Daily Current Affairs MCQ- May 5, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, a recent research carried out on ‘Paliyar Tribals in Kodaikanal and Theni areas’ urged the State government to take necessary and immediate steps to uplift the Paliyar tribes as well as the other such Adivasi communities.

• The term ‘Paliyar ’ has been derived from the word ‘Palaniyan’ , which in Tamil language means a man from Palani.
• They are and have been known by multiple names such as the Paliyans, Pazhaiyarares and Panaiyars.
• Location: They are distributed in the districts of Madurai, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai Tirunelveli and Coimbatore of Tamil Nadu.
• Language: They speak Tamil and use the Tamil script for both inter-group and intra-group communication.
• Occupation: Traditionally, the Paliyars were hunters and gatherers.
• The tribal people offer prayers to the Vanadevadai in the interior forest. They also worship god Karuppan by visiting a remote area of the forest along with the families
• The Paliyar tribes never burned the dead bodies. They had the customary practices of burying the dead bodies in an area near to their residential area on the western side.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Koothandavar festival at Koovagam in Tamil Nadu plays out a tale of marriage and widowhood, all in a day.

• In the Tamil month of Chithirai (mid-April to mid-May), the 18-day Koothandavar festival takes place in Koovagam of Tamil Nadu.
• It is the annual event, steeped in tradition, garners global attention for its unique celebration of the transgender identity.
• History
• In a Tamil version of the Mahabharata, a character called Aravan offered himself as sacrifice for the Pandavas’ triumph in war.
• It is said he had a boon of marriage before his sacrifice but no woman wanted to marry him as it would mean widowhood.
• Eventually, it is said Lord Krishna married Aravan after taking the form of Mohini. Lore has it that Lord Krishna grieved for Aravan as a widow.
• Rituals
• The focal point of the festival, Lord Aravan's sacrificical ritual.
• On the 17th day of the ceremony, transwomen from far and wide congregate to wed Lord Aravan.
• The next day, as the culmination of the festival, Aravan would be sacrificed in the war.
• Marking his death, the transwomen who married him go through the rituals of widowhood, lamenting Aravan's death.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to issue a Blue Corner notice against a political Party MP who fled to Germany on a diplomatic passport after allegations of sexual abuse.

• It is a part of Interpol’s elaborate system of colour-coded notices, which enable countries to “share alerts and requests for information [on wanted persons/crimes] worldwide”.
• This sharing of critical crime-related information is crucial for tackling internationally spread out criminal activities.
• There are seven types of notices — Red Notice, Yellow Notice, Blue Notice, Black Notice, Green Notice, Orange Notice, and Purple Notice. Each has a different implication.
• Red Notice: To seek the location and arrest of persons wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence.
• Yellow Notice: To help locate missing persons, often minors, or to help identify persons who are unable to identify themselves.
• Blue Notice: To collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.
• Black Notice: To seek information on unidentified bodies.
• Green Notice: To provide warning about a person’s criminal activities, where the person is considered to be a possible threat to public safety.
• Orange Notice: To warn of an event, a person, an object or a process representing a serious and imminent threat to public safety.
• Purple Notice: To seek or provide information on modus operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals.
• These notices are issued by the Interpol’s General Secretariat at the request of a member country’s Interpol National Central Bureau and are made available for all member countries. 

What is International Criminal Police Organization?

• It is commonly known as Interpol, facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control.
• Mandate: It is an international organization facilitating international police cooperation against cross-border terrorism, trafficking, and other crime.
• Governance: All decisions regarding the activities of INTERPOL are made by the General Assembly which is its supreme governing body which meets annually.
• Status: It is ‘NOT’ a unit or part of a united nation system. It is an independent international organization.

Hence both statements are correct.

In a recent interview, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, expressed his commitment to invest billions of dollars towards the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

• It refers to a machine or a software that can perform any intellectual task that a human can do. This includes reasoning, common sense, abstract thinking, background knowledge, transfer learning, ability to differentiate between cause and effect, etc.
• It aims to emulate human cognitive abilities such that it allows it to do unfamiliar tasks, learn from new experiences, and apply its knowledge in new ways.

How is AGI different from AI we already use?

