10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #92 February 19, 2020

Explanation: The Ministry of Culture recently set up a seven-member panel of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to locate the grave of the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh (1615-59). He is believed to be buried somewhere in the Humayun’s Tomb complex in Delhi, one of around 140 graves of the Mughal clan. The eldest son of Shah Jahan, Dara Shikoh was killed after losing the war of succession against his brother Aurangzeb. Dara Shikoh is described as a “liberal Muslim” who tried to find commonalities between Hindu and Islamic traditions. He translated into Persian the Bhagavad Gita as well as 52 Upanishads.

Explanation: The State of India’s Birds report is the first comprehensive assessment of the distribution range, trends in abundance, and conservation status for most of the bird species that regularly occur in India. With their ubiquity and ecological importance, birds are excellent indicators of the state of our natural world and are potent cultural symbols of nature. This national-level assessment of birds is a significant step forward in the monitoring and conservation of India’s rich and varied biodiversity. This report assesses the status of 867 bird species using data uploaded by birdwatchers to the online platform eBird. This assessment is based on three indices. Two are indices of change in abundance: Long-term Trend (i.e. over 25+ years) and Current Annual Trend (i.e. over the past 5 years); and the third is a measure of Distribution Range Size (refer to summary tables on page 5). Of the 261 species for which long-term trends could be determined (i.e. not Uncertain or Data Deficient), 52% have declined since the year 2000, with 22% declining strongly. In all, 43% of species showed a long-term trend that was stable and 5% showed an increasing trend.

Explanation: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued an operating licence for the first reactor at the Arab world’s first nuclear power plant, paving the way for it to start production later this year. The Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, which is being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), was originally due to open in 2017 but the start-up of its first reactor has been delayed several times.

Explanation: The Union Government has released the first National e-Governance Service Delivery Index Assessment (NeSDA). The index has been prepared by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) with NASSCOM as the designated knowledge partner. It aimed at improving the overall e-Government development by evaluating the efficiency of service delivery mechanism from a citizen’s perspective. The index was based on seven key parameters namely accessibility, content availability, ease of use, information security and privacy, end-service delivery, integrated service delivery and status & request tracking. Kerala has topped the index. It was followed by Goa at the second spot and Haryana at the third spot. Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are at the bottom of the list.

Explanation: A inter-Ministerial funding program “Scientific Utilization Through Research Augmentation Prime Products from Indigenous Cows” (SUTRA-PIC India) has been initiated with the support of Ministry of Science & Technology through Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR)- Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR); Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH); Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).The program will involve participation of Research Institutions, Academics, Grassroots Organizations and so on to carry out R & D work, technology development and capacity building at local level covering following five thematic areas: 1. Scientific research on uniqueness of Indigenous Cows. 2. Scientific research on Prime-products from indigenous cows for medicine and health. 3. Scientific research on Prime-products from indigenous cows for agricultural applications. 4. Scientific research on Prime-products from indigenous cows for food and nutrition. 5. Scientific research on Prime-products from indigenous cows-based utility items.