1. Consider the following statements regarding the Vittala Temple.
1. It is located near the banks of the Tungabhadra River; the Vittala Temple is sited in north eastern part of Hampi.
2. This Temple is dedicated to Lord Vitthala, an avatar of Lord Vishnu.
3. The temple was built in the 15th century during the reign of King Devaraya II of the Vijayanagara Empire.
4. This temple is a part of Group of Monuments at Hampi – UNESCO’s World Heritage Site.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
- Answer-d
Explanation-
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is contemplating installing a wooden barricade around the stone chariot inside Vittala Temple complex at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hampi in a bid to protect it from vandalism.
About the Temple
Located near the banks of the Tungabhadra River, the Vittala Temple is sited in north eastern part of Hampi.
The temple was built in the 15th century during the reign of King Devaraya II (1422- 1446 A.D.) of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Several sections of the temple were expanded and renovated during the reign of Krishnadevaraya (1509- 1529 A.D.), the illustrious ruler of the Vijayanagara dynasty.
The Vittala Temple is dedicated to Lord Vitthala, an avatar of Lord Vishnu.
An idol of Vitthala-Vishnu was enshrined in the temple but lost in ravages of time.
This temple is a part of Group of Monuments at Hampi – UNESCO’s World Heritage Site.
2. Consider the following statements.
1. The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal was set up in 2010 and Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra are parties to the tribunal.
2. Kalasa and Banduri are the tributaries of the Mahadayi River.
3. Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project is undertaken by the Government of Goa to improve drinking water supply.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
2.Answer-b
Explanation
Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project
The cost of the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project on the Mahadayi basin has risen from about ₹94 crores (2000) to ₹1,677.30 crores (2020) due to the ongoing inter-State river water dispute.
Mahadayi River
Mahadayi or Mhadei, the west-flowing river, originates in Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary (Western Ghats), Belagavi district of Karnataka.
It is essentially a rain-fed river also called Mandovi in Goa.
It is joined by a number of streams to form the Mandovi which is one of two major rivers (the other one is Zuari River) that flows through Goa.
The river travels 35 km in Karnataka; 82 km in Goa before joining the Arabian Sea.
Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project
It is undertaken by the Government of Karnataka to improve drinking water supply to the three districts of Belagavi, Dharwad, and Gadag.
It involves building across Kalasa and Banduri, two tributaries of the Mahadayi river to divert water to the Malaprabha river (a tributary of Krishna river).
Malaprabha River supplies the drinking water to Dharwad, Belgaum, and Gadag districts.
Kalasa-Banduri project was planned in 1989; Goa raised an objection to it.
The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal was set up in 2010. Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra are parties to the tribunal.
3. Consider the following statements with respect to the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN).
1. PM-KISAN is a Central Sector scheme with 100% funding from Government of India.
2. Under the Scheme an income support of Rs.6000/- per year is provided to all farmer families across the country in three equal instalments.
3. The entire responsibility of identification of beneficiary farmer families rests with the State / UT Governments.
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
3. Answer-d
Explanation-
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)
The Centre has revised the farmer income support scheme’s beneficiary target down to just under 12 crore from 14 crore.
About PM-KISAN
Under the Scheme an income support of Rs.6000/- per year is provided to all farmer families across the country in three equal installments of Rs.2000/- each every four months.
Definition of family for the Scheme is husband, wife and minor children.
The entire responsibility of identification of beneficiary farmer families rests with the State / UT Governments.
The fund is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
Farmers covered under the Exclusion Criteria of the Operational Guidelines are not eligible for the benefit of the Scheme.
For enrollment, the farmer is required to approach the local patwari / revenue officer / Nodal Officer (PM-Kisan) nominated by the State Government.
The Common Service Centres (CSCs) have also been authorized to do registration of the farmers for the Scheme upon payment of fees.
Farmers can also do their self-registration through the Farmers Corner in the portal.
Farmers can also edit their names in PM-Kisan database as per their Aadhaar database / card through the Farmers Corner in the portal.
Farmers can also know the status of their payment through the Farmers Corner in the portal.
4. Consider the following statements regarding the intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0
1. The IMI covers vaccines for diphtheria, whooping cough and six other vaccine preventable diseases.
2. The programme focuses on all children up to 10 years of age and pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the immunisation programme.
