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MOST PROBABLE TOPICS – PART 15

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Following  Acts and Topics should be done from Polity Books :

1. Representation of the People Act, 1951

2. Right to Information Act, 2005

3. Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996

4. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006

5. Environment Protection Act, 1986

6. Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

7. Citizenship Act

8. Air,Water Pollution Control Acts.

9. FRBM Act

10. Power and Functions of Governor

11. Veto power of President

12. Special Provisions for Weaker Sections of Society

13. Preamble,Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties

14. DPSP

15. Centre- State Relations

16. Anti- Defection Law

17. Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Bodies

18. Jurisdiction and Powers,Independence of the Supreme Court

19. Scheduled and Tribal Areas

20. CAG

21. Schedules of Constitution

22. Powers of Lt. Governors

23. 22nd Law Commission of India

  • Union Cabinet has approved the constitution of the 22nd Law Commission of India for a period of three years.
  • The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the Government of India from time to time.
  • The first Law Commission of independent India was established in 1955 for a three-year term. Since then, twenty one more Commissions have been established.
  • The first Law Commission was established during the British Raj era in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833 and was chaired by Lord Macaulay.
  • It works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.

24. Technical Textiles

  • Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the setting up of a National Technical Textiles Mission at a total outlay of ₹1,480 crores.
  • It aims to position the country as a global leader in technical textiles and increase the use of technical textiles in the domestic market.
  • The Mission will aim at taking domestic market size to $40 billion to $50 billion by 2024.

Technical Textiles

  • Technical textiles are functional fabrics that have applications across various industries including automobiles, civil engineering and construction, agriculture, healthcare, industrial safety, personal protection etc.
  • Based on usage, there are 12 technical textile segments; Agrotech, Meditech, Buildtech, Mobiltech, Clothtech, Oekotech, Geotech, Packtech, Hometech, Protech, Indutech and Sportech.
  • For example, ‘mobiltech’ refers to products in vehicles such as seat belts and airbags, airplane seats; geotech, which is incidentally the fastest growing sub-segment, used to hold back soil, etc.

25. Gram Nyayalayas

Gram Nyayalayas or village courts are established under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 for speedy and easy access to justice system in the rural areas of India.

The Act came into force from 2 October 2009.


Composition:

The Gram Nyayalayas are presided over by a Nyayadhikari, who will have the same power, enjoy same salary and benefits of a Judicial Magistrate of First Class. Such Nyayadhikari are to be appointed by the State Government in consultation with the respective High Court.
Jurisdiction:

  • A Gram Nyayalaya have jurisdiction over an area specified by a notification by the State Government in consultation with the respective High Court.
  • The Court can function as a mobile court at any place within the jurisdiction of such Gram Nyayalaya, after giving wide publicity to that regards.
  • They have both civil and criminal jurisdiction over the offences.
  • The pecuniary jurisdiction of the Nyayalayas are fixed by the respective High Courts.
  • Gram Nyayalayas has been given power to accept certain evidences which would otherwise not be acceptable under Indian Evidence Act.

  • Appeal in criminal cases shall lie to the Court of Session,Appeal in civil cases shall lie to the District Court.

26. Hampi  and Vittala Temple

  • Hampi is the 14th century capital of the Vijayanagar Empire, located in the Tungabhadra basin in Bellary District, Central Karnataka.
  • Vittal Temple Complex is the finest example of Vijaynagar Temple Architecture.
    • A large number of royal buildings were raised by Krishnadeva Raya (A.D. 1509-30) and Vittal Temple Complex is one of them.
  • Temples of Hampi are noted for their large dimensions, florid ornamentation, bold and delicate carvings and stately pillars which include subjects from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
  • Majority of these temples in Hampi were provided with widespread bazaars flanked on either side by storied Mandapas.
  • The Mahanavami Dibba, a variety of ponds and tanks, and the row of pillared Mandapas are some of the important architectural remains of Hampi.
  • In 1986, Hampi was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

27. Sovereign gold bonds

  • Sovereign gold bonds are issued by the RBI on behalf of the government. They are government securities denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for holding physical gold.
  • The sovereign gold bond scheme was launched in November 2015. Its objective is to reduce the demand for physical gold and shift a part of the domestic savings (used for the purchase of gold) into financial savings.
  • Apart from having a chance to gain from the rise in gold prices at the time of redemption (capital gain), the investor gets a fixed rate of interest on the investment amount throughout the tenure of the fund.
  • Sovereign gold bonds have a tenure of eight years, with exit options are available from the fifth year.
  • Investors can buy these bonds through designated scheduled commercial banks (except Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks), Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited, and designated post offices and through National Stock Exchange of India Limited and Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE) Limited.

