Test: January 2023 Weekly Current Affair - 3 - UPSC MCQ

The United States announced that it will extend COVID-19 pandemic-era restrictions, known as Title 42, to expel migrants from Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border back to Mexico, a move would block more nationalities from seeking asylum in the United States.

• LNG is natural gas reduced to a liquid state (liquefaction) through intense cooling to around -161 degrees Celsius (-259 Fahrenheit). This liquid gas is 600 times smaller than the original volume and is half the weight of water.
• The compressed fossil fuel, which is constituted almost wholly of methane— a potent greenhouse gas —, can be transported around the world by ship. After arriving at its destination, the cargo is regasified in a floating terminal and redistributed through pipelines.
• But despite LNG’s export potential, the high cost of liquefaction and producing LNG has limited its market.
• The cooling, liquefying and transport processes, as well as the post-transport regasification procedures, also require a lot of energy.
• Because of LNG’s much more complex production and transport process, the risks of methane leakages along the production, transport and regasification chain are simply much higher and therefore much more emissions-intensive.

• Rajasthan — with the top-most share of over 17% in value of mineral production in the country, was the first to notify silicosis as an ‘epidemic’ in 2015, under the Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Act, 1957.
• Silicosis is part of the pneumoconiosis family of diseases, described by the policy as occupational diseases due to dust exposure… are incurable, cause permanent disability and are ‘totally preventable by available control measures and technology’

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it will, for the first-time, issue Sovereign Green Bonds (SgrBs) worth Rs 16,000 crore, in two tranches of Rs 8,000 crore each in the current financial year.
• Green bonds are bonds issued by any sovereign entity, inter-governmental groups or alliances and corporates with the aim that the proceeds of the bonds are utilised for projects classified as environmentally sustainable. The framework for the sovereign green bond was issued by the government on November 9, 2022.
• The Union Budget 2022-23 made an announcement to issue Sovereign Green Bonds.
• The issuance of the Sovereign Green Bonds will help the Indian government in tapping the requisite finance from potential investors for deployment in public sector projects aimed at reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.
• The government will use the proceeds raised from SGrBs to finance or refinance expenditure (in parts or whole) for various green projects, including in renewable energy, clean transportation, energy efficiency, climate change adaptation, sustainable water and waste management, pollution and prevention control and green buildings. In renewable energy, investments will be made in solar, wind, biomass and hydropower energy projects.

• The head of the Municipal Corporation is the mayor — but only in name. A mayor is a nominal head of the corporation and has very limited powers, such as calling meetings of the house.
• It is the Standing Committee that effectively manages the corporation, with functions such as giving financial approval to projects, discussing, finalising and implementing policies.
• The standing committee is the main decision-making body of the corporation. It has 18 members.
• The committee has a chairperson and a deputy chairperson, who is elected from among the standing committee members. Having a clear majority in the standing committee is crucial for any political party to have control of policy and financial decisions.

• The Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) is managed by the IEPF Authority, which was set up in 2016 under the provisions of Section 125 of the Companies Act, 2013. The Authority is entrusted with the responsibility of administration of the IEPF, which, besides promoting awareness among investors, makes refunds of shares, unclaimed dividends, matured deposits and debentures and so on to rightful claimants.
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been appointed the nodal industry for online gaming in India; for e-sports, the nodal agency is the Department of Sports, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Clause (2) of Article 19 of the Indian constitution imposes certain restrictions on free speech under following heads:

• Security Of The State,
• Friendly Relations With Foreign States
• Public Order,
• Decency And Morality,
• Contempt Of Court,
• Defamation,
• Incitement To An Offence, And
• Sovereignty And Integrity Of India.

• Vampire bats, which inhabit warmer regions of Latin America and boast wingspans of about 18 cm, are the only mammals with a blood-only diet. They reside in colonies of thousands.
• Specializing in a diet of 100% blood is already quite rare among vertebrates.

