Answer: C

• India has exported cucumber and gherkins to the tune of 1,23,846 Metric Tonnes with a value of USD 114 million during April-October, 2021 and emerged as largest exporters of cucumber and gherkins.

Why it is Important

• India has crossed the USD 200 million mark of export of agricultural processed product, pickling cucumber, which is globally referred as gherkins or cornichons.
• Gherkins are exported under two categories — cucumbers and gherkins, which are prepared and preserved by vinegar or acetic acid and cucumbers and gherkins, which are provisionally preserved.
• Gherkin cultivation, processing and exports started in India during the early 1990s with a modest beginning in Karnataka and later extended to the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Nearly 15% production of the world’s gherkin requirement is grown in India.
• Gherkins is currently exported to more than 20 countries, with major destinations being North America, European countries and Oceanic countries such as USA, France, Germany, Australia, Spain, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Russia, China, Sri Lanka and Israel.

How was it made possible?

• Following directions of the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) undertook a series of initiatives in infrastructure development, product promotion in the global market and adherence to food safety management system in processing units.

About APEDA –

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act, 1985.
• It functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Authority has its headquarters in New Delhi.
• APEDA is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of the scheduled products viz. fruits, vegetables and their products; meat and meat products; poultry and poultry products; dairy products; confectionery, biscuits and bakery products; honey, jaggery and sugar products; cocoa and its products, chocolates of all kinds; alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages; cereal and cereal products; groundnuts, peanuts and walnuts, pickles, papads and chutneys; guar gum; floriculture and floriculture products; herbal and medicinal plants.

Answer: C

• To recognise and honour the invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by individuals and organisations in India in the field of Disaster Management, Government of India has instituted an annual award known as Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.
• For the year 2022, (i) Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (in the Institutional category) and (ii) Professor Vinod Sharma (in the Individual category) have been selected for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar for their excellent work in Disaster Management.

Why it is Important

• The award is announced every year on 23rd January, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
• In case the winner being an institution, it shall receive a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 51 lakhs. This cash prize shall be utilised by the winning institution for Disaster Management related activities only.
• In case of the winner being an individual, winner shall receive a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakhs.

About the awardees

• Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM), established in 2012, the Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM) has been working to enhance the disaster risk reduction (DRR) capacity of Gujarat. Through a series of strategically designed capacity building programs, GIDM has trained more than 12,000 professionals on diverse issues concerning multi-hazard risk management and reduction during the pandemic.
• Professor Vinod Sharma, a senior professor at the Indian Institute of Public Administration and Vice-Chairman of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, was the founder coordinator of the National Centre of Disaster Management, now known as the National Institute of Disaster Management

Answer: A

• Ministry of Culture is organizing a rangoli making event ‘Umang Rangoli Utsav’ on 24th January 2022. The day is celebrated as ‘National Girl Child Day’ every year and to commemorate the day this year, a nationwide event celebrating the Girl Child is being organized under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

About The Event

• In the event, it is proposed that the participating teams will make Rangoli decorations for about one kilometer of length on the roads and squares that have been named after the female freedom fighters or the female role models of the country.
• The Rangoli decorations are being done at more than 50 locations across the country. It will be a great opportunity to celebrate the ‘Girl Child Day’ and ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ through this event.

Answer: C

• The government has dropped Abide With Me, a hymn that has been a fixture in the Beating Retreat ceremony since 1950.
• The ceremony will end with Sare Jahan Se Accha by the Buglers.

About the song

• The hymn written by Henry Francis Lyte, is set to the tune of Eventide by William Henry Monk.

Significance

• Abide With Me was one of Mahatma Gandhi’s personal favourites.
• At Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, the ashram bhajanavali — the first and probably the only cross-religion hymnal anywhere — with the bhajans ‘Vaishnav Jan Toh’ and the well-known Ram Dhun by Tulsidas, ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ in it, Abide With Me, along with Lead Kindly Light, was put together under Gandhi’s watch.

Answer:  C

• India shuttler and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu recently won the women’s singles title at the Syed Modi International badminton tournament.
• Sindhu defeated Malvika Bansod 21-13, 21-16 in the summit clash. The final lasted just 35 minutes.
• Former World champion Sindhu’s second Syed Modi title after having annexed the BWF World Tour Super 300 event in 2017.
• Earlier, the men’s singles final of the Syed Modi India International 2022 was declared a ‘No Match’.

Answer: B

• The Supreme Court sought the government’s response on the creation of an independent Indian Environment Service in the “All India Service cadre”.
• S.R. Subramanian Committee report of 2014 had recommended it

About the Report

• The Committee, constituted by the Environment Ministry, in its report on November 18, 2014, had categorically recorded that the necessary institutional framework needs to be created, building on the existing systems, to meet future ecological demands, and ecological imbalance