Daily Current Affairs MCQ- June 25, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Scientists are using remote sensing technologies and artificial intelligence to assist the search for a female to Encephalartos woodii plant in the Ngoye Forest.

• It is a plant from South Africa and is a member of the cycad family with thick trunks and large stiff leaves that form a majestic crown.
• Cycads are the oldest surviving plant groups alive today and are often referred to as “living fossils” or “dinosaur plants” due to their evolutionary history dating back to the Carboniferous period, approximately 300 million years ago.
• During the Mesozoic era (250-66 million years ago), also known as the Age of Cycads, these plants were ubiquitous, thriving in the warm, humid climates that characterised the period.
• Although they resemble ferns or palms, cycads are not related to either. Cycads are gymnosperms, a group that includes conifers and ginkgos. Unlike flowering plants (angiosperms), cycads reproduce using cones.
• It is impossible to tell male and female apart until they mature and produce their magnificent cones.
• Female cones are typically wide and round, and male cones appear elongated and narrower.
• The male cones produce pollen, which is carried by insects (weevils) to the female cones. This ancient method of reproduction has remained largely unchanged for millions of years.
• Despite their longevity, today cycads are ranked as the most endangered living organisms on Earth with the majority of the species considered threatened with extinction.
• This is because of their slow growth and reproductive cycles, typically taking ten to 20 years to mature, and habitat loss due to deforestation, grazing and over-collection.
• Threats: Their striking appearance and ancient lineage make them popular in exotic ornamental horticulture and that has led to illegal trade. 

Hence both statements are correct.

The Iberian lynx, one of the rarest cat species globally, has moved from being 'endangered' to 'vulnerable' on The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

• It is one of two carnivore species endemic to Europe (the other being European mink, Mustela lutreola).
• It is the world's most endangered and known for its pointy ears, long legs and leopard-like spotted fur.
• This species, like other cat species, is sexually dimorphic, with males being heavier and longer than females. 
• This lynx is generally nocturnal and its activity patterns are closely synchronized with those of their major prey, the rabbit.
• Habitat: It require variable terrain below 1300 m, containing a mosaic of closed Mediterranean scrubland interspersed with open patches of grassland, often with marsh ecotones.
• Distribution: It was once distributed throughout the Iberian Peninsula; the species is now sparsely distributed in Spain and Portugal.
• Threats: These are related to human activities, such as poaching and habitat destruction, Illegal Hunting and decrease food base etc.
• Conservation status
• IUCN Red list: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix II

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

New research found that Australia’s enigmatic pink sand- Garnet was born in Antarctic mountains.

• It is a fairly common mineral, deep red in color. It crystallizes at high temperatures, usually where large mountain belts grind upwards out of colliding tectonic plates.
• It is rare in beach sand which is destroyed by prolonged exposure to the waves and currents of the ocean. 
• These are opaque, transparent to translucent minerals that can be found as individual crystals, pebbles, or clumps of inter-grown crystals.
• There are six main types of garnet, all with slightly different chemical compositions. All kinds of garnet can form in the same place and sometimes garnets can be a combination of types e.g. pyrope-almadine or pyrope-spessartine.
• Formation:
• These are formed in metamorphic (schist, amphibolite, and eclogite) and igneous (some granites and peridotite) rocks.
• This mineral grows deep in Earth’s crust, in the same kind of conditions in which diamonds are formed.
• When sand contains an abundance of garnets, it usually contains epidote and magnetite as well.
• Australia produces almost half of the world garnets, with the rest mainly coming from India, USA, and China.
• Uses: It is used for manufacturing blasting media, abrasives, grinding wheels, mosaic cutting stones, decorative wall plasters, ceramics, polishing of picture tubes, glass polishing and antiskid surface for roads, air strips etc.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Air pollution is having an increasing impact on human health, becoming the second leading global risk factor for death, according to the fifth edition of the State of Global Air (SoGA) report.

