'The Bus' by Arun Kolatkar: Summary and Analysis

1.Which film becomes the only Indian entry at Tokyo Film Festival?

A. Karkhanisanchi Waari

B. Chatni

C. Budh

D. Natkhat

2.Who has won the JCB Prize for Literature 2020 for his novel Moustache?

A. Subhash Chandran

B. Harish

C. Raju Rafael

D. Malayattur Ramakrishnan

3. Who authored the book titled “Your Best Day Is Today!”?

A. Javed Akhtar

B. Baman Irani

C. Anupam Kher

D. Paresh Rawal

4. Who has won the Paris Master 2020 title in tennis?

A.Alexander Zverev

B.Novak Djokovik

C.Rafael Nadal

D.aniil Medvedev

5.Hornbill Festival is celebrated in which state decided to be celebrated online this year amidst COVID-19?

A.Nagaland

B.Manipur

C.Tripura

D.Arunachal Pradesh

6.How many agreements did India and Italy sign in different regions?

A.14

B.15

C.16

D.17

7.Since when have FASTags been made compulsory for all four wheelers?

A.12 January 2021

B.13 January 2021

C.1 January 2021

D.14 January 2021

8.PM Modi inaugurated development projects in which city?

A.Lucknow

B.Prayagraj

C.Gorakhpur

D.Varanasi

9.Renowned personality Father Calos Valles passed away, he was a veteran _____.

A.author

B.politician

C.Social Worker

D.Sand artist

10.Who has been appointed as the the President of Hockey India?

A.Vimal Julka

B.Gyanendro Ningombam

C.Yashvardhan kumar sinha

D.Sitharaman

11.Consider the following statements related to 15th Finance Commission:

The Fifteenth Finance Commission (XVFC) led by Chairman N.K. Singh submitted its report for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 to the President Ram Nath Kovind.

This report has been organised in five volumes.

Which of the above statement/statements are correct?

A.1 only

B.2 only

C.Both 1 and 2

D.Neither 1 nor 2

12.Consider the following statements related to Fire Detection and Suppression System (FDSS):

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have developed a fire mitigation system in buses which is also known as “Fire Detection and Suppression System (FDSS).

It can detect the fire in passenger compartment in less than 30 sec and then suppresses it in 160 sec.

The FDSS for engine comprises of aerosol generator with which the fire suppression could be achieved within 5 sec of the system activation.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A.1 and 2 are correct

B.1 and 3 are correct

C.2 and 3 are correct

D.All of the above

13.Consider the following statements related to National Mission on Saffron:

North East Centre For Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR), has supported a pilot project to explore the feasibility of growing saffron in North East region of India .

It is cultivated and harvested in the Karewa (highlands) of Jammu and Kashmir.

Which of the above statement/statements are correct?

A.1 only

B.2 only

C.Both 1 and 2

D.Neither 1 nor 2

14.Consider the following statements :

Delhi to adopt Dungarpur’s model of rainwater harvesting.

Dungarpur model was an innovative idea that was centred on routing the rainwater to a bore well, instead of a regular rainwater-harvesting pit.

The rainwater collected on the rooftop is being routed to the casing of already existing bore wells in households.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A.1 and 2 are correct

B.1 and 3 are correct

C.2 and 3 are correct

D.All of the above

15.Consider the following statements :

UP to develop Vindhyavasini Temple Corridor in Vindhyachal.

It will have a 100-feet wide parikrama path, or circumambulation route, around the shrine of Goddess Vindhyavasini.

Which of the above statement/statements are correct?

A.1 only

B.2 only

C.Both 1 and 2

D.Neither 1 nor 2

1.Answer: A

Explanation

Marathi film, Karkhanisanchi Waari (Ashes on a Road Trip), the 149-minute film tells the story of the Karkhanis, the last joint family of Pune. The movie was directed by Mangesh Joshi. The movie will have its world premiere at the 33rd Tokyo International Film Festival. It is the only Indian entry at the festival.

2.Answer: B

Explanation

Malayalam author, S Hareesh has won the JCB Prize for Literature 2020 for his novel Moustache. It has been translated into English by Jayasree Kalathil & published by HarperCollins India. The JCB Prize for Literature is regarded as the richest literary prize in India. As per the norm, the Malayalam author will receive a Rs 25 lakh cash prize and the translator will receive an additional Rs 10 lakh.

