 SC holds Nageswara Rao guilty of contempt  Taliban forms 14-member team for peace talks

 EC to conduct random audit of electoral rolls in  The shape of the jobs crisis
State  A case for Commons sense
 India, Maldives reverse visa stand-off  Deadly brew
 Voters want more women in LS: survey  Retail inflation cools further to 2.05% in Jan.
Que. Who are the Blue Berets? How has their role expanded in recent years?
Ans. The UN peacekeepers, also known as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets, include soldiers, police and civilians.
The United Nations Peacekeepers help conflict-torn regions to re-establish peace. The first mission of the UN
Peacekeeping was deployed in West Asia in 1948, during the Arab-Israeli war.
The role of peacekeepers has evolved from just monitoring ceasefires to a wide array of responsibilities like
protecting human rights, disarming ex-combatants, promoting the rule of law, supporting free and fair
elections and empowering women.
Until today, the UN peacekeeping force has been deployed in more than 70 operations. India stands as the
largest troop contributor, having provided about 2,00,000 troops in almost 50 of the total number of missions.
Practice Questions
1. Account for disinflation in India today.
2. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) recently showed that the government is using off-budget
borrowing on a large scale thorough public sector agencies for showing reduced fiscal deficit. Elaborate on
the nature and effects of the practice.
Today’s MCQ
I. Consider the following about ‘Olive Ridley Turtles’:
1. These turtles nest and hatch on the coast of Rushikulaya in India.
2. The term ‘Arribada’ associated with these turtles is related to their mass migration.
3. These are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red list.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
a) 1 and 3 only b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 only d) 1, 2 and 3
II. Consider the following about ‘Central Information Commissioner (CIC)’:
1. Central Information Commission (CIC) set up under the Right to Information Act.
2. CIC is appointed by the President of India.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
a) 1 only b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2 d) Neither 1 nor 2
III. With reference to ‘International Solar Alliance (ISA)’, which among the following statements is/are
correct?
1. ISA is headquartered at Gurugram.
2. The initiative was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris at the end of 2015 by the
President of France and the Prime Minister of India.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
a) 1 only b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2 d) Neither 1 nor 2
IV. Which among the following is correct about ‘Smart Foods’?
a) Smart foods are meant only for providing energy and nutrients
b) Smart foods are resilient and survive in harsh conditions
c) Smart foods have high fibre content
d) All of the above
Today’s MCQ Answer & Explanation
I. Answer: a)
Explanation: • The Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the
world, inhabiting warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. These turtles are best known for
their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay
eggs. Though found in abundance, their numbers have been declining over the past few years, and the species
is recognized as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red list.
• Growing to about 2 feet in length, and 50 kg in weight, the Olive ridley gets its name from its olive colored
carapace, which is heart-shaped and rounded. Males and females grow to the same size; however, females
have a slightly more rounded carapace as compared to the male. They are carnivores, and feed mainly on
jellyfish, shrimp, snails, crabs, molluscs and a variety of fish and their eggs. These turtles spend their entire
lives in the ocean, and migrate thousands of kilometers between feeding and mating grounds in the course of a
year.
• WWF-India, along with the fishermen community, has been involved in protecting the Olive ridley rookery
at the mass nesting site at Rushikulaya, in Orissa, by fencing off the nesting area and patrolling it till hatching
and ensuring a safe passage for the hatchlings to the sea. It is estimated that approximately 1 hatchling
survives to reach adulthood for every 1000 hatchlings that enter the sea waters. This may also be the reason
why arribadas happen and a single female can lay 80 to 120 eggs and sometimes even twice in a season; to
increase the hatchlings survival rate.

II. Answer: c)
Explanation: The Central Information Commission (CIC) set up under the Right to Information Act is the
authorised body, established in 2005, under the Government of India to act upon complaints from those
individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Central Public Information Officer or
State Public Information Officer due to either the officer not have been appointed, or because the respective
Central Assistant Public Information Officer or State Assistant Public Information Officer refused to receive
the application for information under the RTI Act.
The Commission includes 1 Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and not more than 10 Information
Commissioners (IC) who are appointed by the President of India. The first Chief Information Commissioner
of India was Wajahat Habibullah.
CIC and members are appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a committee consisting
of—Prime Minister as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha; a Union Cabinet Minister to
be nominated by the Prime Minister. There are two woman who became CIC till now first is Ms Deepak
Sandhu (4th CIC) and Second Ms Sushma Singh (5th CIC).
III. Answer: c)
Explanation: The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a treaty based international inter-governmental
alliance of 121 solar resource rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and
Capricorn. Any country meeting the above criterion and also being a United Nations Member can become a
Member of ISA. The Paris Declaration establishing ISA calls ISA an alliance dedicated to the promotion of
solar energy among its member countries. Major objective of ISA is deployment of over 1000 GW of solar
energy and mobilization of more than US $ 1000 billion of investment into the solar energy. ISA is
headquartered at Gurugram, Haryana, in India.

IV. Answer: d)
Explanation:
What are smart
foods? Smart
foods are those
that have been
developed
through the
invention of
new or
improved
processes, for
example, as a
result of man-made materials/ ingredients or human intervention; in other words, not naturally occurring
changes.
Smart foods
may: have a
function, other
than that of
providing
energy and
nutrients;
perform a
particular
function never
achieved by
conventional
foods; have
been developed
for specialised
applications,
but some
eventually
become available for general use.