3. The IMI 2.0 will be carried out between December 2019 and March 2020.
4. The IMI 2.0 aims to achieve targets of full immunization coverage in 272 districts spread over 27 States.
Which of the following statements is/are incorrect?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer-c
Explanation-
Mission Indradhanush
Earlier this year, on October 2nd India marked the silver jubilee of its Pulse Polio campaign. The anti-polio campaign was launched 25 years ago for the first time in Delhi. It was later implemented as the Pulse Polio Campaign across the country. The result was that by 2011, India had completely eradicated polio. The Government set in motion an even more powerful and intensive vaccination drive. This one is aimed at preventing as many eight diseases under the Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0. This government’s flagship scheme is aimed at immunizing children under the age of 2 years and pregnant women. The vaccines will cover diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles, meningitis and Hepatitis B. Select areas will also be provided vaccines for Japanese encephalitis and hemophilus influenza. The IMI 2.0 aims to achieve targets of full immunization coverage in 272 districts spread over 27 States.
Immunization Programme in India was introduced in 1978 as ‘Expanded Programme of Immunization’ (EPI) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. In 1985, the programme was modified as ‘Universal Immunization Programme’ (UIP) to be implemented in phased manner to cover all districts in the country by 1989-90 with the one of largest health programme in the world. UIP become a part of Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme in 1992. Since 1997, immunization activities have been an important component of National Reproductive and Child Health Programme and is currently one of the key areas under National Health Mission (NHM) since 2005. Despite being operational for many years, UIP has been able to fully immunize only 65% children in the first year of their life.
Mission Indradhanush
It was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India on December 25, 2014.
Between 2009-2013 immunization coverage has increased from 61% to 65%, indicating only 1% increase in coverage every year.
To accelerate the process of immunization by covering 5% and more children every year, Indradhanush mission has been adopted to achieve target of full coverage by 2020.
Objective
The Mission Indradhanush aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against vaccine preventable diseases.
India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) provide free vaccines against 12 life threatening diseases, to 26 million children annually.
The Universal Immunization Programme provides life-saving vaccines to all children across the country free of cost to protect them against Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pneumonia and Meningitis due to Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib), Measles, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Rotavirus diarrhoea. (Rubella, JE and Rotavirus vaccine in select states and districts).
Implementation
Focused and systematic immunization drive will be through a “catch-up” campaign mode where the aim is to cover all the children who have been left out or missed out for immunization.
Also the pregnant women are administered the tetanus vaccine, ORS packets and zinc tablets are distributed for use in the event of severe diarrhoea or dehydration and vitamin A doses are administered to boost child immunity.
Mission Indradhanush Phase I was started as a weeklong special intensified immunization drive from 7th April 2015 in 201 high focus districts for four consecutive months. During this phase, more than 75 lakh children were vaccinated of which 20 lakh children were fully vaccinated and more than 20 lakh pregnant women received tetanus toxoid vaccine.
The Phase II of Mission Indradhanush covered 352 districts in the country of which 279 are medium focus districts and remaining 73 are high focus districts of Phase-I. During Phase II of Mission Indradhanush, four special drives of weeklong duration were conducted starting from October 2015.
Phase III of Mission Indradhanush was launched from 7 April 2016 covering 216 districts. Four intensified immunization rounds were conducted for seven days in each between April and July 2016, in these districts.
Overall, in the first three phases, 28.7 lakh immunisation sessions were conducted, covering 2.1 crore children, of which 55 lakh were fully immunised. Also, 55.9 lakh pregnant women were given the tetanus toxoid vaccine across 497 high-focus districts.
Since the launch of Mission Indhradhanush, full immunisation coverage has increased by 5 per cent to 7 per cent.
Mission Indradhanush has resulted in a 6.7 % annual expansion in the immunization cover.
Phase IV of Mission Indradhanush was launched from 7 February 2017 covering the North-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. It has been rolled out in rest of the country during April 2017.
The four phases of Mission Indradhanush have reached to more than 2.53 crore children and 68 lakh pregnant women with life-saving vaccines.
The Ministry is being technically supported by WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and other donor partners. Mass media, interpersonal communication, and sturdy mechanisms of monitoring and evaluating the scheme are crucial components of Mission Indradhanush.
Strategy for Mission Indradhanush
Mission Indradhanush will be a national immunization drive to strengthen the key functional areas of immunization for ensuring high coverage throughout the country with special attention to districts with low immunization coverage.
The broad strategy, based on evidence and best practices, will include four basic elements-
Meticulous planning of campaigns/sessions at all levels: Ensure revision of microplans in all blocks and urban areas in each district to ensure availability of sufficient vaccinators and all vaccines during routine immunization sessions.
