ANSWER: B

 ANSWER: B

 ANSWER: B

 ANSWER: A

 ANSWER: C

• A seven-km undersea tunnel will be constructed for the bullet train project in a bid to save about 12 hectares of mangrove forests in Maharashtra’s Thane creek.
• This will escalate the construction cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor project’s 21-km long stretch from Bandra Kurla Complex Station to Shilphata, from ₹100 crore to ₹10,000 crore.
• The tunnel will be a single tube tunnel to accommodate both up and down tracks.
• The tunnel construction is aimed towards conserving nearly 12 hectares of mangroves in the creek.
• The tunnel will ensure the protection of the bird sanctuary and mangroves around Thane creek.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor (MAHSR)

• MAHSR is an under-construction high-speed rail line connecting India’s economic hub Mumbai with the city of Ahmedabad.
• The total length of the corridor is 508 km, of which 156 km of construction will be in Maharashtra.
• It is slated to cut the shuttle time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad from over 6 hours to between 2 and 2.5 hours.

About Mangroves

• Mangroves are small trees and shrubs which grow along the coastlines. These trees thrive in salty water and form unique forests on the edge of land and the sea. They also grow in swamps.
• These forests have the ability to store up to 10 times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests. Mangrove forests can survive extreme weather conditions and require low oxygen levels to survive.
• Mangroves are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world and are found in 123 countries. Asia has the largest coverage of the world’s mangroves, followed by Africa, North and Central America, Oceania and South America. Approximately 75% of the world’s mangrove forests are found in just 15 countries.
• India contributes to nearly half of the total mangrove cover in South Asia. West Bengal has the highest percentage of mangrove cover in India. Sundarbans in West Bengal is the largest mangrove forest in the world.
• It is followed by Gujarat and Andaman, and Nicobar islands. Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala also have mangrove.

Recent Updates

• The Union Budget for 2023-24 announced an initiative for mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pan lands, under MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes).
• MISHTI will be implemented through convergence between the MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) Fund and other sources.

ANSWER: A

• Union Budget 2023-2024 has allocated nearly Rs 100 crore for the National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) and the government is looking to enable 100% mechanical desludging of septic tanks and sewers in all cities and towns.
• The process of extending the Scheme to all the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the country has been initiated.

Manual Scavenging

• Manual scavenging is defined as “the removal of human excrement from public streets and dry latrines, cleaning septic tanks, gutters and sewers”.
• India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR).
• The Act recognizes manual scavenging as a “dehumanizing practice.

Main features of the Scheme to be implemented in all ULBs are:-

1. Identification: NAMASTE envisages identifying the Sewer/Septic Tank Workers (SSWs).
2. Occupational Training and distribution of PPE Kits to SSWs.
3. Assistance for Safety Devices to Sanitation Response Units (SRUs).
4. Extending Health Insurance Scheme Benefits to identified SSWs and their families under the Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
5. Livelihood Assistance: The Action Plan will promote mechanization and enterprise development by providing funding support and subsidy (capital +interest) to the sanitation workers, to procure sanitation related equipments.
6. IEC Campaign: Massive campaigns would be undertaken jointly by the ULBs & NSKFDC to spread awareness about the interventions of NAMASTE.

About NAMASTE Scheme

• It was launched in 2022 as a Central Sector Scheme.
• The scheme is being undertaken jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE) and aims to eradicate unsafe sewer and septic tank cleaning practices.
• Objectives:
  • Zero fatalities in sanitation work in India.
  • All sanitation work is performed by skilled workers.
  • No sanitation workers come in direct contact with human faecal matter.
  • Sanitation workers are collectivised into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and are empowered to run sanitation enterprises.
  • Strengthened supervisory and monitoring systems at National, State and Urban Local Body (ULB) levels to ensure enforcement and monitoring of safe sanitation work.
  • Increased awareness among sanitation services seekers (individuals and institutions) to seek services from registered and skilled sanitation workers.

Other Government Initiatives

• The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013: Superseding the 1993 Act, the 2013 Act goes beyond prohibitions on dry latrines, and outlaws all manual excrement cleaning of insanitary latrines, open drains, or pits.
• The Building and Maintenance of Insanitary Latrines Act of 2013 outlaws construction or maintenance of unsanitary toilets, and the hiring of anybody for their manual scavenging, as well as of hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
• Prevention of Atrocities Act: In 1989, the Prevention of Atrocities Act became an integrated guard for sanitation workers, more than 90% people employed as manual scavengers belonged to the Scheduled Caste. This became an important landmark to free manual scavengers from designated traditional occupations.

