The correct answer is Panama Canal.

Key Points

• Panama Canal is called the "Gateway to the Pacific".
• The Panama Canal is a shortcut between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
• Using the Panama Canal enables shipping to avoid the longer and stormy passage around Cape Horn (the southern tip of South America).

Additional Information

• Suez Canal:
  • It is a sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez.
• Bering Sea:
  • It​ is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean.
  • It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Americas.
• Gulf of Alaska:
  • It is a broad inlet of the North Pacific on the south coast of Alaska, the U.S. Bounded by the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island (west) and Cape Spencer (east).

The correct answer is 500 GW. 

In News

• India aims to achieve its 500 GW renewable energy target before the 2030 deadline, as stated by Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh.

Key Points

• The nation has 424 GW of power generation capacity, with around 180 GW from non-fossil fuels and an additional 88 GW in progress.
• Despite the setback caused by COVID-19, India's renewable energy capacity addition  the fastest in the world.
• India added 15 GW of renewable energy in the fiscal year 2022-23, with plans to increase to 25 GW in 2023-24 and further to 40 GW in 2024-25.
• 50 GW of renewable energy projects will go for bidding annually starting from this year.
• India's per capita emissions are significantly lower than the global average, emphasizing responsible energy consumption habits.
• The country's energy transition actions are aligned with limiting the global temperature rise to under two degrees Celsius.
• India has achieved all its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) nearly a decade earlier than committed.
• Investments of Rs 20 trillion will be required in transmission networks, evacuation infrastructure, and energy storage systems to support India's renewable energy goals.
• A net-zero emissions target by 2070 will require massive investment estimated at USD 15 trillion, focusing on grid decarbonization, industrial decarbonization, and transport transition.

The correct answer is Low and middle-income individuals.

In News

• The Pradhan Mantri Suryoday Yojana primarily targets low and middle-income individuals by providing incentives and financial assistance to make rooftop solar affordable for them.

Key Points

• Pradhanmantri Suryoday Yojana:
  • Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana aims to provide electricity to low and middle-income individuals through solar rooftop installations, along with offering additional income for surplus electricity generation.
  • The Prime Minister also directed that a massive national campaign should be started to mobilize residential segment consumers to adopt rooftop solar in large numbers.
  • PM Modi announces a solar roof-top scheme for one crore households.
  • The Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana aims to rapidly expand rooftop solar capacity by installing solar power systems on one crore houses.
  • It will provide incentives and financial assistance to make it affordable for residential consumers to adopt rooftop solar.
  • This scheme comes after India missed its initial target of 40 gigawatts of rooftop solar capacity by 2022 under the existing Rooftop Solar Programme (This was launched in year 2014).
  • The new scheme signals renewed impetus to achieve the target of 40GW capacity by the extended deadline of 2026.
  • To make India self-reliant in the field of energy will be one of the objectives of this scheme.
  • In 2014, the government launched the Rooftop Solar Programme that aimed to achieve a cumulative installed capacity of 40,000 megawatts.
  • With only around 11GW currently installed, the Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana intends to accelerate rooftop solar adoption

The correct answer is Satyendra Prasad Sinha.

Key Points

• Satyendra Prasad Sinha was the first Indian to join the Viceroy's Executive Council.
• The Viceroy's Executive Council was the cabinet of the government of British India consisting of five members heading revenue, military, law, finance, and home among which for the first time in the section of Law, S P Sinha was introduced as the first Indian member.
• Sachidanand Sinha was the first president(nominated) of the Indian Constituent Assembly where he was selected as the interim president in the first meeting of the constituent assembly held on 9^th December 1946.
• Dr. B R Ambedkar was appointed as a chairman of the Drafting Committee which was appointed on 29^th August 1947.
• Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the president of the constituent assembly in the second meeting of the constituent assembly on 11th December 1946.

The correct answer is Nitrogen.

Key Points

• Greenhouse gases are those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of thermal infrared radiation emitted by the Earth's surface, the atmosphere itself, and by clouds.
• This property causes the greenhouse effect.
• The GHGs are transparent to incoming solar radiation but are opaque to some wavelengths of heat radiated from the Earth.
• So, they trap heat, which leads eventually to a warming of the lower atmosphere. This is called the Greenhouse effect.
• The Primary GHGs are Water vapour, Carbon dioxide, Methane, and Ozone.
• Other GHGs are carbon monoxide, fluorinated gases, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), black carbon (soot), and brown carbon.

