INSIGHTS - Simplifying UPSC IAS Exam Preparation

insightsonindia.com

http://www.insightsonindia.com/2015/04/10/insights-daily-current-events-10-april-2015/

Insights Daily Current Events, 10 April 2015

By INSIGHTS

Insights Daily Current Events, 10 April 2015

.
Bio-fences to ward off straying elephants in Assam
In a bid to reduce man-animal conflict in Assam, bio-fences are proposed to be set up replacing electric fences, to
ward off straying elephants.
To start with four tea estates in Assam will have these bio-fenced with thickets of thorny bamboos.
Why bio fences are preferred over electric fences?
Because electric fencing is considered costly and unreliable besides being hazardous.
Benefits:
This would reduce man-elephant conflict.
Sources: The Hindu.

Thane named Indias Earth Hour Capital

An 11-member international jury has declared Thane the National Earth Hour Capital with the city emerging the
winner from India in the Earth Hour City Challenge this year.
Recently, Thane represented India in the Global Earth Hour Capital Competition of 16 countries in Seoul.
The host city was declared the winner and acknowledged as the Global Earth Hour Capital 2015.
Details of the Competition:
The year-long competition among cities is aimed at promoting renewable energy and preparing for climate
change. In its third year in India, the contest had 13 participants.
Thane, Rajkot and Pune were the finalists from India. Pune received a special mention from the jury for its
city mobility plan and its solar and waste-to-energy initiatives.
While all finalists were invited to the programme in Seoul, only the Mayor of Rajkot could attend the
ceremony and was felicitated for the citys performance in the field of renewable energy.
Last year, Coimbatore was selected as the National Earth Hour Capital.
Developments in Thane:

The notable actions by the Thane city administration include

The mandatory use of solar water-heating systems for municipal buildings and solutions such as wind-solar
hybrid systems and use of solar energy for lighting and air-conditioning.
The city plans solar rooftop net metering-based power generation and regular energy audits.
An energy service company (ESCO) project for energy-efficient street lighting.
Commissioning of a bio-methanation plant to treat municipal solid waste and generate electricity and three
cyclic switching units for optimal use of streetlights.
A five-year target has been set for developing a solar city project in the city.
Earth Hour:
Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the planet organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The
event is held worldwide annually encouraging individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off
their non-essential lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday in March, as a symbol for their
commitment to the planet.
It was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then it has grown to
engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide. Today, Earth Hour engages a massive mainstream
community on a broad range of environmental issues. The one-hour event continues to remain the key
driver of the now larger movement.
Earth Hour 2015 was on Saturday, March 28, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm in a locations local time. Earth
Hour 2016 will be on Saturday, March 19, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. during participants local time.
Sources: The Hindu.

Growth in Euro zone and India accelerating, says OECD

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently said that economic growth is
accelerating in the euro zone and in India but slowing in China, Russia and Brazil.
It has also said that within the euro zone, France and Italy were showing signs of better growth and the
outlook is also improving in Germany, the euro zones largest economy.
OECD:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organisation
of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It provides a forum in which
governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems.
Origin:
The OECD originated in 1948 as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), led by Robert
Marjolin of France, to help administer the Marshall Plan (which was rejected by the Soviet Union). In 1961, the
OEEC was reformed into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by the Convention on the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and membership was extended to non-European
states.
The OECD promotes policies designed:
To achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in
Member countries, while maintaining financial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the
world economy;

To contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as nonmember countries in the process of
economic development; and
To contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, nondiscriminatory basis in accordance with
international obligations.
Most OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) and are
regarded as developed countries. India is one of the many non-member economies with which the OECD has
working relationships in addition to its member countries.
Sources: The Hindu, oecd.org.

Dhanush successfully test-fired

India recently successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile with a strike range of 350 km
from a naval ship off the Odisha coast.
Dhanush:
It is a surface-to-surface missile and a naval variant of Indias indigenously-developed Prithvi missile.
It is a single-stage, liquid-propelled missile.
It has 350 km range.
It has already been inducted into the armed forces and is one of the five missiles developed by Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development
Programme (IGMDP).
Sources: The Hindu.

