Test: November 2022 Weekly Current Affair - 3 - UPSC MCQ

For centuries, Jammu and Kashmir’s nomadic community, known as Gujjars and Bakerwals, have undertaken arduous journeys on foot as part of their seasonal migration to find better pastures for their livestock.

According to the US government agency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, geomagnetic storms relate to earth’s magnetosphere – the space around a planet that is influenced by its magnetic field. When a high-speed solar stream arrives at the earth, in certain circumstances it can allow energetic solar wind particles to hit the atmosphere over the poles. Such geomagnetic storms cause a major disturbance of the magnetosphere as there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding earth.
In cases of a strong solar wind reaching the earth, the resulting geomagnetic storm can cause changes in the ionosphere, part of the earth’s upper atmosphere. Radio and GPS signals travel through this layer of the atmosphere, and so communications can get disrupted.

SEWA, the Self Employed Women’s Association was set up by Ela Bhatt in 1972.
SEWA was born out of the Textile Labour Association (TLA) — founded by Anasuya Sarabhai and Mahatma Gandhi in 1920 — but it could not register as a trade union until 1972 because its members did not have an “employer”, and were thus not seen as workers.
As early as in 1974, SEWA Bank was established to provide small loans to poor women — an initiative that was recognised by the International Labour Organisation as a microfinance movement.

With the Nation Capital Region’s air quality deteriorating to hazardous levels, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on November 3 invoked measures under Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) with immediate effect.

GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi-NCR region. Approved by the Supreme Court in 2016 and notified in 2017, the plan was formulated after several meetings that the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) held with state government representatives and experts. The result was a plan that institutionalised measures to be taken when air quality deteriorates.

When air is heated in an automobile engine, nitrogen oxides (NOx) are produced — these include nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) which is toxic; nitrous oxide (N₂O), which is a greenhouse gas; and nitric oxide (NO), which reacts with oxygen to form the harmful NO₂. Nitric oxide on its own also increases the risk of respiratory problems in the long run.
In a petrol engine, a three-way catalytic converter reduces these emissions, ensuring that the NOx emissions are about 30 per cent lower than they would be in a diesel engine on average.
While modern diesel cars are fitted with particulate filters that take care of NOx emissions (reducing them by 90%, according to some estimates), diesel engines also emit fine particulate matter (PM) in their tailpipe emissions. This is essentially soot, the finest particles of which can be embedded deep in the lungs, and they can cause heart and respiratory problems in the longer term. PM has also been linked to cancer.

AQI is a number, which is a measure of air quality. The higher the AQI, the worse the air. 
The colour-coded AQI index was launched in India in 2014, and it helps the public and the government understand the condition of the air and what subsequent measures are to be taken to combat the situation, based on its severity. There are six categories of AQI, namely ‘Good’ (0-50), ‘Satisfactory’ (50-100), ‘Moderately polluted’ (100-200), ‘Poor’ (200-300), ‘Very Poor’ (300-400), and ‘Severe’ (400-500).

Scientists from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have mapped out the global distribution of sodium on the Moon’s surface. They used the CLASS instrument (Chandrayaan-2 large area soft X-ray spectrometer) carried by the second Indian Moon mission, Chandrayaan-2.
This is the first effort to provide a global-scale measurement of sodium on the lunar surface using X-ray fluorescent spectra.
X-ray fluorescence is commonly used to study the composition of materials in a non-destructive manner. When the sun gives out solar flares, a large amount of X-ray radiation falls on the moon, triggering X-ray fluorescence.

Umbrella Group: This alliance of non-EU developed countries includes Australia, Japan, Russia, and the United States.
Africa Group: Africa’s U.N. members will push for additional climate financing, while arguing that expanding economies need fossil fuels to increase electricity capacity.
Climate Vulnerable Forum: Representing 58 countries most at risk from climate impacts, including Bangladesh and the Maldives.
Alliance of Small Island States: The alliance, known by its acronym AOSIS, represents countries that are disproportionately vulnerable to climate effects, particularly sea level rise and coastal erosion.
High Ambition Coalition: Chaired by the Marshall Islands and with members including Costa Rica, the United States and the EU, this group pushes for more progressive emissions targets and climate policies.

