Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 24, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Ancient inscriptions, hero stones, and idols of Shiva Linga and Nandi have been unearthed during recent research about the history of Nolamba Pallavas.

About Nolamba Dynasty:

• They were one of the significant political powers in South India.
• The Nolambas ruled from the 8th to the 12th centuries C.E. over an area traditionally called Nolambavadi, which extended over south-east Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. 
• Their ruled first as feudatories to Pallavas, Chalukyas of Badami, Gangas, and Rasjtrakutas, and later to Chalukyas of Kalyani.
• Nolambas commonly referred themselves as Nolamba Pallava in several inscriptions.
• Their earlier capital was Chitradurga, which they later shifted to Hemavati in modern Andhra Pradesh. Hemavathi was the capital between the 8th and 10th centuries AD.
• Origin:
• Mangala Nomabathi Raja (735–785 A.D) was considered the founder of Nolamba dynasty.
• Inscriptional evidence suggests that they came into existence as governors when the Pallavas and Chalukyas were supreme powers.
• With the seizure of Badami by the Pallava ruler Mamalla Narasimhavarman I, the Chalukyas ceded the territories that were ruled by the Banas and Vaidumbas to the Pallavas.
• The Banas and Vaidumbas thus became feudatories of the Pallavas.
• The Nolambas, who were perhaps related to the Pallava family, governed the region adjacent to these land of Pallava feudatories, namely the Banas and Vaidumbas.
• Sometime later, during the rule of Vikramaditya I, the Chalukyas regained the lost territories. The Banas and Vaidumbas thus had to change their political relationship back to the Chalukyas.
• The Pallava chiefs, who were adjacent to the Banas and Vaidumbas, were defeated by the Chalukyas, who soon came under their protection. These Pallava chiefs soon came into existence under the name of “Nolambas”.
• Decline: Nolambas were overrun by the Ganga king Marasimha, who boasts of having destroyed the Nolamba family and had the title Nolambakulantaka.
• Three grand temple complexes that are attributed to this dynasty's glory are the Kalleshwara Temple in Aralaguppe, the Bhoganandishwara Temple in Nandi, and the Ramalingeshwara Temple in Avani.
• The Nolambas were Shaivites, and the temples they built were dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Hence both statements are correct.

Nifty recently ended 95 points higher to cross above the key hurdle at 19,850 level and form a hammer candlestick pattern on the daily chart.

About Hammer Candlesticks in Trading:

• It is one of the most popular candlestick patterns traders use to gauge the probability of outcomes when looking at price movement.
• A hammer is a price pattern in candlestick charting that occurs when a security trades significantly lower than its opening but rallies within the period to close near the opening price.
• This pattern forms a hammer-shaped candlestick, in which the lower shadow is at least twice the size of the real body.
• The body of the candlestick represents the difference between the opening and closing prices, while the shadow shows the high and low prices for the period.
• The hammer candlestick occurs when sellers enter the market during a price decline. By the time the market closes, buyers absorb selling pressure and push the market price near the opening price.
• The close can be above or below the opening price, although the close should be near the open for the real body of the candlestick to remain small.
• Analysts view it as a potential bullish trend reversal indicator, mainly appearing at the end of a downtrend.
• It could be used as a leading intraday indicator to signal a change in bullish/bearish momentum.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Iran recently unveiled its new and improved Hypersonic weapon, the Fattah-2.

About Fattah 2:

• Fattah, which means conqueror in Farsi, is a hypersonic ballistic missile.
• It was developed by Iran. It is a new version of its first domestically made hypersonic ballistic missile named ‘Fattah’.
• Features:
• It is equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) warhead that can manoeuvre and glide at hypersonic speed.
• It uses a liquid-fuel rocket propellant.
• The precision-guided two-stage missile, can hit targets within a range of 1500 kilometres with a velocity of Mach 15 (fifteen times the speed of sound i.e 18522 km/hr).
• It can make quick turns to avoid defence systems.
• It is equipped with a warhead that has a spherical engine running on solid fuel and movable nozzles that allow it to change course when outside the atmosphere to accurately help it evade air-defence systems.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

India, the largest consumer and second-largest producer of sugar globally, was recently named the Chair of the International Sugar Organisation (ISO) for the year 2024.

