Daily Current Affairs MCQ- February 2, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Despite recent studies highlighting the Heimang's remarkable adaptability, it hasn't yet been used much in commerce.

• The Heimang tree grows widely in Manipur and other north-eastern regions.
• Its fruit has a citrus-like tartness and, it is packed with nutrients such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidants.
• Traditional healers of Manipur called Maibas or maibis, prescribe heimang for common gastrointestinal problems like diarrhoea and dysentery.
• It is also recommended to eat water-soaked fruit for indigestion and stomach ulcer.
• The research found that compounds isolated from the stem of the heimang tree can significantly suppress HIV-1 activity in vitro. 
• Local communities in the state also use heimang leaves to prepare a herbal shampoo called chinghi by boiling them with rice water.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, The Red-headed vulture was spotted in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

• This is one of the 9 species of Vulture which are found in India.
• It is also called the Asian King vulture or Pondicherry Vulture was extensively found in India but its numbers drastically reduced after diclofenac poisoning.
• Conservation status
• IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, Yaya Tso Lake was declared Ladakh’s first biodiversity heritage site under the Biological Diversity Act.

• Lake Yaya Tso is known as a bird's paradise for its beautiful lake located at an altitude of 4,820 metres in Ladakh.
• It is a nesting habitat for a large number of birds and animals, such as the bar-headed goose, black-necked crane and brahminy duck.
• It is also one of the highest breeding sites of the black-necked crane in India.

Hence both statements are correct.

Finance Minister recently tabled the Economic Survey for 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha.

Key facts about Economic Survey:

• It is the flagship annual document of the finance ministry that contains a detailed analysis of the economic development of the country.
• It reviews the economic development in India over the past financial year by giving detailed statistical data of all the sectors-industrial, agricultural, manufacturing among others.
• It analyses the whole macroeconomics of the country in the past year and provides an outline for the next financial year.
• The Survey has two parts--one, one consists of the economic challenges that the country is facing and the second is the review of the year gone by.
• When was the first Economic Survey of India presented?
• The first Economic Survey in India was presented in the year 1950-51.
• Up to 1964, it was presented along with the Union Budget.
• From 1964 onwards, it has been delinked from the Budget.
• When and who present it? It is presented normally a day before the presentation of the Union Budget in the Parliament by the Finance Minister.
• Who prepares it? It is prepared by the Economics Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry under the overall guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser and is released after it is approved by the finance minister.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Economic Survey 2022-23 submitted recently in Parliament said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection is showing a higher buoyancy than the pre-GST system.

What is Tax buoyancy?

• Tax buoyancy explains the relationship between the changes in government’s tax revenue growth and the changes in GDP.
• It refers to the responsiveness of tax revenue growth to changes in GDP.
• When a tax is buoyant, its revenue increases without increasing the tax rate.
• It depends upon:
• the size of the tax base;
• the friendliness of the tax administration;
• the rationality and simplicity of tax rates;

What is Tax Elasticity?

• It refers to changes in tax revenue in response to changes in tax rate.
• For example, how tax revenue changes if the government reduces corporate income tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent indicate tax elasticity.

Hence both statements are not correct.

The Central Government has recently informed the Delhi High Court that PM CARES Fund is set up as a public charitable trust and is not a public authority under RTI.

About PM CARES Fund:

• The Prime Ministers Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) was created on 28 March 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic in India. 
• It was created for combating, and containment and relief efforts against the coronavirus outbreak and similar pandemic like situations in the future.
• It has been registered as a Public Charitable Trust.
• Composition of the Trust:
• Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund.
• Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance, Government of India are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund.
• Contributions:
• The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organizations and does not get any budgetary support. 
• Donations to PM CARES Fund would qualify for 80G benefits for 100% exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• Donations to PM CARES Fund will also qualify to be counted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, India and Saudi Arabia discussed signing a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to obtain formal assistance from each other in investigations related to criminal cases.

What is this treaty?

• It is a mechanism whereby countries cooperate to provide and obtain formal assistance in the prevention, suppression, investigation and prosecution of crime to ensure that the criminals do not escape or sabotage the due process of law for want of evidence available in different countries.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs is the Central Authority of India for dealing with requests for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. 
• Section 105 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) explains the reciprocal arrangements to be made by the Central Government with the Foreign Governments about the service of summons/warrants/judicial processes.
• India has so far signed MLATs with 45 countries.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Tamil Nadu government launched an initiative for the conservation of the Nilgiri Tahr at Rs 25 crore.

• Under The Nilgiri Tahr project, the Tamil Nadu government plans to
• Develop a better understanding of the Nilgiri Tahr population through surveys and radio telemetry studies
• Reintroduce the Tahrs to their historical habitat
• Address proximate threats
• Increase public awareness of the species
• The project is to be implemented for 5 year period from 2022 to 2027.

What is Nilgiri Tahr?

• Nilgiri Tahr is the only Caprinae species found in the tropical mountains of southern India.
• Habitat: They are endemic to the Western Ghats and used to inhabit a large part of the Western Ghats between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• Conservation Status
• IUCN - Endangered
• Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972 - Schedule I

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, Tel Aviv University and Columbia University are studying a rare genetic brain disease called "GNB1 Encephalopathy" and trying to develop a drug to treat it effectively.

• It is a kind of brain disease or neurological disorder which affects individuals in the foetus stage.
•  A single nucleotide mutation in the GNB1 gene that makes one of the G-proteins, the "Gβ1 protein," causes this disease.
• Symptoms: Delayed physical and mental development, intellectual disabilities, and frequent epileptic seizures are among the early of the disease.
• Less than 100 cases of GNB1 Encephalopathy have been recorded worldwide. However, the actual number of affected children is probably higher since diagnosis for this genetic disorder is not widely available due to the requirement of sophisticated and expensive procedures.

Hence both statements are correct.

A recent study in the Antarctic reveals that king penguins are threatened by climate change.

• They are the 2nd largest penguin species.
• Habitat- They live on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands. Major colonies are found on Crozet, Prince Edward Island, Kerguelen Island, Heard Island, South Georgia and Macquarie Island.
• King penguins don't make a nest and they carry their egg around with them at all times on top of their feet by taking turns.
• Conservation Status: According to IUCN it is under the category of Least Concern.
• Threats: Climate change, habitat shifting and southward shifting of the Antarctic.

Hence both statements are correct.