Test: November 2023 Weekly Current Affair - 1 - UPSC MCQ

Statement 3 is incorrect.

• A company or business is said to be “over leveraged” if it has unsustainably high debt against its operating cash flows and equity. Such a company would find it difficult to make interest and principal repayments to its creditors, and may struggle to meet its operating expenses as well. In the latter case, the company may be forced to borrow even more just to keep going, and thus enter a vicious cycle. This situation can ultimately lead to the company going bankrupt.

Statement 2 is incorrect.

• El Niño years in India have witnessed extreme heat and below normal rainfall levels during monsoon, even though El Niño might not be the only factor or even have direct links to them. In 2014, a El Niño year, India received 12 per cent deficient rainfall from June to September.
• On the other hand, La Nina years are known to favour the Indian summer monsoon.
• El Niño has been associated with rising heatwaves and extreme temperatures.
• India’s Northeast monsoon rainfall remained subdued during past La Niña events, but the 2021 monsoon remains an exception in recent years.
• Intense hurricanes and cyclones have frequently occurred in the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Bengal during La Nina years.

Only Statement 1 is correct.

• Raw sugar is what mills produce after the first crystallisation of juice obtained from crushing of cane. This sugar is rough and brownish in colour, with an ICUMSA value of 600-1,200 or higher. ICUMSA, short for the International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis, is a measure of the purity of sugar based on colour. The lower the value, the more the whiteness.
• Raw sugar is processed in refineries for removal of impurities and de-colourisation. The end product is refined white cane sugar having a standard ICUMSA value of 45. The sugar used by industries such as pharmaceuticals has ICUMSA of less than 20.

Statement 3 is incorrect.

• The sources of arsenic are natural or may partly stem from anthropogenic activities like intense exploitation of groundwater, application of fertilizers, burning of coal and leaching of metals from coal-ash tailings.
• Arsenic is introduced into soil and groundwater during weathering of rocks and minerals followed by subsequent leaching and runoff.
• Among the various arsenic removal technologies, lime softening and iron coprecipitation have been reported to be the most effective.

Statement 2 is incorrect.

• The Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) Investment Fund I is a social impact fund specifically formed for completing stressed and stalled residential projects.
• The Fund is sponsored by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and is managed by SBICAP Ventures Ltd., a State Bank Group company.
• Since the Fund considers first-time developers, established developers with troubled projects, developers with a poor track record of stalled projects, customer complaints and NPA accounts, and even projects where there are litigation issues, it is considered as the lender of last resort for distressed projects. The Fund’s presence in a project often acts as a catalyst for better collections and sales primarily in projects that were delayed for years.

Statement 2 is incorrect.

• The Government of India has introduced a new set of National Awards in the field of Science, Technology, and Innovation called “Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar.”
• These awards aim to acknowledge exceptional contributions made by scientists, technologists, and innovators, whether individually or in teams, across various domains of science and technology.
• It is open to individuals working in government, private sector organizations, or independently, as well as to People of Indian Origin residing abroad whose contributions have benefited Indian society.

These awards are categorized as follows:

• Vigyan Ratna (VR) award: Recognizing lifetime achievements and contributions in any field of science and technology.
• Vigyan Shri (VS) award: Acknowledging distinguished contributions in any field of science and technology.
• Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (VY-SSB) award: Encouraging young scientists under the age of 45 who have made exceptional contributions in any field of science and technology.
• Vigyan Team (VT) award: Presented to teams comprising three or more scientists, researchers, or innovators who have made exceptional contributions while working collaboratively in any field of science and technology.

The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar covers 13 domains, including Physics, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Mathematics & Computer Science, Earth Science, Medicine, Engineering Sciences, Agricultural Science, Environmental Science, Technology & Innovation, Atomic Energy, Space Science and Technology, and Others.

Only Statement 1 is correct.

• Basel-III norms were adopted by financial regulators to improve the banking sector’s ability to absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress.
• It was developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007-08. It mandates banks to maintain a CAR or Capital to Risk-weighted Assets (CRAR) of at least 8%.

CRAR is a ratio that compares the value of a bank’s capital (or net worth) against the value of its various assets weighted according to risk.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced new norms based on the Basel III capital framework for All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs), which will take effect from April 2024.

