Daily Current Affairs MCQ- September 5, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

• The Pradhan Mantri Dakshata Aur Kushalata Sampanna Hitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Yojana is a Central Sector Scheme.
• It was launched during 2020-21.
• The main objective of the Scheme is to enhance competency level of the target groups to make them employable both in self- employment and wage-employment for their socio-economic development.
• It is a National Action Plan for skilling marginalized persons covering SCs, OBCs, EBCs, DNTs, Sanitation workers including waste pickers.
• Target Group:
• Artisans- who may be able to improve their revenue generation capacities within their practicing vocations;
• Women- who may be able to enter into self-employment and financially empower themselves without neglecting their domestic activities.
• Youth- who may acquire long-term training and specialization in employable vocations and gain a better standing in the job market.
• The age criterion of scheme between 18-45 years and income criteria is no income limit for SCs, SafaiKaramcharis Including waste picker and DNT.
• The annual family income should be below Rs.3 lakh for OBCs and the EBCs (Economically Backward Classes) annual family income below Rs.1 lakh.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJ&E).

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises distributed tool-kits and machineries to artisans under 'Gramodyog Vikas Yojna’.

• It is one of the two components of Khadi Gramodyog Vikas Yojana which aims to promote and develop the village industries through common facilities, technological modernization, training etc.
• It includes the activities carried out under different village industries.
• Components of the Yojana:
• Research & Development and Product Innovation: R&D support would be given to the institutions that intend to carry product development, new innovations, design development, product diversification processes etc.
• Capacity Building: Under the Human Resource Development and Skill Training components, exclusive capacity building of staff as well as the artisans would be adequately addressed through the existing MDTCs and institutions of excellence.
• Marketing & Publicity: The V.I. institutions will be provided market support by way of preparation of product catalogue, Industry directory, market research, new marketing techniques, buyer seller meet, arranging exhibitions etc.
• Target beneficiaries: Artisans, Unemployed Youth and Self Help Groups (SHGs)
• Eligibility criteria: Any person Traditional Artisans, Knowledge of Skill experience in Art and craft.

Hence both statements are correct.

A 10-year-old boy was recently killed in a tiger attack in Metikuppe wildlife range in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve.

About Nagarahole Tiger Reserve:

• Location: It is situated in the districts of Mysore and Kodagu in Karnataka.
• The reserve is named after a small river, ‘Nagarahole’ (literally a snake stream in Kannada), which meanders within the habitat before joining the river Kabini.
• Boundaries: It is flanked by the Bandipur Tiger Reserve on its southeastern side and the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary of Kerala on the southwest.
• The habitat also forms part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
• History:
• The origin of the reserve as a protected area dates back to the reign of the Wodeyar dynasty, the former rulers of the Kingdom of Mysore, when Nagarahole was an exclusive hunting reserve of the kings.
• It was set up in 1955 as a wildlife sanctuary by Coorg State.
• It was upgraded to a national park in 1988, and was brought under the fold of the Project Tiger by declaring it as a Tiger Reserve in 1999.
• Vegetation:
• The forests of Nagarahole are primarily deciduous.
• The dry eastern limits of the reserve have dry deciduous forests.
• Towards the west, with the increase in rainfall, the vegetation changes to tropical moist and semi-evergreen forests.
• Flora:
• The forests are interspersed with swampy fallows called ‘hadlu’, which are dominated by grasses and sedges, favoured by wild herbivores.
• Commercially important rosewood, teak, sandalwood, and silver oak are the main trees here. 
• Fauna: Tiger, Leopard Asiatic, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Asiatic Elephant, Gaur, Sambar Chital Muntjac, Four Horned Antelope etc.

Hence both statements are correct.

Geoscientists recently discovered a continent known as Zealandia that had been hiding in plain sight for almost 375 years.

