Daily Current Affairs MCQ- May 28, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) welcomed the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) initiative by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

•  It is a mandatory disclosure mechanism for top 1000 listed companies or businesses to report their performance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects and demonstrate their commitment to responsible business practices.
• It was introduced in May 2021 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
• This initiative was intended to provide policymakers and investors with robust data to make informed decisions.
• The disclosure requirements are grouped into nine core categories, based on the principles of the National Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct introduced by SEBI:
• Environmental protection: Key performance indicators cover electricity consumption, water usage and air emissions.
• Human rights: Focus on human rights violations and minimum and fair wages.
• Integrity: Performance indicators include anti-corruption, anti-bribery and conflicts of interest policies.
• Employee well-being: Metrics focused on parental benefits, employee accessibility and the percentage of unionized workers.
• Inclusive growth: Policies favoring vulnerable and marginalized groups.
• Sustainable goods and services: Information on investments in social and environmental impacts.
• Responsible consumer engagement: KPIs encompass handling consumer complaints and feedback, product recall procedures and cybersecurity and data privacy policies.
• Stakeholder responsiveness: Describing engagement with vulnerable and marginalized groups.
• Responsible public policy engagement: Listing trade and industry affiliations and detailing issues relating to anticompetitive conduct.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Indian-American astronomer Shrinivas Kulkarni was awarded the Shaw Prize for Astronomy in 2024 for his work on the physics of astronomical transients.

• In astronomy, a ‘transient’ is any celestial object whose brightness changes in short spans of time.
• There are many kinds of astronomical transients, all of them united by phenomena that are violent in some measure.
• Astronomers study transients to understand where their violence comes from and what that can tell us about non-transient event.
• Examples of transients
• Supernovae: When the outer layers of large stars blow up while their cores implode because the stars have run out of elements to fuse. Many a supernova has been known to become so bright that it emits light more intensely than the stars in the rest of its host galaxy combined.
• Active Galactic nucleus (AGN): The centres of massive galaxies host supermassive black holes. Sometimes, these black holes actively feast on matter in their orbit. Interactions between the black holes and the matter in this process cause the latter to acquire energy and glow with a changing brightness.
• Fast Radio Burst (FRB): It was discovered in 2007 and it can emit more than 10-times as much energy as the Sun in a few milliseconds.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, to address its long-standing economic instability, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has launched a new gold-backed currency called the ZiG.

About ZiG:

• The Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) is a new gold-backed currency launched by Zimbabwe.
• The ZiG, now the sixth currency used by Zimbabwe, has been in circulation since April 5, 2024.
• Key features of ZiG
• The ZiG stands out as a new currency backed by gold reserves, ensuring its value is supported by the physical gold held by the government.
• ZiG notes and coins will be available and issued in denominations: 1ZiG, 2ZiG, 5ZiG, 10ZiG, 20Zig, 50ZiG, 100ZiG, and 200ZiG, with the gold backing aims to provide stability and prevent currency devaluation.
• Reasons for launching new currency
• Zimbabwe has grappled with high inflation, with rates surpassing 500% in recent years.
• Consequently, the Zimbabwean dollar, introduced in 1980, lost its value due to hyperinflation. Following this, the country relied on various currencies, primarily the US dollar, leading to limited control over its economy.
• The collapse of the Zimbabwean dollar in 2009, with hyperinflation peaking at 5 billion per cent, marked one of the most severe currency crashes in history.
• Banks in Zimbabwe have been converting the previous national currency, the Zimbabwe dollar, into ZiGs, aiming to promote simplicity, certainty, and predictability in monetary and financial matters.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently invoked Article 329(b) of the Constitution, which prohibits judicial intervention in the working of the commission in the middle of the election process. 

