Daily Current Affairs MCQ- September 28, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

India has achieved another milestone in its digital health journey as Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) crossed the landmark of one crore digitally linked health records with over 27 lakh records linked in a single day.

• Meanwhile, Mansukh Mandaviya will inaugurate "Arogya Manthan 2022" to celebrate four years of the implementation of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and one year of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) on September 25.
• The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. It will bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of the Healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.
• On February 26, 2022, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the national rollout of the Central Sector Scheme, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with a budget of Rs 1,600 crores for five years.
• The National Health Authority (NHA) will be the implementing agency of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Researchers have given new insights on the ‘coffee-ring effect’.

• For about two decades now, the ‘coffee ring effect’ has been known as when a drop of spilt coffee dries up, the outermost edge of the dried drop is a little darker than the centre, forming a darker ‘ring’.
• This is caused by the outward drift of suspended coffee particles from the centre, causing a denser, darkened rim.
• Now, researchers from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, have shown that after reaching the rim, as the drop dries, some of the particles undergo an inward drift too.
• This research has applications in agriculture, forensic science and even disease diagnosis. The present work has been published in the journal, Soft Matter.

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Minister Shri G. Kishan Reddy launches Virtual Conference 'SymphoNE' to boost Tourism Sector in North East India.

• SymphoNE is the start of a series of dialogues on North Eastern Region's Development Conference comprised of a broad range of Policy Thinkers, Stakeholders & Influencers with the aim to boost Tourism Sector in North Eastern Region.
• The Virtual Conference 'SymphoNE' being organized on 24th & 27th September 2022 by Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region on the occasion of World Tourism Day.
• This two day conference will aim to create a roadmap to showcase the unexplored beauty of North East India & boost the tourism Sector in North Eastern Region.
• SymphoNE aims to develop one-stop solution to eliminate all obstacles that are being faced by the tourists, and the tour operators while carrying out the operations for the visitors.

Hence both statements are correct.

President Droupadi Murmu conferred the National Service Scheme (NSS) Awards for the year 2020-21 at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports said in a statement.

• A total of forty-two awards were given today. Two universities, ten NSS units, their programme officers, and 30 NSS volunteers received the awards.
• The Department of Youth Affairs of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports confers every year the National Service Scheme Award. Awards are conferred to recognise and reward outstanding contributions towards voluntary community service with a view to further promoting NSS in the country.
• At present, NSS has about 40 lakh volunteers on its rolls spread over the country.

Hence both statements are correct.

India’s first ‘flex fuel’ car, a Toyota sedan that can run on one or multiple fuel types and developed as part of a new pilot aimed at deleveraging the country’s dependence on imported fossil fuels for transportation, is set for an unveiling later this month.

• A flex fuel, or flexible fuel, vehicle has an internal combustion engine (ICE), but unlike a regular petrol or diesel vehicle, this can run on more than one type of fuel, or even a mixture of fuels.
• The most common versions use a blend of petrol and ethanol or methanol, but these engines are also equipped to run on 100 per cent petrol or ethanol as well.
• This is made possible by equipping the engine with a fuel mix sensor and an engine control module (ECM) programming that senses and automatically adjusts for any ratio of designated fuels.

Pros and cons

• The most important benefit is that the use of ethanol blending sharply lowers harmful pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulphur, and carbon and nitrogen oxides. Another obvious benefit is that blending will help cutback on oil imports for fueling vehicles.
• But there are problems: a flex fuel car typically takes a small hit on fuel efficiency when using ethanol for motive power, ranging from between 4 per cent and 8 per cent.
• So, while fuel economy is generally lower with increased levels of ethanol (engines are optimised for petrol), on the flip side, many flex fuel vehicles have improved acceleration performance when operating on higher ethanol blends.

Hence both statements are correct.

Mid-Day Meal Scheme:

• The Mid-Day Meal Scheme was started in India on 15^th August 1995 as ‘National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE)’.
• It was renamed as ‘National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools’ in October 2007, also known as the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme.
• The current version of the programme, renamed PM Poshan Shakti Nirman or PM Poshan in 2021.
• Under the scheme, hot cooked meal per day is provided to all children (studying in Class I to VIII) enrolled in government schools, local body schools, government-aided schools, special training centres (STC), maktabs and madrasas supported under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Hence both statements are correct.

Having taken delivery of all Su-30MKI fighter aircraft and the deal for contracting 12 more Su-30s meant to replace those lost over the years deferred against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is working to speed up the long-delayed upgrade of these frontline fighters.

• The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter.
• The IAF is looking to add new weapons, avionics and sensors and engines on the Su-30MKIs to keep them contemporary for the next few decades.
• India had procured 272 Su-30s from Russia, a majority of which were assembled by HAL and around 11 jets were lost. The IAF has 12 Su-30 squadrons in service, and 40-50 aircraft are at HAL for overhaul repairs, officials said.

Hence both statements are correct.

India’s non-oil exports to the UAE have grown 14% between June and August, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said, attributing the uptick to the bilateral deal between the two nations that came into effect this May.

• India’s global non-petroleum exports during the same period grew by just 3% on a year-on-year basis, the Ministry said, seeking to emphasise the much higher growth in such exports to the UAE which were at $5.92 billion compared to $5.17 billion a year ago.
• Excluding petroleum-related imports, the imports from the UAE in the three months grew by 1% to $5.61 billion.
• The sharpest jump in Indian exports to UAE was seen in sugar (up 237%), cereals (161%), vegetables (82%), inorganic chemicals (74%) and electrical machinery and equipment (67%).
• The Ministry said it expects Indian exports to increase further in the coming months with increasing use of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by exporters and a series of trade promotion events planned in the UAE.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Prime Minister Modi has extended his warmest greetings to the Prime Minister of Israel, Yair Lapid and the Jewish people around the world on the occasion of Rosh Hashanah.

• Rosh HaShanah is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah, literally "day of shouting or blasting."
• It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. The High Holy Days comprise of Rosh HaShanah Yom Kippur, Pesach, (Passover), and Sukkot.
• Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the shofar, as prescribed in the Torah, following the prescription of the Hebrew Bible to "raise a noise" on Yom Teruah.

Hence both statements are correct.

• Adopt Heritage Project: It was launched in 2017 as a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), State/UTs Governments.
  • It aims to involve public sector companies, private sector companies, and corporate citizens/individuals to take up the responsibility for making our heritage and tourism more sustainable.
  • It envisages the development and maintenance of tourist amenities at heritage sites and making them tourist-friendly.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.