Daily Current Affairs MCQ- August 21, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, six Palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) birds– were rescued from Assam’s Cachar district by the police.

• It is also known as the goliath cockatoo or great black cockatoo, is a large smoky-grey or black parrot of the cockatoo family.
• It has a very large black beak and prominent red cheek patches.
• Distribution:
• It is native to New Guinea, Aru Islands, and Cape York Peninsula.
• They occur in rainforests, such as gallery forests, forest edges, eucalypt and paperbark woodlands, monsoon woodlands, dense savannas and partly cleared areas.
• They choose big trees for roosting and nesting.
• Threats
• It is under threat by habitat loss through logging and seasonal fires, which each year destroy their nest trees in significant numbers. 
• Conservation status

IUCN: Least Concern

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, a Tapas unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) crashed in agriculture fields near a village in Karnataka's Chitradurga.

• The Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance-Beyond Horizon-201 or Tapas BH-201 is a long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle.
• It was previously used to be referred as Rustom-II. 
• Features
  • Formerly known as the Rustom-2, the drone has a 20.6-meter wingspan and a maximum speed of 225 kmph.
  • It can cover a range of 250+ km using the C Band frequency data link developed by Defence Electronics Application Laboratory (DEAL) at DRDO.
  • It can also cover 1000+ km via SATCOM using the Kᵤ Band frequency and GAGAN system.
  • The medium-altitude, long-endurance drone has an impressive flight endurance of several hours and successfully completed its maiden flight in November 2016.
  • Its compact, lightweight design makes it easily transportable and deployable to remote locations.
  • Its real-time data collection and transmission provide valuable intelligence for decision-making.
  • It has a range of over 18 hours and altitude capabilities of up to 28,000 feet.
  • It has already completed more than 180 flights and will be live-streaming aerial and static displays at Aero India 2023.
• It is being developed in India by Aeronautical Development Establishment of the DRDO.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

After two years, the unique Kashmir stag (Hangul) the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir, has again shown a marginal increase in its population.

• It is also called Hangul which is a subspecies of Central Asian red deer endemic to Kashmir and surrounding areas.
• It is found in dense riverine forests in the high valleys and mountains of Jammu and Kashmir and northern Himachal Pradesh.
• In Kashmir, it is found primarily in the Dachigam National Park where it receives protection.
• A small population has also been witnessed in Overa-Aru Wildlife Sanctuary in south Kashmir.
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Critically Endangered
• CITES : Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) list.

Hence both statements are correct.

A research paper titled “A Practical Deep Learning-Based Acoustic Side Channel Attack on Keyboards”, revealed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to decode passwords by analysing the sound produced by keystrokes.

• This technique uses the sounds produced by typing on a keyboard to determine what keys are being pressed.
• By analysing these unique sounds, hackers equipped with the right tools can decode the precise letters and numbers being typed.
• Researchers investigated the use of audio recordings taken from Zoom video conferencing calls, smartphone microphones, and off-the-shelf equipment and algorithms to launch ASCA attacks.
• The study found that when trained on keystrokes by a nearby phone, the classifier achieved an accuracy of 95%, the highest accuracy seen without the use of a language model.
• Accuracy
  • When a deep learning model was trained on the data with default values, the model was able to acquire a meaningful interpretation of the data.
  • On a MacBook Pro, which features a keyboard identical in switch design to Apple’s models from the last two years, the model was able to achieve state-of-the-art accuracy with minimal training data.
  • Additionally, when the AI model was made to recognise keystrokes using audio captured through a smartphone microphone, it was able to achieve 95% accuracy.
•  Implications 
• This form of hacking could expose sensitive information like passwords and personal messages.

Hence both statements are correct.

On the 114th death anniversary of Madan Lal Dhingra, a massive memorial was inaugurated in Amritsar, where he hailed from.