About International Sugar Organisation (ISO):

• ISO is an inter-governmental body completely devoted to improving conditions on the world sugar market.
• Its 87 member states represent 87% of global production, 64% of consumption, 92% of sugar exports, and 34% of sugar imports.
• ISO is based in London.
• The ISO exists to administer the internationally negotiated 1992 International Sugar Agreement (ISA), the objectives of which are: 
• to ensure enhanced international cooperation in connection with world sugar matters and related issues.
• to provide a forum for intergovernmental consultations on sugar and on ways to improve the world sugar economy.
• to facilitate trade by collecting and providing information on the world sugar market and other sweeteners.
• to encourage increased demand for sugar, particularly for non-traditional uses.
• To fulfill these objectives, the ISO undertakes many distinct activities, including workshops, seminars, and its long-established and widely-recognized statistical and analytical work.

Hence both statements are correct.

A team of scientists and researchers have discovered a new species of gecko endemic to Mizoram.

• The new species has been named ‘Cyrtodactylus vairengtensis’ after the town in Mizoram where it was found.
• The common name suggested for the new species is ‘Vairengte bent-toed gecko’.
• The distinct feature of this new species is the number of femoral pores which distinguishes it from other members of the Cyrtodactylus family.
• Femoral pores are located on the underside of the hind legs in lizards that secrete a mixture of lipids and proteins and are thought to be used to attract mates and mark territories.
• It is endemic to Mizoram, taking the number of geckos native to the state to 6, and 22 across northeast India.
• There are 335 gecko species across the world, of which 42 are found in India.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Recently, a farmer in North Goa’s Nanoda Bamber village found 832 copper coins in a pot buried in the soil which were believed to be minted in Goa around the 16th or 17th Century when it was under Portuguese rule.

• The Portuguese people issued coins in gold, copper and silver from Goa.
• The gold coins were termed as 'Cruzado' or 'Manoel' and were issued in the same size, value and weight as the 'Pagodas' or 'Hons'.
• Another type of gold coin named 'Meio-manoel', and 'Meia-espera' and 'Espera' in silver were also issued.
• The gold 'Manoel' and the silver 'Espera' had the Cross of the Order of Christ on the obverse and the armillary sphere, the device of the King D. Manoel on the reverse side of the coin were found.
• The half pieces of these coins bore the word 'MEA' surmounted by a crown on one side of the coin and the armillary sphere on the flip side of the coin.
• The Governor of Goa suspended the issue of these coins in 1519.
• After this in 1549, gold and silver coins were reintroduced.
• During this period, the Portuguese had adopted the Apostle St. Thomas as their patron saint for India.
• Since then it had been decided to etch the effigy of St. Thomas on their Indian coins and to give the coins the name of St. Thome.
• The gold and the silver coins had a seated or standing figure of St. Thomas with the letters S and T on one side of the coin and the crowned arm of Portugal with the initials of the reigning monarch on the other side of the coin.
• Sometimes small inscriptions were also found in the coins.
• The gold coins of Portuguese were of the value of 20, 10, 5 and 2 'Xerafirms'.
• Two mints were opened at Bassein and Daman in 1611 for issuing copper 'Buzaruccos'.
• Later on 'tutenag' coins were issued from these mints.
• The copper 'Buzaruccos' had the coat-of-arms on one side of the coin and a sheaf of arrows on the flip side of the coin.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Recently, the ‘AAINA Dashboard for Cities’ portal has been made live by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

