Daily Current Affairs MCQ- December 10, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Due to the conservation efforts Pirarucu, also known as arapaima has returned to the lakes of the Medio Jurua in Brazil.

• It can weigh up to 200 kilos (440 pounds), by far the largest of 2,300 known fish species in the Amazon.
• It is found primarily in floodplain lakes across the Amazon basin, including the region of Medio Jurua.
• It is one of the few fish species in the world that surfaces to breathe. It does that with a big splash, flashing its red tail out of the water.
• The giant fish not so long ago nearly vanished from Jurua, due to unregulated fishing.
• The illegal and unsustainable fishing left river and Indigenous communities struggling to catch their staple food.
• And it left pirarucu designated as threatened with extinction, unless trade in the fish is closely controlled by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Hence both statements are correct.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader TR Baalu has recently urged “all like-minded MPs” to support a proposal to remove Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi.

Governor’s appointment, removal:

• Article 155 and 156: Under Article 155 and 156 of the Constitution, a Governor is appointed by the President and holds office “during the pleasure of the President”.
• If this pleasure is withdrawn before completion of the five-year term, the Governor has to step down.
• As the President works on the aid and advice of the Prime Minister and the council of ministers, in effect, the Governor can be appointed and removed by the central government.
• Thus, a Governor is a representative of the Union government in states.
• Article 163: Article 163 of the Constitution says the Governor will normally be aided and advised by the Council of Ministers except in those functions which require his discretion.
• While the Governor’s duties and responsibilities lie in a particular state, there is no provision for impeaching the Governor.

Disagreements:

• There are no provisions laid down in the Constitution for the manner in which the Governor and the state must engage publicly when there is a difference of opinion.
• The management of differences has traditionally been guided by respect for each other’s boundaries.

Cases:

• Since the Governor holds office “on the pleasure of the President”, questions have been raised time and again on whether the Governor has any security of tenure, and if the President is obligated to show reasons for recalling a Governor.
  • In Surya Narain Choudhary vs Union of India (1981), the Rajasthan High Court held that the pleasure of the President was not justiciable, the Governor had no security of tenure and can be removed at any time by the President withdrawing pleasure.
  • In BP Singhal vs Union of India (2010), the Supreme Court elaborated on the pleasure doctrine. It upheld that “no limitations or restrictions are placed on the ‘at pleasure’ doctrine”, but that “does not dispense with the need for a cause for withdrawal of the pleasure”.
    • The President can remove the Governor from office “at any time without assigning any reason and without giving any opportunity to show cause”, the power to remove can’t be exercised in an “arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable manner”.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

After implementing a series of anti-pollution measures to control the plummeting air quality index (AQI) in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party government is also considering bringing back the ‘odd-even’ vehicle rationing scheme. 

• ‘Odd-even’ was first introduced in 2016 by the AAP government to control vehicular pollution and bring down increasing particulate matter levels.
• Under it, private vehicles with registration plates ending in odd numbers could ply on odd dates, and even numbers on even dates.
• Studies and research done on its impact in Delhi suggest positive results — from reduction in congestion to a slight drop in pollution levels and consequent improvement in air quality.
• According to a study done by Delhi Technological University (DTU) published in 2016, when the scheme was implemented for a roughly two-week period, concentration of PM 2.5 and PM 1 saw a drop.
• Studies have also shown that on an average, there was a reduction in PM 2.5 of 5.73 per cent and 4.70 per cent in PM 1 levels. 

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Navy chiefs of India, Australia, Japan and the U.S., which comprise the Quadrilateral (Quad) grouping, met in Japan recently and exchanged views on “further enhancing interoperability” in future editions of the Malabar multilateral naval exercise.

• Malabar is a multilateral naval exercise that began in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the navy fleets of India and the United States.
• It includes simulated war games and combat manoeuvres.
• Since 2007, MALABAR has been held alternatively off Indian Coast and in the Western Pacific.
• The exercise has been held every year since 2002 (there was a gap after the 1992, 1995, and 1996 editions due to India's nuclear testing).
• It was expanded into a trilateral format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015.
• Currently, the Malabar exercise is among the navies of India, Japan, the US and Australia.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

A study published in Nature Communications recently estimated that a vast majority of snakebite deaths globally — up to 64,100 of the 78,600 deaths — occur in India.