About State of Global Air (SoGA) Report:

• It is released by the Health Effects Institute (HEI), an independent U.S.-based nonprofit research organization, in partnership with UNICEF.
• The report provides an analysis of data for air quality and health impacts for countries around the world. 
• It defined air pollution as a complex mixture including particles and different gases, with sources and compositions varying over space and time.
• Highlights of SoGA Report 2024:
• Air pollution has become the second-leading global risk factor for death, surpassing tobacco and diabetes and trailing only hypertension.
• Among these, noncommunicable diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, accounted for nearly 90% of the disease burden from air pollution.
• Six out of ten deaths worldwide attributed to air pollution are caused by the tiny PM2.5 particle; the remaining two pollutants, ozone and household air pollution, account for 38% and 6% of deaths, respectively.
• Diseases and ailments linked to air pollution claimed 8.1 million lives worldwide in 2021, with India accounting for one in four of these deaths.
• India and China together account for 54% of the total global disease burden due to air pollution in 2021. In India, air pollution accounted for 21 lakh deaths, and in China, it caused 23 lakh deaths.
• More than 7,00,000 deaths in children under five years were linked to air pollution. This represents 15% of all global deaths among children under five.
• Lower respiratory infections (LRIs) are the leading cause of death for children under five
• India recorded the highest number of deaths among children under five due to air pollution worldwide in 2021.
• Air pollution in India was responsible for the deaths of 1,69,400 children under the age of five in 2021. This means that around 464 children died every day in India that year due to diseases caused by air pollution.
• In 2021, nearly 50% (2,37,000 deaths) of all ozone-related COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) deaths were in India, followed by China with 1,25,600 deaths and Bangladesh with 15,000 deaths.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

In a bid to have more scientific investigations across the country to achieve better conviction rates in criminal cases, the Union Cabinet recently approved the National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme (NFIES).

About National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme (NFIES):

• It is a Central Sector Scheme with a financial outlay of Rs 2,254.43 crore during the period from 2024-25 to 2028-29.
• It aims to enhance forensic infrastructure in the country.
• Components under this Scheme:
• Establishment of campuses of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in the country.
• Establishment of Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSLs)in the country.
• Enhancement of existing infrastructure of the Delhi Campus of the NFSU.
• The financial outlay of the NFIES will be provisioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs from its own budget.
• Need for NFIES:
• With the enactment of the New Criminal Laws, which mandates forensic investigation for offences involving punishment of 7 years or more, a significant increase in the workload of forensic science laboratories is expected.
• Further, there is a significant shortage of trained forensic manpower in the Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) in the country.
• The establishment of additional off-campuses of the NFSU and new CFSLs would address the shortage of trained forensic manpower, alleviate the case load / pendency of forensic laboratories, and align with the Government of India's goal of securing a high conviction rate of more than 90%.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Both statements are incorrect.

About Container Port Performance Index

• It is a highly regarded benchmark that assesses the performance of ports on parameters such as productivity, efficiency, and reliability.

• It is released by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

• It serves as a reference point for key stakeholders, including national governments, port authorities, development agencies, supra-national organisations, and private operators, in trade, logistics and supply chain services.

Highlights of CPPI 2023

• Yangshan port in China and Salalah port in Oman emerged as the top two ports in the rankings.

• Nine Indian ports have secured places among the top 100 global ports.

• While Visakhapatnam Port made it to the top 20 ports of the world at 19 in 2023, Mundra Port also climbed up the index at 27 in the current ranking.

Hence option 4th is correct.

The Supreme Court recently refused to entertain a writ petition seeking revocation of the CBFC certification given to the film 'Hamare Baarah'.

About Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC):

• The CBFC, popularly known as the Censor Board, is a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• It regulates the public exhibition of films in India under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
• Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they have been certified by the CBFC.
• The certification process is in accordance with the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Cinematograph (certification) Rules, 1983, and the guidelines issued by the Central Government.
• The CBFC has one chairperson and other members (not less than 12 but not exceeding 25) who are appointed by the Central Government. 
• It has its headquarters in Mumbai. 
• It has nine regional offices, one each at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Cuttack, and Guwahati. 
  • The regional offices are assisted in the examination of films by Advisory Panels.
  • The members of the panels are nominated by the Central Government by drawing people from different walks of life for a period of two years.
• Categories of film certification: There are four categories of films based on their content.
• U (Universal): Viewers of all age groups can view a U-certified film.
• U/A: Although these movies are universal, children under the age of 12 require adult supervision.
• A: Only meant for exhibition before adults.
• S: These are movies for special classes like doctors and farmers.
• The board shall occasionally conduct seminars of film critics, writers, and people connected with the industry, along with national surveys to determine the public reaction for making guidelines for certifying the films.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Recently, at least 34 people have died, and around 100 others have been hospitalised after consuming hooch, or spurious liquor, in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi.