NGT bars construction on riverbeds in Maharashtra

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has declared riverbed construction as illegal in Maharashtra and has directed
the State government to amend controversial government resolutions (GR) allowing the State Water Resources
Department to permit the same.
What is the issue?
According to green activists, two ambiguously worded government resolutions (GR), one issued in August
last year and the other in March this year, allegedly encourage sanction by the State Irrigation Department
to allow construction in the no-development zone (NDZ) area within the blueline and embankments of
rivers. The blueline or the flood-line on the map depicts the limit beyond which construction near a river is
prohibited to maintain a riverbed.
The first GR, dated August 8, 2014, mentions that as per various city development plans, the Irrigation
Departments regional chief engineer can issue no-objection certificates for constructing roads, gardens
and jogging tracks on riverbeds, flood protection walls on river banks, or laying sewerage pipes within the
blueline area, claiming that these will neither erode the riverbed cross-sections nor interfere with the
natural flow. The second GR allegedly empowers the department to alter bluelines on demand without
clearly setting forth the concerned authority.
What has the NGT said?
The Tribunal has noted that the GRs were improper and gave ample scope for illicit construction by
ignoring the precautionary principle enumerated in Section 20 of the NGT Act, 2010.

The Tribunal has ruled that the blueline could be drawn by the Irrigation Department only on demand or
urgent notification by the District Collector of any impending flood-like situation where a river flows above
the danger level.
The Tribunal has directed the Irrigation Department to conduct a geo-mapping of the States rivers and upload
blueline maps on the official websites of the Environment and Irrigation Departments within 12 weeks.
Sources: The Hindu.

Rajasthan to cover 4 lakh children under immunisation plan

Rajasthan will immunize four lakh children from the vulnerable sections of society under Mission Indradhanush,
launched nationally on April 7. The immunization campaign will focus on unvaccinated or partially vaccinated
children below the age of two.
Rajasthans immunization coverage is 73% and the government has an ambitious target of 90% by 2020.
Increased coverage will help in reducing child and maternal mortality.
The programme provides immunisation against seven life-threatening diseases diphtheria,
whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.
In addition, vaccination against Haemophilus influenza type B and Japanese encephalitis will be provided
in select districts. Catch-up campaigns will also be organised to increase the coverage annually by five per
cent.
Mission Indradhanush:
Mission Indradhanush was launched by the Health & Family Welfare Ministry recently. The Mission was launched
on Good Governance Day to mark the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Madan Mohan Malaviya and birthday of
Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Aim:
The Mission Indradhanush, depicting seven colours of the rainbow, aims to cover all those children by 2020 who
are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against seven vaccine preventable diseases which include
diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.
Details:
The Mission will be implemented in 201 high focus districts in the country in the first phase which have
nearly 50% of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children (Of the 201 districts, 82 districts are in just
four states of UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and nearly 25% of the unvaccinated or partially
vaccinated children of India are in these 82 districts of 4 states).
These districts will be targeted by intensive efforts to improve the routine immunization coverage.
The campaign is part of the Universal Immunisation Programme by 2020 and is being implemented under
the National Health Mission across the country.
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, the Mission Mode has been adopted to achieve target of full coverage by 2020.
The 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.
Under Mission Indradhanush, four special vaccination campaigns will be conducted between January and
June 2015 with intensive planning and monitoring of these campaigns.

The learnings from the successful implementation of the polio programme will be applied in planning and
implementation of the mission.
The Ministry will be 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.
Sources: The Hindu, PIB.

UNESCO report lauds Indias progress

A recently released UNESCO global education report says that India has reduced its out of school children by
over 90% and has achieved universal primary education.
Details:
The report says that India is predicted to be the only country in South and West Asia to have an equal ratio
of girls to boys in both primary and secondary education.
The report says that while globally 47% of the countries achieved universal pre-primary enrolment, 8% of
the countries including India were close to achieving so.
The UNESCO report also noted the achievement of gender parity in India but said the country is yet to
achieve significant progress in adult literacy. It said 32% of the countries including India are still very far
from achieving it.
The report called upon all the countries to ensure that children and adolescents complete pre-primary,
primary and lower secondary education by 2030.
The report said that globally, just one-third of countries have achieved all of the measurable Education for
All (EFA) goals set in 2000 and only half of all countries have achieved the most prominent goal of
universal primary education.
Sources: The Hindu.

