Daily Current Affairs MCQ- November 5, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Kashmir tourism department had recently invited students and local farmers to join the saffron festival organised in Ladoo area to highlight the whole process of saffron cultivation.

• The unique characteristics of Kashmir saffron are its longer and thicker stigmas, natural deep-red colour, high aroma, bitter flavour, chemical-free processing, and high quantity of crocin (colouring strength), safranal (flavour) and picrocrocin (bitterness).
• It is the only saffron in the world grown at an altitude of 1,600 m to 1,800 m AMSL (above mean sea level).
• Pampore region, in India, commonly known as Saffron bowl of Kashmir, is the main contributor to saffron production, followed by Budgam, Srinagar, and Kishtiwar districts.
• Kashmir saffron is a very precious and costly product.
• Kashmir saffron is renowned globally as a spice.
• It rejuvenates health and is used in cosmetics and for medicinal purposes. It has been associated with traditional Kashmiri cuisine.
• In 2020, Union Government has issued a certificate of Geographical Indication (GI) registration for Saffron grown in the Kashmir Valley.
• National Mission on Saffron is focused on several measures to improve its farming.

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Minister for Labour & Employment, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav recently inaugurated the 70th Foundation Day of EPFO.

• It was established in 1952. 
• It is under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Labor and Employment. 
• Mandate: 
  • It is tasked to assist the Central Board of Trustees in implementing the following three schemes for the workforce engaged in the organized sector in India:
    • EPF Scheme 1952;
    • Pension scheme 1995 (EPS); and
    • Insurance scheme (EDLI). 
  • It is also the nodal agency for implementing Bilateral Social Security Agreements with other countries on a reciprocal basis. 
  • In 2014, union government launched Universal Account Number (UAN) for Employees covered by EPFO to enable PF number portability. 

Hence both statements are correct.

The SCO Member States recently confirmed their commitment to formation of a more representative, democratic, just and multipolar world order based on universally recognized principles of the international law and multilateralism.

• The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation. It is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance and has been the primary security pillar of the region.
• History: 
  • It was established in 2001. It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.
  • The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO.
  • It meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation.
• The organisation has two permanent bodies:
  • the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing.
  • the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent.
• Membership:
  • Eight member states: India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
  • India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.
  • Four observer states: Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) has recently demanded a ban on using aceclofenac in cattle after a new study showed that the drug metabolises into diclofenac in water buffaloes — as it does in cows.

• Aceclofenac is the prodrug of the non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac.
• Aceclofenac in water buffaloes poses the same threat to vultures as it is a pro-drug of diclofenac.
• Aceclofenac turns into diclofenac soon after it enters the livestock.
• Vulture Action Plan 2020-2025 also mentions the aceclofenac as ‘toxic’, along with other drugs like nimesulide and ketoprofen.

Hence both statements are correct.

An internal study commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Development has argued for decentralisation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), allowing for more “flexibility” at the ground level.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was enacted on August 25, 2005.
• It provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage.
• The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments.
• This act was introduced with an aim of improving the purchasing power of the rural people, primarily semi or un-skilled work to people living below poverty line in rural India.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

A phenomenon called "coronal holes" was recently spotted on the sun.

• These are regions on the sun’s surface from where fast solar wind gushes out into space. Because they contain little solar material, they have lower temperatures and thus appear much darker than their surroundings.
• Here, the magnetic field is open to interplanetary space, sending solar material out in a high-speed stream of solar wind.
• Coronal holes can last between a few weeks to months.
• The holes are not a unique phenomenon, appearing throughout the sun’s approximately 11-year solar cycle.
• They can last much longer during solar minimum – a period of time when activity on the Sun is substantially diminished, according to NASA.

Causes:

• While it is unclear what causes coronal holes, they correlate to areas on the sun where magnetic fields soar up and away, without looping back down to the surface as they do elsewhere.

Impacts:

• These ‘coronal holes’ are important to understanding the space environment around the earth.
• Scientists study these fast solar wind streams because they sometimes interact with earth’s magnetic field, creating what’s called a geomagnetic storm, which can expose satellites to radiation and interfere with communications signals.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Zojila Day was commemorated at Zojila War Memorial near Drass on November 1.

