Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 14, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting launched PB-SHABD, a news sharing service from Prasar Bharati and websites of DD News and Akashvani News as well as updated News on Air mobile app at an event in National Media Centre, New Delhi.

• Prasar Bharti - Shared Audio Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination (PB-SHABD) platform has been designed to provide daily news feeds in video, audio, text, photo and other formats to the subscribers from media landscape.
• It is powered by the vast network of Prasar Bharati reporters, correspondents and stringers, the service would bring you the latest news from different parts of the country.
• It will be a single point source of news content for all organizations.
• SHABD service is being offered free of cost for the first year as an introductory offer and will provide news stories in all major Indian languages across fifty categories.
• The shared feeds can be used for customized storytelling across different platforms.
• As an introductory offer, the services would be available free of cost and help the smaller newspapers, TV channels and digital portals immensely.

What is Prasar Bharti?

• It is the Public Service Broadcaster of the country.
• It is a statutory autonomous body established in 1997 under the Prasar Bharati Act.
• Objective: To conduct public broadcasting services intended to inform and entertain the public.
• It comprises the Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio, which were earlier media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• Headquarter: New Delhi

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries announces Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024.

• It aims to further accelerate the adoption of Electric Vehicles in the country.
• This is a fund-limited scheme with a total outlay of Rs. 500 crore for the period of 4 months, w.e.f. 1st April 2024 till 31st July 2024.
• It is for faster adoption of electric two-wheeler (e-2W) and three-wheeler (e-3W) to provide further impetus to the green mobility and development of electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing eco-system in the country. 
• Eligible EV categories:
• Two Wheelers (electric) (e-2W)
• Three-wheeler (electric) including registered e-rickshaws & e-carts and L5 (e-3W)
• With greater emphasis on providing affordable and environment friendly public transportation options for the masses, scheme will be applicable mainly to those e-2W and e-3Ws registered for commercial purposes.
• Further, in addition to commercial use, privately or corporate owned registered e-2W will also be eligible under the scheme.
• To encourage advance technologies, the benefits of incentives, will be extended to only those vehicles which are fitted with advanced battery.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Heavy Industries

Hence both statements are correct.

A US-based company called Cognition has announced the launch of a new artificial intelligence chatbot called Devin which it claims to be world's first fully autonomous AI software engineer.

• It is the world’s first AI software engineer. 
• What can Devin do?
• The AI agent comes with some advanced capabilities in software development, including coding, debugging, problem-solving, etc.
• It uses machine learning algorithms to constantly learn and improve its performance and adapt according to new challenges.
• In simple words, Devin can build and deploy apps end-to-end and can also train and fine-tune its own AI models.
• It can plan and execute complex engineering tasks that would require thousands of decisions.
• It can recall relevant context at each step, self-learn over time, and even fix mistakes.
• This software engineer has the ability to proactively collaborate with the user.
• It reports progress in real-time, is capable of accepting feedback, and works along with the user through design choices as needed.
• Performance
• On the SWE-Bench benchmark (a benchmark for evaluating large language models on real-world software issues found on GitHub), Devin correctly resolved 13.86 per cent of the issues without any assistance compared with the 1.96 per cent unassisted and 4.80 per cent assisted of the previous state-of-the-art model.
• It is capable of augmenting efficiency and speed within software development processes by automating repetitive tasks, instantly generating code, expediting project timelines, and cutting down development expenses substantially.
• It is immune to human errors or inconsistencies.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, Minister of Earth Sciences virtually inaugurated the first phase of the Atmospheric Research Testbed in Central India (ART-CI) in Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh.

• It is established by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), MoES at Silkheda for better understanding on processes governing monsoon convection.
• ART-CI will have an extensive set of remote-sensing and in-situ instruments that will provide continuous observations of convection, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, radiation, microphysics to capture major modes of variability.
• Phases
• In the first phase, an ART would be set up in central India to study convection, land-atmosphere interactions and precipitation processes. It is expected to provide a sound basis for other research testbed programs in climatologically interesting and important areas.
• In the second phase, ART is to be set up in the northeast/eastern part of the country to study severe thunderstorm processes.
• Objectives
• It is for better understanding on processes governing monsoon convection and land-atmosphere interactions over the monsoon core region and to measure relevant meteorological parameters using the state-of-the-art observational systems.
• To organize intense observational campaigns along with weather prediction model runs for testing hypotheses and to improve physical parameterizations in the models related to convection and land surface processes. 
• Outreach, Training and Dissemination of ART-CI data sets. The testbed will be made into an international facility for intense observational campaigns and testing physical parameterization schemes including sensitivity runs.
• It has nearly 25 high-end instruments like the aethalometer for aerosol studies, cloud condensation nuclei counter, laser ceilometer to measure cloud sizes, micro rain radar to calculate raindrop size and its distribution have been installed.
• A Ka-band cloud radar and a C-band doppler weather radar will also help track the movement of rain-bearing systems over this zone.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

A case of Lyme disease has been recently reported in the Ernakulam district of Kerala.

