Daily Current Affairs MCQ- August 18, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Support groups for patients with Amylotrophic Lateral Sclerosis urge that the condition be counted as a rare disease.

• It is a neurodegenerative disease in which special nerve cells called motor neurons in the brain and spine which control an individual’s voluntary functions like walking, chewing, talking, moving their arms- are affected.
• It’s also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
• As these nerve cells progressively die, the muscles dependent on them are unable to function or move, due to which they begin to atrophy or waste away.

How does ALS affect the body?

• As your motor neurons (nerve cells) continue to decline, they can’t send signals to your muscles. The two types of motor neurons are:
• Upper motor neurons, the motor nerve cells in your brain and spinal cord. Their job is to send signals to lower motor neurons.
• Lower motor neurons, the motor nerve cells in your brain stem (lower part of your brain) and spinal cord. They receive instructions from the upper motor neurons. They then send messages to your muscles telling them to move.
• From the onset of symptoms, it takes around 8 to 15 months for diagnosis.
• Currently, there is no effective cure for this disease.

Hence all statements are correct.

Recently, the Chairman of Central Water Commission (CWC) launched the mobile application, FloodWatch.

• This app gives information related to the flood situation and forecasts up to 7 days on a real-time basis to the public.
• The in-house developed user-friendly app has readable and audio broadcast and all the information is available in 2 languages, viz. English and Hindi.
• Other feature of the app includes real-time flood monitoring where users can check up-to-date flood situation throughout the country.
• The app utilizes near real-time river flow data from various sources.
• The app also provides flood forecast at nearest location where users can check the flood advisory at the station nearest to them on the Home Page itself.
• The app will also provide State-wise/Basin-wise Flood Forecast (up to 24 hours) or Flood Advisory (up to 7 days) which can be accessed by selecting specific stations, state wise or basin wise from the dropdown menu.
• This app utilizes advanced technologies such as satellite data analysis, mathematical modelling, and real-time monitoring to deliver accurate and timely flood forecasts.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Matti banana variety, native to Kanniyakumari district was recently granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

• There are six known types of the Matti banana and they are indigenous to Kanniyakumari, Tamil Nadu, where it thrives in the unique climate and soil.
• They are known as ‘Baby Banana’ which flourishes mainly in Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluks.
• Even if it takes root and yields in other areas, the fruit will be without the sweet fragrance and honey-like taste unique to the Matti bananas grown in Kanniyakumari.
• Unlike typical banana bunches that grow straight, the Matti’s fingers exhibit a distinct wind-blown appearance.
• Its low total soluble solids content (TSSC) recommends it as a baby food.
• Types of Matti Banana
• Nal Matti boasts a yellowish-orange colour and fine aroma, while Theyn [honey] Matti’s pulp tastes like honey.
• Kal Matti gets its name from the calcium oxalate crystals forming in its pulp and black dots on the skin.
• Nei Matti exudes the aroma of ghee, and Sundari Matti, a Matti clone, with its elongated fingers, thick peel, and creamy white rind, is facing extinction.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

India’s first Unmanned Aerial Systems (Drone) Common Testing Centre under Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) will be established in Tamil Nadu.

• In order to boost domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing, Ministry of Defence (MoD) has launched Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS).
• It was launched in 2020.
• Duration: The scheme would run for the duration of five years.
• The scheme envisages setting up of 6-8 Greenfield Defence Testing Infrastructure facilities that are required for defence and aerospace related production.
• Funding pattern: Up to 75 per cent Government funding in the form of ‘Grant-in-Aid’. The remaining 25 per cent of the project cost will have to be borne by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) constituents of which will be the Indian private entities and state governments. 

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The annual heronry count jointly organised by WWF-India in association with the Forest department in Thiruvananthapuram district has recorded more heronries that in the past.

• Herons are any of about 60 species of long-legged wading birds.
• These are classified in the family Ardeidae (order Ciconiiformes) and generally including several species usually called egrets.
• The Ardeidae also include the bitterns (subfamily Botaurinae).
• These are widely distributed over the world but are most common in the tropics.
• They usually feed while wading quietly in the shallow waters of pools, marshes, and swamps, catching frogs, fishes, and other aquatic animals.
• They nest in rough platforms of sticks constructed in bushes or trees near water; the nests usually are grouped in colonies called heronries.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Chennai-based start-up AgniKul Cosmos recently commenced the process of integrating its cutting-edge Agnibaan SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator (SOrTeD) at its private launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota.

About Agnibaan SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator (SOrTeD):

• Agnibaan SOrTeD is a single-stage launch vehicle powered by AgniKul’s patented Agnilet engine, which is an entirely 3D-printed, single-piece, 6 kilonewton (kN) semi-cryogenic engine.
• Unlike traditional sounding rockets that launch from guide rails, Agnibaan SOrTeD will lift off vertically and follow a predetermined trajectory to perform a precisely orchestrated set of manoeuvres during flight. 
• Features:
• It is a customisable launch vehicle that could be launched in one or two stages.
• The rocket stands 18 metres tall and has a mass of 14,000 kg.
• It is capable of carrying payloads up to 100 kg to an altitude of 700 km in five different configurations.
• The rocket's first stage could have up to seven Agnilet engines, depending on the mission, which are powered by Liquid Oxygen and Kerosene.
• The rocket is also designed for launch from more than 10 different launch ports. 
• To ensure its compatibility with multiple launch ports, AgniKul has built a launch pedestal named 'Dhanush' that will support the rocket's mobility across all its configurations.
• The Agnilet engine, which powers the entire operation, is the world’s sole single-piece 3D-printed engine.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

A large number of megalithic hat stones were found from a single site during a recent archaeological salvage excavation conducted by the Kerala State Archaeology Department at Nagaparamba in Kuttippuram village, near Tirunavaya.

