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

A team of Australian researchers have identified a biochemical marker in the blood that could help identify newborn babies at risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old. SIDS is sometimes known as crib death because the infants often die in their cribs.
• In their study, babies who died of SIDS had lower levels of an enzyme called butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) shortly after birth, the researchers said.
• BChE plays a major role in the brain’s arousal pathway, and low levels would reduce a sleeping infant’s ability to wake up or respond to its environment.

Hence both statements are correct.

Scientists have developed a new biomaterial that can be used to disinfect wounds and hastens the process of healing, as seen in mouse models.

• The work is a collaboration between scientists from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, IIT Delhi and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) in Bhubaneswar.
• The biomaterial is derived from the polymer pullulan which is secreted by the fungus Aureobasidium pullulans. It is an exopolysaccharide, that is, this polymer is secreted by the fungus itself into the medium on which it is growing.
• Pullulan is basically a polymeric chain of glucose. Pullulan as a biomaterial is already successful and widely used commercially.
• It is exploited in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry because of its non-toxic, non-mutagenic and non-immunogenic properties.

Hence both statements are correct.

The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) based in Bengaluru has successfully validated the digital anti-skid brake management system developed for SARAS Mark 2- 19 seat Light Transport aircraft.

• The state-of-the-art brake by wire electro-hydraulic braking system is developed for the first time in India for civil aircrafts by NAL which is part of CSIR labs.
• Digital Anti-Skid Braking System integration on SARAS Mark 2 will benefit operation from airfields with short runways to boost regional air connectivity.
• SARAS Mark 2 aircraft is being developed by NAL. The Central Government had sanctioned the SARAS-Mk2-19 seat Light Transport project to NAL in June 2019.
• The Indian Air Force has already committed to induct 15 SARAS Mk 2 aircraft.
• It is also considered the most versatile aircraft of its class for connecting remotely located Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and towns under UDAAN Scheme.
• The first flight of SARAS Mk 2 is planned for December 2024.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways inaugurated the 1st Incredible India International Cruise Conference 2022 in Mumbai.

• The 1st Incredible India International Cruise Conference has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Government of India and FICCI.
• He asserted that Indian cruise market has the potential to grow 10 folds over the next decade.

Government of India initiatives

• Government has set up a Task Force headed by the Secretary, Tourism and Secretary, Shipping for development of cruise tourism.
• The Minister announced the setting up of a high level Advisory Committee, comprising national and international experts, to help the Task Force in creating an enabling eco-system for development of cruise tourism in the country.
• ‘Four theme based coastal destination circuits such as Gujarat Pilgrimage tours, West Coast – Cultural and scenic tours, South Coast – Ayurvedic wellness tours and East Coast – Heritage tourism have been developed to activate cruise demand.
• India aims to increase cruise passenger traffic from 0.4 million at present to 4 million. Economic potential of Cruise tourism is expected to go up from USD 110 mn to USD 5.5 bn in the years to come.
• Upgradation and modernisation are being carried out at seven major ports in the country including the flagship New International Cruise terminal coming up in Mumbai at BPX-Indira Dock, which is expected to be commissioned by July 2024.
• Similar infrastructure upgradation is taking place in Goa, New Mangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Union Home and Co-operation Minister, Amit Shah has formally inaugurated the National Cyber Forensic Laboratory (NCFL) in Hyderabad.

• He inaugurated the laboratory at the premises of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory located at Ramanthapur in the city.
• The Cyber and Information Security Division of the Home Ministry has set up the NCFL at the CFSL under Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Child scheme.
• The NCFL has created 4 specialized Hi-tech units to address issues in the field of digital forensics, which include a Mobile phone embedded system examination unit, a Digital storage Media Examination Unit, an Advanced Digital Forensic Unit, and Crime Scene Unit.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Minister of Communications, Electronics, and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw launched Gatishakti Sanchar Portal in New Delhi.

