UPSC Prelims 2018 Current Affairs Quiz – 11th November

Goa ranked top and Bihar featured at the lowest in Gender Vulnerability Index (GVI).

• The GVI is aimed at comprehensively understanding the dimensions of various problems affecting children, particularly girls, in difficult circumstances.
• The multidimensional index, which provides a state wise ranking, has been calculated by analysing four issues pertinent to the situation of girls — child safety/protection, poverty, health and education (under these four broad headings, there are more than 170 specific indicators that have been analysed).
• Goa is followed by Kerala, Mizoram and Sikkim. Bihar ranked the lowest at 30, with Delhi faring only slightly better at 29 and Uttar Pradesh at 28. The highest ranking north Indian state is Himachal Pradesh at the sixth position.
• The organisation plans to present a further breakdown in the form of a district-level quantitative index, based on the same indicators. Karnataka is an example of a state that is overall doing well [rank 7], yet there is a considerable divide between the north and the south of the state.

Solution: b.

The NGO-DARPAN platform was earlier maintained by erstwhile Planning Commission. It now is being maintained under the aegis of NITI Aayog.

VOs (Voluntary Organisations)/NGOs play a major role in the development of the nation by supplementing the efforts of the Government. This portal enables VOs/NGOs to enrol centrally and thus facilitates creation of a repository of information about VOs/NGOs, Sector/State wise. The Portal facilitates VOs/NGOs to obtain a system generated Unique ID, as and when signed. The Unique ID is mandatory to apply for grants under various schemes of Ministries/Departments/Governments Bodies.

It is a free facility offered by the NITI Aayog in association with National Informatics Centre to bring about greater partnership between government & voluntary sector and foster better transparency, efficiency and accountability.

Solution: a.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.

Cities which currently make up this network work together towards a common objective:

• placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and
• cooperating actively at the international level.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is not only as a platform for reflection on the role of creativity as a lever for sustainable development but also as a breeding ground of action and innovation, notably for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Solution: a.

The Organic World Congress (OWC) is organized once every three years in a different country and this time it is being organised in India. The last edition of the Organic World Congress took place in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2014. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and OAFI are organizing the event.

“Since 1972, IFOAM – Organics International has occupied an unchallenged position as the only international umbrella organization of the organic world, uniting an enormous diversity of stakeholders contributing to the organic vision.”

IFOAM – Organics International has 800 Affiliates in more than 100 countries. In order to unify, lead and assist this a broad-based constituency in a fair, inclusive and participatory manner, IFOAM – Organics International organizes a General Assembly every three years where a World Board is elected to chart IFOAM-Organics International’s course and to appoint affiliates to official committees, working groups and task forces.