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  • MCQ Maze 8

    Q1. Who of the following Chalukya ruler shifted his capital from Aihole to Vatapi(Badami)?

    (a) Jayasimha
    (b) Pulakesin I
    (c) Ravikeerti
    (d) Mangalesa

    Q2. Which among the following is/are the member countries of a grouping known as Sanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)?

    1. China
    2. India
    3. Russia
    4. Kazakhstan

    Choose the correct alternative using the codes given below.

    (a) 1, 2 and 3 only
    (b) 1, 3 and 4 only
    (c) 2 and 4 only
    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Q3. Consider the following statements about a water body ‘W’:

    1. It is frequented by several migratory birds.
    2. It is one of the largest fresh water lakes of the country and is also a Ramsar wetland.
    3. It is located between the deltas of two longest rivers of the Peninsular India.

    Identify ‘W’ from among the alternatives given below.

    (a) Chilka Lake
    (b) Vembanad Lake
    (c) Kolleru Lake
    (d) Ulsoor Lake

    Q4. Which one among the following have been conferred the status of classical languages in India?

    1. Kannada
    2. Telugu
    3. Odia
    4. Konkani

    Choose the correct alternative using the codes given below.

    (a) 1, 2 and 3
    (b) 2, 3 and 4
    (c) 1 and 2
    (d) 1, 3 and 4

    Q5. At which of the following places did Mahatma Gandhi undertook his first fast after returning to India to support the cause of the affected class?

    (a) Bardoli
    (b) Kheda
    (c) Champaran
    (d) Ahmedabad

    _____

  • To the Late Runners – Do Another Manjhi!

    MANJHI THE UPSC MAN

    Hello Everyone,

    There are two winter seasons in a UPSC candidate’s life. One caused by earth’s tilt and another caused by UPSC’s notification. The former lullabies you to sleep and the later jolts you out of the slumber.

    Many of you might have started getting apprehensive about the level of preparation and the thought of skipping this attempt might have crossed several hundreds of minds already. Skip the attempt if you feel you shall have any different feeling in 2017. But depend on it, if you skip this attempt and feel that you shall be better prepared and confident next year then you must be living in some utopian world.

    CSE is a cycle and this apprehension is a part of it. You cannot circumvent it. And you shall have to work with it and clear the exam.

    Counting from tomorrow till 07.08.2016, you have 101 days with you. And for clearing prelims, it is more than enough. Yes, it is more than enough. But only if you use them judiciously. So, what can you do to make the best out of coming days? Here is the list:
    1. Sit down, read the syllabus, pick the standard books prescribed and stick to them over the coming days.
    2. Make a time table and work according to it.
    3. Don’t read haphazardly and kangaroo-jump from one subject to another and from one topic to another. Finish what you have started before moving to the next.
    4. While you study keep referring to the previous year questions to get an inkling about the areas that engender more questions.
    5. When your mind is tired and the overbearing fear of failure clouds you, take a small break. Don’t force yourself into studying when you just cannot. Relaxing and rejuvenating is as important as studying itself.
    6. Do not forget to read newspaper. Do not get into the fruitless debate whether you should read newspaper till June or July. You must read at least the headlines even on 07.08.2016.
    7. Get in good discussions with friends and stay clear of the ones who come uninvited for “ek cup chai”. This “ek cup chai” sometimes takes hours.
    8. Reading maps is a good way of killing boredom or so I feel.
    9. Try the MCQs that are posted here or from any other source you refer to.

    Remember you are vying for the Ambassador to which every Benz salutes. Thodi mushkil to hogi hi! Lastly, the only advice to the late runners is that, Do another Manjhi and Make the bridges where there exist none!

    UW

  • The notification for UPSC 2016 is out

    Check here – http://www.upsc.gov.in

  • Different Forms of Traditional Theatre in India – Part 2

    We missed out on 3 forms here. Two of which qualify for UNESCO Intangible Heritage from India. Would you care to name them?

    Hint: We covered them in our previous blog on 9 Indian Arts in the UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

    Catch up on the previous part at – Different Forms of Traditional Theatre in India – Part 1

  • Different Forms of Traditional Theatre in India – Part 1

    Traditional theatre forms have definitely been influenced by industrial civilization, industrialization, and urbanization. The socio-cultural aspects of these influences should be carefully studied.

    There was a time when Kanpur became the centre of the traditional theatre Nautanki. Artists, dancers and singers produced plays based on local heroes, their popularity and traditional love stories.

    In this  2 part series, let’s cover the important forms of theatre in india

    Liked this? Read the second part here – Different Forms of Traditional Theatre in India – Part 2

  • रिफ्यूजी संकट, चौथी औद्योगिक क्रांति और जैव प्रौद्योगिकी विकास रणनीति

    साथियों,
    विस्तृत आलेख श्रृंखला के इस भाग(भाग-4) में आप रिफ्यूजी संकट, चौथी औद्योगिक क्रांति और राष्ट्रीय जैव प्रौद्योगिकी विकास रणनीति के बारे में जानेंगे. उम्मीद है कि इस श्रृंखला के पिछले तीन भाग आपने ज़रूर पढ़े होंगे. आज के अनुवाद पढ़ने के लिए आपको पिछली बार की तरह ही नीचे दिए गए लिंक पर जाना है और सीडी एक्सप्लेन(CD Explain) पर क्लिक करना है.

