Daily Current Affairs MCQ- February 14, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Prime Minister of India launched PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana to provide free electricity to its beneficiaries.

• In this scheme, the central government will provide 300 units of free electricity per month to its beneficiaries by investing worth ₹75,000 crores.
• The free electricity scheme was earlier announced by Finance Minister in interim budget speech.
• Target: It aims to light up 1 crore households.
• Under the scheme Urban Local Bodies and Panchayats shall be incentivised to promote rooftop solar systems in their jurisdictions. 
• The Central Government will guarantee no financial burden on the people by providing significant subsidies directly to their bank accounts and offering highly concessional bank loans.
• Expected benefits:
• Savings up to fifteen to eighteen thousand rupees annually for households from free solar electricity and selling the surplus to the distribution companies;
• Charging of electric vehicles;
• Entrepreneurship opportunities for a large number of vendors for supply and installation;
• Employment opportunities for the youth with technical skills in manufacturing, installation and maintenance.

Hence both statements are correct.

Swachhata Green Leaf Rating system for the hospitality sector yet to take off as there has been no response from States despite the Union Tourism Ministry sending three communiques so far.

• A government-initiated rating system for the hospitality sector which aims to ensure world-class hygiene and sanitation in hotels, resorts and homestays has become a non-starter with no State opting for it as of now.
• Objective: The objective is to prevent pollution in water bodies and keep the environment clean.
• Target group: The target groups are hotels, lodges, homestays, ‘Dharamshalas’ and camps which have portable toilets. The rating will be based on compliance with the safe sanitation practices outlined in the guidelines.
• The ranking scheme was launched in November 2023 by the Union Tourism Ministry in collaboration with the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• As part of the initiative, the State teams of Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (rural) and the tourism department will organise workshops on the concept, process and desired outcomes for the stakeholders.
• Implementation: A three-tiered committee system has been proposed for implementation, beginning with a Verification Sub-Committee formed by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) for the on-ground verification, followed by a District Committee, which the District Collector will chair and then a State-level committee, headed by the Chief Secretary of the State.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Fourteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (COP14) will be hosted by the Government of Uzbekistan, in Samarkand from 12-17 February 2024.

• It is also known as the Bonn Convention, is an environmental treaty under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme. 
• It provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats. 
• It was signed in Bonn, Germany, on 23 June 1979.
• It is the only global and UN-based intergovernmental organisation established exclusively for the conservation and management of terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species throughout their range.
• The parties to the convention acknowledge the importance of conserving migratory species, and the need to pay special attention to species whose conservation status is unfavourable.
• Activities by CMS Parties may range from legally binding treaties (called Agreements) to less formal instruments, such as Memoranda of Understanding.
• The Conference of Parties (COP) is the decision-making organ of this convention. 
• It has two Appendices. 
• Appendix I lists endangered migratory species and includes prohibitions regarding the take of these species.
• Appendix II lists species that have an ‘unfavourable conservation status’ (as per the conditions set out in the Convention) and encourages range states to draft range-wide agreements for conservation and management of these species.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Secretary, Department of Land Resources, rolled out National Generic Document Registration System (NDGRS) throughout Assam along with the launch of Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) seeding of geo referenced Cadastral Maps.

• It is a project initiated by the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India
• It is a common, generic application developed for registration departments across the country under One Nation One Software initiative.
• The NGDRS application is developed by National Informatics Centre Pune.
• Features
• It is a common, generic and configurable application developed for registration departments across the country.
• The application is specifically designed for the use of sub registrars, citizens and apex users from registration departments.
• NGDRS facilitates states to create state specific instances and configure the software as per requirements.
• Offering a complete user interface for property and document registration, the application enables citizens to proceed with land buying online.
• They can find out the circle rate for land, calculate property valuation as per prevailing rates and understand the type of land.
• Transactions of prohibited properties are restricted for sale like government land, tribal land, mortgaged land etc., is also available, which ultimately helps them decide where and what type of land they should buy.
• Thereafter, they can apply online for document submission, make instant payment and take prior appointments.
• Property buyers need to visit the sub-registrar’s office only once and that too at the time of final signing and registration. 

Hence both statements are correct.

Consumer Affairs Secretary recently asserted that integration of artificial intelligence in ‘e-Jagriti’ portal will help reduce the number of pending cases in consumer courts.

About e-Jagriti Portal:

• It is an initiative of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
• It is a portal for consumer commissions.
• This portal has been designed to further improve the customer experience.
• It provides a simple, fast, and more cost-effective consumer dispute redressal software solution at all levels.
• It is envisaged to integrate consumer grievance platforms, namely, Online Case Monitoring System (OCMS), E-Daakhil, the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) Case Monitoring System, CONFONET website, mediation application, on a single platform.
• The e-Jagriti platform has case filing, online fee payment, case monitoring modules for seamless disposal of cases by all the Commissions, has Smart search facility on archived consumer complaints / cases / judgements using AI technology for metadata and keyword creation, and Voice-to-text conversion of judgements, case history and other details using AI / ML technology.
• The portal will integrate Virtual court facility for a convenient and accessible resolution of consumer complaints, reducing the time of disposal, multiple hearings, and physical court appearances, bringing effective and fast decisions & disposals in all Consumer Commissions.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Officials in the US state of Oregon recently said they are dealing with a rare human case of bubonic plague that was likely transmitted by a pet cat.

