Daily Current Affairs MCQ- January 11, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Covering 10% of the world’s hydropower reservoirs with ‘floatovoltaics’ would install electrical capacity equivalent to that provided by all electricity-generating fossil fuel plants in operation worldwide.

• Floatovoltaics, floating solar plants, or FSPV (floating solar photovoltaic) are panel structures that are installed on water bodies like lakes, basins, and reservoirs instead of on solid structures like a roof or terraces.
• The biggest impetus behind the rise of large-scale FSPV has been that it doesn’t take up any land space, which could be then used for construction and agriculture.
• The world’s first large-scale FSPV system was installed in 2011, in Napa Valley, California.

India:

• In recent years, floating solar power plants have become part of India’s plans of solar expansion.
• According to a 2020 study by TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) reservoirs cover 18000 square Kilometer in India and can generate 280 GW through floating solar panels.
• Currently less than 1% of solar installations are floating.
• The largest floating solar power plant in India is currently the Ramagundam in Peddapalli district of Telangana, with a capacity of 100 MW.
• Currently a plant is being built on the Narmada’ Omkareshwar Dam in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh is being built with a capacity of 600 MW, which will soon be the largest floating solar power plant in the world.
• The project is touted to be worth Rs 3000 crore.
• What are the benefits of floating solar panels?
  • the water’s cooling effect makes them more efficient than land-based ones;
  • they don’t interfere with desert ecosystems; and
  • they keep precious water from evaporating.
  • Even though reservoirs are artificial ecosystems, they provide habitats for wildlife.

Hence both statements are correct.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Leh Sub Area and Looms of Ladakh Co-operative Limited recently at Leh, under the aegis of Fire and Fury Corps.

• The aim of the Memorandum of Understanding is to impart weaving and tailoring training to Veer Naris, widows and dependent ladies of veterans from Ladakh in three cycles of two months each.
• Approximately, two hundred Veer Naris, widows and dependent ladies of veterans will benefit from this initiative, wherein Looms of Ladakh will also employ them post-completion of their training.
• This joint collaboration will go a long way in providing self-sufficiency to these ladies and empower them for their future endeavours.

What is Fire and Fury Corps?

• The Corps handles some of the most sensitive frontiers and battlefields in the world.
• The areas of the Western and Eastern Ladakh also come under its responsibility.
• The Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh is facing tense deployments of the militaries, along with its weaponry and equipment, between India and China since May 2020.
• Western Ladakh includes the Kargil, having its Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, while in eastern Ladakh, the Corps shares its Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
• The world’s highest battleground, Siachen Brigade, comes under this Corps.

Hence both statements are correct.

The International Kite Festival 2023 will begin in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on January 8.

• The festival is being organized by Gujarat Tourism on the G20 theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future.
• Ahmedabad first hosted the International Kite Festival on the occasion of Uttarayan in 1989.
• Apart from Ahmedabad, the International Kite festival will also be organized in Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Dwarka, Somnath, Dhordo, and Kevadia.
• After a gap of 2 years, skies over the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad will be adorned with colorful unique Kites.
• More than 800 kite flyers from across India and the world will participate and display their unique creations in this Festival.
• This year, kite enthusiasts from different countries will fly Kites at the same time attempting to create a Guinness World Record for the maximum number of kite flyers.
• A special Parade by international and national kite flyers, a theme pavilion displaying the history of kites, and workshops on making and flying kites are among the major attractions of the festival this year.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, for the first time, physicists at the University of L’Aquila, Italy have found a complete microscopic understanding of the superconductivity of Mercury.

• In 1911, Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered superconductivity in mercury.
• He found that at a very low temperature, called the threshold temperature, solid mercury offers no resistance to the flow of electric current.
• Scientists later classified mercury as a conventional superconductor because its superconductivity could be explained by the concepts of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory.
• In BCS superconductors, vibrational energy released by the grid of atoms encourages electrons to pair up, forming so-called Cooper pairs.
• These Copper pairs can move like water in a stream, facing no resistance to their flow, below a threshold temperature.

What is Superconductivity?

• A material can conduct electricity without any resistance. It is observed in many materials when they are cooled below a critical temperature.

What is Mercury?

• It is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil.
• It is released into the atmosphere through natural processes such as weathering of rocks, volcanic eruptions, geothermal activities, forest fires, etc.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, a traditional art Ottanthullal of Kerala which has a history of over 300 years was performed in Kerala School Kalolsavam 2023.

• It is a recite-and-dance art form of Kerala, which was introduced in the 18th century by the famous Malayalam poet Kunchan Nambiar (1705 - 1770).
• It is famous for its humour and social satire and is marked by its simplicity.
• It follows the classical principles of Natyasasthra (a treatise on art compiled in the 2nd century B.C.E).
• It is enacted into three separate versions
  • Ottanthullal
• Seethankan thullal
• Parayan thullal
• The Ottanthullal is the most popular among the three varieties of Thullal.
• The performance uses elaborate expressions and stories recited in verses to bring important mythological tales and stories to life.
• The costume and makeup of the performer are similar to that of a Kathakali artist.
• It is performed at temple festivals and cultural programmes.
• The Thullal performer is supported by a singer who repeats the verses and is accompanied by an orchestra of mridangam or thoppimaddalam (percussions) and cymbals.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently scientists gleaned insight into how glassfrogs –a species known for this ability – are able to achieve such transparency.

