ANSWER: D

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: A

• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has released a proposal aimed at improving the safeguards within the account aggregator (AA) framework in securities markets to counter scams and mis-selling.

ABOUT ACCOUNT AGGREGATOR

• An AA is a framework that simply facilitates sharing of financial information in a real-time and data-blind manner (Data flow through AA are encrypted) between regulated entities (Banks and NBFCs).
• The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) in 2016 approved AA as a new class of NBFC (Non Banking Financial Companies), whose primary responsibility is to facilitate the transfer of user’s financial data with their explicit consent.
• AAs enable flow of data between Financial Information Providers (FIPs) and Financial Information Users (FIUs).
• The Draft Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) framework released by NITI Aayog serves as the foundation for AA’s architecture.
  • DEPA is an architecture that lets users securely access their data and share the same with third parties.
• In AA, data cannot be shared without the consent of individual.
• AA system can make lending and wealth management a lot faster and cheaper.
• Registering with an AA is fully voluntary for consumers.

ANSWER: D

• The Centre is working on a proposal to launch a fresh InvIT for national highways, where domestic retail investors can hold units of the trust.

ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT TRUST (INVIT)

• INVITS are market traded investments regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India.
• It is Collective Investment Scheme similar to a mutual fund, which enables direct investment of money from individual and institutional investors in infrastructure projects.
• InvITs are recognized as borrowers under (SARFAESI) ‘Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002’
• Any dividend or interest income that one can get from an InvIT is completely taxable as per their Income Tax Slab rate.
• An InvIT has 4 parties namely; Trustee, Sponsor(s) and Investment Manager and Project Manager.
• While the trustee (certified by SEBI) has the responsibility of inspecting the performance of an InvIT, sponsor(s) are promoters of the company that set up the InvIT.

ANSWER: C

• India’s first captive breeding success story of the Himalayan vultures inside the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati.
• With only France breeding Himalayan vultures in captivity, the achievement makes India the second country to do so.
• The captive breeding was a joint project undertaken by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the Assam forest department.
• India has nine species of vultures, six of which are found in Assam
  • Vultures of the genus ‘Gyps’
    • Oriental white-backed (Assam, critically endangered)
    • Long-billed (critically endangered)
    • Slender-billed (Assam, critically endangered)
    • Himalayan griffon (Assam, winter visitor from Himalayas)
    • Eurasian griffon (Assam, winter visitor from Himalayas)
  • Single representative species
    • Egyptian
    • Bearded
    • Cinereous (Assam)
    • King (Assam, critically endangered)

About Himalayan Vulture (Gyps himalayensis)

• Also known as Himalayan griffon vulture, it is one of two largest Old World vultures.
• With striking bald white heads and broad hefty wings, it is the largest member of the Gyps species.
• It is native to the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau and also found in the Central Asian mountains.
• These are diurnal and mostly solitary species.
• IUCN Red list status : Near Threatened

ANSWER: A

• PM Modi was recently conferred the Lokmanya Tilak National Award in Pune, Maharashtra.
• He was the 41^st recipient of the award.
• The Award was constituted by Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust in 1983 to honour the legacy of Lokmanya Tilak.
• This award is given every year on 1^st August, the death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak, to persons who have made remarkable and extraordinary contributions, working for the progress and development of the nation.

ANSWER: D

• India and the US will hold ‘Yudh Abhyas’ exercise which scheduled to take place in Alaska from September 25 to October 8.
• It is a joint military exercise conducted annually between the armies of India and USA.
• This marks the 19^th edition of the Indo-US joint training exercise Yudh Abhyas.
• Focus will be on operations related to peacekeeping and peace enforcement. The joint exercise will also focus on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.

ANSWER: B

• The Paleo Proxy Technique is a method used by scientists to reconstruct past climates and temperature variations by analyzing indirect indicators or “proxies” found in natural materials.
• Proxies are biological, chemical, or physical indicators that respond to temperature changes or other environmental conditions, preserving a record of past climate in their properties.
  • These measures are called “proxies” because they do not directly measure temperatures. Instead, they are simply the responses of physical, biological, and chemical processes to temperatures at that time having been warmer or colder than the baseline value.
  • Such a baseline is typically from the modern times, when thermometer records have existed.
• Scientists derive estimates of temperature anomalies over shorter time scales from tree rings, corals, and the shells of marine and terrestrial organisms.

ANSWER: B

• It has been pointed out that illegal mining is ongoing in Saurabh Van Vihar, which is dream project of former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar set up in the memory of Captain Saurabh Kalia who sacrificed his life in Kargil war.
• Saurabh Van Vihar is situated in Palampur town of District Kangra.
• It is located on the right bank of Neugal river which is prone to flash floods.
  • Neugal river is a tributary of Beas