (Konark), Sun temple at Modhera, Gujarat and Ossian temple, Gujarat.

Explanation :

• The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River,located on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, SouthIndia.
• The dam is situated at the confluence of the Mullayar and Periyar rivers.
• It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick and also reached in an agreement to donate water eastwards to the Madras Presidency area (present-day Tamil Nadu).
• The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is located around the dam’s reservoir.
• Although the dam is located in Kerala, it is operated by Tamil Nadu following an 1886 lease indenture for 999 years (the Periyar Lake Lease Agreement) that was signed between the Maharaja of Travancore and the Secretary of State for India for the Periyar Irrigation works.
• The agreement was renewed in 1970.
• Tamil Nadu was given rights to the land and the water from the dam as well as the authority to develop hydro-power projects at the site, and Kerala would receive rent in return.

Explanation :

• The Hoolock Gibbons are three primate species of genus Hoolock in the Gibbon family and are native to Eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar and Southwest China.
• North-eastern India is home to two ape species: eastern and western Hoolock Gibbons.
• Gibbons are diurnal (active during the day) and arboreal (live on trees).
• They live together in monogamous pairs.

Eastern Hoolock Gibbons

• Inhabits specific pockets of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India, and southern China and north-east Myanmar.
• Eastern Uoolock is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List.

Western Hoolock Gibbons

• Found in all the states of north-east India, restricted between the south of the Brahmaputra River and east of the Dibang River.
• Also found in Bangladesh and north-west Myanmar.
• Western Hoolock is listed as ‘Endangered’ in the IUCN Red List.

Explanation :

• A whip is an official of a political party who acts as the party's 'enforcer' inside the Legislative Assembly or House of Parliament.
• Parties appoint a senior member from among their House contingents to issue whips — this member is called a Chief Whip, and he/she is assisted by additional Whips.
• India inherited the concept of the whip from the British parliamentary system.

Role

• They try to ensure that their fellow political party legislators attend voting sessions and vote according to their party’s official policy.

What happens if a ‘whip’ is disobeyed?

• A legislator may face disqualification proceedings if she/he disobeys the whip of the party unless the number of lawmakers defying the whip is 2/3rds of the party’s strength in the house.
• Disqualification is decided by the Speaker of the house.

Limitations

• There are some cases such as Presidential elections where whips cannot direct a Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) to vote in a particular fashion.

Types

• One-line whip: Issued to inform members of a party about a vote. It allows a member to abstain in case they decide not to follow the party line.
• Two-line whip: Issued to direct the members to be present in the House at the time of voting.
• Three-line whip: Issued to members directing them to vote as per the party line.

Explanation :

• The Union government on July 28, 2020, launched the Green-Ag Project in Mizoram, to reduce emissions from agriculture and ensure sustainable agricultural practices.
• Other states where the project will be implemented include Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttarakhand.

About the Project

• It is funded by the Global Environment Facility, while the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW) is the national executing agency.
• Other key players involved in its implementation are Food and Agricultre Organization (FAO) and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
• The project seeks to integrate biodiversity, climate change and sustainable land management objectives and practices into Indian agriculture.
• The pilot project is supposed to end on March 31, 2026, in all states.

Targets to Achieve

• Achieve multiple global environmental benefits in at least 1.8 million hectares (ha) of land in five landscapes, with mixed land use systems.
• Bring at least 104,070 ha of farms under sustainable land and water management.
• Ensure 49 million Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) sequestered or reduced through sustainable land use and agricultural practices.

Explanation :

• Located in the Amaravati district of Maharashtra,Melaghat Tiger Reserve is on the southern offshoot of the Satpura Hill Range in Central India, called Gavilgarh Hill.
• The Tapti Riverand the Gawilgadh ridge of the Satpura Range forms the boundaries of the reserve.
• Melghat means 'meeting of the ghats', which describes the area as a large tract of unending hills and ravines scarred by jagged cliffs and steep climbs.
• It was declared a tiger reserve in 1974. It was among the first nine tiger reserves notified in 1973-74 under Project Tiger.
• It was the first tiger reserve of Maharashtra.
• The forest is tropical dry deciduous in nature, dominated by teak (Tectonagrandis).
• The reserve is a catchment area for five major rivers: the Khandu, Khapra, Sipna, Gadga and Dolar. All these rivers are tributaries of river Tapti.
• The main fauna found here are Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, sloth bear, Ussuri dhole, Indian jackal, sambar, gaur, barking deer, nilgai, chital, chausingha, ratel, flying squirrel, wild boar, langur, rhesus monkey, porcupine, pangolin, mouse deer, python, otter, and blacknaped hare.

Explanation :

Tabo Monastery

• Also known as Tabo Chos-Khor Monastery, it is situated in the Spiti valley above Tabo village on the left bank of the Spiti River, Himachal Pradesh.
• It was founded in 996 CE in the Tibetan ‘year of the Fire Ape’ by the Tibetan Buddhist Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo (Mahauru Ramabhadra).
• Tabo is noted for being the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in both India and the Himalayas

Nako Monastery

• Nako is a village in the Himalayas of northern India, located near the Indo-China border in the Trans-Himalayan region of Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh.
• Nako Monastery is located in the village as well as several other Buddhist chortens.
• It is also known as 'Lotsava Jhakang' meaning "complex of the translator"named so in honour of Rinchen Zangpo who translated Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit to the Tibetan language.

Alchi Monastery

• Alchi Monastery or Alchi Gompa is a Buddhist monastery, known more as a monastic complex of temples in Alchi village in the Leh District, under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council of the Ladakh Union Territory.
• Dukhang or Assembly Hall and the Main Temple (gTsug-lag-khang), which is a three-storied temple called the Sumtseg (gSum-brtsegs), are built in the Kashmiri style as seen in many monasteries; the third temple is called the Manjushri Temple (Jam-dpal lHa-khang).

Explanation :

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak (23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence activist.
• He was one of the Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate.
• He was also conferred with the title of "Lokmanya", which means "accepted by the people (as their leader).Mahatma Gandhi called him "The Maker of Modern India".
• He was one of the first advocates of Swaraj or self-rule.
• He started two weeklies, ‘Kesari’ (The Lion) in Marathi and ‘Mahratta’ in English in 1880–81 with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar as the first editor.
• Both the newspapers actively propagated the cause of national freedom and stressed on making Indians aware to be self-reliant.
• Tilak helped found the All India Home Rule League in 1916–18, with G. S. Khaparde and Annie Besant. He started his Home Rule League in Maharashtra, Central Provinces, and Karnataka and Berar region.
• In 1903, Tilak wrote the book "The Arctic Home in the Vedas". In it, he argued that the Vedas could only have been composed in the Arctics, and the Aryan bards brought them south after the onset of the last ice age.
• Later, he wrote "Shrimadh Bhagvad Gita Rahasya" in prison at Mandalay – the analysis of 'Karma Yoga' in the Bhagavad Gita, which is known to be a gift of the Vedas and the Upanishads.