QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 23 August 2017

Solution: c.
Both statements are correct. Plants listed in Schedule VI are prohibited from cultivation and planting. Mongoose is a protected species under Schedule II and part II of the Wildlife Protection Act,1972 and any trade of its body parts involves similar punishment as is laid down for tigers and rhinoceros. Those convicted face a minimum three years in jail.

In the news: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/huge-haul-of-painting-brushes-made-of-mongoose-hair/article19541089.ece;
The Act: http://nbaindia.org/uploaded/Biodiversityindia/Legal/15.%20Wildlife%20%28Protection%29%20Act,%201972.pdf;
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Solution: c.
Statement 2 is mains-oriented. It can be used in answer-writing should a question on India-Uzbekistan or India-Central Asia relations appear.
You don’t have to mug up the following information, we are just providing it for those who are curious to read:
• India-Uzbekistan relations: There are frequent references to Kamboja in Sanskrit and Pali literature, which is stated to include parts of present day Uzbekistan. Ancient trade route Uttarpatha passed through Uzbekistan. At various times the Saka / Scythian, Macedonian, Greco-Bactrian, Kushan Kingdoms included parts of both India and present day Uzbekistan, and at other times they were part of neighbouring empires. Babur came from Fergana in Uzbekistan. Interactions over thousands of years contributed to close cultural linkages in architecture, dance, music and cuisine. Mirza Ghalib and Amir Khusro are notable Indians of Uzbek parentage.

Improvisation: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=170160;
http://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Uzbekistan_Jan_2017.pdf;
From 2015: https://scroll.in/article/739064/babur-timur-and-shastri-as-modi-visits-tashkent-a-short-history-of-indo-uzbek-ties;

Solution: c.
Both statements are correct. CSCs offer both, G2C and B2C services.
• CSC programme is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY), Government of India. CSCs are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society.
• CSCs are more than service delivery points in rural India. They are positioned as change agents, promoting rural entrepreneurship and building rural capacities and livelihoods. They are enablers of community participation and collective action for engendering social change through a bottom-up approach with key focus on the rural citizen.

http://vikaspedia.in/e-governance/resources-for-vles/common-service-centres-programme;
About CSCs: https://csc.gov.in/images/CSC_New_brochure_2015.pdf;
In the news: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=170157;
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Solution: d.
Statement ‘a’ is correct, that is, gender justice was not the basis of the majority judgment. Apart from the extracts provided below, read the full article (http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/3-judgments-3-takeaways-triple-talaq-4809039/) to understand the intricacies of the three different judgments under this one case.
• Justice Nariman (with whom Justice Uday U. Lalit concurred) has held that instant irrevocable triple talaq not preceded by the efforts at reconciliation is unconstitutional, as it is contrary to the right to equality, which includes the right against arbitrariness. The basis of his decision is the recognition of triple divorce by the Shariat Act, 1937. The Act laid down that in matters of talaq, gift, will, inheritance etc., “the rule of decision where parties are Muslims shall be Muslim Personal Law”. He quoted the 1932 decision of the Privy Council in which triple divorce was held as valid under Sharia to conclude that since instant triple divorce is “manifestly arbitrary”, the Shariat Act, to the extent it recognised triple divorce, is ultra vires the Constitution.
• Justice Khehar’s judgment (with whom Justice S. Abdul Naseer concurred) is the most detailed — 272 pages — and a major milestone in the history of freedom of religion in India. For the first time in Indian judicial history, freedom of religion subject to restrictions given in Articles 25 and 26 has been held to be “absolute”. After quoting Constituent Assembly debates on Articles 25 and 44, the CJI held that personal law is part of the freedom of religion, which courts are duty-bound to protect. He also said courts are not supposed to find fault with provisions of personal law, which are based on beliefs, not logic. Personal law, he said, is beyond judicial scrutiny.
• Justice Kurian Joseph agreed with Justice Khera on some points, and with Nariman on others. He fully endorsed the CJI’s opinion on freedom of religion, thereby ensuring its majority. He agreed with Justice Nariman on triple divorce not being an essential part of Muslim Personal Law (thus enabling the practice of instant talaq to be struck down). But he disagreed with Justice Nariman on the interpretation of the Shariat Act — concurring, rather, with Justice Khehar’s opinion that the Shariat Act is not a legislation regulating triple divorce.

Additional sources: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/supreme-court-sets-aside-instant-triple-talaq/article19538599.ece; Also, several other articles from today’s newspapers will serve the purpose of understanding this judgment.

Solution: b.
By itself, the lake (Pangong Tso) does not have major tactical significance. But it lies in the path of the Chushul approach, one of the main approaches that China can use for an offensive into Indian-held territory. Indian assessments show that a major Chinese offensive, if it comes, will flow across both the north and south of the lake. During the 1962 war, this was where China launched its main offensive — the Indian Army fought heroically at Rezang La, the mountain pass on the southeastern approach to Chushul valley, where the Ahir Company of 13 Kumaon led by Maj. Shaitan Singh made its last stand.

http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/ladakh-scuffle-india-china-clash-beauty-strategy-the-importance-of-pangong-tso-doklam-sikkim-stand-off-4807716/
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