Prelims Mantra (Day-28)

APAAR ID:

• • APAAR stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry.
  • Registry enables ‘One Nation, One Student ID’, in order to accumulate and store students’ academic accomplishments, facilitating seamless transitions between institutions for pursuit of further education.
  • APAAR ID is linked to Aadhaar and is stored in DigiLocker.
  • APAAR is generated through Unified District Information System For Education Plus (UDISE+) portal, which contains regional academic statistics and data on schools, teachers and students.
  • It is a key aspect of NEP 2020’s mandate to overhaul education data collection for policymaking and analysis.
  • APAAR is not mandatory.
  • Schools verify a student’s “demographic details,” that is, their name and date of birth. Parents are then required to fill a consent form, and after another step of authentication by school, APAAR ID is generated.
  • Parents have option of writing to schools and opting out of generating the APAAR ID for children in their care.

 

Squad:

• • It is a quadrilateral grouping comprising 4 Indo Pacific Nations of USA, Australia, Philippines and Japan.
  • Objective: To counter hegemonic tendencies of China in militarizing South China Sea threatening rules-based order of Indo-Pacific.

 

U.S., U.K. replace Gulf nations as top source of remittances:

• • Remittances from U.S. and U.K. together nearly doubled to 40% of total remittances through banks in last fiscal year (FY24). This number was 26% in FY17.
  • S. became the top source in FY21, bringing in 23.4% of inward remittances. This increased to nearly 28% in FY24.
  • Rise in the share of Indian labour force in the U.S. and the U.K. is cited as reason behind higher remittances from these two countries.
  • United Arab Emirates (UAE) share reduced to 19.2% in the FY24 from 27% in FY17. Remittances from Saudi Arabia almost halved to 6.7% in FY24 from 11.6% in FY17.

 

Netzarim Corridor:

• • It is a 6-kilometer-long stretch of land in Gaza Strip that divides northern Gaza from southern Gaza.
  • It was established by the Israeli military during the 2023-2025 Gaza War as a militarized zone to monitor and control the movement of Palestinians between the two regions.

 

NASA astronauts stranded in space for nine months back on earth with a splashdown:

• • A SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship carrying Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams — alongside fellow American Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov reached Florida coast.
  • Gumdrop shaped spacecraft named Freedom, charred from withstanding scorching temperatures of 2,000 degrees Celsius during re-entry.
  • Wilmore and Ms. Williams, both former Navy pilots and veterans of two prior space missions, flew to orbital lab in June 2024, on what was supposed to be a days-long roundtrip to test out Boeing’s Starliner on its first crewed flight. But spaceship developed propulsion problems and was deemed unfit to fly them back, instead returning empty.
  • On 16^th March 2025, a relief team called Crew-10 docked with station, paving way for the Crew-9 team to depart.
  • Wilmore and Williams’ 286-day stay exceeds usual six-month ISS rotation but ranks only sixth among U.S. records for single-mission duration.
  • Frank Rubio holds top spot at 371 days in 2023, while world record remains with Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 consecutive days aboard Mir station.

 

Dateline El Niño or Central Pacific El Niño:

• • It is a type of El Nino event where the warming of sea surface temperatures occurs primarily in the central equatorial Pacific region near the International Date Line.
  • El Niños can have warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the east or central Pacific: these are called El Niño “flavours”.

 

Maharashtra’s first-ever temple dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj inaugurated:

• • Located in Thane district’s Bhiwandi taluka.
  • Built by trust Shivkranti Pratishthan.
  • 5-foot krishnashila (blackstone) statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which was sculpted by renowned Mysore-based artist Arun Yogiraj. This is same man who sculpted 22-foot statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate, 12-foot-high statue of Aadi Shankaracharya in Kedarnath, and idol of Ram Lalla at Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya.
  • Temple is designed by architect Vishal Vijaykumar Patil.
  • Temple borrows from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s forts — it comprises a boundary wall, fort-like bastions, and a grand-entrance.
  • There is also a museum of historical weapons and armour in the complex.
  • The first temple dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is in Srisailam, Telangana.

 

Sonic weapon:

• • Serbia’s govt accused of using a sonic weapon against protestors.
  • Serbia is currently witnessing mass protests against government over several issues, including allegations of widespread corruption and nepotism.
  • Acoustic or sonic weapons are devices that deliver very loud sounds over long distances.
  • Such weapons usually comprise hundreds of modern transducers — an electronic device that converts energy from one form to another — to create highly concentrated and amplified sound.
  • Mosquito: This device produces very high-pitched sounds that are audible and painful to only younger people — usually teenagers and those in their twenties. It does not affect older people (30 and above).
  • Infrasonic weapon: This is a newer technology and could deliver very low-frequency sounds that would be inaudible but could cause pain and disorientation.
  • Loud noises can cause a sensation of ringing ears, also called tinnitus, which can last for minutes after the exposure or for days. Other sound injury symptoms include headaches, nausea, sweating, vertigo, and loss of balance.

 

Muzhara movement:

• • muzharaswere landless tenant farmers seeking ownership rights on land they had cultivated for generations. British also forced some small farmers to surrender land they owned and work as muzharas.
  • Before independence, every village had biswedars (landlords) who lived in havelis and were known as ‘sardars’.
  • They took one-third of the produce from the land cultivated by muzharasand small farmers. The biswedars, in turn, gave a share to king, who further paid revenue to British.
  • Movement began in the 1930s in villages of the erstwhile princely state of Patiala. It continued after independence, when the princely states in the region were reorganised into the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU).

