Inspired by: Tiangong-2

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/tiangong-2/

Answer: (b)

Tiangong-2 was a manned Chinese space station that was destroyed upon its controlled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on July 19.

It was the Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-4 — named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology — which became the first ever craft to touch down on the far side of the lunar surface.

ARTEMIS stands for Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of Moon’s Interaction with the Sun. As the name suggests, the two spacecraft will measure what happens when the Sun’s radiation hits our rocky moon, where there is no magnetic field to protect it.

PUNCH stands for Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere. It is focused on understanding the transition of particles from the Sun’s outer corona to the solar wind that fills interplanetary space.

Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully made its second touchdown on asteroid Ryugu. It has become the first ever space probe to gather material from beneath the surface of an asteroid.

Inspired by: Dracaena cambodiana : India’s first dragon blood-oozing tree

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/dracaena-cambodiana-indias-first-dragon-blood-oozing-tree/

Answer: (c)

Dracaena cambodiana

• A group of researchers has discovered Dracaena cambodiana, a dragon tree species in the Dongka Sarpo area of West Karbi Anglong, Assam.
• This is for the first time that a dragon tree species has been reported from India.
• Dracaena cambodiana is an important medicinal plant as well as an ornamental tree.
• It is a major source of dragon’s blood, a precious traditional medicine in China.
• Several antifungal and antibacterial compounds, antioxidants, flavonoids, etc., have been extracted from various parts of the plant.

Inspired by: Explained: 50 years of Bank Nationalization in India

https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/explained-50-years-of-bank-nationalization-in-india/

Answer: (b)

RBI

• The Reserve Bank of India was founded on 1 April 1935 to respond to economic troubles after the First World War. It was established following the Reserve Bank of India Act of 1934.
• RBI was conceptualized as per the guidelines, working style and outlook presented by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in his book titled “The Problem of the Rupee – Its origin and its solution” and presented to the Hilton Young Commission.
• The bank was set up based on the recommendations of the 1926 Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance, also known as the Hilton–Young Commission.
• Though privately owned initially, it was nationalized in 1949 and since then fully owned by Government of India (GoI).
• The RBI acts as the custodian of the country’s foreign exchange reserves, manages exchange control and acts as the agent of the government in respect of India’s membership of the IMF.

Inspired by: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=192184

Answer: (a)

Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)

• The Fair and Remunerative Pricing is used in sugarcane industry to replace the MSP. This is based on the C. Rangarajan Committee report of reorganising the sugarcane industry.
• FRP is the minimum price that sugar mills have to pay to sugarcane farmers.
• It is determined on basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and after consultation with State Governments and other stake-holders.

Inspired by: CSP 2017

Answer: (b)

Federalism is the mixed or compound mode of government, combining a general government (the central or “federal” government) with regional governments (provincial, state, cantonal, territorial or other sub-unit governments) in a single political system.

Delegation means to entrust one’s own power and responsibility to another person or group of persons who are lower in rank and power. In public administration a chief executive transfers his power or part of it to an employee who is in rank lower to him.

Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which people decide on policy initiatives directly. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are representative democracies.

Democratic decentralization is defined as meaningful authority devolved to local units of governance that are accessible and accountable to the local citizenry, who enjoy full political rights and liberty.

Hence, Option b is correct!