Daily Current Affairs MCQ- December 13, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Girsu was a city of the Sumerian civilization, not the Akkadian civilization, thus statement 1 is incorrect. The first excavations in Girsu were conducted by the French archaeologist Ernest de Sarzec, not Leonard Woolley, making statement 2 also incorrect.

PM Vishwakarma Scheme is a Central Sector Scheme under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), not the MSME. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect. The scheme does indeed provide credit support with a concessional interest rate of 5%, making statement 2 correct.

Article 370 provided 'temporary' autonomous status to Jammu & Kashmir, not permanent, making statement 1 incorrect. Under Article 370, the central government could not impose financial emergencies in the state, which makes statement 2 also incorrect.

Halley’s Comet is known as a short-period comet, not a long-period comet, so statement 1 is incorrect. It was indeed the first comet whose return was predicted, making statement 2 correct.

The Saiga Antelope is primarily found in Eurasia, not Africa, making statement 1 incorrect. The Saiga Antelope does have an unusual nose structure that acts like a filter, so statement 2 is correct. It has recently been changed from 'Critically Endangered' to 'Near Threatened' by IUCN, hence statement 3 is incorrect.

VINBAX is a joint military exercise between India and Vietnam, not Thailand, making statement 1 incorrect. The exercise does focus on peacekeeping operations aligned with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, so statement 2 is correct. The first edition of VINBAX was held in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India, not New Delhi, hence statement 3 is incorrect.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured a stunning new image of a star that exploded in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A). 

• It is a remnant of a massive star that exploded some 340 years ago. 
• It is the youngest remnant off the massive star in our galaxy known to mankind.
• It belongs to the prototypical type of supernova remnant and has been extensively studied by a number of ground-based and space-based observatories,
• The remnant spans about 10 light-years and is located 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.
• It gives information related to the supernovae phenomenon and its complexities.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

Yemen's Houthis have been targeting vessels in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab strait.

• It is strait between Arabia (northeast) and Africa (southwest) that connects the Red Sea (northwest) with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean (southeast).
• It forms a vital strategic link in the maritime trade route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal
• It is one of the world's most important routes for global seaborne commodity shipments, particularly crude oil and fuel.
• It is bordered by Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast.

Key points about the Red Sea

• It is a semi-enclosed inlet (or extension) of the Indian Ocean between the continents of Africa and Asia. It is one of the world’s warmest seas.
• The northern portion of the Red Sea is bifurcated by the Sinai Peninsula into the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez, where it is connected to the Mediterranean Sea via the famous Suez Canal.
• Bordering Countries:
• Yemen and Saudi Arabia border the Red Sea to the east.
• It is bordered by Egypt to the north and west and by Sudan, Eritrea, and Djibouti to the west.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Recently, the Saiga (Saiga tatarica) species category was changed from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

• It is a large migratory herbivore.
• Appearance:
• This antelope has an extremely unusual appearance with an over-sized and flexible nose, the internal structure of which acts like a filter.
• Their large noses filter out dust kicked up by the herd in the warm summers and warms the icy air before it reaches their lungs in the winters.
• Habitat: It inhabits open dry steppe grasslands and semi-arid deserts.
• Distribution:
• The antelope were once found throughout the Eurasian Steppe, the great band of grassland that stretches from Hungary in Europe to Manchuria in Asia.
• Presently it is found in fragmented populations within Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan.
• The Saiga has two sub-species: Saiga tatarica tatarica (found in most of the range) and Saiga tatarica mongolica (found only in Mongolia).
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Near threatened
• CITES :Appendix II
• Threats:  Hunting and habitat destruction.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus), one of the largest raptors in the world has been sighted at the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

• It is also known as the Eurasian Black Vulture or monk vulture.
• It is one of the heaviest and largest raptors in the world.
• It is one of the two largest Old World vultures.
• It is an altitudinal migrant — which means it migrates from a higher to a lower altitude. 
• Habitat: This vulture is a bird of hilly, mountainous areas, especially favoring dry semi-open habitats such as meadows at high altitudes over much of the range.
• Distribution: It is a Eurasian species. It is mainly found in Spain and inland Portugal, South France, central Asia, northern India, northern Manchuria, Mongolia and Korea.
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Near threatened
• Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Schedule IV

Hence only statement 2 is correct.