ANSWER: B

ANSWER: B

 ANSWER: C

ANSWER: D

• Demands for greater TIPRALAND rises in the ongoing elections preparations in Tripura.

More on the news

• The Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance(TIPRA Motha) chief Pradyot Kishore Debbarma has recently launched the party’s election manifesto for the upcoming Tripura Assembly polls, in Agartala.
• TIPRA Motha is the newest political partyin Tripura and is led by Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, the son of Tripura’s last king.
• The party’s first electoral attemptin the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections in 2021 was successful, securing 18 of 28 seats.
• The demand for Greater Tipraland has polarized the relationshipbetween the tribals and non-tribals in Tripura.

About Greater Tipraland

• It is thearea demanded by TIPRA Motha which aims to carve out a new state “Greater Tipraland” for the 19 indigenous tribes of Tripura under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution.
  • Articles 2and 3 authorize the Parliament for creation of new states and alter the areas, boundaries or names of existing states from the territories of an existing state or states.
• The new state would go beyond the TTAADC areasand include several other villages where the Tiprasa reside in large numbers.

 ANSWER: A

• Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) presented an initiative named as ‘Nirman Se Shakti’ to modernize infrastructure.
• The ‘Nirman Se Shakti’ initiative includes upgradation/modernization of ESI Scheme (ESIS) hospitals and dispensaries in a phased manner, formulation of standard design for 100/200/500 bedded hospitals with better modern facilities, online real-time dashboard for project monitoring/supervision, adoption of new building technologies to ensure quality of construction, elimination of delays, cost overrun, digitalization of land/property documents etc.

About The Scheme

• The Employees’ State Insurance Scheme (ESI) is an integrated measure of social Insurance for worker population and immediate dependent or family embodied in the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948.
• It is under the purview of Ministry of Labour & Employment.

 ANSWER: C

• NASA has released picture of Mammatus clouds, hovering over Nebraska, US.

About Mammatus clouds

• They generally appear in connection with substantial cumulonimbus clouds, but they have also been sighted to form on other cloud types, such as stratocumulus, altostratus and altocumulus.
• Turbulence within cumulonimbus clouds often leads to formation of Mammatus clouds, particulraly on bottom of projecting anvil as it quickly descends to lower altitudes.
• Their shapes can vary greatly, from typical bulging shape to a more elongated tube dangling from the cloud above.

 ANSWER: A

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which was established in 1986 through an Act of Parliament, works under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• It is mandated with export promotion of agricultural commodities.
  • Additionally, APEDA has been entrusted with the responsibility to monitor import of sugar.
• In line with ideas of ‘vocal for local’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, APEDA has been focusing on promotion of exports of locally sourced GI (Geographical Indications) tagged as well as indigenous, ethnic agricultural products.
• As on date, there are 417 registered GI products and of them around 150 GI tagged products are agricultural and food GI out of which more than 100 registered GI products fall under the category of APEDA scheduled products (Cereals, Fresh Fruits and vegetables, processed products, etc).
• As per WTO Data, India has become the world’s eighth-largest exporter of agricultural products, with exports worth USD 24.77 billion in the 2021-22.

ANSWER: A

• DHARA 2023 (Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers), annual meeting of RCA members, was held recently in Pune.
• The DHARA event this year has strong synergies with the Urban20 initiative under the ambit of India’s G20 Presidency.
• DHARA provides a platform to co-learn and discuss solutions for managing local water resources.
• RCA is a dedicated platform for river cities to ideate, discuss and exchange information for sustainable management of urban rivers.
  • It focuses on three broad themes- Networking, Capacity Building and Technical Support.
• RCA includes cities from both Ganga basin and non- Ganga basin states.

RCA is a partnership of Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

 ANSWER: C

• Scientists from Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, are claiming that the meteorite that crashed in two villages in Banaskantha, Gujarat on August 17, 2022, has been identified as an aubrite.
• This is only the second recorded crash of an aubrite. The meteorite has been named the Diyodar meteorite after the taluka in which the villages are located.
  • The last crash of an aubrite before this was in Basti, Uttar Pradesh on December 2, 1852.
• Aubrites, a type of meteorite, are coarse-grained igneous rocks formed in oxygen-poor conditions; containing a variety of exotic minerals that are not found on Earth.
  • g. mineral heideite was first described in Basti meteorite.
• Around 90% of Diyodar meteorite was composed of orthopyroxene.
• Pyroxenes are silicates consisting of single chains of silica tetrahedra (SiO 4). Orthopyroxenes are pyroxenes with a certain structure.
  • Pyroxenes such as diopside and jadeite have been used as gems.