• The main difference between AGI and the more common form of AI, also known as narrow AI, lies in their scope and capabilities.
  • Narrow AI is designed to perform specific tasks such as image recognition, translation, or even playing games like chess—at which it can outdo humans, but it remains limited to its set parameters.
  • On the other hand, AGI envisions a broader, more generalised form of intelligence, not confined to any particular task (like humans).

Applications of AGI

• Healthcare: It can redefine diagnostics, treatment planning, and personalised medicine by integrating and analysing vast datasets, far beyond the capabilities of humans.
• Finance and business: AGI could automate various processes and enhance the overall decision-making, offering real-time analytics and market predictions with accuracy.

Hence both statements are correct.

Aeronautical Development Establishment, a Bengaluru-based Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) lab that developed the Lakshya aircraft, has been visited by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

About Lakshya Aircraft:

• It is an indigenously developed micro-light and pilot-less target aircraft.
• It designed and built by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a subsidiary of DRDO, for the Indian Armed Forces.
• The Lakshya was inducted into the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, and Indian Army in 2000, 2001, and 2003, respectively.
• It is a cost-effective re-usable high subsonic aerial target system powered by a gas turbine engine.
• The engine is designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore. 
• It is required for evaluation and development trials of new surface-to-air and air-to-air weapon systems.
• It carries two tow targets of tow lengths of 1.5 km each, having radar, IR or visual signature augmentation, and a Miss Distance Indication Scoring System. 
• These tow targets are used for training of land- or ship-based gun and missile crew and combat aircraft pilots in weapon engagement. 
• It was designed to launch either from land or sea through a zero-length launcher and be recovered by a dual stage parachute system.
• The Lakshya can be controlled from the Ground Control Station (GCS) through pre-programmed hardware and software systems.
• Designed to be reused for 15 missions, the aircraft can spiflicate airborne incoming enemy targets.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Government’s Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare recently started the Integrated Pensioners’ Portal in collaboration with Bank of India. 

About Integrated Pensioners’ Portal: 

• The portal is specifically designed to ensure complete digitization of the pension processing and payment system.
• It combines the pension processing and payment services of five banks (Bank of India, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, and Canara Bank) into a single window.
• Most pension-disbursing banks will be integrated with the portal later.
• Its primary objective is to achieve transparency and efficiency in pension-related services.
• With this system, the pensioner's personal and service particulars can be captured, which enables the online submission of pension forms.
• Retirees will also be notified of the progress of their pension sanction through SMS or email, keeping them informed throughout the process.
• A major feature of the IPP is that retirees can access their monthly pension slips, check the status of life certificates, submit Form 16, and view statements of arrears paid.
• The portal has a Bhavishya platform and a Centralised Pension Grievances Redress and Monitoring System (CPENGRAMS).

Bhavishya platform:

• It is an online Pension Sanction & Payment Tracking System launched by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare.
• It provides online tracking of pension sanction and payment process by the individual as well as the administrative authorities for all actions preparatory to grant pension and other retirement benefits, as well as payment of monthly pension after retirement.
• The system captures the pensioners personal and service particulars.
• The forms for processing pensions can be submitted online.
• It keeps retiring employees informed of the progress of the pension sanction process through SMS/ Email. The system obviates delays in the payment of pensions by ensuring complete transparency and establishing accountability in the pension sanction and payment process.
• The system obviates delays in the payment of pensions by ensuring complete transparency. 

Hence option b is the correct answer.

An Atlas V rocket is set to lift off with a team of two veteran astronauts sitting inside a crew capsule called Starliner, built by Boeing, on the capsule’s third test flight and the first with astronauts on board. 

About Boeing Starliner:

