Daily Current Affairs MCQ- June 14, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, Union Home Minister inaugurated a 122-foot-high Sagol Kangjei (Polo) Statue at the Ibudhou Marjing complex at Heingang in Imphal.

What is Sagol Kangjei?

• Sagol Kangjei is the name of the game of polo played in Manipur.
• Sagol means pony/horse, Kang means a ball or round object, and jei is a stick used for hitting.
• In the state of Manipur, it has always been a game for the common man. It is played by seven players on each side and the players are mounted on ponies.
• Manipuri polo symbolises the immense cultural heritage of the state, and great efforts have been put made to raise the standard of this popular game.
• The prominent patrons of the game were King Kyamba and King Khagemba ( 1597-1672 A.D.), and King Chandra Kirti ( 1850 - 1886 A.D.). The latter, especially, is to be credited with popularising the sport in other parts of the world.
• There are no goalposts in this game. Goal lines determine the end of the two boundaries of the rectangular field. The ball ( hang drum ) is white. To score a goal the ball must cross the line.
• The polo stick is made of cane or wood, and is called Kang – hu and has a head of hardwood and the ball is made of bamboo root.
• The traditional attire consists of a chin - strap ( khadangchet ) and a turban, for protecting the head. Leg - guards ( khongyom ) are worn below the knee. Since no shoes are worn, the players use khumit - Khang. A leash of thick leather is held by the index finger of the left hand.
• This is a seasonal game and is played in the Manipuri month of September / October and in   June / July.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology launched this campaign at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

• The One Week One lab campaign of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), will highlight India's global excellence in technology, innovation and Start-ups.
• In this campaign, each of CSIR’s 37 constituent laboratories, spread Nationwide, will showcase their legacy, exclusive innovations and technological breakthroughs every successive week.
• During the campaign each CSIR lab shall be organizing week-long events including industry & start-up meet, students connect, society connect, display of technologies, etc.
• The campaign will also focus on academia and skill development, where interested students from varying domains get to know about the research activities and facilities of the CSIR laboratories and get a connection with prospects. 
• Industries & MSMEs Meets are targeted to establish an understanding between Science and Industry based on the requirement of the society or regional needs and to identify potential industries for co-development of Next Gen technologies and products.
• It will be an opportunity to create networks of Govt- Academia-Industry for faster deliveries and deployments of technologies.

What is CSIR?

• It is the largest research and development (R&D) organisation in India which was set up in 1942.
• It is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

What is the Structure of the Organisation?

• The Prime Minister of India (Ex-officio) is the President of this organisation.
• Vice President: Union Minister of Science and Technology (Ex-officio)
• Governing Body: The Director-General is the head of the governing body.
• The other ex-officio member is the finance secretary (expenditures).

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, India deploys a women-only platoon of peacekeepers to the UN Mission in Abyei on the border of Sudan and South Sudan as part of the Indian Battalion in the United Nations Interim Security Force, Abyei (UNISFA).

Why in news?

• The Indian contingent, which consists of two officers and 25 other ranks, will work as a platoon in an engagement and specialise in community outreach in addition to carrying out numerous security-related duties.
• This time India is deploying the largest single unit of female Blue Helmets in a UN mission since 2007.

What is UNISFA?

• It was established by the UN Security Council in response to the critical situation in the Abyei area of Sudan by resolution 1990 of 27 June 2011. 
• Resolution 1990 made provision for the deployment of 4,200 Ethiopian troops to provide security and protect civilians under imminent threat of violence in the disputed border region.

What is United Nations Peacekeeping Mission?

• This Peacekeeping operation is policing and peacebuilding actions carried out by the UN to bring order and stability to war-torn nations.
• The UN Peacekeepers are known as ‘Blue Helmets’ or ‘Blue Berets’.
• Peacekeepers are the military personnel of the UN that work alongside the UN Police and civilian colleagues to promote “stability, security, and peace processes”.
• Origin: When the UN Security Council approved the deployment of UN military observers to the Middle East in 1948, the UN Peacekeeping Forces were established.
• Nodal Agency: The United Nations Charter authorises the United Nations Security Council to take collective action to maintain international peace and security.
• Structure: The UN Peacekeeping force is supplemented by personnel from member nations. They are added to the force on a volunteer basis.
• India’s role: India is one of the largest troop-contributing nations to the U.N. peacekeeping missions. India is the second-highest military and fifth-highest police contributing country to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) will be held on January 9, 2023, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention is the flagship event of the Government of India. It provides an important platform to engage and connect with overseas Indians and to enable the diaspora to interact with each other.
• The theme of 2023 PBD? Diaspora: Reliable partners for India’s progress in Amrit Kaal.

What are the important events to be organised?

• A Commemorative Postal Stamp ‘Surakshit Jaayen, Prashikshit Jaayen’ will be released to underline the importance of safe, legal, orderly and skilled migration. 
• The PBD Convention will have five thematic Plenary sessions
  • Role of Diaspora Youth in Innovations and new Technologies.
  • Role of Indian Diaspora in promoting Indian Healthcare Eco-system in Amrit Kaal: Vision @2047.
  • Leveraging the soft power of India - Goodwill through craft, cuisine & creativity.
  • Enabling global mobility of Indian workforce – Role of Indian Diaspora.
  • Harnessing the potential of diaspora entrepreneurs towards an inclusive approach to nation-building.

