Inspired by: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/grand-plans-for-the-farm-sector/article28091915.ece

Answer: (a)

• The Gramin Bhandaran Yojana envisages a robust network of non-urban godowns to help build adequate scientific storage for farm produce in rural areas.
• Owing to enhanced storage capacity, farmers in villages are less likely to opt for distress sale of their harvest courtesy marketing credit and pledge financing available under the scheme.
• The purpose of the scheme is to cater to better storage facilities of farm produce, agricultural inputs, processed farm produce besides standardization of farm produce to boost its demand in the market and pave way for a system of warehouse receipts on a national level.
• The scheme is aimed at arresting the decreasing investment ratio in the agriculture sector in the country by extending subsidy to cooperative and private sectors.

Inspired by: [pib] Operation Sankalp

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/pib-operation-sankalp/

Answer: (d)

Operation Sankalp

• Indian Navy launched Operation Sankalp in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to reassure Indian flagged vessels transiting through the area following the recent maritime incidents in the region.
• The operation has been launched in the wake of escalating tension in the Gulf of Oman, where two oil tankers were attacked last week.
• INS Chennai and INS Sunayna have been deployed in the region to undertake maritime security operations.
• In addition, aerial surveillance in the area is also being done by IN aircraft.
• The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region of the Indian Navy keeps watch on the movement of ships in the Gulf region.

Inspired by: Species in news: Great Indian Bustard

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/species-in-news-great-indian-bustard/

Answer: (a)

Great Indian Bustard

• The Great Indian Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds, can weigh up to 15 kg and grow up to one metre in height.
• It is considered the flagship grassland species, representing the health of the grassland ecology.
• Today the bustard is restricted to isolated pockets in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan (shared with Pakistan).
• For long, conservationists have been demanding to secure this population, warning that the bird might get extinct in the coming decades.
• It would become the first mega species to disappear from India after Cheetah in recent times.
• In July 2011, the bird was categorised as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Inspired by: Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR)

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/central-equipment-identity-register-ceir/

Answer: (b)

Central Equipment Identity Register

• In a bid to curtail the rampant cloning and theft of mobile phones across the country, the Telecom Ministry is ready to roll out a Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) — a database of IMEIs, the 15-digit numbers that uniquely identify each mobile device.
• The concept of a central identity register is advocated by the GSM Association (GSMA), a body representing mobile operators, equipment manufacturers, and software and internet companies, among other stakeholders in the telecom ecosystem.
• In India, the plan to prepare the registry of mobile identification numbers was first conceived in the National Telecom Policy-2012.
• No such provisions for laptop aor personal computer is mentioned so far under the CEIR.

Inspired by: CSP 2018

Answer: (a)

The CO 2 fertilization effect or carbon fertilization effect is the increased rate of photosynthesis in plants that results from increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The effect varies depending on the plant species, the temperature, and the availability of water and nutrients. Wikipedia