ANSWER: C

 ANSWER: D

 ANSWER: A

 ANSWER: A

• A team from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) recently discovered a new catfish species in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The new species was found in Siking stream, a tributary of Siang river in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The new catfish species has been christened ‘Exostoma Dhritiae’ after Dhriti Banerjee, the first woman director of the ZSI, as a mark of honour for her contributions to research on the fauna of the country.
• The new species is a small fish found in streams in these hills and is called ‘Ngorang’ by local tribals.

 ANSWER: B

• For the first time, scientists have reported evidence of piezoelectric effect in liquids.
• Piezoelectric effect is the ability of certain materials to generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress.
• In the piezoelectric effect, a body develops an electric current when it is squeezed. The piezoelectric effect was discovered in 1880, in quartz.
  • Quartz is the most famous piezoelectric crystal.
  • Quartz is silicon dioxide (SiO2). The quartz crystal consists of silicon and oxygen atoms at the four vertices of a three-sided pyramid; each oxygen atom is shared by two pyramids.
• It is used in this capacity in analog wristwatches and clocks. Such crystals are also used in cigarette lighters, electric guitars, TV remote controls, audio transducers etc.
• The Piezoelectric effect has only been expected in solids thus far because the body being squeezed needs to have an organised structure, like pyramids of quartz.
  • Liquids don’t have such structure. Instead, they take shape of their container.

 ANSWER: D

• Assam High Court has sought a report on demarcation of borders of Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary (AMS).
• AMS is a small but naturally rich habitat on eastern fringe of Guwahati city.
• It falls under East-Kamrup division with Brahmaputra River to its North.
• It was declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 2004 by Government of Assam.
• It is flanked by the three Reserve forests-Khanapara, Amchang, and the South Amchang.
• Species found
  • Forest Types: Khasi Hill Sal Forests, East Himalayan Mixed Deciduous Forest, Eastern Alluvial Secondary Semi-evergreen Forests and East Himalayan Sal Forests.
  • Mammals – Chinese pangolin, Flying fox, Slow loris, Assamese macaque, Rhesus macaque, Hoolock gibbon, Porcupine.
  • Birds– Lesser Adjutant, Greater Adjutant, White-backed Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture, Khaleej Pheasant Green Imperial Pigeon, Lesser Pied Hornbill etc.
  • Reptiles– Python, Monitor Lizard, Indian Cobra etc.

 ANSWER: C

• The forest department has initiated ‘Mission Arikomban’, an operation to capture the rogue tusker.
• A wild elephant by the name of Arikomban has been causing chaos in the higher ranges of Idukki district in Kerala.
• Over the past few years, Arikomban has trampled at least 10 people to death and destroyed around 60 houses and shops.
• The forest department has come up with a plan to capture Arikomban and train it to be a ‘kumki’, a captive elephant used for operations against rogue elephants.
• The plan is to capture it with tranquilizer shots and later shift it to an elephant training center.

 ANSWER: D

• North Korea has recently unveiled its new nuclear underwater drone, which has caused concerns in the international community.
• The drone, dubbed “Haeil” or Tsunami, is designed to create massive radioactive waves through submarine explosions.
• The drone can be deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation.

 ANSWER: A

• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and World Bank have issued ‘Delhi Declaration’ on Modernisation of Agricultural Education System (AES) at International Conference on Blended Learning Ecosystem.
• Conference was held as part of NAHEP’s Resilient Agricultural Education System (RAES) development initiative.

National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP).

• It aims to attract talent and strengthen higher agricultural education in the country.
• NAHEP is a five-year project initiated in 2018 by World Bank and Central Government to strengthen National AES.
• Funded by the World Bank and the Indian Government on a 50:50 basis.
• The objective of the NAHEP for India is to support participating agricultural universities and ICAR in providing more relevant and higher quality education to Agricultural University students.
• In addition, a four year degree in Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries and Forestry has been declared a professional degree.
• ICAR is an autonomous organisation for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

 ANSWER: B

• A new book titled ‘Basu Chatterji: And Middle-of-the-Road Cinema’ has been released, which chronicles the life and times of the veteran Indian filmmaker Basu Chatterjee.
• The book is written by Aniruddha Bhattacharjee, an award-winning author, and has been published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI).

 ANSWER: B

• The Border Road Organisation(BRO) restored Darcha-Padum road via Shinku La (16,580 ft) for traffic movement between Lahaul in Himachal and Zanskar valley in the union territory of Ladakh.
  • The road was blocked for three days due to fresh snowfall near the Shinku La.

Related news

• Shinku-La Tunnel, also known as Shinkula Tunnel or Shingo-La Tunnel, is a planned motorable tunnel linking Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul Valley and Ladakh’s Zanskar Valley in Northern India.
• The Shinku La tunnel is a part of Project Yojak. This project is implemented by BRO.
• The main objective of the project is to make sure Manali – Leh route is accessible all through the year.