• It is a commonly used term for poor quality alcohol, derived from Hoochinoo, a native Alaskan tribe that was known to produce very strong liquor.
• Unlike branded liquor which is produced in factories with sophisticated equipment and rigorous quality control, hooch is made in much more crude settings.

How is hooch produced?

• All alcohol is produced using two basic processes: fermentation and distillation.
• Fermentation: When heated, yeast reacts with sugar (from grain, fruits, sugarcane, etc.) to ferment and produce a mixture containing alcohol. This is an age-old process, used to create beverages like beer or wine.
• Limitation: As fermentation continues, and alcohol levels rise, conditions in the mixture become toxic for the yeast. Eventually, no more fermentation can take place. Thus, to make anything stronger (above 14-18% ABC), beverages need to be distilled.
• Distillation: This is the process of physically separating alcohol from a fermented mixture using evaporation and condensation.
• Since different parts of the mixture have different boiling points, heating it up to the correct temperature makes it possible to separate only the alcohol from the water and other remnants. Distilled beverages, or spirits, are far more potent than any fermented beverage.

Why can hooch be dangerous?

• The fermented mixture which is distilled contains more than just consumable alcohol (ethanol). It also contains methanol, an industrial alcohol which is highly toxic for human beings.
• Non-distilled alcoholic beverages like wine contain relatively harmless trace amounts of methanol. But during the distillation, both ethanol and methanol are concentrated. Thus, if done incorrectly, distillation can lead to an end product which contains high quantities of toxic methanol.

What are the effects of spurious liquor?

• Methanol or methyl alcohol can cause impaired vision, high toxicity and metabolic acidosis, a condition in which the body produces excessive acid that cannot be flushed out by kidneys.
• The treatment for this is to intravenously administer Fomepizole and ethanol. However, fomepizole can be expensive and unavailable in many parts of India.
• In such cases, doctors administer a mixture of ethanol and water (1:1 ratio).
• Ethanol inhibits methanol’s conversion into toxins and helps in flushing it out of the body either naturally or through dialysis.

Hence both statements are correct.

In a landmark achievement, Chad has become the first country in 2024 and the 51st globally to eliminate a neglected tropical disease (NTD) — the gambiense form of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT).

• It is also known as sleeping sickness.
• It is caused by protozoan parasites transmitted by infected tsetse flies and endemic in sub-Saharan Africa.
• It takes 2 forms, depending on the subspecies of the infecting parasite:
• Trypanosoma brucei gambiense: It is found in 24 countries of west and central Africa, currently accounts for 92% of reported cases and causes a chronic illness.
• A person can be infected for months or even years without major signs or symptoms. When evident symptoms emerge, often the disease is advanced with the central nervous system already affected.
• Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense: It is found in 13 countries of eastern and southern Africa accounts for 8% of reported cases and causes an acute disease.
• First signs and symptoms emerge a few weeks or months after infection. The disease develops rapidly with multi-organ invasion, including the brain.
• Tsetse flies inhabit sub-Saharan Africa and only certain species transmit the disease. Rural populations which depend on agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry or hunting are the most exposed. 
• To date, WHO has validated the elimination of the gambiense form of HAT in seven countries: Togo (2020), Benin (2021), Ivory Coast (2021), Uganda (2022), Equatorial Guinea (2022), Ghana (2023) and Chad (2024).

Hence both statements are correct.

Researchers have discovered a new genus of the Gomphonemoid diatom found in the clean water river of the Eastern Ghats and it has been named Indiconema to value its restricted distribution in the country.

• These are photosynthetic, single celled organism.
• These are microscopic algae and serve as a base of the aquatic food chain. Due to their sensitivity towards any water chemistry changes, they are excellent indicators of aquatic health.
• They are a major group of algae and form one of the most common forms of phytoplankton.
• Habitat: They are found in almost every aquatic environment including fresh and marine waters.
• Diatoms have cell walls made of silica, Each species has a distinct pattern of tiny holes in the cell wall (frustule) through which they absorb nutrients and get rid of waste.
• Collectively, they are responsible for generating up to 50% of the oxygen produced globally each year.

Key facts about Indiconema 

• It differs in having a pore field at both the head and foot pole rather than having only at the foot pole.
• Researchers reported one species of Indiconema from the Eastern Ghats and another from the Western Ghats. A similar pattern of sharing endemic elements between two mountain systems has been observed for other endemic-rich groups, such as reptiles.
• Based on the morphological features of this group, the researchers have suggested that Indiconema is sister to Afrocymbella, a genus endemic to East Africa.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.