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

Recently, the Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy has informed that the Government has approved the scheme for Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for development of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with capacity of 4,000 megawatts hours (MWh).

• This scheme envisages the development of 4,000 MWh of BESS projects by 2030-31.
• Funding:
• Financial support of up to 40% of the capital cost as budgetary support in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) is provided by the union government.
• The VGF shall be disbursed in five tranches linked with the various stages of implementation of BESS projects.
• By offering VGF support, the scheme targets achieving a Levelized Cost of Storage (LCoS) ranging from Rs. 5.50-6.60 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), making stored renewable energy a viable option for managing peak power demand across the country.
• For passing on the scheme to consumers of the Discoms, at least 85% of the power from VGF-funded BESS projects shall be first offered to Discoms before making it available for others.
• The selection of BESS developers for VGF grants will be carried out through a transparent, competitive bidding process, promoting a level playing field for both public and private sector entities.
• Significance:
• This will not only enhance the integration of renewable energy into the electricity grid but also minimise wastage while optimising the utilisation of transmission networks.
• This will reduce the need for costly infrastructure upgrades.
• The competitive bidding process approach will foster healthy competition and encourage the growth of a robust ecosystem for BESS, attracting significant investments and generating opportunities for associated industries.
• This scheme is designed to harness the potential of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power; the scheme aims to provide clean, reliable, and affordable electricity to the citizens.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) launched Project PRAYAS to help Indian workers and students migrate in a secure, orderly, and regular manner.

• Promoting Regular Assisted Migration for Youth and Skilled Professionals (PRAYAS) was launched in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• It is one of the first attempts to consolidate all the state-level initiatives for safe, orderly, and well-managed international migration.
• Goal: To facilitate safe, orderly, and regular migration for aspiring Indian migrant workers and students through policy recommendations in collaboration with the MEA and state governments, thus strengthening international migration governance.
• It aims to undertake a study,capturing the key migration trends, the needs and aspirations of migrants, and the major international migration and mobility initiatives taken by the union, as well as the state governments sharing the analysis with the ministry.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, a team of researchers from Kolkata's Visva-Bharati has identified a new species of bacteria which has been named Pantoea Tagorei in homage to Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

• It was discovered from soil samples collected in the Jharia coal mines.
• Characteristics
• It has unique properties beneficial for plant growth.
• It not only solubilizes potassium but also replenishes nitrogen and solubilizes phosphorus.
• The team has conducted experiments by introducing this bacterium to farmers, who have expressed satisfaction with the positive results.
• Significance: This bacteria marks a significant stride toward fostering environmentally friendly agricultural methods.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Recently, Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) Bengaluru has earned prestigious accolades at UNESCO's 2023 Prix Versailles.

• It is announced each year at UNESCO since 2015.
• The Prix Versailles awards celebrate outstanding achievements in architecture and design on a global scale.
• It focuses on intelligent sustainability as a cultural driver, acknowledging innovation, and creativity, reflection of local heritage, ecological efficiency, and values of social interaction.
• The Terminal 2 (T2) secured recognition as one of the 'World's most beautiful airports' and was awarded the coveted 'World special prize for an interior 2023.'

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Recently, recent research, published in the journal Science, unveiled a surprising connection between the movements of Turquet’s octopuses and the stability of the West Antarctic ice sheet.

• It is a species of benthic octopus with a circumpolar Antarctic distribution.
• The species has a wide depth range, occurring from shallow waters to 4,000 m deep.
• Appearance: It is characterised by the absence of a skin ridge round the body, and its nearly smooth skin, which is covered with low granular bumps.
• In the wild it is known to be preyed upon by Patagonian toothfish off South Georgia and Weddell seals off the South Shetland Islands.
• These cephalopods, inhabitants of the Southern Ocean, navigated the region when the ice sheet melted approximately 125,000 years ago.
• Conservation Status
• IUCN: Least concern (LC)

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in India and the detection of a subvariant JN.1, the India SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) chief said that no additional dose of vaccine is needed against the subvariant at present.

About India SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG):

• It is jointly initiated by the Union Health Ministry of Health and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
• It is a consortium of 54 laboratories to monitor the genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2 by a sentinel sequencing effort, which is facilitated by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, involving the Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). 
• Why was INSACOG established?
• The SARS-CoV-2 virus, commonly known as the COVID-19 virus, posed unprecedented public health challenges globally.
• Against this backdrop, INSACOG was established to expand the whole genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus across the nation, aiding our understanding of how the virus spreads and evolves, and providing information to aid public health response.
• Any changes to the genetic code or mutations in the virus can be observed based on the analysis and sequencing of samples done in the laboratories under INSACOG.
• INSACOG has the following specific objectives:
• To ascertain the status of Variants of Interest (VoI) and Variants of Concern (VoC) in the country.
• To establish sentinel surveillance and surge surveillance mechanisms for early detection of genomic variants and assist in formulating an effective public health response.
• To determine the presence of genomic variants in samples collected during super-spreader events and in areas reporting an increasing trend of cases/deaths etc.   