About the ” Moustache “:

• The book ” Moustache ” portrays the history of Kuttanad region and provides a layout of the social history of Kerala through the characters.
• The book is described as a contemporary classic that combines magic, myth and metaphor into one vibrant story.

About S Haresh:

• Haresh of Kottayam, Kerala is currently working in the Department of Revenue.
• He wrote the screen play of the films Aden (2018), which won the State Award for Best Screenplay in 2017 and Jallikattu (2019).

3.Answer: C

Explanation

Actor Anupam Kher’s latest book is titled “Your Best Day Is Today!”. He had announced the book, in which he experiences during the coronavirus-induced countrywide lockdown. Through this book, Kher will recount his experiences during the lockdown, several ups and downs, including the time when his mother Dulari and brother Raju Kher had contracted the virus. His previous books are his biography Lessons Life Taught Me Unknowingly & The Best Thing About You is You. He is also a recipient of two National Film Awards.

4.Answer: D

Explanation

Daniil Medvedev of Russia has defeated Alexander Zverev of Germany by 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 to clinch 2020 Rolex Paris Masters title. This is the maiden Paris Masters title for Daniil Medvedev.He became fourth Russian to win Paris Masters title after Marat Safin, Nikolay Davydenko and Karen Khachanov. He is currently ranked 4th in World Tennis Players listThe Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France.

5..Answer: A

Explanation

Nagaland Tourism Department has informed that the state government decided to celebrate the Hornbill Festival 2020 in a complete virtual mode. Dubbed as the “Festival of Festivals”, the Hornbill Festival is celebrated every year from December 1 to 10, showcasing the rich cultural heritage and tradition of the Nagas in one platform at Naga Heritage Village Kisama under Kohima District. The first festival was held in 2000. The festival is named after the Indian hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state’s tribes.

6.Answer: B

Explanation

India and Italy signed 15 agreements in various sectors following a Virtual Bilateral Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte. The agreements signed will provide for cooperation in a diverse range of areas including energy, green energy, shipbuilding and media sector. The Summit provided an opportunity to the two leaders to comprehensively review the broad framework of the bilateral relationship. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation against common global challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic. The leaders discussed a wide range of issues including political, economic, scientific & technological, space and defence cooperation.

Indo Italian High-Level Dialogue

• The summit was preceded by the Indo Italian High-Level Dialogue. During the dialogue, the Italian firm Fincantieri enhanced it presence in India.
• The long-standing partnership of the firm with the CSL (Cochin Shipyard Limited) of GoI was further deepened.
• The firm had signed contracts with CSL under which it delivered the tankers Shakti and Deepak to the Indian Navy.
• Fincantieri along with National Institute of Ocean Technology built the research vessel “Sagar Nidhi”.
• The understanding between Fincantieri and CSL is based on the following cooperation

1. Naval Automation
2. Ship Repair
3. Training Indian Personnel
4. Design, procure and local construction of new vessels.

India-Italy

• Italy is the fifth largest trading partner of India in the European Union after Germany, Belgium, UK and France.
• In 2019, the bilateral trade between India and Italy stood at 9.52 billion Euros.
• More than 600 large Italian companies are active in India.
• It covers varied sectors such as textiles, fashion garments, infrastructure, automotive components, chemicals, infrastructure, insurance and energy confectionery.

7.Answer: C

Explanation

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued a notification that FASTags will become mandatory for all four-wheelers, including old vehicles, from January 1, 2021. For this government has made an amendment in FORM 51 (certificate of Insurance), wherein the details of FASTag ID shall be captured. This shall be applicable w.e.f. April 1, 2021.

What are FASTags?

• FASTags are the prepaid tags for automatic toll collection. These are usually pasted on the windscreen of the vehicles.
• FASTags are rechargeable and the amount of toll is automatically deducted once these vehicles pass through the toll centre areas.
• FASTags work on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.
• Usage of FASTags reduces time of toll collection and also ensures correct toll collection.

Key Points

• The Road Transport and Highways Ministry has made the FASTags mandatory for all four-wheelers and old vehicles- M and N class vehicles sold before December 1, 2017.
• This has been done by amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989.
• As per CMVR 1989, FASTags are mandatory for the registration of new four-wheeler since December 1, 2017.
• Also, it has been mandated that fitness certificate of the vehicles will be renewed only after the fitment of FASTags.
• Since October 2019, FASTags are mandatory for national permit vehicles.