Mistake Point

• Nitrogen and its oxides are major air pollutants, not the primary GHGs.

The correct answer is Later Vedic period.

Key Points

• Jainism and Buddhism were originated during the later Vedic period when Janas was developing into Mahajanapadas.
• Jainism was founded by Rishabhadeva who was born in Ayodhya and his emblem was the Bull.
• Buddhism was founded by Gautam Buddha also known as Siddhartha.
• Gautam Buddha was born in 563 BC in Lumbini, Nepal.
• Gautam Buddha was married to Yashodhara and they had a son Rahul.

The correct answer is the United Nations Development Program.

• A multidimensional poverty index is released by b. United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Key Points

• The MPI index is an international measure of acute multidimensional poverty covering over 100 developing countries.
• According to a report, India lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016.
• India reduced deprivation in nutrition, child mortality, people deprived of cooking fuel, deprivation in sanitation and those deprived of drinking water.

The correct answer is Shri Ram Naik

In News

• Shri Ram Naik got the Padma Bhushan 2024 for Public Affairs from Maharashtra.

Key Points

• Ram Naik is a veteran Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party, who served as the 19th Governor of Uttar Pradesh.
• Ram Naik was a member of the 13th Lok Sabha and was Minister of Oil and Natural Gas in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet
• He established Mumbai Rail Vikas Nigam to provide better facilities to 76 lakh passengers, the world's most traveled passengers.
• He played an important role in starting 'Special Women Local Trains' in Mumbai for the first time in the world.

Additional Information

• The following are the names of Padma Award 2024 recipients:

The correct answer is All of the above. 

In News

•  PM Modi announced a solar roof-top scheme for one crore households.

Key Points

Pradhanmantri Suryoday Yojana:

• Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana aims to provide electricity to low and middle-income individuals through solar rooftop installations, along with offering additional income for surplus electricity generation.
• The Prime Minister also directed that a massive national campaign should be started to mobilize residential segment consumers to adopt rooftop solar in large numbers.
• PM Modi announces solar roof-top scheme for one crore households. 
• The Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana aims to rapidly expand rooftop solar capacity by installing solar power systems on one crore houses.
• It will provide incentives and financial assistance to make it affordable for residential consumers to adopt rooftop solar.
• This scheme comes after India missed its initial target of 40 gigawatts of rooftop solar capacity by 2022 under the existing Rooftop Solar Programme (This was launched in year 2014).
• The new scheme signals renewed impetus to achieve the target of 40GW capacity by the extended deadline of 2026.
• To make India self-reliant in the field of energy will be one of the objectives of this scheme.  
• In 2014, the government launched the Rooftop Solar Programme that aimed to achieve a cumulative installed capacity of 40,000 megawatts. 
• With only around 11GW currently installed, the Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana intends to accelerate rooftop solar adoption.

Additional Information

• To apply for this scheme, some qualifications have to be fulfilled, which are as follows:
  • All applicants  must be natives of India.
  • The annual income of the applicant family should not be more than ₹ 1 lakh to ₹ 1.50 lakh.
  • No member of the family should be in a government job  .
  • No member of the family pays income tax, etc.

The correct answer is Viksit Bharat and Bharat-Loktantra ki Matruka.

In News

• The theme for Republic Day 2024 is "Viksit Bharat" and "Bharat - Loktantra ki Matruka."

Key Points

• This theme emphasizes India's vision for long-term development and its role as the mother of democracy.
• "Viksit Bharat" symbolizes India's aspirations to achieve economic, social, and technological development by 2047, marking the 100th year of Independence.
• "Bharat - Loktantra ki Matruka" highlights India's rich democratic heritage and values, emphasizing inclusivity, equality, and participatory governance.
• This theme aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a developed and democratic India, empowering its youth and fostering national development.

Additional Information

• The parade this year had a significant focus on women, with women marching contingents forming a major part.
• For the first time, the Republic Day Parade featured 100 women artists playing Indian musical instruments.
• An all-women Tri-Service contingent marched down the Kartavya Path, along with women personnel in CAPF contingents.
• The Vande Bharatam dance competition's third edition showcased performances by around 200 women artists at the Kartavya Path.
• PM Modi launched Viksit Bharat @2047: Voice of Youth, stressing the importance of utilizing every moment towards national development.
• French President Emmanuel Macron was the chief guest at the Republic Day Parade, which had featured a contingent from France among other special guests.