Ans: D

Exp:

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly recently passed a Bill to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years.

About Marriage and Divorce:

• Statement 1 is Incorrect: Marriage and divorce are not listed in the Union List of Schedule VII of the Constitution of India. 
  • Instead, they are listed under the Concurrent List (List III), Entry 5 of Schedule VII. 
  • The Concurrent List includes subjects on which both the Parliament and the State Legislatures have the power to make laws.
• Statement 2 is Incorrect: Since marriage and divorce are in the Concurrent List, both the Parliament and the State Legislatures can enact laws defining the age of marriage. 
  • However, if a state law is inconsistent with a central law on the same subject, the state law will prevail only if it receives the President’s assent as per Article 254(2) of the Constitution. 
  • This process allows state-specific variations in marriage age, provided they are approved by the President..

Ans: B

Exp: 

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das recently said the central bank is focusing on making Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and RuPay, the card payments network of the country, “truly global”.

About Unified Payments Interface (UPI):

• Statement 1 is Correct: It is a payment system that was launched by National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI) in 2016. 
• It allows round the clock money transfer between two bank accounts without knowing the account details. 
• Statement 2 is Correct: It requires all the customers to register with NPCI through a virtual payment address called UPI ID. 
• This has increased the digitalisation of payments and allows the customer to pay directly to the bank account of the merchant, without going through a wallet. 
• Statement 3 is Incorrect: For normal UPI the transaction limit is up to Rs 1 Lakh per transaction.
  • According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) guidelines, the maximum amount for one UPI transaction is ₹1 Lakh for P2P transfers and most merchant payments.

Ans: C

Exp:

International Buddhist Confederation, in collaboration with the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara will organise a two-day International Conference on the Life and Living Legacy of Guru Padmasambhava Conference on 28th and 29th August, 2024 at Nalanda, Bihar. 

About Guru Padmasambhava:

• Guru Padmasambhava was known in Tibet as one of the founding fathers of Tibetan Buddhism, who appeared in Tibet in 749 A.D, and spent 54 years there. 
• Statement 1 is Correct: Padmasambhāva (8th century CE) is considered the founder of Nyingma (The Ancient Ones), the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
  • The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, also known as the Nyingma Sampradaya, was founded by the Padmasambhava in the 8th century.
• Statement 2 is Correct: He is often regarded as the “Second Buddha” due to his significant role in spreading Buddhism throughout Tibet and the Himalayan regions.
• The name Padmasambhava, meaning “Lotus-Born,” reflects his miraculous birth from a lotus flower in a lake within the kingdom of Oddiyana, believed to be in the Swat Valley of present-day Pakistan or a mythical region in northwestern India.
• He introduced Vajrayana Buddhism, which focuses on esoteric practices such as mantras, mudras, and visualisations, as pathways to enlightenment.

Ans: B

Exp:

The Union Cabinet approved the progressive expansion in the Central Sector Scheme of financing facility under ‘Agriculture Infrastructure Fund’ to make it more attractive, impactful and inclusive.

About Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

• • Statement 1 is Incorrect: The key objective of the scheme is to mobilize a medium to long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through incentives and financial support in order to improve agriculture infrastructure in the country.
  • Statement 2 is Incorrect:  It is a Central Sector Scheme.
  • Duration: The Scheme will be operational from 2020-21 to 2032-33. Loan disbursement under the scheme will complete in six years, i.e. by the end of Financial Year 2025-26.
  • Statement 3 is Correct: All loans up to a limit of ₹ 2 crores under this financing facility will have interest subvention of 3% per annum. This subvention will be available for a maximum period of 7 years.

• Benefits:

• • Improved marketing infrastructure to allow farmers to sell directly to a larger base of consumers and hence, increase value realization for the farmers. 
    • This will improve the overall income of farmers.
  • With investments in logistics infrastructure, farmers will be able to sell in the market with reduced post-harvest losses and a smaller number of intermediaries. 
    • This further will make farmers independent and improve access to market.
  • With modern packaging and cold storage system access, farmers will be able to further decide when to sell in the market and improve realization.
  • Community farming assets for improved productivity and optimization of inputs will result in substantial savings to farmers.

Ans: C

Exp:

Assam wildlife department has recommended to the Centre that forest clearance be granted to a Cairn Oil and Gas proposal for oil and gas exploration in the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of the Hollongapar Gibbon wildlife sanctuary.

About Hollangapar Gibbon Sanctuary:

• • Location: In Jorhat district of Assam.
  • Nature: The Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary is a protected area of evergreen forest.
  • Established: The sanctuary was officially established and renamed in 1997 and  is the only sanctuary in India named after a gibbon due to its distinction for containing the densest gibbon populations in India

• Unique Wildlife: 

• • • Statement 1 is Correct: The Sanctuary contains India’s only Ape’s  ie.  the Hoolock gibbons.
    • Statement 2 is Correct:  It is home to northeastern India’s only nocturnal primate ie. the Bengal slow loris.
    • Highest Primates density: The Sanctuary is home to six other primate species, making it an area with the highest biodiversity of primate species of any Protected Area in the country.

• Other primates include:  Stump-tailed macaque, northern pig-tailed macaque, eastern Assamese macaque, rhesus macaque, and capped langur. 

• Statement 3 is Correct: Also found at the sanctuary are Indian elephants, tigers, leopards, jungle cats, wild boar, three types of civet, four types of squirrel, and several other types of mammal

• • Statement 4 is Incorrect: Nilgiri Tahr, locally known as Varaiaadu, is the state animal of Tamil Nadu. It is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and the southern portion of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu & Kerala.