Daily Current Affairs MCQ- November 9, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

The National Coal Index (NCI) rose 3.83 points to 143.91 in September amid growing demand for coal.

• The NCI is a price index which reflects the change in the price level of coal on a particular month relative to the fixed base year.
• This price index combines the prices of coal from all the sales channels- Notified Prices, Auction Prices and Import Prices.
• It has been rolled out on 4th June 2020 and the aim is to have an index that will truly reflect the market price. 
• The base year is FY 2017-18.
• The concept and design of the Index as well as the Representative Prices have been developed by the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
• The Index is meant to encompass all transactions of raw coal in the Indian market.
• This includes coking and non-coking of various grades transacted in the regulated (power and fertilizer) and non-regulated sectors.
• The NCI's upward movement indicates rising demand of coal because of upcoming festive season and winter in the country, which will encourage coal producer to take maximum benefit by further scaling-up domestic coal production to meet the growing energy demands.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness Program (LLLAP) of the Department of Justice reaches more than 6 lakh people through 14 implementing agencies under the DISHA scheme.

• Since 2012, Department of Justice (DoJ), Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India has been implementing Access to Justice Scheme in North Eastern States including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and in UT of Jammu & Kashmir.
• Major focus: Legal Empowerment of community, dissemination of simplified Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials in local languages and dialects and capacity development of Panchayati Raj Functionaries and Village Chiefs on formal justice delivery system.
• Aim: To empower the poor and disadvantaged sections of society to seek and demand justice services.
• The Programme also seeks to improve the institutional capacities of key justice service providers to enable them to effectively serve the poor and disadvantaged.
• Duration: DoJ has formulated a scheme on Access to Justice named ‘Designing Innovating Solutions and Holistic Access to Justice (DISHA)’ to be implemented during the period of 2021 to 2026.
• Objectives
• Use of Technology for enhanced delivery of legal literacy, its Knowledge Products and implementation of Innovative and Holistic ideas.
• Mainstreaming legal literacy through building and forging partnerships across Ministries and allied Departments, Institutions, Schools etc.
• Capacity Building and Utilization of Existing Grassroot/frontline Workers/ Volunteers.
• Developing of Indicators to measure Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness in India. Concurrent Evaluation and Assessment of Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness Programmes.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) in Ladakh captured stunning images of a rare red-colored aurora known as a Stable Auroral Arc.

• It is a rare atmospheric phenomenon which was observed during a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm.
• Unlike auroras, which occur when charged particles from space hit the atmosphere causing it to glow, SAR arcs form differently.
• They are an indication of heat energy leaking into the upper atmosphere from Earth's ring current system, a donut-shaped circuit carrying millions of amps around our planet.
• During the recent geomagnetic storm, the ring current was energised by hours of intense geomagnetic activity, with energy dissipating into these SAR arcs.
• This global event was registered in many parts of the world.

How does Aurora form?

• It is formed when the sun is ejecting charged particles from its corona, creating solar wind. When that wind slams into Earth's ionosphere, the aurora is born.
• In the Northern Hemisphere, the phenomenon is called the northern lights (aurora borealis), while in the Southern Hemisphere, it's called the southern lights (aurora australis).
• The hemispheric asymmetry of the aurora is due in part to the sun's magnetic field interfering with Earth's magnetic field.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released the state of Climate Services report 2023.

• It is originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873. 
• It was established in 1950.
• It is the specialized agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
• Currently it has a membership of 187 countries.
• Governance Structure:
• Its supreme body is the World Meteorological Congress, which consists of representatives of all members.
• It meets at least every four years to set general policy and adopt regulations.
• A 36-member Executive Council meets annually and implements policy.
• Headquarters:  Geneva, Switzerland.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Using the Five-hundred Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), astronomers from China and Australia have recently discovered five new pulsars.

