Current based PRELIMS QUESTION 19 August 2020 - The Core IAS

Current based PRELIMS QUESTION 19 August 2020

1. Consider the following statements with reference to the Stone Age in India.
1. The Neolithic Culture was characterised by agriculture practices, domestication of animals, polished and grinned stone tools and pottery manufacture.
2. Microliths tools are the main characteristics of the Mesolithic Age.
3. Upper Palaeolithic Age marks the appearance of Homo sapiens and new flint industries; widespread appearance of a figurines and other artefacts reflecting art and rituals.
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
Answer-d
Explanation
Stone Age in India
https://mocktime.com/books/chapter-05-the-stone-age-the-early-man-old-ncert-history-ancient-india/
2. Consider the following statements regarding the Samadhan Challenge Initiative.
1. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Government of India has launched this challenge to fight against COVID-19 and future challenges.
2. Under this, the students and faculty will be motivated for doing new experiments and new discoveries and provide them with a strong base leading to spirit of experimentation and discovery.
3. Under this, work will be done to make citizens aware, to motivate them, to face any challenge, to prevent any crisis and to help people get livelihood.
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) All of the above
Answer-a
Explanation-
Samadhan Challenge Initiative
Ministry of Human Resources Development launches “Samadhan” a challenge to fight against covid19 and future challenges
The Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Human Resources Development and All India Council for Technical Education in collaboration with Forge and InnovatioCuris launched a mega online challenge – SAMADHAN – to test the ability of students to innovate.
The students participating in this challenge will search and develop such measures that can be made available to the government agencies, health services, hospitals and other services for quick solutions to the Coronavirus epidemic and other such calamities.
Apart from this, through this “Samadhan” challenge, work will be done to make citizens aware, to motivate them, to face any challenge, to prevent any crisis and to help people get livelihood.
Under the “Samadhan” challenge, the students and faculty will be motivated for doing new experiments and new discoveries and provide them with a strong base leading to spirit of experimentation and discovery.
The success of this program depends on how effective are the ideas of participating contestants with ability to find solutions, technically and commercially, which in turn will help fight the epidemic like coronavirus.
Applications to participate in this competition will start from 7 April 2020. The last date for submission of applications is 14 April 2020.
The names of the contestants going forward in this competition after short listing will be declared on 17 April 2020 and such contestants are expected to submit their entries between 18-23-April 2020. The final list will be released on 24 April 2020, after which the grand online jury will decide the winners on 25 April 2020.
https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=201073

