Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – February 27, 2020

India accounts for two-thirds of the world’s most polluted cities — 21 of the most polluted 30 cities; 14 of the highest 20; and 6 of the highest 10 — in the 2019 World Air Quality Report released by the pollution tracker IQAir and Greenpeace on Tuesday. The ranking is based on a comparison of PM2.5 levels. Among countries, when population is taken into account, average PM2.5 pollution is highest in Bangladesh, followed by Pakistan, while India is at number 5.

The conceptualization of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan started with the initiative of a group of dedicated faculty members of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi working for long in the area of rural development and appropriate technology. The concept was nurtured through wide consultation with the representatives of a number of technical institutions, Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) coordinators, voluntary organizations and government agencies, actively involved in rural development work, during a National workshop held at IIT Delhi in September, 2014. The workshop was sponsored by Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India. The program was formally launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) in presence of The President of India on 11th Novembter, 2014. The Mission of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is to enable higher educational institutions to work with the people of rural India in identifying development challenges and evolving appropriate solutions for accelerating sustainable growth. It also aims to create a virtuous cycle between society and an inclusive academic system by providing knowledge and practices for emerging professions and to upgrade the capabilities of both the public and the private sectors in responding to the development needs of rural India.

Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary is the biggest breeding home of the sea turtles. Gahirmatha is located in Orissa’s Kendrapara District. Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is world famous for Olive Ridley sea turtles. The Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary provides a great diversity of flora and fauna. The main flora of Gahirmatha Turtle Sanctuary are Bel, Zizphus Bija, Terminenalia, Salaia, Casia, Kauriculata, Helicteres, Tendu, Hiwar, Palas, Sal, Dhawda, Babul, Teak, Bamboo and hair  etc. It’s climate is humid because of the closeness of the Bay of Bengal. Gahirmatha gets very much rainfall in the monsoon months starting from form mid-June to end of September.

Microsoft has launched the 100X100X100 program for B2B SaaS startups in India. This initiative will bring together 100 committed companies and 100 early and growth startups that have enterprise-ready solutions to offer. Each participating company will commit to spend $100K over a course of 18 months on solutions provided by the SaaS startups. More than 50 startups are part of the program at launch.

The Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) was set up by the Government of India in 1995-96 for financing ongoing rural Infrastructure projects. The Fund is maintained by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The main objective of the Fund is to provide loans to State Governments and State-owned corporations to enable them to complete ongoing rural infrastructure projects.