• About Article 329(b):
  • Enshrined in Part XV of the Constitution, Articles 324-329 specifically discuss elections. 
  • While Article 324 gives the poll panel powers to direct and control elections, Article 329, which has two clauses, concerns itself with the role of the judiciary in electoral matters. 
  • Article 329(a) says the “judiciary is not allowed to challenge the constitutionality of laws relating to the boundaries of electoral districts or the allocation of seats.
  • Article 329(b) as amended by the Constitution (19th Amendment) Act, 1966, provides that notwithstanding anything in the Constitution, no election to either House of Parliament or the Legislature of a State shall be called into questionexcept by an election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as may be provided for by or under any lawmade by the appropriate Legislature.
  • It stipulates that election-related inquiries are exclusively addressed through election petitions presented to the authority designated by that law. 
  • The Representation of the People Act, 1951, furthers this clause as it empowers the High courts to hear and decide election petitions.
  • A decision in such petitions can be challenged in the Supreme Court (SC).
• SC Rulings:
  • In the 1952 Ponnuswamy judgment (Ponnuswami v. Returning Officer Namakkal), the SC held that the word “election” in Article 329(b) connotes the entire electoral process commencing with the issue of the notification calling the election and culminating in the declaration of result, and that the electoral process once started could not be interfered with at any intermediary stage by courts.
  • The SC in K. Venkatachalam vs. A.Swamickan (1999) determined that Article 329(b) is inapplicable if the matter pertains to Articles 191 and 193, which deal with disqualifications and penalties related to parliamentary and legislative assembly membership, respectively. 

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The strongest earthquake to hit Italy’s Campi Flegrei supervolcano region in decades struck recently.

• About Campi Flegrei: 
  • Campi Flegrei (known as Phlegrean Fields in English) is an active volcanic area located in the vicinity of Naples, Italy. 
  • Unlike the nearby Mount Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei is not characterised by a single volcano.
  • It is more of a volcanic system, withseveral centres situated within a caldera (the depression created when emptying magma chambers causes the roof of a volcano to collapse).
  • The Campi Flegrei caldera has a diameter of about 12-15 km (7.5-9.3 miles).
  • It was formed 39,000 years ago after an eruption emptied it of magma. According to a new hypothesis, this eruption could have been the beginning of the end of the Neanderthal.
  • One third of it lies under the Tyrrhenian Sea, between the Italian mainland and the country’s island of Sardinia. 
  • It is the largest active caldera in Europe. It is much larger than the cone-shaped Vesuvius, which destroyed the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in AD79, and is much more active.
  • Campi Flegrei has been in a restless state since 1950. It is a result of a phenomenon known as bradyseism, which scientists understand to be the gradual movement of part of Earth’s surfacecaused by the filling or emptying of an underground magma chamber or hydrothermal activity.
  • It last erupted in 1538, after an interval of about 3000 years. This eruption, although minor in comparison, formed Monte Nuovo, a new mountain.
  • Scientists consider Campi Flegrei to be a supervolcano whose eruptions can have worldwide effects.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

A portion of the Virupaksha temple in Karnataka collapsed following torrential rains recently. 

• About Virupaksha Temple:
  • It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Virupaksha, a form of Lord Shiva.
• Location:
  • It is located in Hampi, in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka.
  • It is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • It is situated on the southern bankofthe Tungabhadra River.
  • According to history, this temple has been functioning uninterruptedly ever since itsinception in the 7th century AD and is one of India's oldest functioning temples.
  • Originally a small, humble shrine,it was expandedto its present magnificence during the reign of the Vijayanagara kings, though additions to its temple were also made by the Chalukyan and Hoysala eras.
• Architecture:
  • It is built in South Indian architecture style.
  • Hampi's only continuously functioning temple, it includes a sanctum sanctorum,pillared halls–the most elaborate one consisting of 100 pillars–antechambers, grand gopurams, and a number of smaller shrines, along with a temple kitchen and administrative offices.
  • It has three gopurams; the eastern gopuram is the largest (nine storeys and 50 meters tall); the other two are the smaller gopurams on the inner east and inner northern sides of the temple complex.
  • Beautiful sculptures of many Hindu Gods adorn the outer faces of the gopurams.
  • Apart from these, builders utilizedphysics principles such as Rectilinear Light Theory and the pinhole camera effect, along with mathematical concepts like fractals, geometry, complex mathematics, and the Fibonacci number sequence, to construct the temple.
  • The most interesting part of the structure is the inverted pinhole imageof its tower present on the inner wall. 

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Researchers has reported in a study that when pure copper is heated and also subjected to an extreme strain rate, it behaves like a much harder material would.