About Zealandia:

• It is a long, narrow microcontinent that is mostly submerged in the South Pacific Ocean.
• Location: It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, primarily to the east of Australia and to the south of New Caledonia. It encompasses the region that includes New Zealand and New Caledonia.
• Formation:
• Zealandia or Te Riu-a-Māui in the Māori language was formally one of the constituent continents of the ancient supercontinent called Gondwana, which also included Western Antarctica and Eastern Australia over 500 million years ago. 
• It began to "pull away" from Gondwana roughly 105 million years ago.
• As Zealandia started pulling away, it began to sink beneath the waves, with over 94 percent remaining underwater for millennia.
• It is approximately 1.89 million square miles (4.9 million square km) in size, about half the size of Australia.
• The vast majority of this new continent lies beneath 6,560 feet (2km) of water.
• The part of Zealandia which is above water forms the foundation of New Zealand's north and south islands as well as the island of New Caledonia. 
• Tectonic Plate Boundaries: Zealandia is situated along the boundary of several tectonic plates, including the Australian Plate, Pacific Plate, and Indo-Australian Plate.
• The existence of Zealandia was first recorded in 1642 by Dutch businessman and sailor Abel Tasman, who was on a mission to find the "great Southern Continent," or Terra Australis.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Maharashtra Government recently proposed to develop the Gilbert Hill into a tourist spot on the lines of Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

About Gilbert Hill:

• It is a 200-foot monolith column of black basalt rock located at Andheri in Mumbai.
• The rock has a sheer vertical face and was formed when molten lava was squeezed out of the Earth's clefts during the Mesozoic Era about 66 million years ago.
• It was declared a National Park in 1952, while the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation categorised it as a Grade II heritage structure in 2007.
• The 'hill' is only one of three outcrops of volcanic rock worldwide.
• Arguably the oldest heritage site in the country in its original form, Gilbert Hill has a few temples and a small garden atop. These are accessed by a steep staircase carved into the rock.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

The first Su-34 multipurpose bomber aircraft crew to have fired a Kinzhal missile on Ukraine was recently presented with state awards.

About Kinzhal Missile:

• The Kh-47M2, nicknamed "Kinzhal" (Dagger), is a nuclear-capable, Russian air-launched hypersonic ballistic missile.
• It was one of six “next generation” weapons unveiled by Russian President Putin during a speech in March 2018.
• Features:
• The Kinzhal can reach speeds of up to Mach 10 (12,350 km/hr).
• It can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads with a payload of up to 480 kg and a thermonuclear option with a 10-50 kt warhead.
• It has a reported range of 1,500-2,000 km.
• The Kinzhal has a length of 8 m, a body diameter of 1 m, and a launch weight of approximately 4,300 kg.
• It is designed to be launched from MiG-31 fighter jets at altitudes of about 18 km (59,000 ft).
• This missile maneuvers during all stages of its flight to overcome hostile air defense systems.

What are Hypersonic Missiles?

• A hypersonic missile is a weapon system which flies at least at the speed of Mach 5e. five times the speed of sound and is manoeuvrable.
• These missiles are extremely fast and far harder for surface-to-air missile defence systems to target.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

Eight stump-tailed macaques were recently brought to the Delhi Zoo from the Aizawl Zoological Park in Mizoram.

About Stump-tailed macaque:

• The stump-tailed macaque, also called the bear macaque, is a species of Old World monkey found in South Asia.
• Scientific Name: Macaca arctoides
• Habitat: They are found in tropical and subtropical evergreen forests.
• Distribution:
• They are native to Cambodia, southwest China, northeast India, Laos, Myanmar, northwest Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. 
• In India, it is found in the south of the Brahmaputra River, in the northeastern part of the country.
• Its range in India extends from Assam and Meghalaya to eastern Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
• Features:
• They have thick, long, dark brown fur covering their bodies and short tails which measure between 3.2 and 69 mm.
• They have bright pink or red faces which darken to brown or nearly black as they age and are exposed to sunlight. 
• Males are larger than females, measuring 51.7-65cm long and weighing 9.7-10.2kg, while females measure 48.5-58.5cm and weigh 7.5-9.1kg. 
• Males have elongated canine teeth compared to females, which are important for establishing dominance within social groups.
• They are known to eat fruits, leaves, seeds, insects and small animals like frogs.
• Like all macaques, this species has cheek pouches to store food for short periods of time.
• They travel quadrupedally, usually on the ground, as it is not very agile in trees.
• Conservation Status:
• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
• Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule II

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

In a paper published recently, scientists from IIT Roorkee have characterised dinosaur fossils from the Middle Jurassic period, found in the Thar desert near the Jaisalmer Basin by the Geological Survey of India.

