Daily Current Affairs MCQ- May 18, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has just launched two fresh modern deep seas ‘Slocum’ gliders in the Bay of Bengal.

• Slocum gliders are a type of autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that are capable of carrying out long-duration missions, spanning several months or even years, to collect scientific data from the ocean.
• Objective: To study the physical and biogeochemical parameters of the sea and get an insight into climate change.
  • The state-of-the-art gliders are equipped with sensors to track temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen, and PAR – photosynthetic active radiation in the seawater among others.
  • These gliders can go underwater up to a depth of about 1,000 metres and will surface four to five times a day.
  • These gliders which run on the lithium-ion battery is they come with an extended battery life of nine months and more to cover both the north and south transect of the Bay of the Bengal. 
• INCOIS was established as an autonomous body in 1999 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
• Mandate: To provide the best possible ocean information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, at the  United Nations, 2023 Water Conference participant members were informed about W12+ Blueprint and its potential.

• It is a UNESCO platform that hosts city profiles and case studies of programs, technologies, and policies that address common water security challenges.
• It is an informational database for solutions to urban water challenges.
• Aim: To create a tool that provides insight into how to address common urban water challenges through easy-to-read case studies.
• Lessons learned from the other W12+ Programs will be incorporated and highlighted within the Blueprint.
• It will house information on best practices, encourage further knowledge exchange, and become a "virtual Hub" for urban water security solutions globally.
• Cities listed under this blueprint from India are Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the contentious Subansiri Lower Dam project was hit by a landslide during pre-monsoon rain in the region.

• Subansiri Lower Dam project is the biggest hydroelectric project undertaken in India so far.
• It is a run-of-river scheme on river Subansiri.
• Location: The Project is located near North Lakhimpur on the border of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
• Capacity:2000MW
•  It is a concrete gravity dam 116 m high from river bed level.
• It is being developed by the state-run National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC).
• River Subansiri originates in the Tibet Plateau and is the largest tributary of the Brahmaputra River.
• The high topographic variation makes this river a potential zone for harnessing it for the hydropower

Hence both statements are not correct.

Recently, three persons were arrested by the Forest Department for hurting and killing an Asiatic water snake near Arakkonam in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu.

• The Asiatic water snake is also known as the checkered keelback.
• It is a common species in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae.
• Habitat: It is primarily found in freshwater bodies like rivers, lakes, and ponds.
• It is semi-aquatic and rarely ventures far from water. They lead a solitary life and are active both during the day and at night.
• It is non-venomous and is generally considered harmless to humans.
• It is oviparous which means that they lay their eggs.
• Distribution: The species is endemic to Asia and found in countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia etc,
• Conservation status:
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • CITES: Appendix III
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule II 

Hence both statements are correct.

Mahavir Jayanti which marks the birth of Lord Mahavir was recently celebrated.

About Lord Mahavir:

• Lord Mahavir was the twenty-fourth and the last Tirthankara of the Jain religion.
• He was born in 599 B.C. as a prince in Bihar, India.
• At the age of 30, he left his family and royal household, gave up his worldly possessions, including clothing and become a monk.
• He organized his followers, into a four fold order, namely monk (Sadhu), nun (Sadhvi), layman (Shravak), and laywoman (Shravika). Later on they are known as Jains.
• The ultimate objective of his teaching is how one can attain the total freedom from the cycle of birth, life, pain, misery, and death, and achieve the permanent blissful state of one's self. This is also known as liberation, nirvana, absolute freedom, or Moksha.
• He explained that from eternity, every living being (soul) is in bondage of karmic atoms, that are accumulated by its own good or bad deeds. 
• He preached that right faith (samyak-darshana), right knowledge (samyak-jnana), and right conduct (samyak-charitra) together will help attain the liberation of one's self.

Who are Tirthankaras?

• In Jainism, those who have conquered their passions are called Jins.
• Those Jins who have founded religious orders are called Tirthankaras.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Train services were recently disrupted in Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore districts of West Bengal following rail-blockade agitation by the Kurmi community.

About Kurmi community:

• Kurmi is traditionally a non-elite tiller caste in the lower Gangetic plain of India, especially southern regions of Awadh, eastern Uttar Pradesh and parts of Bihar.
• The Kurmis came to be known for their exceptional work ethic, superior tillage and manuring, and gender-neutral culture, bringing praise from Mughal and British administrators alike.
• Currently, in Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand, the Kurmi community is classified under the Other Backward Classes group with the Odisha government also recognising the community under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes.
• State governments in Jharkhand and West Bengal have repeatedly recommended the inclusion of this community in the ST list.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Hubble Space Telescope recently discovered a pair of quasars from the early universe. 

About Quasar:

• A quasar is an extremely active and luminous type of active galactic nucleus (AGN). 
• An AGN is nothing more than a supermassive black hole that is active and feeding at the center of a galaxy. 
• The brightest quasars can outshine all of the stars in the galaxies in which they reside, which makes them visible even at distances of billions of light-years. 
• Quasars are thought to form in regions of the universe where the large-scale density of matter is much higher than average.
• Most quasars have been found billions of light-years away. 
• Quasars emit energies of millions, billions, or even trillions of electron volts. This energy exceeds the total of the light of all the stars within a galaxy. 

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the International Seabed Authority has decided that it will start taking permit applications from companies that want to mine the ocean floor.

• It is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• Mandate: It has the mandate to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment from harmful effects that may arise from deep-seabed-related activities.
• It has its headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica.
• Its primary function is to regulate the exploration of poly-metallic nodules.
• Polymetallic nodules are rounded accretions of manganese and iron hydroxides that cover vast areas of the seafloor.
• These are most abundant on abyssal plains at water depths of 4000-6500 metres.
• They are mainly found in the north-central Pacific Ocean, the southeastern Pacific Ocean, and the northern Indian Ocean.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

A ‘hybrid’ solar eclipse called the Ningaloo Eclipse is set to happen on April 20, 2023.

• A hybrid eclipse is a type of solar eclipse that looks like an annular solar eclipse or a total solar eclipse, depending on the observer's location along the central eclipse path.
• During a hybrid solar eclipse, the Earth's curvature brings some sections of the eclipse path into the Moon's umbra, the darkest part of its shadow that creates total solar eclipses, while other areas remain outside the umbra's reach, causing an annular eclipse.
• A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun while completely blocking the face of the Sun.
• It will be visible to the people located in the centre of the Moon’s shadow when it hits Earth.
• An annular solar eclipse happens when the moon is farthest from the Earth, which is why it seems smaller.
• In this type of eclipse, the moon does not block the sun completely but looks like a “dark disk on top of a larger sun-coloured disk” forming a “ring of fire.

Hence both statements are not correct.

Recently, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) issued an update to its Green Equity Approach (GEA) policy saying that it will no longer allow financial intermediary clients to support new coal projects.

• It was founded in 1956 with Washington, DC as its headquarters.
• It is a member of the World Bank Group.
• Mandate: Advance economic development and improve the lives of people by encouraging the growth of the private sector in developing countries.
• Functions: It helps countries develop their private sectors in a variety of ways
  • Investing in companies through loans, equity investments, debt securities and guarantees.
  • Mobilizing capital from other lenders and investors through loan participations, parallel loans and other means.
  • Advising businesses and governments to encourage private investment and improve the investment climate.
• Governance: The IFC is owned and governed by its member countries. It is a corporation whose shareholders are member governments that provide paid-in capital and have the right to vote on its matters.
• The President of the World Bank Group is also the President of the IFC.
• India is a member of this corporation but not a member of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the world bank group.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.