ANSWER: C

• Senior advocate R Venkataramani has been appointed as the new Attorney General of India. The Ministry of Law and Justice in a notification said, the President has appointed Mr Venkataramani as the new Attorney General for a period of three years from 1st of October. He will succeed Mr K K Venugopal, whose term will be ending tomorrow.

Key Points

• The Attorney General (AG) of India is apart of the Union Executive. AG is the highest law officer in the country.
• Article 76of the Constitution provides for the office of AG of India.
• Appointment and Eligibility:

• • AG is appointed by the President on the advice of the government.
  • She/he must be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, i.e. s/he must be a citizen of India and must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or an eminent jurist, in the opinion of the President.

• Term of the Office:Not fixed by the Constitution.
• Removal:Procedures and grounds for the removal of AG are not stated in the Constitution. S/he holds office during the pleasure of the President (may be removed by the President at any time).
• Duties and Functions:

• • To give advice to the Government of India (GoI) upon such legal matters, which are referred to her/him by the President.
  • To perform such other duties of a legal character that are assigned to her/him by the President.
    • To appear on behalf of the GoI in all cases in the Supreme Court or in any case in any High Court in which the GoI is concerned.
    • To represent the GoI in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 (Power of the President to consult the Supreme Court) of the Constitution.
  • To discharge the functions conferred on her/him by the Constitution or any other law.

ANSWER: C

• The Government has appointed Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan (Retired) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Lieutenant General Chauhan will also function as Secretary, Department of Military Affairs with effect from the date of his assumption of charge.
• In a career spanning over nearly 40 years, Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and North-East India.
• The post of Chief of Defence Staff has been lying vacant since death of General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash on 8th December last year.
• Born on 18th May 1961, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.
• In the rank of Major General, the officer had commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern Command. Later as Lt General, he commanded a corps in the North East and subsequently went to become the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command from September 2019 and held the charge until his retirement from the service in May 2021.
• In addition to these command appointments, Lt Gen Chauhan also tenanted important staff appointments including the charge of Director General of Military Operations.
• Earlier, he had also served as a United Nations mission to Angola. Even after his retirement from the Army, he continued to contribute to national security and strategic matters.
• For his distinguished and illustrious service in the Army, Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.

About CDS:

• He will be the single-point military adviser to the government as suggested by the Kargil Review Committee in 1999.
• He will be a Four-star General.
• CDS acts as the permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee which will also have three service chiefs as members.
• His core function will be to foster greater operational synergy between the three service branches of the Indian military and keep inter-service frictions to a minimum.

Conditions:

• Not eligible to hold any Government office after demitting the office of CDS.
• No private employment without prior approval for a period of five years after demitting the office of CDS.

Roles and functions:

1. CDS will provide “single-point military advice”to the government, inject synergy in planning, procurements and logistics in the armed forces.
2. It will ensure integration of land-air-sea operations through the eventual setting up of theatre commands.
3. The CDS will also function as the military advisor to the PM-led Nuclear Command Authority,as also have direct command of tri-Service organizations to handle the new warfare domains of space and cyberspace.
4. He will function as the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister and also as the Permanent Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC).
5. The CDS will be member of Defence Acquisition Council and Defence Planning Committee.

ANSWER: C

• Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav has said that India is the first country with a cooling action plan based on energy efficiency and thermal comfort, and has launched important initiatives including UJALA Yojana and schemes for industrial energy efficiency.
• Addressing the Ministerial Roundtable for Green Economy at the World Green Economy Summit at the World Trade Center in Dubai.
• Bhupender Yadav said that accelerating low carbon transition across different economic sectors is the need of the hour. He also stressed the importance of addressing environmental and climate objectives alongside economic development.
• After the Roundtable, the Minister also had a bilateral meeting with United Arab Emirates, UAE, Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr ­Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.
• In the meeting, both the leaders discussed issues relating to upcoming Conference of Parties, COP 27, COP 28, MoU on Climate Actions between India and UAE, and global initiatives spearheaded by these countries for combating climate change.