• It would serve as a tool for comparing similarly placed Urban Local Bodies (ULBs ) and promoting peer learning amongst ULBs.
• This dashboard will inspire the ULBs by pointing to possibilities and areas of improvement and providing them the opportunity to learn and engage with frontrunners.
• It aims to create a robust database of the key performance metrics of Urban Local Bodies, which could be accessed by all stakeholders, and subsequently would open for public view once it gets populated.
• Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the country can participate in this pioneering initiative to voluntarily submit their key data on a regular basis, through a simple, easy-to-fill, data entry form on the portal.
• Objectives of the AAINA Dashboard are to help cities to
• See how they are faring vis-à-vis other cities.
• Inspire them by pointing to possibilities and areas of improvement and
• Providing opportunity to learn and engage with frontrunners.
• The Dashboard will present the data submitted by the ULBs on the basis of indicators across five broad pillars namely,
• Political & Administrative Structure
• Finance
• Planning,
• Citizen Centric Governance and
• Delivery of Basic Services.
• The ULBs will submit their data, including audited accounts, and self-reported performance metrics by logging in to the dashboard’s portal.
• ULBs would be free to update the information initially provided by them, anytime on the portal as per need.
• The Dashboard has been envisaged as a permanent platform for ULB related data, that would be updated on a regular basis.
• The Ministry through Digital India Corporation will provide handholding support to ULBs / States in the data submission process on a need basis.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

As per the report submitted under the Global Tiger Recovery Program (GTRP) 2.0overall tiger population increased 60%.

• It was launched in 2010 under the Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) by the World Bank to save wild tigers. 
• This initiative set up the ambitious target of reversing the rapid decline of wild tigers across their range and doubling their population numbers by 2022.
• Alongside these top-level targets, the GTRP set out urgent thematic actions at a national level to strengthen wild tiger conservation in sync with this global goal.
• The first GTRP helped to pull focus to wild tiger conservation and secure a collective commitment from TRCs.
• It was endorsed in the St Petersburg Declaration in 2010 which saw 13 tiger range countries committing to reverse the decline of the species population.
• The 13 tiger range countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Vadhavan Port Project Ltd. (VPPL) has initiated the process for construction of the ₹76,220 crore port and public hearings are likely to begin in the next few months. 

About Vadhavan Port:

• It is a proposed Rs 75,000 crore container port project at Vadhavan in Maharashtra.
• The port will be developed as a joint venture by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB).
• The new port has a natural draft of about 20 metres close to the shore, making it possible for it to handle bigger vessels.
• It will enable the call of container vessels of 16,000- 25,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) capacity, giving advantages of economies of scale and reducing logistics cost.
• It will be designed to handle around 254 million tonnes (MT) of cargo.
• It will be developed as a Green Port. It is planning to provide green fuel to ships coming to the port, and the construction and operations are planned to keep in mind the environmental issues. 

Jawaharlal Nehru Port:

• It is also known as the largest container port in India, handling around 55% of total containers handled by all Major Ports in India. 
• Location: It is located east of Mumbai, in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• This port on the Arabian Sea is accessed via Thane Creek. 
• It is also known as Nhava Sheva. Its common name derives from the names of Nhava and Sheva villages that were situated here. 
• This port is also the terminal of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

The Prime Minister recently announced he will go to the native village of tribal icon Birsa Munda on his birth anniversary and launch a welfare scheme for the community.

About Birsa Munda:

• He was a folk hero and a tribal freedom fighter hailing from the Munda tribe.
• He spearheaded an Indian tribal mass movement that arose in the Bihar and Jharkhand belts in the early 19th century under British colonisation.
• Munda rallied the tribals to fight against the forceful land grabbing carried out by the British government, which would turn the tribals into bonded labourers and force them to abject poverty.
• He influenced his people to realise the importance of owning their land and asserting their rights over it.
• As a reaction to the introduction of the Zamindari system, or Permanent settlement in tribal areas, Birsa Munda in 1894 declared “Ulgulan”, or revolt, against the British and the Dikus – the outsiders.
• He created a faith called ‘Birsait’.
• Known as 'Dharti Abba' or the Earth Father, Birsa Munda stressed the need for the tribals to study their own religion and not forget their cultural roots.
• Birsa Munda propagated the principles of Hindu religion.
• He died on June 9, 1900, at age 25. 
• His struggle against exploitation and discrimination against tribals led to a big hit against the British government in the form of the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act being passed in 1908. The act restricted the passing on of land from the tribal people to non-tribals.
• In recognition of his impact on the national movement, the state of Jharkhand was created on his birth anniversary in 2000.
• November 15, the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, was declared ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas by the Central Government in 2021.

Hence both statements are correct.