IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Mar 03, 2016

ANSWER: Maharashtra

Explanation:

• Maharashtra will be the first state in the country to propose a law against the social boycott of individuals or families by caste Panchayats.
• Caste panchayat heads have been reported to mete out extra-judicial punishment to those not adhering to their rules.
• It terms any action of social boycott a crime. It states that a trial should be completed within six months from the date of filing of a charge sheet, and has recommended three years of imprisonment or a fine of Rs 1 lakh, or both, for those found guilty.
• Offences punishable under the act shall be cognisable and bailable, and can be tried by a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class.
• There is also provision for Social Boycott Prohibition Officers to detect the commission of offences under the act; these officers will assist magistrate and police officers in the discharge of their duties.
• The state was the first in the country to enact an anti-superstition law.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• “Caste Panchayat” as a committee or a body formed by a group of persons belonging to any community (whether registered or not) which functions within the community to regulate and control personal and social behavior of its members and collectively resolves or decides disputes, including within families, by issuing oral or written dictates.

ANSWER: Tourism due to geography of the place

Explanation:

• Geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the distinctive geographical character of a place—its environment, heritage, aesthetics, culture, and the well-being of its residents.
• A form of natural area tourism that specifically focuses on landscape and geology.
• Geotourism was first defined (Hose, 1995) in England. There are two viewpoints of geotourism.
• Purely geological and geo-morphologically-focused Sustainable Tourism as abiotic nature based tourism. This is the definition followed in most of the world.
• Geographically Sustainable Tourism, the most common definition in the USA. This emphasises preservation of the geographical sense of a place in general, beyond simple geological and geomorphological features, as a new charter & concept in the sustainable tourism.

ANSWER: State List

Explanation:

• Public health is a state subject.
• The interventions under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) are aimed towards by supplementing the efforts of the States in this direction.
• The Central government enacts laws but implementation rests with a state government.
• The primary responsibility to regulate the private health care sector rests with the State/UT Governments.

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• National Sports Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS) in the year 2015 which aimed at

(i) Identifying sporting talent among students in the age group of 8-12 years and
(ii) Nurturing of the Sporting Potential /talent to make them excel at the National and International Sports Competitions.

ANSWER: Frequency

Explanation:

• You hear the high pitch of the siren of the approaching ambulance, and notice that its pitch drops suddenly as the ambulance passes you. That is called the Doppler Effect.
• The Doppler effect can be observed for any type of wave - water wave, sound wave, light wave, etc. We are most familiar with the Doppler Effect because of our experiences with sound waves.
• When the source moves towards observer, the frequency seems higher. When the source moves away, the frequency seems decreasing.
• The Doppler Effect is of intense interest to astronomers who use the information about the shift in frequency of electromagnetic waves produced by moving stars in our galaxy and beyond in order to derive information about those stars and galaxies.
• Doppler radar is an observational tool for monitoring and predicting severe weather events such as thunder storms, hailstorms, cyclones and tornados within a radius of 300 km. It not only gives information about precipitation but also about wind velocity. The Doppler weather radar system helps increase precision in weather forecasting.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• A new Doppler radar to boost the weather forecasting system in the cyclone prone eastern coast will shortly commissioned in Gopalpur in Odisha.
• It will be the sixth such radar on the country’s east coast. The others are located in Chennai, Kolkata, Machilipatnam, Visakhapatnam and Paradip.
• Kochi, Bhuj, Mumbai and Karaikal on the western coast have Doppler radars, while the equipment is being set up in Goa. Negotiations are on with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to install another Doppler radar in Thiruvananthapuram.
• The radar is indigenously built by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).
• The move to set up additional radar assumes significance as the eastern coast is prone to cyclones and better forecast will help authorities in taking timely action. Gopalpur had faced the severe cyclonic storm Phailin in October 2013.
• Doppler radar is an observational tool for monitoring and predicting severe weather events such as thunder storms, hailstorms, cyclones and tornados within a radius of 300 km. It not only gives information about precipitation but also about wind velocity. The Doppler weather radar system helps increase precision in weather forecasting.

ANSWER: LinkedIn

Explanation:

• Social networking site Twitter recently launched #Positionofstrength campaign to empower women to raise voices against any form of discrimination.
• It seeks to bridge the gender equality gap online in India and ‘inspire the next generation of women leaders to have an influential voice in society.’
• With this, Twitter hopes to strengthen the women empowerment movement and encourage women to amplify their voices in a secure and confident manner.
• For this, the social networking platform has partnered with the FICCI Ladies’ Organisation and the Observer Research Foundation to engage more women to find their voices online, communicate safely with confidence and network with other like-minded women and the global community at large.
• Under this campaign, twitter has introduced measures to empower our users with tools to mute, block and report abusive behaviour.
• Meanwhile, Twitter also launched its Safety Center in Hindi to ensure engagement and education of women locally to enable them to use the platform safely and with confidence.