ANSWER: D

• Union Cabinet has decided to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) scheme for a further period of three months from October to December this year.
• The decision will benefit 80 crore people.
• 122 lakh metric tonnes foodgrains will be distributed in the next three months with a total expenditure of more than 44 thousand crore rupees under the 7th phase of the scheme.
• Three lakh 45 thousand crore rupees have been spent on this scheme so far. The Minister said, this decision will bring joy on the face of people in the upcoming festive season.
• Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, five-kilogram foodgrain is being provided to eligible beneficiary per month free of cost. The scheme was started in March 2020 to provide the food security to poor people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

ANSWER: A

• Swedish weapon-maker Saab announced it would set up a manufacturing facility for its well-known shoulder launched weapon system Carl-Gustaf in India.
• It will be the company’s first manufacturing facility for the Carl-Gustaf M4 outside Sweden. The Indian Army has been a long-time user of the previous version of weapon and has also ordered the latest version.
• The production at the new facility will start in 2024. “A new company Saab FFV India, currently under registration, will make the weapon in India. Saab is looking at the 100 per cent FDI route,” said Görgen Johansson, senior vice-president, head of business area dynamics, Saab.
• He said the details of location of the plant and the investment would be revealed once things were finalised. The long-term plan of localisation of parts had been drawn up.

ANSWER: A

• Giorgia Meloni looks set to become Italy’s first woman prime minister at the head of its most right-wing government since World War Two after leading a conservative alliance to triumph at the election.
• Meloni will take over from Prime Minister Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, who pushed Rome to the centre of EU policy-making during his 18-month stint in office, forging close ties with Paris and Berlin.
• The Italian far-right leader Meloni party came top in general elections. Leading the next government, she will work for the betterment of all Italians.

Who is Giorgia Meloni?

• Giorgia Meloni is an Italian politician and journalist who was born on 15 January 1977. Her father came from Sardinia and her mother belonged to Sicily.
• In 1992 at the age of 15, Meloni joined the Youth Front, the youth wing of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). Next to this in 1996, she earned a diploma from the Amerigo Vespucci Institute.
• She has also served as a youth minister in Berlusconi’s 2008-2011 government before founding the Brothers of Italy in 2012.
• Three prominent political leaders Meloni, La Russa, and Crosetto founded a new political movement Brothers of Italy in 2012.

ANSWER:  B

• The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has stumbled upon a historically-rich treasure trove in Bandhavgarh, Madhya Pradesh. The ASI team has found 26 caves, mostly Buddhist, ranging from the 2nd century to 5th century, of the Mahayana sect and remains of Buddhist structures and mural inscriptions bearing names of cities like Mathura and Kaushambi in old scripts.
• During the exercise held from May 20-June 27 in an area sprawling around 170 sq km at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, the ASI’s Jabalpur circle found many ancient sculptures, including large monolithic sculptures of various avatars of Vishnu like “Varaha” and “Matsya”, and “board games made in natural caves.”
• “This is for the first time since the 1938 exploration by archaeologist NP Chakravarti that ASI has explored Bandhavgah. Many structures of the area had already been documented, we reported and documented many more structures now, including ancient caves, temples, Buddhist remains, maths, sculptures, water bodies, mural inscriptions in old scripts like Brahmi and Nagari etc,” said SK Bakpai, the  ASI’s Jabalpur Superintending Archaeologist.
• One of the many historical finds is a large Varaha sculpture measuring 6.4 x 5.03 x 2.77 meters datable to (9th – 13th century CE). It appears to be the world’s largest sculpture, the official said, adding that in the old inscriptions, names of the kings — Maharaja Shri Bhimsena, Maharaja Pothasiri and Maharaja Bhattadeva —have been engraved. Nineteen water bodies of different periods (2nd-15thCE) were part of the exploration findings.
• A votive stupa and a Buddhist pillar fragment containing miniature stups carving, which roughly date back to 2nd-3rd century AD have been documented as part of this exploration.
• Coins belonging to the Mughal-era and Sharqi dynasty of Jaunpur Sultanate have also been found.
• ASI officials said a total of 35 temples have been documented,  nine found in the earlier and 26 temples or its remains of Kalachuri period in the latest exploration.
• 26 of the discovered caves- mostly Budhist in nature- are the newly documented ones, dating back to 2nd century BC – 5th century; whereas 50 of them were reported earlier, he added.  Two new Shaiva maths of Kalachuri period (9th-11th century AD) and two new stupas have also been documented, officials said.  Also, remains of Mahayana sect of Buddhism like chaitya-shaped doors and cells containing stone beds have also come to light, they said.
• Besides 46 new sculptures  also documented, 10 were already reported earlier prior to this exploration. Twenty-four Brahmi inscriptions (dated 2nd-5th century AD) have been documented, the ASI said.  Mathura’s name was mentioned in Brahmi script, Bajpai said, adding, inscriptions are also in Nagari and Shankhalipi.  Besides, names of Mathura and Kaushambi, Pavata (Parvata), Vejabharada and Sepatanaairikaa are also mentioned in various inscriptions.