• Starliner is a spacecraft that transports astronauts into space after being launched there by a rocket. 
• It consists of a crew capsule and a service module. 
• The crew capsule houses the astronauts; like others of its kind, it will be able to survive reentry and return to the ground. 
• The service module consists of the equipment and systems the astronauts need to survive in space, including air and temperature control, water supply, sanitation, etc., plus the engines and fuel required to manoeuvre the spacecraft. 
• The service module won’t be reusable.
• Starliner is more than 4 meters wide and can house up to seven astronauts.
• The Starliner has an innovative, weldless structure and is reusable up to 10 times with a six-month turnaround time.
• It also features wireless internet and tablet technology for crew interfaces.
• It can be fit atop an Atlas V rocket, operated by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
• What is Starliner’s purpose?
• In 2014 2014, NASA announced it had awarded contracts to SpaceX and Boeing to fly astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
• Since being awarded the NASA contracts, SpaceX has flown 13 missions to the ISS onboard its Dragon crew capsule (which can also house seven astronauts).
• After NASA shut its Space Shuttle programme in 2011 and before SpaceX’s Dragon capsule got ready in 2020, only Russia’s Soyuz rocket and capsule could ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.
• If the Starliner mission succeeds, the U.S. will, for the first time in its history, have two spacecraft to launch astronauts to space.
• SpaceX and Boeing will take turns launching astronauts to the ISS—each crew’s expedition lasts up to six months—until the ISS is decommissioned next decade.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Two papers published recently have generated new interest in the endosymbiotic theory. 

About Endosymbiotic Theory:

• The endosymbiotic theory states that some of the organelles in today's eukaryotic cells were once prokaryotic microbes.
• In this theory, the first eukaryotic cell was probably an amoeba-like cell that got nutrients by phagocytosis and contained a nucleus that formed when a piece of the cytoplasmic membrane pinched off around the chromosomes.
• Some of these amoeba-like organisms ingested prokaryotic cells that then survived within the organism and developed a symbiotic relationship.
• Mitochondria formed when bacteria capable of aerobic respiration were ingested; chloroplasts formed when photosynthetic bacteria were ingested. They eventually lost their cell wall and much of their DNA because they were not of benefit within the host cell.
• The endosymbiotic theory describes how a large host cell and ingested bacteria could easily become dependent on one another for survival, resulting in a permanent relationship.
• Over millions of years of evolution, mitochondria and chloroplasts have become more specialized, and today they cannot live outside the cell.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Recently, an investor in Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL), which has been facing insolvency proceedings, has challenged certain regulations of SEBI’s delisting of shares norms.

• It means removing the shares of a listed company from a stock exchange. Once delisted, the securities of that company can no longer be traded on the stock exchange.
• Delisting can be either voluntary or compulsory.
• In voluntary delisting, a company decides on its own to remove its securities from a stock exchange.
• In compulsory delisting, they are removed as a penal measure for the company not making submissions or complying with requirements set out in the listing agreement within the prescribed timeframes.
• If a company wants to delist its securities, it needs to buy back 90% of the total issued shares.

Key facts about SEBI

• It is a statutory regulatory body that oversees the securities market in India.
• It was established in April 1988 as an executive body and was given statutory powers in January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.
• It is responsible for issuing regulations for various participants in the securities market, such as listed companies, brokers, mutual funds, and rating agencies.
• It monitors and regulates the Indian capital and securities market while ensuring to protect the interests of the investors, formulating regulations and guidelines.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which has been active since April 15, will peak on May 5 and 6.

• The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is formed when Earth passes through the orbital plane of the famous Halley’s Comet, which takes about 76 years to orbit the Sun once.
• This shower seems to be originating from the Aquarius constellation — hence ‘Eta Aquariid’.
• It is known for its rapid speed. This makes for long, glowing tails which can last up to several minutes.
• About 30 to 40 Eta Aquarid meteors can be seen per hour during the peak of the meteor shower, if observed from the Southern Hemisphere.
• The number decreases to about 10 meteors per hour if being viewed in the Northern Hemisphere. This is due to the location of the “radiant” — the position in the sky where the meteor shower seems to come from.
• In the Northern Hemisphere, Eta Aquarid meteors most often appear as ‘Earthgrazers’ — long meteors which appear to skim the surface of the Earth. In the South, however, they can be seen higher up in the sky, and hence are more visible.

What are comets?

• These are frozen leftovers from the formation of our solar system, some 4.6 billion years ago.
• Comets are composed of dust, rock and ice, and orbit around the Sun in highly elliptical orbits which can, in some cases, take hundreds of thousands of years to complete.
• Billions of them theorised to be orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune, in the Kuiper Belt and even more distant Oort cloud.
• As they come closer to the Sun, comets “heat up and spew gases and dust into a glowing head that can be larger than a planet”. This material also forms a tail which stretches millions of miles.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.