8.Answer: D

Explanation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi  inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various development projects for Varanasi, including those related to agriculture, tourism and infrastructure. The total cost implication of these projects is ₹ 614 crore, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Aero Bridges

• The LBS International Airport is to receive two more passenger boarding bridges. These bridges are commonly known as the Aero-bridge.
• These two bridges were constructed at a cost of Rs 9 These bridges will enhance the safety of the passengers and reduce their walking distances.

IPDS Scheme

• Under the scheme, underground power cable at a cost of Rs 118 crores is to be laid.

Smart City Scheme

• Under the smart city scheme, high tech surveillance cameras are to be installed, parking facilities in Beniabag, road widening and development of new Ghats.
• Also drinking water supply facilities are to be inaugurated at Rs 19
• Under the Smart City Mission, Varanasi was the top performer in
• It was positioned at rank However, only 50% of its allocated funds were utilized.
• More than 25 projects are underway in Varanasi under the mission. The projects are to be completed at a cost of Rs 261

9.Answer: A

Explanation

Veteran author and columnist Father Carlos Gonzalvez Valles SJ (95 years), also known as Father Valles, passed away. He was a Spanish-Indian Jesuit priest as well as author. He lived in India for almost 5 decades and wrote extensively in Gujarati, English and Spanish. He translated many mathematical concepts into Gujarati and coined special terms for them. Honours: Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak (1978) and Kumar Chandrak (1966).

10.Answer: B

Explanation

Manipur’s Gyanendro Ningombam has been appointed as the President of Hockey India during 10th Hockey India Congress and Elections in New Delhi. He is the first person from the Northeast to be appointed as President of Hockey India. Prior to this, he was the officiating president of Hockey India since July 2020, after Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad resignation. He also served as the senior vice-president of Hockey India and senior vice-president of Manipur hockey team.

11.Answer: A      

Explanation

The Fifteenth Finance Commission (XVFC) led by Chairman N.K. Singh submitted its report for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 to the President Ram Nath Kovind. As per the terms of reference (ToR), the Commission was mandated to give its recommendations for five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26 by 30October 2020. Last year, the Commission had submitted its report containing recommendations for the year 2020-21, which was accepted by the Union Government and tabled in the Parliament on 30 January 2020. The report will be available in the public domain once it is tabled in the Parliament by the Union Government along with explanatory memorandum/action taken report on the recommendations contained in the report.

About Terms of reference

• The Commission was asked to give its recommendations on many unique and wide-ranging issues in its terms of reference.
• Apart from the vertical and horizontal tax devolution, local government grants, disaster management grant, the Commission was also asked to examine and recommend performance incentives for states in many areas like power sector, adoption of DBT, solid waste management etc.
• The Commission was also asked to examine whether a separate mechanism for funding of defence and internal security ought to be set up and if so, how such a mechanism could be operationalised.

Available in four volumes

This report has been organised in four volumes.

• Volume I and II, as in the past, contain the main report and the accompanying annexes.
• Volume III is devoted to the Union Government and examines keydepartments in greater depth, with the medium-term challenges and theroadmap ahead.
• Volume IV is entirely devoted to the states.

What is the Finance Commission?

• The Finance Commission is a constitutionally mandated body that is at the centre of fiscal federalism.
• It has been set up under Article 280 of the Constitution, its core responsibility is to evaluate the state of finances of the Union and State Governments, recommend the sharing of taxes between them, lay down the principles determining the distribution of these taxes among States.

About 15th Finance Commission

• The Fifteenth Finance Commission was constituted on 27 November 2017 against the backdrop of the abolition of Planning Commission (as also of the distinction between Plan and non-Plan expenditure) and the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST), which has fundamentally redefined federal fiscal relations.
• The Chairman of 15th Finance Commission is Mr N. K. Singh.

The 15th Finance Commission was required to submit two reports.

• The first report, consisting of recommendations for the financial year 2020-21, was tabled in Parliament.
• The final report with recommendations for the 2021-26 periods will be submitted by October 30, 2020.

Recommendations of the Finance Commission

• The share of states in the centre’s taxes is recommended to be decreased from 42% during the 2015-20 periods to 41% for 2020-21.
• The 1% decrease is to provide for the newly formed union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh from the resources of the central government.

Criteria for devolution:

1. Income distance-45%
2. Population (2011)-15%
3. Area-15%
4. Forest and Ecology-10%
5. Demographic performance-12.5%
6. Tax Effort-2.5%

About Income distance

• Income distance is the distance of the state’s income from the state with the highest income.
• The income of a state has been computed as average per capita GSDP during the three-year period between 2015-16 and 2017-18.
• States with lower per capita income would be given a higher share to maintain equity among states.