• During the southwest monsoon, the prevalent direction of the wind is easterly. The winds travel from over the Bay of Bengal, carrying moisture and rainfall to this part of the country. Once the monsoon withdraws, however, the predominant direction of the winds changes to north-westerly. These winds carry particulate matter (essentially smoke and soot) from crop-burning in Punjab to the area above Delhi, and then onward down the Gangetic basin.
• The fall in temperature also contributes to increased pollution levels. As it gets cooler, the inversion height — which is the layer beyond which pollutants cannot disperse into the upper atmosphere — comes down. When that happens, larger concentrations of pollutants in the air hang closer to the surface, and lead to worsening AQIs.
• The point to note here is this: The direction of the wind is north-westerly in summer too, but it is the very high temperature over the Indo-Gangetic basin that ensures the pollutants that it brings (dust etc. from Rajasthan and sometimes Pakistan and Afghanistan) does not hang low.

Diesel was promoted as a green-friendly auto fuel as part of the European Union’s response to the Kyoto Protocol (1997) to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. While diesel as a fuel contains a little more carbon per litre than petrol, diesel engines are more “lean-burn”, which means they use a smaller amount of fuel to produce the same level of performance as a petrol engine.

NDCs are the pledges that each country makes to reduce its emissions and adapt to climate change from 2020 onward. Countries have to update and expand their NDCs every five years. 
The principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDR), was enshrined in the Kyoto accord. It says that developed countries, which produced more emissions in the past as they built their economies, should take the lead in fighting climate change.

The Constitution (First Amendment) Bill sought to make several consequential changes — from exempting land reforms from scrutiny to providing protections for backward classes in the Constitution. Notably, it also expanded on the scope of the restrictions on the right to free speech.

Kherson is a port city of Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located on the Black Sea and on the Dnieper River, Kherson is the home of a major ship-building industry and is a regional economic centre.

Glasgow Pact
Reached at the 2021 U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the Glasgow Pact marked the first time a U.N. climate agreement mentioned the goal of reducing fossil fuel use. The pact marked a breakthrough in efforts to resolve rules guiding the international trade of carbon markets to offset emissions.

Paris Agreement
Successor to the Kyoto Protocol, the international climate treaty that expired in 2020. Agreed in December 2015, the Paris Agreement aims to limit the rise in the average global surface temperature. To do this, countries that signed the accord set national pledges to reduce humanity’s effect on the climate that are meant to become more ambitious over time.

1.5 Degrees
The Paris accord legally bound its signatories collectively to limit greenhouse gas emissions to keep the temperature rise “well below” 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) this century. But the countries also promised to “pursue efforts” to keep the rise below 1.5C (2.7F)

COP
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), made up of representatives from each country that signed the Paris Agreement and which meets every year.

The currency deposit ratio (cdr) is the ratio of money held by the public in currency to that they hold in bank deposits. cdr = CU/DD. If a person gets Re 1 she will put Rs 1/(1 + cdr) in her bank account and keep Rs cdr/(1 + cdr) in cash. It reflects people’s preference for liquidity. It is a purely behavioural parameter which depends, among other things, on the seasonal pattern of expenditure. For example, cdr increases during the festive season as people convert deposits to cash balance for meeting extra expenditure during such periods.

• A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts its shadow completely over a full moon, blocking reflection of all direct sunlight from the lunar orb and dimming the color of the moon to a reddish hue, hence the term “blood moon.”
• This is only possible when the orbits of the Earth, moon and sun align so that the moon is directly behind Earth relative to the sun. Otherwise, the moon passes above or below Earth’s shadow because its orbit around Earth is usually tilted relative to Earth’s orbit about the sun.
• The reddish appearance of the lunar surface — the moon does not entirely disappear from view — is caused by rays of sunlight around the outer edge of the eclipse shadow, or umbra, being filtered and refracted as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere, bathing the moon indirectly in a dim copper glow.
• The degree of redness depends on atmospheric conditions that vary with levels of air pollution, dust storms, wildfire smoke and even volcanic ash.
• Total lunar eclipses occur, on average, about once every year and a half, according to NASA. But the interval varies.