Effective communication and social mobilization efforts: Generate awareness and demand for immunization services through need-based communication strategies and social mobilization activities.
Intensive training of the health officials and frontline workers: Build the capacity of health officials and workers in routine immunization activities for quality immunization services.
Establish accountability framework through task forces: Enhance involvement and accountability/ownership of the district administrative and health machinery by strengthening the district task.
Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI):
The Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) has been launched by the Government of India to reach each and every child under two years of age and all those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programme.
The special drive was to focus on improving immunization coverage in select districts and cities to ensure full immunization to more than 90% by December 2018.
Intensified Mission Indradhanush will covered low performing areas in the selected districts and urban areas.
Intensified Mission Indradhanush will had inter-ministerial and inter-departmental coordination.
Mission Indradhanush 2.0:
The government’s flagship scheme is aimed at immunizing children under the age of 2 years and pregnant women.
The Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 has been launched to focus on 272 districts of 27 states and 652 blocks of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar among hard-to-reach and tribal populations.
The program aims to escalate efforts to achieve the goal of attaining 90% national immunization coverage across India.
The Intensified Mission Indradhanush immunization drive will consist of four rounds of immunization. The program will be completed by March 2020.
The salient features of IMI 2.0 are immunization activity will be in four rounds over seven working days. excluding the RI days, Sundays and holidays. Enhanced immunization session with flexible timing, mobile session and mobilization by other departments,” an official statement said.
Mission Indradhanush 2.0 Highlights:
Enhanced immunization session with flexible timing, mobile session & mobilization by other departments
Enhanced focus on left outs, dropouts, and resistant families & hard to reach areas
Focus on urban, underserved population and tribal areas
Intensified Mission Indradhanush to be conducted till March 2020
5. Which of the following statement is correct regarding Rabindranath Tagore?
(a) He was knighted by the British government in 1915. But he later renounced it protesting against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.
(b) His notable works include Gitanjali, Ghare-Baire, Gora, Manasi, Balaka, Sonar Tori etc.
(c) He established the Visva Bharati University in West Bengal.
(d) All of the above
5.Answer-d
Explanation
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861 to an upper class Bengali family in his ancestral home in Calcutta.
He became the most influential writer, poet and artist in Bengal and also India in the early 20th
He was a polymath and his mastery spread over many arenas like art, literature, poetry, drama, music and learning.
He became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature when he won the award in 1913 for his translation of his own work in Bengali, Gitanjali. He was the first non-white person to win a Nobel Prize.
Tagore is said to have composed over 2000 songs and his songs and music are called ‘Rabindrasangeet’ with its own distinct lyrical and fluid style.
The national anthems of both India and Bangladesh were composed by Tagore. (India’s Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh’s Amar Shonar Bangla.)
The Sri Lankan national anthem is also said to have been inspired by him.
Tagore had composed Amar Shonar Bangla in 1905 in the wake of the Bengal partition to foster a spirit of unity and patriotism among Bengalis. He also used the Raksha Bandhan festival to bring about a feeling of brotherhood among Bengal’s Hindus and Muslims during the partition of 1905. He was fiercely opposed to the partition.
His poems and songs infuse people with a feeling of patriotism and love for the motherland. His novels, dances, dramas, essays, dance-dramas and stories cover a wide range of topics from personal to political.
He was knighted by the British government in 1915. But he later renounced it protesting against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.
Tagore wrote his first poetry aged 8. He published his first poems aged 16 under the pen-name ‘Bhanusimha’.
Tagore is responsible for modernising Bengali prose and poetry. His notable works include Gitanjali, Ghare-Baire, Gora, Manasi, Balaka, Sonar Tori, He is also remembered for his song ‘Ekla Chalo Re’.
He was also called the ‘Bard of Bengal’.
In 1918, he founded the Vishwabharati University at Santiniketan. He was staunchly against the classroom kind of education. He believed it stifled creativity. He conceived of an educational system where the students’ curiosity was kindled and learning became more natural.
He was a widely travelled person and had been to over 30 countries in 5 different continents. He met many other eminent personalities like Albert Einstein, Romain Rolland, Robert Frost, G B Shaw, Thomas Mann, etc.
He had spoken at the World Parliament for Religions in the years 1929 and 1937.
His stories and songs continue to inspire many Indians even today.
Tagore’s birth anniversary is celebrated by Bengalis all over the word as Rabindra Jayanti. It is marked on the 25th day of the Bengali month of Boisakh (falls in early May in the Gregorian calendar). It is celebrated in Bangladesh also.