3. Consider the following statements regarding the Coupled Lithosphere-Atmosphere- Ionosphere-Magnetosphere System (CLAIMs).
1. This research is focused on energy transfer to the atmosphere during solid Earth processes such as earthquakes as well as tsunamis.
2. It is an interdisciplinary program of Indian Institute of Geomagnetism funded by DST.
3. Scientist observed that the spatial distribution of near field Co-seismic Ionospheric Perturbations (CIP) associated with the earthquake.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer-d
Explanation-
Coupled Lithosphere-Atmosphere- Ionosphere-Magnetosphere System (CLAIMs)
Scientists of Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology have extensively studied the signatures of recent large earthquakes into the ionosphere with an ambitious aim to derive the seismic source characteristics from the ionosphere.
While studying, Scientist at IIG noticed that the spatial distribution of near field Co-seismic Ionospheric Perturbations (CIP) associated with this event could reflect well the ground deformation pattern evolved around the epicenter. These CIP were derived using the Global Positioning System (GPS) measured Total Electron Content (TEC).
The CIP distribution was estimated at Ionospheric piercing point (IPP) altitude. So, the characteristics of CIP could always be directly associated to the tectonic forcing? Mostly yes, provided the effects of non-tectonic forcing mechanisms which are operative at Ionospheric altitudes are favorable.
The spatial/azimuthal distribution of near field CIP associated with Mw 7.8 Nepal earthquake, which could successfully be linked to the co-seismic crustal deformation, is explained as the combined effect of tectonic forcing manifestations and non-tectonic forcing mechanism of geomagnetic field-acoustic wave coupling.
As part of the interdisciplinary program ‘Coupled Lithosphere-Atmosphere- Ionosphere-Magnetosphere System (CLAIMs)’ of Indian Institute of Geomagnetism funded by DST the research focused on energy transfer to the atmosphere during solid Earth processes such as earthquakes as well as tsunamis.
In general, the Earth crust uplift during any earthquake produces compressional (i.e. pressure) waves in the overlying atmosphere.
These waves propagate upward in the region of exponentially decreasing atmospheric neutral density, and thus, its amplitudes increase with atmospheric heights. On arrival at Ionospheric heights, the waves redistribute Ionospheric electron density and produce electron density perturbations known as co-seismic Ionospheric perturbations (CIP).
The thrust earthquakes induce significant crustal uplift, while the strike-slip event mostly deforms the crust horizontally.
Various Ionospheric sounding techniques can be used to study the CIP characteristics. However, the TEC derived from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) gives large spatial and temporal coverage over seismic source region,” the scientists explained.
Evolution of seismic/tectonically induced Ionospheric perturbation is highly controlled by the non-tectonic forcing mechanisms of satellite geometry, geomagnetic field-acoustic wave coupling and the ambient ionization density of ionosphere.
The effects of these non-tectonic forcing mechanisms at Ionospheric altitudes are quantified based on the in-house developed acoustic ray tracing model.
The scientists also successfully associated the observed Ionospheric disturbances during a seismic event exclusively to the event by studying the Ionospheric variation during the Indian Ocean doublet earthquake on 11 April 2012, a largest ever recorded strike-slip event (Mw. 8.6) that followed by a powerful aftershock of Mw 8.2, the highest ever recorded aftershock.
These two earthquakes occurred in the same geographic region (epicenters apart by ~176 km) within a time delay of ~2 hours.
Analysing the Ionospheric perturbations during another Nepal earthquake which occurred on 12 May 2015 (Mw 7.3), the researcher further demonstrated that how the non-tectonic forcing mechanisms influence the amplitude and horizontal propagation of CIP at IPP altitudes. They noticed that the evolution of near field CIP related with the Mw 7.3 Nepal earthquake was highly affected by the non-tectonic forcing mechanism of moving satellite geometry and as a result the CIP could not evolve in accordance with ground deformation pattern.
Moving a bit ahead from this, they attempted to observe the seismic source characteristic from the ionosphere during the massive Mw 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake 2016 which occurred in the complex multisegmented fault system between the Australia-Pacific plate boundary with a combination of vertical and differently oriented horizontal crust movements.
Interestingly, the characteristics of CIP based on tectonic and non-tectonic forcing mechanisms revealed that the two distinct thrust zones over the rupture area resulted from the uplift with reinforcement of rotating horizontal motion from the epicenter acted as key tectonic sources for the peculiar distribution of CIP around the Kaikoura epicenter.
Thereby, by investigating the response of ionosphere to recent major earthquake events, the scientists at IIG have tried to derive the earthquake source parameters using seismic induced Ionospheric perturbations by taking into consideration the non-tectonic forcing mechanisms.
The ionosphere is a highly dynamic region and the origin of any perturbations in Ionospheric electron density can be traced to various origins either from above (e.g. solar, geomagnetic etc) or below (e.g. lower atmospheric, seismic etc) the ionosphere. This probes a major challenge while identifying the co-seismic Ionospheric perturbations. Further, the manifestation of co-seismic Ionospheric perturbations has to be seen in light of the prevailing non-tectonic forcing mechanisms.
In this line, it is believed that the present extensive study may assist while designing a tool for the Ionospheric based seismic source characterisation.
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1611606

4. Consider the following statements with respect to the Currency and Gold Revaluation Account (CGRA).
1. This can be used to compensate RBI’s loss in the value of gold and foreign exchange reserve holdings.
2. It comprises unrealised gains or losses on foreign currency assets and gold due to fluctuations in exchange rate and prices of gold.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer-c
Explanation-
Currency and Gold Revaluation Account (CGRA)
CGRA comprises unrealized gains or losses on foreign currency assets and gold due to movement in exchange rate and prices of gold.
There will be no distribution of unrealized revaluation balances.
This effectively means bulk of the RBI’s Rs 10 lakh crore surplus — mostly lying in CGRA — can’t be touched.
The contention of the RBI Board as well as the Jalan committee is that central bank doesn’t have the money in its CRGA account as its unrealized balance.
For the year ended June 2018, the RBI had total reserves of Rs 9.6 lakh crore, comprising mainly CGRA (Rs 6.91 lakh crore) and contingency fund (Rs 2.32 lakh crore). CGRA has now risen to Rs 7.3 lakh crore.
Though the RBI’s economic capital could appear to be relatively higher, it is largely on account of the revaluation balances which are determined by exogenous factors such as market prices and the RBI’s discharge of its public policy objectives.
The RBI’s economic capital has undergone a significant transformation over the past 20 years, with unrealized revaluation balances now accounting for almost 73 per cent of RBI’s economic capital.
Unrealised valuation buffers will be used as risk buffers against market risks.
The RBI witnesses considerable accretion to its revaluation balances (CGRA) during periods of external stress (i.e. 2008, 2011 and 2013) when the trend towards depreciation is markedly strong. Further, a rapidly appreciating rupee can force the RBI to intervene, increasing the size and currency mismatch of the balance sheet as well as depleting the CGRA. If liquidity absorption operations become warranted, there could be substantial decrease in the RBI’s income as open market operations reduce holdings of government securities and interest outgo on account of reverse repo operations (though it may counteract to an extent the increased balance sheet size).
The CGRA can be used not only for meeting the risks of USD-INR, cross-currency and gold price movements, but also for interest rate risks. Similarly, the Investment Revaluation Account-Rupee Securities and IRA-FS Investment Revaluation Account-Foreign Securities can meet currency and gold price risks in addition to the interest rate risks.
The RBI transferred a surplus of Rs 265,110 crore to the government during the 2014-18 periods.
https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/AnnualReportPublications.aspx?Id=1089

