Daily Current Affairs MCQ- July 8, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, researchers in the UK, led by Nobel laureate Andre Geim have found that graphene displays an anomalous giant magnetoresistance (GMR) at room temperature.

• What is it? It is the result of the electrical resistance of a conductor affected by magnetic fields in adjacent materials.
• It is composed of monolayer of closely packed carbon atoms that form a hexagonal honeycomb lattice.
• It is the building-block of Graphite.
• It is the thinnest, most electrically and thermally conductive material in the world.
• It is also tremendously strong—about 200 times stronger than steel and flexible, as well as transparent.
• It is also known as a wonder material due to its vast potential in the energy and medical world.
• Applications: It is used in hard disk drives and magneto resistive RAM in computers, biosensors, automotive sensors, microelectromechanical systems, and medical imagers etc.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, in a rare instance, the Supreme Court collegium has recommended the appointment of a retired district judge as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh HC, citing legitimate expectation and delay in the selection process.

• Constitutional Provisions: The appointment of ad-hoc judges has been provided in the Constitution under Article 224A (appointment of retired Judges at sittings of High Courts).
• Under this Article, the Chief Justice of a High Court for any State can request a person to act as a judge of the High Court.
• For this, the prior consent of the president is required.
• The person should have held the office of judge of that court or of any other High Court.
• Such a judge is entitled to allowances as determined by the President.
• He will also enjoy all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of a judge of that high court.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, a group of MTech students noticed something unusual along the coast of Visakhapatnam which was glowing due to a unique natural phenomenon called bioluminescence.

• What is it? Bioluminescence occurs due to the presence of some marine planktons called dinoflagellates that produce light when the water is disturbed. 
• These planktons emit light on the ocean surface at night.
• Bioluminescent is widespread among deep sea animals in general.
• Many marine creatures like sponges, jellyfish, worms, species of fish, anthropods, echinoderms and unicellular alga exhibit bioluminescence to either evade predators, attract prey or during mating.
• In Visakhapanam, this phenomenon is most likely the result of an algal bloom of the dinoflagellate species of noctiluca and ceratium.
• This occurs when the luciferase enzyme reacts with luciferin compound in the presence of oxygen to produce a cold light.
• This is widespread in lagoons and sometimes breakwaters and is particularly visible during warm weather conditions.
• The dinoflagellates follow a circadian cycle (24-hour cycle) and as a result this phenomenon occurs during the night which is visible in low light conditions.
• This unique phenomenon has been visible in some other beaches in India including Havelock Island in the Andamans, Thiruvanmiyur beach in Chennai, Mattu beach in Karnataka and Bangaram Island in Lakshadweep.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying will launch the “Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative (APPI)” Animal Health System Support for One Health (AHSSOH) project under the aegis of National One Health Mission on 14th of April 2023 at India Habitat Center, New Delhi.

• It is a collaborative project between the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the World Bank.
• It is aiming to create an ecosystem for a better animal health management system using the One Health approach.
• It will be implemented in five States and it envisages improving capacity building of stakeholders involved in animal health and disease management.
• Duration of the project: It will be implemented over a five-year period as Central sector scheme with a financial provision of Rs. 1228.70 Cr.
• The project calls for participation by Human Health, Forest and Environment Department at the national, regional as well as local for creating and strengthening the One Health architecture including community engagement.

Hence both statements are not correct.

Recently, the famous Gond painting of Madhya Pradesh has received the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

• It is a famous folk art of the Gond tribal community of central India. 
• It is done to preserve and communicate the culture of the Gond tribal community.
• Themes: Gond tribes are highly interlinked with nature and this appears in their paintings too they include animals, mahua tree, mythological stories, Hindu gods, Local deities and folktales etc.
• Each Gond artist uses his distinctive pattern and style to fill the images these style signatures are used in collage to make a complete picture such as Dots, fine Lines, Curved Lines, Dashes Fish Scales etc.

Hence both statements are correct.

