ANSWER: A

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: C

• Nigeria recently destroyed 5 tonnes of seized elephant tusks valued at over 9.9 billion naira ($11.2 million) in a push to protect its dwindling elephant population from rampant wildlife traffickers.
• Thousands of elephants are killed each year for their tusks despite a 1989 ban on the trade of ivory by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

ABOUT AFRICAN ELEPHANTS

• African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth.
  • They are slightly larger than Asian Elephants.
• Characteristics
  • African elephants have much larger ears that look like the continent of Africa.
  • They have rounded heads.
  • Both male and female African elephants can have tusks.
• Elephants are matriarchal i.e. they live in female-led groups.
• Threats –Poaching, Habitat loss because of increasing human population, and conversion of land for agriculture and development etc.
• Classified into two types-
  • African Savanna (or bush) elephant: They are larger animals that roam the plains of sub-Saharan Africa.
    • IUCN Red List: Endangered
  • African Forest Elephants: They are smaller animals that live in the forests of Central and West Africa.
    • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered

ANSWER: B

• Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar flagged off the first indigenously manufactured Drishti 10 ‘Starliner’ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for the Navy.

About Drishti 10 ‘Starliner’

• Drishti 10 ‘Starliner’ is an advanced Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform with 36 hours endurance.
• It has a 450 kgs payload capacity.
• It is the only all-weather military platform with STANAG 4671 certification, and clear to fly in both segregated and unsegregated airspace.
• The Drishti 10 Starliner UAV has been manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace.
• The sophisticated, state-of-the-art UAV marks a significant step towards strategic autonomy and technological leadership in high-endurance, combat-proven, and indigenized advanced aerial systems.

ANSWER: B

• Lead poisoning, a pervasive yet oft-underestimated public health concern, has silently penetrated the landscapes of Odisha.
• Lead contamination in Odisha is primarily attributed to improper treatment of waste from industries and e-waste as well as the informal battery recycling sector, which affects the soil, water and subsequently the food chain.
• Sources of lead poisoning
  • Aside from contaminated drinking water, fish, vegetables, etc., grown in and around polluted water and soil, can cause indirect ingestion of lead and other harmful heavy metals.
  • Aluminium utensils, imported candy, adulterated spices, toxic paints, etc., are other sources of lead poisoning.
• Impact
  • Lead accumulates in the body and gets deposited in the bones and teeth.
  • It poses severe health risks, particularly to children with developing nervous systems in the form of cognitive impairments, developmental delays, behavioural disorders.
  • Adults experience adverse effects on cardiovascular health, kidneys and reproductive systems.
  • In pregnant women specifically, lead poisoning can lead to miscarriages, still birth, low birth weight and other complications.

Facts

• A Report of the World Health Organisation says that almost one million people die every year due to lead poisoning across the globe and 1,000-5,000 people die in Odisha, with the most vulnerable being children.

ANSWER: C

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the tenth edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on 10^th Jan 2024.
• The theme of the tenth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit is ‘Gateway to the Future’.
• There are 34 Partner countries and 16 Partner organizations for this year’s Summit.
• It was conceptualised in the 2003.
• Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit over the years has emerged as a key tool of Paradiplomacy.
  • Paradiplomacy, also known as ‘state diplomacy’ or ‘subnational diplomacy,’ denotes the ability of subnational governments to engage in international relations.
  • It enables the regional governments to establish business networks, share knowledge, and form strategic partnerships.

ANSWER: A

• The Drone Detect, Deter and Destroy system (D4S) is the first indigenously developed anti-drone system to be inducted into the Indian Armed Forces.
• Developed by- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Manufactured by- Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
• Features include-
  • It can detect, track and identify rouge drones within 4 km range.
  • D4 system can instantly detect and jam micro drones (Soft kill) and use a laser-based kill mechanism to terminate targets (Hard kill).
  • It can lase a target 1-1.25 km far depending on the wattage of the laser weapon.
• It uses DRDO’s RF/Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to detect the frequency which is being used by the controller and the signals are then jammed.

ANSWER: B

• Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey, a senior diplomat of India, assumed the position of Secretary General (SG) of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
• He succeeded Tenzin Lekphell of Bhutan, is the 4th SG of BIMSTEC and will remain in office for a period of three years.

ABOUT BIMSTEC

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization that was established on 06 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
• Initially known as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation), the organisation is now known as BIMSTEC and comprises seven Member States, with admission of Myanmar in 1997 and Bhutan and Nepal in 2004.
• The BIMSTEC Secretariat was established in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2014.
• The BIMSTEC Charter was signed and adopted during the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit held in virtual format in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2022.

ANSWER: D

• Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal inaugurated the ‘Indus Food 2024’, exhibition to showcase India’s vibrant and diverse food ecosystem, being held in India Exposition Mart, Greater Noida.

SOME FACTS

• There has been 150% growth in processed food exports over the past nine years, with India’s agricultural exports reaching approximately US$ 53 Billion.
• India’s has diverse agro-climatic zones, 158 food and agri Geographical Indications, and 708 unique food items under the One District One Product initiative.

ANSWER: C

• External Affairs Minister Jaishankar launched his new book ‘Why Bharat Matters’ in which he examines the geopolitics and various aspects of India’s foreign policy since Independence using the epic Ramayana as the overarching perspective.
• The book focuses on presenting the ‘Bharatiya’ view of the world.
• The book has chapters on dealing with China, the Quad grouping, re-imagining security, and ends with the essay that is the title of the book – Why Bharat Matters.

ANSWER: D

• The orchards of seven districts of Himachal Pradesh will be filled with mango, guava, orange and pomegranate by the year 2028.
• Under the HP Shiva Project, a target has been set to complete the work of growing cash crops on 6000 hectares of agricultural land by the year 2028.
• This includes plantation, irrigation facilities and fencing work.
• The Himachal Pradesh Subtropical Horticulture, Irrigation, and Value Addition (HPSHIVA) Project aims to increase the income of farm households in seven districts (Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Solan, Sirmour and Una) of subtropical areas of Himachal Pradesh.
• The project will expand climate resilient subtropical horticulture plantation area along with assured irrigation and market access through value chain development.