What are the Key facts about PBD?

• 9th January was chosen as the day to celebrate PBD, as it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, who returned to India from South Africa, led India’s freedom struggle.
• This convention is being held every year since 2003 but in 2015 it was revised and was decided to be celebrated every two years. It was then a theme-based conference that was set up every year during the interim period.
• PBD Conventions are held once every two years.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted a conditional license for a vaccine for honeybees to curb American foulbrood (AFB).

What is AFB?

• It is a fatal bacterial disease which affects insects and it is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae.
• Infected honeybee broods usually die at the pre-pupal or pupal stage.
• The disease cannot be cured, meaning that the destruction of infected colonies and hives or irradiation of infected material is the only way to manage AFB.

What are the key facts about honeybees?

• There are almost 20,000 different species of bees in the world.
• In each bee colony, there are three types of bees, the queen bee, the worker bee, and the drone.
• The worker and the queen bee both are females, but only the queen bee can reproduce and all drones are male.
• India is home to four of the seven known bee species.
• Domesticated: Apis cerana (oriental honey bee) and Apis mellifera (European honey bee).
• Wild: Apis dorsata (giant/rock honey bee) and Apis florea (dwarf honey bee).
• Recently, a new species of endemic honeybee named Apis karinjodian has been discovered in the Western Ghats after a gap of more than 200 years.
• Common Name: Indian black honeybee.
• IUCN Red List: Near Threatened (NT).
• It is distributed from the central Western Ghats and Nilgiris to the southern Western Ghats, covering the States of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Union government’s proposed measures for regulating online gaming in a draft amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Liability and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 leave several questions unanswered.

Gambling:

• Gambling has been defined under the Old Law “Public Gambling Act 1867”.
• It is the subject of the “State list” under the 7th Schedule of the constitution.
• The Law Commission in one of its reports recommends allowing gambling in sports.:

Online Gaming

• Online gaming regulated by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology but different states have their own laws related to permission within the state.
• So far States like Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have been passed laws banning online games.
• There is no monitoring body in India till now to control online gaming and it is in ‘Grey area’.
• Online gaming industry revenue in India to exceed $1.5 billion by 2022 and is expected to reach $5 billion by 2025.

What are the different types of online gaming?

• e-Sports: These are video games that were played privately or on consoles in video game stores in the 1990s, but are currently played online in a structured manner between professional players, either individually or in teams.
• Fantasy sports: These are games in which the player selects a team of real sports players from several teams and earns points based on how well the players perform in real life. For example,
• Online casual games:
• These could be skill-based, where the outcome is heavily impacted by mental or physical skill or chance-based, where the outcome is heavily influenced by some randomised activity, such as rolling a die.
• A game of chance may be considered as gambling if players bet money or anything of monetary value.

Hence both statements are correct.

A Military Tattoo and Tribal Dance Festival - Aadi Shaurya - Parv Parakram Ka will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in New Delhi on the 23 January.

• The two-day festival will showcase the prowess of the Armed Forces and the ethnic beauty of India’s tribal culture.
• The programme comprises a Military Tattoo - Paramotor Gliding, Hot Air Balloon, Horse Show, Motor Cycle Display, Air Warrior Drill, Navy Band and traditional dance performances by tribal artists from across the country.
• The aim of the festival is to remember the sacrifices of the country’s brave hearts and celebrate the rich cultural heritage which makes India so unique and diverse.
• The objective is to celebrate together the bravery of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, embrace the true spirit of India and renew the commitment to building a strong and prosperous New India.
• The Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs are jointly organising the event.

Hence both statements are correct.

Mascot, torch and anthem of Khelo India Youth Games recently unveiled in Bhopal.

• Madhya Pradesh is hosting the fifth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games. In this sports event, to be held from the 30th of January to the 11th of February, six thousand players will show their sports skills in eight different cities for 13 days. 
• For the first time water sports namely Kayaking Canoeing, Canoe Slalom and Fencing will be part of this edition of Khelo India Games.

Khelo India Youth Games

• Objective: To revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level by building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establish India as a great sporting nation.
• It is an annual event. The first edition was held in 2018 in Delhi in which Haryana won 38 golds.
• Talented players identified in priority sports disciplines at various levels by the High-Powered Committee will be provided annual financial assistance of INR 5 lakh per annum for 8 years.

Hence both statements are correct.

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 farmer recently takes forward the State’s traditional practice of building root bridges and connects two areas across Umkar river in Cherrapunjee.

• Meghalaya is known for its living root bridges, locally known as jingkieng jri.
• They are on the tentative list of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.
• Many bridges across the State are over a century old.
• A living root bridge is like a suspension bridge formed by guiding the pliable roots of the rubber fig tree (Ficus elastica) across a stream or river and allowing the roots to grow and strengthen over time.
• They are common in the southern part of the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.