2030 Global Forest Vision: Priority actions for governments in 2025

• • It is released on March 19, 2025, by Forest Declaration Assessment.
  • Forest Declaration Assessment is a comprehensive, civil society-led effort to assess collective progress toward global forest goals.
  • In 2014, the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) was adopted as a political declaration calling for the end of natural forest loss and the restoration of 350 million hectares of degraded landscapes and forestlands by 2030.
  • International Day of Forests 2025 or World Forestry Day 2025 is celebrated on March 21, 2025. with theme “Forests and Food”.

 

Coal gasification technology:

• • It enables conversion of coal into syngas (synthetic gas), which can be used to produce downstream products like methanol, ammonium nitrate, Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) and Fertilizers etc.

 

Revised National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD):

• • Union Cabinet has approved Revised National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD).
  • Central Sector Scheme
  • Focuses on modernizing and expanding dairy infrastructure, ensuring the sector’s sustained growth and productivity.
  • Scheme consists of two key components:

1. Component A is dedicated to improving essential dairy infrastructure, such as milk chilling plants, advanced milk testing laboratories, and certification systems.

2. Component B, known as “Dairying through Cooperatives (DTC)”, will continue to foster dairy development through cooperation with the Government of Japan and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as per agreements signed.

 

Rashtriya Gokul Mission:

• • Cabinet approves implementation of revised Rashtriya Gokul Mission with enhanced allocation for the years 2024-25 and 2025-26
  • Central Sector component of Development Programmes scheme.
  • Two New activities added are: (i) One-time assistance of 35% of the capital cost for establishment of Heifer Rearing Centres to Implementing Agencies for creation of 30 housing facilities having total 15000 heifers and (ii) To encourage farmers to purchase High genetic merit (HGM) IVF heifers to provide 3% interest subvention on loan taken by the farmer from milk unions / financial institutions/ banks for such purchase.
  • Activities of Rashtriya Gokul Mission include– strengthening of semen stations, Artificial Insemination network, implementation of bull production programme, accelerated breed improvement programme using sex sorted semen, skill development, farmer awareness, support for innovative activities including establishment of Centre of Excellence, strengthening of Central Cattle Breeding Farms and strengthening of Central Cattle Breeding Farms.

 

ISRO’s various educational programs:

• • Yuva Vigyani Karyakram (YUVIKA – Young Scientist Programme): Targeted to 9th class passed out students. This residential programme provides basic knowledge of space science, technology, and applications through hands-on sessions, expert talks, and facility visits.
  • Space Tutor: ISRO identifies interested educational institutions, NGO’s/ STEM Educators to promote space science awareness among students through exhibitions, lectures, and workshops.
  • Space on Wheels: Mobile exhibition bus equipped with space theme-based exhibits.

 

Samarth:

• • Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT), autonomous Telecom R&D centre of Department of Telecommunication (DoT), launches first cohort of Incubation Program “Samarth” with focus on fostering innovation & promoting technological advancements in India’s telecommunications & IT sectors.
  • It is designed to provide comprehensive support for startups and innovators engaged in creating next-generation technologies in the fields of Telecom Software Applications, Cyber Security, 5G/6G Technologies, AI, IoT Applications & Quantum Technologies.
  • Implementation by Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), a premier S&T organization under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

 

Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY):

• • Centrally Sponsored Scheme being implemented since 2021-22.
  • The Scheme has three components namely (i) ‘Adarsh Gram’, (ii) ‘Grants-in-aid for District/State-level Projects for Socio-Economic betterment of Scheduled Caste (SC) Communities’ and (iii) ‘Hostel’.

 

Objectives and role of the Scheme are:

• • To improve socio-economic developmental indicators by ensuring adequate infrastructure and requisite services in the SC dominated villages.
  • To reduce poverty of SC communities by generation of additional employment opportunities through skill development, income generating schemes.
  • To increase literacy and encourage enrolment of SCs in schools and higher educational institutions, especially in the aspirational districts/ SC dominated blocks and elsewhere in India.

PRACTICE MCQs

Q1. Consider the following schemes/programs:

1. National Program for Dairy Development

2. Rashtriya Gokul Mission

3. Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana

How many of the above are Central Sector Schemes?

a) Only one

b) Only two

c) All three

d) None

Answer: B

Q2. Which of the following countries is not part of ‘Squad’ grouping?

a) USA

b) Australia

c) Japan

d) South Korea

Answer: D

Q3. Consider the following statements about APAAR ID:

1. APAAR is generated through Unified District Information System For Education Plus (UDISE+) portal.

2. APAAR ID is linked to Aadhaar and is stored in DigiLocker.

3. It is a key aspect of NEP 2020’s mandate to overhaul education data collection for policymaking and analysis.

4. APAAR is mandatory for all students in India.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

a) 1 and 3 only

b) 1, 2 and 3 only

c) 3 and 4 only

d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: B

Q4. Consider the following statements about muzhara movement:

1. muzharas were landless tenant farmers seeking ownership rights on land they had cultivated for generations.

2. Movement began in the 1930s in villages of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: A

Q5. Which of the following correctly describes the term El Niño “flavours”?

a) Warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the east or central Pacific.

b) Warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the west or central Pacific.

c) Cold sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the east or central Pacific.

d) Cold sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the west or central Pacific.

Answer: A

 

 

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