Daily Current Affairs MCQ- January 29, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

A recent study published in the journal Nature revealed that Kelp forests are declining because of climate change.

• Kelp thrives in cold, nutrient-rich waters. 
• They attach to the seafloor and eventually grow to the water’s surface and rely on sunlight to generate food and energy, kelp forests are always coastal and require shallow, relatively clear water.
• They provide underwater habitats to hundreds of species of invertebrates, fishes, and other algae and have great ecological and economic value.

Distribution of Kelp forest

• Kelp forests have been observed throughout the Arctic by the Inuit. The Canadian Arctic alone represents 10 per cent of the world’s coastlines.
• They have adapted to severe conditions. These cool water species have special strategies to survive freezing temperatures and long periods of darkness and even grow under sea ice.
• In regions with cold, nutrient-rich water, they can attain some of the highest rates of primary production of any natural ecosystem on Earth.
• Between Ellesmere Island and Labrador, as well as along the coasts of Lancaster Sound, Ungava Bay, Hudson Bay, Baffin Bay, and Resolute Bay in Hudson Bay and eastern Canada, kelp forests have been scientifically documented.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Culture recently said that The government will hand over around 1,000 monuments under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India to the private sector for their upkeep under the Monument Mitra Scheme.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Culture in respect of the monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India.
• It applies to all centrally protected heritage properties.
• Aim: Ensuring quality & inclusive provision of amenities and facilities across heritage, natural, & tourist sites through the active participation of private and public sector organizations and individuals.
• Corporate entities will take over these monuments as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.
• These organizations would be known as “Monument Mitras” for their collaboration initiative.
• The government has set the target to hand over 500 sites under the revamped Monument Mitra Scheme by the end of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav on 15 August 2023.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recent studies came out with the fact that Immune imprinting in the bodies, might be making new boosters dose of COVID-19 far less effective than expected.

• The phenomenon of Immune imprinting was first observed in 1947 when scientists noted that in flu patients and termed it an ‘original antigenic sin’.
• Immune imprinting is a tendency of the body to repeat its immune response based on the first variant it encountered — through infection or vaccination — when it comes across a newer or slightly different variant of the same pathogen.
• Imprinting acts as a database for the immune system, helping it put up a better response to repeat infections.
• After the body is exposed to a virus for the first time, it produces memory B cells that circulate in the bloodstream and quickly produce antibodies whenever the same strain of the virus infects again.
• The problem occurs when a similar, not identical, variant of the virus is encountered by the body.
• In such cases, the immune system, rather than generating new B cells, activates memory B cells, which produce cross-reactive antibodies that bind to features found in both the old and new strains.

Hence both statements are correct.

The paediatrics department at AIIMS Delhi recently wrote a recommendation letter for the father of an 11-month-old patient who is seeking financial assistance for the infant's treatment worth Rs 17.5 crore (USD 2.1 million) due to SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) type-1.

• Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a neurological condition caused by a defect in the SMN1 gene.
• Normally, every person is born with a gene called SMN1 which produces a protein called SMN protein, in many cells in our body.
• This protein is essential for the normal functioning of nerve cells in the spinal cord called the ‘anterior horn cells.
• The anterior horn cells control the skeletal muscles essential for all our movements However, the absence of the SMN1 gene causes a reduction in the amount of SMN protein produced in anterior horn cells.
• Impacts of reduced SMN protein: The reduced quantity of SMN protein causes gradual death of anterior horn cells, and thus progressive weakness of muscles of limbs, trunk and breathing and swallowing muscles.
• Zolgensma: It is an artificially prepared SMN1 gene, coupled with an innocuous viral vector (AAV9) and administered as a single-dose intravenous infusion. This medicine is approved for use in children under two years of age only.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Visakhapatnam railway station of East Coast Railway has been awarded the ‘Green Railway Station Certification with the highest rating of Platinum' by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

• It is a rating system developed by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Indian Green Building Council with the support of the Environment Directorate of Indian Railway.
• It is a voluntary and consensus-based programme.
• This is the first of its kind holistic rating in India to address environmental sustainability in Indian railway stations.
• Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) is part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) formed in the year 2001.
• The council offers a wide array of services which include developing new green building rating programmes, certification services and green building training programmes.
• The council also organises Green Building Congress, its annual flagship event on green buildings.
• The council is committee-based, member-driven and consensus-focused. All the stakeholders, corporate, Government, academia and nodal agencies participate in the council activities through local chapters.