Demographic Performance

• The Demographic Performance criterion has been introduced to reward efforts made by states in controlling their population.
• It will be computed by using the reciprocal of the total fertility ratio of each state, scaled by 1971 population data.

Tax Effort

• Tax effort has been used to reward states with higher tax collection efficiency.
• It has been computed as the ratio of the average per capita own tax revenue and the average per capita state GDP during the three-year period between 2014-15 and 2016-17)
• The Commission highlighted some challenges with the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

12.Answer: B

Explanation

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have developed a fire mitigation system in buses which is also known as “Fire Detection and Suppression System (FDSS), which can detect fires in less than 30 seconds and extinguish it within a minute. In August this year, at least five persons were killed in a bus fire in Karnataka while another 20 were killed in another similar bus fire in Kannuaj in Uttar Pradesh. There have been several fatal fire accidents in sleeper buses across states.

 About Fire Detection and Suppression System (FDSS)

• It can detect the fire in passenger compartment in less than 30 sec and then suppresses it in 60 sec thereby reducing the risk to life and property to a significant extent.
• The FDSS for passenger compartment comprises of a water tank of 80 litre capacity, a 6.8 kg nitrogen cylinder pressurized to 200 bar installed at appropriate location in the bus and a network of tubing with 16 number of atomizers inside the passenger compartment.
• The FDSS for engine comprises of aerosol generator with which the fire suppression could be achieved within 5 sec of the system activation.

Benefits

• It is a defence spin-off technology for providing a solution to the fire incidents in passenger buses.
• It also helps to overcome the fire threat is present in all the vehicles, the highest concern emanates from special vehicles particularly the school buses and the sleeper coaches for long distance travel.

13.Answer: C      

Explanation

Recently North East Centre For Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR), has supported a pilot project to explore the feasibility of growing saffron in North East region of India, with the same quality and higher quantityThe Pampore region of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is known as “Saffron Bowl of Kashmir” and is the main contributor to saffron production. The Kashmir Saffron received Geographical indication (GI) Tag in May 2020.

About the Uniqueness of Kashmiri Saffron

• It is cultivated and harvested in the Karewa (highlands) of Jammu and Kashmir.

The features which differentiates it from other saffron varieties available the world over are:

• It is the only saffron that is grown at an altitude of 1,600 m to 1,800 m,above mean sea level.
• It has longer and thicker stigmas, natural deep red colour, high aroma, bitter flavour, chemical-free processing.
• It also has a high quantity of crocin (colouring strength), safranal (flavour) and picrocrocin (bitterness).

Types

• There are three types of saffron available in Kashmir — Lachha Saffron, Mongra Saffron and Guchhi Saffron.

About National Mission on Saffron

• The Mission was launched in 2010.
• It aimed to increase saffron production in Kashmir valley. It was a fouryear mission that was implemented between 2010-14. Later it was extended, as the production of saffron declined greatly in 2014.

About North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach

• It is an autonomous body under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.
• The pilot project to explore feasibility of growing saffron in the North
• East region was determined.

14.Answer: D

Explanation

The Delhi government will adopt the cost-effective model of rainwater harvesting currently being implemented in the tribal-dominated Dungarpur district of Rajasthan. A seven-member delegation was on an official visit to witness the rainwater-harvesting system that costs just Rs 16,000 as compared to the conventional one, which costs between Rs 50,000 and Rs one lakh per household. Dungarpur model was an innovative idea that was centred on routing the rainwater to a bore well, instead of a regular rainwater-harvesting pit. The rainwater collected on the rooftop is being routed to the casing of already existing bore wells in households. They have created sand filters in the conduit pipe itself and included a way of backwash too.

15.Answer: A      

Explanation

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has decided to develop the Vindhyavasini Mandir Corridor at Vindhyachal in Mirzapur district. The Vindhyavasini corridor is modelled on the lines of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi. It will have a 50-feet wide parikrama path, or circumambulation route, around the shrine of Goddess Vindhyavasini. The UP cabinet had on October 30 approved the decision to develop the religious corridor. The Yogi Adityanath-led government seeks to develop religious tourism in the eastern UP region. The Vindhyavasini temple is surrounded by buildings and narrow lanes and pilgrims have to walk through them while circumambulating the temple.

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