    1. रिफ्यूजी संकट का विश्लेषण एवं भारत के लिए सबक

    लिंक- https://www.civilsdaily.com/understanding-the-refugee-crisis-and-lessons-for-india/

    2. चौथी औद्योगिक क्रांति: 2016 के लिए विश्व आर्थिक फ़ोरम की आवाज़

    लिंक- https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/fourth-industrial-revolution-world-economic-forums-call-for-2016/

    3. राष्ट्रीय जैव प्रौद्योगिकी विकास रणनीति 2015-2020

    लिंक- https://www.civilsdaily.com/story/developments-and-innovation-in-biotechnology/

    इस श्रृंखला का पिछला भाग जिसमें हमने सरकार की तीन योजनाओं- श्रमेव जयते कार्यक्रम, जन धन से जन सुरक्षा और अंत्योदय योजना के बारे में बताया था, उसे पढ़ने के लिए नीचे दिए लिंक पर क्लिक कीजिये. हमारी कोशिश रहेगी कि हम इस श्रृंखला को लगातार आगे बढ़ाते रहें.

    श्रमेव जयते, वित्तीय समावेशन और अंत्योदय: विस्तृत आलेख श्रृंखला(भाग-3)

  • Stories and Blogs Magazine

    Hi @Root admin, It will be really helpful if you can do the same date-wise article on news for Blogs and stories also…. This will realy help in mains examination. But when we try to see all the articles say from december 2015 – the wabpage hangs and didn’t let me to do it. Please consider this – or kindly prepare a Magazine for all the months seperately and give your articles there for the past months also(Aug2015 to present). We will pay for that to support our team… Please consider this…. Our team is the best in current affairs 🙂 Kudos for our entire team

  • [E&B Bodies #1] Guide to understanding the National Biodiversity Authority

    • The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established in 2003 to implement India’s Biological Diversity Act (2002)
    • The NBA is a Statutory, Autonomous Body
    • It performs facilitative, regulatory and advisory function for the Government of India on issues of- conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources
    • Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
    • Structure: The Authority, Secretariat, SBBs, BMCs and Expert Committees
    • Since its establishment, NBA has supported creation of SBBs in 29 States and, facilitated establishment of around 37,769 BMCs

    The Biological Diversity Act 2002

    • The Biological Diversity Act (2002) mandates implementation of the Act through decentralized system
    • It mandates NBA to focus on advising the Central Government on matters relating to:
    1. The conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of biological resources
    2. Advising the State Governments in the selection of areas of biodiversity importance to be notified as heritage sites and measures for the management of such heritage sites
    • The Act covers conservation, use of biological resources and associated knowledge occurring in India for commercial or research purposes or for the purposes of bio-survey and bio-utilisation
    • It provides a framework for access to biological resources and sharing the benefits arising out of such access and use
    • The Act also includes in its ambit the transfer of research results and application for intellectual property rights (IPRs) relating to Indian biological resources
    • The Act covers foreigners, non-resident Indians, body corporate, association or organization that is either not incorporated in India or incorporated in India with non-Indian participation in its share capital or management
    • These individuals or entities require the approval of the National Biodiversity Authority when they use biological resources and associated knowledge occurring in India

    State Biodiversity Boards

    • State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) are to be established under Section 22(2) of the Act
    • So far 29 States have established the SBBs

    Functions of SBBs:

    • Advise the State Governments on matters relating to conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of utilization of biological resources
    • Regulate by granting approvals or otherwise request for commercial utilization or bio-survey and bio utilization of any biological resource by Indians
    • Perform such other functions as necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act or as prescribed by the State Governments

    Biodiversity Management Committees

    As per the Act, the local bodies constitute the BMC in accordance with Section 41, within their area of jurisdiction

    Purpose:

    • Promoting conservation, sustainable use and documentation of biological diversity
    • Preservation of habitats, conservation of land races, folk varieties and cultivars, domesticated stocks and breeds of animals, micro-organisms
    • Chronicling of knowledge relating to biological diversity

    Composition: A Chairperson, and six persons nominated by local bodies, including 1/3rd women and 18% SC/ST

    Functions:

    • Prepare, maintain and validate People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR) in consultation with the local people
    • To maintain a Register giving information about the details of biological resources and traditional knowledge available within the jurisdiction of BMC
    • Advice on any matter referred to it by the State Biodiversity Board or Authority for granting approval
    • To maintain data about the local vaids and practitioners using the biological resources

    Questions

    1. Critically evaluate the implementation of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 which is meant to fulfil the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • Social Media and the Whatsapp Encryption Challenge

    source

    Encryption is the new challenge facing law enforcement not just in India but around the world. Social media apps such as Whatsapp and Viber have gone ahead and provided end-to-end encryption (E2EE) communications to users.

