ANSWER: B

 ANSWER: A

 ANSWER: C

 ANSWER: B

• India’s first cool roof policy was recently announced by Telangana government to reduce the impact of heat on building.
• Cool roof policy is mandatory for all government and non- residential commercial buildings.
• It aims to make buildings thermally resilient and reduce their energy consumption.
• Occupancy certificate would only be given after compliance.
• A cool roof is mandatory for residential buildings that have a plot area of 600 sq yards or more. For those with a plot area of 600 sq yards or less, it is optional.
• It enumerates three different materials to insulate the roof
  • Paints or liquids with high reflectivity (lime wash or white plastic coating),
  • Prefabricated material like poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) membranes or bitumen-based sheeting,
  • High albedo, ceramic mosaic tiles or shingles.

 ANSWER: C

• Recently Mathematicians have discovered an “einstein tile”
• An “einstein tile” – a shape that could be singularly used to create a non-repeating (aperiodic) pattern on an infinitely large plane.
  • Here, “einstein” is a play on German ein stein or “one stone” – not to be confused with Albert Einstein, the famous German physicist.

Aperiodic tiles

• Aperiodic tiles are a set of tile-types whose copies can form Patterns without repetition.
• History
  • In 1961, mathematician Hao Wang conjectured that aperiodic tilings were impossible. But his student, Robert Berger, disputed this, finding a set 104 tiles, which when arranged together will never form a repeating pattern.
  • In the 1970s, Nobel prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose found a set of only two tiles that could be arranged together in a non-repeating pattern ad infinitum. This is now known as Penrose tiling and has been used in artwork across the world.
• But since Penrose’s discovery, mathematicians have been looking for the “holy grail” of aperiodic tiling – a single shape or monotile which can fill a space up to infinity without ever repeating the pattern it creates.
• Mathematicians call this the einstein problem in geometry.
• The recent discovery named “the hat” is a 13-sided shape which has presented a deceptively simple solution.
• The hat comprises eight copies of a 60°–90°–120°–90° kite, glued edge-to-edge, and can be generalised to an infinite family of tiles with the same aperiodic property.
• Applications:
  • aperiodic tiling will help physicists and chemists understand the structure and behaviour of quasicrystals, structures in which the atoms are ordered but do not have a repeating pattern.
  • The newly discovered tile might become a springboard for innovative art.

 ANSWER: B

• Parliamentary committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice has asked CAT to decide cases pending for more than 10 years on a priority basis.
• According to CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987, every application should be heard and decided as far as possible, within six months from date of its registration.
• CAT had been established (under Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985) under Article 323 -A for adjudication of disputes and complaints with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts.
• Members of defence forces, officers and servants of Supreme Court and secretarial staff of Parliament are not covered by it.
• CAT is a multi-member body consisting of a chairman and members.
• There are 17 Benches and 21 Circuit Benches in the Central Administrative Tribunal all over India.
• It is guided by the principles of natural justice.
• Appeals against the orders of CAT lie before concerned High Court.

 ANSWER: C

• India has initiated an anti-dumping probe into imports of poisonous chemical sodium cyanide from China, the European Union, Japan and Korea following a complaint by domestic players.
• Sodium cyanide appears as a white crystalline solid or powder.
• It releases hydrogen cyanide gas, a highly toxic chemical asphyxiant that interferes with the body’s ability to use oxygen.
• It is odorless when dry.
• It is used for extraction of gold and silver from their respective ores, manufacturing insecticides, dyes, pigments and bulk drugs.

 ANSWER: D

• The Air Forces of India and the U.S. are set to conduct the Cope India exercise from April 10 to 21 at the Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal, with Japan as an observer.
• Cope India Exercise is a bilateral combined training session involving the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the US Air Force (USAF).
• Cope India started out as a fighter-training drill in 2004.
• Other joint defence exercises between India and the US include
  • Yudh-Abhyas (Military Exercise),
  • Vajra Parhar
  • And a Trilateral Maritime Exercise Malabar is scheduled between the navies of India, Japan, and the USA.

 ANSWER: A

• Recently, a butterfly subspecies (Caltoris bromus sadasiva) from the fringes of Akkulam and Vembanad lakes in Kerala has been discovered.
• It belongs to the skipper butterfly family of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies).
• It is the first documented subspecies of the Bromus swift ( Caltoris bromus) butterfly in the Western Ghats and Peninsular India.
• The discovery of Caltoris bromus sadasiva brings the count of butterfly species in the Western Ghats to 336 and the count of skipper butterflies to 83, with the last skipper butterfly discovery being almost 75 years ago

 ANSWER: C

• International Conscience Day is celebrated on April 5^th to promote peace.
• To lead a conscientious life, one must respect human rights and dignity as well as protect other living beings.
• The International Day of Conscience has been established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2019.

 ANSWER: A

• Recently, Israel successfully launched a new spy satellite, named Ofek-13, into orbit.
• The satellite, Ofek-13, launched from the Palmachim Airbase in central Israel, is intended to provide advanced intelligence capabilities to the Israeli military and intelligence agencies.

 ANSWER: D

• An ancient idol was found in Bhalthi Narayan temple in the Lug valley region during excavation in Kullu district.
• Kahika festival is to be organised in the temple this year after 30 years.
• The work of constructing the retaining wall and renovating the temple premises was underway when the idol was found.
• It is said that such an idol is also present in the religious town of Manikaran, which dates back to the 16th century.
• This idol is believed to be of the deity Bhalthi Narayan from the 16th century.
• There are hundreds of temples of Gods and Goddesses in Kullu and sculptures and artefacts are found during excavation around these temples.
• Some temples here are believed to have been constructed by the Pandavas during the period of their exile.
• About two months ago, an ancient idol was found from the temple premises of the deity Jwani Mahadev in Neuli in Kharal valley, adjacent Kullu town.