About Lyme Disease:

• It is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.
• Transmission:
• It is primarily transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks, often referred to as deer ticks.
• Lyme disease cannot spread:
• between humans
• from pets to humans
• through air, food, or water
• Lice, mosquitoes, fleas, and flies also do not transmit it.
• It is prevalent in wooded and grassy areas worldwide, particularly during warmer months. It is most commonly reported in North America, Europe, and some parts of Asia.
• Symptoms:
• Early symptoms of Lyme disease start between 3 to 30 days after an infected tick bite you.
• It commonly manifests with symptoms such as fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic "bull's-eye" red rash called erythema migrans (EM).
• Erythema migrans serves as a hallmark sign, aiding in the early diagnosis and management of this tick-borne illness.
• Left untreated, it can lead to more severe complications affecting the joints, heart, and nervous system.
• Treatment:
• The standard treatment for Lyme disease is antibiotics, such as doxycycline or amoxicillin, especially in the early stages.
• In later stages, intravenous antibiotics may be required.

Hence both statements are not correct.

NITI Aayog recently launched the 'Vocal for Local' initiative under its Aspirational Blocks Programme.

About ‘Vocal for Local’ Initiative:

• It is an initiative of NITI Aayog under its Aspirational Blocks Programme to encourage a spirit of self-reliance among the people and propel them towards sustainable growth and prosperity.
• As a part of this initiative, local products from 500 aspirational blocks have been mapped and consolidated under the Aakanksha brand.
• Aakanksha is an umbrella brand, which could be supplemented into multiple sub-brands that have the potential to create an international market.
• In order to encourage these products, a dedicated window for the Aspirational Blocks Programme under the brand name Aakanksha has been established on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.
• The partners will also provide technical and operational supportfor the facilitation of e-commerce onboarding, establishing linkages, financial/digital literacy, documentation/certification, and skill enhancement, among others.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Researchers recently discovered a previously unknown species of scorpion, scientifically classified as Euscorpiops Krachan.

About Euscorpiops Krachan:

• This new species belongs to the subgenus Euscopiops and has been named Euscorpiops Krachan after the national park in Thailand, where it was found.
• Scorpions in this genus have limited distribution ranges with a high degree of endemism.
• They can be found mainly in mountain areas, particularly in places with numerous rock crevices.
• Features:
• It presents most of the features exhibited by scorpions of the subgenus Euscorpiops.
• They are very small in comparison to most other species of the subgenus, reaching just over 1 inch in length.
• They are brownish in colour; however, females are darker than males.
• They also have eight eyes and eight legs.
• Other scorpions of the Scorpiops genus hunt through 'ambush or sit-and-wait type of foraging'. It is believed that the new species employs similar strategies while hunting. 

Hence option b is the correct answer.

The International Day of Mathematics (IDM) is celebrated every year on 14 March.

About International Day of Mathematics:

• International Day of Mathematics, or Pi Day, is celebrated on March 14 every year to recognize the mathematical constant, Pi.
• The day is celebrated by mathematics enthusiasts and educators worldwide to recognize and appreciate the significance of mathematics in our lives.
• The theme of International Day of Mathematics 2024 is 'Playing with Math'.
• Why March 14?
• The approximate value of Pi is 3.14. 
• The date, when written in the format of month/day (3/14), matches the first three digits of the mathematical constant. 
• History:
• The first Pi Day was celebrated in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw at the San Francisco Exploratorium.
• In 2009, the United States House of Representatives designated March 14 as Pi Day.
• UNESCO marked Pi Day as the ‘International Day of Mathematics' during its general conference in 2019.
• Mathematician and physicist Albert Einstein, known for the "General Theory Of Relativity," was born on Pi Day in 1879.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

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.

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.