Daily Current Affairs MCQ- February 1, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, the German eROSITA consortium has released the data for its share of the first all-sky survey by the soft X-ray imaging telescope.

• The eROSITA (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array) is a wide-field X-ray telescope on-board the Russian-German "Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma" (SRG) observatory.
• It was developed under the leadership of the Max-Planck Institute for extraterrestrial Physics in Germany (DE).
• It is a sensitive X-ray telescope capable of delivering deep, sharp images over very large areas of the sky.
• The eROSITA telescope consists of seven identical Wolter-1 mirror modules.
• SRG was successfully launched from Baikonur on July 13 2019, and placed in a halo orbit around the L2 point.
• Functions
• It has been performing an all-sky survey, in which the whole celestial sphere is mapped once every six months. Eight such all-sky charts are planned until December 2023.
• It is also expected to yield a sample of several million Active Galactic Nuclei, providing a unique view of the evolution of supermassive black holes within the emerging cosmic structure.
• The survey will also provide new insights into a wide range of astrophysical phenomena, including accreting binaries, active stars and diffuse emission within the Galaxy, as well as solar system bodies that emit X-rays via the charge exchange process.

Hence both statements are correct.

Researchers from various national and international organisations have identified and documented a previously unknown species of frog which has been thriving amidst the urban landscape of Bengaluru.

• Sphaerotheca varshaabhu is a new frog species.
• Sphaerotheca Varshaabhu, meaning a genus of frog which welcomes rain, has been attributed to its behaviour of coming out of burrows during the early showers.
• The newly unearthed amphibian exhibits distinctive characteristics that set it apart from known frog species.
• It has adapted to its urban surroundings displaying behaviours and physical attributes that help it navigate challenges posed by urbanization.
• The team utilised advanced genetic analysis, morphological studies and bioacoustics to confirm the distinctiveness of this newly discovered amphibian.

Key facts about amphibians

• They are extremely sensitive to changes in the environment and can give scientists valuable insight into how an ecosystem is functioning.
• Amphibians, like frogs, toads and salamanders, are known as indicator species.
• They are both predators and prey; many other animals are affected by them.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Recently, the union Minister for Women and Child Development said that One Stop Centres to help women who have faced violence have been established in over 700 districts across the country.

• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme formulated under the union Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD).
• Objectives
• To provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces under one roof.
• To facilitate immediate, emergency and non-emergency access to a range of services including medical, legal, psychological and counselling support under one roof to fight against any forms of violence against women.
• Target group
• It supports all women including girls below 18 years of age affected by violence, irrespective of caste, class, religion, region, sexual orientation or marital status.
• For girls below 18 years of age, institutions and authorities established under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 linked with the OSC
• Funding: The Scheme will be funded through Nirbhaya Fund. The Central Government will provide 100% financial assistance under the Scheme.
• Administration: The day to day implementation and administrative matters would be the responsibility of the District Collector/District Magistrate.
• The OSC will facilitate access to: Emergency Response and Rescue Services, Medical assistance, assistance to women in lodging FIR/ NCR/DIR, psycho-social support/ counseling, legal aid and counseling, shelter and Video Conferencing Facility.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the union Environment Minister said that five more Indian wetlands have been added to the global list of wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

• Of the five wetlands added to the Ramsar list, Magadi Kere Conservation Reserve, Ankasamudra Bird Conservation Reserve, and Aghanashini Estuary are in Karnataka and Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary and Longwood Shola Reserve Forest are in Tamil Nadu.
• Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary 
• It is one of the largest inland wetlands of Tamil Nadu, and is a significant source of groundwater recharge for the area.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

The United States government recently shut down a major China-backed hacking group dubbed "Volt Typhoon" that attacked hundreds of routers and had been working to compromise U.S. cyber infrastructure.

About Volt Typhoon:

• It is a state-sponsored hacking group based in China that has been active since at least 2021. 
• The group typically focuses on espionage and information gathering. 
• It has targeted critical infrastructure organizations in the US, including Guam. 
• To achieve their objective, the threat actor puts strong emphasis on stealth, relying almost exclusively on living-off-the-land techniques and hands-on-keyboard activity. 
• The recurring attack pattern of Volt Typhoon begins with initial access via exploitation of public-facing devices or services.
• Volt Typhoon employs the comparatively uncommon practice of leveraging preinstalled utilities for most of their victim interactions.
• Compromised small office/home office (SOHO) devices are used by the attackers to proxy communications to and from the affected networks.
• They issue commands via the command line to (1) collect data, including credentials from local and network systems: (2) put the data into an archive file to stage it for exfiltration: and then (3) use the stolen valid credentials to maintain persistence. 
• Volt Typhoon was a particularly quiet operator that hid its traffic by routing it through hacked network equipment, like home routers, and carefully expunging evidence of intrusions from the victim’s logs.
• This combination of behaviors makes detection especially difficult, as defenders must be able to differentiate between attacker activities and those of power users or administrative staff. 

Hence option c is the correct answer.

A ringed juvenile black-crowned night heron, which landed recently at a local pond in Imphal and died later, was banded at the Weishan Bird Banding Station in China’s Beijing. 