• The study used data from verbal autopsy and vital statistics (civil registration) to estimate snakebite deaths from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study.
• The global estimate of deaths due to snakebite comes 14 years after the previous one in 2008 and provides a more robust estimate. 
• Snakebite (a neglected tropical disease) is a public health problem in India and many other low- and middle-income countries has been long known.
• Within India, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of deaths, estimated to be up to 16,100, followed by Madhya Pradesh (up to 5,790 deaths), and Rajasthan (up to 5,230 deaths).
• The study estimated that the age-standardised death rate (which accounts for different age-structures in different countries, thus allowing comparison between countries) in India, at 4.0 per 1,00,000, is also among the highest globally, and many times over than the global figure of 0.8 deaths per 1,00,000. 
• Only Somalia has a higher age-standardised death rate than India at 4.5 per 1,00,000.
• Within India, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan have even higher age-standardised death rates, at 6.5, 6.0, and 5.8 per 1,00,000, respectively.

Treatment:

• Anti-snake venom (ASV) are effective treatments to prevent or reverse most of its harmful effects.
• Steps by WHO:
  • In June 2017, WHO added snakebite envenoming to its priority list of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
  • Anti-snake venom (ASV) is included in the WHO Essential Medicines List.

Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

• Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS):
  • The Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) involves the NRI voter sending an application to the returning officer in person or online.
  • The returning officer will send the ballot electronically.
  • The voter can then register their mandate on the ballot printout and send it back with an attested declaration.
  • The voter will either send the ballot by ordinary post or drop it at an Indian Embassy where it would be segregated and posted.

Hence both statements are correct.

A study in Nature finds a near-complete skeleton of an early reptile from the Middle Jurassic period of Scotland. 

• The skeleton is of Bellairsia gracilis, a primitive squamate.
• Squamates are a group of reptiles that includes more than 10,000 living species descended from a shared common ancestor that lived 240 MYA.
• The fossil may improve our understanding of the anatomical transformations that led to the establishment of the body plan of reptiles such as modern lizards.
• If the anatomical interpretation is correct, then primitive squamates survived for tens of millions of years after the first lizards and snakes evolved and lived alongside them.

Hence both statements are correct.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

• A World Heritage Site (WHS) is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO under the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.
• These sites are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other forms of significance.
• The sites, classified as cultural, natural and mixed (meeting both cultural and natural criteria) heritage around the world, are considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.

Hence both statements are correct.

In October 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) for the first time recommended the large-scale use of a malaria vaccine for children living in areas with moderate-to-high malaria transmission. The RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix) was developed by GlaxoSmithKline.

• It took more than 30 years and approximately $700 million for this breakthrough.
• Malaria kills nearly 600,000 people every year, the majority of whom are children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Malaria is a disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite.
• The parasite can be spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
• There are many different types of plasmodium parasite, but only 5 types cause malaria in humans.
  • Plasmodium falciparum – mainly found in Africa, it's the most common type of malaria parasite and is responsible for most malaria deaths worldwide.
  • Plasmodium vivax – mainly found in Asia and South America, this parasite causes milder symptoms than Plasmodium falciparum, but it can stay in the liver for up to 3 years, which can result in relapses.
  • Plasmodium ovale – fairly uncommon and usually found in West Africa, it can remain in your liver for several years without producing symptoms.
  • Plasmodium malariae – this is quite rare and usually only found in Africa.
  • Plasmodium knowlesi – this is very rare and found in parts of Southeast Asia.
• Transmission:
  • The plasmodium parasite is spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes, which are known as "night-biting" mosquitoes because they most commonly bite between dusk and dawn.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

This year many farmers are not burning the paddy stubble completely and are instead resorting to partial burning or burning only the loose straw.

• After harvesting, farmers opting for partial burning let the loose straw dry for a couple of days and then they set these dumps on fire to prepare the field for the next crop.
• In such cases, the standing stubble, which is mostly green, does not get burnt fully but it gets scorched close to those places in the field where loose straw is burnt.
• And in the case of air pollution, it will be around 40-50% less as they only burn around 50% to 60% of the total stubble in such cases.

Stubble management machines:

• The state has distributed 1.05 lakh stubble management machines and a large number of individual farmers and groups of farmers have purchased these machines on subsidy.
• Farmers who do not have these machines but want to manage the stubble, get these on rent from farmers groups and cooperative societies.
• However, even after having three main machines such as Happy Seeder, Smart Seeder and Super seeder, many farmers are resorting to partial burning.
• The three machines ensure that there is no need for partial burning even after harvesting as stubble clearing is not required to sow wheat.

Hence both statements are correct.