ANSWER: C

• A hurricane is a type of storm called a tropical cyclone, which forms over tropical or subtropical waters.
• A tropical cyclone is a rotating low-pressure weather system that has organized thunderstorms but no fronts (a boundary separating two air masses of different densities).
• Tropical cyclones with maximum sustained surface winds of less than 39 miles per hour (mph) are called tropical depressions. Those with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph or higher are called tropical storms.
• When a storm’s maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph, it is called a hurricane.
• Hurricanes originate in the Atlantic basin, which includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico, the eastern North Pacific Ocean, and, less frequently, the central North Pacific Ocean.
• “Hurricane Season” begins on June 1 and ends on November 30, although hurricanes can, and have, occurred outside of this time frame.

ANSWER: C

• The government has approved Rs 14.22 crore under the 15th Finance Commission for landslide protection works in various disaster-affected areas of Chamba district under the State Disaster Mitigation Fund.
• Deputy Commissioner DC Rana said the amount had been sanctioned for the first time for carrying out landslide protection works in six different disaster affected areas of the district.
• Around Rs 1.36 crore, from this amount, was earmarked for the conservation of landslide works in upper and lower parts of Bairagarh roadway drain and around Rs 1.82 crore for conservation of landslide works at Jukyani Ghar on the Tissa-Sai-Jhajjakothi road, the DC said.
• He said protection works were being carried out to reinforce the Pucca Tala Ghaar with about Rs 3.23 crore. He added that work on the Pucca Tala road was being done on a war footing so that pedestrians could walk through the road safely.
• The DC said Rs 4.58 crore had been earmarked for carrying out flood control works along the Chamba-Bharmour National Highway and the Durgathi nullah restoration works, including 15 houses and 10 shops.
• Besides this, Rs 1.88 crore had been allocated for carrying out flood control works at Kamotha village in Kalhel area under the ‘Jal Shakti Vibhag’. Restoration works would also be carried out in 120 houses, 25 shops and 70 hectares of cultivable land, which was affected by the floods at Kamotha village.

ANSWER: C

• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned 113 projects worth Rs 609.54 crore to Himachal Pradesh under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) during 2022-23.
• NABARD under the RIDF provides concessional loans to state governments for the development of basic infrastructure. The sanctioned projects include 26 drinking water supply schemes, 30 minor irrigation, 40 rural roads, four bridges and 13 sewerage schemes.
• Around Rs 200.78 crore has been sanctioned for 40 rural roads and four bridges, which will be utilised for development of 103.65 km roads and improvement and upgrade of 132.89 km roads. An amount of Rs 121.75 crore has been sanctioned for 13 sewerage projects, which will benefit of 65,000 people. Besides, Rs 118.87 crore has been sanctioned for 26 rural drinking water supply schemes, which will benefit 2.94 lakh people.
• An amount of Rs 168.14 crore has been sanctioned for 30 minor irrigation projects, which will benefit 4541.85 hectares of agricultural land.