• This integrated and centralized portal will facilitate smooth deployment of digital communications infrastructure across the country.
• This portal was envisaged to streamline the process and for faster clearance of Right of Way (RoW) with transparency, accountability, and effective monitoring of various digital-based projects,
• This portal will help in the rollout of 5G network across the country.
• Integration of various infrastructures on this portal will help get clearance of right-to-way applications within a span of 20 to 22 days.
• The portal has been developed by MP State Electronics Development Corporation on behalf of Department of Telecommunication.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

In a knee-jerk reaction, the Government has banned wheat exports with effect from May 13, with some minor exceptions for those who have irrevocable letters of credit or where the governments of importing countries request the Indian government for food security purposes.

• This comes as a shock because only a month ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that if WTO allows us to export grains, India will start exporting from tomorrow to feed the world.
• Possible reasons
  • Revised estimates of wheat production are much lower than the estimated 111 mmt (million metric tonnes). Wheat procurement is likely to end up at around 19 to 20 mmt by June-end against the more than 43 mmt last year.
  • Another factor could be that the April ’22 wheat inflation is at 9.59 per cent (y-o-y) against overall cereal inflation of 5.96 per cent.
• Criticism: No matter what the rationale is, it hits the credibility of India as a reliable supplier of anything in global markets. It conveys that we don’t have any credible export policy as it can turn its back at the drop of a hat.

Hence both statements are correct.

On May 12, fragments of suspected debris “fell from space” at three locations in Gujarat — Bhalej, Khambholaj, and Rampura.

• Space debris can include natural space debris such as meteoroids, or man-made ones which can include defunct spacecrafts and satellites, stages of rockets which have launched payloads, dead satellites, satellite explosions and collisions.
• According to NASA, “more than 25,000 objects larger than 10 cm are known to exist” as space debris and the estimated population of particles between 1 and 10 cm in diameter is approximately 500,000.
• According to NASA’s estimates, as of January 2022, the amount of material orbiting the Earth exceeded 9,000 metric tons.

The difference in impact made by a natural and man-made debris

• Most pieces of space debris burn up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, the process starting from around a height of 100 km from Earth’s surface to 20 km.
• However, sometimes, very heavy pieces may not burn completely, and some part of the object may make it down to the surface, either hitting a landmass or a waterbody.
• In cases of man-made debris, it often disintegrates into fragments, thus hardly ever creating large-scale impact. It is usually natural debris, such as asteroids and meteoroids, that cause relatively large-scale craters, if it ends up hitting a landmass.

Hence both statements are correct.

Officially recorded remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are expected to increase by 4.2 percent in 2022 to reach $630 billion.

• This follows an almost record recovery of 8.6 percent in 2021, according to the World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief released today.
• Remittances to Ukraine, which is the largest recipient in Europe and Central Asia, are expected to rise by over 20 percent in 2022.
• The top five recipient countries for remittances in 2021 were India, Mexico (replacing China), China, the Philippines, and Egypt.
• India topped the list in the world receiving USD 89 billion in remittance followed by Mexico at USD 54 billion, and China at USD 53 billion last year.
• Among economies where remittance inflows stand at very high shares of GDP are Lebanon (54 percent), Tonga (44 percent), Tajikistan (34 percent), Kyrgyz Republic (33 percent), and Samoa (32 percent).

Hence both statements are correct.

A Bengaluru-based venture Pravaig has produced a rugged tactical battery that it is now planning to sell to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces in Europe.

• The heavy-duty power bank — Pravaig Field Pack — is portable and weighs 14 kilograms.
• It is of great utility to the digitally connected modern military and special forces personnel who have to operate in high-risk zones such as Ukraine and Libya, while using gadgets that require constant power back-up.
• A powerful tactical battery can be used even to operate larger military equipment such as drones and it can even help coordinate tactical operations which involves multiple weapons systems.
• This supply marks a major shift in the defence landscape of India, from users to developers, from importers to exporters.
• As illustrated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, digital coordination is now part of the battlefield readiness of modern soldiers and special forces personnel.

Hence both statements are correct.