Daily Current Affairs Quiz: July 20, 2023

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: A

• Shaheed Mangal Pandey’s birth anniversary was observed on July 19^th
• Often known as First freedom fighter of India, he was born in a town near Faizabad in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
• He joined the army of the British East India Company in 1849 and he was made a soldier (sepoy) in the 6th Company of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry.
• He revolted against East India Company in 1857 by attacking British officers at military garrison in Barrackpore.
• He was sentenced to death and executed on April 7, 1857, in Barrackpore.
• The revolt was considered as First War of Independence in India against Britishers.
• A postage stamp was issued in the year 1984 in honour of Shaheed Mangal Pandey by the Government of India for his important role in India’s freedom struggle.

ANSWER: A

• A fusion of Rock Art has been found at Rudragiri Hillock in Andhra Pradesh.
• The site unveils a fascinating combination of prehistoric rock paintings from the Mesolithic period (Middle Stone Age) and exquisite artwork from the Kakatiya dynasty.
  • Mesolithic Period corresponds to period from 12,000 years ago till about 10,000 years ago.
• The site includes five naturally formed rock shelters that served as living quarters during the Mesolithic age, around 5000 B.C.
• The Kakatiya-era paintings display scenes from the epic Ramayana and are adorned with a variety of colours derived from white kaolin and different pigments.
• One of the caves depicts a fierce battle between the Vanara brothers Vali and Sugriva, with Rama shooting arrows at Vali.
• Another cave features a grand sketch of Hanuman carrying the Sanjivani hill in his right hand, symbolizing his mission to save Lakshmana’s life.

ABOUT KAKATIYA DYNASTY

• Kakatiyas was an Andhra dynasty that flourished in the 12th century CE.
• They ruled from Warangal from CE 1083-1323.
• Were known for the construction of a network of tanks for irrigation and drinking water purposes.
• There are hundreds of Hindu temples built under the patronage of Kakatiya kings like Ganapati Deva, Rudrama Devi and Prataparudra in the Kakatiya dynasty. For e.g Thousand Pillar Temple or Rudreshwara Swamy Temple. It is a star-shaped, shrine dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva and Surya.

ANSWER: D

• America’s largest reptile sanctuary, The Phoenix Herpetological Society has requested a permit to import 6 gharials and 6 crocodiles from Madras Crocodile Bank Trust.

ABOUT GHARIAL

• Habitat- It is a fresh-water crocodile which lives in deep fast-flowing rivers.
• It has a very long and narrow snout.
• Globally Gharial is found only in India and Nepal.
• In India their major population occur in three tributaries of the Ganga River: the Chambal and the Girwa Rivers in India and the Rapti-Naryani River in Nepal.
• The Gharial reserves of India are located in three States – Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• Protection status
  • IUCN red list: Critically endangered.
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
  • CITES: Appendix I

ABOUT MUGGER CROCODILE

• It is mainly restricted to the Indian subcontinent and is found in a number of freshwater habitat types and also in coastal saltwater lagoons and estuaries.
• It is already extinct in Bhutan and Myanmar.
• It is an egg-laying and hole-nesting species, known to be dangerous.
• Threats include habitat destruction, fragmentation, and transformation, fishing activities and use of crocodile parts for medicinal purposes.
• Protection Status:
  • IUCN red list: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

ANSWER: C

• Ghaggar river has affected six districts of Haryana (Panchkula, Ambala, Kaithal, Fatehabad and Sirsa), four of Punjab (Mohali, Patiala, Sangrur and Mansa) and two (Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar) of Rajasthan with floods, this monsoon season.
• The Ghaggar and many of its tributaries originate in the Shivalik foothills of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh.
• Among these tributaries, the Kaushalya, Tangri, Markanda, Beghna and Sukhna rivers are the ones that merge into the Ghaggar.
• The encroachement of the catchment area has converted these perennial rivers into seasonal rivers.
• These are considered dead rivers but in this monsoon season they reclaimed their floodplains and caused heavy losses.
• The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season.
• The river is known as Ghaggar in India, before the Ottu barrage, and as the Hakra in Pakistan, downstream of the barrage.
• It eventually dries up in the Great Indian (Thar) Desert.

ANSWER: B

• India is looking to strengthen its energy ties with Iraq with plans for an LNG terminal in the West Asian nation and ONGC Videsh resuming exploration in a block under force majeure since 2003.
• Iraq does not possess the technology to capture gas from its hydrocarbon blocks, which are burnt and released into the environment.
• Iraq is one of the biggest gas-flaring countries as it lacks facilities to capture and process the gas to convert it into fuels or export it as LNG.
• ‘‘Block 20’’, earlier known as Block 8, is a large on-land exploration block in the western desert of Iraq, spread over 10,500 sq km.
• OVL had acquired a 100 % stake in the block by signing the exploration and development contract in November 2000. However, force majeure was declared in 2003 amid security concerns.

ABOUT FORCE MAJEURE

• Force majeure means “greater force” in French.
• It refers to an extraordinary event rendering the legal obligations between two or more contractually bound parties impossible to fulfill.
• It is related to the concept of an act of God, an event for which no party can be held accountable.
• This type of event must be entirely beyond the parties’ reasonable control.
• Notable events include war, riots, criminal activity, epidemics, pandemics, and other unforeseeable events.
• Force majeure conflicts with the concept of “pacta sunt servanda,” a principle in international law that agreements must be kept and not wriggled out of.

ANSWER: C

• International Moon Day is observed every year on the 20^th of July, which marks the anniversary of the day on which astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin famously set foot on the Moon in 1969 as part of the Apollo 11 lunar mission.

ANSWER: D

• 20^th July is observed as World Chess Day to commemorate the establishment of Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) or World Chess Federation in 1924.
• Under initiative of FIDE, July 20 has been observed as International Chess Day by chess players around the world since 1966.