Current Affairs & General Knowledge Test - 3

Each democracy is unique and works in different ways. In some democracies, citizens help make decisions directly by voting on laws and policy proposals (direct democracy).

Democracy:

The main feature of a democracy is that the people have the power to elect their leaders. So in a sense, democracy is ruled by the people. The basic idea is that people rule themselves by participating in the making of these rules.

In a democracy, the government has to explain its actions and defend its decisions to the people. In a democracy, it is the people who give the government this power. They do this through elections in which they vote for particular persons and elect them. Once elected, these persons form the government. In a democratic country, all governments are elected for fixed periods. In India, this period is five years. Democracy allows people to participate. The government is elected by the people. Legal equality, political freedom, and rule of law are foundational characteristics for a well-functioning democracy. 

The two essential features of a democratic government are:

• People’s participation in decision-making through their representatives.
• Government is answerable to the people.

Thus, only statement A and B are correct.

Therefore, the percentage increase in displacement during the 6th second compared to that in 5th second is 22%.

Butterfly migration from the Eastern Ghats and plains towards the Western Ghats, an annual phenomenon coinciding with the onset of the Northeast monsoon, was below par this year.

Aqua regia is also known as royal water or king's water which can dissolve noble metals gold and platinum is a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid. Aqua regia is also known as king's water, is a mixture of Nitric acid and Hydrochloric acid optimally in a molar ratio of 1:3. It can dissolve noble metals such as gold, platinum, and palladium.

• ​Hydrochloric acid is also known as the name of 'muriatic acid'. It is a colorless solution and is a component of the gastric acid in the digestive systems of most animal species, including humans.
• Nitric Acid is a strong acid and in its pure form is colorless. The industrial production of nitric acid is known as “the Ostwald process”. Nitric acid is manufactured from ammonia and is an important chemical in the manufacture of fertilizers.

Devaluation is the intentional downward adjustment of a country's money's value compared to another currency, currency category, or currency standard.

This monetary policy instrument is used for countries with a fixed exchange rate or semi-fixed exchange rate.

RTI applicable to the Supreme Court of India in 2019, upheld the decision of the Delhi High Court bringing the office of Chief Justice of India under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. So, statement 1 is correct. Currently, Political parties are not under the ambit of the RTI act.

The Central Information Commission was established by the Central Government in 2005. It was constituted through an Official Gazette Notification under the provisions of the Right to Information Act (2005). Hence, it is not a constitutional body. The Central Information Commission is a high-powered independent body that inter alia looks into the complaints made to it and decides the appeals. The Chief Information Commissioner/Information Commissioner shall hold office for a term of 5 (five) years or till he attains the age of 65 years. Therefore, statement 2 is not correct.

In a collaboration with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), NALCO has developed a bauxite-certified reference material (CRM) named BARC B1201. This is the first-of-its-kind CRM in India and the fifth in the world. The National Centre for Compositional Characterisation of Materials (NCCCM) of BARC has helped NALCO develop the material.

The southeast trade winds in the southern hemisphere and the northeast trade winds in the northern hemisphere meet each other near the equator. The meeting place of these winds is known as the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

Characteristics features related to ITCZ:

• The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) lies in the equatorial trough.
• It is a permanent low-pressure feature where surface trade winds, laden with heat and moisture, converge to form a zone of increased convection, cloudiness, and precipitation.
• It is a low-pressure zone between tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn
• This is the region of ascending air, maximum clouds, and heavy rainfall.
• The location of ITCZ shifts north and south of the equator with the change of season.
• In the summer season, the sun shines vertically over the Tropic of Cancer, and the ITCZ shifts northwards.

Therefore, all the statements are correct about ITCZ or tropical convergence zone. 

The ocean current is a general movement of a mass of water in a fairly defined direction over great distances. Base on the temperature characteristics it can be categorized as warm and cold current. It can be broadly categorized into Atlantic ocean current, Pacific ocean current, and Indian ocean current. The currents in the northern portion of the Indian Ocean differ entirely from the general pattern of circulation.

• The currents in the northern portion of the Indian Ocean differ entirely from the general pattern of circulation.
• They change their direction from season to season in response to the seasonal rhythm of the monsoons.
• In the northern section of the Indian Ocean, there is a clear reversal of currents between winter and summer.
• In winter, the north equatorial current and the south equatorial current flow from east to west. 
• The northeast monsoons drive the water along the coast of the Bay of Bengal to circulate in an anti-clockwise direction.
• Similarly, along the coasts of the lands bordering the Arabian Sea, an anti­clockwise circulation of currents develops.
• The Agulhas Current is warm, ranging in temperature from 57 to 79 °F (14 to 26 °C) at the surface. The Agulhas Current is the western boundary current of the southwest Indian Ocean. It flows south along the east coast of Africa from 27°S to 40°S. It is narrow, swift and strong.

Therefore, statements 1 and 2 are correct.

‘Lakh Baksh’ was the title given to the Qutubuddin Aibak.

Aibak was a slave of Muhammad Ghori, who made him the Governor of his Indian possessions. He set up his military headquarters near Delhi and captured the North India. Due to his liberal donations, Muslim writers called him Lakh Baksh.