Daily Current Affairs MCQ- April 24, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) recently launched the Audit Quality Maturity Model (AQMM) with the aim of enhancing the quality of audits and improving transparency.

About Audit Quality Maturity Model (AQMM):

• It is a tool for the self-evaluation of audit firms & sole proprietors towards technologically driven mechanisms to increase operational efficiency. 
• AQMM is an amalgamation of a well-researched set of Audit Quality Indicators (AQIs).
• It is a cross-functional evaluation model covering key areas of not only audit engagements but also audit practice at the firm level.
• It includes operations of the firm, viz. revenue budgeting and pricing, audit practice manual, budgeting of engagements, timesheet, use of technology adoption, quality control for engagements, Human Resource Management including resource planning and monitoring, performance evaluation and compensation, physical and IT infrastructure.
• The AQMM model is structured into 3 sections with a total score of 600 points,
• Practice Management (Operation);
• Human Resource Management;
• Practice Management -Strategic/Functional; 
• Based on the score(s) obtained under each of the sections, the firm shall arrive at a level ranging from Level 1 to 4.
• While Level 1 depicts that the firm is very nascent, Level 4 indicates that the firm has made significant adoption of standards and procedures. 

Key facts about Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI):

• It is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, viz. The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.
• Mandate: Regulating the profession of Chartered Accountancy in the country; Formulation of Accounting Standards; and Prescription of Standard Auditing Procedures.
• It functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.
• The affairs of the ICAI are managed by a Council which comprises of 40 members, of whom 32 are elected by the Chartered Accountants and the remaining 8 are nominated by the Central Government. 

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

West Bengal recently notified four more biodiversity heritage sites (BHS), taking the tally in the state to eight.

About Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS):

• BHS are unique ecosystems having rich biodiversity comprising of any one or more of the following components:
• Richness of wild as well as domesticated species or intra-specific categories.
• High endemism.
• Presence of rare and threatened species, keystone species, and species of evolutionary significance.
• Wild ancestors of domestic/cultivated species or their varieties.
• Past pre-eminence of biological components represented by fossil beds and having significant cultural, ethical or aesthetic values and are important for the maintenance of cultural diversity, with or without a long history of human association with them.
• Under Section-37 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the State Government, in consultation with local bodies, may notify areas of biodiversity importance as BHS.
• The State Government, in consultation with the Central Government, may frame rules for the management and conservation of BHS.
• The creation of BHS may not put any restriction on the prevailing practices and usages of the local communities other than those voluntarily decided by them. 
• The purpose of declaring BHS is to enhance the quality of life of the local communities through the conservation of such sites.
• In 2007, the Nallur Tamarind Grove in Bengaluru, Karnataka, was designated as India's first BHS. 

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently launched a whitepaper aimed at making India a global leader in agritech innovation.

About United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF):

• What is it?
• It is the United Nations' flagship catalytic financing entity for the world's 46 Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
• It is an autonomous, voluntarily funded UN organization, affiliated with the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
• Mandate: The original UNCDF mandate from the UN General Assembly (UNGA) 1966 Resolution is to “assist developing countries in the development of their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants and loans”. The mandate was modified in 1973 to serve first and foremost but not exclusively the LDCs.
• It is the only UN agency mandated to focus primarily on the least developed countries (LDCs).
• It works to invest and catalyse capital to support to LDCs in achieving ​the sustainable growth and inclusiveness envisioned by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Doha Programme of Action for the least developed countries, 2022–2031.

It provides investment capital and technical support to both the public and the private sectors.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Kerala forest department has come under intense criticism after it bungled the rescue of a male sloth bear that had fallen into the well.

About Sloth Bear:

• Sloth bears are one of the eight bear species found across the world.
• Scientific Name: Melursus ursinus
• Distribution:
• Their range includes India, Sri Lanka and southern Nepal.
• 90% of the global Sloth Bear population is found in India.
• Habitat: They live in a variety of dry and moist forests and in some tall grasslands, where boulders, scattered shrubs and trees provide shelter.
• Features:
• They have long, shaggy dark brown or black fur and curved claws, which are the longest out of any of the bear species.
• They use their claws to excavate termites and ants.
• Size: They grow 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 2 meters) long, stand 2 to 3 feet (0.5 to 1 meters) high at the shoulder, and weigh, on average, 90 to 140 kilograms.
• They have poor senses of sight and hearing but a good sense of smell.
• Sloth bears' nostrils can close completely, protecting the animals from dust or insects when raiding termite nests or beehives.
• Conservation Status:
• IUCN: Vulnerable
• Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) revised the financial grants for biomass pellet manufacturing units.

