Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 17, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

The National Highways Authority of India along with the Department of Fertilizers, and the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers is going to take up field trials on NHAI projects for use of Phosphor-Gypsum in National Highway construction.

• It was constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1988 under the administrative control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• NHAI has been set up as a Central Authority to develop, maintain and manage the National Highways entrusted to it by the Government of India.
• The Authority consists of a full-time Chairman and not more than five full-time Members and four part-time Members who are appointed by the Central Government.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Prime Minister of India congratulated fellow Members of Parliament who will be conferred the Sansad Ratna Awards 2023.

• The Sansad Ratna Awards were instituted in 2010, inspired by the teachings of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who launched the first edition of the Award function in Chennai.
• The Jury Committee has chosen a total of 13 MPs and two parliamentary committees for the award, with a lifetime award being presented for the first 2023 awards.
• The jury committee comprises “eminent Parliamentarians and (members of) civil society”.
• The nominations were based on an MP’s cumulative performance in Parliament, from the beginning of the 17th Lok Sabha until the end of Winter Session 2022.
• Factors that the decision is based on include questions asked, private members’ Bills introduced, debates initiated, attendance, funds utilised, etc.
• The performance data of the members have been sourced from information provided by PRS Legislative Research.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, India has achieved much-needed success in its indigenous technology cruise missile (ITCM) programme by missile test-firing from launchpad No- 3 of Chandipur in the Balasore district.

• It was tested on the subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay platform from launching complex III of the integrated test range (ITR).
• Nirbhay is a Long-Range Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile, which can be deployed from multiple platforms.
• It is capable of loitering and cruising at Mach 0.7 (sub-sonic) at an altitude as low as 100 meters. It can carry a nuclear warhead.
• Developed by: It has been indigenously designed & developed by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, the Government of India approved Reservation norms for the mandatory use of jute in the packaging of rice, wheat and sugar for the Year 2022-23.

• Jute is one of the most important natural fibres after cotton in terms of cultivation and usage.
• Climatic conditions required for its growth
  • • Temperature: Between 25-35°C
    • Rainfall: Around 150-250 cm
    • Soil Type: Well-drained alluvial soil.
• India is the largest producer of jute followed by Bangladesh and China.
• It is mainly grown in eastern India because of the rich alluvial soil of the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Cabinet recently extended the term of the 22nd Law Commission by one-and-a-half years.

About Law Commission:

• The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the Government of India from time to time.
• It functions to the Ministry of Law and Justice as an advisory body.
• History:
• The first Law Commission was established during the British Raj era in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833 and was chaired by Lord Macaulay.
• In 1955, the first independent Law Commission was created.
• Objective: To carry out research in the field of law and makes recommendations to the Government (in the form of Reports) as per its terms of reference.
• The commission's recommendations are not binding on the Government. 
• The Law Commission has so far submitted 277 Reports.
• The commission consists of legal experts and is headed by a retired judge. 
• The Commission is constituted for a fixed tenure.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Renowned Mohiniyattam exponent Dr. Kanak Y. Rele recently passed away in a private hospital in Mumbai.

About Mohiniyattam:

• What is it? Mohiniattam, or Mohiniyattam, is an Indian classical dance form that evolved in the state of Kerala.
• It derives its name from the word ‘Mohini’, a female avatar of Lord Vishnu.
• History:
• Its roots date back to the age-old Sanskrit Hindu text on performing arts called ‘Natya Shastra’.
• Mohiniyattam used to be performed by Devadasis (temple dancers) in temples during the rule of the Chera kings from 9 to 12 C.E.
• Mohiniattam developed further as a performing art during the 18th and 19th centuries due to the patronage of several princely states.
• The contributions of The Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore, Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma, in the early 19th century saw the eventual development and systematization of present-day Mohiniattam.
• Features:
• It is conventionally a solo dance performed by female artists.
• It adheres to the Lasya type that showcases a more graceful, gentle and feminine form of dancing. 
• It emotes a play through dancing and singing, where the song is customarily in Manipravala, which is a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam language.
• The recitation may be performed by the dancer or a vocalist, with the music style being Carnatic.
• The dance is characterized by its graceful swaying body movements with no abrupt jerks or sudden leaps.
• The movements are emphasized by the glides, up and down movement on toes, and are largely based on the art of balancing.
• More than the footwork, emphasis is given to hand gestures and Mukhabhinaya or subtle facial expressions. 
• The hand gestures, 24 in number, are mainly adopted from ‘Hastha Lakshana Deepika’, a text followed by Kathakali.
• Costumes in Mohiniyattam include plain white or ivory cream traditional sari embroidered with bright gold-laced brocade.
• Musical instruments include Mridangam, Madhalam, ldakka, flute, Veena, and Kuzhitalam(cymbals). 

