Daily Current Affairs MCQ- October 19, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch its first-ever test flight, TV-D1, for the Gaganyaan mission, marking a pivotal moment in India's pursuit of human spaceflight.

• Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) will evaluate the crew module's readiness for the Gaganyaan mission.
• It is a single-stage liquid rocket developed specifically for this abort mission.
• The payloads consist of the Crew Module (CM) and Crew Escape Systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters.
• This flight will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 encountered in the Gaganyaan mission.

What is the test all about?

• The abort and crew escape system operates on a similar principle to an ejection seat found in fighter jets, with the primary goal of safeguarding the lives of crew members in the event of in-flight anomalies.
• The Crew Escape System is engineered to automatically function across various altitudes should the onboard computer detect any malfunctions.
• This test flight will simulate an abort condition during the ascent trajectory.
• Objective: To test a crucial system to be deployed on the Gaganyaan mission that will ensure the safety of the Indian astronauts in case of an emergency in the initial phase of the launch.
• CES with CM will be separated from the Test Vehicle at an altitude of about 17 km.
• Subsequently, the abort sequence will be executed autonomously commencing with the separation of CES and deployment of the series of parachutes, finally culminating in the safe touchdown of CM in the sea, about 10 km from the coast of Sriharikota.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, Lok Sabha Speaker referred the complaint against sitting Member of Parliament to the House Ethics Committee.

• The genesis of formation of Ethics Committee in Parliament can be traced to a resolution adopted at the Presiding Officers Conference held in New Delhi in October, 1996.
• Each house of the parliament has their own ethics committee.
• Ethics committee in Lok Sabha
• It was first time constituted in 2000.
• Composition: It consists of not more than fifteen members and nominated by the Speaker.
• Term: They shall hold office for a term not exceeding one year.
• Ethics committee in Rajya Sabha
• It was constituted in 1997.
• Composition: It consists of 10 members nominated by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
• Term: They shall hold office for a term not exceeding one year.
• Functions
• To oversee the moral and ethical conduct of the Members;
• To examine the cases referred to it with reference to ethical and other misconduct of the Members.
• Any person or member may make a complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member to the committee.
• In the case of the Ethics Committee only an MP can be examined for misconduct.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Orionid meteor shower is expected to rain down its greatest number of meteors on the mornings of October 21 and 22.

• It is an annual phenomenon that lights up the night sky every October.
• It is produced when Earth passes through the debris left behind by Halley's Comet, officially known as 1P/Halley.
• This comet, which orbits the sun approximately every 76 years, expels dust particles from its nucleus, creating a trail of debris in its path.
• Each year, our planet intercepts this path in late October, resulting in the Orionid meteor shower.
• Halley's Comet, measuring about five by nine miles in size, loses between three to ten feet of material on each passage through the inner solar system.
• The Orionids are viewable in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres during the hours after midnight. 

What is a meteor?

• When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors.
• Meteor showers occur annually or at regular intervals as the Earth passes through the trail of dusty debris left by a comet.
• Meteor showers are usually named after a star or constellation that is close to where the meteors appear in the sky.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Prime Minister of India extended best wishes on the auspicious occasion of Kati Bihu to the people of Assam.

• It is celebrated in the state of Assam.
• Kati means to cut and this day marks the time of relocation of rice saplings.
• It is also known as Kongali Bihu. (Kongali means poor)
• There are another two Bihu festivals celebrated in Assam - Bhogali or Magh Bihu is observed in January and Rongali or Bohag Bihu is observed in the month of April. 
• Significance
• During this month, there are not so many things to eat.
• They celebrate this festival by lighting the earthen lamps or candles and lit their house with lighting.
• Lighting diya near Tulsi plant is one of the main part of the festival. They worship Tulsi plant on this auspicious day.
• People also light a special lamp called "Akash Banti" (Sky candle) in their paddy fields.
• These lamps are fueled by mustard oil and are kept high on the tip of bamboo poles.
• People believe that these lighted lamps will guide their ancestors towards heaven.

Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently asked the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) to give it access to “key documents” about the allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud against the Adani Group.

About Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP):

• OCCRP is a nonprofit investigative reporting platform for 50+ independent media outlets around the world, publishing more than 100 investigations a year. 
• It was founded in 2006to conduct transnational investigative reporting and promote technology-based approaches to exposing organised crime and corruption worldwide.
• It aims to develop and equip a global network of investigative journalists and publish their stories. 
• With this, OCCRP exposes crime and corruption so the public can hold power to account.
• Vision: “A world where lives, livelihoods, and democracy are not threatened by crime and corruption."
• OCCRP provides media outlets and journalists with a range of critical resources and tools, including digital and physical security,and allows those covering the most sensitive topicsto work in teams with trusted editors.
• OCCRP Aleph: It is an investigative data platform where journalists can search and cross-reference more than three billion records to trace criminal connections and patterns and efficiently collaborate across borders.
• It also trains reporters and partners in advanced journalism techniques.
• OCCRP also partners with advocacy groups, arming civil society with information to meaningfully press for justice and change and unearths evidence that enables law enforcement to act.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently said that the Health Ministry of Guinea has reported an outbreak of diphtheria.

