Daily Current Affairs MCQ- August 8, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

The Quit India resolution was adopted in Bombay in 8 August, 1942, by AICC (All India Congress committee) at Gowalia Tank. 

• More Indians were added to Viceroy’s executive council by Government of India Act 1919. First time, an Indian was added in this council by Government of India act 1909. 
• Congress resigned from ministries in 7 provinces in 1939 as they decided not to support war as India could not be party to a war for democratic freedom while that freedom was being denied to India.

• Havana Syndrome refers to a set of mental health symptoms that are said to be experienced by United States intelligence and embassy officials in various countries.
•  It does not mean a unique medical condition, but rather a set of symptoms that are usually experienced together whose origins may be difficult to confirm.
• It typically involves symptoms such as hearing certain sounds without any outside noise, nausea, vertigo and headaches, memory loss and balance issues.
• What are the causes of Havana Syndrome?
  • No exactly reason for the Havana syndrome is know till now.

Statement 1 is correct:

• Kuno National Park is chosen as India’s first national park under Cheetah reintroduction program. Under Project Cheetah, Cheetahs were brought from Namibia and South Africa.

Statement 3 is correct:

•  Kuno National Park is a national park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, India. It established in 1981 as a wildlife sanctuary with an initial area of 344.686 km² in the Sheopur and Morena districts. In 2018, it was given the status of a national park. It is part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.

Statement 2 is not correct

• Kuno river flows through the Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh.

Shaligrams, worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists for over 2,000 years, are becoming rarer because of climate change.

• For more than 2,000 years, Hinduism, Buddhism and the shamanic Himalayan religion of Bon have venerated Shaligrams.
• These are ancient fossils of ammonites, a class of extinct sea creatures related to modern squids.
• Originating from a single remote region in northern Nepal in the Kali Gandaki River Valley of Mustang.
• These stones are viewed primarily as manifestations of the Hindu god Vishnu.
• Because they are not human-made, but created by the landscape, they are believed to have an intrinsic consciousness of their own.
• As a result, Shaligrams are kept in homes and in temples, where they are treated as both living gods and active community members.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, scientists from IIT-Roorkee and Geological Survey of India (GSI) have discovered the oldest fossil remains of dicraeosaurid dinosaur in Jaisalmer.

• It is a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur species.
• The remains are 167 million years old and belong to a new species, unknown to scientists thus far.
• It has been named ‘Tharosaurus indicus’, the first name referring to the ‘Thar desert’ where the fossils were found, and the second after its country of origin.
• 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.
• The rocks in which the fossils were found are dated to be around 167 million years old, which makes this new Indian sauropod not only the oldest known dicraeosaurid but also globally the oldest diplodocoid (broader group which includes dicraeosaurids and other closely related sauropods).
• Theories so far had suggested that the oldest dicraeosaurid was from China (about 166-164 million years old).

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The 31st edition of the Malabar multilateral exercise will be held off Sydney from August 11-21.

• It was started in 1992 as a bilateral naval exercise between India and US navy.
• The first Malabar Exercise in the Bay of Bengal took place in 2007.
• It was expanded into a trilateral format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015.
• In 2020, the Australian Navy joined the Malabar Exercise, making it a quadrilateral naval exercise.
• The aim of the Malabar Exercise of India, the US, Japan and Australia is to coordinate for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
• It takes place annually in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans alternatively.
• This exercise includes a diverse range of activities such as fighter combat operations and maritime interdiction operations.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

A three-and-half foot monitor lizard was recently rescued from a residential area in Thane city.

About Monitor Lizards:

• They are a group of large reptiles belonging to the family Varanidae.
• They are known for their distinctive appearance, with long bodies, powerful limbs, and well-developed tails.
• They are considered to be the most intelligent of all lizards and some of the most intelligent reptiles in general.
• Distribution:
• They are mainly native to Asia, Africa, and Australia.
• India is home to four Monitor lizards – the Bengal Monitor (Varanus bengalensis), the Asian Water monitor (Varanus salvator), the Yellow monitor (Varanus flavescens) and the Desert monitor (Varanus griseus).
• Features:
• They have large claws, powerful tails, long necks, and well-developed legs.
• They can move quickly and powerfully in pursuit of prey. 
• Most monitor lizards are terrestrial and largely carnivorous. 
• They do not blink and they have very good vision. 
• They have forked tongues which they use for smelling. 
• Conservation Status:
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1

Hence both statements are not correct.

The NASA All Sky Fireball Network is already detecting the first meteors of this year’s Perseid meteor shower

What is a Meteor Shower?

• A meteor is a space rock that comes into Earth's atmosphere.
• As it falls, the air makes it really hot because of the friction.
• The bright streak we see is not the rock itself, but the hot air around it.
• When many space rocks hit the atmosphere over Earth together, we call it a meteor shower.
• These meteors travel at incredible speeds, reaching tens of thousands of kilometers per hour before disintegrating due to the intense heat generated by friction with the atmosphere.

About Perseid Meteor Shower:

• It is one of the most popular and well-known meteor showers that occurs annually.
• It usually takes place in August, specifically around August 11th to 13th, with its peak occurring around August 12th.
• These meteors are fast and bright, leaving trails of light and color behind them as they move through the sky.
• During the Perseids, you can see around 50 to 100 meteors every hour.
• They usually show up when the weather is warm and the nights are comfortable for watching the sky.
• The Perseids are special because they often generate fireballs.
• Fireballs are big bursts of light and color that last longer than a regular shooting star.
• This happens because fireballs come from larger pieces of material from comets.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently,the Central government has told the Karnataka High Court that it will look into the matter of the ‘Havana Syndrome’ in India, in response to a Bengaluru resident’s recent petition.

• It refers to a set of mental health symptoms that are said to be experienced by United States intelligence and embassy officials in various countries.
• It is worth noting that in general, the word ‘syndrome’ simply means a set of symptoms.
• It does not mean a unique medical condition, but rather a set of symptoms that are usually experienced together whose origins may be difficult to confirm.
•  Symptoms: Such as hearing certain sounds without any outside noise, nausea, vertigo and headaches, memory loss and balance issues.
• Origin
• As the name suggests, it traces its roots to Cuba in late 2016.
•  This was about a year after the US opened its embassy in the capital city of Havana after ties between the two countries were normalised in 2015.
• Some US intelligence officials and members of the staff at the embassy began experiencing sudden bursts of pressure in their brains followed by persistent headaches, feelings of disorientation and insomnia.
• In India, the first such case was reported in 2021, when a US intelligence officer travelling to New Delhi with CIA director William Burns reported symptoms of Havana Syndrome.
• No one isentirely sure about the causes of this syndrome.

Hence, option d is the correct answer.

The United States has officially given the nod for the delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

About M1 Abrams Tank:

• It is the United States main battle tank.
• The first M1 tank was manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) in 1978 and was delivered to the US Army in 1980.
• It was named in honor to General Abrams, commander of US forces during the Vietnam War.
• The export version of the Abrams is used by the armies of Australia, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Poland, and Saudi Arabia.
• Features:
• It uses a powerful and complex turbine engine that produces 1,500 horsepower and requires four persons to operate.
• It is one of the heaviest tanks in service at nearly 62 metric tons.
• The M1 tanks have a maximum speed of 45.
• Armament: The Abrams is armed with a 120 mm main gun and .50 caliber and 7.62 mm machine guns.
• It can destroy tank-size targets at a range of 2 km while firing on the move.
• In modern versions of the Abrams tank, there are layers of depleted uranium armour which provides substantial protection to those inside.

Hence option c is the correct answer.