• The Tharosaurus indicus belongs to the family Dicraeosauridae and from the superfamily Diplodocoidea.
• These fossils are the first dicraeosaurid sauropods to have been found in India.
• It is 167 million years old and oldest known diplodocoid fossils in the world.
• The scientists named the dinosaur Tharosaurus indicus, with Tharo deriving from the Thar desert; saurus from the Greek ‘sauros’, or lizard; and indicus from its Indian origin. 
• This family was unique: its members were smaller and had shorter necks and tails compared to the other long-necked sauropods.
• Sauropods first appeared on the earth during the Jurassic period, about 200 million years ago.
• They were one of the most dominant clades of dinosaurs, surviving until the late Cretaceous period 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs went extinct.
• According to the scientists, fossils of dicraeosaurid dinosaurs have been found previously in North and South Americas, Africa and China, but such fossils were not known from India.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Recently, the Union government of India has launched the ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign, envisaged as a culminating event of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebration of 75 years of Indian Independence.

• Under this campaign soil collected from different parts of the country in August will be used to develop a garden along the Kartavya Path in Delhi.
• Events have been planned at the panchayat, village, block, urban local body, and State and national levels, respectively.
• The five-point agenda includes the installation of a shilaphalakam (memorial plaque), as per specifications, bearing the “names of those who have made the supreme sacrifice”.
• Work for the shilaphalakam may be executed through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), leveraging local materials and resources.
• ‘Vasudha Vandhan’ envisages every gram panchayat or village renewing “Mother Earth by planting 75 saplings of indigenous species and developing an Amrit Vatika”.
• ‘Veeron Ka Vandan’ will felicitate freedom fighters, and the families of deceased freedom fighters.
• Young volunteers and others will collect soil from every panchayat/village and bring it to the block, from where the ‘Mitti Kalash’ will be transported to Delhi.
• In urban areas, events will be organised at local bodies, notified area councils, Cantonment Boards, and town panchayats from August 9 and 15, and in bigger municipalities and municipal corporations from August 16 to 20.
• The ‘Mitti Kalash’ is to be brought ceremoniously to the larger municipalities/corporations and transported to Kartavya Path.

Hence both statements are correct.

Researchers have come up with a new and highly efficient optical limiter using a novel 2D material, ‘hematene’.

• Nanoflakes of a material called hematene extracted from iron ore have been found capable of withstanding and acting as shield from high laser intensities.
• Hence it could be used to make devices called optical limiters that can protect sensitive optical equipment from light-induced damage.
• Radiation from laser sources is highly concentrated and powerful and can be detrimental to sensitive equipment such as sensors, detectors, and other optical devices.
• When the input intensity increases optical limiters control the amount of light that passes through, thereby preventing damage to the optical component.
• These devices are often useful in laser technologies, military, telecommunications, aircrafts, and scientific research in several ways.
• They found that 2D nanoflakes of hematene is capable of withstanding very high laser intensities, and they exhibited excellent optical limiting of green laser light (532 nm) while maintaining a high linear transmission (about 87%) for low-intensity light.

Key facts about Hematene:

• It is extracted from naturally occurring hematite, the mineral form of iron(III) oxide, using a combination of sonication, centrifugation and vacuum-assisted filtration.
• It measures 3 atoms thick and has a more efficient photocatalysis.
• It is ferromagnetic (the mechanism by which certain materials like iron form permanent magnets, or are attracted to magnets) like a common magnet.
• It is capable of withstanding and acting as shield from high laser intensities.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.