ANSWER: A

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: D

• Recently, tenders floated for implementation of Kalasa Banduri project were put out without obtaining forest and environment clearance.

ABOUT KALASA-BANDURI PROJECT

• Aims to divert water from two tributaries of the Mahadayi river (also known as Mandovi): Kalasa and Banduri to the Malaprabha river.
  • Malaprabha river is a tributary of Krishna river.
• Mahadayi or Mhadei, the west-flowing river, originates in Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary (Western Ghats), Belagavi district of Karnataka and drains into Arabian Sea.
• Entire project aims to construct several dams on the river Mandovi.
• Aimed at facilitating drinking water for towns in drought-hit northern Karnataka.
  • The areas include Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkote and Gadag among others.

ANSWER: C

• Recently, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the appointment of senior IPS officer Ravi Sinha as the chief of India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) for a period of two years.

ABOUT RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS WING (R&AW)

• It was established in 1968 to handle the India’s international intelligence affairs.
• After the 1962 China-India war and the Indo-Pakistani war in 1965, India established a separate and distinct external intelligence organization – the Research and Analysis Wing.
• In 1968, then India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appointed N. Kao as the first director of RAW.
• At present, the intelligence arm operates under the aegis of the Prime Minister’s Office.
• It collects military, economic, scientific, and political intelligence through covert and overt operations.
• The agency is also charged with monitoring terrorist elements and smuggling rings that transport weapons and ammunition into India.

ANSWER: A

• The Asia Pacific Plant Protection Commission unanimously elected India as chair of the Standing Committee on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for the biennium 2023-24 during the 32nd Session held in Bangkok.

ABOUT ASIA PACIFIC PLANT PROTECTION COMMISSION

• It is an intergovernmental organization that promotes cooperation among countries in the Asia-Pacific region to enhance plant health and plant protection.
• Established in 1956 as a regional body approved by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
• Members- 25 member countries, including India.
• The Commission administers the Regional Plant Protection Agreement for Asia and the Pacific.
• It reviews the plant protection situation at the national level in member countries, and also at the regional level.
• The Commission consists of representatives of all member countries and elects amongst them a Chairperson who serves for a period of two years.
• The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization appoints and provides the secretariat that coordinates, organizes and follows up the work of the Commission.

ANSWER: A

• Russian President recently said that, Russia’s new generation of Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads, would soon be deployed for combat duty.
• The RS-28 Sarmat is Russia’s new generation intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• It is capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads.
• It is designed and built by the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau, Russia.
• Range-18,000 kilometres.
• Maximum speed of 25,500kph.

ANSWER: D

• All-India Consumer Price Index Number for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers (CPI-AL/RL) was released by the Labour Bureau under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• Base year of CPI-AL/RL is 1986-87.
• It covers data from 600 sample villages selected from 20 States every month, by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

ANSWER: B

• A new scientific report published in the journal Nature shows that significant precipitation changes and increasing extreme climate events affecting the large human populations as well as endemic biodiversity of Lake Victoria Basin.
• Heavy rains, wind storms, and floods threaten the survival and water access of the communities living in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB), East Africa.
• The resultant massive flooding in lake-adjacent areas displaced over 200,000 people in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
  • LVB covers, also including Burundi and Rwanda.

About Lake Victoria

• It is the world’s second-largest freshwater lake by area (after Lake Superior).
• It is located in East Africa, bordered by Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.
• It is also called Victoria Nyanza in Kenya, Nalubaale in Uganda, and Ukerewe in Tanzania.
• It is a source of the White Nile River which flows northward and eventually joins the Blue Nile in Sudan to form the Nile River.
• Also referred to as “Darwin’s Dreampond”, the lake is known for its high levels of unique biodiversity.
• The lake supports the largest freshwater fishery in the world, producing 1 million tons of fish per year and employing 200,000 people in supporting the livelihoods of 4 million people.

ANSWER: A

• It is an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean.
• It is about 1300 km South of mainland Spain and 115 km West of the African coast (Morocco).
• The Canaries comprise the Spanish provincias (provinces) of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
• These Islands were formed by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago.