Search Previous Year Questions

The correct answer is Anganwadi workers

Key Points

• In the light of National Education Policy 2020, for the upgradation of the educational level of Anganwadi workers, with the joint effort of the Social Welfare Department and Bihar Open School Education and Examination Board.
• The 'Sunandini' program is to strengthen the educational qualification of Anganwadi workers and to get online education.

The correct answer is Japan.

Key Points

• Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe has died in hospital after he was shot at a political campaign event.
• Abe was shot twice while he was giving a speech on a street in the city of Nara on Friday morning.
• The suspect, named Tetsuya Yamagami, admitted shooting Abe with a homemade gun.

The correct answer is Hindi

Key Points

• The UN General Assembly has adopted an India-sponsored resolution on multilingualism.
• The United Nations General Assembly has adopted an India-sponsored resolution on multilingualism that mentions the Hindi language for the first time.
• India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations T. S. Tirumurti, acknowledge multilingualism is acknowledged as a basic principle of the United Nations and expressed gratitude to the Secretary-General for supporting multilingualism.

The correct answer is Abdulla Shahid.

 Key Points 

• The UN held an emergency session of the General Assembly on 28 February 2022 to discuss Russia's military operations in Ukraine.
• UNGA President Abdulla Shahid presided over the 11^th Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly, at the UN Headquarters in New York.
• The UN Security Council voted to hold the special emergency session of UNGA.
• India abstained from voting on the resolution.
• Russia voted against it and eleven UNSC members voted in favor of it.
• Given the vote was procedural, no country had a veto, and the resolution was adopted.
• China and the United Arab Emirates also abstained.

Additional Information 

• UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter.
• It is headquartered in New York, United States.

The correct answer is Operation Ganga.

Key Points

Operation Ganga

• It is an evacuation mission to bring back all the Indian nationals who are currently stranded in Ukraine. Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
• There were around 20,000 Indians including students stuck in Ukraine.
• Till now, three Air India flights have been able to bring back more than 900 Indians from Ukraine to India.
• The Indian evacuation flights are operating from neighboring countries like Romania and Hungary.
• The government is also facilitating the evacuation of stranded Indians from its borders crossing Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Hence, Statement 2 is correct.
• The Government of India has launched a ‘multi-pronged’ initiative named ‘Operation Ganga’.
• A dedicated Twitter handle ‘OpGanga Helpline’ to assist Indian evacuation from Ukraine has also been announced.
• The tensions between Russia and Ukraine are currently heightened, with war erupting in Ukraine after the Russian military launched a series of attacks recently.

The correct answer is Bhutan

Key Points

• Recently, a Chinese journalist came up with the claim that China has built a new village named 'Pangda' in disputed territory between Bhutan and China.
• China, in June 2020 staked claim over the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan at the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council

Additional Information 

• Bhutan is a landlocked country of south-central Asia, located on the eastern ridges of the Himalayas.
• It is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north, the Indian state of Sikkim in the west and the Indian states of Assam, West Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh in the south, east, and southwest.
• According to China, the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the China-Bhutan disputed areas which are on the agenda of China-Bhutan boundary talks.
• China claims that the boundary between China and Bhutan has never been delimited.
• China has had disputes over the eastern, central and western sectors of Bhutan.

The correct answer is Jammu and Kashmir.

Key Points

• Jammu and Kashmir have been selected by the Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) for meetings during the G-20 summit, to be hosted by India in 2023.
• The G20 summit of 2020 was hosted by Saudi Arabia recently.
• The subsequent G20 summits are to be held in Italy in 2021, Indonesia in 2022, India in 2023, and Brazil in 2024.

Additional Information 

• The main focus of the Summit was on resilient, inclusive, and sustainable recovery from the covid-19 crisis.
• During the Summit the leaders discussed the preparedness of the countries in response to the pandemic.
• They also shared their vision of building a resilient future.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 2020 G20 summit that was held under the theme of “realizing opportunities of the 21^st century for all”.
• The theme mainly focuses on empowering people, safeguarding the planet, and shaping new frontiers.
• In order to mark the G20 Presidency of Saudi Arabia, the country released a 20 Riyal commemorative banknote.

Mistake Points

• Initially, Delhi was selected by the Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) for meetings during the G-20 summit, to be hosted by India in 2023.
• Later Jammu and Kashmir have been selected by the Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) for meetings during the G-20 summit, to be hosted by India in 2023. Source - newsonair.gov.in
• Now as per the 13 September 2022 update of MEA press resales. The G20 Leaders' Summit at the level of Heads of State / Government is scheduled to be held on 09 and 10 September 2023 in New Delhi.

The correct answer is  2 and 3.

Key Points

• UN peace operations are deployed on the basis of mandates from the United Nations Security Council.
• The Charter of the United Nations gives the UN Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. In fulfilling this responsibility, the Council may adopt a range of measures, including the establishment of a UN peace operation.
• Peacekeeping, although not explicitly provided for in the Charter, has evolved into one of the main tools used by the United Nations to achieve this purpose.
• Peacekeeping operations can only be withdrawn by a resolution by the UN Security Council. Hence 2 statement is correct
• UN peacekeeping operations may use force to defend themselves, their mandate, and civilians, particularly in situations where the State is unable to provide security and maintain public order. Hence 1 statement is incorrect
• The USA is the largest budget contributor to UN peacekeeping operations. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• India's contribution to the regular budget is 0.83% and 0.16% of the peacekeeping budget.

The top 10 providers of assessed contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations for 2020-2021 are:

• United States (27.89%)
• China (15.21%)
• Japan (8.56%)
• Germany (6.09%)
• United Kingdom (5.79%)
• France (5.61%)
• Italy (3.30%)
• Russian Federation (3.04%)
• Canada (2.73%)
• Republic of Korea (2.26%)​

Additional Information

• India delivered on its promise of 2,00,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNPKF) worldwide, sending a shipment bound for Copenhagen.
• UN peacekeepers provide security and political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace.

Principles: UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:

• Consent of the parties;
• Impartiality;
• Non-use of force except in self-defense and defense of the mandate. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

Role of Security Council: 

• The United Nations Charter gives the United Nations Security Council the responsibility to maintain international peace. For this reason, the international community usually looks to the Security Council to authorize peacekeeping operations through Chapter VII authorizations.

Present status: 

• There are currently 12 UN peacekeeping operations deployed.
• For its services, UN Peacekeeping has also received the Nobel Peace Prize.
• UN peacekeepers are often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because of their light blue berets or helmets.

The correct answer is Israel

Key Points

• Israel has signed a free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates, its first such agreement with an Arab country.
• The trade deal is Israel's first with an Arab country. The move is aimed at boosting trade between the two nations.

Additional Information

Free Trade Agreement (FTA):

• It is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports.
• Under a free trade policy, goods and services can be bought and sold across international borders with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitions to inhibit their exchange.
• The concept of free trade is the opposite of trade protectionism or economic isolationism.
• After India opted out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in November 2019, the 15-member FTA grouping that includes Japan, China, and Australia, FTAs went into cold storage for India.
• But in May 2021 came the announcement that India-European Union talks, which had stalled in 2013, would be resumed.
• Both sides are now engaged in internal preparations to take these various strands of work forward.
• Bilateral free trade agreements of India are being negotiated with the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
• The agreement with the UAE was ‘close to finalization’ while the FTA with Australia was at a ‘very advanced stage.’

Other Important Trade Agreements of India:

• Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between India and Mauritius.
• South Asia Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA): It is for promoting trade amongst the member countries that came into effect in 1995.
• South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA): A Free Trade Agreement confined to goods but excluding all services like information technology. The agreement was signed to reduce customs duties of all traded goods to zero by the year 2016.
• Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)

The correct answer is Russia

Key Points

• Russia launched its space satellite Arktika-M to monitor the climate and environment in the Arctic region.
• The Soyuz spacecraft with the Arktika-M satellite was launched from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
• The Arctic has warmed more than twice as fast as the global average over the last three decades and Russia is seeking to develop the energy-rich region.
• Russia plans to send up a second satellite in 2023 and, combined, the two will offer round-the-clock, all-weather monitoring of the Arctic Ocean and the surface of the Earth.
• The Arktika-M will have a highly elliptical orbit that passes high over northern latitudes allowing it to monitor northern regions for lengthy periods before it loops back down under Earth.