Denmark energy ministry recently said that the country is working towards exiting the Energy Charter Treaty.

About Energy Charter Treaty (ECT):

• It provides a multilateral framework for energy cooperation that is unique under international law.
• It is designed to promote energy security through the operation of more open and competitive energy markets while respecting the principles of sustainable development and sovereignty over energy resources.
• It was signed in December 1994 and entered into legal force in April 1998.
• It also established the Energy Charter Conference, an inter-governmental organisation which meets on a regular basis to discuss issues affecting energy cooperation.
• There are currently 53 signatories and contracting parties to the ECT, including both the European Union and Euratom.
• The Treaty's provisions focus on four broad areas:
• the protection of foreign investments, based on the extension of national treatment, or most-favoured-nation treatment (whichever is more favourable) and protection against key non-commercial risks;
• non-discriminatory conditions for trade in energy materials, products and energy-related equipment based on WTO rules and provisions to ensure reliable cross-border energy transit flows through pipelines, grids and other means of transportation;
• the resolution of disputes between participating states, and - in the case of investments - between investors and host states;
• the promotion of energy efficiency and attempts to minimise the environmental impact of energy production and use;

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Four Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will soon depart to France to take part in multilateral exercise Orion at Mont-de-Marsan, an Air Force base of the French Air and Space Force (FASF).

About Exercise Orion:

• It is a multinational exercise hosted by the French government.
• It is reportedly the largest ever multinational exercise being carried out by the French defence forces which have involved their Army, Navy and Air Force.
• It includes ground troops, warships, aircraft carriers and combat aircraft and is meant to boost military cooperation and interoperability among participating nations.
• Besides the IAF and the FASF, Air Forces from Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, U.K. and U.S. would also be flying in this multilateral exercise.
• The IAF contingent will include four Rafale aircraft, two C-17, two IL-78 aircraft and 165 air warriors. 
• This would be the first overseas exercise for the IAF's Rafale aircraft. 

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Union Home Minister recently urged people to visit Kibithoo village in Arunachal Pradesh to enjoy its natural beauty and take inspiration from its history.

About Kibithoo Village:

• Location: It is located in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• It lies on the right bank of the Lohit River.
• Elevation: 1305 meters.
• The Meyors tribe form bulk of its population.
• It is one of the most remote Circle Headquarters in Arunachal Pradesh and the only Circle Headquarters facing the border of India and China.
• It has also been the witness of the war between India and China in the year 1962.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Recently, the ‘A-HELP’ (Accredited Agent for Health and Extension of Livestock Production) programme was launched in the State of Uttarakhand. 

• It is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and the Ministry of Rural Development.
• ‘A-HELP’ are community-based women activists, who assist veterinarians in local departmental activities help livestock farmers to take loans for entrepreneurship development, fill out applications, mark the ear tagging of animals and register them in the INAF portal and help with insurance etc.
• They assist in implementing various schemes and in providing information to the farmers at the grassroots level.
• They will give vital contributions to preventing various infectious diseases of animals, artificial insemination under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), tagging animals and animal insurance.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, the Prime Minister of India referred to the Uttaramerur inscription in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, while discussing India’s democratic history.

• The famous inscription from Parantaka I’s (who belongs to the Chola dynasty)reign is found on the walls of the Vaikunda Perumal Temple.
• The inscription gives details of the functioning of the local Sabha, i.e., the village assembly.
• A Sabha was an assembly exclusively of Brahmans and had specialised committees tasked with different things.
• This gave details about how members were selected, the required qualifications, their roles and responsibilities, and even the circumstances in which they could be removed.
• Required qualifications:
  • It includes ownership of a certain amount of land, having a house, being between the age of 35 and 70 and “knowing mantras and Brahmanas” (from the Vedic corpus).
  • An exception can be made on land ownership if the person has learnt at least “one Veda and four Bhashyas”. One must also be “well-versed in business” and “virtuous”.

Hence both statements are correct.