• Megalithic Sites were constructed either as burial sites or commemorative(non-sepulchral)  memorials.
• The former are sites with actual burial remains, such as dolmenoid cists (box-shaped stone burial chambers), cairn circles (stone circles with defined peripheries) and capstones (distinctive mushroom-shaped burial chambers found mainly in Kerala). 
• Non-sepulchral megaliths include memorial sites such as menhirs.
• In India, archaeologists trace the majority of the megaliths to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500 BC).
• In India, these are concentrated in the states of Maharashtra (mainly in Vidarbha), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Union Cabinet recently approved an outlay of ₹ 14,903 crore for the extension of the Digital India programme, which also proposes nine more supercomputers to be added under the National Super Computer Mission.

About National Supercomputing Mission:

• It was launched in 2015 to provide the country with supercomputing infrastructure to meet the increasing computational demands of academia, researchers, MSMEs, and startups.
• The Mission is steered jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and implemented by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. 
• The main objectives of the mission are:
• Make India a world leader in High-Performance Computing (HPC) and enhance the national capability in solving grand challenge problems of national and global relevance.
• Empower scientists & researchers with state-of-the-art computing facilities for their cutting-edge research in their respective Domains.
• Reduce redundancies and avoid duplication of efforts and investments.
• Create an ecosystem for positioning India as a major power for supercomputing and attain global competitiveness and self-reliance in HPC.
• The Mission envisages empowering academic and R&D institutions spread over the country by installing a vast supercomputing grid comprising of more than 70 HPC facilities.
• These supercomputers will also be networked on the National Supercomputing grid over the National Knowledge Network (NKN). The NKN is another programme of the government which connects academic institutions and R&D labs over a high speed network. 
• Academic and R&D institutions, as well as key user departments/ministries, would participate by using these facilities and developing applications of national relevance.
• The Mission also includes the development of highly professional and skilled human resources for meeting the challenges of development of these applications.

Indian supercomputers in the Top 500 Global Supercomputing List:

• The AI Supercomputer ‘AIRAWAT’, installed at C-DAC, Pune, has been ranked at No. 75.
• PARAM Siddhi-AI supercomputer installed at C-DAC, Pune, has been ranked at No. 131.
• Pratyush supercomputer installed at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology has been ranked at No. 169.
• Mihir supercomputer installed at the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting has been ranked at No. 316.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The WHO South-East Asia Region recently committed to further accelerate efforts to end tuberculosis by 2030, with member countries adopting the Gandhinagar Declaration.

About Gandhinagar Declaration:

• It was adopted at the end of the two-day meeting held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, to follow up on the progress made to end tuberculosis (TB) by the countries of the WHO South-East Asia Region.
• The Declaration calls for establishing high-level multisectoral commission reporting to the highest political level in each country for synergy of efforts among various stakeholders and to monitor progress towards ending TB and other priority diseases. 
• These high-level multisectoral commission on TB could also help build responsive health systems and advance universal health coverage and health security.
• The declaration calls for ensuring appropriate adoption and use of science and technology for equitable and human rights-based TB services that are accessible to all, irrespective of any social, cultural, or demographic divide, through an integrated, primary health care approach. 
• It emphasises on the allocation of necessary resources to meet TB service coverage targets and address social determinants to have a multi-disease impact. 
• The declaration calls on WHO to maintain TB as a Flagship Priority Programme over the coming years and provide leadership and technical support to countries for sustained and accelerated approaches supported by research and innovation. 
• It calls upon all partners to enhance their support to end TB and priority diseases in the Region as per the UN Sustainable Development Goals target 3.3 - End the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases, and other communicable diseases.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently launched a Centralised Web Portal, UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access information), for the public to search for their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks at one place.

About UDGAM Portal:

• It has been developed by RBI for use by members of the public to facilitate and make it easier for them to search their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks at one place.
• Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS), and participating banks have collaborated on developing the portal.
• The portal will enable users to either claim the deposit amount or make their deposit accounts operative at their respective banks.
• Procedure:
• Customers can register on the 'Udgam' platform using their mobile number.
• Once registered, they can search for unclaimed deposits under their name and provide additional inputs such as PAN, voter ID, driving licence and passport number.
• Customers can then retrieve their deposits by completing a KYC process with their branch.
• In case the deposit-holder has passed away, their nominee will be required to submit documents.

What are Unclaimed Deposits?

According to RBI, "Unclaimed Deposits" refers to funds held in savings or current accounts that have remained inactive for duration of 10 years, or in the case of fixed deposits (FDs), have not been withdrawn within 10 years from the maturity date.

Hence both statements are correct.