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

The Quad has recently launched a public campaign, ‘Quad Cyber Challenge’ to improve cyber security across their nations.

About Quad Cyber Challenge:

• Under the challenge, QUAD has invited Internet users across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to become part of the challenge and practice "safe and responsible cyber habits.
• The challenge provides resources, including basic cybersecurity information and training for all users, from corporations to educational institutions, small businesses and individuals.
• The action in India is being coordinated by the office of the National Cyber Coordinator with the National Security Council Secretariat.

What is QUAD?

• The Quad, officially the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is a group of four countries: the United States, Australia, India, and Japan.
• One of the primary objectives of the Quad is to work for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India's Ministry of Mines recently announced that 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves have been found for the first time in the country in Jammu and Kashmir.

Key facts about Lithium:

• It is a soft, silvery-white metal that heads group 1, the alkali metals group, of the periodic table of the elements.
• Features:
• It has the lowest density of all metals.
• It is the lightest of the solid elements. 
• It reacts vigorously with water.
• It has a body-centered cubic crystal structure.
• Occurrence:  
• Lithium does not occur as a metal in nature but is found combined in small amounts in igneous rocks.
• Lithium is found in brine deposits and as salts in mineral springs. Its concentration in seawater is 0.1 part per million (ppm).
• Major Reserves: Lithium reserves are concentrated in the lithium triangle in South America – Argentina, Bolivia & Chile, with 50% of the deposits concentrated in these regions. 
• Uses: Lithium is important in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, and electric vehicles. 

Hence only statement 2 is not correct.

Kanpur’s GSVM Medical College has claimed that that it is the first one in the country to cure blindness through stem cell transplants.

About Stem Cells:

• These are cells with the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body.
• Under the right conditions in the body or a laboratory, stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells.
• These daughter cells become either new stem cells or specialized cells (differentiation) with a more specific function, such as blood cells, brain cells, heart muscle cells or bone cells.
• No other cell in the body has the natural ability to generate new cell types.
• They serve as a repair system for the body.
• Stem cells are present inside different types of tissue. Scientists have found stem cells in tissues, including the brain, bone marrow, blood, and blood vessels, etc.
• There are two types of stem cells.
• Embryonic stem cells:
• These stem cells come from embryos that are 3 to 5 days old.
• These are pluripotent stem cells, meaning they can divide into more stem cells or can become any type of cell in the body. 
• Adult stem cells:
• These stem cells are found in small numbers in most adult tissues, such as bone marrow or fat.
• Compared with embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells have a more limited ability to give rise to various cells of the body.

Hence both statements are correct.

Over 16 lakh Indians have renounced their Indian citizenship since 2011, including 2,25,620 people last year, the highest during the period, while the lowest of 85,256 was in 2020, according to government data.

Modes of losing Indian Citizenship:

• The Citizenship Act 1955 lays down the three modes by which an Indian citizen, whether a citizen at the commencement of the Constitution or subsequent to it, may lose their citizenship. These are,
• By Renunciation:
• An Indian Citizen of full age and capacity can renounce his Indian citizenship by making a declaration to that effect and having it registered.
• But if such a declaration is made during any war in which India is engaged, the registration shall be withheld until the Central Government otherwise directs. 
• When a male person renounces his citizenship, every minor child of him ceases to be an Indian citizen. 
• Such a child may, however, resume Indian citizenship if he makes a declaration to that effect within a year of his attaining full age, i.e. 18 years.
• By Termination:
• If a citizen of India voluntarily acquires citizenship of another country, then the citizenship of India gets terminated.
• This provision does not apply during times of war.
• If any question arises as to whether, when, or how any person has acquired the citizenship of another country, it is to be determined by such authority and in such manner as may be prescribed by the rules.
• By Deprivation:
• It is a compulsory termination of citizenship of India.
• A citizen of India by naturalization, registration, domicile and residence may be deprived of his citizenship by order of the Central Government if it is satisfied that:
• The citizen has obtained the citizenship by means of fraud, false representation, or concealment of any material fact;
• The citizen has shown disloyalty to the Constitution of India;
• The citizen has unlawfully traded or communicated with the enemy during a war;
• The citizen has, within five years after registration or neutralization, been imprisoned in any country for two years;
• The citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for seven years continuously.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the second edition of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan space centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

• The new vehicle was developed to capture the emerging small and microsatellite commercial market.
• The SSLV caters to the launch of up to 500 kg satellites to low earth orbits on a 'launch-on-demand' basis.
• The launch vehicle uses three solid stages followed by a liquid-fuel-based Velocity Trimming Module (VTM) to place satellites in orbit.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, researchers have confirmed the detection of a star system that will one day end in a kilonova.

• A kilonova is a cosmic event that occurs when a neutron star smashes into another neutron star or a black hole.
• It releases heavy metals like gold, silver, and selenium into outer space at tremendous velocities, as well as radiation.
• A kilonova radiation also accompanies a gamma-ray burst, one of the most energetic cosmic events ever known.

Hence both statements are correct.

India’s national accreditation system under the Quality Council of India (QCI) has been ranked 5th in the world in the recent Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021.

• It was established in 1997 jointly by the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and the Indian industry.
• It is registered as a non-profit organization under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860.
• It is governed by a Council of 38 members with equal representations of government, industry and consumers.
• The Chairman of QCI is appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the industry to the government.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, index provider MSCI said it has cut the free-float designations of four securities of India's Adani group.

• The free float is also known as Public float which refers to the shares of a company that can be publicly traded and are not restricted.
• It generally excludes promoters' holding, government / strategic holding and other locked-in shares, which will not come to the market for trading in the normal course. 
• Free Float Methodology is used to provide a more accurate reflection of market movements and stocks actively available for trading in the market.
• The free-float methodology has been adopted by many of the world's major indexes.

Hence both statements are correct.

Over 14,000 Brus displaced from Mizoram have been registered to vote in Tripura since their rehabilitation process began in April 2021.

• Bru or Reang is a community indigenous to the Northeast, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam.
• In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.
• They belong to Indo-Mongoloid racial stock. Their languages have an affinity with Austro-Asiatic groups under the Tibeto-Burman family.
• Ethnically they are divided into 2 major clans namely Meska and Molsoi.
• Their language is known as “Kaubru” which has a tonal effect on the Kuki language though broadly it is the Kok-Borok dialect.
• Occupation: They are still a nomadic tribe and a large number among them maintain their livelihood involving Hilltop Jhum Cultivation and other food gathering activities.

Hence both statements are correct.

ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle SSLV-D2 carrying EOS-07, Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 satellites was successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Station, in Sriharikota.

About AzaadiSAT-2:

• It has been developed by about 750 girl students across India.
• They contributed to the design and construction of the satellite built by Chennai-based startup Space Kidz India.
• The girls received training both online and, in some cases, in-person.
• Experiment materials were sent to these girls and they were guided on how to use it.
• “SpaceKidz developed basic and simple experiments that students can learn and assemble with the simultaneous support of their science teachers. 
• Objective: It aims to measure various health data like temperature and reset count from 75 student experiments installed inside the satellite. 

Hence only statement 2 is correct.