Bioluminescence is the property of a living organism to produce and emit light. “Animals, plants, fungi and bacteria show bioluminescence.

Banks maintain a minimum cash balance out of the deposits they receive. The RBI monitors the banks in actually maintaining cash balance.
Similarly, the RBI sees that the banks give loans not just to profit-making businesses and traders but also to small cultivators, small scale industries, small borrowers etc.
Banks need to report spurious transactions to Financial Intelligence Unit. The norms are regulated by RBI.

India’s remote sensing program was developed with the idea of applying space technologies for the benefit of humankind and the development of the country. The program is to support national and sub-national economies in the areas of agriculture, soils, water resources (surface and ground), forestry and ecology, geology and mineral resources, cartography, rural and urban development, marine fisheries, watersheds, coastal and disaster management.

United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation:

• The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on 20th December 2018 and it was opened for signature on 7th August 2019 in Singapore.
• It is also known as the Singapore Convention on Mediation and also the first UN treaty to be named after Singapore.

Key Features of the Convention:

• Applicability: The Convention will apply to international commercial settlement agreements resulting from mediation.
• Non- applicability: It will not apply to international settlement agreements that are concluded in the course of judicial or arbitral proceedings and which are enforceable as a court judgment or arbitral award. It will also not apply to settlement agreements concluded for personal, family or household purposes by one of the parties (a consumer), as well as settlement agreements relating to family, inheritance or employment law.

• As per the Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under Section 38(O) of The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, there are three ways to deal with orphaned or abandoned tiger cubs.
• The first is to make an effort to reunite the abandoned cubs with their mother.
• Second, if a reunion of the cub with its mother is not possible, then shift the cub to a suitable zoo.
• Third, reintroduction of the cub into the wild after a certain time when it appears that the cub is capable of surviving in the wild independently. This is what is known as ‘re-wilding’.
• Re-wilding is not limited to cats. There have been efforts to reintroduce other endangered species, including scavengers, into the wild after rearing them in captivity.

• The Stockholm Convention, ratified by India on 13.01.2006, is a global treaty to protect human health and environment from Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). POPs are chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and are toxic to human beings and wildlife. POPs travel globally and can cause damage wherever they travel. The Convention that entered into force of 17th May, 2004, lays down that in its implementation, Governments will take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment.
• The Stockholm Convention seeks the elimination or restriction of production and use of all intentionally produced POPs (industrial chemicals and pesticides). The Convention also seeks the continuing minimization and wherever feasible, ultimate elimination of the releases of unintentionally produced POPs such as dioxins and furans.
• A Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been set up as an interim financial mechanism, to assist the developing countries in implementation of the Convention.

• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. It was adopted on 7 July 2017, opened for signature on 20 September 2017, and entered into force on 22 January 2021.
• For those nations that are party to it, the treaty prohibits the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as assistance and encouragement to the prohibited activities. For nuclear armed states joining the treaty, it provides for a time-bound framework for negotiations leading to the verified and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons programme.
• 69 nations did not vote, among them all of the nuclear weapon states and all NATO members except the Netherlands.

MSP can be anything that the government considers that the farmers should fairly get. This is to help them get fair remuneration for their produce and to motivate or demotivate them to produce a particular crop. Hence it can be either lower or higher than the market price. For e.g. if the government wishes to discourage rice farming, it would lower the MSP of rice.
The procurement system decentralization was started in 1997 where states play a very important role in the supply chain. Not all procurements are done by FCI. State cooperative agencies and other state-level distribution agencies also play a crucial role.