• CHIEF MINISTER of West Bengal reiterated her demand that the Centre should accord national status for the annual Gangasagar Mela.
• Lakhs of Hindu pilgrims visit Sagar Island from different parts of the country and to take a holy dip at the confluence of the sacred Ganga and the Bay of Bengal on the occasion of ‘Makar Sankranti’.

• Originally, Article 19 (1) (f) and article 31 contained the right to property, i.e. to acquire, hold and dispose of property subject to the right of State to compulsory acquisition for public purposes by authority of law.
• However, right to property ceased to be a fundamental right when the Constitution (44th Amendment) Act, 1978 omitted sub-clause(f) of Article 19 (1) and Article 31 from the Constitution.
• The Right to Property is a legal right available to any person. Article 300-A provides that no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law.

• According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), subsidence is the “sinking of the ground because of underground material movement”. It can happen for a host of reasons, man-made or natural, such as the removal of water, oil, or natural resources, along with mining activities. Earthquakes, soil erosion, and soil compaction are also some of the well-known causes of subsidence.
• The exact reason behind Joshimath land subsidence is still unknown but experts suggest that the incident might have occurred because of unplanned construction, over-population, obstruction of the natural flow of water and hydel power activities. Not only this, the area is a seismic zone, which makes it prone to frequent earthquakes.
• Experts say that unplanned and unauthorised construction has led to the blocking of the natural flow of water, which eventually results in frequent landslides.

• Under the current FRBM provisions, governments are mandated to disclose their contingent liabilities, but that disclosure is restricted to liabilities for which they have extended an explicit guarantee.
• Under the Constitution, States are required to take the Centre’s permission when they borrow, in case the state is indebted to the Centre over a previous loan.
• Constitution of India allows the President to declare financial emergency in any State if s/he is satisfied that financial stability is threatened

• A heat dome occurs when an area of high-pressure traps warm air over a region, just like a lid on a pot, for an extended period of time. The longer that air remains trapped, the more the sun works to heat the air, producing warmer conditions with every passing day. Heat domes generally stay for a few days but sometimes they can extend up to weeks, which might cause deadly heat waves.
• Scientists suggest that any region of high pressure, whether a heat dome or not, forces air to sink and once it reaches the ground, it gets compressed and becomes even warmer. Moreover, when air sinks, it gets drier and further raises the temperature of the area.
• The heat dome’s formation is related to the behaviour of the jet stream — an area of fast-moving air high in the atmosphere. The jet stream is believed to have a wave-like pattern that keeps moving from north to south and then north again. When these waves get bigger and elongated, they move slowly and sometimes can become stationary. This is when a high-pressure system gets stuck and leads to the occurrence of a heat dome.
• Although heat domes are likely to have always existed, researchers say that climate change may be making them more intense and longer. They suggest with the rising temperatures, it is expected that the jet stream will become more wavy and will have larger deviations, causing more frequent extreme heat events.

• The 17th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was commemorated on January 9.
• January 9 was selected as it was the date when Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915. 
• An award called The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award is given out as part of the programme. According to the official website, “It is the highest honour conferred on a Non-Resident Indian, Person of Indian Origin; or an organisation or institution established and run by them.”
• The award is to commemorate the contribution of the Indian diaspora to create a better understanding of India abroad, support India’s causes and work for the welfare of the local Indian community.
• “A jury-cum-awards committee, with (the) Vice President as the chairman and External Affairs Minister as the vice-chair and other distinguished members from various walks of life considered the nominations…and unanimously selected the awardees.

• The Centre launched the Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP), a new initiative on the lines of the Aspirational District Programme.
• The Aspirational District Programme is aimed at improving performance of districts lagging on various development parameters.
• Under the ABP, 500 blocks across states have been identified. NITI Aayog, in partnership with the states, will release quarterly ranking of these blocks based on their performance on development indicators covering sectors such as health, education and nutrition, among others.
• While the Centre has put in place basic indicators for the rankings, states have been asked to include additional indicators based on their requirements. “The states and NITI Aayog will work together.
• Like the aspirational district programme, the private sector can also contribute to the development of these blocks.