ANSWER: C

• The Global Quality Index Infrastructure was released for 184 world economies based on the quality of their infrastructure.
  • GQII program is an initiative to research and disseminate data on Quality Infrastructure (QI).
  • It is supported by Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany.
• Germany topped the list. It was followed by China, the USA.
• The rankings are calculated b ased on the standards, metrology and accreditation.
• India was ranked fifth in accredition parameter. The overall good infrastructure quality of India is being maintained by the Quality Council of India.
  • The standardization ranking was at the 9th spot and the credit goes to BIS.
  • The metrology system was ranked 21st and NPL-CSIR takes the credit.

Quality Council of India (QCI)

• It was established in 1997 by DPIIT.
• The major boards of QCI are NABCB and NABL.
  • NABCB is National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies.
  • NABL is National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories.
• Significance The QCI is the backbone of India’s international trade. The council receiving a good ranking at the international level is proof that India is gaining the trust of its international partners. QCI operates other national bodies such as NPL-CSIR, BIS, etc. They are all the custodians of the National Accreditation System.

ANSWER: D

• The United Nations and several other international organizations and countries celebrate World Pulses Day on February 10.
• The main objective of the celebration is to increase awareness of the nutritional benefits of pulses. Also, the day aims to promote the environmental benefits of pulses and how pulses can help countries in achieving their sustainable food delivery goals.
• The theme of World Pulses Day 2023- Pulses for a Sustainable future
• The UN passed the resolution of celebrating World Pulses Day in 2013. It is led by the Food and Agriculture Organization. The fact that cultivating pulses provide employment to rural women is also propagated on this day.

Significance

• Pulses are a good source of proteins. They are rich in fibre and very low in fats. Therefore, they are easily digested and keep you energetic. Pulses help to control sugar and also lower cholesterol.

Pulses in India

• The Food Security Mission aims to increase the production of three crops in the country. They are rice, wheat, and pulses.
• India gives importance to pulses as they increase the nitrogen content in the soil. Pulses fix more than 20-40 kg of nitrogen in the soil.
• Major pulses-producing states are AP, MP, UP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh.

 ANSWER: B

• The indigenous Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is set to be tested again in April with some changes suggested by the Army.

About Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile System (QRSAM)

• It is a Short Range Surface to Air Missile system designed to protect moving armoured columns from aerial attacks.
• The entire weapon system is configured on highly mobile platforms and is capable of providing air defence on the move.
• It is being inducted into the Indian Army (IA).
• The uniqueness of the QRSAM weapon system is that it can operate on the move with search and track capability & fire on short halt. This has been proven during the mobility trials conducted earlier.

ANSWER: C

• The state’s first eco-friendly sewage treatment plant (STP) will be set up in the tourist hotspot of Manali.
• The sewerage and drinking water schemes worth Rs 369 crore have been approved to connect the town and seven panchayats in the suburbs of Manali City with the sewer system. This scheme will be built under the sequential batch reactor system.
• With this system, the amount of pollution in the STP will be negligible. So far, STPs have been built in the state with a simple technology. The biochemical oxygen demand of the ordinary treatment plant remains up to 30 ppm. However, the biochemical oxygen demand of this STP shall not exceed 10 ppm.
• A tender worth about Rs 100 crore has been opened for laying the sewerage network in the first phase and the process is underway to award the job soon. The drinking water line will be completed in the second phase and the STP work will be carried out in the third phase. According to the authorities of the Jal Shakti Department, the entire project will take around three years for completion.

ANSWER: B

• The Govind Sagar Lake in Bilaspur district has emerged as the new destination for migratory birds. It has also become a popular attraction for tourists travelling from Delhi, Chandigarh and Punjab to Kullu, Manali and Keylong.
• The Bombay Natural History Society had recently conducted the first bird census at the lake during its survey for a comprehensive management plan for the conservation and protection of the ecology in and around the lake.
• It was reported that 3,101 migratory birds of 41 species had landed in the lake area for the first time this year. The bird species spotted near the lake included bar-headed geese, northern pintails, common pochard, river tern, little cormorant, greater cormorant, ruddy shelduck, gadwall, spot-billed duck, northern shoveler, Eurasian wigeon, black-winged stilt, brown-headed gull, river lapwing, little grebe, red-winged lapwing, pallas’s gull, etc.
  • These migratory birds came from North America, Austria, Myanmar, Thailand and several European countries.
• DFO, Wildlife, said several migratory birds were spotted in the lake this year and their count was expected to gradually increase in the coming years. The Forest Department may encounter new challenges in protecting these migratory birds from poachers.
• The landing of migratory birds in the lake would add another attraction to the tourism in the district. He said the administration had proposed to add birdwatching to the list of activities to be available at the hanging restaurant to be built on the lake.

ANSWER:  A

ANSWER:  D

ANSWER:  B

ANSWER:  A

ANSWER:  C