31: In the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, an initiative of six countries, which of the following is/are not a participant/ participants?
1. Bangladesh
2. Cambodia
3. China
4. Myanmar
5. Thailand
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1, 2 and 5
Explanation:
In the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation the six member countries are India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
32: Mark the correct answer:
(a) Planets have an apparent motion and twinkle
(b) Planets have no apparent motion but twinkle
(c) Planets have an apparent motion but do not twinkle
(d) Planets have no apparent motion and do not twinkle
33: A sandy and saline area is the natural habitat of an Indian animal species. The animal has no predators in that area but its existence is threatened due to the destruction of its habitat. Which one of the following could be that animal?
(a) Indian gazelle
(b) Indian wild ass
(c) Indian wild boar
(d) Indian wild buffalo
Explanation:
The Indian wild ass also called khur, is a subspecies of the Onager native to Southern Asia.
The Indian wild ass's range once extended from western India, through Sindh and Baluchistan, Afghanistan, and southeastern Iran. Today, its last refuge lies in the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Little Ran of Kutch and its surrounding areas of the Greater Rann of kutch in the Gujarat province. The animal, however, is also seen in the districts of Surendranagar, Banaskantha, Mehsana, and other Kutch districts. Saline desert, grassland in arid zone and shrubland are its preferred homeland.
Besides disease, the ass's other threats include habitat degradation due to salt activities, the invasion of the Prosopis juliflora shrub, and encroachment and grazing by the Maldhari.
34: In the Indian context the term De-notified tribes refers to
(a) tribes which are aboriginals
(b) nomadic tribes
(c) tribes practising shifting cultivation
(d) tribes which were earlier classified as criminal tribes
Explanation:
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35: La Nina is suspected to have caused recent floods in Australia. How is La Nina different from El Nino?
1. La Nina is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperature in equatorial Indian Ocean whereas El Nino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperature in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
2. El Nino has adverse effect on south-west monsoon of India, but La Nina has no effect on monsoon climate.
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
Explanation:
- La Nina is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Nino as part of the broader El Nino-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Nina, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3-5 degree C. La Nina, combined wit record-high ocean temperatures in th north-eastern Indian Ocean, has been a large factor in the 2010-2011 Queensland floods.
- Some of the weather effects of La Nino include abnormally heavy monsoons in India and Southeast Asia, cool and wet winter weather in southeastern Africa, wet weather in eastern Australia, cold winter in western Canada and northwestern United, cold winter in western Canada and northwestern United States, winter drought in the southern United States, warm and wet weather in northeastern United States, and an extremely wet winter in southwestern Canada and north-western USA.