28. Van Allen Radiation Belt

  • A Van Allen Belts refers to a layer of charged and energetic particles which is held by the planet’s magnetic field around the planet.
  • Most of particles are originate from the solar wind.
  • The Van Allen belt specifically refers to the radiation belts around the Earth.

 

29. South Atlantic Anomaly

  • The SAA is referred to the behaviour of Earth’s Geo-Magnetic field in an area between Africa and South America.
  • The SAA is an area where the Earth’s inner Van Allen radiation belt comes closest to the Earth’s surface, dipping down to an altitude of 200 kilometres.
  • This leads to an increased flux of energetic particles in this region and exposes orbiting satellites to higher-than-usual levels of radiation.
  • The effect is caused by the non-concentricity of the Earth and its magnetic dipole.
  • The SAA is the near-Earth region where the Earth’s magnetic field is weakest relative to an idealized Earth-centered dipole field.

 

30.  Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

  • It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.

  • It’s a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aiming to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.

  • It’s creation was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

  • The SCO’s official languages are Russian and Chinese.
  • SCO comprises eight member states, namely the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.
  • SCO counts four observer states, namely the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Mongolia.

31. Forest Landscape Restoration Project

  • The project launched in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) aims to enhance the capacity on forest landscape restoration (FLR) by developing and adapting best practices for sustainable land management and putting into place some monitoring protocols to combat desertification.
  • FLR manifests through different processes such as: new tree plantings, managed natural regeneration, agroforestry, or improved land management to accommodate a mosaic of land uses, including agriculture, protected wildlife reserves, managed plantations, riverside plantings and more.
  • The project is also part of the Bonn Challenge pledge, which was undertaken by India in 2015, to restore 13 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020, and another 8 million hectares by 2030. This is one of the highest targets among all Asian countries.

Bonn Challenge

  • The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.
  • It was launched in 2011 by the Government of Germany and IUCN, and later endorsed and extended by the New York Declaration on Forests at the 2014 UN Climate Summit. 

 

32. Karewa Deposits- Kashmir

  • Karewas are lacustrine deposits. According geographers, the Karewa Formation are glacio- fluvial-lacustrine and aeolian loess of Plio-Pleistocene age. It is extremely important for agricultural and horticultural practices.
  • The world famous variety of saffron, which is locally known as zafron is cultivated on this deposits. It also helps in the cultivation of almond, walnut, apple and orchards.

33. MICRO-LED

  • It is an emerging flat panel display technology in which displays consist of arrays of microscopic LEDs forming the individual pixel elements.
  • These are simply traditional LEDs shrunk down and placed into an array. The LED technology is not new but manufacturing a panel array using such tiny components is very difficult and currently not commercially viable over OLED.

OLEDs and MicroLEDs

  • OLEDs are made of organic materials. MicroLEDs being inorganic (gallium nitride) are not as susceptible to ageing.
  • MicroLEDs are more power-efficient than OLEDs.

34. Eutrophication

  • Eutrophication may be defined as the inorganic nutrient enrichment of natural waters, leading to an increased production of algae and macrophytes.
  • The excessive growth (or bloom) of algae and plankton in a water body are indicators of this process.
  • Eutrophication sets off a chain reaction in the ecosystem, starting with an overabundance of algae and plants. The excess algae and plant matter eventually decompose, producing large amounts of carbon dioxide. This lowers the pH of seawater, a process known as ocean acidification. Acidification slows the growth of fish and shellfish and can prevent shell formation in bivalve mollusks. 

  • Harmful algal blooms, dead zones, and fish kills are the results of a process called eutrophication—which begins with the increased load of nutrients to estuaries and coastal waters.

  • Causes of Eutrophication-The availability of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus limits the growth of plant life in an ecosystem. When water bodies are overly enriched with these nutrients, the growth of algae, plankton, and other simple plant life is favoured over the growth of more complex plant life.

