1. Which of the following is the first state in India to receive ISO certification for tribal hostels?
a. Andhra Pradesh
b. Odisha
c. Punjab
d. Madhya Pradesh
S-b
EXPLANATION-
• Odisha has become the first state in the country to receive ISO certification for hostels meant for tribal students.
• The ST&SC Welfare Department had earlier launched the 'Mission Suvidya' project to provide all the tribal hostels of the state uniform standards of infrastructure, amenities and human resources.
• The certification is an example of the transformation targets set under the state’s 5T(Technology, Transparency, Teamwork, Time and Transformation) framework that aims to bring in transformational, and institutional-level changes in state governance.
2. Which of the following states has canceled online classes for students till Class 5?
a. Maharashtra
b. Punjab
c. Madhya Pradesh
d. Karnataka
S-d
EXPLANATION-
• The Karnataka government said there would be no online classes for students till Class 5.
• It also said that collecting fees for online classes should also be stopped.
3. Where was the first population estimation exercise of the Indian Gaur conducted?
a. Tamil Nadu
b. Punjab
c. Maharashtra
d. Andhra Pradesh
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• The first population estimation exercise of the Indian Gaur (Bison) was carried out in the Nilgiris Forest Division, Tamil Nadu.
• It was conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature India.
• It highlighted that there are estimated 2,000 Indian gaurs across the division.
• The Indian Gaur or Bison (Bos gaurus) is the largest and the tallest in the family of wild cattle and is a grazing animal.
• It is a vulnerable animal under the IUCN Red List
4. Which of the following Indian states’ lake has turned red?
a. Andhra Pradesh
b. Punjab
c. Maharashtra
d. Madhya Pradesh
S-c
EXPLANATION-
• The water of Lonar crater lake in Maharashtra's Buldhana district has changed its colour in the past few days.
• The lake is located around 500 km from Mumbai and is a popular tourist hub and also attracts scientists from all over the world. It is a notified national geo-heritage monument.
• The change happens due to the micro-organisms in the water and the colour substances created by them.
• The micro-organisms like Dunaliella Salina, Halobacteriaceae and Salinibacterium create special types of colour substances due to which water colour turns red. There is a possibility of alkalinity of lake water rising due to receding water levels in summer, which might have led to increase in the number of bacteria resulting in water colour turning red.
5. Which of the following states has launched a handbook on COVID-19 ‘policing’?
a. Telangana
b. Andhra Pradesh
c. Madhya Pradesh
d. Maharashtra
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• Disaster management has become a big part of the Telangana police’s responsibilities in the backdrop of the spread of COVID-19.
• Besides standard operating procedures, the police department has come out with a ‘Reference Handbook for COVID-19 Policing’.
• The reference book stresses the need for an inter-departmental COVID-19 committee or task force in each district to perform executive functions regarding virus management and containment to handle a likely ‘second wave’ of infection.
