10 PM Current Affairs Quiz : January 5, 2019

Highlights of the Bill

• The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. The allocation of reserved seats shall be determined by such authority as prescribed by Parliament.
• One third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be reserved for women of those groups in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies.
• Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the state or union territory.
• Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of this Amendment Act.

• Archaeologists in Mexico have found the first temple dedicated to a deity called the ‘flayed lord’, an important god in the Aztec Empire whose worshippers were said to wear the skin of sacrificial victims.
• The Aztec practice was to perform the sacrificial death in one or more places, but to ritually store the skins in another, after they had been worn by living humans for some days. So it could be that this is the temple where they were kept, making it all the more sacred.
• Artefacts related to the god were found in the central state of Puebla, at a site built by the Popoloca people
• The temple was probably built between A.D. 1000 and 1260, the archaeologists found artefacts related to the god, Xipe Tótec including two stone skulls and a stone torso that had an extra hand hanging off its left arm.
• Scientists said the extra hand suggested the god was wearing the remains of a sacrificial victim.

Petroglyphs are rock carvings (rock paintings are called pictographs) made by pecking directly on the rock surface using a stone chisel and a hammer stone. When the desert varnish (or patina) on the surface of the rock was chipped off, the lighter rock underneath was exposed, creating the petroglyph.

They should not be confused with hieroglyphics, which are symbols used to represent words, nor thought of as ancient Indian graffiti.

Petroglyphs are powerful cultural symbols that reflect the complex societies and religions of the surrounding tribes

Andhra Pradesh’s second largest petroglyph site, containing about 80 petroglyhs, has been discovered at Mekala Benchi in Kurnool district

Mekala Benchi has petroglyphs dating back from the Neolithic to the Megalithic period, Kandanathi carvings range from the prehistoric to the historic period.

These petroglyphs, or rock carvings, become a major site of Neolithic settlements in south India.

Three types of innovation can qualify for exemption:

• If a new drug has been developed using indigenous research and development and has been granted a patent under the Indian law, it can seek exemption from price control from the date, when it starts commercial production in the country and not from start producing.
• Second, if a pharma company discovers a new process to make an existing drug and gets a patent for it under the Indian law, it can apply for a five-year relaxation from price regulation
• Finally, a finished drug which uses a new delivery system (such as controlled release or sustained release) developed through domestic research and development would also be eligible for exemption from price control.

NERUDP is being implemented in the capital cities of 5 North Eastern States viz. Agartala (Tripura), Aizawl (Mizoram), Gangtok (Sikkim), Kohima (Nagaland) Shillong (Meghalaya). Priority areas include Water Supply, Sewerage and Sanitation, and Solid Waste Management. The scheme is being implemented with the financial assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADB). ADB contribution is 70% of the cost as loan to the Government of India.

The HRIDAY is implemented by the Ministry of Urban Development. The scheme aims to preserve and revitalise soul of the heritage city to reflect the city’s unique character by encouraging aesthetically appealing, accessible, informative & secured environment.The Scheme is being implemented in 12 identified Cities namely, Ajmer, Amaravati, Amritsar, Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Velankanni and Warangal.