Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
In a bid to expand the green cover, the Maharashtra government recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Railways, under which trees will be planted on the land adjacent to the railway tracks in the state.

Notes:
Let AB = 2x units
=> BD=DC = x units
∴ AB : BD = 2 : 1
Hence option [A] is the right answer.

Notes:
The Raneh Falls is a natural water fall located in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh on Ken River. It is situated about 20 km away from world famous heritage site Khajuraho. The waterfall is also close to Panna Tiger Reserve and Ken crocodile sanctuary. It was awarded the Best Holiday Award for 2017.Tourists from all over the country and abroad come here every year to enjoy the natural beauty. The Ken River here runs through a narrow gorge of igneous rocks rich in Granite and Dolomite. The Pandav Falls in Panna National Park is also located nearby.

Notes:
Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve became part of World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2016. ABR includes the Indian Ecoregions of South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests, South Western Ghats montane rain forests and Shola. It is the habitat for 2,000 varieties of medicinal plants, of which at least 50 are rare and endangered species. Rare animals include the tiger, Asian Elephant, and Nilgiri tahr. 

Notes:
The 5/20 rule is a norm of the Indian Aviation Ministry according to which under which national carriers are required to have five years of operational experience and a fleet of minimum 20 aircraft to fly overseas. Recently, the Cabinet gave its approval for partial abolition of the 5/20 rule, which will enable new carriers like Vistara and Air Asia to start international operations sooner. The government has decided to scrap a requirement that mandated airlines to have five years of domestic operations to be eligible to fly overseas. However, an airline will have to allocate 20 aircraft or 20% of their total fleet of aircraft, whichever is higher, to the domestic sector if they wish to fly overseas. So in place of 5/20 rule, the new proposed options are like 0/10 and 0/20.

Notes:
All given features are of Andhra Natyam. The dance form was recently in news when several artists and political leaders from Andhra Pradesh, including Union minister Venkaiah Naidu, approached the Centre to add Andhra Natyam to the list of major classical dance forms of the country. While the culture ministry has already granted in-principle approval for the same, Sangeet Natak Akademi is not convinced with the same.

Notes:
PMMSK scheme is envisioned as one-stop convergence support service for empowering rural women with opportunities for skill development, digital literacy, health and nutrition and employment. It aims to improve declining child sex ratio (CSR), ensure survival and protection of the girl child, ensuring the education and empowering her to fulfil her potential. It will provide an interface for rural women to approach government for getting their entitlement and for empowering them through training and capacity building.

Notes:
In an effort to expand the fight against the tobacco epidemic, the WHO has introduced the MPOWER package of six proven policies. These are:

• Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies;
• Protect people from tobacco smoke;
• Offer help to quit tobacco use
• Warn about the dangers of tobacco
• Enforce bans on tobacco advertising
• Promotion and sponsorship
• Raise taxes on tobacco

Notes:
As per the India State of Forest Report 2017, Arunachal Pradesh has the maximum carbon stock of 994.5 million tonnes followed by Madhya Pradesh (695.5 million tonnes), Chhattisgarh (560.9 million tonnes) and Maharashtra (493 million tonnes).

Notes:
As per the Indian State Forest Report 2017, the correct order is Tropical Dry Deciduous (279506 sq km), Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest (144747 sq km), Tropical Semi Evergreen (98039 sq km), Himalayan Moist Temperate (29216 sq km) and Tropical Wet–Evergreen (20872 sq km).