ANSWER: C

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: B

• Toy manufacturers in Channapatna, Karnataka, applauded the Government’s decision to prohibit the import of toys from China and said that the government’s action is contributing to augmenting their profitability.

About Channapatna Toys

• Channapatna toys are a particular form of wooden toys and dolls that are manufactured in the town of Channapatna in the Ramanagara district of Karnataka.
• Channapatna is also known as Gombegala Ooru (toy-town).
• Tipu Sultan, is the one attributed to introducing these wooden toys to the current town of Channapatna.
• He invited artists from Persia to train the local artists in wooden toy making, which then helped this industry thrive locally.
• Most of these toys are handmade.
• They are also painted in organic colours extracted from vegetables and plants and natural dyes, making the Channapatna Toys 100% chemical free.
• Traditionally, the work involved lacquering the wood of the Wrightia tinctoria tree, colloquially called Aale mara (ivory-wood). However, nowadays, sandalwood and mango wood are also used.
• Their shapes are mostly round and cubes with blunt edges, so they are completely safe for kids.
• They received the geographical indication (GI) tag in 2005.

ANSWER: D

• Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, recently reviewed the ‘Food Street Project’.
• It is aimed at developing 100 healthy and hygienic food-streets across the country.
• The project seeks to encourage safe and healthy food practices, reduce foodborne illnesses and improve overall health outcomes.
• To operationalize the food streets, the National Health Mission will provide assistance of one crore rupees per food street.
• The initiative will be implemented through NHM in convergence with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• These initiatives include training of food handlers, independent third-party audits, and certification under the Clean Street Food Hub initiative of the Eat Right India movement.

ANSWER: A

• A new portal dedicated to leopards (Panthera pardus) was launched by the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT), an active predator conservation working group, on International Leopard Day (May 3) to promote and celebrate leopards worldwide.

About Leopards

• The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the cat family, Felidae.
• The leopard is distinguished by its well-camouflaged fur, opportunistic hunting behavior, broad diet, strength, and its ability to adapt to a variety of habitats including savanna and rainforest, grasslands, desert and semi-desert regions of southern Africa, woodlands, and riverine forests.
• Global Distribution– These cats are distributed across areas, stretching from sub-Saharan Africa to West Asia and the Middle East, reaching South and Southeast Asia and Siberia.
• The earliest known leopard fossils excavated in Europe are estimated 600,000 years old, dating to the late Early Pleistocene.
• Leopards are carnivores and their diet includes animals such as antelopes, gazelles, monkeys etc.
• Leopards attain all required moisture from their food, so they can survive without drinking water for long periods of time.
• Leopards are closely related to Black panthers which are leopards, but with recessive melanistic genes.
• Threats- habitat fragmentation, poaching for its skin and teeth, illegal trade etc
• Protection status
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
  • CITES: Appendix-I.
  • Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule-I.

ANSWER: A

• Following reports of two separate violent attacks in which five people were reportedly killed, the Brazilian government has pledged to expedite the removal of illegal miners from Yanomami, Brazil’s largest indigenous territory.

About Yanomami Territory

• The Yanomami territory is the largest Indigenous land in Brazil, covering an area of about 96,000 square kilometres in the Amazon rainforest.
• It is home to about 30,000 Yanomami people, who live in hundreds of villages scattered across the region.
• The Yanomami are one of the most isolated and culturally diverse indigenous groups in the world, with their languages, customs and beliefs.
• They live in large, circular houses called yanos or shabonos, some of which can hold up to 400 people.
• The Yanomami consider all people to be equal, and do not have a chief. Instead, all decisions are based on consensus after long discussions and debates.
• They speak Xirianá

ANSWER: D

• Defence Minister of India recently laid the foundation stone for the Maldives National Defence Forces Coast Guard ‘Ekatha Harbour’.
• The development of the Coast Guard Harbour and repair facility at Sifavaru is one of the biggest grant-in-aid projects of India.
• It is located at Sifavaru in Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) atoll, where India is assisting in construction of a naval dockyard.

ANSWER: D

• An integrated surveillance and firepower training exercise ‘Buland Bharat’ was conducted in the recently operationalised longest high-altitude Artillery Ranges of the eastern theatre.
• The exercise involved the synergised application of surveillance and firepower capabilities of the Artillery and the Infantry in close coordination with Special Forces, Aviation and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) deployed in West Kameng and Tawang districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Uninterrupted communication on multiple media was also tested at long distances.

ANSWER: B

• Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra recently revealed a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Mauritius.

ANSWER: B

• The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet, under the leadership of CM, has announced a monthly incentive of Rs 1,500 for women in the Spiti Valley.
• The incentive will be provided to all eligible women, including Buddhist nuns, above the age of 18 years.
• This initiative is called the Indira Gandhi Mahila Samman Nidhi.