Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 30, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

The Eco-Niwas Samhita (ENS) introduced the Residential Envelope Transmittance Value (RETV), a metric measuring heat transfer through a building’s envelope. 

• It is a Residential Energy Conservation Building code developed by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
• The code sets standards to limit heat gain and loss and ensure adequate natural ventilation and day lighting potential.
• It was launched in two parts:
  • ENS 2018 (Part 1) sets minimum standards for building envelope designs for energy-efficient residential buildings.
  • ENS Part 2 launched by the Bureau as ENS 2021 focuses on the building’s code compliance and electromechanical systems. It also addresses other aspects such as Energy Efficiency in Electro-Mechanical Equipment for Building Operation, Renewable Energy Generation, Embodied Energy of Walling Materials and Structural Systems.

What is the Residential Envelope Transmittance Value?

• It is a metric measuring heat transfer through a building’s envelope. 
• Lower RETV values lead to cooler indoor environments and decreased energy usage. For optimal efficiency, improved occupant comfort, and lower utility expenses, it’s recommended to maintain an RETV of 15W/m2 or less.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

The Decision Support System (DSS), which identifies sources of pollution in Delhi’s air, will resume functioning from September this year with some new features.

• It is developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune.
• It is a numerical model-based framework to forecast Delhi’s air quality and sources of local and regional pollution which can impact the air.
• DSS provides quantitative information about
• The contribution of emissions from Delhi and the surrounding 19 districts to the air quality in Delhi.
• The contribution of emissions from 8 different emission sectors in Delhi to the air quality Delhi.
• The contribution from biomass-burning activities in the neighboring states to the degradation of air quality in Delhi, and
• The effects of possible emission source-level interventions on the forecast severe air-quality event in Delhi.
• The system, which works only in winter and is stopped from March to August.
• Now, the system will also forecast how Delhi’s emissions impact the air of eight surrounding districts in NCR.
• The two models — System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (Safar) and DSS — had temporarily stopped sharing data on air pollution for the country as there were differences between their forecasts and source contribution.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Department of Telecom has asked telecom operators to deactivate USSD-based call forwarding with effect from April 15 and move to alternative methods to re-activate it.

• It is a communications protocol used in the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks for sending short text messages.
• It is an instant messaging service and messages are not stored on the operator side or on the subscriber’s device.
• USSD format: It generally exist as one of two types, depending on their origin:
• A USSD Pull is an outgoing request from the user in the form of an MMI command.
• A USSD Push is a message from the operator that is displayed on the user’s screen.
• The user can send the operator a request in the form of a USSD command. Commands consist of the * and # characters and numeric codes.
• The chain begins with * or # (which can occur more than once, separating commands from subcommands) and usually ends with #.
• The maximum length of a USSD message is 182 characters, but in practice even the longest requests rarely exceed 20.
• Mobile subscribers use the USSD service just by dialling any active code on their phone screens.
• It is used to display balance deduction in mobile phones where a message pops-up on the device screen after a call or outgoing SMS.
• It is also used for checking IMEI numbers of mobiles.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has sanctioned 39 more sewage treatment plants (STPs) under the AMRUT scheme, and these plants will be used in the Musi Riverfront Development project.

About AMRUT Scheme:

