Daily Current Affairs MCQ- December 31, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

JP Morgan Chase & Co has announced it will include Indian government bonds to its emerging markets bond index from June 2024.

• It is a benchmark index for measuring the total return performance of international government and corporate bonds issued by emerging market countries that meet specific liquidity and structural requirements.
• Emerging market bonds are debt instruments issued by developing countries, which tend to carry higher yields than government or corporate bonds of developed countries.
• Total 23 Indian Government Bonds (IGBs) with a combined notional value of $330 billion are eligible.
• All fall under the category of "fully accessible" for non-residents.

Advantages of this inclusion

• This move promises increased demand for the Indian rupee, potentially buffering against depreciation.
• Lower borrowing costs can fuel essential infrastructure projects.
• Increased liquidity may foster more efficient trading conditions.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Annular solar eclipse will occur on October 14 and will be visible across different parts of the world.

• It is often referred as the ring of fire.
• This eclipse happens when the moon is at or near its farthest point from Earth in its orbit.
• The moon appears smaller than the sun in the sky and does not fully cover it, creating a striking visual effect.
• The moon appears as a dark disk superimposed on the larger, bright face of the sun, forming a glowing ring or "ring of fire."
• The path of this upcoming eclipse will span several countries in North, Central, and South America. 

Types of eclipses

• Total solar eclipse: It happens when the sun, moon and Earth are in a direct line. The dark silhouette of the Moon completely covers the intense bright light of the Sun. Only the much fainter solar corona is visible during a total eclipse which is known as a Totality.
• Partial solar eclipse: It happens when the shadow of the moon appears on a small part of the sun.

Hence both statements are correct.

Kole wetlands, an internationally important Ramsar site of high value biodiversity, have been facing the threat of Cabomba furcuta an alien invasive species.

• It is popularly called as Pink Bloom due its massive flowering.
• It is native of central and South America which was brought to Kerala as an aquarium plant and has escaped to the wild.
• It is a submerged perennial aquatic plant that grows in stagnant to slow-flowing freshwater.
• The plant has a high natural dispersal potential due to its ability to readily fragment and spread both actively and passively.
• It requires a large quantity of oxygen for its growth will choke water bodies and drainage canals.
• It causes decline in diversity of native aquatic plants and causes economic losses by affecting yield of freshwater fishes. 

Hence option a is the correct answer.

An Indian spot-billed with pale plumage was sighted at Manickapuram tank in Tiruppur district, Tamil Nadu, recently.

About Indian-Spot Billed Duck:

• It is a large dabbling duck that is a non-migratory breeding duck throughout freshwater wetlands in the Indian subcontinent.
• The name is derived from the red spot at the base of the bill that is found in the mainland Indian population.  
• Scientific Name: Anas poecilorhyncha
• Distribution and Habitat:
• It is a resident throughout Pakistan and India in freshwater wetlands.
• They inhabit both inland and coastal wetlands such as ponds, lakes, pools, streams, creeks, estuaries, tidal flats and marshes.
• They tend to avoid very large patches of open water and prefer medium-sized wetlands with vegetation cover.
• Features:
• It has a scaly patterned body with a green speculum and a band of white tertials.
• It measures 55–63 cm in length and 83–95 cm across the wings, with a body mass of 790–1,500 g. Males are larger than females.
• These are mainly grey ducks with a paler head and neck and a black bill tipped bright yellow. 
• The wings are whitish with black flight feathers below, and from above show a white-bordered green.
• The legs and feet are bright orange to coral red. Juveniles are browner and duller than adults.
• Feeding Habits: They mostly feed on grasses and other vegetations. Sometimes they may feed on insects.
• Conservation Status:
• IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Red Sea's spectacular coral reefs face a new threat, marine biologists warn—the mass death of sea urchins that may be caused by a mystery disease.

About Sea Urchins:

• Sea urchins belong to a group of marine invertebrates called echinoderms, which means spiny-skinned animals. 
• It includes other well-known marine creatures like starfish and sea cucumbers.
• Sea urchins are characterized by their spherical to somewhat flattened, spiny bodies, and they are found in oceans worldwide, from shallow coastal waters to deep-sea environments.
• They live on the ocean floor, usually on hard surfaces, and use tube feet or spines to move about.
• The largest urchin (known from a single specimen) is Sperostoma giganteum of deep waters off Japan.
• Features:
• They have a globular body and a radial arrangement of organs, shown by five bands of pores running from mouth to anus over the test (internal skeleton).
• The pores accommodate tube feet, which are slender, extensible, and often sucker-tipped. 
• They have a hard exoskeleton, or test, made up of interlocking plates or ossicles, which are often covered with movable spines.
• From nodules on the test arise long, movable spines and pedicellariae (pincerlike organs); these structures may have poison glands. 
• Feeding:
• They are herbivorous, primarily feeding on algae and plant material.
• They use their specialized mouthparts, called Aristotle's lantern, to scrape algae and other food sources from rocks or the seafloor.

Hence both statements are correct.

India and the United Nations recently launched a joint capacity-building initiative called the “India-UN Capacity Building Initiative,” designed to foster growth and development in the Global South. 

