Daily Current Affairs MCQ- February 9, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

President of India will inaugurate the Aadi Mahotsav 2024, an annual National Tribal Festival at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi on 10th February.

• It is organized by Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED)under the aegis of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, will showcase the rich diversity of India's tribal heritage.
• It is not only a platform to exhibit the extraordinary talent and craftsmanship of tribal artisans but also an opportunity to interact, learn, and contribute to the empowerment of tribal communities.
• The festival will feature an expanded showcase with over 300 stalls, offering varied display of Tribal art, handicrafts, natural produce, and delectable tribal cuisine.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Quality Council of India (QCI) and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) announced the launch of the DigiReady Certification (DRC) portal.

• In this initiative, QCI, in conjunction with ONDC, aim to assess and certify digital readiness of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) entities.
• By leveraging this online self-assessment tool, MSMEs can evaluate their preparedness to seamlessly onboard as sellers on the ONDC platform, thereby expanding their digital capabilities and business potential.
• The portal is meticulously designed to facilitate a streamlined seller journey, ensuring that MSMEs and small retailers can integrate seamlessly into existing digitized workflows.
• The certification process evaluates various aspects of digital readiness, including the presence of necessary documentation for online operations, proficiency in using software and technology, integration with existing digitized workflows, and efficient management of orders and catalogue offerings.
• This initiative presents additional business prospects for sellers, allowing them to become integral to the digital ecosystem.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, the union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launched the Agri-Insurance Sandbox Framework Platform SARTHI and Learning Management System (LMS) Platform for the farming community under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in Delhi.

• Sandbox for Agricultural and Rural Security, Technology and Insurance (SARTHI) is the comprehensive digital insurance platform launched in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India.
• It extends coverage to health, life, home, shop, agriculture implements, motor, and parametric products.
• It can be accessed via the AIDE app available on Android App Store.
• This ambitious endeavour, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, not only aims to safeguard farmers' livelihoods but also to fortify the resilience of the agricultural sector as a whole.
• Significance
• It marks a significant advancement beyond traditional crop insurance, offering a diverse array of products tailored to farmers' needs.
• By expanding insurance coverage to include vital assets like tractor machinery, SARTHI empowers farmers to comprehensively mitigate risks, securing their livelihoods and fostering long-term sustainability in agriculture.

Hence both statements are correct.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has come up with a list of high-traffic density corridors for private developers to build and operate under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

About build-operate-transfer (BOT) Model:

• It is a type of agreement often used in infrastructure projects, particularly in the construction and operation of public facilities or utilities.
• It is a conventional public-private partnership (PPP) model in which a private entity (usually a company or consortium) is granted the rights and responsibilities to design, finance, construct, operate, and maintain a specific project or facility for a defined period of time.
• The private entity, known as the "concessionaire" or "developer," bears the financial and operational risks associated with the project during the contract period.
• The typical lifecycle of a BOT contract involves three phases:
• Build: The concessionaire is responsible for financing, designing, and constructing the infrastructure project. This phase usually includes obtaining the necessary permits and approvals.
• Operate: After the construction is completed, the concessionaire operates and maintains the facility for a specified duration. This can involve providing services, managing operations, and generating revenue from the facility (e.g., tolls, fees, or user charges).
• Transfer: At the end of the contract period, the ownership and control of the facility are transferred back to the government or public authority, which may have been the original owner. The transfer is often accompanied by a predetermined valuation or compensation mechanism.
• The private company gains revenue during the concession period, while the government benefits from infrastructure development without upfront investment.
• However, the specifics of the financial arrangements and incentives vary depending on the individual BOT contract.
• BOT is particularly well-suited for greenfield projects (new projects without prior work) and large-scale, capital-intensive projects. 

Hence option c is the correct answer.

The Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy recently informed about the installation of Flue Gas De-sulphurisation (FGD) equipment in thermal power plants.

About Flue Gas De-sulphurisation (FGD):

• It is a technology to eliminate sulfur dioxide (SO2) from exhaust emissions.
• Where does Sulfur Dioxide come from?
• Fossil fuels such as coal and oil often contain high amounts of sulfur, and when these fuels are burned, around 95% or more of the sulfur is converted to sulfur dioxide (SO2), which is emitted as flue gas.
• Sulfur dioxide in itself is a major air pollutant which impacts all life. It is also a precursor of acid rain, which has significant adverse impacts on forests, freshwaters, and soils, in turn killing insect and aquatic life forms, causing paint to peel, corrosion of steel structures such as bridges, and weathering of stone buildings and statues.
• The removal of sulfur dioxide is critical to establishing a safe and clean environment where toxic emissions are kept to a safe level.
• FGD Process:
• FGD is done through the addition of absorbents, which can remove up to 95% of the sulphur dioxide from the flue gas.
• Substances such as ammonia or sodium sulphite are used as absorbents; however, the use of lime or limestone slurry (wet limestone scrubbing) is also widespread. 
• The uncleaned flue gas is sprayed in a scrubber tower (absorber tower) with a mixture of water and limestone (scrubbing slurry), whereby most of the sulphur dioxide is bonded by chemical reaction.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Researchers recently demonstrated a new lab-based method to detect traces of Forever Chemicals from food packaging material, water, and soil samples in just three minutes or less.