India has five AIFIs under RBI regulation: Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID), National Housing Bank (NHB), and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

The key provisions of the new norms are as follows:

• Capital Adequacy: AIFIs will be required to maintain a minimum total capital of 9 per cent by April 2024. This includes a minimum tier-I capital of 7 percent and common equity tier-I (CET-1) capital of 5.5 percent.
• Consolidation of Financial Subsidiaries: All financial subsidiaries, except those involved in insurance and non-financial activities (both regulated and unregulated), must be fully consolidated for the purpose of capital adequacy.
• Investment Caps: The RBI has imposed limits on AIFIs’ investments in capital instruments of banking, financial, and insurance entities, capping them at 10 percent of their capital funds.
• Equity Investment Limits: AIFIs’ equity investment in a single entity cannot exceed 49 percent of the equity of the investee.
• Capital Planning and Risk Management: AIFIs are advised to focus on effective and efficient capital planning and long-term capital maintenance.

The RBI defines a wilful default as a situation where a borrower fails to meet repayment obligations despite having the capacity to do so, diverting the loan for purposes other than its intended use, siphoning off funds that are no longer available in other forms, or disposing of assets securing a term loan without informing the lender.

• Perovskite solar cells are cheaper, lighter, and more efficient than traditional silicon-based cells.
• These solar cells overcome the challenges of degradation during operation, making them suitable for large-scale commercialization.
• Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) face stability issues when exposed to heat, moisture, and other environmental factors.

Statement 1 is incorrect.

• Excavations in Keeladi have uncovered two carnelian beads, reaffirming the historical trade connections between Tamil Nadu and the western regions of India, specifically Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• These carnelian beads, normally found in Gujarat and Maharashtra, were discovered within an urn at a burial site in Konthagai during the excavation.
• Last year, 74 carnelian beads were also unearthed in the same area, further highlighting the trade links between Tamil Nadu and western India.
• Carnelian beads are small decorative objects made from carnelian gemstones. Carnelian is a reddish-brown to orange variety of chalcedony, a type of microcrystalline quartz. These beads are prized for their vibrant colours and have been used for jewellery and ornamental purposes for centuries.

Statement 3 is incorrect.

• Five Eyes Alliance: The Five Eyes Alliance refers to an intelligence-sharing partnership among five countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
• These nations collaborate closely on intelligence matters, sharing information to protect their shared national interests.
• Origins of the Alliance: The alliance traces its origins back to World War II when the UK and the US decided to share intelligence after successfully breaking German and Japanese codes.

Financial inclusion means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs – transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance – delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.

• Dvorak was an American meteorologist best credited for developing the Dvorak (read as Do-rak) technique in the early 1970s. The technique has been upgraded multiple times since then.
• The updated technique, would improve the tropical storm forecasts by many folds as they would have access to sharper and detailed images than ever before.
• The Dvorak technique was a cloud pattern recognition technique based on a concept model of the development and decay of the tropical cyclone.
• From the satellite images thus obtained, the Dvorak technique helps forecasters to do a pattern recognition from the observed structure of the storm, locate its eye and estimate the intensity of the storm.
• It is the Dvorak technique which gives the best estimates of the cyclone intensity — a vital component while issuing weather warnings.

• All existing nuclear weapons derive some of their explosive energy from nuclear fission reactions. Weapons whose explosive output is exclusively from fission reactions are commonly referred to as atomic bombs or atom bombs. In fission weapons, a mass of fissile material (enriched uranium or plutonium) is forced into supercriticality—allowing an exponential growth of nuclear chain reaction.
• Fusion weapons are generally referred to as thermonuclear weapons or more colloquially as hydrogen bombs (abbreviated as H-bombs), as they rely on fusion reactions between isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium).

• The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 1994 international agreement that lays down the broad principles of the global effort to fight climate change, explicitly acknowledges this differentiated responsibility of nations. It makes it very clear that rich countries must provide both the finance and the technology to the developing nations to help them tackle climate change.
• It was after much struggle that the developing countries and NGOs managed to establish a separate channel on loss and damages at international climate change negotiations. The Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) for Loss and Damages, set up in 2013, was the first formal acknowledgment of the need to compensate developing countries struck by climate disasters.

The PMLA was enacted in 2002 in line with India’s global commitment to combat money laundering, particularly related to crimes involving drugs and narcotics. 

