Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 2, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Despite recent studies highlighting the Heimang's remarkable adaptability, it hasn't yet been used much in commerce.

• The Heimang tree grows widely in Manipur and other north-eastern regions.
• Its fruit has a citrus-like tartness and, it is packed with nutrients such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidants.
• Traditional healers of Manipur called Maibas or maibis, prescribe heimang for common gastrointestinal problems like diarrhoea and dysentery.
• It is also recommended to eat water-soaked fruit for indigestion and stomach ulcer.
• The research found that compounds isolated from the stem of the heimang tree can significantly suppress HIV-1 activity in vitro. 
• Local communities in the state also use heimang leaves to prepare a herbal shampoo called chinghi by boiling them with rice water.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, The Red-headed vulture was spotted in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

• This is one of the 9 species of Vulture which are found in India.
• It is also called the Asian King vulture or Pondicherry Vulture was extensively found in India but its numbers drastically reduced after diclofenac poisoning.
• Conservation status
• IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, Yaya Tso Lake was declared Ladakh’s first biodiversity heritage site under the Biological Diversity Act.

• Lake Yaya Tso is known as a bird's paradise for its beautiful lake located at an altitude of 4,820 metres in Ladakh.
• It is a nesting habitat for a large number of birds and animals, such as the bar-headed goose, black-necked crane and brahminy duck.
• It is also one of the highest breeding sites of the black-necked crane in India.

Hence both statements are correct.

Finance Minister recently tabled the Economic Survey for 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha.

Key facts about Economic Survey:

• It is the flagship annual document of the finance ministry that contains a detailed analysis of the economic development of the country.
• It reviews the economic development in India over the past financial year by giving detailed statistical data of all the sectors-industrial, agricultural, manufacturing among others.
• It analyses the whole macroeconomics of the country in the past year and provides an outline for the next financial year.
• The Survey has two parts--one, one consists of the economic challenges that the country is facing and the second is the review of the year gone by.
• When was the first Economic Survey of India presented?
• The first Economic Survey in India was presented in the year 1950-51.
• Up to 1964, it was presented along with the Union Budget.
• From 1964 onwards, it has been delinked from the Budget.
• When and who present it? It is presented normally a day before the presentation of the Union Budget in the Parliament by the Finance Minister.
• Who prepares it? It is prepared by the Economics Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry under the overall guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser and is released after it is approved by the finance minister.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Economic Survey 2022-23 submitted recently in Parliament said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection is showing a higher buoyancy than the pre-GST system.

What is Tax buoyancy?

• Tax buoyancy explains the relationship between the changes in government’s tax revenue growth and the changes in GDP.
• It refers to the responsiveness of tax revenue growth to changes in GDP.
• When a tax is buoyant, its revenue increases without increasing the tax rate.
• It depends upon:
• the size of the tax base;
• the friendliness of the tax administration;
• the rationality and simplicity of tax rates;

What is Tax Elasticity?

• It refers to changes in tax revenue in response to changes in tax rate.
• For example, how tax revenue changes if the government reduces corporate income tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent indicate tax elasticity.

Hence both statements are not correct.

The Central Government has recently informed the Delhi High Court that PM CARES Fund is set up as a public charitable trust and is not a public authority under RTI.

About PM CARES Fund:

• The Prime Ministers Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) was created on 28 March 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic in India. 
• It was created for combating, and containment and relief efforts against the coronavirus outbreak and similar pandemic like situations in the future.
• It has been registered as a Public Charitable Trust.
• Composition of the Trust:
• Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund.
• Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance, Government of India are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund.
• Contributions:
• The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organizations and does not get any budgetary support. 
• Donations to PM CARES Fund would qualify for 80G benefits for 100% exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• Donations to PM CARES Fund will also qualify to be counted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

During the Budget speech Union finance minister announced multiple schemes towards Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.

• PM PRANAM (Prime Minister Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth)
• This programme will seek to incentivise states and union territories to promote alternative fertilisers and the balanced use of chemical fertilisers.
• Centre of excellence for millets
• Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad will be made into a Centre for Excellence and it will be supported for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level. 

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, a Caesium-137 capsule lost in transit was discovered in Western Australia using specialised detection equipment that detected radiation.

• It is the most common radioactive form of caesium.
• It is produced by nuclear fission which is also one of the byproducts of nuclear fission processes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons testing.
• This radioactive metal has a half-life of 30.05 years – meaning in three decades it will have half of its original activity.
• Caesium-137 can cause serious illness when touched, leading to burns and acute radiation sickness.
• External exposure can increase the risk of cancer because of the presence of high-energy beta-gamma radiation. Prolonged exposure can even cause death.
• Internal exposure to it through ingestion or inhalation allows the radioactive material to be distributed in the soft tissues, especially muscle tissue, which increases cancer risk.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Tampere University researchers recently developed a Dandelion seed-inspired flying robot that could potentially replace pollinators.

• The FAIRY robot, which is based on the Light Responsive Materials Assembly, is a tiny lightweight robot that floats in the wind.
• Surprisingly, the robot can be controlled by a light source like a laser beam or an LED.
• Researchers could use light to change the shape of the robot, allowing it to adapt to the direction of the wind.
• A soft actuator made of light-responsive liquid crystalline elastomer powers the polymer assembly robot inspired by dandelion seeds.
• As a result, the researchers were able to stimulate the actuator's bristles to open or close by using visible light.

Hence both statements are correct.

In a recent Budget speech Union finance minister announced that the Customs duty on the seeds used in lab-grown diamond manufacturing will be reduced.

• There are multiple ways in which LGDs can be produced.
• High pressure, high temperature” (HPHT) method
• It is the most common and cheapest method.
• In this method, extremely heavy presses that can produce up to 730,000 psi of pressure under extremely high temperatures of at least 1500 celsius are applied.
• Usually, graphite is used as the “diamond seed” and when subjected to these extreme conditions, the relatively inexpensive form of carbon turns into one of the most expensive carbon forms.
• Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and explosive formation create what is known as detonation nanodiamonds.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.