Daily Current Affairs MCQ- January 31, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has entered into a collaborative research agreement with a private-sector start-up offering cultivated meat technology solutions to grow fish meat in the laboratory.

• It is merely a type of lab-grown — or cultivated/ cultured — meat.
• Seafood without the sea is ‘grown’ in the same way as other cultivated meats are grown — without the need to raise and kill an animal.
• Process: Cultivated fish meat is produced by isolating specific cells from fish and growing them in a laboratory setting using media that is free of animal components.
• The final product is expected to replicate the flavour, texture, and nutritional qualities of ‘real’ fish meat.
• Role of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute
• It will focus on the genetic, biochemical, and analytical work related to the project.
• In its cell culture lab, it will carry out research on early cell line development of high-value marine fish species — a process that involves isolating and cultivating fish cells for further research and development.
• It will initially focus on developing cell-based meat of fish such as pomfret, kingfish, and seerfish.
• Recently, a number of countries have made great strides in this pioneering technology.
• Israel is the frontrunner, followed by Singapore, the United States and China.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, scientists have discovered a new kangaroo lizard species from the Western Ghats.

• Researchers named the new, scaly reptiles after the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered of Existence (EDGE) program through the Zoological Society of London.
• The new species Agasthyagama edge or the northern kangaroo lizard belongs to the Agamidae family.
• A group of scientists discovered the new species from the southern Western Ghats at Kulamavu in Idukki.
• The species is the second one of the Agasthyagama genus after A. beddomii or Indian kangaroo lizard that has been previously reported from Sivagiri hills in Tamil Nadu.
• Features
• A reduced fifth toe makes these reptiles poor climbers and hence do not climb trees like other lizards.
• Instead, they are mostly terrestrial and found in areas with dense leaf litter cover.
• They feed on small insects, this variety of kangaroo lizard run fast and hide within dry leaves to evade predators.
• It is known to have a maximum snout-vent length of 4.3 cm.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Recently, the Secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications (MoC), launched the “Bharat 5G Portal- an integrated portal” on the sidelines of ‘Bharat Telecom 2024.

• It is a comprehensive platform serving the interests of startups, industry and academia in quantum, 6G, IPR and 5G domains.
• It also features the Future Tech-Experts registration portal in collaboration with PANIIT USA, aimed to help and advise the Indian Telecom ecosystem to advance the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• It acts as a one-stop solution for all quantum, IPR, PoCs/Pilot, 5G and 6G-related works, capturing academic R&D developments, industry standards, OEMs, startups/MSMEs, and subject matter experts.
• It aims to propel India's 5G capabilities, foster innovation, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing within the telecom sector.

Other 5G related initiatives in India

• Prime Minister of India in the India Mobile Congress, awarded 100 “5G Use Case Labs” to educational institutions across the countries to build competencies and engagement in 5G technologies for students & start-up communities.
• All the 100+ Labs/institutions are connected through a dedicated portal (Digital network of 100 5G Labs).
• It acts as a knowledge dissemination platform for the institutions/students/start-ups wherein 5G use cases are being tested/developed.
• Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) is implementation agency for installation of 100 Labs and portal development.

Hence both statements are correct.

The “Maratha Military Landscapes of India” will be India’s nomination for recognition as UNESCO World Heritage List for the year 2024-25.

• The Maratha Military Landscapes of India, which developed between 17th and 19th centuries, represent an extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers.
• This extraordinary network of forts, varying in hierarchies, scales and typological features, is a result of integrating the landscape, terrain and physiographic characteristics distinctive to the Sahyadri mountain ranges, the Konkan Coast, Deccan Plateau and the Eastern Ghats in the Indian Peninsula.
• The twelve component parts of this nomination are, Salher fort, Shivneri fort, Lohgad, Khanderi fort, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort, Vijay durg, Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu.
• Among these, Salher fort, Shivneri fort, Lohgad, Raigad, Rajgad and Gingee fort are hill forts, Pratapgad is hill-forest fort, Panhala is hill-plateau fort, Vijaydurg is coastal fort whereas Khanderi fort, Suvarnadurg and Sindhudurg are island forts.
• The inception of the Maratha Military ideology dates back to 17th Century during the reign of the Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by the 1670 CE and continued through subsequent rules until Peshwa rule till 1818 CE.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

The first scientific survey of the snow leopard in India shows the country is home to 718 of the elusive cats, the government said recently.