35. Biosimilars

  • It is a biologic medical product that is almost an identical copy of an original product that is manufactured by a different company.
  • They are officially approved versions of original “innovator” products and can be manufactured when the original product’s patent expires.
  • Reference to the innovator product is an integral component of the approval.
  • Biological medicines contain active substances from a biological source, such as living cells or organisms.
  • Most biological medicines in current clinical use contain active substances made of proteins.
  • Biosimilars involve developing equivalent of biological entitywhile generics involve developing equivalent of a chemical entity-the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient.

36. Green climate fund (GCF)

  • It was established under the Cancun Agreement in 2010 by UNFCCC as a dedicated financing vehicle for developing countries within the global climate architecture.
  • It is serving as the Financial Mechanism of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.
  • GCF launched its initial resource mobilization in 2014 and the funds come mainly from developed countries and also from some developing countries and regions.
  • The Fund pays particular attention to the needs of societies that are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, i.e. Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and African States.

37. Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML)

  • It was launched at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012 in response to a request set out in the Manila Declaration on Furthering the Implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities.
  • The partnership is led by a Steering Committee and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides secretariat services.
  • The GPML is a multi-stakeholder partnership that brings together all actors working to prevent marine litter and microplastics. By providing a unique global platform to share knowledge and experience, partners are able to work together to create and advance solutions to this pressing global issue.

38. Freight Village

  • “A freight village is a defined area within which all activities relating to transport, logistics and the distribution of goods, both for national and international transit, are carried out by various operators”
  • India’s first freight village is being developed in Varanasi.
  • The village is being funded by the World Bank and it is being developed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India.

39. Inland Waterways Authority of India

  • The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is a statutory body under Ministry of Shipping established in 1986 for development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
  • It is headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh and its main function is to build necessary infrastructure in inland waterways, surveying economic feasibility of new projects and also carrying out administration and regulation.
  • As per the National Waterways Act, 2016, 111 waterways have been declared as NWs.
  • India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprise of rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc.
  • About 55 million tonnes of cargo is being moved annually by IWT, a fuel-efficient and environment-friendly mode.
  • As per the National Waterways Act 2016, 111 waterways have been declared as National Waterways (NWs).
    • National Waterway-1 (Prayagraj-Haldia) with length 1620 km is the longest National waterway in India.
  • The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is implementing the Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) at an estimated cost of ₹5369.18 crores for capacity augmentation of navigation on the Haldia-Varanasi stretch of Ganga (part of NW-1) with the technical and financial assistance of the World Bank.

40. Appropriation Bill

Appropriation Bill is a money bill that allows the government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet its expenses during the course of a financial year.

  • As per article 114 of the Constitution, the government can withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund only after receiving approval from Parliament.
  • Finance Bill contains provisions on financing the expenditure of the government, and Appropriation Bill specifies the quantum and purpose for withdrawing money.

Finance bills ,appropriation bills etc are important topics for Prelims in general.

41. International Court of Justice

  • The International Court of Justice (ICJ) was established in 1945 after half a century of international conflict in the form of two World Wars.
  • The ICJ functions with its seat at The Hague, Netherlands.
  • It has the jurisdiction to settle disputes between countries and examine cases pertaining to violation of human rights.
  • It adjudicates cases according to the tenets of international law and is the judicial arm of the United Nations.
  • ICJ is not to be confused with ICC (International Criminal Court) which is a permanent tribunal created to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.
  • While ICJ is the primary judicial organ of the UN, the ICC is legally and functionally independent from the United Nations.

42. The Once-Only Principle

  • The European Union countries, as part of the 2017 Tallinn Declaration on e-Government, have come together to enact the ‘The Once-Only Principle (TOOP)’. The EU’s Single Digital Gateway Regulation marks an important step towards making governments more responsive to concerns about privacy, the hardships faced by vulnerable social groups, and the lack of proportionality in the policy design for digitalising government. TOOP aims to remove unnecessary administrative burdens on citizens by mandating that citizens are not required to provide the same information more than once to the government.
  • The Hindu.

43. Flamingo Festival and Pulicat Lake

  • The annual Flamingo Festival is to be held in January at Pulicat lake.

    • The Pulicat lake supports rich biodiversity and high biomass of fishes and planktons which is utilised as food resources by visiting birds. Thus about 75 aquatic and terrestrial bird species visit the sanctuary every year.
    • The number of birds is much higher than usual due to abundant rains in 2019.