ANSWER: C

• The Prime Minister of India greeted radio listeners and others associated with the broadcasting medium on ‘World Radio Day’.
• It is celebrated on 13th February, every year.
• The day is observed every year to raise awareness among the public and the media about the importance of radio and to encourage access to information through radio.
• The theme for this year is “Radio and Peace”.
• On 3rd November, 2011, the 36th session of UNESCO declared World Radio Day to be celebrated on 13th February, as UN Radio was established by the United Nations on 13th February, 1946.
  • The day was later adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2012 as an International Day.
• India has around 479 radio stations making All India Radio one of the biggest broadcasters in the world. It covers around 99.19% of the Indian population.

 ANSWER: B

• A research team from Italy has detected an elusive black galaxy, dubbed ‘invisible galaxy’ using ALMA.
• The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of 66 radio telescopes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which observe electromagnetic radiation at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths.
• It studies light from some of the coldest objects in the Universe.
• This light has wavelengths of around a millimetre, between infrared light and radio waves.
  • Light at these wavelengths comes from some of the earliest and most distant galaxies in the Universe.
• ALMA is an international collaboration including teams from Europe, Japan, US, Canada, Chile etc.

 ANSWER: A

• Eoin Morgan, who led England to their first-ever ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup title in 2019, has announced his retirement from professional cricket with immediate effect.
• One of England’s white-ball greats, Morgan remains England’s leading run-scorer – 6957 runs in 225 ODIs with 13 hundreds – and the most successful captain in ODIs, with 76 wins from 126 matches he led in.

 ANSWER: B

• DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne won Formula E’s first race in Hyderabad.
• The first-ever Formula E race in India was hosted in Hyderabad, the race that also happens to be the first FIA-organised event in India in a decade.
• The Hyderabad E-Prix is the fourth race in the Formula E 2023 calendar, being preceded by Season 9 opener in Mexico City and two races in Diriyah (Saudi Arabia).

 ANSWER: A

• Nikos Christodoulides was elected as the President of Cyprus after a second and final round of voting.
• Christodoulides, took 51.9% of the vote, compared with runoff rival Andreas Mavroyiannis, taking 48.1%.
• Christodoulides ran as an independent with the backing of centrist and right-of-center parties.
• The new President also happens to be the former Foreign Minister of the country.

ANSWER: A

• A snow marathon will be organised at Sissu in Lahaul and Spiti district on March 12.
• The organisers of the event met Lahaul and Spiti MLA to chalk out a strategy for the marathon, which will be organised at an altitude of around 10,000 ft.
• Over 300 participants from different states will take part in the marathon. The move is aimed at promoting winter sports in Lahaul and Spiti, which receives heavy snow during winter months.
• The Rich India organisation has evinced interest in organising the marathon.
• After the opening of the Atal Tunnel on the Manali-Leh highway, Lahaul and Spiti district has become a tourist hub.

ANSWER: C

• The Fagli festival is being celebrated with great fervour in the rural areas of the Tirthan valley in Banjar subdivision of KUllu.
• It is being celebrated in Pekhadi, Nahin, Tinder, Dingcha, Fariyadi, Sharchi, Basheer and Kalwari villages of the valley.
• Mask dance organised during the ‘Phalgun Sankranti’ in different villages of the valley from February 13 to 15 is one of the major attractions of the festival.
• Locals believe that the mask dance, performed by a few selected people, drives out demonic forces from the area and brings happiness and prosperity.
  • The Tirthan valley is famous for the Great Himalayan National Park and trout fish. Small but beautiful villages situated in the remote hilly areas, rivers and waterfalls, forests and snow-capped mountain ranges add to the beauty of the valley.
• Tourists from outside states like West Bengal, Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan were left spellbound by the ancient tradition of mask dance.