• It was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in 2015, in 500 selected cities and towns across the country. 
• It focuses on the development of basic infrastructure in the selected cities and towns in the sectors of water supply, sewerage and septage management, storm water drainage, green spaces and parks, and non-motorized urban transport. 
• A set of Urban Reforms and Capacity Building have been included in the mission.
• AMRUT Mission has been subsumed under AMRUT 2.0, which was launched in 2021.
• AMRUT 2.0, which was launched for a period of five years, from the financial year 2021-22 to the financial year 2025-26, is designed to provide universal coverage of water supply through functional taps to all households in all the statutory towns in the country and coverage of sewerage/septage management in 500 cities covered in the first phase of the AMRUT scheme.
• AMRUT 2.0 will promote a circular economy of water through the development of the City Water Balance Plan (CWBP) for each city focusing on recycle/reuse of treated sewage, the rejuvenation of water bodies, and water conservation.
• It will help cities to identify scope for projects focusing on universal coverage of functional water tap connections, water source conservation, rejuvenation of water bodies and wells, recycle/reuse of treated used water, and rainwater harvesting. 
• Based on the projects identified in CWBP, Mission envisages making cities ‘water secure’ through a circular economy of water.
• The mission also has a reform agenda on ease of living of citizens through reduction of non-revenue water, recycle of treated used water, rejuvenation of water bodies, augmenting double entry accounting system, urban planning, strengthening urban finance etc.
• Other components of AMRUT 2.0 are:
• Pey Jal Survekshan to ascertain equitable distribution of water, reuse of wastewater, mapping of water bodies, and promote healthy competition among the cities /towns.
• Technology Sub-Mission for water to leverage latest global technologies in the field of water.
• Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaign to spread awareness among the masses about conservation of water.
• The total indicative outlay for AMRUT 2.0 is ₹2,99,000 crore including Central share of ₹76,760 crore for five years.

Hence both statements are correct.

Scientists from the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation in India recently discovered a new species of lizard named Cnemaspis vangoghi.

About Cnemaspis vangoghi: 

• It is a new species of lizard discovered from the Southern Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu.
• Cnemaspis vangoghi is named for Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890), as the striking colouration of the new species is reminiscent of one of his most iconic paintings, ‘The Starry Night’.
• It is described as a small-sized gecko, reaching up to 3.4 cm in length.
• It has a distinctive yellow head and forebody, adorned with light blue spots on the back.
• This lizard prefers living among rocks and can occasionally be found on buildings and trees.
• Alongside Cnemaspis vangoghi, another species named Cnemaspis sathuragiriensis was identified, named after its type locality, the Sathuragiri Hills.
• Both species inhabit low-elevation, deciduous forests within the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve, adding to the five previously known endemic vertebrates of the region.
• These diurnal creatures are mainly active during the cooler hours of early morning and evening, predominantly found on rocks.
• Their restricted localities present an intriguing case of micro-endemism in low-elevation species.
• Micro-endemism refers to a phenomenon in ecology and biogeography where a species or a group of species are restricted to a very small geographic area, often on the scale of a few square kilometers or even less. 

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

At the second meeting of the India-led Group of Friends (GOF), India launched a new database designed to record crimes against peacekeepers and monitor progress in holding perpetrators accountable.

About ‘Group of Friends’ to Promote Accountability for Crimes Against Peacekeepers:

• It will seek to facilitate the promotion of accountability for all acts of violence against United Nations (UN) peacekeepers and seek facilitation of capacity building and technical assistance to the host state authorities.
• It was launched in 2022.
• It comprises of 40 member states. India, Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Morocco and Nepal are co-chairs.
• It will actively engage and share information with the UN Secretary-General and assist the member states hosting or those who have hosted peacekeeping operations, in bringing to justice the perpetrators of such acts; serve as an informal platform at the UN to exchange information, share best practices, and mobilize resources directed at facilitating accountability for crimes committed against peacekeepers; and monitor progress on bringing accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.
• It will convene two meetings of its members per year, organise and host one event per year involving Permanent Missions and other stakeholders, to take the plan forward, thereby ensuring greater safety and security for peacekeepers.
• Group of Friends represents the "political will" of member states, particularly of the troop and police contributing countries, to champion the implementation of the provisions of U.N. Security Council resolution 2589, which was adopted in 2021 under India’s Presidency of the Council.
• Resolution 2589 had called upon member states, hosting or having hosted UN peacekeeping operations, to take all appropriate measures to bring to justice perpetrators of the killing of, and all acts of violence against UN personnel, including, but not limited to, their detention and abduction.

