Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 31, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

The Union Environment Ministry has constituted a “permanent” coordination committee that includes representatives of the Ministries of Railways and Environment to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks.

• This was stated by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav in the Lok Sabha.
• Mr. Yadav said that 19 elephants were killed across the country on railway tracks in 2018-19, 14 in 2019-20 and 12 in 2020-21.
• A Standing Committee on the Railways in 2013 had recommended restricting the speed of trains at vulnerable locations to reduce collisions. This translated into trains slowing down to 50 kmph or less in vulnerable locations.

Several steps were taken to reduce the number of elephants deaths, the Minister noted. These included –

• making permanent and temporary speed restrictions in identified elephant corridors and habitats,
• making underpasses and ramps for movement of elephants at identified locations,
• providing fencing at selected locations,
• erecting signs to warn train drivers about identified elephant corridors,
• sensitising train crew and station masters to avoid train collisions with elephants and
• clearing vegetation on the sides of track within railway land.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

A study by researchers from The Netherlands found the presence of Microplastics in human blood.

• Microplastics are tiny bits of various types of plastic found in the environment. The name is used to differentiate them from “macroplastics” such as bottles and bags made of plastic.
• There is no universal agreement on the size that fits this bill — the U.S. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the European Chemical Agency define microplastic as less than 5mm in length.
• However, for the purposes of this study, since the authors were interested in measuring the quantities of plastic that can cross the membranes and diffuse into the body via the blood stream, the authors have an upper limit on the size of the particles as 0.0007 millimetre.

What were the plastics that the study looked for in the blood samples?

• The study looked at the most commonly used plastic polymers.
• These were polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET), polyethylene (used in making plastic carry bags), polymers of styrene (used in food packaging), poly (methyl methylacrylate) and poly propylene. They found a presence of the first four types.

Hence both statements are correct.

The management authority of the world’s largest coral reef system, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, confirmed on March 25 that the reef is experiencing a mass coral bleaching event.

• Corals are marine invertebrates or animals not possessing a spine. Each coral is called a polyp and thousands of such polyps live together to form a colony, which grows when polyps multiply to make copies of themselves.
• Corals share a symbiotic relationship with single-celled algae called zooxanthellae.
• The algae provides the coral with food and nutrients, which they make through photosynthesis, using the sun’s light. In turn, the corals give the algae a home and key nutrients. The zooxanthellae also give corals their bright colour.
• Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system stretching across 2,300 km. It hosts 400 different types of coral, gives shelter to 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc.

Coral Bleaching

• Coral Bleaching happens when corals experience stress in their environment due to changes in temperature, pollution or high levels of ocean acidity.
• Under stressed conditions, the zooxanthellae or food-producing algae living inside coral polyps start producing reactive oxygen species, which are not beneficial to the corals.
• So, the corals expel the colour-giving zooxanthellae from their polyps, which exposes their pale white exoskeleton, giving the corals a bleached appearance. This also ends the symbiotic relationship that helps the corals to survive and grow.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) has deferred its decision on a recommendation to remove the 1921 Malabar Rebellion martyrs, including Variamkunnaathu Kunhahamad Haji and Ali Musliyar, from the list of India’s freedom fighters.

• The panel was of the view that the rebellion that took place at Malabar was a one-sided attack on Hindus. Just two Britishers were killed during the unrest and hence the rebellion could not be considered as part of the freedom struggle.
• The subcommittee had recommended the removal of the Malabar Rebellion leaders, mostly Muslims, from the list. This is viewed by some as an attempt to distort history.
• The Malabar rebellion or Mappila riots occured between August 1921 and 1922 in the southern part of the Malabar district of the Madras Presidency (now part of Kerala).
• The uprising was by the Mappila peasantry (mainly Muslims) against the prevailing feudal system in the region controlled by upper-caste Hindus, whom the British had also appointed in positions of authority for their support.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, that would allow the police and prison authorities to collect, store and analyse physical and biological samples, including retina and iris scans, was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

• The Bill also seeks to apply these provisions to persons held under any preventive detention law.
• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will be the repository of physical and biological samples, signature and handwriting data that can be preserved for at least 75 years.
• The Bill seeks to repeal the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 whose scope was limited to recording finger impressions and footprint impressions of limited category of convicted and non-convicted persons and photographs on the order of a magistrate.

Hence both statements are correct.

Asian Development Bank

• ADB is a regional development bank established in 1966. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• It has 68 members. India is a founding member. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• 49 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
• It aims to promote social and economic development in Asia and the Pacific.
• As of 31st December 2019, ADB’s five largest shareholders are Japan and the United States (each with 15.6% of total shares), the People’s Republic of China (6.4%), India (6.3%), and Australia (5.8%).
• It is headquartered in Manila, Philippines. 

Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• I-STEM is a National Web portal for sharing R&D (Research and Development) facilities.
  • The portal facilitates researchers to access slots for the use of equipment, as well as to share the details of the outcomes, such as, patents, publications and technologies. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • In July, 2021, I-STEM project was accorded an extension for five years, until 2026 and entered its second phase with added features.
• Launched in January 2020, it is an initiative of Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India under the aegis of Prime Minister Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) mission. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organisation comprising seven Member States: five deriving from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand. Hence, statement 1 is NOT correct.
• This sub-regional organisation came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. The BIMSTEC Secretariat is in Dhaka.

Hence, statement 2 is NOT correct.

The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), set to come into force on May 1, includes a chapter on government procurement, granting UAE-based companies treatment on par with domestic companies.

• This is the first instance of India including government procurement in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
• The move marks a major shift in India’s stance on government procurement, which had also been a stumbling block in major FTA negotiations, including those with the European Union.
• Government procurement is estimated to be worth about 20-22 per cent of GDP.
• India has previously been unwilling to discuss government procurement in bilateral or multilateral trade agreements to protect domestic firms which rely on it.
• India is also not a signatory to the World Trade Organisations Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), but has been an observer since 2010.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Ministry of Defence clarified in Parliament on March 28 that the Indian Armed Forces do not use the term “martyr” for personnel who sacrifice their lives in the line of duty.

• For almost a decade now, the government has maintained that the word ‘martyr’ does not have any official recognition.
• The word ‘martyr’ is not used in reference to any of the casualties in the Indian Armed Forces as well as for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Assam Rifles personnel also.
• The words ‘martyr’ and ‘shaheed’ are not defined anywhere by the Government of India.

What is the objection to the word ‘martyr’?

• The word ‘martyr’ has religious connotations and has been used in history to refer to the sacrifices made by people for their religious beliefs, particularly in Christianity.
• The word ‘shaheed’, which is used as a Hindustani alternative to the word ‘martyr’, also has religious connotations and is linked to the concept of Shahadat in Islam.
• Since the armed forces of India are not associated with any one religion and do not lay down their lives for religious principles, the use of such words for their sacrifice has been found wrong in several quarters, including the top brass of the Army.

Hence both statements are correct.