Q1: With reference to Cooperatives in India, consider the following statements and choose the correct options:
- The term Cooperatives was added in the Constitution through the 97 Constitutional Amendment Act in 2011.
- It is a fundamental right of citizens to form cooperatives.
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer : c
Explanation
Provisions of Indian Constitution related to Cooperatives:
The Constitution (97 Amendment) Act, 2011 added a new Part IXB right after Part IXA (Municipals) regarding the cooperatives working in India.
The word “cooperatives” was added after “unions and associations” in Article 19(1)(c)
under Part III of the Constitution. This enables all the citizens to form cooperatives
by giving it the status of fundamental right of citizens.
A new Article 43B was added in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV)
regarding the “promotion of cooperative societies”.
Q 2: Which of the following countries shares the land boundary with Lebanon?
- Syria
- Israel
- Cyprus
- Jordan
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 3 and 4 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Answer : a
Explanation
Lebanon is a country in Western Asia, bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lies west across the Mediterranean Sea. It does not share a border with Jordan.
Q3: With reference to Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), consider the
following statements and choose the correct options:
- GIAHS was started by the FAO to safeguard and support the world’s agricultural heritage systems.
- Kuttanad below-sea level farming system in India has been recognised as a GIAHS.
- There are two recognised GIAHS sites in India.
- 1 and 2 only
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Answer : a
Explanation
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) was started by the FAO to safeguard and support the world’s agricultural heritage systems.
GIAHS are outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage.
The Kuttanad below-sea level farming system has been recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
It is unique as it practices rice cultivation below sea level.
There are three recognised GIAHS sites in India. Pampore Saffron Heritage of Kashmir.
Koraput Traditional Agriculture of Odisha.
Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System of Kerala.
Q4:‘Bru community’ was recently in the news, in which geographical area?
- Nilgiri
- Lushai hills
- Satpura hills
- Andaman and Nicobar islands
Answer : b
Explanation
Bru or Reang is a community indigenous to Northeast India, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram and Assam. In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.
In Mizoram (lushai hills), they have been targeted by groups that do not consider them indigenous to the state. In 1997, following ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Brus fled Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei districts of Mizoram and were accommodated in relief camps in Tripura.
Q5. Consider the following statements with respect to the United Nations Human
Rights Council (UNHRC) and choose the correct options:
- The UNHRC has 47 members elected for two-year terms.
- Members are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
- Eastern European states are allotted the maximum number of seats amongst all the regional groups.
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
Answer: b
Explanation:
United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is made of 47 Member States.
The seats are distributed geographically and are awarded for a period of three years.
Members are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
Seats are distributed as follows:
- o African States: 13 seats
- o Asia-Pacific States: 13 seats
- o Latin American and Caribbean States: 8 seats
- o Western European and other States: 7 seats
- o Eastern European States: 6 seats
Q6. Consider the following statements and choose the incorrect option:
- Tsunami Ready is a community performance-based programme initiated by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO to promote tsunami preparedness.
- India is the first country to implement Tsunami Ready in the Indian Ocean Region.
- Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services is the nodal agency to provide tsunami advisories to India.
- 2 only
- 3 only
- 1 and 2 only
- None of the above
Answer: d
Explanation:
Tsunami Ready is a community performance-based programme initiated by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO to promote tsunami preparedness through the active collaboration of public, community leaders, and national and local emergency management agencies.
The initiative is modelled after the US National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service’s successful TsunamiReady program.
Based on the National Board recommendations, UNESCO-IOC has approved the recognition of two communities viz., Venkatraipur and Noliasahi as Tsunami Ready Communities. The two communities are villages in Odisha.
With this recognition, India is the first country to implement Tsunami Ready in the Indian Ocean Region and Odisha is the first state.
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services is the nodal agency to provide tsunami advisories to India.
Q7: consider the following statements and choose the correct options
- Mughal miniatures inspired abanindranath Tagore
- abanindranath Tagore was also inspired from the Japanese philosopher and aesthetician Okakura Kakuzo.
- Raja Ravi Varma was one of the first artists who tried to create a style that was both modern and national.
- Bengal School of Painting It is also called the Renaissance School or the Revivalist School, as it represented the first modern movement of Indian art.
- Abanindranath Tagore was leading artist of revivalist school
- 1, 2 and 5 only
- 1,2, 4 and 5 only
- 3 and 4 only
- all of the above
answer: d
explanation:
Abanindranath received training in European and Academic style from European artists.
Mughal miniatures influenced his visual ideas deeply. Another source of inspiration came from the visit of the Japanese philosopher and aesthetician Okakura Kakuzo to Kolkata in 1902.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, a stronger connection was established between art and nationalism. Many painters tried to develop a style that could be considered both modern and Indian.
Raja Ravi Varma was one of the first artists who tried to create a style that was both modern and national.
He mastered the Western art of oil painting and realistic life study, but painted themes from Indian mythology.
However, in Bengal, a new group of nationalist artists gathered around Abanindranath Tagore.
They rejected the art of Ravi Varma as imitative and westernised, and declared that such a style was unsuitable for depicting the nation’s ancient myths and legends.
Bengal School of Painting:
It is also called the Renaissance School or the Revivalist School, as it represented the first modern movement of Indian art.
Its leading artist was Abanindranath Tagore and its theoretician was E.B. Havell, the principal of the Calcutta School of Art.
They broke away from the convention of oil painting and the realistic style, and turned for inspiration to medieval Indian traditions of miniature painting and the ancient art of mural painting in the Ajanta caves.
They were also influenced by the art (wash technique) of Japanese artists who visited India at that time to develop an Asian Art movement.
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