About Madan Lal Dhingra:

• He was an Indian revolutionary freedom fighter.
• He was born on 18 February 1883 in Amritsar.
• Dhingra received his early education in Amritsar and later moved to England for further studies. He enrolled at University College, London, where he studied engineering.
• While in England, Dhingra became deeply involved in the activities of the Indian independence movement.
• He came in contact with the revolutionaries like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Shyamji Krishna Varma, the founder of Indian House, and several others.
• Curzon Wyllie's assassination:
• On July 1, 1909, Madan Lal Dhingra assassinated Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, a retired British Indian Army officer and a prominent official, during a public meeting in London's Imperial Institute.
• During the trial, he claimed that he had murdered Curzon-Wyllie as a patriotic act and in revenge for the inhumane killings of Indians by the British Government in India. 
• He was found guilty and sentenced to death. 
• He was hanged to death on August 17, 1909, at the age of only 24.
• He was disowned by his family for his anti-British leanings – so much so that even after his death his family refused to take his body.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden in Srinagar recently entered the World Book of Records (London) as Asia's largest such park.

About Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden:

• Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, previously Model Floriculture Center, is a tulip garden in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is the largest tulip garden in Asia, spread over an area of about 30 hectares. 
• It is situated on the foothills of the Zabarwan Range with an overview of Dal Lake.
• The garden was opened in 2007 with the aim to boost floriculture and tourism in Kashmir Valley.
• The garden is built on a sloping ground in a terraced fashion consisting of seven terraces. 
• The garden houses about 48 varieties of tulip flowers. The garden also has several types of other flowers, including daffodils, hyacinths, roses, narcissus, and other ornamental plants. 
• Tulip festival:
• It is an annual celebration that aims to showcase the range of flowers in the garden as a part of tourism efforts by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is organized during the onset of the spring season in Kashmir valley.

Hence both statements are correct.

Australia recently finalised a deal to buy more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States.

About Tomahawk Missile:

• It is a US-made long-range cruise missile used for deep land attack warfare.
• It can be launched from a ship or submarine and can deliver its warhead precisely to a target at a long range.
• It is used primarily by the U.S. and United Kingdom navies.
• Features:
• It is designed to fly at subsonic speed while maintaining a low altitude, making it difficult to detect on radar.
• It uses tailored guidance systems to maneuver while at such low elevations.
• It has an accuracy of about 5 meters (16 feet).
• The 6-meter (18.4-foot-) long missile has a range of up to 2,400 km (1,500 miles) and can travel as fast as 885 km (550 miles) per hour.
• Propulsion: It is powered by a solid propellant during its launch phase. Thereafter it is powered by a turbofan engine that does not emit much heat, which makes infrared detection difficult.
• It is capable of twisting and turning like a radar-evading fighter plane.
• It can carry either conventional or nuclear payloads.

Hence both statements are correct.

Indian Naval Ship INS Trikand received a warm welcome upon its arrival at Bandar Abbas, the port city of Iran recently.

About INS Trikand:

• It is a Talwar-class guided-missile frigate of the Indian Navy.
• It is the third and final ship of the second batch of Talwar-class frigates ordered by the Indian Navy.
• It was built by the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia.
• Commissioning:
• INS Trikand was commissioned into the Indian Navy on June 29, 2013.
• The ship is named after the Trikand Fort, which is located near Porbandar, Gujarat.
• It is part of the Indian Navy's Western Fleet and operates under the Western Naval Command headquartered in Mumbai.
• Features:
• The ship is equipped with advanced sensors and weapon systems.
• It features various anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, torpedoes, and a 100mm main gun.
• It incorporates stealth technology, including reduced radar cross-section, to enhance its survivability in hostile environments.
• It is equipped with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities, including ASW helicopters and torpedo launchers, which make it effective in countering underwater threats.
• With a long reach and a state-of-the-art combat suite, the ship is designed to undertake a wide spectrum of naval operations.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

During her address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day, President Droupadi Murmu paid tributes to women freedom fighters including Matangini Hazra and Kanaklata Barua, who laid down their lives for the country. Matangini from West Bengal vigorously participated in Mahatma Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Movement, especially the Salt Satyagraha. Matangini Hazra was 73 when she fell to British bullets, while Kanaklata Barua was only 17.

In an effort to boost bilateral trade and reduce reliance on the US dollar, India has settled its first-ever crude oil payment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in local currency. The deal was facilitated under the ‘local currency settlement’ (LCS) system between state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and the Indian Oil Corporation. The deal is the second transaction under the LCS. The first deal took place in July, and involved the sale of 25kg of gold from a leading UAE gold exporter to a buyer in India.