About Snow Leopard:

• It is a large, long-haired Asian cat, classified as either Panthera uncia or Uncia uncia in the family Felidae. 
• Geographic Range:
• Snow leopards live across a vast area in northern and central Asia's high mountains, including the Himalayan region.
• In the Himalayas, they live in high alpine areas, mostly above the tree line and up to 18,000 feet in elevation.
• They are found in 12 countries, including China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Russia, and Mongolia.
• In India, it is seen in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Features:
• Measuring from nose to tail, the length of an average adult is 1000 to 1300 mm.
• They have thick grey and yellow-tinged fur, with solid spots on their head, neck, and lower limbs and rosettes over the rest of the body.
• They also have very long, thick tails that they use for balancing on rocks and wrapping around their bodies for protection from the cold. 
• Their short forelimbs and long hind limbs make them very agile, and they can jump as much as 50 feet in length.
• They are solitary, and the only prolonged social contact occurs while females are raising their cubs.
• Conservation status:
• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix I 
• Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972: Schedule I

Hence both statements are not correct.

Eravikulam National Park (ENP), the natural habitat of the Nilgiri tahr, will soon be closed for the calving season of the species.

About Eravikulam National Park:

• Location: It is located along the Western Ghats in the Idukki district of Kerala.
• It was declared as National Park in 1978.
• The Park covers an area of 97 sq.km.
• The highest peak south of the Himalayas, the Anamudi (2695 meters), is situated on the southern side of the park.
• This is also the land of “Neelakurinji”, the flower that blooms once every twelve years. 
• Climate: The park receives heavy showers during the southwest (June/July) and retreating (October/November) monsoons and is one of the wettest areas of the world.
• Vegetation: The major part of the park is covered with rolling grasslands, but several patches of shola forests are also found in the upper part of the valley. 
• Flora:
• Important flora includes Actinodaphne bourdilloni, Microtropis ramiflora, Pittosporum tetraspermium, Sysygium aronottianum, Chrysopogon Zelanieus, etc.
• The shola grasslands are exceptionally rich in balsams and orchids, including the long thought extinct variety Brachycorythis wightii.
• Fauna:
• The Nilgiri Tahr, Gaur, Sloth Bear, Nilgiri Langur, Tiger, Leopard, Giant Squirrel, and wild dog are the common species.
• Half the world population of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr lives here.
• The Atlas moth, the largest of its kind in the world, is seen in this park.
• 140 species of birds, of which 10 are unique to the Western Ghats. More than 100 varieties of butterflies have been recorded here. 

Key Facts about Nilgiri tahr:

• It is an endangered mountain ungulate endemic to the southern part of the Western Ghats. 
• Scientific Name: Nilgiritragus hylocrius
• Locally, the animal is called ‘Varayaadu’.
• They are known for their gravity-defying skills in climbing steep cliffs, earning them the nickname Mountain Monarch.
• It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu.
• Distribution:
• Their present distribution is limited to approximately 5% of the Western Ghats in southern India (Kerala and Tamil Nadu).
• Eravikulam National Park in Kerala has the highest density and largest surviving population of Nilgiri tahr. 
• Habitat: They inhabit the open montane grassland habitats at elevations from 1200 to 2600 m of the South Western Ghats.
• Features:
• It has a stocky body with short, coarse fur and a bristly mane. 
• Both sexes have curved horns, which are larger in the males, reaching up to 40 cm in males and 30 cm in females. 
• Adult males develop a light grey area or ’saddle’ on their backs and are hence called ‘saddlebacks’.
• It has a short grey-brown or dark coat.
• Conservation Status:
• IUCN Red List: Endangered
• Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972: Schedule I

Hence both statements are correct.