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Bihar police have arrested 20 sand smugglers and seized 40 sand-laden boats in a major crackdown against illegal sand mining on the Sone River.

About Sone River:

• It is one of the largest southern tributaries of the Ganges after the Yamuna River. 
• Course:
• Origin: It originates from the Amarkantak highlands in the hills of the Maikala range in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh at an elevation of 640 m. (The Narmada River also originates from Amarkantak, though it flows westward while Sone journeys towards the east).
• The river cuts through the Kaimur Range and joins the Ganges above Patna in Bihar after a 487-mile (784-km) course. 
• It flows through the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. 
• The total catchment area of the river system is 70,055 sq.km.
• The Sone valley is geologically almost a continuation of that of the Narmada River to the southwest. It is largely forested and sparsely populated.
• The valley is bordered by the Kaimur Range to the north and the Chota Nagpur plateau to the south. 
• The floodplain of the river is narrow and only, 3 to 5 kilometers wide. 
• The river’s flow is seasonal, and the Sone is unimportant for navigation.
• Major Tributaries: The main tributaries of the Sone River are the Rihand River and the Koel River. The other tributaries are the Gopad River and the Kanhar River.
• Dehri is the major town situated on the Sone River.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

A watchman working with the irrigation department was trampled to death by elephants in a residential area adjacent to Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary recently.

About Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS):

• Location: It is a protected area in the Upper Gangetic plain in Uttar Pradesh and covers an area of 400.6 km2 in the Terai of the Bahraich district. 
• In 1987, it was brought under the purview of the ‘Project Tiger’, and together with the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and the Dudhwa National Park, it forms the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
• It provides strategic connectivity between the tiger habitats of Dudhwa and Kishanpur in India and the Bardia National Park in Nepal. 
• Vegetation: Its fragile Terai ecosystem comprises a mosaic of sal and teak forests, lush grasslands, numerous swamps, and wetlands.
• Flora: It is predominantly Sal Forest with its associate tree species like Terminalia alata (Asna), Lagerstroemia parviflora (Asidha), Adina cordifonia (Haldu), Mitragyna parpiflora (Faldu), Gamelina arborea (Gahmhar), etc.
• Fauna:
• It is home to a number of endangered species, including the Gharial, tiger, rhino, swamp deer, hispid hare, Bengal florican, and white-backed and long-billed vultures.
• The Gairwa River, which flows in the KWS area, is declared a sanctuary for Mugger and Gharial. It is also home to rare turtles, freshwater fish, and a host of aquatic life.
• It is among the few places in India where freshwater dolphins, also known as Gangetic dolphins, are found in their natural habitat.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

In an unusual sighting, the white-bellied sea eagle (Icthyophaga leucogaster), an enormous raptor common to coastal habitats, was spotted in Mukkombu, Tiruchirapalli.

• It is a diurnal monogamous bird of prey.
• Young Sea-Eagles are brown as juveniles than slowly become to resemble adults in a patchwork manner, acquiring the complete adult plumage by their fourth year.
• Distribution: They are found throughout southeast Asia. They range north to south from southern China to Australia and Tasmania, and west to east from India to New Guinea.
• Habitat
• They live primarily in terrestrial habitats near the ocean, especially coasts, islands, and estuaries, but also live in forested areas with access to smaller bodies of water, such as lakes, ponds, and rivers.
• Most white-bellied sea eagles live at elevations around 900 m, with the highest elevation recorded at 1,700 m.
• Diet: White-bellied Sea Eagles are primarily piscivorous, meaning they primarily feed on fish. They may also prey on water birds, small mammals, and carrion (dead animals).
• Conservation Status:
• IUCN: Least Concern

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

At the recent COP28, NASA and IBM announced that an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool called watsonx.ai would be available on the open-source AI platform Hugging Space. 

• It is an Artificial Intelligence tool jointly built by IBM and NASA.
• It will help users monitor the Earth from space, measuring environmental changes that have already happened while also making predictions about the future.
• The model is also designed to be extremely simple to use. A user would merely need to select a location and a date, and the model will highlight changes in floodwater, reforestation efforts and other relevant factors.

How watsonx.ai works?

• It is built on a foundation model — it’s trained on a broad set of uncategorised data allowing the model to apply information about one situation to another.
• In the case of watsonx.ai, NASA provides the datasets (in terms of satellite images instead of words,) and IBM created the foundation model to interpret them.
• In order to train the model to comprehend visual sequences that unfold over time, scientists filled in blank areas in each image and asked the model to piece it back together.
• It became increasingly adept at figuring out how the photos connected to one another as it reassembled additional images.
• The model was then adjusted for certain tasks like segmenting and categorising photos.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.