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

Recently, the National Cadet Corps (NCC) celebrated its 75th Anniversary on November 26, 2023.

• It is a Tri-Services Organization, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force, engaged in grooming the youth into disciplined and patriotic citizens.
• It came into existence under the National Cadet Corps Act XXXI of 1948 under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
• It is a voluntary organization which recruits cadets from high schools, colleges and universities all over India.
• The Cadets are given basic military training in small arms and parades. They are given preference in military service over normal candidates during selections.
• Aims
• To develop qualities of character, courage, comradeship, discipline, leadership, secular outlook, the spirit of adventure and sportsmanship and ideals of selfless service among the youth to make them useful citizens.
• To create a human resource of organized, trained and motivated youth to provide leadership in all walks of life including the Armed Forces, and be always available for the service of the nation.
• To create a suitable environment to motivate the youth to take up a career in the armed forces.
• It is headed by the Director General (DG), an Army Officer of the rank of Lieutnant General.
• Headquarter: New Delhi.

Hence both statements are correct.

The crest of Yard 12706 (Imphal), the third amongst the four Project 15B stealth guided missile destroyers, was unveiled by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on November 28, 2023.

• It is the third in the Visakhapatnam-class stealth-guided missile destroyers.
• It is among the largest Destroyers constructed in India, with an overall length of 164 metres and a displacement of over 7500 tonnes.
• Speed: Over 30 knots (approx 55 Kmph).
• The ship is a potent platform capable of undertaking a variety of tasks and missions, spanning the full spectrum of maritime warfare.
• The ship boasts of a high indigenous content of approximately 75% that includes Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles, BrahMos Surface-to-Surface Missiles Indigenous Torpedo Tube Launchers, Anti-Submarine Indigenous Rocket Launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai) 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (BHEL, Haridwar).
• The crest design depicts the Kangla Palace on the left and ‘Kangla-Sa’ on the right.
• The Kangla Palace is an important historical and archaeological site of Manipur, and was the traditional seat of the past kingdom.
• With a dragon’s head and lion’s body, the ‘Kangla-Sa’ is a mythical being from Manipur history, and is symbolic as the guardian/protector of its people. ‘Kangla-Sa’ is also the state emblem of Manipur.
• It is the first capital warship to be named after a city in the North-east, Imphal -- the capital of Manipur.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Astronomers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have photographed the enigmatic Comet P12/Pons-Brooks by using the Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) from the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, Ladakh.

• It is a celestial object that has been playfully nicknamed the 'Devil Comet' or likened to the 'Millennium Falcon' for its distinctive appearance.
• This comet, first discovered in the year 1812, completes an orbit around the Sun every 71 years. Its recent activity has been particularly striking, with multiple outbursts of gas and dust that have dramatically increased its brightness.
• The comet's atmosphere, visible as a spherical halo, spans an impressive 3,50,000 kilometers in diameter, 

Key facts about Himalayan Chandra Telescope

• It is a 2-meter optical-infrared telescope named after Nobel laureate Subramaniam Chandrasekhar.
• It is at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) in Hanle near Leh in Ladakh.
• It is currently the tenth highest optical telescope in the world, situated at an elevation of 4,500 meters.
• The telescope remotely operated using a dedicated satellite communication link from the Centre for Research & Education in Science & Technology (CREST), Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru.
• Imaging instruments include a Faint Object Spectrograph, a near infra-red and an optical CCD camera.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, experts said that world’s new biodiversity framework fund is without any real financial commitment to meet conservation targets. 

• Global Biodiversity Framework Fund is created to ramp up investment in nature restoration and renewal.
• It has been designed to mobilize and accelerate investment in the conservation and sustainability of wild species and ecosystems, whose health is under threat from wildfires, flooding, extreme weather, and human activity including urban sprawl.
• The fund was established at the 7th Assembly of the Global Environment Facility in Vancouver, Canada.
• It will help countries achieve the 23 targets set under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).
• The framework was adopted at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity last December.
• It will be managed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), will raise funds through private, philanthropic and government investments.
• This is a departure from GEF, which relied on just 40 donors for finance.
• It will also have access to funds earmarked for biodiversity conservation under GEF.
• The facility has a cumulative budget of $5.25 billion for 2022-26, of which 36 per cent is earmarked for biodiversity.
• The remaining budget is for projects on climate change, pollution, land and ocean health.
• The GBF Fund Council will be open to representation by the following members,
• 16 Members from developing countries
• 14 Members from developed countries
• 2 Members from the countries of central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
• Decisions of the GBF Fund Council are to be taken by consensus, along the lines of the GEF Instrument. 

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

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.

• The Government of India, announced the upcoming establishment of South East Asia's first Night Sky Sanctuary in Ladakh.
• It will be located at Hanle village in Eastern Ladakh as a part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It is being set up with the help of Indian Institute of Astrophysics Bengaluru, which is affiliated to the Department of Science & Technology, Govt of India.

Hence, option A is correct.

• The International Labour Organization (ILO) has released a report titled ‘A Call for Safer and Healthier Working Environments’.
• This report underscores that fatalities resulting from work-related accidents and diseases are more prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Sectors such as mining and quarrying, construction, and utilities were identified as the most hazardous globally based on fatal occupational injury rates.
• Fatal Occupational Injury Rate (FOIR) is a statistical measure used to quantify the number of deaths resulting from work-related accidents or injuries. Hence, statement 2 is correct.