About Strain Rate:

• Strain is how much a material deformswhen stress is applied. It is a measure of the change in shape or size of an object relative to its original shape or size.
  • It has units of meters divided by meters, so it ends up without physical units. 
• Strain rate is the rate of deformationcaused by strain in a material within a corresponding time. 
  • It is a measure of how quickly a material is deformed over time.
  • It involves both the rate wherein a certain material expands and shears.
  • Strain Rate = Change in Strain / Change in Time
  • The unit of strain rate is per second. 
• Importance:
  • It is an important factor in materials science and engineering because it influences the mechanical properties and behavior of materials.
  • It can be highly beneficial in the field of metallurgy and corrosion engineering.
  • Since materials may undergo deformation in various rates and directions, learning how to gauge strain rate with respect to certain elements like time, velocity, and others is vital in determiningthe material strength and the point at which corrosion, specifically stress corrosion cracking, could take place.
  • The use of low strain rates is now a widely used technique in evaluating the response of materials against stress. 

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

A group of phycologists from the Department of Botany at Catholicate College in Pathanamthitta has discovered a new algal species in the Western Ghats.

• It is a new algal species and it is named as Oedocladium sahyadricum.
• The name ‘sahyadricum’ refers to the Western Ghats, also known as Sahyadri, which is rich in plant diversity and provides ideal conditions for the growth of terrestrial microalgae.
• Features
• It is dioecious and terrestrial, having a superior operculum, and possessing ellipsoid oogonium and oospore.
• The alga was found as a thin mat of elongated strands on damp soil.
• The species, which looks like moss protonema, is velvety green but turns yellowish-green as it matures. Rainy weather is likely needed for its abundant growth.
• This is the first time a species in the Oedocladium category has been recorded in Kerala.
• Species of Oedocladium have potential practical applications
• In medicine, agriculture, and in the production of a natural pigment, astaxanthin which is well-documented for its unique biological activities and health benefits.
• Algae play a significant role in ecosystems and have enormous economic importance in the world market, from high-value products to wastewater treatment.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in a latest intervention has taken up Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM) model on a pilot basis in the city.

• It is a sustainable urban water management technique and addresses persistent issues of groundwater depletion, drying up of borewells, and check quick flooding of city streets.
• How it is done?
• The project’s concept is to drill shallow water injection borewells to a depth of 100-120 feet and pump out water in the shallow aquifers.
• This is done so that the layers underneath get recharged whenever there is rainfall, while collecting water from the surrounding watershed and channelling it through recharge pits.
• Thus, the underground layers are recharged, and water table rises.

SAM Pilot model in India

• It is part of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Nodal implementing agency: National Institute of Urban Affairs
• In 2022, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) initiated a SAM pilot across 10 cities in nine states: Bengaluru (Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), Hyderabad (Telangana), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Kolkata (West Bengal), Pune and Thane (Maharashtra), and Rajkot (Gujarat).

What is an aquifer?

• It is a body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater. Groundwater enters an aquifer as precipitation seeps through the soil.
• It can move through the aquifer and resurface through springs and wells.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recent study revealed that Male proboscis monkeys' enhanced noses evolved to attract mates.

• It is a medium-sized arboreal primate that is found exclusively in the rainforests of Borneo.
• Appearance: The male Proboscis Monkey is not only one of the largest monkeys in Asia but they are also one of the world’s most distinctive mammals, having a long and fleshy nose and a large, swollen stomach.
• Habitat: They live in coastal mangroves, peat swamps and riverine forests and have an unusual diet made up mostly of leaves.
• Characteristics
• It can swim quite well and have webbed fingers and toes. It typically live in harem groups, made up of a single adult male some adult females and their offspring.
• Males don’t often get the opportunity to attract a harem until they reach middle age. 
• It is a diurnal, meaning they are active during the day, and they rely on vocalizations, such as honks and roars, for communication within their dense forest homes.
• Threats: The rampant clearing of the region’s rain forests for timber, settlement, and oil palm plantations has depleted huge tracts of their habitat.
• Conservation status
• IUCN : Endangered
• CITES: Appendix I

Hence only statement 1 is correct.