About Five-hundred Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST):

• It is a radio telescope in China's Guizhou Province. 
• It is the world's largest and most sensitive radio telescope, with a receiving area equivalent to 30 football fields.
• It measures 500 meters in diameter.
• Scientific Goals:
• Detect neutral hydrogen at the edge of the universe; reconstruct the images of the early universe;
• Discover pulsars, establish a pulsar timing array, and participate in pulsar navigation and gravitational wave detection in the future;
• Join the International Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry Network to obtain hyperfine structures of celestial bodies;
• Perform high resolution radio spectral survey. Detect weak space signals;
• Participate in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
• FAST uses a data system developed at ICRAR (International Center for Radio Astronomy) in Perth, Australia, and at ESO (European Southern Observatory) to manage the huge amounts of data it generates. 

Hence both statements are correct.

India is set to acquire additional Israeli-made Hermes Starliner 900 drones that will enhance the Indian Army’s surveillance capabilities along its northern borders.

About Hermes 900 Starliner:

• It is an Israeli-made medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
• It is the larger variant of the Hermes 900.
• Features:
• It has a wing span of 17m and a maximum take-off weight of 1,600kg. 
• The aircraft has a service ceiling of 30,000ft and offers a flight endurance of up to 36 hours.
• The aircraft’s automatic take-off and landing (ATOL) capability allows it to take-off and land in near-zero visibility environments. 
• An active de-icing system is installed for removing ice from surfaces to ensure safe operation in icing conditions.
• It can carry a range of multi-sensor payloads weighing up to 450kg for multiple applications. 
• The onboard imaging sensors capture real-time imagery/video and provide wide-area persistent surveillance during both the day and night.
• It is equipped with a terrain avoidance warning system (TAWS) for terrain prediction and obstacle avoidance.
• It is equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a ground moving target indicator (GMTI) radar, and maritime patrol radar to detect, locate and acquire targets.
• It can also carry electronic warfare payloads to provide airborne electronic attack capability.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

The body of a trekker who had fallen into the Parvati River in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district was recently found on the banks of the river.

About Parvati River:

• The Parvati River, also known as the Parbati River, is located in the Parvati Valley of Himachal Pradesh.
• It is a major tributary of the Beas River.
• It is named after the Hindu goddess Parvati, who was the wife of Lord Shiva.
• Course:
• It originates from the Man Talai Glacierbelow the Pin Parbati Pass.
• The river flows in a gradual curve from the north-northwest to the west-southwest, past the pilgrimage centre of Manikaran. 
• It flows for approximately 150 km before merging into the Beas River at Bhuntar, which is located 10 km south of Kullu.
• The river is fed by the melting glaciers and the South West monsoons.
• Tributaries: The streams of Tos, Dibibokori, and Tichi feed this river along with many other tributaries. 
• The river is very well known for carrying silver ore in the river sand.
• The river has fine first-growth forests in its upper reaches, which are being degraded as a consequence of the development of its vast hydroelectric potential. 

Hence option a is the correct answer.

Scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) recently discovered a new species of wasp named ‘Taeniogonalos dhritiae’ in the Western Ghat hills part of Kerala.

About Taeniogonalos dhritiae:

• It is a new species of waspdiscoveredin the Ranipuram Hills area in the Western Ghats of Kerala.
• It is named after Dr. Dhriti Banerjee, a noted entomologist.
• It is a species in the family Trigonalyidae.
• While there are about 122 described species of Trigonalyidae in 16 genes worldwide, the knowledge of Indian Trigonalyidae is scanty, with only eight described species till date.
• These insects are hyperparasitoids (parasites of parasites) where females lay eggs on other parasitic wasps.
• The Trigonalyidae family is found in abundance in parts of Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Russia has officially pulled out of an international security pact that restricts the use of conventional weapons, saying NATO’s expansion has made such cooperation impossible. NATO announced the formal suspension of a key Cold War-era security treaty in response to Russia’s pullout from the deal. Most of NATO’s 31 allies signed the Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which was aimed at preventing Cold War rivals from massing forces at or near mutual borders. It was signed in November 1990.

China has the highest weighting on the globally tracked gauge, the MSCI Emerging Market Index (Emerging Markets) around 30%. India is placed at the second position now has a weighting of 15.5% on the Index, compared with 15.11% for Taiwan. India’s weighting has climbed from 12.97% end-January. If South Korea were to transition from the emerging market to the developed market category, India’s weight could potentially rise to about 18.5%.