Savitribai Phule published her first collection of poems, called Kavya Phule (‘Poetry’s Blossoms’), at the age of 23 in 1854. She published Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (‘The Ocean of Pure Gems’), in 1892.

• Mahadayi originates inside the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in the Belagavi district of Karnataka and flows into the Arabian Sea in Goa.
• The river flows in the states of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.
• Kalasa and Banduri are the two tributaries of the Mahadayi river.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):

• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture.
• It is also a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), a coalition of UN agencies and organizations aimed at fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• UNESCO’s Headquarters are located in Paris
• Three UNESCO member states are not UN members: Cook Islands, Niue, and Palestine.
• While three UN member states (Israel, Liechtenstein, United States) are not UNESCO members.

Objectives:

• Attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning
• Mobilizing science knowledge and policy for sustainable development
• Addressing emerging social and ethical challenges
• Fostering cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace
• Building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication
• Focuses on global priority areas – “Africa” and “Gender Equality”.

In India, which is the world’s third largest producer of renewable energy, nearly 40 per cent of installed electricity capacity comes from non-fossil fuel sources. 

• The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission in April 2023. The Juice mission will complete 35 fly-bys near Jupiter and will make detailed observations about the gas giant and its three large ocean-bearing moons–Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Apart from exploring Jupiter’s environment in depth using the ten sensors aboard, the mission will also characterise its moons as both planetary objects and potential habitat.
• Russia’s Roscosmos space agency plans to launch its Luna-25 mission to the Moon in July 2023. Luna-25 is a planned lunar lander mission, which will be the country’s first since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976.
• Psyche is a NASA mission that will explore a 140-mile-wide (225 kilometers) metallic asteroid called 16 Psyche. 
• No spacecraft has ever visited an object like 16 Psyche, which is thought to be the exposed core of a demolished planet. The mission, which was originally anticipated to launch in 2022 but was delayed to 2023, is expected to provide important insight into planetary formation.

In 1992 (Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachillhu), a Constitution Bench, while upholding the validity of the anti-defection law, held that the Speaker’s decision was subject to judicial review, albeit on limited grounds.

• Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) aim to provide digital literacy in rural India.
• MeitY and NASSCOM have jointly conceived a programme titled “FutureSkills PRIME (Programme for Re-skilling/Up-skilling of IT Manpower for Employability)”. The Programme is envisaged to provide re-skilling/ up-skilling opportunities for B2C beneficiaries in 10 emerging technologies viz. Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Robotic Process Automation, Additive Manufacturing/ 3D Printing, Cloud Computing, Social & Mobile, Cyber Security, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, and Blockchain.
• MeitY is the nodal ministry for E-Government Development Index (EGDI) along with two-line Ministries/ Departments viz. Department of Higher Education and Department of School Education and Literacy (DHE and DoSEL). The EGDI is a composite measure of three important dimensions of e-government, namely: Online Service Index, Telecommunication Infrastructure Index and the Human Capital Index.

• National Export Co-operative Society was approved by the Union Cabinet. It is established under the Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.
• Leading cooperatives — Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), Gujrat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), better known as Amul and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) will be the promoters of the Society.
• The Society will be different from the Export Promotion Council under the Ministry of Commerce that only acts as a facilitator and provides information about the potential markets that can be tapped for a particular product.
• This Society will provide end-to-end services to the cooperatives. It will open foreign bank accounts and complete all the formalities, including necessary permissions for exporting a product. 

• The Census is a statutory exercise conducted under the provisions of the Census Act 1948 and Rules made there under. 
• All information collected under the Census is confidential and will not be shared with any agency – Government or private.
• According to the SECC website, “all the personal information given in the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) is open for use by Government departments to grant and/or restrict benefits to households”.

Myanmar shares a long land border of over 1600 Km with India as well as a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Four North-Eastern States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram share international boundary with Myanmar.