    Pulicat Lake

    • It is the second-largest brackish water ecosystem in the country after the Chilika Lake (Odisha).
    • It is located on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It lies majorly in Andhra Pradesh.
    • The large varieties of birds like grey pelicans, painted storks, visit the site annually.
      • Grey Pelican and Painted Stork both are near-threatened species under IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

44. Chilika Lake

  • Chilika is Asia’s largest and world’s second largest lagoon.
  • It spreads over Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal.
  • It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent and is home to a number of threatened species of plants and animals.
  • In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
  • Major attraction at Chilika is Irrawady dolphins which are often spotted off Satpada Island.
  • The large Nalabana Island (Forest of Reeds) covering about 16 sq km in the lagoon area was declared a bird sanctuary in 1987.
  • Kalijai Temple – Located on an island in the Chilika Lake.

 

45. Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve

  • Mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. 
  • The largest contiguous mangrove area (along with Bangladesh) in the world
  • Habitat for the threatened Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
  • UNESCO World Heritage site
  • The most abundant tree species are sundri (Heritiera fomes) and gewa (Excoecaria agallocha). 
  • Name may have been derived from the word Sundari or Sundri, the local name of the mangrove species Heritiera fomes.
  • India-40 %,Bangladesh- 60%
  • home to rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins.
  • The interior parts of the mudflats serve as a perfect home for mangroves.
  • Protected areas cover 15% of the Sundarbans mangroves including  Sundarbans National Park  and  Sajnakhali Wildlife Sanctuary, in West Bengal,  Sundarbans East,  Sundarbans South and  Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuaries in Bangladesh.

46. Bhitarkanika National Park

  • Odisha
  • Ramsar Site- second Ramsar site in Odisha after Chilika Lake.
  • Rivers Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra, Pathsala.
  • Second largest mangrove ecosystem in India.
  • Saltwater Crocodiles found here.
  • It used to be the hunting grounds of the erstwhile King of Kanika .

47. Keibul Lamjao National Park

  • Manipur
  • The only floating park in the world, located in North East India, and an integral part of Loktak Lake.
  • The national park is characterized by many floating decomposed plant materials locally called Phumdis.
  • Home to endangered Manipur Eld’s deer or brow-antlered deer (Cervus eldi eldi), or Sangai also called the Dancing deer, listed as an endangered species by IUCN,
  • Loktak Lake- Ramsar Site.

48. Namdapha National Park

  • Arunachal Pradesh
  • The national park harbours the northernmost lowland evergreen rainforests in the world.
  • It also harbours extensive dipterocarp forests, comprising the northwestern parts of the Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests ecoregion.
  • Tiger Reserve
  • It is located between the Dapha bum range of the Mishmi Hills and the Patkai range.
  • Noa Dihing River
  • The land cover changes with increasing elevation from tropical evergreen forest to temperate broadleaf and mixed forest.
  • The area falls under both the Palearctic and Indo Malayan biogeographic areas.
  • The Namdapha flying squirrel  is endemic to the park and critically endangered.
  • Four pantherine species occur in the park: leopard , snow leopard, tiger  and clouded leopard.
  • The region is very rich in Lepidoptera species (butterlies,moths).

49. Maharashtra first Indian state to declare state mangrove tree as symbol of conservation

  • Maharashtra is set to become the first coastal state to declare a state mangrove tree species as a symbol to enhance conservation of the salt-tolerant vegetation.

  • Known as white chippi in Marathi, Sonneratia alba grow up to five feet and bear white flowers with a pink base as well as green fruits, that resemble apple and are used to make pickles. They often grow on newly-formed mudflats and play an important role in combating land erosion. The flowers, which bloom at night, are pollinated by nocturnal creatures like bats.

  • Distribution of this mangrove species is confined to the west coast and some parts of Orissa.

  • Maharashtra already has the state tree (mango), state animal (giant squirrel), state bird (green pigeon), state butterfly (Blue Mormon), and state flower (jarul).

50. Pokkali Paddy

  • Pokkali Paddy is a saltwater-tolerant paddy in the coastal fields of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts of Kerala. It is an indigenous method of rice-fish rotational cultivation practiced in the coastal belts.
  • This GI-Tagged paddy is a single-season (only one yield in a year) paddy raised in saltwater fields between June and November followed by a season of fish-farming. After the harvest, the paddy stubble in the fields acts as food and shelter for shrimp and small fish.
  • It will be tried in Sunderbans region post tropical cyclone Amphan.
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MOST PROBABLE TOPICS- PART 14

MOST PROBABLE TOPICS – PART 16