About:

• Glassfrogs live in the American tropics and are nocturnal amphibians that spend their days sleeping upside down on translucent leaves that match the colour of their backs — a common camouflage tactic.
• Their translucent skin and muscle allow their bones and organs to be visible – hence the name.
• Recent research has proposed that this adaptation masks the frogs’ outlines on their leafy perches, making them harder for predators to spot.

How do some animals become transparent?

• Transparency is a common form of camouflage among animals that live in water, but rare on land.
• In vertebrates, attaining transparency is difficult because their circulatory system is full of red blood cells that interact with light. Studies have shown that ice fish and larval eels achieve transparency by not producing haemoglobin and red blood cells.
• Glassfrogs use an alternative strategy. Resting glassfrogs increase transparency two- to threefold by removing nearly 90 percent of their red blood cells from circulation and packing them within their liver, which contains reflective guanine crystals.
• Whenever the frogs need to become active again, they bring the red blood cells back into the blood, which gives the frogs the ability to move around -- at which point, light absorption from these cells breaks transparency.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

NHA is introducing a new system to measure and grade hospital performance under the flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).

About:

• The objective of the new system is to shift the focus of measuring performance of hospitals from volume of services provided to the value of healthcare services.
• The new initiative will introduce the concept of ‘value- based care’, where payment will be outcome based and providers will be rewarded according to the quality of the treatment delivered.
• Under the new model, the providers will be rewarded for helping the patients improve their health, which consequently will reduce the effects of disease in the population in the long term.
• Under value-based care, the performance of AB PM-JAY empanelled hospitals will be measured based on five performance indicators such as: 1. Beneficiary Satisfaction; 2. Hospital Readmission Rate; 3. The extent of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure; 4. Confirmed Grievances and 5. Improvement in-patient’s Health-Related Quality of Life.

What is National Health Authority (NHA)?

• It is the apex body responsible for implementing AB PM-JAY. It has been entrusted with the role of designing strategy, building technological infrastructure and implementation of “National Digital Health Mission” to create a National Digital Health Eco-system.
• It is the successor of the National Health Agency, which was functioning as a registered society since 2018. Pursuant to Cabinet decision for full functional autonomy, National Health Agency was reconstituted as the National Health Authority in January 2019.
• An attached office of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with full functional autonomy, NHA is governed by a Governing Board chaired by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare.
• It is headed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), an officer of the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, who manages its affairs. The CEO is the Ex-Office Member Secretary of the Governing Board.
• To implement the scheme at the State level, State Health Agencies (SHAs) in the form of a society/trust have been set up by respective States.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, 700 pigs culled in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh to control African Swine Fever.

About :

• African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, whose mortality rate can reach 100%.
  • The virus belongs to Asfarviridae family.
• Symptoms : vomiting, Diarrhea,reddening or darkening of the skin, particularly ears and snout, gummed up eyes etc.
• African Swine Fever can be spread through:
  • Direct contact with infected pigs, faeces or body fluid
  • Indirect contact via fomites such as equipment, vehicles or people who work with pigs between pig farms with ineffective biosecurity.
  • Pigs eating infected pig meat or meat products.
  • Biological vectors - ticks of the species Ornithodoros.
• It is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa but has spread to many other regions of the world, including Asia and Europe.
• It is not known to affect human beings. 
• There is no cure or precaution available for the infection and no approved vaccine yet. So the only way to stop it spreading is by culling the animals.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, the Ministry of Finance said that the first G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) meeting under G20 India Presidency is to be held from 9-11 January 2023 in Kolkata.

What is G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI)?

• The meeting will be attended by G20 member countries, guest countries and international organizations invited by India.
• It will focus on topics like digital financial inclusion, reducing remittance costs, and finance for the SME sector.
• The three-day event will feature symposiums, exhibitions and a domestic outreach programme on digital financial literacy involving over 1,800 school students.
• 12 international speakers will attend the G20 meeting. Institutions like NABARD will highlight the rural area coverage of innovative financial products and services.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Arunachal Pradesh government informed that Parshuram Kund Festival (PKF), is to be celebrated from 12 to 16 January 2023.

• It is a Hindu pilgrimage site situated on the Brahmaputra plateau in the lower reaches of the Lohit River and 21 km north of Tezu in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh, India.
• Devotees and sadhus take a holy dip in its water each year on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, in January.
• It is also known as the Kumbh of the Northeast.
• Religious significance: It is dedicated to a mythological figure sage Parshuram. This popular festival attracts pilgrims from Nepal, from across India, and from nearby states of Manipur and Assam.
• The project “Development of Parasuram Kund is sanctioned under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive’ (PRASHAD) Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism.

Hence both statements are correct.