    When WhatsApp started, the messages that one user sent would be saved in plain text without encryption in the servers which made it possible for a third party to intercept the communication. Ever since 2013, WhatsApp has been encrypting data for its communications now culminating in a strong end-to-end encryption.

    In social media apps, using E2EE encryption means that only the sender and receiver can read the encrypted data because the key to decrypt the data lies only with the end user. No other entities including the service provider has the capacity to decrypt the data even though the data travels through their servers.

    Not all social media platforms use end-2-end encryption. There are some apps like Facebook Messenger where encryption applies only to the data in transit.2 Other apps encrypt the data but store the decryption keys thereby creating the possibility for inspection by law enforcement agencies. Apps like Snapchat encrypt only data in transit but the messages are deleted from the server once the recipient reads it.

    Technicalities of Encryption

    In general, there are two kinds of encryption. In Symmetric Encryption or Secret Key encryption, the same key called the secret key is used to encrypt and decrypt the data or message. It is a very simple method of encryption but the challenge is to preserve the secret key from unintended recipients. If A wants to send a message to B, A encrypts the data using a secret key and shares the key with B to decrypt and read the message.

    In Asymmetric Encryption or Public Key Encryption, different keys are used to encrypt and decrypt the data or message. It is a complex but efficient method of encryption. A public key known to all is used to encrypt the message and a private key, only available with the recipient, is used to decrypt the message. Public key is like finding a telephone number in a directory where each person has his own public key. If A wants to send a message to B, A encrypts the message with B’s public key which is available in the public domain. The recipient of the message, B, uses his/her private key to decrypt the message. In a similar way, B uses A’s public key to encrypt and send a message to A. A decrypts that by using his/her private key. In this case, A and B have different public and private keys.

    WhatsApp uses a more complex version of Asymmetric encryption where the private key varies for each message that is sent.3 All this encryption happens without any need for intervention from the user. WhatsApp uses three public keys named Identity Key, Signed Pre Key and a bunch of One-Time Pre Keys. During the registration of the user, all these keys are generated and sent to the WhatsApp server where it is stored.

    Thus, each WhatsApp user sends these keys to the server where it is stored in a directory.

    Modus Operandi

    If A wants to communicate to B, s/he requests the public keys of B from the server. A then receives three public keys of B. Since there are a bunch of One-Time Pre Keys, a single One-Time Pre Key is allocated to A and, after allocation, gets deleted from the server. In case C wants to communicate with A, s/he will receive a different One-Time Pre Key. Using the 3 public keys of B and A’s Identity Key, a Master Secret Key is generated. Using the Master Secret Key, a Root Key is generated. Using the Master Secret Key and the Root Key, a bunch of Chain Keys are generated. A Message Key is generated based on Chain Key and varies for each message sent. The sender, A, encrypts the message to B using this Message Key. The receiver, B, decrypts the message using his/her private key and public key. The private key is generated at the user end and is not stored even in the server of WhatsApp. In a similar way, B generates a Master Secret Key using A’s three public key and his/her Identity key. Root Key and Chain Keys are derived from the Master Secret Key. Message Key derived out of the Chain Key finally gets used to encrypt the message to A. It is evident that the number of keys generated adds complexity to the encryption thus making it near impossible to break in.

    What it means for India

    Section 84A of the IT Act 2008 calls for encryption to keep the electronic medium secure, and also mentions that the Central Government would prescribe the methods of encryption. The telecom sector is limited to the encryption of 40 bits.4 Section 69 of IT Act 2008 gives power to both Central and State Governments to intercept data taking into account the security of the State. The agency facilitating the transfer of data could also be mandated to decrypt the data.

    WhatsApp, which is one of the Over The Top (OTT) messaging and calling service, uses encryption that is far more sophisticated than that of the telecom sector. There is also no clarity on whether WhatsApp could be requested to decrypt data according to law. Now, after the transition to E2EE, there is no way for WhatsApp to provide decrypted information even when legally bound to do so.

    In a recent move, the Ministry of Home Affairs asked companies like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Google to maintain servers in India. With companies moving to E2EE, locating servers in India would not serve the cause. The 2015 draft encryption policy recommended the use of 256 bit key for encryption and promoting the use of digital signatures thereby envisioning a secure cyberspace. However, certain contradictions in the provisions regulating encryption that mandated users and companies to preserve the plain text and companies providing encryption to enter into an agreement with the Government were harshly criticized and led to the withdrawal of the policy.6

    Therein lies the crux of the issue. On the one hand, a strong policy of regulation would hamper innovation in encryption technology, and, on the other, unregulated encryption would favour miscreants to use the technology for their activities. The need of the moment is a policy that does not come in the way of innovation but at the same time reduces undue opportunities for criminal and terrorist activities.

    Originally published at IDSA

  • MCQ solutions for the maze 5 and 6 sessions

    Get solutions pdf form the link below:

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxdqUlW1zhMsTU9XVm5tSWlJMk0/view

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