State PCS
The United Nations declared the year 2024 as the International Year of:
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Answer: Option A — Camelids
Detailed Solution
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2024 as the "International Year of Camelids" (IYC 2024).
About the International Year of Camelids:
- The resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2017, on a proposal led by Bolivia.
- The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was the lead agency.
- Its theme was "Heroes of the Desert, Highlands and Ancient Cultures".
- It aimed to highlight the importance of camelids for the livelihoods of millions of people in harsh environments, such as deserts and high mountains, and to promote investment and research in the camelid sector.
About camelids:
"Camelids" are members of the camel family (Camelidae).
They include:
- Old World camelids: the dromedary (one-humped Arabian camel) and the Bactrian camel (two-humped camel of Central Asia, including the wild Bactrian camel, which is critically endangered).
- New World (South American) camelids: the llama, alpaca, vicuna and guanaco, found in the Andes Mountains.
- They provide milk, meat, wool (fibre), leather, and transport for people living in deserts and highlands.
- Camels can survive for long periods without water and tolerate extreme heat.
- Alpaca and vicuna wool is highly valued; the vicuna, the national animal of Peru, produces one of the finest and most expensive wools in the world.
Camels in India:
- India has the dromedary (one-humped) camel mainly in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and the Bactrian camel in the Nubra Valley of Ladakh.
- The camel is the state animal of Rajasthan.
- The ICAR-National Research Centre on Camel is in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
- India's camel population has been declining sharply.
Other recent International Years declared by the UN:
- 2023: International Year of Millets (proposed by India).
- 2025: International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, International Year of Cooperatives and International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
- 2026: International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, and International Year of Women Farmers.
- 2016: International Year of Pulses.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Millets were celebrated in 2023.
- ✗Pulses were celebrated in 2016.
- ✗Glaciers' Preservation was the theme of 2025.
Quick tip
Remember: 2024 = International Year of Camelids (FAO; proposed by Bolivia; dromedary, Bactrian camel, llama, alpaca, vicuna, guanaco); 2023 = Millets (India's proposal); 2025 = Glaciers' Preservation and Cooperatives; 2016 = Pulses.
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Important Days & Dates — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Important Days & Dates, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers national and international days observed through the year, such as National Youth Day, World Environment Day and International Yoga Day, along with the themes announced for them and the events or people they commemorate. Questions ask for the date of a day, the day observed on a given date, or the person it honours (for example, National Sports Day on 29 August marks the birthday of Major Dhyan Chand). Revise days month by month in a calendar format. Themes change every year, so learn the current year's themes from current affairs. Practise the important days questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.