Insights Secure Prelims 2015

Time limit: 0

Quiz-summary
0 of 5 questions completed
Questions:
1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5

Information
Welcome to Insights Secure Prelims 2015 initiative. The following questions are based on current events that
appear in PIB (Public Information Bureau) and from some important newspapers. For more challenging question

papers (Full Length), please join our Preliminary Exam 2015 Test Series (Please Click Here for Reviews)
To view Solutions, follow these instructions:
1. Click on Start Quiz button
2. Solve Questions
3. Click on Quiz Summary button
4. Click on Finish Quiz button
5. Now click on View Questions button here you will see solutions and links.
You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again.
Quiz is loading...
You must sign in or sign up to start the quiz.
You have to finish following quiz, to start this quiz:

Results
0 of 5 questions answered correctly
Your time:
Time has elapsed
You have reached 0 of 0 points, (0)

Categories
1. Not categorized 0%
Your result has been entered into leaderboard
Loading
maximum of 10 points
Pos.

Name

Entered on

Points

Result

Table is loading
No data available
1

sagar

2015/04/11 7:21 AM

10

100 %

pravin k c

2015/04/11 7:56 AM

10

100 %

lucky

2015/04/11 8:36 AM

10

100 %

Kumar

2015/04/11 8:49 AM

10

100 %

Leo Johny

2015/04/11 9:44 AM

10

100 %

rishu ias

2015/04/11 10:22 AM

10

100 %

aditya shankar

2015/04/11 10:43 AM

10

100 %

Pos.

Name

Entered on

Points

Result

ranjithrana

2015/04/10 6:02 PM

10

100 %

murari

2015/04/10 6:23 PM

10

100 %

10

gaurav singh

2015/04/10 6:24 PM

10

100 %

11

Ajit Yadav

2015/04/10 6:27 PM

10

100 %

12

Mayank Kumar

2015/04/10 6:28 PM

10

100 %

13

Firoj Alam

2015/04/10 6:29 PM

10

100 %

14

G SHANKAR

2015/04/10 6:33 PM

10

100 %

15

Dmdavra

2015/04/10 6:38 PM

10

100 %

16

sonam

2015/04/10 6:45 PM

10

100 %

17

Ashok

2015/04/10 7:12 PM

10

100 %

18

jayasekhar

2015/04/10 7:13 PM

10

100 %

19

Sid

2015/04/10 7:13 PM

10

100 %

20

SSS

2015/04/10 7:21 PM

10

100 %

21

balamurugan k

2015/04/10 7:28 PM

10

100 %

22

VISALI

2015/04/10 7:29 PM

10

100 %

23

Pranjal Pegu

2015/04/10 7:30 PM

10

100 %

24

mahi

2015/04/10 7:39 PM

10

100 %

25

SABIR

2015/04/10 7:44 PM

10

100 %

26

Tirumal

2015/04/10 8:33 PM

10

100 %

27

simar

2015/04/10 8:45 PM

10

100 %

28

smita

2015/04/10 8:56 PM

10

100 %

29

Siddu

2015/04/10 9:03 PM

10

100 %

30

soniya

2015/04/10 9:16 PM

10

100 %

31

Sonal parihar

2015/04/10 9:27 PM

10

100 %

32

ARJUN V KARTHA

2015/04/10 9:39 PM

10

100 %

33

Saravanan

2015/04/10 10:07 PM

10

100 %

34

b.ashok

2015/04/10 10:12 PM

10

100 %

35

DEVI

2015/04/10 10:12 PM

10

100 %

36

IAS Aspirant

2015/04/10 10:28 PM

10

100 %

37

Bashir

2015/04/10 11:00 PM

10

100 %

38

anup goswami

2015/04/10 11:06 PM

10

100 %

39

Ajinkya

2015/04/10 11:07 PM

10

100 %

Pos.