About Diphtheria:

• It is a highly contagious and infectious disease that causes severe inflammation of the nose, throat, and windpipe (trachea). 
• Cause: It is caused by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae that make a toxin. It is a toxin that can cause people to get very sick.
• Transmission:
• The infection can transmit from a person with the infection to any mucous membrane in another person.
• Diphtheria bacteria spread from person to person, usually through respiratory droplets, like from coughing or sneezing. 
• People can also get sick from touching infected open sores or ulcers.
• Symptoms:
• Diphtheria signs and symptoms usually begin 2-5 days after a person becomes infected. Signs and symptoms may include:
• A thick, gray membrane covering the throat and tonsils
• A sore throat and hoarseness
• Swollen glands (enlarged lymph nodes) in the neck
• Difficulty breathing or rapid breathing
• Nasal discharge
• Fever and chills
• Tiredness
• If the toxin gets into the blood stream, it can cause heart, nerve, and kidney damage.
• The bacteria can also infect the skin, causing open sores or ulcers. However, diphtheria skin infections rarely result in severe disease.
• Treatment: Treatment aimed at countering the bacterial effects has two components:
• Antitoxin: This is also known as anti-diphtheritic serum. It neutralizes the bacteria’s toxins. Doctors use the antitoxin to treat diphtheria that has affected the respiratory system. The antitoxin only works on toxins that have not yet bound with cells and tissue in the body.
• Antibiotics: Erythromycin or penicillin can eradicate the bacteriaand stop them from spreading. Antibiotics can treat diphtheriaaffecting the respiratory system and skin.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

In a paper published recently, scientists from IIT Roorkee have characterised dinosaur fossils from the Middle Jurassic period, found in the Thar desert near the Jaisalmer Basin by the Geological Survey of India.

• The Tharosaurus indicus belongs to the family Dicraeosauridae and from the superfamily Diplodocoidea.
• These fossils are the first dicraeosaurid sauropods to have been found in India.
• It is 167 million years old and oldest known diplodocoid fossils in the world.
• The scientists named the dinosaur Tharosaurus indicus, with Tharo deriving from the Thar desert; saurus from the Greek ‘sauros’, or lizard; and indicus from its Indian origin. 
• This family was unique: its members were smaller and had shorter necks and tails compared to the other long-necked sauropods.
• Sauropods first appeared on the earth during the Jurassic period, about 200 million years ago.
• They were one of the most dominant clades of dinosaurs, surviving until the late Cretaceous period 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs went extinct.
• According to the scientists, fossils of dicraeosaurid dinosaurs have been found previously in North and South Americas, Africa and China, but such fossils were not known from India.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

The Pradhan Mantri Dakshata Aur Kushalata Sampanna Hitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Yojana is a Central Sector Scheme.

• It was launched during 2020-21.
• The main objective of the Scheme is to enhance competency level of the target groups to make them employable both in self- employment and wage-employment for their socio-economic development.
• It is a National Action Plan for skilling marginalized persons covering SCs, OBCs, EBCs, DNTs, Sanitation workers including waste pickers.
• Target Group:
• Artisans- who may be able to improve their revenue generation capacities within their practicing vocations;
• Women- who may be able to enter into self-employment and financially empower themselves without neglecting their domestic activities.
• Youth- who may acquire long-term training and specialization in employable vocations and gain a better standing in the job market.
• The age criterion of scheme between 18-45 years and income criteria is no income limit for SCs, SafaiKaramcharis Including waste picker and DNT.
• The annual family income should be below Rs.3 lakh for OBCs and the EBCs (Economically Backward Classes) annual family income below Rs.1 lakh.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJ&E).

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises distributed tool-kits and machineries to artisans under 'Gramodyog Vikas Yojna’.

• It is one of the two components of Khadi Gramodyog Vikas Yojana which aims to promote and develop the village industries through common facilities, technological modernization, training etc.
• It includes the activities carried out under different village industries.
• Components of the Yojana:
• Research & Development and Product Innovation: R&D support would be given to the institutions that intend to carry product development, new innovations, design development, product diversification processes etc.
• Capacity Building: Under the Human Resource Development and Skill Training components, exclusive capacity building of staff as well as the artisans would be adequately addressed through the existing MDTCs and institutions of excellence.
• Marketing & Publicity: The V.I. institutions will be provided market support by way of preparation of product catalogue, Industry directory, market research, new marketing techniques, buyer seller meet, arranging exhibitions etc.
• Target beneficiaries: Artisans, Unemployed Youth and Self Help Groups (SHGs)
• Eligibility criteria: Any person Traditional Artisans, Knowledge of Skill experience in Art and craft.

Hence both statements are correct.

A 10-year-old boy was recently killed in a tiger attack in Metikuppe wildlife range in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve.

About Nagarahole Tiger Reserve:

• Location: It is situated in the districts of Mysore and Kodagu in Karnataka.
• The reserve is named after a small river, ‘Nagarahole’ (literally a snake stream in Kannada), which meanders within the habitat before joining the river Kabini.
• Boundaries: It is flanked by the Bandipur Tiger Reserve on its southeastern side and the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary of Kerala on the southwest.
• The habitat also forms part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
• History:
• The origin of the reserve as a protected area dates back to the reign of the Wodeyar dynasty, the former rulers of the Kingdom of Mysore, when Nagarahole was an exclusive hunting reserve of the kings.
• It was set up in 1955 as a wildlife sanctuary by Coorg State.
• It was upgraded to a national park in 1988, and was brought under the fold of the Project Tiger by declaring it as a Tiger Reserve in 1999.
• Vegetation:
• The forests of Nagarahole are primarily deciduous.
• The dry eastern limits of the reserve have dry deciduous forests.
• Towards the west, with the increase in rainfall, the vegetation changes to tropical moist and semi-evergreen forests.
• Flora:
• The forests are interspersed with swampy fallows called ‘hadlu’, which are dominated by grasses and sedges, favoured by wild herbivores.
• Commercially important rosewood, teak, sandalwood, and silver oak are the main trees here. 
• Fauna: Tiger, Leopard Asiatic, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Asiatic Elephant, Gaur, Sambar Chital Muntjac, Four Horned Antelope etc.

Hence both statements are correct.