UPSC QUIZ 02.03.2024

Explanation:

• Maharashtra school education department recently issued a gazette notification exempting private unaided schools from the mandatory 25% admission quota for disadvantaged groups and weaker sections under certain conditions.
• As per The Right Of Children To Free And Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) (section 12.1(C)), unaided schools are obligated to ensure that 25% of Class 1 students admitted must belong to “weaker section and disadvantaged group in the neighbourhood”.
• With this move, Maharashtra joins Karnataka and Kerala in exempting private schools from RTE admissions, following Karnataka's 2018 rule and Kerala's 2011 rules which allow fee concession only if no government or aided schools are within walking distance, set at 1 km for Class 1 students.

Explanation:

• Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA) has proposed to conduct a linguistic survey across the country to create a 'Language Atlas' of India.
• IGNCA is an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Culture.
• India's first and most detailed linguistic survey Sir was done by George Abraham Grierson, which was published in the year 1928.
• India is making efforts to provide education in the mother tongue, especially at the primary level. An important question remains on the actual number of languages that are taught.
• There is an urgent need to conduct a comprehensive linguistic survey to prepare a language atlas of India.

Linguistically Diverse is India

• The first and most exhaustive Linguistic Survey of India (LSI) was carried out by Sir George Abraham Grierson and published in 1928.
• The 1961 Census of India recorded 1,554 languages spoken in India.
• The Census of 1961 was the most detailed with respect to linguistic data. In this Census, even languages with a single speaker were included in the records.

Explanation:

The Government of Goa and Power Finance Corporation have entered into an agreement with the World Bank for a sub-national blended finance facility for climate action. The agreement aims to promote low carbon emission, climate-friendly development.

key points

• Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Power Finance Corporation (PFC) will use innovative blended finance to finance key climate projects such as renewable energy, green hydrogen, electric vehicles, waste to wealth technology and nature based solutions.
• The Government of Goa will facilitate the successful implementation of the Foundation by identifying and developing a pipeline of climate projects, incentivizing policy decisions and facilitating stakeholder collaboration to take those projects forward.
• Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and the Government of Goa will pool resources and expertise with the aim of pursuing sustainable development.
• This agreement marks the beginning of a blended financing facility in India.

Explanation:

• Advanced sensors on the payload aboard India's first solar mission Aditya-L1 have detected the impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME). According to ISRO, the coronal mass ejection (CME) on December 15, 2023, was a single event. PAPA observations during this period showed a sudden increase in total electron and ion counts.

Plasma analyzer package for Aditya (PAPA)

• It is an energy and mass analyzer.
• It is designed for in-situ measurements of solar wind electrons and ions in the low energy range.
• Papa has been developed by the Space Physics Lab and Avionics Unit of VSSC/ISRO.

Explanation:

• Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has awarded 23 licensing agreements for transfer of technology (LATOT) to 22 industries in domains including electronics, laser technology, combat vehicles, naval systems and aeronautics.
• These licenses were handed over during the DRDO-Industry meeting held at Maharashtra MSME Defense Expo 2024 in Pune. DRDO Chairman Dr. Sameer V Kamat and other officials were present in the meeting.
• The expo, organized by the Government of Maharashtra, showcases the indigenous capabilities and innovations of MSMEs, private companies, Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) laboratories and Defense Public Sector Units (DPSUs) in Maharashtra.