10 PM Current Affairs Quiz : March 22, 2018

The Union Cabinet has given its in principle approval for inclusion of communities, namely ‘Parivara and Talawara’ as synonym of Nayaka at in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs) of Karnataka.

This approval fulfils long term demand of these communities for granting ST status in Karnataka. With this inclusion, persons belonging to these communities will be eligible to get ST certificate from Karnataka. They will also be eligible for all benefits meant for ST in state.

Statement 1 is correct. Parliamentary privileges are special rights, immunities and exemptions enjoyed by the two Houses of Parliament, their committees and their members. They are necessary in order to secure the independence and effectiveness of their actions. Without these privileges, the Houses can neither maintain their authority, dignity and honour nor can protect their members from any obstruction in the discharge of their parliamentary responsibilities.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Constitution has also extended the parliamentary privileges to those persons who are entitled to speak and take part in the proceedings of a House of Parliament or any of its committees. These include the attorney general of India and Union ministers.

It must be clarified here that the parliamentary privileges do not extend to the president who is also an integral part of the Parliament.

Statement 1 is correct. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority established under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (“Aadhaar Act 2016”) on 12 July 2016 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Statement 2 is correct. The first UID number was issued on 29 September 2010 to a resident of Nandurbar, Maharashtra. The Authority has so far issued more than 111 crore Aadhaar numbers to the residents of India.

Both the statements are correct. International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

The theme for World Water Day 2018 is ‘Nature for Water’ – exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century.

The Union Government has formulated ambitious water conservation scheme Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABY) to tackle ever-deepening crisis of depleting groundwater level.

The Union Government will support half of the total project cost and rest of the budgetary cost will be shared by the World Bank.

The objective of scheme is to recharge ground water and create sufficient water storage for agricultural purposes. It also focuses on revival of surface water bodies so that groundwater level can be increased, especially in the rural areas. It will give emphasis to recharging ground water sources and ensure efficient use of water by involving people at local level.

The Tigris River runs through three countries namely Turkey, Syria, and Iraq and has many other tributaries flowing into it from the three countries and Iran.

The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) was constituted on November 18, 2004, by the Government of India. The commission was formed under the chairmanship of Professor M.S. Swaminathan. From December 2004 to October 2006, it has submitted five reports.

The five reports of the National Commission on Farmers contain suggestions to achieve the goal of “faster and more inclusive growth” as envisaged in the Approach to 11th Five Year Plan.

The fifth report is the most important among the reports submitted by the National Commission on Farmers. It focused on causes of farmer’s distresses and the rise in farmers’ suicides.  Based on the recommendations submitted in 2006, a ‘National Draft Policy for Farmers‘ was placed before the Parliament in October 2007.