Test: Monthly Current Affairs May- 1 - UPSC MCQ

The world's oldest water has been explored by a geochemist Dr Barbara Sherwood Lollar at the University of Toronto's isotope Geochemistry. It was found at a depth of 2.4 kilometres at the Kidd Creek mine, located on the 2.7 billion-year-old Canadian Shield which is one of the world’s largest continental shields

Lag B’Omer Festival is an annual Jewish festival observed during the Hebrew month of Iyar. It is celebrated on the 33rd day of the Omer, the 49-day period between Passover & Shavuot (festivals) and is the only day during this period when celebration is permitted. Jews schedule weddings on this day & young boys are brought here for the first hair cut.

Statement 1, 2 and 3 are correct: The Attorney General of India (AGI) has the Right to Speak and to take part in the proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament or their joint sitting and any committee of the Parliament of which he/she may be named a member of.
Statement 4 is not correct. AGI does not have the Right to Vote in the House proceedings.

In News: Recently, the Ministry of Finance on the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs has released the 1st instalment.
All the statements are correct: It was constituted under Section 48 (1) (a) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. It is the primary fund available with State Governments for responses to notified disasters. An order issued recently by the MHA treats COVID-19 as a “notified disaster” for the purpose of providing assistance under the SDRF. SDRF shall be used only for meeting the expenditure for providing immediate relief to the victims. The Central Government contributes 75% of SDRF allocation for general category States/UTs and 90% for special category States/UTs (NE States, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir). The annual Central contribution is released in two equal installments as per the recommendation of the Finance Commission.

Option B is correct. Pox 186 is the first ever galaxy to be found in a "blow-away" state. Blowing away means that the hydrogen clouds around the galaxy have been removed, allowing the high energy light to escape. The findings confirm that a blow-away is possible, furthering the idea that small galaxies were primarily responsible for the reionization of the Universe and giving more insight into how the Universe became what it is today.

In News: According to a recent study by the State Bank of India (SBI), the demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005 has increased.
Statement 1 is not correct: MGNREGA aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
Statement 2 is correct: It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and the Central Government bears 100 per cent of the cost of unskilled labour, 75 per cent of the cost of semi-skilled and skilled labour, 75 per cent of the cost of materials and 6 per cent of the administrative costs. Central Sector Schemes are entirely and directly funded and executed by the central government. Centrally Sponsored Schemes are implemented by state governments with some help from the central government.
Statement 3 is correct: The Act mandates that at least one-third beneficiaries have to be women.

Xylophis deepaki is a tiny wood snake of just 20 cm length with iridescent scales with a broad off-white collar. It is an endemic species of Tamil Nadu and was first found in a coconut plantation of the drier regions and in lower altitudes around Agasthyamalai hills in Kanyakumari. It is named in honour of Indian herpetologist Deepak Veerappan for his contribution in erecting a new subfamily Xylophis to accommodate wood snakes.

In News: Recently, Mumbai-born academician Dr Tahera Qutbuddin, a professor of Arabic Literature, Department of NELC, University of Chicago, has been adjudged the winner of the 15th Sheikh Zayed Book Award.
The award commemorates the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and his pioneering role in promoting national unity and development. The Award, and its associated accolades, are presented annually to outstanding writers, intellectuals, and publishers, as well as a young talent whose writing and translation in humanities objectively enrich Arab intellectual, cultural, literary and social life.
It is an independent cultural initiative administered by the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi(UAE).

Statement 1 is correct: Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat is the only natural abode of Asiatic lions. These are slightly smaller than African lions. Males have only moderate mane growth at the top of the head so that their ears are always visible and the most striking morphological character is a longitudinal fold of skin running along the belly.
Statement 2 is not correct: They are listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List and are also protected under the Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and Appendix I of CITES.

The new vaccine candidate, called R21/Matrix M, is a modified version of RTS, S This vaccine is designed to stop the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite from entering the liver and preventing the subsequent deadly blood stages It has been developed by scientists at the University of Oxford.

Statement 1 is not correct: Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of a group of highly reactive gases known as oxides of nitrogen or nitrogen oxides (NOx).
Statement 2 is correct: It is generated by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, gas and diesel at high temperatures and from emissions from cars, trucks and buses, power plants, and off-road equipment.
Statement 3 is correct: It makes the air hazy and difficult to see though. It also interacts in the atmosphere to form acid rain, which harms sensitive ecosystems.

Putola Nach is a traditional string puppet theatre from Assam and is also called Putola bhaona due to its link with bhaona theatre. It usually depicts scenes from the epics such as Ramayana or Mahabharata.

Section 142 of the Social Security Code, 2020 has been notified by the Ministry of Labour & Employment covering the applicability of Aadhar.It aims to establish the identity of an employee or an unorganised worker or any other person through the Aadhaar number for seeking benefits and availing services under the Code. The main purpose is to facilitate database creation, mainly covering people in informal sectors like migrant workers However, the delivery of services under various social security schemes would not be denied due to the non-submission of Aadhaar.

Cinco de Mayo (May the fifth in Spanish) is an annual joyous celebration of Mexico and the United States.The day marks Mexico’s military victory on its soil over French forces in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War

The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in the area of security and defence policy was established by a Council decision on 11 December 2017, with 25 EU Member States. It was introduced by the Lisbon Treaty on European Union. It offers a legal framework to jointly plan, develop and invest in shared capability projects, and enhance the operational readiness and contribution of armed forces.

Down Syndrome (also known as Trisomy 21) is caused by an extra partial copy of chromosome 21. At birth, babies have certain developmental disabilities like flat face, small head and ears, short neck, etc. There is no cure but a wide variety of support and educational programs can help both people with it and their families. Partial deletion of chromosome 4 causes Wolf–Hirschhorn syndrome, additional copy of chromosome X causes Klinefelter syndrome and partial deletion of chromosome 5 causes Cri du chat (Cat Cry) syndrome.

Statement 1 is correct: Black Fungus (also called Mucormycosis) is a rare and fatal fungal infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes.
Statement 2 is not correct: These molds live throughout the environment and are transmitted through inhalation, inoculation or ingestion of spores from the environment. It does not spread between people or between people and animals so it is not zoonotic.

Group of 20(G 20)was established in September 1999 as a consultation forum between Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the world’s major economies. Following the 2008 economic crisis, it became a forum between Heads of State and Government.
It comprises 19 countries and the European Union (EU), with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World  Bank (WB). 19 Countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and the US.
It is a mix of the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies, representing about 60 per cent of the world’s population, 85 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 75 percent of global trade.

The term Karen refers to a number of ethnic groups with Tibetan-Central Asian origins. These are indigenous to the Thailand-Myanmar border region in Southeast Asia. The Karen and the Kachin in northern Myanmar are the two major ethnic armed organisations that have allied themselves with the movement against the junta that took power in Myanmar.

Statement 1 and 2 are not correct: It is caused by the infection of cattle or buffalo with the poxvirus Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV). The virus is one of three closely related species within the genus capripoxvirus, the other two species being Sheeppox virus and Goatpox virus. Historically, LSD has remained confined to Africa, where it was first discovered in 1929, and parts of West Asia. LSD was first reported in Asia and the Pacific region in 2019 in northwest China, Bangladesh and India.