Daily Current Affairs MCQ - February 1, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

In a boost to maritime security, the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) MK III aircraft was formally inducted at INS Utkrosh by Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) Lieutenant General Ajai Singh at Port Blair on January 28, 2022.

• The ALH MK III aircraft is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and represents a tremendous leap towards self-reliance in the field of military aircraft.
• Till date, over 300 of these aircraft have been delivered by HAL and are being flown by the Armed Forces.
• Amongst its variants, the MK III variant is a maritime role variant encompassing state-of-the-art sensors and weapons that add punch to India’s prowess at sea.
• The ALH MK III aircraft with its glass cockpit, Shakti engines, advanced Maritime Patrol Radar, Electro–optical payload and Night Vision Device will act as a force multiplier in keeping India’s far eastern seaboard and Island territories safe.
• The state-of-the-art aircraft has multirole capabilities including maritime surveillance, support for Special Forces, medical evacuations besides search and rescue roles.
• Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has notified the Scheme on Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector- Phase-II for providing assistance to Common Technology Development and Services Infrastructure.

• The scheme has a financial outlay of Rs. 1207 crores with Budgetary support of Rs.975 crore and Industry Contribution of Rs.232 crore . The scheme was notified on 25th January, 2022.
• The objective of Phase II of the Scheme for Enhancement of Competitiveness of the Capital Goods Sector is to expand and enlarge the impact created by Phase I pilot scheme, thereby providing greater impetus through creation of a strong and globally competitive capital goods sector that contributes at least 25% to the manufacturing sector.

There are six components under the Scheme for Enhancement of Capital Goods Sector Phase II, namely:

• Identification of Technologies through Technology Innovation Portals;
• Setting up of four New Advanced Centres of Excellence and augmentation of Existing Centres of Excellence;
• Promotion of skilling in Capital Goods Sector–creation of Qualification packages for skill levels 6 and above;
• Setting up of four Common Engineering Facility Centres (CEFCs) and augmentation of existing CEFCs;
• Augmentation of Existing Testing and Certification Centres;
• Setting up of ten Industry Accelerators for Technology Development

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya launched NIPER Research Portal.

• National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) Research Portal has been created with the aim to disseminate the information about all the NIPERs and their research activities, patents filed and Publication information at one place so that a industry and other stakeholders know about them.
• National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs) are a group of national level institutes of pharmaceutical sciences in India.
• The Government of India has declared the NIPERs as Institutes of National Importance.
• They operate as autonomous bodies under the aegis of Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
• Established in: 1998
• They are located in 7 cities in India: Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Hajipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata, S.A.S. Nagar and Raebareli.
• Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The biotech firm Moderna has started trials on an mRNA vaccine against the HIV, which uses a novel approach to elicit broadly neutralising HIV-1 antibodies (bNAbs) and eventually target multiple HIV strains.

• First doses of the experimental HIV vaccine antigens were administered at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington DC this week.
• The vaccine uses the same technology as Moderna’s Covid 19 vaccine. It uses mRNA, or messenger RNA, which teaches the body’s cells how to make proteins that trigger immune response.
• BNAbs are produced by certain types of B cells, which are rare: one in 300,000 B cells have this capability. The vaccine aims to stimulate production of bnAbs that can act against many variants of HIV.

The trial

• The MODERNA/IAVI study is a phase 1, randomised, first-in-human, open label study to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccines, mRNA-1644 and mRNA-1644v2-Core, in HIV-uninfected individuals.
• Fifty-six individuals will be randomised in four groups and safety/immunogenicity results will be available in 2023.
• Hence both statements are correct.

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is one of the “Three Sisters” recognized by the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement, along with the Codex Alimentarius Commission for food safety standards and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for animal health standards.

The Ministry of External Affairs too has seen a restructuring with a Cyber Diplomacy Division, an E-Governance & Information Technology Division and a New Emerging & Strategic Technologies Division to manage science and technology issues in the nation’s diplomatic matrix.

• Dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. The primary vectors that transmit the disease are female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and, to a lesser extent, Ae. albopictus.
• There is no specific treatment for dengue/severe dengue. Early detection of disease progression associated with severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1%.

When a mosquito bites, it not only sucks blood but secretes saliva. This saliva enters the blood. There is an exchange of fluids between the mosquito and the bloodstream.

• Nitrous oxide is also known as laughing gas.
• Nitrous oxide has significant medical uses, especially in surgery and dentistry, for its anaesthetic and pain reducing effects. 
• It is on the World Health Organisation’s List of Essential Medicines, the safest and most effective medicines needed in a health system.

Phumdis are a series of floating islands, exclusive to the Loktak Lake in Manipur. This mass constitutes the world’s largest floating park, named Keibul Lamjao National Park.

Phumdis are used by the local people for constructing their huts for fishing and other livelihood uses.

The life-cycle of the phumdis has generally been subject to seasonal variation. During the monsoon season when the water level is high, the phumdis float, but during the dry season, as the water level falls, the phumdis touch the lake bed and absorb nutrients from it. When the wet season returns, they again float, and the biomass, which has enough nutrients stored in the plants’ roots, survives.

A key proposal announced in 2021 Budget, a bad bank to deal with stressed assets in the loss-laden banking system, has received all regulatory approvals.

• NARCL will acquire and aggregate the identified NPA accounts from banks, while IDRCL, under an exclusive arrangement, will handle the debt resolution process, State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Khara said.
• Padmakumar Nair, a Chief General Manager from SBI’s Stressed Assets vertical, will manage NARCL, while Manish Makharia, Head of Alternate Investment Fund, SBI Funds Management Pvt Ltd, will head IDRCL.
• Subrata Biswas, the nominee director on the Board of NARCL, will be the interim Chairman, and Diwakar Gupta will continue as the Chairman of IDRCL.
• Majority-owned by state-owned banks, the NARCL will be assisted by the India Debt Resolution Company Ltd (IDRCL), in turn majority-owned by private banks, in resolution process in the form of a Principal-Agent basis.

How will the bad bank work?

• NARCL and IDRCL will have an exclusive arrangement that will be as per the scope defined in the ‘Debt Management Agreement’ to be executed between these two entities.
• This arrangement will be on a ‘Principal-Agent’ basis and final approvals and ownership for the resolution shall lie with NARCL as the Principal.
• Hence both statements are correct.