About Black-crowned Night Heron:

• It is a medium-sized heron with a stocky build.
• Scientific Name: Nycticorax nycticorax
• Distribution: It is found across North America, as well as locally in Central America and the Caribbean.
• Habitat: Most colonies of black-crowned night herons are associated with large wetlands. They inhabit a variety of wetland habitats, such as swamps, streams, rivers, marshes, mud flats, and the edges of lakes.
• Features:
• It has a stocky body with a comparatively short neck and legs.
• It has a black crown, a gray body, and bright, red eyes. 
• It weighs between 727 and 1014 grams, has a wingspan of 115 to 118 centimeters, and is 58 to 66 centimeters in length).
• Females and males look alike, but females are a little smaller.
• They are social at all times of the year, frequently associating with other species of herons.
• It is a migrating species.
• Diet: It is an opportunistic feeder. Its diet consists mainly of fish, though it is frequently rounded out by other items such as leeches, earthworms, aquatic and terrestrial insects.
• Conservation Status:
• IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Hence both statements are not correct.

Members of a little-known Hindutva group forced their way into the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected Martand sun temple recently.

About Martand Sun Temple:

• It is a Hindu temple located near the city of Anantnag in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is dedicated to the Sun God. Martand is another Sanskrit synonym for Surya.
• It was built by King Lalitaditya Muktapida around the 8th Century CE. Lalitaditya Muktapida was the third ruler of the Karkota Dynasty. 
• Features:
• It has a unique architecture where local Kashmiri style is blended with the architectural styles of Gupta, Chinese, Gandhara, Roman, and Greek.
• The temple is located on top of a plateau and has been constructed entirely out of stone.
• It covers an area of 32,000 square feet. 
• It stands in the middle of a large courtyard with 86 fluted columns. The courtyard is connected to the main shrine, where Sun God’s idol was installed. 
• The construction of the main shrine was such that during most of the days’ time, especially during sunrise and sunset, the rays would directly fall on the idol. 
• The central shrine, or vimana, stands tall at around 60 feet. It features intricate carvings and sculptures that depict various Hindu gods and goddesses. 
• There are 84 smaller shrines around the main Sun Temple. They are lined along the perimeter of the complex. 
• The temple is believed to have been demolished by Sultan Sikandar Shah Miri, who ruled Kashmir from 1389 to 1413.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

I-STEM (Indian Science, Technology, and Engineering facilities Map) is launching the Samavesha project at IISc., Bengaluru, on January 16 to enhance research collaboration in India by enhancing accessibility to facilities and labs.

• I-STEM (Indian Science, Technology, and Engineering facilities Map) is an initiative of the Office of Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India.
• It is developed with the concept “One Nation One Portal” for the scientific community, aimed at “Linking Researchers and Resources”.
• It assists users to locate the specific facility they need for their R&D work and identify the one that is either located closest to them or available the soonest.
• The organisation, acting as custodian of the facility may charge the fee for running and maintaining the resources beyond the Project Duration.
• A panel of Experts will be formed in due course to assist the users by providing information to optimally utilise resources available through I-STEM’s S&T Chat Room.
• A Digital Catalogue of Technologies and Technologies Products mandated by the Empowered Technology Group is an integral part of the I-STEM web portal.
• A platform for conducting and hosting industry challenges as mandated by the Empowered Technology Group (ETG) is being developed for Start-ups and Academia for making India “Aatmnirbhar”.
• Through a recent GoI directive, institutions with R&D facilities funded by agencies of the GoI are now mandated to list these facilities on the I-STEM Portal.
• I-STEM protects the IP involved in building the I-STEM Portal, a provisional patent application entitled, "A method and process for efficient use of geographically dispersed resources", has been filed with the Indian Patent Office.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The submission deadline for ANUBHAV Awards Scheme 2024 is March 31, 2024. 

• It recognizes the contribution made by Retired Officials to Nation building while working in Government and to document the administrative history of India by written narratives.
• The ANUBHAV Portal, established in March 2015, serves as an online platform for retiring and retired government employees to share their experiences. 
• The portal was launched by Government of India, Ministry of personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Pension & Pensioners' welfare.
• Objectives
• It aims to create a database of significant suggestions and work experiences.
• It channelise the human resource of retiring employees for nation building.
• Enable Ministries/ Departments to take crucial steps while considering useful and replicable suggestions.
• Eligibility: To participate in the scheme, retiring Central Government employees/pensioners are required to submit their Anubhav write ups, 8 months prior to retirement and up to 1 year after their retirement.
• Thereafter, the write-ups will be published after assessment by concerned Ministries/Departments. The published write-ups will be shortlisted for Anubhav Awards and Jury Certificates.
• Each ANUBHAV Awardees will be felicitated with a medal and certificate and a Prize of 10,000 rupees, where as a Jury certificate Winner will be presented with a medal and a certificate.
• Till date, 54 ANUBHAV awards have been conferred from 2016 to 2023.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the West Bengal Chief Minister urged central government to include ‘Bengali’ as a classical language.

• Criteria evolved by Government of India to determine declaration of a language as a Classical language is as under:-
• High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years;
• A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
• The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
• The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.
• Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
• The benefits it provides once a language is notified as a Classical language:
• Two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence in classical Indian languages.
• A Centre of Excellence for studies in Classical Languages is set up.
• The University Grants Commission is requested to create, to start with at least in the Central Universities, a certain number of Professional Chairs for the Classical Languages so declared.”

Hence only statement 1 is correct.