India and UN Peacekeeping:

• India is the largest cumulative contributor of peacekeepers to the UN, having deployed more than 2,60,000 peacekeepers over the last seven decades.
• India has lost 177 of its peacekeepers in the line of duty, the largest by far from any troop-contributing country.
• With more than 6000 peacekeepers deployed in nine out of twelve peacekeeping missions, India is a strong proponent of accountability for crimes against peacekeepers. 

Hence option c is the correct answer.

According to the Food Waste Index Report 2024, households across the globe wasted over one billion meals a day in 2022.

• It a study jointly authored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), a U.K.-based non-profit.
• The Food Waste Index tracks the global and national generation of food and inedible parts wasted at the retail and consumer (household and food service) levels.
• Highlights of the report
• It noted that in 2022, there were 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste generated (including inedible parts), amounting to 132 kilograms per capita and almost one-fifth of all food available to consumers.
• It stressed the importance of expanding and strengthening data infrastructure to enable the tracking and monitoring of food waste.
• Many low- and middle-income countries continue to lack adequate systems for tracking progress to meet Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 of halving food waste by 2030, particularly in retail and food services.”
• At present, only four G-20 countries (Australia, Japan, U.K., U.S.) and the European Union have food waste estimates suitable for tracking progress to 2030.
• Hotter countries appear to generate more food waste per capita in households, potentially due to higher consumption of fresh foods with substantial inedible parts and a lack of robust cold chains.
• As compared to urban areas, rural ones generally wasted less food, due to “greater diversion of food scraps to pets, livestock, and home composting”.
• As of 2022, only 21 countries had included food loss and/or waste reduction in their climate plans or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
• The report defines “food waste” as “food and the associated inedible parts removed from the human food supply chain”.
• Food loss” is defined as “all the crop and livestock human-edible commodity quantities that, directly or indirectly, completely exit the post-harvest/slaughter production/supply chain up to, and excluding, the retail level”.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

As per the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 4,500 Rohingya refugees set off on dangerous journeys across the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea IN 2023.

• It protects refugees worldwide and facilitates their return home or resettlement.
• History: It was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1950 in the aftermath of the Second World War to help the millions of people who had lost their homes.
• It is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution.
• It was awarded Nobel Peace Prizes in 1954 and 1981.
• It has started Nansen Refugee Award in 1954 for recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced or stateless people.
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, Skyroot Aerospace, the leading space-tech company, has successfully test-fired the Kalam-250 at the propulsion testbed of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), at its Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

• It is a stage-2 of Vikram-1 space launch vehicle.
• It is a high-strength carbon composite rocket motor, which uses solid fuel and a high-performance Ethylene-Propylene-Diene terpolymers (EPDM) thermal protection system (TPS).
• The stage includes a carbon ablative flex nozzle along with high-precision electro-mechanical actuators for thrust vector control of the vehicle, aiding in achieving the desired trajectory. 
• The second stage of Vikram-1 will play a crucial role in the ascent of the launch vehicle, propelling it from the atmosphere to the deep vacuum of outer space.
• It is developed by the Skyroot Aerospace.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a new network for coronaviruses, CoViNet.

• It is a network of global laboratories with expertise in human, animal and environmental coronavirus surveillance.
• It will identify and monitor potentially novel coronaviruses that could emerge shortly.
• The network will now have animal health and environmental surveillance and timely risk assessment to feed WHO policies and protective measures.
• In low- and middle-income countries, CoViNet will support the building of more laboratories to monitor MERS-CoV and novel coronaviruses of public health importance.
• Data generated through CoViNet's efforts will guide the work of WHO's Technical Advisory Groups on Viral Evolution (TAG-VE) and Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) and others, ensuring global health policies and tools are based on the latest scientific information.
• It currently comprises 36 laboratories from 21 countries in all six WHO regions.
• Three Indian laboratories namely; the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology in Pune, and the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute are part of this network.

Hence both statements are correct.