Daily Current Affairs MCQ- February 5, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) is investigating Mahadev Online Book, an allegedly illegal betting application, and its promoters for suspected violation of GST rules and non-payment of tax.

• The Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) now renamed as Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).
• It is an apex intelligence organization functioning under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, Department of Revenue, and Ministry of Finance.
• It is entrusted with the task of collection, collation, and dissemination of intelligence relating to the evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the duties of Central Excise and Service Tax on an all India basis.
• Functions of DGGI
• Intelligence gathering: It is responsible for gathering intelligence about potential violations of the GST law. This includes collecting information from various sources, such as GST returns, financial statements, and other documents.
• It develops intelligence, especially in new areas of tax evasion through its intelligence network across the country and disseminates such information, by issuing Modus Operandi Circulars and Alert Circulars to sensitize the field formations about the latest trends in duty evasion.
• Investigation: It has the power to conduct investigations into suspected cases of GST evasion or non-compliance. This may involve summoning persons, examining records, and carrying out searches and seizures.
• Enforcement: It is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the GST law. This includes taking legal action against offenders, imposing penalties, and recovering any taxes or duties due.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

During the launch event of " Digital India FutureLABS Summit 2024” held at IIIT- Delhi, three Indigenous Technologies - Thermal camera, CMOS camera and Fleet Management System designed and developed by CDAC Thiruvananthapuram under InTranSE Program of MeitY were transferred to 12 Industries.

• The Intelligent Transportation System Endeavor (InTranSE) is a revolutionary collaborative research and development programme.
• It is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Electronics & IT.
• Purpose: To synergize the transformation in Intelligent Transportation System the Ministry of Electronics & IT took early steps by bringing together premier academic institutes like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) etc. and Premier R&D Centre like C-DAC under one umbrella.
• This initiative formulated the Collaborative Intelligent Transportation Systems Endeavor for Indian Cities (InTranSE) during the year 2009-2012 (Phase-I) that witnessed IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIM Calcutta and C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram collaboratively developing, implementing, demonstrating and knowledge transfer of ITS products and solutions. 
• The InTranSE Phase-II program (2019-2021) is aiming at undertaking R&D projects collaboratively with IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IISc Bangalore and C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram
• Significance: It will achieve traffic efficiency by minimizing traffic problems, prompting efficient infrastructure usage, enriching users with prior information about traffic and reducing travel time as well as enhancing safety and comfort of commuters.

Hence both statements are correct.

Major political party issued a three-line whip to its Lok Sabha MPs asking them to be present in the House tomorrow as the Prime Minister of India will reply to the Motion of Thanks on Presidential address delivered recently.

• A whip in parliamentary parlance is a written order that party members be present for an important vote, or that they vote only in a particular way.
• The term is derived from the old British practice of “whipping in” lawmakers to follow the party line.
• The importance of a whip can be inferred from the number of times an order is underlined.
• Appointment: 
• In India all parties can issue a whip to their members.
• Parties appoint a senior member from among their House contingents to issue whips — this member is called a Chief Whip, and he/she is assisted by additional Whips.
• Types of whips: 
• One-line whip: A one-line whip, underlined once, is usually issued to inform party members of a vote, and allows them to abstain in case they decide not to follow the party line.
• Two-line whip: A two-line whip directs them to be present during the vote.
• Three-line whip: A three-line whip is the strongest, employed on important occasions such as the second reading of a Bill or a no-confidence motion, and places an obligation on members to toe the party line.
• Defiance of whip
• In India, rebelling against a three-line whip can put a lawmaker’s membership of the House at risk.
• The anti-defection law allows the Speaker/Chairperson to disqualify such a member; the only exception is when more than a third of legislators vote against a directive, effectively splitting the party.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, Dusted Apollo (Parnassius stenosemus), a rare high-altitude butterfly has been sighted and photographed for the first time in Himachal Pradesh.

