ANSWER: C

• Sea cucumber related seizures increased in 2019 and 2020, making Gulf of Mannar/Palk Bay region a global hotspot for sea cucumber smuggling.
• Sea cucumbers are being harvested in India and Sri Lanka owing to high demand from East Asia where they are considered a delicacy, eaten both fresh or dried, and are also used in traditional Chinese medicine.
• Though India banned sea cucumber fishery in 2001, Sri Lanka tried to restrict the trade through a system of permits. This disparity allowed Indian fishers to exploit Sri Lanka’s legalised sea cucumber trade.
• About Sea Cucumbers
• Sea cucumbers are part of animal group called echinoderms (marine invertebrates) that live on the seafloor.
• Their body shape is similar to a cucumber, but they have small tentacle-like tube feet that are used for locomotion and feeding.
• Habitat: Found in virtually all marine environments throughout the world- shallow to deep-sea environments.
• Threats: climate change and ocean acidification, habitat destruction, illegal fishing, and water pollution.
• Sea cucumber in India is treated as an endangered species listed under schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.

ANSWER: C

• Germany has suspended the certification process of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
• Nord Stream 2 is 1,230-kilometer-long natural gas pipeline run from Ust-Luga in Russia to Greifswald in Germany through the Baltic Sea, and will carry 55 billion cubic metres of gas per year.
• It is designed to double Russia’s gas exports to Germany.
• It runs parallel to an earlier Nord Stream pipeline which has been working since 2011 and would double its capacity, to 110 billion cubic meters of gas a year.
• Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom owns half of Nord Stream 2.

ANSWER: A

• 96th round of the Industrial Outlook Survey of the Manufacturing Sector for Q3 2021-22 released.
• Conducted: by RBI
• It Assesses
• Business sentiments relating to demand conditions,
• Financial situation in terms of finance availability,
• Employment conditions,
• And the prevailing price situation in the economy.
• Highlights of current survey
• It shows improved demand conditions for manufacturers in terms of production, order books, and employment.
• Input cost for the business is likely to remain elevated.

ANSWER: D

• Kerala Nattukala Kshema Sabha has demanded that Karakattam (known as Kumbakkali in certain parts) be recognised as agricultural art form of Kerala.
• Karakattam is an ancient folk dance of Tamil Nadu performed in praise of the rain goddess Mariamman. It’s performed in different parts of Kerala as well.
• It is performed at festivals, roadshows and primarily at Mariamman festivals.
• It involves balancing a large number of pots of decreasing size on the head of the dancers while dancing and expressing theme of the dance.
• Mariamman pooja is held in the month of Medam after Makarakkoythu (harvest season) in Kerala.

ANSWER: A

• Angadias have recently been under attack by robbers owing to the large quantities of cash they carry.
• It is a century-old parallel banking system in the country where traders send cash generally from one state to another through a person called Angadia that stands for courier.
• It is used largely in jewellery business.
• The cash involved is huge and it is the responsibility of the Angadia to transfer cash from one state to another for which they charge a nominal fee.
• Generally, it is the Gujarati, Marwari and Malbari community that are involved in the business

ANSWER: C

• The Ministry of Education (MoE) has approved the continuation of the Central Sector National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMSS) over the 15th Finance Commission cycle for 5 years (2021-22 to 2025-26),
• It intends to provide scholarships to 14.76 lakh students with financial outlay of Rs. 1827.00 crore that holds minor changes in eligibility criteria such as increasing income ceiling.
• Objective – To award economically weaker students who are meritorious in order to reduce drop-outs at the 8th grade and to encourage them to continue their education at a secondary stage.
• The income ceiling under the eligibility criteria for the scholarship has been changed from Rs.1.5 lakh per annum to Rs.3.5 lakh per annum and the renewal criteria under the scheme were also revised.
• Eligibility:
• The student must have a minimum of 55 % marks or equivalent grade in Class VII examination for appearing in the selection test for award of scholarship (relax able by 5% for SC and ST students).
• The student should be studying as a regular student in Government, Government-aided and local body schools.
• Scholarship amount:
• The students are selected for the scholarship through an exam conducted by the state and Union Territory (UT) government.
• Every year, 1 lakh fresh scholarships of Rs. 12,000 per annum (Fts.1000 per month) per student will be provided for students in Class 9, with the possibility of continuation/renewal in Classes 10 to 12, for study at state-government, government-aided, and local body institutions.
• Funding:
• This is the central sector scheme (CSS) with 100% funding by the central government
• The students will receive the scholarship directly into their bank account through electronic transfer via the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.

ANSWER: C

• The first batch of three MH-60R Multi-Role Helicopters is expected to arrive in India in the month of July 2022 in Kochi, Kerala.
• These three helicopters were already handed over by the US in 2021 but Indian pilots were using these helicopters for training purpose in Pensacola, San Diego and Florida of United States.
• The Indian Navy signed a contract agreement for these helicopters with the US.
• The MH-60R Multi-Role helicopters will replace Sea King 42/42A helicopters, which were decommissioned in the 1990s.
• They will operate from frontline ships and aircraft carriers and provide better surveillance, crucial traits of flexibility and assault capacity to India.
• In 2020, India signed a USD 2.2 billion deal for MH-60R helicopters built by Lockheed Martin during the visit of former U.S. President Donald Trump. All deliveries will be completed by 2025.

