Daily Current Affairs MCQ- December 9, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

According to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Muthuvan tribe will be part of Nilgiri Tahr conservation project.

• These people live on the border hill forests of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• They speak slightly two different dialects and call each other Malayalam Muthuvan and Pandi Muthuvan.
• They are animists and spirit worshippers and also worship the forest gods,
• They believe that the spirits of their ancestors are to be the first migrants to the hill forests.
• They are known for coexisting with the wildlife with their traditional knowledge.
• These tribal people follow a unique system of governance called the 'Kani System'.
• Under this system, each village is headed by a 'Kani', who is responsible for the administration of the village.
• They have expertise in traditional medicines which are very effective and these medicines and the medicine men are confidentially preserved and passed on to the generations.
• Occupation: Agriculture is the main occupation of these Muthuvan tribes, producing quite a number of products like ragi, cardamom and lemon grass.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, chip designer Qualcomm said that it is partnering with Alphabet's Google to make wearable devices like smartwatches using chips based on RISC-V technology.

About RISC-V technology:

• It is an open-source technology which is pronounced as "risk five".
• It is an open-source instruction set architecture (ISA) used for the development of custom processors targeting a variety of end applications.
• It is considered the fifth generation of processors built on the concept of the reduced instruction set computer (RISC). 
• It was begun as a project at UC Berkeley to create an open-source computer system based on RISC principles.
• It was initially designed for academic use. The standard has evolved and is now managed by RISC-V International. 
• How does RISC-V work?
• As an open-standard architecture, RISC-V is defined by member companies of RISC-V International, the global nonprofit organization behind the ISA.
• The intent is that through collaboration, the member companies can contribute new avenues of processor innovation while promoting new degrees of design freedom.
• It features a small core set of instructions upon which all the design’s software runs.
• The architecture allows designers to customize and build their processor in a way that’s tailored to their target end applications.
• Benefits of RISC-V include:
• Its open-standard nature, which allows collaboration and innovation across the industry.
• The entire RISC-V architecture can be scrutinized closely in the public domain, eliminating back doors and hidden channels.  
• Applications: Wearables, Industrial, IoT, and Home Appliances, Smartphones, Automotive, High-Performance Computing (HPC), and Data Centers.

Hence both statements are correct.

To improve road safety and reduce incident response time, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will implement upgraded and forward-looking Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) Standards and Specifications 2023.

• Aim: To enhance road safety, reducing incidence response time and digital enforcement on national highways and expressways.
• The new standard includes the following features
• It provides for implementation of digital highways by developing integrated utility corridors along the national highways to develop optic fibre cables (OFC) infrastructure.
• Under the new standards, the existing VIDS cameras will be replaced with the Video Incident Detection and Enforcement System (VIDES) to emphasize the digital enforcement of traffic rules.
• For comprehensive coverage, these cameras are slated for installation every 10 km along national Highways and the feeds from these cameras will be integrated at the command and control centres located at every 100 km
• Vehicle speed detection system (VSDS) is now integrated into VIDES, optimizing use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
• Depending on the detected incident, VIDES will alert route patrol vehicles or ambulances, generate e-challans, relay alerts to nearby variable messaging boards, or send notifications through the ‘Rajmargyatra’ mobile app to nearby travelers.
• These measures play an active role in disaster management by providing inputs for effective planning and implementation.
• It will also provide online sharing of highway status and other important information that will help both the agencies and the highway users.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the area of the Rafah Border Crossing has been reportedly hit in a military strike.

• The crossing is at the south of the Gaza Strip, a narrow slither of land that is home to 2.3 million people.
• It is wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
• The crossing is controlled by Egypt.
• It is the only likely route for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza via Rafah from Egypt's Sinai peninsula region.
• There are only two other border crossings: Erez, a border crossing with Israel in north Gaza, and Kerem Shalom, a commercial crossing between Israel and Southern Gaza.

Key facts about Sinai Peninsula

• It is a triangle-shaped peninsula located in northeastern Egypt.
• It serves as a land bridge connecting Asia and Africa.
• Boundaries:
• It is bordered to the north by the Mediterranean Sea and to the east by Israel and the Gaza Strip. 
• To the west of the Sinai Peninsula is the Suez Canal, across which lies the African part of Egypt. 
• It is bordered to the southwest by the Gulf of Suez and to the immediate south by the Red Sea. 
• The Gulf of Aqaba borders the Sinai in the southeast.
• Egypt shares maritime borders in the Sinai with Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

The Broadcasting Content Complaint Council (BCCC) recently asked entertainment channels to exercise “extreme caution” while portraying the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in television programmes.

About Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC):

• It is an independent self-regulatory body set up by the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) in June 2011.
• The primary role of the BCCC is to implement self-regulatory guidelines for non-news channels, including general entertainment channels, kid’s channels, and special interest channels.
• The guidelines have been formulated after deliberations from the industry and the Government of India around areas such as national interest, racial and religious harmony, ill-treatment of children, social values, sex and nudity, violence and crime, gambling, drugs, smoking, tobacco consumption, alcohol, defamation, harm, and offence.
• Any viewer can lodge a complaint about issues related to television programmes/ shows, non-news & current affairs TV channels, and other digital content broadcaster members or associate members of IBDF India.
• Composition: BCCC is composed of 13 members.
• One chairperson
• Four non-broadcast members
• Four members from the national-level statutory commissions
• Four members from the broadcast industry
• How does BCCC work?
• In the case of a valid complaint, the respective channel is asked to provide their view on the offending content within one working week of receipt of a letter from BCCC.
• Post evaluation of the channel’s response, if the BCCC committee is not satisfied, it has the power to pass a directive asking for necessary modifications or withdrawal of such content; failing which, the BCCC sends out a detailed report to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting within 24 hours.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Three researchers in Manipur recently discovered a new flowering plant species and have named the new species Curcuma kakchingense.