About Forever Chemicals:

• PFAS (Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances), also known as the Forever Chemicals, are a large chemical family of over 4,700 highly persistent man-made chemicals.
• These were first developed in the 1940s and are now found in a variety of consumer products, including nonstick pans, water-resistant textiles, and fire suppression foams, due to their ability to repel both grease and water.
• PFAS are the most persistent synthetic chemicals to date. They hardly degrade in the natural environment and have been found in the blood of people and animals all over the world, and are present at low levels in a variety of food products.
• The secret to PFAS’s indestructibility lies in its chemical bonds. PFAS contains many carbon-fluorine bonds, which are the strongest bonds in organic chemistry.
• These chemicals also cause pollution at every stage of production. At the PFAS chemical manufacturing facilities and garment factories, they often contaminate the air, water, and soil of the surrounding environment.
• Exposure to PFAS is linked to cancers, weakened immune systems among children, weight gain, and a wide range of other health problems.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

In an attempt to hit a target in Kyiv, Russian forces launched a 3M22 Zircon missile recently.

About Zircon Missile:

• The 3M22 Zircon, or SS-N-33, is a scramjet-powered maneuvering anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile developed in Russia.
• Features:
• The missile is reportedly capable of flying with speeds up to Mach 9 and a range of 1000 km.
• It’s a two-stage missile that uses solid fuel in the first stage and a scramjet motor in the second stage. 
• Zircon cruise missiles use cooled supersonic combustion ramjet engines, which power combustion by compressing air flowing at supersonic speeds due to the missile’s forward motion.
• This is in contrast to other hypersonic weapons like the China-made DF-17 or the Russian-made Avangard, which use a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV), which rely on the initial momentum provided by multi-stage rocket boosters like those used on a ballistic missile to accelerate them to hypersonic speeds.
• Guidance System: Active and Passive Radar Seeker.
• Another valuable aspect of the missile is its plasma cloud. During flight, the missile is completely covered by a plasma cloud that absorbs any rays of radio frequencies and makes the missile invisible to radars. 

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside have unveiled a new species of nematode, Steinernema adamsi, a minuscule yet potent ally in the battle against crop pests.

• This new species is a member of a family of nematodes called Steinernema that have long been used in agriculture to control insect parasites without pesticides.
• Steinernema are not harmful to humans or other mammals and were first discovered in the 1920s.
• This new species is part of a special group of nematodes considered beneficial to humans because it can infect and kill insect pests
• It is an entomopathogenic nematode that crawls inside of an insect, defecates highly pathogenic bacteria into its blood and then combines with that bacterium to kill the insect host.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

According to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Muthuvan tribe will be part of Nilgiri Tahr conservation project.

• These people live on the border hill forests of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• They speak slightly two different dialects and call each other Malayalam Muthuvan and Pandi Muthuvan.
• They are animists and spirit worshippers and also worship the forest gods,
• They believe that the spirits of their ancestors are to be the first migrants to the hill forests.
• They are known for coexisting with the wildlife with their traditional knowledge.
• These tribal people follow a unique system of governance called the 'Kani System'.
• Under this system, each village is headed by a 'Kani', who is responsible for the administration of the village.
• They have expertise in traditional medicines which are very effective and these medicines and the medicine men are confidentially preserved and passed on to the generations.
• Occupation: Agriculture is the main occupation of these Muthuvan tribes, producing quite a number of products like ragi, cardamom and lemon grass.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, chip designer Qualcomm said that it is partnering with Alphabet's Google to make wearable devices like smartwatches using chips based on RISC-V technology.

About RISC-V technology:

• It is an open-source technology which is pronounced as "risk five".
• It is an open-source instruction set architecture (ISA) used for the development of custom processors targeting a variety of end applications.
• It is considered the fifth generation of processors built on the concept of the reduced instruction set computer (RISC). 
• It was begun as a project at UC Berkeley to create an open-source computer system based on RISC principles.
• It was initially designed for academic use. The standard has evolved and is now managed by RISC-V International. 
• How does RISC-V work?
• As an open-standard architecture, RISC-V is defined by member companies of RISC-V International, the global nonprofit organization behind the ISA.
• The intent is that through collaboration, the member companies can contribute new avenues of processor innovation while promoting new degrees of design freedom.
• It features a small core set of instructions upon which all the design’s software runs.
• The architecture allows designers to customize and build their processor in a way that’s tailored to their target end applications.
• Benefits of RISC-V include:
• Its open-standard nature, which allows collaboration and innovation across the industry.
• The entire RISC-V architecture can be scrutinized closely in the public domain, eliminating back doors and hidden channels.  
• Applications: Wearables, Industrial, IoT, and Home Appliances, Smartphones, Automotive, High-Performance Computing (HPC), and Data Centers.

Hence both statements are correct.