About India-UN Capacity Building Initiative:

• The initiative is aimed at building the capacity of countries in the Global South.
• The goal is to share India's development experiences, best practices, and expertise through capacity-building and training programs.
• It extends the success of India's G20 Presidency, which prioritised the inclusion of voices from the Global South in the G20 agenda.
• The initiative builds upon the extensive cooperation in development and capacity building that India already has bilaterally with the partner countries.
• As part of this initiative, the UN India team and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will “partner to leverage India's Technical and Economic Cooperation platform to share India's development experiences and best practices across the world.
• It will also put into action the development goals established during India's G20 Presidency, including the G20 Action Plan for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and enhancing technology and digital infrastructure.
• What is the Global South?
• The Global South broadly comprises countries in the regions of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia (excluding Israel, Japan, and South Korea), and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), which are generally characterised by relatively low levels of economic and industrial development.

Hence both statements are correct.

The 19th edition of “EXERCISE YUDH ABHYAS” will be conducted from 25th September to 8th October 2023 in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, USA. 

• It is an annual exercise conducted jointly by the Indian Army and the United States Army.
• Indian Army contingent comprising of 350 personnel will participate in this edition of the Exercise.
• The lead battalion from Indian side is affiliated to MARATHA Light Infantry Regiment.
• Both sides will practice a series of tactical drills to enhance interoperability in conducting UN peacekeeping operations.
• The theme is ‘Employment of an Integrated Battle Group in Mountain/ Extreme Climatic Conditions’ under Chapter VII of United Nations mandate.
• The scope of the Field Training Exercise includes validation of Integrated Battle Groups against hostile forces at the Brigade level, Integrated Surveillance Grid at the Brigade/ Battalion level, employment of Heliborne/ Airborne elements and Force Multipliers etc.
• The Exercise will also involve exchange of views and best practices in drills on a wide spectrum of combat skills including combat engineering, obstruction clearance, mine and Improvised Explosive Devices warfare.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Researchers and environmental groups are documenting floral species in the State of Maharashtra and educating people about their existence through nature walks.

• Ephemerals are any short-lived plant, usually one that has one or more generations per year.
• They grow only during favourable periods (as when adequate moisture is available) and passing the unfavourable periods in the form of seeds. 
• They are of two types — annual and perennial.
• Annual ephemerals form new individuals every year and are seen for a very short period.
• They form seeds at the end of their life cycle, remaining dormant till the next year.
• Perennials have a source like a tuber or a bulb in the soil, so it is the same individual, but the other parts (stem, flowers) are newly formed.”
• Monsoon ephemerals bloom towards the end of May and throughout June, July, August, and September.
• Some other monsoon ephemerals will just form leaves and little branch structures after a few showers.
• These leaves stay for a month or more and then flowering starts, which goes on till July and August. 
• The onset of monsoon brings flowers such as ground orchids (Nervilia and Eulophia), lilies (crinum lily, pancratium lily, grass lily, star lily), wild yam (suran), and Indian squill. 
• Significance
• The primary job of these flowers is to act as an important source of nectar and pollen for native pollinators.
• Their presence in all micro habitats on a plateau ensures the appropriate presence of soil and, most importantly, water.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Just as the earth’s oceans at their shores, the universe’s galaxies also experience tides, but on a much larger scale. 

• Galactic tide is a tidal force experienced by objects subject to the gravitational field of a galaxy such as the Milky Way. 
• They are caused by gravitational forces within a galaxy, arising in the interactions between celestial objects like stars and gas clouds.
• Effects of Galactic tides
• These tidal forces influence various aspects of a galaxy’s evolution.
• They can reshape a galaxy structure by creating tidal tails and bridges, promoting star formation, and disrupting smaller star systems.
• They also disrupt the orbits of stars, leading to long-term changes in galactic structure.
• Galactic tides also have a say in the ways in which proximate galaxies do and don’t interact.
• Researchers have observed the closest galaxy to the Milky Way, the colossal Andromeda, and found that tidal streams near its edges could be signatures of dwarf galaxies that were later devoured.
• Galactic tides also affect the supermassive black holes at galaxy centres, leading to events that change the ways in which these cosmic beasts interact with nearby stars.

Hence both statements are correct.

The docking of the first ship at the Vizhinjam International Seaport has been deferred recently.

About Vizhinjam International Seaport:

• Location: It is located at Vizhinjam, a coastal town in Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala.
• It is designed primarily to cater to container transhipment besides multi-purpose and break bulk cargo. 
• It is developed in a landlord model with a Public Private Partnership component on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (“DBFOT”) basis. 
• The private partner, the Concessionaire M/s Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited has, commenced the construction on 5th December 2015.
• The Port is merely a 10 NM diversion from the international east-west shipping route and is also close to the national/regional road and rail network.
• There would be about 30 berths, most of which would be capable of handling Mother Vessels.
• Significance:
• It is the only transhipment hub in the Indian subcontinent, closest to the international shipping routes, and is centrally located on the Indian coastline.
• Around 95 per cent of India’s foreign trade is conducted through the sea route. In value terms, this works out to 70 per cent of the foreign trade.
• Nearly 30 percent of the freight movement takes place through the international shipping route South of the Indian peninsula, which passes 10 nautical miles off Vizhinjam.
• Currently, India does not have a deep-water container transhipment terminal and depends on Colombo, Singapore and Salalah ports.
• This results in a significant loss of foreign currency and revenue, estimated to be about Rs 2,500 crore a year. 

Hence both statements are correct.