About Bubonic Plague:

• Plague is an infectious disease caused by a specific type of bacterium called Yersinia pestis, a zoonotic bacterium usually found in small mammals and their fleas.
• Y. pestis can affect humans and animals and is spread mainly by fleas.
• Bubonic plague is one type of plague. It gets its name from the swollen lymph nodes (buboes) caused by the disease.
• Called the Black Death, it killed millions of Europeans during the Middle Ages.
• The other types of plague are:
• Septicemic plague, which happens when the infection goes all through the body.
• Pneumonic plague, which happens when the lungs are infected.
• Plague can be a very severe disease in people, with a case-fatality ratio of 30% to 60% for the bubonic type, and is always fatal for the pneumonic kind when left untreated.
• Symptoms: Bubonic plague symptoms include
• Sudden high fever and chills.
• Pains in the areas of the abdomen, arms, and legs.
• Headaches.
• Large and swollen lumps in the lymph nodes (buboes) that develop and leak pus.
• Transmission:
• Y. pestis is spread mostly by fleas on rodents and other animals. 
• It is transmitted between animals and humans by the bite of infected fleas, direct contact with infected tissues, and inhalation of infected respiratory droplets.
• The incubation period of bubonic plague is usually 2 to 8 days. 
• Treatment:
• It can be treated and cured with antibiotics.
• Antibiotics that treat bubonic plague include Ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, Gentamicin and Doxycycline.
• It can be fatal if it’s not treated.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Indian Prime Minister will attend the World Government Summit 2024 as a guest of honour in UAE. 

About World Government Summit (WGS):

• It is an annual global gathering that brings together world leaders, policymakers, experts, and thought leaders from various fields to discuss and address pressing global issues.
• It was established in 2013 under the leadership of the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE.
• It is annually held in Dubai, UAE.
• The Summit, in its various activities, explores the agenda of the next generation of governments, focusing on harnessing innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.
• Since its inception, the Summit has championed the mission of shaping future governments and creating a better future for humanity. 
• World Government Summit (WGS) 2024:
• Theme: “Shaping Future Governments”
• It will focus on six main themes:
• Government Acceleration and Transformation
• Artificial Intelligence and The Next Frontiers
• Reimagining Development and Future Economies
• Future Societies and Education
• Sustainability and The New Global Shifts
• Urbanization and Global Health Priorities

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) recently became the first Indian company to surpass Rs 20 lakh crore in market capitalisation.

About Market Capitalisation:

• Market Capitalization, or Market Cap, is a term used to represent the market value of a company based on its current share price and the total number of its outstanding shares. 
• It can be calculated by multiplying the number of outstanding shares of a company by the current price of its shares. 
• It represents the market’s perception of a company’s worth and indicates its size and significance in the financial markets. 
• On the basis of market cap, companies may be classified as large-cap, mid-cap, or small-cap companies.
• Large-cap companies are usually stable, reputable, and well-established businesses that have a significant market share. They have market caps of INR 20,000 crore or more. 
• Mid-cap companies have a market cap ranging from INR 5,000 crore to INR 20,000 crore.
• Small-cap companies operate at a smaller scale than large-cap and mid-cap companies. Consequently, their market cap is also lower (less than INR 5,000 crore). 
• Why is market capitalization important?
• It allows potential investors to understand the true value of companies and the size of one company in relation to another. 
• It helps investors predict the future performance of the stock of a company because it reflects what the market is willing to pay for the stock.

What is Free float market capitalisation?

• While calculating the total market capitalization of a company, all the shares, including the ones publicly traded as well as those held by promoters, government, or other private parties, are multiplied with the stock price.
• But in the free-float market capitalization, we exclude shares held by private parties like promoters, trusts, or the government.
• We only consider shares held and traded by the public and multiply them with share price to arrive at the free-float market capitalization of a company.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Birders have spotted the trail of species flying back home including the fire capped tit in the Aravalli hill region suggesting reverse migration as the season changes from winter to summer.

• It is a small bird species assigned to the family Paridae.
• Migration pattern: It is a Himalayan bird which flies down south towards Western Ghats and Kerala around Sept, and is back around Feb-end and March.
• Habitat: Inhabits forest feeding on invertebrates, nectar and pollen, usually high in canopy but will descend to low growth.
• It is found in montane broadleaf forest at middle to high elevations, sometimes mixed in with other species.
• These birds breed in the Himalayas during summer and have a melodious song.
• Distribution: 
• A local breeding summer visitor to northern mountains from Pakistan east to Arunachal Pradesh.
• Winters in foothills and rarely in plains south to Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Least Concern

Why early reverse migration?

• The winters were not very harsh in central India. So, the bird could have started moving early.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, GROW report and portal was launched by a Member of NITI Aayog.

• The "Greening and Restoration of Wasteland with Agroforestry (GROW)-Suitability Mapping" portal allows universal access to state and district-level data.
• It is hosted on Bhuvan website.
• The GROW initiative aligns with national commitments, aiming to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 and create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
• The initiative, led by NITI Aayog, involved a collaborative effort from multiple institutions and employed advanced technologies such as remote sensing and GIS to assess agroforestry suitability across all districts in India.
• Utilizing thematic datasets, the project resulted in the creation of an Agroforestry Suitability Index (ASI). This index enables national-level prioritization for greening and restoration projects.
• This project on prioritization of wasteland areas suitable for greening is based on the analysis of five remote sensing derived thematic layers viz. land use, wasteland, slope, water proximity and soil organic content.
• These parameters were selected as a result of expert consultations and considered to be the most critical layers in identifying area that are amenable for interventions with agroforestry. Highest weightages was given to wastelands.
• The developed system provides information on area suitable for agroforestry across India.
• The areas available in the system are classified as highly suitable, moderately suitable, less suitable for agroforestry.
• The key features of the system:
• Generates district level information of wasteland area suitable for agroforestry
• Generates area prioritization regime i.e highly suitable area, moderate and less suitable for agroforestry
• Generates live maps
• Generates area analysis-statistic report
• Offer an interactive mode/tool that provides flexibility in handling the weightages as per local conditions/need

Hence only statement 1 is correct.