India's rank in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2023 has slipped to 93 out of 180 countries, with a score of 39.

About Corruption Perception Index (CPI):

• It is an annual index released by Transparency International, a global civil society organization.
• Since its inception in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption.
• The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
• It uses data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting companies, think tanks and others.
• The scores reflect the views of experts and business people, not the public.
• Highlights of CPI 2023:
• CPI-2023 results show that most countries have made little to no progress in tackling public sector corruption.
• CPI global average score remains unchanged at 43 for the twelfth year in a row.
• Denmark topped the index for the sixth consecutive year.
• Somalia was ranked last, other countries occupying the bottom spots included: Venezuela, Syria, South Sudan and Yemen.
• India has tied with Maldives, Kazakhstan, and Lesotho to rank at 93 out of 180 countries. In 2022, India was ranked at 85.
• Pakistan scored 29 with a rank of 133 and China, scored 42 occupying rank 76.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Recently, Google announced the launch of its latest, most powerful AI model, Gemini.

• It is a new multimodal general AI model, which means it can understand, and work with different formats, including text, code, audio, image, and video, at the same time.
• It is now available to users across the world through Bard, some developer platforms and even the new Google Pixel 8 Pro devices.
• It can understand, explain and generate high-quality code in the world’s most popular programming languages, like Python, Java, C++ and Go.
• It comes in three sizes — the yet-to-be-launched Ultra, Pro and Nano.
• Gemini Ultra, the largest and most capable model, will be meant for highly complex tasks.
• It is available now only to select customers, developers, partners and safety and responsibility experts for early experimentation and feedback.
• Gemini Pro will be best at scaling across a wide range of tasks and is now available in Bard for regular users across the world.
• Gemini Nano will manage on-device tasks and is already available on Pixel 8 Pro, powering new features like Summarise in the Recorder app and Smart Reply via Gboard.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, in a groundbreaking discovery, researchers from the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) have identified seismogenic liquefaction features in the active Kopili Fault (KF) zone.

• It is a 300 km long and 50 km wide lineament situated in the northeastern region (NER) of India.
• It extends from the western part of Manipur to the tri-junction of Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam.
• It is closer to Himalayan Frontal Thrust.
• This is a seismically active area falling in the highest Seismic Hazard Zone V.
• It is associated with collisional tectonics because of the Indian Plate subducting beneath the Eurasian Plate. 
• The fault itself is a transpressional fracture that generates lower crustal dextral strike-slip earthquakes.
• A tectonic depression filled up by the alluvium of the Kopilli river and its tributaries, the Kopili fault zone has witnessed many seismic activities in the past including the 1869 earthquake (7.8 magnitude) and the 1943 earthquake (7.3 magnitude).

Hence option a is the correct answer.

Recently, the ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (ICAR-IVRI), Izatnagar, Bareilly has found the exact status of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus subtypes (EEHV) and its subtypes circulating among Asian elephant population in India.

• It is a double-stranded DNA virus that is classified in the family Herpesviridae.
• It causes acute, fatal haemorrhagic disease in wild and captive juvenile Asian and African elephants.
• It is lethal for young elephants between the ages of one and 12.
• The disease is usually fatal, with a short course of 28-35 hours.
• Transmission: Direct contact with body fluids of infected elephants (saliva, shedding from skin lesions, etc.)
• Symptoms: Some elephants show symptoms such as reduced appetite, nasal discharge and swollen glands.
• Treatment: It includes a combination of anti-viral therapy, aggressive fluid therapy (to counter haemorrhaging), immuno-stimulant drugs (selenium and Vitamins C, E), anti-pyretics and analgesics (to bring down fever)
• There is no true cure for herpesviruses in animals or in humans because herpes viruses go latent.

Hence both statements are correct.