IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - June 12 & 13, 2016

ANSWER: Cashless payment

Explanation:

• National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has rolled out cashless payment mechanism (FASTag) on toll plazas on National Highways.
• FASTag offers near non-stop movement of vehicles through toll plazas and convenience of cashless payments of toll fee with nationwide inter operable Electronic Toll Collection Services.
• FASTag is operational on more than 325 toll plazas on National Highways across the country.
• In order to promote cashless payment through FASTag at Toll Plazas on National Highways, NHAI has decided to provide FASTag to existing monthly pass holders by absorbing the one-time cost of their FASTags.

ANSWER: Satvahannas

Explanation:

• Amaravathi is a village in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Located on the banks of Krishna River.
• Sri Amaralingeswara Swamy temple is located at the Amararama Pancharama Kshetra site in this village, which makes it a holy town for the Hindus. It is also a historic Buddhist site, and the Amaravati Mahachaitya stupa was built here between the 2nd century BCE and the 3rd century CE.
• Designated as a historic site by the Government of India, Amaravati has been chosen as one of the sites for Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme of Government of India.
• The Satavahana capitals at various times included Amaravati (Dharanikota), Pratishthana (modern Paithan) and Junnar.
• The Satavahanas patronized Prakrit language instead of Sanskrit. They supported Buddhism as well as Brahmanism.

ANSWER: Nilgai

Explanation:

• Nilgai is Boselaphus tragocamelus.
• It is also known as blue bull.
• The nilgai or blue bull is the largest Asian antelope and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
• Only males possess horns, 15–24 centimetres (5.9–9.4 in) long.

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• Recently a spate of clearances were given from the Environment Ministry, effectively allowing Himachal Pradesh to kill a species of monkey (Rhesus macaque), and Bihar to eliminate nilgai or blue bull, a species of antelope, and wild pigs where they were in conflict with humans.
• About 200 nilgai have been shot by hired shooters in Bihar’s Mokama area in just three days. Farmers in a dozen districts of the State have demanded measures to control the crop-raiding animals. The State Board of Wild Life decided to declare the blue bulls as vermin in May 2015.

ANSWER: 5

Explanation:

• Wild animals are protected by the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 under which animals and birds are classified, on the basis of threats they face, into four schedules.
• The highly endangered tiger is in the highest Schedule 1 and hares in Schedule 4.
• Each class gets different grades of protection and the law allows all, except Schedule 1 animals, to be temporarily slotted as Schedule 5 or ‘vermin.’
• Nilgai, wild pig and rhesus macaque come under schedule 2 and 3.

ANSWER: Goa

Explanation:

• Kaavi, or the architectural art of etching on walls in religious and secular structures, is present in small pockets in both, north and south districts of Goa.
• Kaavi art is a form of murals exclusively found in Konkan region especially in temples of Goa, parts of coastal Maharashtra and Karnataka (Dakshina Kannada). Kaavi murals can also be seen in old houses, small shrines and rarely walls of Roman Catholic Churches.
• The art form appears to have originated in Goa, was brought to the coastal area by Saraswaths who fled Goa in the 16th century, and thrived in this region during 1500-1775 A.D.
• Kaavi involves inlay or etching work in contrasting colours.
• The art involves plastering of the wall area with lime, etching out the desired design, and filling it with a paste of kaav (fine red soil), charcoal and a binding agent.

ANSWER: Samkhya

Explanation:

• Yoga philosophy is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism.
• Ancient, medieval and most modern literature often refers to Yoga school of Hinduism simply as Yoga.
• It is closely related to the Samkhya school of Hinduism. Yoga school's systematic studies to better oneself physically, mentally and spiritually has influenced all other schools of Indian philosophies.
• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a key text of the Yoga school of Hinduism.

ANSWER: Both 1 and 2

Explanation:

• The epistemology of Yoga school of Hinduism, like Samkhya school, relies on three of six Pramanas, as the means of gaining reliable knowledge.
• These included Pratyak?a (perception), Anuma?a (inference) and Sabda (Aptavacana, word/testimony of reliable sources).
• The metaphysics of Yoga is built on the same dualist foundation as the Samkhya school.
• The universe is conceptualized as of two realities in Samhkya-Yoga schools: Puru?a (consciousness) and prakriti (matter).
• Jiva (a living being) is considered as a state in which puru?a is bonded to prakriti in some form, in various permutations and combinations of various elements, senses, feelings, activity and mind.

ANSWER: Ashtanga Yoga

Explanation:

• Yoga as described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali refers to Ashtanga Yoga.
• The term "yoga" has been applied to a variety of practices and methods, including Jain and Buddhist practices. In Hinduism these include Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Laya Yoga and Hatha Yoga.
• The so-called Raja Yoga refers to Ashtanga Yoga, the eight limbs to be practiced to attain samadhi, as described in the Yoga Sutras of Pantajali.
• The term raja yoga originally referred to the ultimate goal of yoga, which is usually samadhi, but was popularised by Vivekananda as the common name for Ashtanga Yoga.
• Ashtanga Yoga incorporates epistemology, metaphysics, ethical practices, systematic exercises and self-development techniques for body, mind and spirit.