About Curcuma kakchingense:

• It is a new flowering plant species discovered in Manipur.
• It is a member of the angiospermic family Zingiberaceae, which includes well-known plants like Curcuma (turmeric), gingers, and cardamom.
• It is a robust plant, as tall as eight feet, having large terminal inflorescence.
• It was found thriving along the banks of the Sekmai River in the Kakching District of Manipur.
• It bears a striking resemblance to Curcuma longa, known locally as "Yaingung," and Curcuma phrayawan, a species from Thailand, but is distinguished by having lemon-yellow rhizomes with a very bitter taste.
• It has been classified as "Data Deficient" (DD)under the IUCN Red List category.
• Importance of Curcuma plants:
• Several Curcuma species, including turmeric (Curcuma longa are important for their use in cuisines, traditional medicines, spices, dyes, perfumes, cosmetics, and as ornamental plants.
• Curcumin and several curcuminoids found in curcuma species are nontoxic polyphenolic compounds that have biological activities.
• The essential oil of curcuma species possesses a wide variety of pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous, anti-diabetic, anti-hepatotoxic, anti-diarrheal, carminative, diuretic, anti-rheumatic, hypotensive, anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-viral, insecticidal, etc.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch its first-ever test flight, TV-D1, for the Gaganyaan mission, marking a pivotal moment in India's pursuit of human spaceflight.

• Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) will evaluate the crew module's readiness for the Gaganyaan mission.
• It is a single-stage liquid rocket developed specifically for this abort mission.
• The payloads consist of the Crew Module (CM) and Crew Escape Systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors, along with CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters.
• This flight will simulate the abort condition during the ascent trajectory corresponding to a Mach number of 1.2 encountered in the Gaganyaan mission.

What is the test all about?

• The abort and crew escape system operates on a similar principle to an ejection seat found in fighter jets, with the primary goal of safeguarding the lives of crew members in the event of in-flight anomalies.
• The Crew Escape System is engineered to automatically function across various altitudes should the onboard computer detect any malfunctions.
• This test flight will simulate an abort condition during the ascent trajectory.
• Objective: To test a crucial system to be deployed on the Gaganyaan mission that will ensure the safety of the Indian astronauts in case of an emergency in the initial phase of the launch.
• CES with CM will be separated from the Test Vehicle at an altitude of about 17 km.
• Subsequently, the abort sequence will be executed autonomously commencing with the separation of CES and deployment of the series of parachutes, finally culminating in the safe touchdown of CM in the sea, about 10 km from the coast of Sriharikota.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, Lok Sabha Speaker referred the complaint against sitting Member of Parliament to the House Ethics Committee.

• The genesis of formation of Ethics Committee in Parliament can be traced to a resolution adopted at the Presiding Officers Conference held in New Delhi in October, 1996.
• Each house of the parliament has their own ethics committee.
• Ethics committee in Lok Sabha
• It was first time constituted in 2000.
• Composition: It consists of not more than fifteen members and nominated by the Speaker.
• Term: They shall hold office for a term not exceeding one year.
• Ethics committee in Rajya Sabha
• It was constituted in 1997.
• Composition: It consists of 10 members nominated by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
• Term: They shall hold office for a term not exceeding one year.
• Functions
• To oversee the moral and ethical conduct of the Members;
• To examine the cases referred to it with reference to ethical and other misconduct of the Members.
• Any person or member may make a complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member to the committee.
• In the case of the Ethics Committee only an MP can be examined for misconduct.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Orionid meteor shower is expected to rain down its greatest number of meteors on the mornings of October 21 and 22.

• It is an annual phenomenon that lights up the night sky every October.
• It is produced when Earth passes through the debris left behind by Halley's Comet, officially known as 1P/Halley.
• This comet, which orbits the sun approximately every 76 years, expels dust particles from its nucleus, creating a trail of debris in its path.
• Each year, our planet intercepts this path in late October, resulting in the Orionid meteor shower.
• Halley's Comet, measuring about five by nine miles in size, loses between three to ten feet of material on each passage through the inner solar system.
• The Orionids are viewable in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres during the hours after midnight. 

What is a meteor?

• When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors.
• Meteor showers occur annually or at regular intervals as the Earth passes through the trail of dusty debris left by a comet.
• Meteor showers are usually named after a star or constellation that is close to where the meteors appear in the sky.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Prime Minister of India extended best wishes on the auspicious occasion of Kati Bihu to the people of Assam.

• It is celebrated in the state of Assam.
• Kati means to cut and this day marks the time of relocation of rice saplings.
• It is also known as Kongali Bihu. (Kongali means poor)
• There are another two Bihu festivals celebrated in Assam - Bhogali or Magh Bihu is observed in January and Rongali or Bohag Bihu is observed in the month of April. 
• Significance
• During this month, there are not so many things to eat.
• They celebrate this festival by lighting the earthen lamps or candles and lit their house with lighting.
• Lighting diya near Tulsi plant is one of the main part of the festival. They worship Tulsi plant on this auspicious day.
• People also light a special lamp called "Akash Banti" (Sky candle) in their paddy fields.
• These lamps are fueled by mustard oil and are kept high on the tip of bamboo poles.
• People believe that these lighted lamps will guide their ancestors towards heaven.

Hence option (a) is the correct answer.