The PMLA seeks to combat money laundering in India and has three main objectives:

• To prevent and control money laundering.
• To confiscate and seize the property obtained from the laundered money; and
• To deal with any other issue connected with money laundering in India.

The Act and Rules notified there under impose obligation on banking companies, financial institutions and intermediaries to verify identity of clients, maintain records and furnish information in prescribed form to Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND).

Statement 2 is incorrect.

• Argentina, as part of the “Lithium Triangle”along with Chile and Bolivia, is a significant producer of lithium, holding the world’s third-largest lithium reserve.
• KABILis a joint venture, involving NALCO, MECL, and HCL, and is focused on identifying and acquiring strategic minerals overseas for India’s use. It is also exploring opportunities for lithium partnerships and acquisitions in other Latin American nations like Chile and Brazil, as well as in Australia for lithium and cobalt exploration.
• India just joined the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP)as the newest partner, which aims to strengthen critical mineral supply chains.

• The main difference between revenue receipts and capital receipts is that in the case of revenue receipts, government is under no future obligation to return the amount, i.e., they are non-redeemable. But In case of capital receipts which are borrowings, government is under obligation to return the amount along with Interest.
• Capital receipts may be debt creating or non-debt creating.
• Examples of debt creating receipts are—Net borrowing by government at home, loans received from foreign governments, borrowing from RBI. Examples of non-debt capital receipts are—Recovery of loans, proceeds from sale of public enterprises (i.e., disinvestment), etc. These do not give rise to debt.

• India is considered among the top five landslide-prone countries globally, where at least one death per 100 sq km is reported in a year due to a landslide event. Rainfall variability pattern is the single biggest cause for landslides in the country, with the Himalayas and the Western Ghats remaining highly vulnerable.
• Excluding snow covered areas, approximately 12.6 per cent of the country’s geographical land area (0.42 million sq km) is prone to landslides. As many as 66.5 per cent of the landslides are reported from the North-western Himalayas, about 18.8 per cent from the North-eastern Himalayas, and about 14.7 per cent from the Western Ghats.

• An aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be natural or anthropogenic. Examples of natural aerosols are fog, mist, dust, forest exudates and geyser steam. Examples of anthropogenic aerosols are particulate air pollutants and smoke.
• Aerosols influence climate in two primary ways: by changing the amount of heat that gets in or out of the atmosphere, or by affecting the way clouds form.
• Some aerosols, like many kinds of dust from ground-up rocks, are light-colored and even a little bit reflective. When the sun’s rays beam down on them, they bounce the rays back out of the atmosphere, preventing that heat from ever reaching Earth’s surface.

Statement 3 is incorrect.

• Galactic tides, similar to the tides in Earth’s oceans but on a much larger scale, are caused by gravitational forces within galaxies, resulting from interactions between celestial objects like stars and gas clouds.
• These tidal forces play a significant role in shaping the evolution of galaxies. They can alter a galaxy’s structure by creating features like tidal tails and bridges, stimulating star formation, and disrupting smaller star systems.
• Over vast stretches of time, galactic tides also perturb the orbits of stars, leading to long-term changes in the structure of galaxies. Galactic tides even influence how neighbouring galaxies interact with each other.
• Galactic tides also impact supermassive black holes located at the centres of galaxies, resulting in events that alter how these cosmic giants interact with nearby stars.

Statement 2 is incorrect.

• India and the United Nations have jointly launched the “India-UN Capacity Building Initiative,” which aims to share India’s development experiences, best practices, and expertise with partner countries in the Global South through capacity-building and training programs.
• This initiative builds upon India’s extensive cooperation in development and capacity building with partner countries.
• The initiative complements the existing India-UN partnership through the “India-UN Development Partnership Fund”.
• The initiative will operationalize the development-related goals of India’s G20 Presidency, including the G20 Action Plan for Accelerating Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and building Digital Public Infrastructure.

• Madhya Pradesh, known as the “tiger state” of India due to its substantial tiger population, has officially designated a new protected area for these magnificent creatures called the ‘Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve.’
• This newly established reserve becomes the seventh tiger reserve in the state.
• Madhya Pradesh has consistently held the title of the “tiger state,” with its tiger population increasing from 526 in 2018 to 785 in the 2022 census.
• The Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve incorporates the previously recognized eco-sensitive zone of Nauradehi and Veerangana Durgavati sanctuaries, along with surrounding forest areas, into the buffer zone.