• It is extremely rare butterfly and has never been photographed before in Himachal Pradesh.
• Distribution range: It is found from Ladakh to West Nepal and it flies between 3,500 to 4,800 meters in the inner Himalayas.
• Appearance
• It closely resembles Ladakh Banded Apollo (Parnnasius stoliczkanus) but the discal band on the upper fore wing in dusted apollo is complete and extends from costa to vein one while this discal band is incomplete and extends only up to vein four in Ladakh Banded Apollo.
• Moreover, the Dark marginal band on the hind wings is much narrower in Dusted Apollo while it is broad in Ladakh Banded Apollo.
• Another rare species Regal Apollo (Parnnasius charltonius) was also photographed at Manimahesh, which is protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• There are 11 Apollo species recorded from Himachal Pradesh and five of them are declared as Scheduled species.
• It is an encouraging indication of the flourishing diversity of Apollo butterflies in the region.
• Threats: Apollos are considered commercially important butterflies and they fetch high prices in the poaching industry.
• Most of the Apollo butterflies are now endangered and need immediate attention for their conservation and protection.
• Conservation measures:
• Community awareness about poaching and the importance of these species may play an important role in their conservation.
• Also, establishing butterfly parks and conservation reserves in the State should be on the priority list of the government.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

A deadly fungal infection called Candida auris has been spreading rapidly in the United States recently.

About Candida auris (C. auris):

• It is an emerging multidrug-resistant yeast (fungus) that represents a global health threat. 
• It is capable of causing invasive infections in the human body. It can cause severe illness in people with weakened immune systems.
• Scientists first discovered C. auris in Japan in 2009. Since then, it has spread quickly to other countries. 
• Transmission:
• It is primarily contracted in healthcare settings, such as hospitals and nursing homes.
• It can also live on the skin or other body parts without making a person sick. This is called being “colonized.”
• The fungus can either colonize a specific region of the body, such as the skin, rectum, or mouth, without causing symptoms or it can cause severe invasive infections by entering the bloodstream or wounds.
• It can be spread through contact with contaminated surfaces or equipment, or from physical contact with a person who is infected or colonized.
• Symptoms:
• It can cause infections in different parts of the body, such as the bloodstream, open wounds, and ears.
• The symptoms depend on the location and severity of the C. auris infection. 
• Symptoms may be similar to those of an infection caused by bacteria. There is not a common set of symptoms specific to C. auris infections.
• A high fever with chills that does not get better after taking antibiotics may be a sign of a C. auris infection.
• Treatment:
• Most C. auris infections are treatable with antifungal drugs. 
• However, some C. auris infections have been resistant to all three main classes of antifungal medications, making them more difficult to treat and often requires the use of combination therapies.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Five people have been killed near Uttarakhand's Corbett Tiger Reserve in the past two months.

About Corbett Tiger Reserve:

• Location:
• It is located on the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand.
• By and large, the reserve is spread over the Bhabar and lower Shivalik regions with a deep water table.
• Corbett is the first national park of India, established in 1936. It was named Hailey National Park then. In 1957, the park was rechristned Corbett National Park in memory of the late Jim Corbett, a great naturalist and eminent conservationist.
• Today, after the addition of areas to the originally declared National Park, the total area of Tiger Reserve extends to 1288.31 sq. km.
• Vegetation: In general, the vegetation comprises of sal and mixed forests, interspersed with grasslands and riparian vegetation.
• The terrain is undulating, with several valleys. The rivers Ramganga, Pallaen, and Sonanadi flow through the valleys.
• The habitat is characterized by open meadows (chaurs) interspersed with sal and moist, mixed deciduous forests.
• The grasslands are locally known as ‘Chaur’, which are an outcome of abandoned settlements or past clearings.
• Flora: It consists of evergreen Sal and its combined trees, the Sheesham, and the Kanju found extensively on the ridges.
• Fauna: Tiger and elephant are the charismatic mammals, besides a large array of co-predators (leopard, small carnivores), ungulates (sambar, hog deer, spotted deer), birds, reptiles (gharial, crocodile) and fishes.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

New maps have revealed a hidden hydrothermal system beneath Lake Rotorua, which sits at the heart of a dormant volcano in New Zealand.