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

An open pit mine recently collapsed in China's northern Inner Mongolia region, killing at least two people and leaving more than 50 missing.

About Open pit mining:

• What is it? Open-pit mining, also known as opencast mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts minerals from an open pit in the ground.
• It is the most common method used worldwide for mineral mining and does not require extractive methods or tunnels.
• It is an appropriate extraction method when mineral or ore deposits are found relatively close to the earth's surface, which is overlain by relatively thin vegetation, topsoil, and rock (collectively called overburden).
• It uses a series of level surfaces or benches to reach the deposit, forming an open pit that looks similar to an inverted pyramid.
• Open-pit mines undergo constant expansion until all mineral resources are exhausted.
• Most of the world's annual output of copper, gold, and iron ore is from open-pit mining operations.
• Other commodities produced from open-pit mining include diamonds, molybdenum, manganese, lead and zinc, uranium, and a variety of industrial minerals, such as borates, talc , etc.
• Open-pit mining has higher productivity, lower operating costs, and is relatively safer than other mining methods.

Hence both statements are correct.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a novel technique that combines optical microscopy with a neuromorphic camera aided by machine learning algorithms that can go beyond the diffraction limit of light and detect minute objects.

About Neuromorphic camera:

• A neuromorphic camera mimics the way the human retina converts light into electrical impulses.
• How does it work?
• In a typical camera, each pixel captures the intensity of light falling on it for the entire exposure time the camera focuses on the object. All these pixels are pooled together to reconstruct an image of the object.
• In neuromorphic cameras, each pixel operates independently and asynchronously, generating events or spikes only when there is a change in the intensity of light falling on that pixel.
• This generates sparse and lower amounts of data compared to traditional cameras, which capture every pixel value at a fixed rate, regardless of whether there is any change in the scene.
• This allows a neuromorphic camera to "sample" the environment with much higher temporal resolution because it is not limited by a frame rate like normal cameras and also performs background suppression.
• Neuromorphic cameras have a very high dynamic range ( >120 dB) which means they can be used in different conditions ranging from a very low-light environment to very high-light conditions. 

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recently sought a “factual report” on the rhino population enumeration conducted in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in March 2022.

About Kaziranga National Park:

• Location: It is located in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam.
• It was declared a national park in 1974.
• It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and houses two-thirds of the total world population of greater one-horned rhinoceros.
• It is the largest undisturbed area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplains.
• Vegetation: It is a mix of eastern wet alluvial grasslands, semi evergreen forests and tropical moist deciduous forests.
• Flora:
• It is primarily famous for its dense and tall elephant grasses intermixed with small swamplands.
• It also includes an abundant cover of water lilies, water hyacinths and lotus.
• Rattan Cane, a type of climbing palm, is also found here.
• Fauna:
• Important wildlife found are One-horned rhinoceros, Leopard, Fishing Cat, other Lesser cats, royal Bengal tiger, Large Indian Civet, Small Indian Civet, Sambar, Barking deer, Hog deer, Gaur, Hog Badger, Capped Langur, etc.
• It is also one of the last remaining homes of the endangered and endemic western hoolock gibbon, the only species of apes found in India. 
• It is home to approximately 478 species of both resident and migratory birds.
• It is one of the last homes of the critically endangered Bengal florican.

Hence both statements are correct.

Track laying work has commenced on the Chenab railway bridge recently.

About Chenab railway bridge:

• The Chenab Rail Bridge, also known as the Chenab Arch Bridge, is a concrete arch bridge being built over the Chenab River in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It will be the highest railway bridge in the world, with a height of 359 meters above the riverbed.
• The length of the Chenab bridge will be 1,315 meters with 17 spans, of which the span of the main arch across the Chenab river will be 467m.
• The bridge will have a design speed of 100 Km/hr and a lifespan of 120 years.
• It is designed to withstand Zone-V earthquakes, 266 Km/hr wind speed, and high-intensity blasts.
• It forms a crucial link on the 111km stretch from Katra to Banihal, which is part of the ₹21,653 crores Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project intended to provide all-weather rail connectivity to the Kashmir Valley. 

Hence only statement 2 is correct.