ANSWER: B

• Karnataka Chief Minister has announced that the ‘Upper Bhadra Project’ has been given the national project status by the central government’s high-powered committee which becomes the first project in Karnataka to get the status.
• This change in status will enable Karnataka to receive Rs 12,500 crore grant from the centre and could transform central Karnataka from being water-scarce to water-rich.
• The foundation stone for the Upper Bhadra project was laid in 2008 to make Karnataka water-rich by utilising the excess water available in Krishna and Cauvery basins effectively.
• At present, water is flowing to Vani Vilas Sagar Dam, which has made the region water-rich.

About Upper Bhadra Project

• Upper Bhadra Project is a major lift irrigation scheme under implementation in the central region of Karnataka State which is being undertaken by ‘Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Limited’.
• Objective – To provide a sustainable irrigation facility in the Kharif season and to recharge the groundwater table with fewer chemical contaminants like fluoride.
• The project received administrative approval in 2003 at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,813 crore.
• The project is designed to irrigate 2.25 lakh hectares in Chitradurga, Davangere, Tumakuru, and parts of Chikkamagaluru
• In the 1st stage of the project water will be lifted from Tunga to Bhadra and in the 2nd stage lifting of water will be from Bhadra reservoir, providing it to tunnel near Ajjampura through gravity canal in Tungabhadra sub-basin of Krishna basin.

ANSWER: C

• 21st February 2022 marked the 6th anniversary of the launch of the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission(SPMRM), undertaken by the Ministry of Rural Development.
• In 2016, PM launched the SPMRM with an aim to develop 300 Rurban clusters in India by provisioning economic, social and physical infrastructure facilities.
• So far, the Ministry of Rural Development has approved 296 clusters under SPMRM.

About Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission

• Rurban cluster is a cluster of geographically contiguous villages with a population of around 25000 to 50000 in plain and coastal areas and with a population of 5000 to 15000 in desert, hilly or tribal areas.
• Objective: To stimulate local economic development, enhance basic services, and create well planned Rurban clusters.
• Key Points:
• SPMRM focuses on cluster-based integrated development through Spatial Planning.
• The Rurban clusters are identified across the rural areas of India which shows the increasing signs of urbanisation.
• The signs include an increase in population density, high levels of non-farm employment, the presence of growing economic activities and other socioeconomic parameters.
• The mission aims to transform the Rurban clusters by stimulating local economic development, enhancing basic services, and creating well planned Rurban clusters.
• There will be two categories of clusters under SPMRM: Non-Tribal and Tribal.
• Outcomes: The anticipated outcomes under the mission are,
• Bridging the rural-urban divide through economic, technological and those related to facilities and services.
• Stimulating local economic development with emphasis on reduction of poverty and unemployment in rural areas.
• Spreading development in the region.
• Attracting investment in rural areas.

ANSWER: D

• The indigenously developed manned underwater submersible vehicle, Matsya 6000 that is capable of taking 3 humans to a depth of 6,000 metres (m), will be ready as for its launch in 2024 for the Samudrayaan Mission.

About Matsya 6000

• MATSYA 6000 is an undersea submersible vehicle designed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and developed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) under the aegis of Deep Ocean Mission (DOM).
• The navigation and electronics aspects of the vehicle were designed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), MoES. Click here to know more
• Features:
• Matsya 6000 is of 2.1 m in diameter with Titanium Alloy Personnel Sphere of 80 mm thickness that uses a battery powered propulsion which can reach a maximum depth of 6,000 metres.
• It has the operational capacity of 12 hours and during emergencies it can operate up to 96 hours for deep ocean exploration of non-living resources such as polymetallic manganese nodules, gas hydrates, hydro-thermal sulphides and cobalt crusts, located at a depth between 1,000 m and 5,500 m.
• It will also study cobalt crust, hydrothermal sulphides, hydrates and polymetallic manganese nodules in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

About Samudrayaan Mission:

• In October 2021, Union Minister of State, Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh launched India’s first and unique manned Ocean Mission Samudrayaan that aims to send humans for deep sea exploration.
• By the launch of Samudrayaan mission, India will join the elite club of countries that includes United States, Russia, France, Japan, and China.

ANSWER: D

• Recently, Sakibul Gani, an Indian cricketer hailing from Motihari in Bihar, created a world record by becoming the first cricketer to score a triple century on his debut in a first-class match, 2021-22 Ranji Trophy.
• He scored 341 runs with 405 balls, (56 fours& 2 sixes) representing Bihar in the plate group 2021-22 Ranji Trophy fixture against Mizoram at the Jadavpur University Campus Ground, Kolkata, West Bengal.
• He made his List A debut for Bihar in October 2019.
• Previously, the record of highest score on first-class debut was held by Ajay Rothera of Madhya Pradesh (267 runs in December 2018) and Amol Muzumdar of Mumbai (260 runs in 1993-1994).

ANSWER: B

• The government of Assam is set to launch a 4-year mentorship programme – “Project Arohan” – to mentor the students of Assam and to hone their skills.
• Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister(CM) of Assam, met with Anita Rajan, Chief Executive officer CEO) of Tata STRIVE, the skill development initiative of Tata Trusts, to seek cooperation for Project Arohan.