Daily Current Affairs MCQ- December 19, 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.

The union Ministry of Mines is to launch the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) Portal on 19th December 2023 in a ceremony in New Delhi.

• It is a comprehensive online platform for accessing, sharing, and analyzing geospatial information across India.
• The NGDR initiative spearheaded by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Bhaskarachaya Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N).
• It represents a significant leap forward in democratizing critical geoscience data, empowering stakeholders across industries and academia with unprecedented access to invaluable resources.

About Geological Survey of India

• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was set up in 1851 primarily to find coal deposits for the Railways.
• Over the years, GSI has not only grown into a repository of geo-science information required in various fields in the country but has also attained the status of a geo-scientific organisation of international repute.
• Its main functions relate to creating and updating of national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment.
• GSI’s chief role includes providing objective, impartial and up-to-date geological expertise and geoscientific information of all kinds, with a focus on policy making decisions, commercial and socio- economic needs.
• GSI also emphasises on systematic documentation of all geological processes, both surface and subsurface, of India and its offshore areas. The organisation carries out this work through geological, geophysical, & geochemical surveys using the latest and most cost-effective techniques and methodologies.
• GSI is an attached office of the Ministry of Mines.
• Headquarters: Kolkata
• It has six regional offices located in Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Shillong and Kolkata and state unit offices in almost all states of the country.

Hence both statements are correct.

NASA's new satellite TEMPO measure air pollution hourly has shown significant progress and now the space agency officials are already thinking about ways to extend its life.

• Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) monitors major air pollutants across North America.
• Its monitoring range extends from Canada’s oil sands to the Yucatán Peninsula and across the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
• It is part of a virtual constellation with South Korea's Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) and the European Space Agency’s upcoming satellite, aiming for comprehensive air pollution monitoring over the Northern Hemisphere.
• It will make important scientific observations, including that of ozone, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and formaldehyde levels.
• It is capable of measuring air quality over North America hourly during the daytime with a resolution of several square miles.
• It monitors the effects of everything from rush-hour traffic to pollution from forest fires and volcanoes.
• The present pollution-monitoring satellites are in low Earth orbit (LEO), but this new monitoring instrument is hosted in geostationary orbit.
• It was designed for a 20-month operation.

Hence both statements are correct.

According to forest department officials the Sultanpur National Park in Farrukhnagar, Gurugram has reported a decrease of 20-30 per cent in the number of migratory birds this season.

• Sultanpur National Park, formerly known as Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, is located in the Gurgaon district in Haryana.
• It comprises mainly wetlands. 
• This national park is a major habitat for aquatic birds, including migratory and resident birds.
• It was notified as a Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance, in 2021.
• Vegetation:  Tropical and dry deciduous. It also features seasonal aquatic vegetation and is dotted with artificial islands; the Park also includes open grasslands. 
• Flora: Grasses, dhok, khair, tendu, ber, jamun, banyan tree and neem etc.
• Fauna:
• It is a very important wintering ground for waterfowl.
• Some of the resident and migratory species of birds found in the area are the Common hoopoe, Purple sunbird, Black francolin, Little cormorant, Indian Cormorant, Siberian Crane, Greater Flamingo, Common Teal, Common Greenshank, Ruff, etc.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Scientists have recently discovered that Chum salmon, a migrating fish have been spawning in the Arctic waters.

• It is a species of anadromous salmonid fish, which means they hatch in freshwater streams and rivers and then migrate out to the saltwater environment of the ocean to feed and grow.
• They do not reside in fresh water for an extended period.
• They are also known as dog salmon.
• Distribution
• They are the most widely distributed of all the Pacific salmon.
• They are found throughout the North Pacific Ocean and range from the Arctic coast of Canada and throughout the northern coastal regions of North America and Asia.
• Habitat
• They spend their early life growing and feeding in fresh water streams, estuaries, and associated wetlands.
• They spend the remainder of their life foraging in the ocean before returning to the streams and tributaries where they were born to spawn.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.