• These are a type of renewable fuel made from organic materials such as wood, agricultural residues, and energy crops.
• These are produced by compressing organic materials under high pressure.
• The compression process removes the moisture content and increases the energy density of the biomass.
• It is mandatory in India to use biomass or agricultural residue as combustion fuel along with coal in coal-fired thermal power plants.
• The biomass used for co-combustion in the power plants is processed and refined into pellets with a calorific value comparable to coal.
• These are two kinds
  • Torrefied: It is processed at 250-350°C in the absence of oxygen, leading to the formation of torrefied biomass.
  • Non-torrefied: In this biomass is shredded, grinded and sent to a pellet reactor, where it is compressed into pellet form with the help of binders such as sawdust, bagasse, molasses, starch and others.

Hence only statement 1 is correct

Recently, the Indian scientists working in the Garbh-Ini programme have identified 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), or genetic markers, that are associated with preterm or premature birth.

• It promotes Maternal and Child Health and develops prediction tools for preterm birth.
• It is an initiative under the Department of Biotechnology of the Union Ministry of Science and Technology as a collaborative interdisciplinary programme.
• This program is led by the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), NCR Biotech cluster, Faridabad.
• Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most common type of genetic variation among people.
• Each SNP represents a difference in a single DNA building block, called a nucleotide.
• For example, an SNP may replace the nucleotide cytosine (C) with the nucleotide thymine (T) in a certain stretch of DNA.
• Most commonly these are found in the DNA between genes.
• Significance:
• These help in predicting an individual’s response to certain drugs, susceptibility to environmental factors such as toxins, and risk of developing diseases.
• These can also be used to track the inheritance of disease-associated genetic variants within families.

Hence only statement 2 is correct

Recently, the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister launched the SATHI Portal and Mobile App.

• The Seed Traceability, Authentication and Holistic Inventory (SATHI) portal is a Centralized Online System designed to deal with the challenges of seed production, quality seed identification and seed certification.
• It has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on the theme of ‘Uttam Beej – Samriddh Kisan.
• There will be a QR code under this system, through which the seeds can be traced.
• It will ensure a quality assurance system, and identify the source of seed in the seed production chain.
• The system will consist of integrated 7 verticals of the seed chain - Research Organisation, Seed Certification, Seed Licensing, Seed Catalogue, Dealer to Farmer Sales, Farmer Registration and Seed DBT.
• Seeds with valid certification can only be sold by valid licensed dealers to centrally registered farmers who will receive a subsidy through DBT directly into their pre-validated bank accounts.

Hence both statements are correct

Recently, the Prime Minister of India appreciated Assam’s landmark Maa Kamakhya temple corridor initiative.

• It is situated on Nilachal Hill and adjoining the southern bank of the Brahmaputra River in Guwahati, Assam.
• It is one of the most revered centres of Tantric practices.
• It is regarded as one of the oldest of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India. 
• Temple Architecture:
• It had been modelled out of a combination of two different styles namely, the traditional nagara or North Indian and Saracenic or Mughal style of architecture.
• This unusual combination has been named the Nilachala Style of Architecture.
• This is the only temple of Assam having a fully developed ground plan.
• It consists of five chambers, garbhagriha or sanctuary, antarala or vestibule, Jagan Mohan or principal chamber, bhogmandir or ritual chamber and natmandir or opera hall for performing traditional dance and music associated with sukti temples.

Hence only statement 2 is correct

Recently, a research group from the physical sciences division of the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati has fabricated monolayers of pure myelin basic protein.

• It is a major protein component of the myelin sheath, which is a protective membrane that wraps around the axon of nerve cells.
• It insulates and protects nerve fibres in the central nervous system.
• It acts as a model protein in studying diseases like multiple sclerosis. 
• The researchers used a technique called the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique to form monolayers of pure myelin basic protein at the air-water and air-solid interfaces.

Hence both statements are correct

Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has undertaken to translate Food Safety and Compliance System (FOSCOS) into Hindi, followed by all the regional languages.

• The Food Safety and Compliance System is an enhanced version of the Food Licensing and Registration System (FLRS) which was launched in 2012 for the issuance of pan-India FSSAI Licenses and Registration.
• It is a comprehensive system for registration and licensing for Food Business Operators (FBOs).
• It is a statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSS Act).
• FSS Act, of 2006 consolidated various acts & orders that had earlier handled food-related issues in various Ministries and Departments.
• Nodal ministry: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
• Some of the Initiatives of FSSAI
• Heart Attack Rewind: It was launched for the elimination of industrially produced trans-fat in the food supply.
• It will support FSSAI‟s global target of eliminating trans-fat in India by the year 2022. 
• Eat Right India movement: It is an initiative to transform the country’s food system to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for all Indians.

Hence only statement 1 is correct