• It aims to celebrate the gallant action by Indian troops in 'Operation Bison' in 1948 which was launched on the icy heights of Zojila pass, the gateway to Ladakh.
• This day marked the Indian Army's historic win over the Pakistani regulars and infiltrators, and helped recapture the strategic Zojila Pass
• This battle was also historic for the reason that tanks were used for the first time at such heights.

Zojila Pass:

• Zojila is a pass connecting the Kashmir Valley with the cold Indus valley desert in Ladakh region through the 434-km strategic Srinagar-Leh National Highway. 
• It runs at an elevation of approximately 3,528 metres (11,575 ft), and is the second highest pass on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway after Fotu La. 
• It is often closed during winter. The Beacon Force unit of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is responsible for its clearing and maintenance during Winter. 

Hence both statements are correct.

According to a study, published in the latest edition of People and Nature by the British Ecological Society, the horns of rhinoceroses may have become smaller over time from the impact of hunting.

• The recent study analysed artwork and photographs of the animal spanning more than five centuries.

Five species face threat:

• Rhinos have long been hunted for their horns. The five surviving rhino species are threatened by habitat loss and hunting.
• The study found that the rate of decline in horn length was highest in the critically endangered Sumatran rhino and lowest in the white rhino of Africa, the most commonly found species in the wild and in captivity.
• This observation follows patterns seen in other animals, such as tusk size in elephants and horn length in wild sheep, which have been driven down by directional selection due to trophy hunting.

The Greater One-horned Rhinoceros:

• The greater one-horned rhino (or “Indian rhino”) is the largest of the rhino species.
• It is identified by a single black horn and a grey-brown hide with skin folds.
• It is one of the five species of Rhinos.
  • The other four species are:
    • White rhino: It is native to northern and southern Africa
    • Black rhino: It is native to eastern and southern Africa
    • Javan rhino: It is also known as Sunda rhino or lesser one-horned rhino
    • Sumatran rhino: Critically Endangered species of rhino
• Habitat:
  • Greater one-horned rhinos are grazers. When not grazing on land, they like to immerse themselves in water, where they also graze on aquatic plants.
  • This species of rhino is commonly found in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and in Assam, India.
• Protection Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Ela Ramesh Bhatt, popularly known as Elaben, a noted Gandhian, leading women’s empowerment activist, and renowned founder of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) passed away recently.

• She was known as the "Gentle Revolutionary" who changed the lives of lakhs of women through her organisation, providing them microloans for five decades.
• She was the founder of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA).
• SEWA was founded by her in 1972. It is one of the largest cooperatives working for women, with a base of over two million members from around 18 States in the country and in neighbouring nations. 
• She headed the women’s wing of Majoor Mahajan Sangh – the Textile Labour Association founded by Anasuya Sarabhai and Mahatma Gandhi.
• She was the chairperson of the Sabarmati Ashram Memorial and Preservation Trust, also co-founded the Women’s World Banking, a global network of microfinance organisations, of which she was chairperson from 1984 to 1988.
• She was also nominated to Rajya Sabha, was a member of the Planning Commission, and was advisor to organisations like the World Bank.
• In 2007, she joined the Elders, a group of world leaders founded by Nelson Mandela to promote human rights and peace.
• She was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Ramon Magsaysay Award and Indira Gandhi International Prize for Peace among many other awards.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA  yesterday approved mechanism for ethanol procurement by public sector oil marketing companies under Ethanol Blended Petrol programme. 

• The Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) seeks to achieve blending of Ethanol with motor sprit with a view to reducing pollution, conserve foreign exchange and increase value addition in the sugar industry enabling them to clear cane price arrears of farmers.
• The EBP programme was launched by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 2003, to promote the use of alternative and environment friendly fuels.
• Under this programme, starting with 5% blending, the government later increased the target of 10% ethanol blending by 2022.
• India's goal is to grow this ratio to 20% by 2030, but when the NITI Aayog released the ethanol roadmap in 2021, that deadline was advanced to 2025.

Hence both statements are correct.