Daily Current Affairs MCQ- September 21, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

• Ethanol is an agricultural by-product which is mainly obtained from the processing of sugar from sugarcane, but also from other sources such as rice husk or maize.
• Since ethanol is produced from plants that harness the power of the sun, it is also considered as renewable fuel.
• In India, ethanol is mainly produced from sugarcane molasses by fermentation process.
• Ethanol blending is the process of combining ethanol and petrol to use less fossil fuel while driving a vehicle.
• To supplement ethanol supplies, the Government of India has permitted the procurement of ethanol produced from sources other than molasses, which is known as first generation ethanol or 1G.
• Aside from molasses, ethanol can be derived from rice straw, wheat straw, maize cobs, corn stover, bagasse, bamboo and woody biomass, which are known as second generation ethanol sources or 2G.

Hence both statements are correct.

• Arctic amplification is the increasingly ramped-up warming that’s taking place in the area of the world north of 67 degrees N latitude.
• For more than four decades, temperatures in the Arctic have risen at two to three times the pace of the rest of the world.
• High temperatures are melting snow covers and glaciers. Permafrost is thawing and collapsing. Sea ice is disappearing.
  • Permafrost is any ground that remains completely frozen—32°F (0°C) or colder—for at least two years straight.
• Some or all of these effects of heat trigger further temperature increases. Effect becomes cause, which becomes larger effect, which becomes stronger cause.
• Arctic amplification is an accelerating feedback loop that accelerates climate change throughout the rest of the world.

Hence both statements are correct.

How did the Earth, believed to have been covered in bubbling oceans of magma billions of years ago, transform into the ‘blue planet’ and become covered in water?

• In an article published in the journal Nature Astronomy on August 15, scientists from Japan suggest that water and organic materials might have been brought to our planet from the outer edges of the solar system.
• The scientists made the hypothesis after analysing samples from the asteroid Ryugu, collected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa-2 probe, which had brought 5.4 grams of rocks and dust from the asteroid to Earth in December 2020.
• The Hayabusa-2 mission was launched in December 2014 when the spacecraft was sent on a six-year voyage to study the asteroid Ryugu.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Namaste is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) as a joint initiative of the MoSJE and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

NAMASTE aims to achieve the following outcomes:

• Zero fatalities in sanitation work in India
• All sanitation work is performed by skilled workers
• No sanitation workers come in direct contact with human faecal matter
• Sanitation workers are collectivized into SHGs and are empowered to run sanitation enterprises
• All Sewer and Septic tank sanitation workers (SSWs) have access to alternative livelihoods
• Strengthened supervisory and monitoring systems at national, state and ULB levels to ensure enforcement and monitoring of safe sanitation work
• Increased awareness amongst sanitation services seekers (individuals and institutions) to seek services from registered and skilled sanitation workers

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Union Cabinet has approved to restore Interest Subvention on short term agriculture loans to 1.5% for all financial institutions.

• Thus, Interest Subvention of 1.5% will be provided to lending institutions (Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Bank, Small Finance Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Banks and Computerized PACS directly ceded with commercial banks) for the financial year 2022-23 to 2024-25 for lending short term agri-loans upto Rs 3 lakh to the farmers.
• This increase in Interest Subvention support requires additional budgetary provisions of Rs 34,856 crore for the period of 2022-23 to 2024-25 under the scheme.
• Increase in Interest Subvention will ensure sustainability of credit flow in the agriculture sector as well as ensure financial health and viability of the lending institutions especially Regional Rural Banks & Cooperative Banks, ensuring adequate agriculture credit in rural economy.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Union Cabinet has approved signing of Contract between the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), India and France to support the International Transport Forum (ITF) activities on the Indian Transport Sector.

• The Contract was signed on 6th July, 2022.
• The activities to be carried out under this Contract will lead to:
  • New scientific results;
  • New policy insights;
  • Capacity building through increase scientific interaction; and
  • Identification of technology options for decarbonization of transport sector in India.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Cabinet has approved the enhancement in the limit of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by Rs 50,000 crore from Rs. 4.5 Lakh crore to Rs. 5 Lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors.

• ECLGS is a continuing scheme. The additional amount of Rs. 50,000 crore would be made applicable to enterprises in hospitality and related sectors till validity of the scheme which is 31.3.2023.
• ECLGS is an already operational scheme and on account of the disruptions caused by the COVID 19 pandemic on hospitality and related sectors, Government has specifically earmarked an amount of Rs. 50,000 crore for enterprises in these sectors.
• The enhancement is expected to provide much needed relief to enterprises in these sectors by incentivizing lending institutions to provide additional credit of up to Rs. 50,000 crore at low cost, thereby enabling these business enterprises to meet their operational liabilities and continue their businesses.
• Loans of about Rs. 3.67 Lakh crore have been sanctioned under ECLGS till 5.8.2022.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Cabinet has approved the “Widening access of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) database to users, besides patent offices”.

• The opening up of the TKDL is also envisaged to inculcate thought and knowledge leadership through Bharatiya Gnana Parampara, under the New Education Policy 2020.
• The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is a prior art database of Indian traditional knowledge established in 2001, jointly by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy (ISM&H, now Ministry of AYUSH).
• The TKDL is a first of its kind globally and has been serving as an exemplary model to other nations. The TKDL currently contains information from existing literature related to ISM such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Yoga.
• The information is documented in a digitized format in five international languages which are English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish.

Hence both statements are correct.

The New York City Health Department announced that the West Nile virus had been detected in two people, one in Brooklyn and another in Queens, as well as in a “record number” of infected mosquitoes throughout the city.

• West Nile Virus (WNV) can cause neurological disease and death in people. WNV is commonly found in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America and West Asia.
• WNV is maintained in nature in a cycle involving transmission between birds and mosquitoes. Humans, horses and other mammals can be infected.
• West Nile Virus (WNV) is a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae.

Hence both statements are correct.

The first case of human-to-animal transmission of monkeypox has been reported in a dog, according to research published in the medical journal The Lancet on August 10.

• Following the news, the United States public health agency, the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, has updated its prevention recommendations on infected persons having pets at home.
• The infected dog showed symptoms such as lesions on the skin, specifically “mucocutaneous lesions, including abdomen pustules and a thin anal ulceration”.
• It is unclear right now if dogs can further spread the disease to other dogs or humans.

Hence both statements are correct.