About Hydrothermal Systems:

• Hydrothermal systems occur in areas with high heat fluxes, both on continents, near convergent plate boundaries, and on the ocean floor, near the mid-ocean ridges. 
• Their formation requires the existence of three important components: fluids, heat, and permeability through rocks so that fluids can circulate. 
• These systems are often found near mid-ocean ridges, where tectonic plates diverge and new seafloor is created.
• How hydrothermal systems work?
• Hydrothermal systems occur when seawater percolates down through fractures in the oceanic crust, heating up as it nears the earth’s hot interior.
• Descending seawater interacts with the oceanic crust, removing chemicals from the rocks as it heats to 350-400 degrees Celsius, about four times hotter than boiling water (the extreme pressure in the ocean’s depths prevents fluids from boiling). 
• This interaction of seawater and crust produces hydrothermal fluid, chemically modified slurry of gases and dissolved elements, including metals. 
• The superheated fluid is then ejected back up to the seafloor and promptly chilled by near-freezing ocean bottom waters.
• Chemicals dissolved in the fluid precipitate at the vent, forming chimney-like deposits.
• These deposits support deep-sea chemosynthetic communities—organisms that rely on chemicals rather than photosynthesis to fuel their metabolism.

Hence both statements are not correct.

To protect Amazon, conservators try to save pollinator Stingless bees.

• A stingless bee is a bee that appears very similar to a honeybee, but is incapable of stinging. 
• These bees are eusocial, which means that they live together in hives and produce honey.
• These are native to the Amazon.
• Their honey, which is runny enough to be drunk like a liquid and is said to have a citrusy aftertaste
• It is used by many Indigenous Peruvians as a natural medicine.
• Distribution: Stingless bees can be found in most tropical and subtropical regions.
• These bees cannot sting but nature has made sure to give them other ways of defending themselves.
• These bees do possess stingers, but they are too small to be useful in defense. Instead of stinging, stingless bees use their mandibles to bite their attackers.
• Threats:
• The Amazon is home to hundreds of species of stingless bee, but as deforestation converts the tropical landscape into farms and ranches, these and other native pollinators are in danger of disappearing.
• Pesticides and climate change

Hence both statements are correct.

Despite approving a Bill to set up a National Research Foundation (NRF) to boost scientific advancement in the country just eight months earlier, the Union government was silent on allocation for the institution or progress made so far in the interim budget for 2024-25.

• It is an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country in accordance with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP), will be established at a cost of 50,000 crore over the period 2023-28.
• It enhances “India’s national research infrastructure, knowledge enterprise, and innovation potential, for scientific pursuit”.
• Goals: To increase private sector contributions to research in India and to ensure that a larger portion of government funds go to state universities and colleges.
• Nodal Agency: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be NRF's administrative department.
• Governing body:
• The Prime Minister will be the ex-officio President of the Board.
• The Union Minister of Science & Technology & Union Minister of Education will be the ex-officio Vice-Presidents.
• NRF’s functioning will be governed by an Executive Council chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
• Functions
• Forge collaborations among the industry, academia, and government departments and research institutions, and create an interface mechanism for participation and contribution of industries and State governments in addition to the scientific and line ministries.
• It will focus on creating a policy framework and putting in place regulatory processes that can encourage collaboration and increased spending by the industry on R&D.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The flightless Aldabra rail went extinct over 130,000 years ago, but the species then reappeared via iterative evolution.

• Scientific name: Dryolimnas cuvieri aldabranus
• It lives on a coral atoll off the southeast coast of Africa.
• Appearance: It's about the size of a chicken, with a flecked gray back, a rusty red head and chest and a white throat.
• It is a subspecies of the white-throated rail (Dryolimnas cuvieri) and is the only living flightless bird in the Indian Ocean.
• In losing its ability to fly once again, the Aldabra rail has essentially evolved twice, rising from the dead through a process called iterative evolution.
• A 2019 study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society examined the fossil record of rails in Aldabra and found evidence of a flightless rail on the atoll from before it was submerged beneath the waves 136,000 years ago. 

What is Iterative evolution?

• Iterative evolution can be defined as "the repeated evolution of a specific trait or body plan from the same ancestral lineage at different points in time."

Hence only statement 2 is correct.