Daily Quiz: Weekly Revision | December 6, 2020

According to Jain tradition, Mahavira was not the founder of Jainism, but the last of the 24 Tirthankaras or ‘maker of fords’ (ford means a shallow place in river or stream to allow one to walk across).

According to Jaina tradition, Risabha was the founder of the sect. He is considered the first Tirthankara.

Yajur Veda mentions three of the Tirthankaras, viz., Risabha, Ajitanatha and Aristanemi. Mahavira organised his members into monastic and lay followers.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 48.

Harappans had developed proper weights and measures. Since they were involved in commercial transactions, they needed standard measures. Cubical chert weights have been unearthed from Harappan sites.

The weights exhibit a binary system. The ratio of weight is doubled as 1:2:4:8:16:32. The small weight measure of 16th ratio weighs 13.63 grams.

They also used a measuring scale in which one inch was around 1.75 cm. Weights made of chert were cubical. They used binary numbering system (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc.). They might have been used for weighing jewellery and metal.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 14.

When Siddhartha was riding on his chariot with his charioteer one day outside the palace, he saw an old man, a sick man, a corpse and finally a religious mendicant.

Overcome by remorse at the misery of people, he left his palace in the dead of night in search of eternal truth.

He rode in his chariot pulled by his favourite horse Kanthaka and driven by his charioteer Channa far away from the city.

He cut his hair and sent it along with his discarded garments and jewellery to his father. This is known as Mahabhiraskramana or the Great Going Forth.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 51.

Agricultural activities increased during the Late Vedic period. The Satapatha Brahmana mentions rituals related to ploughing undertaken by the kings. This suggests the importance given to cultivation by the rulers, and the shift to agriculture to support the increasing population.

The god Balarama is depicted with a plough, which suggests the importance of cultivation. The Vedic people cultivated barley and rice, and wheat.

Wheat was the staple food of Punjab region. The Vedic people began to use rice in the Ganga-Yamuna doab. The use of rice, rather than wheat, is noticed in the Vedic rituals.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 36.

Dara Shukoh, the Mughal prince, translated the Upanishads into Persian in 1657, much before the colonial scholars developed any interest in ancient Indian literature.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 38.

National Clean Energy Fund’ (NCEF) was constituted in the public account of India in the Finance Bill 2010-11.

Objective is to invest in entrepreneurial ventures and research & innovative projects in the field of clean energy technology.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs consequently notified the Clean Energy Cess Rules 2010 under which producers of specified goods namely raw coal, raw lignite and raw peat were made liable to pay Clean Energy Cess.

Any project with innovative methods to adopt to clean energy technology and research & development shall be eligible for funding under the NCEF.

Government assistance under the NCEF shall in no case exceed 40% of the total project cost.

Source: Shankar page no 317.

Bioremediation is the use of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) to degrade the environmental contaminants into less toxic forms.

The microorganisms may be indigenous to a contaminated area or they may be isolated from elsewhere and brought to the contaminated site.

Bioremediation Strategies:

• Bioventing – supply of air and nutrients through wells to contaminated soil to stimulate the growth of indigenous bacteria. It is used for simple hydrocarbons and can be used where the contamination is deep under the surface.
• Biosparging – Injection of air under pressure below the water table to increase groundwater oxygen concentrations and enhance the rate of biological degradation of contaminants by naturally occurring bacteria
• Bioaugmentation – Microorganisms are imported to a contaminated site to enhance degradation process.

Source: Shankar page no. 76.

Ex situ bioremediation involves the removal of the contaminated material to be treated elsewhere.

• Landfarming – contaminated soil is excavated and spread over a prepared bed and periodically tilled until pollutants are degraded. The goal is to stimulate indigenous biodegradative microorganisms and facilitate their aerobic degradation of contaminants.
• Biopiles – it is a hybrid of landfarming and composting. Essentially, engineered cells are constructed as aerated composted piles. Typically used for treatment of surface contamination with petroleum hydrocarbons.
• Bioreactors – it involves the processing of contaminated solid material (soil, sediment, sludge) or water through an engineered containment system.
• Composting – dealt earlier in solid waste management

Source: Shankar page 76.

In the 1991 Notification the CRZ area was classified as CRZ-I (ecological sensitive), CRZ-II (built-up area), CRZ-III (Rural area) and CRZ-IV (water area). In the 2011 Notification the above classification is retained. The only change is the inclusion of CRZ-IV, which includes the water areas upto the territorial waters and the tidal influenced water bodies.

For the very first time, a separate draft Island Protection Zone Notification has been issued for protection of the islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

The main objectives of the IPZ Notification, 2011are:

• To ensure livelihood security to the fishing communities, tribal and other local communities living in the coastal areas;
• To conserve and protect coastal stretches and;
• To promote development in a sustainable manner based on scientific principles, taking into account the dangers of natural hazards in the coastal areas and sea level rise due to global warming

Source: Shankar page no 303

Mangroves for the Future are a partnership-based initiative promoting investment in coastal ecosystems for sustainable development.

Mission

• to promote healthy coastal ecosystems through a partnership-based, people-focused, policy-relevant and investment-orientated approach, which builds and applies knowledge, empowers communities and other stakeholders, enhances governance, secures livelihoods, and increases resilience to natural hazards and climate change.
• Member countries: India, Indonesia, Maldives, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam. Outreach countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Timor-Leste. Dialogue countries: Kenya, Malaysia, Tanzania.
• MFF provides a collaborative platform to help countries, sectors and agencies in the MFF region tackle the growing challenges to coastal sustainability.
• MFF has adopted mangroves as its flagship ecosystem in recognition of the important role that mangrove forests played in reducing the impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and the severe effect on coastal livelihoods caused by the loss and degradation of mangroves.
• However MFF embraces all coastal ecosystems, including coral reefs, estuaries, lagoons, wetlands, beaches and seagrass beds.

Source: Shankar page no. 319