5. Consider the following statements regarding the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.
1. The first conference of the Jamiat was held at Amritsar and chaired by Maulana Abdul Bari.
2. After 1942, Jamiat Ulama resolutely opposed the idea of Pakistan and its leaders especially Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani were victims of Muslim League violence.
3. It formally launched in 1919, was inheritor of a rich legacy dating back to early 18th century when Shah Waliullah of Delhi
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
Answer-d
Explanation-
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind
Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind, though formally launched in 1919, was inheritor of a rich legacy dating back to early 18th century when Shah Waliullah of Delhi led a revolution to change the whole system by drawing attention of people to the depredations of European imperialism, degeneration and corruption among oriental rulers.
Role in Pre-Independence India
​First Conference:
The first conference of the Jamiat was held at Amritsar on December 28, 1919 chaired by Maulana Abdul Bari of Farangi Mahal to lodge protest against the continued imprisonment of Shaikhul Hind and Maulana Azad.
​Non-cooperation Movement:
Following the resolution of Non-cooperation adopted by Allahabad conference in June 1920. The movement was formally launched on August 31, 1920.
Fatwa of Non-cooperation:
On July 19, 1920 Shaikhul Hind issued a fatwa in favour of non-cooperation which was reconfirmed by 500 Ulamas. The leaders and workers of Khilafat committee and the congress went into struggle against imperialism armed with this fatwa. The British Govt. seized it.
Foundation of Jamia Millia Islamia:
On October 29, 1920 Shaikhul Hind laid the foundation of Jamia Millia Islamia.
Imprisonment of Jamiat Leaders:
At the Karachi Khilafat conference in July 1921, the call of non-cooperation given by Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani caused his imprisonment along with Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Dr. Kitchlew and Jagatguru Shnkar Acharya.
Boycott of foreign goods:
Resolution of boycott of foreign goods was passed by Jamiat conference in Nov. 1921 under the leadership of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
Relief to Mopillas of Malabar
Boycott of Assemblies (December 1922)
Call for complete independence by Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani (January 1924)
Jamiat was the first to declare boycott of the Simon Commission (December 1927)
Participation in all parties conference at Lucknow and rejection of Nehru Report (1928)
Cooperation with congress (Amroha conference, May 1930)
Civil Disobedience Movement wherefore prominent leaders of Jamiat were imprisoned (1930)
Opposition to the infamous Sharda Act for it interference in Muslim Personal Law.
​Composite nationalism and theory of territorial Nation hood:
Maulana Syed Hussain Ahmad Madani advocated the idea of composite nationalism and joint struggle of all religious communities against the British and justified inter-communal unity and cooperation on the basis of the Quran and the Hadith. At a time when ideas of religion based nationalism were being advocated by the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League. Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani advanced “the theory of territorial national hood” saying that it is “not necessary that a nation, to be a nation, should share the same religion and culture”. Now a days he said, “nations are made by homelands.”
Maulana Madani and the Ulama like him have been described by Peter Haardy as representing “a sea change in the kind of assumptions Ulama were wont to make about the nature of solidarity of the Islamic community.”
Declaration of non-cooperation in the war effort (World War II, 1939-45).
Complete Independence:
In the Jamiat Ulama Moradabad conference held at Bachhraon (April 23-25, 1940) Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani raised the question of Indian independence. As a result he was arrested and imprisoned in Naini Jail.
Quit India:
On August 5, 1942 Jamiat gave a call to the British to quit India. Thereafter on August 9 the Bombay session of the Congress passed the famous Quit India resolution which led to the arrest and incarceration of the Congress and the Jamiat leaders.
Opposition to the idea of Pakistan:
After 1942, Jamiat Ulama resolutely opposed the idea of Pakistan and its leaders especially Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani were victims of Muslim League violence.
In 1945 at the 14th conference the Jamiat passed its alternative formula for partition.
Aim & Objectives
Protection of Islamic beliefs, identity, heritage and places of worship.
Securing and safeguarding the civil, religious, cultural and educational rights of Muslims.
Social, educational and religious reform among Muslims.
Establishment of institutions for progress and stability in educational, cultural, economic and social affairs of Muslims.
Fostering and stabilizing amicable relations between different communities living in the Union of India, in accordance with the teachings of Islam.
Revival of Arabic and Islamic studies and framing syllabus and curriculum according to needs of the present age.
Dissemination and propagation of the teachings of Islam.
Management and protection of Islamic Aukaf.
https://www.jamiatulama.in/role-in-independence

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