Name

Entered on

Points

Result

40

P Gauri

2015/04/10 11:12 PM

10

100 %

41

Syam Mohan

2015/04/10 11:18 PM

10

100 %

42

sairam

2015/04/10 11:35 PM

10

100 %

43

arun

2015/04/10 11:37 PM

10

100 %

44

ABC

2015/04/11 12:18 AM

10

100 %

45

karthik

2015/04/11 12:21 AM

10

100 %

46

Anwar

2015/04/11 12:21 AM

10

100 %

47

yogitha

2015/04/11 12:22 AM

10

100 %

48

Aar

2015/04/11 12:38 AM

10

100 %

49

vinit kumar

2015/04/11 12:51 AM

10

100 %

50

sanji

2015/04/11 12:57 AM

10

100 %

51

preeti

2015/04/11 1:03 AM

10

100 %

52

Srikanth

2015/04/11 1:31 AM

10

100 %

53

uzwal

2015/04/11 2:02 AM

10

100 %

54

Raju sukh

2015/04/11 2:12 AM

10

100 %

55

manoj

2015/04/11 2:34 AM

10

100 %

56

Durgarao Palada

2015/04/11 5:27 AM

10

100 %

57

Anshika

2015/04/11 7:46 AM

80 %

58

umesh kumar

2015/04/11 7:49 AM

80 %

59

shyam

2015/04/10 6:32 PM

80 %

60

R V Shiva

2015/04/10 6:32 PM

80 %

61

pratima

2015/04/10 6:33 PM

80 %

62

avijit dash

2015/04/10 6:43 PM

80 %

63

DK

2015/04/10 7:01 PM

80 %

64

rajmasters

2015/04/10 7:04 PM

80 %

65

jai

2015/04/10 7:10 PM

80 %

66

Avinash

2015/04/10 7:11 PM

80 %

67

Megh

2015/04/10 7:12 PM

80 %

68

Palash Gupta

2015/04/10 7:20 PM

80 %

69

abk

2015/04/10 7:27 PM

80 %

70

2084

2015/04/10 7:45 PM

80 %

71

DB

2015/04/10 7:46 PM

80 %

Pos.

Name

Entered on

Points

Result

72

Saurabh

2015/04/10 7:54 PM

80 %

73

pk

2015/04/10 8:06 PM

80 %

74

sunnu

2015/04/10 8:10 PM

80 %

75

Manasa Kulkarni

2015/04/10 8:55 PM

80 %

76

devika

2015/04/10 9:00 PM

80 %

77

Nagamani

2015/04/10 9:01 PM

80 %

78

nivedita

2015/04/10 9:07 PM

80 %

79

puli

2015/04/10 9:31 PM

80 %

80

psychelectron

2015/04/10 9:34 PM

80 %

81

imran ahmed

2015/04/10 9:47 PM

80 %

82

nithu

2015/04/10 10:01 PM

80 %

83

Aurif

2015/04/10 10:19 PM

80 %

84

sushrut

2015/04/10 10:22 PM

80 %

85

IRFAN RASHID

2015/04/10 10:38 PM

80 %

86

mayur

2015/04/10 10:38 PM

80 %

87

satyanjc

2015/04/10 10:58 PM

80 %

88

At

2015/04/10 11:00 PM

80 %

89

naren

2015/04/10 11:08 PM

80 %

90

ThirdEye

2015/04/10 11:35 PM

80 %

91

Sathyapriyan

2015/04/10 11:36 PM

80 %

92

Azhar shaikh

2015/04/10 11:40 PM

80 %

93

AP

2015/04/10 11:45 PM

80 %

94

Sohailtaj

2015/04/11 12:30 AM

80 %

95

sajan

2015/04/11 3:51 AM

80 %

96

mblaze

2015/04/11 4:39 AM

80 %

97

singh

2015/04/11 7:15 AM

80 %

98

Dilip kumar

2015/04/11 9:15 AM

60 %

99

paw

2015/04/10 6:23 PM

60 %

100

Karnanxp

2015/04/10 6:28 PM

60 %

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3

4. 4
5. 5
1. Answered
2. Review
1. Question 1 of 5

1. Question
1. Vaccines, against which of the following diseases are available under the Mission Indradhanush?
1. Diphtheria
2. Tetanus
3. Polio
4. Leprosy
5. Tuberculosis
6. Filaria
Choose the correct answer using the codes below:
Correct
Answer: d
Incorrect
Answer: d
2. Question 2 of 5

2. Question
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals include:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
Choose the correct answer using the codes below:
Correct
Answer: d
Incorrect
Answer: d

3. Question 3 of 5

3. Question
Consider the following statements with reference to the Mission Indradhanush:
1. Mission Indradhanush was launched by the Health & Family Welfare Ministry.
2. The Mission aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially
vaccinated against seven vaccine preventable diseases.
Which of the above statements is/are true?
Correct
Answer: c
Incorrect
Answer: c
4. Question 4 of 5

4. Question
Consider the following statements with reference to the National Green Tribunal:
1. It is a constitutional body.
2. The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure.
3. The Chairman of the tribunal is required to be a serving or retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a
judge of the Supreme Court of India.
Which of the above statements is/are true?
Correct
Answer: c
Incorrect
Answer: c

5. Question 5 of 5

5. Question
Dhanush Missile:
1. Is a variant of the surface-to-surface/ship-to-ship Prithvi III missile.
2. Is one of the five missiles developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
Which of the above statements is/are true?
Correct
Answer: c
Incorrect
Answer: c

INSIGHTS 2015. All Rights Reserved.