Hence both statements are correct.

The handover ceremony of the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) which is the primary payload of Aditya-L1 Mission was held recently.

About Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) on board Aditya-L1:

• It is the largest payload that would fly on the Aditya-L1 mission.
• What is it? It is an internally occulted solar coronagraph capable of simultaneous imaging, spectroscopy and spectro-polarimetry close to the solar limb.
• The VELC consists of a coronagraph, spectrograph, polarimetry module and detectors, aside from auxiliary optics.
• It is built by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) at its CREST (Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology) campus at Hosakote, Karnataka.
• Purpose:
• It will observe the solar corona, which is the tenuous, outermost layer of the solar atmosphere.
• It will analyze the coronal temperature, plasma velocity, density, etc.
• It will also study Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and the solar wind.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India is lagging behind in the targets to increase the number and quality of tree- and forest-cover plantations set in the Green India Mission, according to a recent data accessed via the Right To Information Act.

About Green India Mission:

• National Mission for a Green India (GIM) is one of the eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
• GIM was launched in the year 2014 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Aim: To respond to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures, which would help:
• enhance carbon sinks
• adaptation of vulnerable species/ecosystems to the changing climate
• adaptation of forest-dependant communities
• Objectives:
• Increased forest/tree cover on 5 million hectares (mha) of forest/non-forest lands and improved quality of forest cover on another 5 mha (a total of 10 mha).
• Improved ecosystem services including biodiversity, hydrological services and carbon sequestration as a result of treatment of 10 mha.
• Increased forest-based livelihood income of about 3 million households living in and around the forests.
• Enhanced annual CO2 sequestration by 50 to 60 million tonnes in the year 2020.

Hence both statements are correct.

The 'halwa ceremony', which marks the final stage of the Union Budget-preparation, took place recently, at the Finance Ministry headquarters in New Delhi.

About ‘Halwa’ ceremony:

• It is a customary pre-Budget event that formally flags off the printing of different documents associated with the Budget and marks the final stage of the Union Budget-preparation.
• It involves the preparation of the traditional dessert 'halwa' in a massive kadhai (wok) which is then served to the entire staff in the Finance ministry.
• The finance minister gives the go-ahead by stirring the kadhai and serving the sweet to officials.
• It takes place in the basement of the Finance Ministry's North Block in Central Delhi, where a special printing press is located.
• After the 'halwa ceremony', officials involved in the Budget-making process are 'locked in' at the North Block. They are kept in absolute isolation and completely cut off from the outside world till the finance minister finally presents the Budget.
• The “lock-in” which follows the ‘halwa ceremony’ is observed to maintain the secrecy of the Budget preparation process.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently researchers have discovered one of the planet's rarest Pallas cats for the first time in the Mount Everest Region.

• The Pallas’s cat, also known as manul, is a small wild cat, perfectly adapted to the harsh conditions typical of its habitat.
• Naturally secretive, it is rarely seen and little known.
• Habitat: Wide but fragmented distribution throughout montane grasslands and steppes of Central Asia.
• Its core populations are in Mongolia and China.
• Conservation status
• IUCN Red List: Least concern

Hence both statements are correct.

According to a report published by Refugees International, shrinking natural resources due to adverse weather are raising tensions across communities and displacing people of the Lake Chad region.

• Lake Chad is located in the Sahel, the vast semi-arid region south of the Sahara desert.
• It is bordered by 4 countries - Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria.
• Source of the Lake: It is fed mainly by the Chari River through the Lagone tributary.
• The Lagone tributary used to provide 90 % of its water.
• Significance of the Lake: The Lake is vital for indigenous, pastoral and farming communities in these countries.
• The lake has been supporting drinking water, irrigation, fishing, livestock and economic activity for over 30 million people in the region.
• The Lake Chad basin in west and central Africa covers 8% of the African continent and is home to 42 million people.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.