Daily Current Affairs MCQ- April 6, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, astronomers used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to directly measure the mass of a single, isolated white dwarf star.

• It is named in honour of the trailblazing astronomer Edwin Hubble and was launched by NASA. Hubble lies in a circular Low Earth Orbit at roughly 559 km altitude.
• It is a large, space-based observatory, which has revolutionized astronomy since its launch and deployment by the space shuttle Discovery in 1990.
• Hubble’s domain extends from the ultraviolet through the visible (which our eyes see) and into the near infrared.
• It is one of NASA's Great Observatories Programs. The other missions in the program include the visible-light Spitzer Space Telescope, Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO), and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO).

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, scientists have fashioned a previously unknown form of ice – one that might exist on our solar system’s icy moons.

• The researchers employed a process called ball milling to vigorously shake ordinary ice together with steel balls in a container cooled to minus-328 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-200 degrees Celsius).
• This yielded what they called “medium-density amorphous ice,” or MDA, which looked like a fine white powder.
• Amorphous ice consists of water molecules arranged in a disordered state, with no large-scale regularity to their orientations or positions.
• This kind of ice is most often found in space.
• Scientists have identified 20 different forms of crystalline ice and three forms of amorphous ice – one low density (discovered in the 1930s), one high density (discovered in the 1980s), and the new one in between. 

Hence both statements are correct.

As per a new study, researchers are examining the fortress wall of Xi’an, an ancient city in China, by using tiny outer space particles called muons that can penetrate hundreds of metres of stone surfaces.

• Muons are subatomic particles raining from space.
• The muon was discovered as a constituent of cosmic-ray particle “showers” in 1936 by the American physicists' Carl D. Anderson and Seth Neddermeyer.
• They are created when the particles in Earth’s atmosphere collide with cosmic rays — clusters of high-energy particles that move through space at just below the speed of light.
• It has two forms, the negatively charged muon and its positively charged antiparticle.
• Muon tomography was first used in the 1960s, it has only recently gained widespread use among researchers, particularly in archaeology.

Hence both statements are correct.

The President of India greeted fellow citizens on the eve of the birthday of Sant Guru Ravidas. 

• Guru Ravidas Jayanthi is commemorated on Magh Purnima, the day of the full moon in the month of Magh, according to the Hindu Lunar calendar.
• Guru Ravidas was a 14th-century famous Bhakti Movement saint.
• He abandoned saguna (with attributes, image) forms of supreme beings, and focussed on the nirguna (without attributes, abstract) form of supreme beings.
• Ravidas was a disciple of Sant Kabir and the founder of the Ravidassia religion.
• The Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, contains forty-one of his devotional songs and poems.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Gujarat government recently signed an agreement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to conduct the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test for students of government schools.

Key facts about Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

• It is an international organisation of 38 countries committed to democracy and the market economy.
• OECD members are typically democratic countries that support free-market economies.
• The OECD was established on Dec. 14, 1960, by 18 European nations, plus the United States and Canada.
• Headquarters: Paris, France.
• The stated goal of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being for all.
• The OECD publishes economic reports, statistical databases, analyses, and forecasts on the outlook for economic growth worldwide.
• The organization also seeks to eliminate bribery and other financial crime worldwide.
• The OECD maintains a so-called "black list" of nations that are considered uncooperative tax havens.
• India is one of the many non-member economies with which the OECD has working relationships in addition to its member countries. 

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Union Budget 2023announced a “voluntary settlement scheme with standardised terms” to amicably end commercial/contractual disputes concerning government undertakings in which arbitral awards are under challenge.

About Voluntary settlement scheme:

• It is introduced to settle contractual disputes of government and government undertakings; wherein arbitral award is under challenge in a court.
• This will be done by offering graded settlement terms depending on pendency level of the dispute.
• Under the scheme, voluntary option is given to the private sector to come into the scheme or not.

Hence both statements are correct.

China has started promoting Rice bran as the staple food amid the ongoing food shortage in the country.

About Rice bran:

• Rice bran is one of the main byproducts in the process of the rice milling.
• It is the outer brown layer of brown rice and is separated during the milling process.
• The bran fraction contains 14-18% oil. 
• Rice bran oil is a good source of unsaturated fats, vitamin E, and other important nutrients.
• It is currently mostly used as animal feed.
• The health effects of RB including antidiabetic, lipid-lowering, hypotensive, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects, while its consumption also improves bowel function. 

Hence both statements are correct.

The United Nations refugee agency recently reported that seven Haitian migrants have died in the Andean highlands of Peru as anti-government protests have prevented them from crossing into Bolivia.

About Andes Mountains:

• The Andes is the longest above water mountain range in the world.
• The Andes Mountains extend over seven countries: Argentina (Mount Aconcagua), Bolivia (Huayna Potosi), Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, known as Andean States.
• It is about 5,500 miles (8,900 km) long and second only to the Himalayas in average elevation.
• It consists of a succession of parallel and transverse mountain ranges, or cordilleras, and of intervening plateaus and depressions.
• The highest elevation in the Andes is Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, which is 22,841 feet (6,962 m) above sea level.
• The Andes are also home to the world’s highest volcano when measured above sea level, the Ojos del Salado on the Chile-Argentina border.
• The Andes Mountains are over 50 million years old, they were created when the South American and Pacific tectonic plates collided. 

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Delhi High Court recently sought the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) response in a plea moved by two registered trusts against the ASI’s communication rejecting permission to organize a cultural programme at the Agra Fort celebrating the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

About Agra Fort:

• It is a large 16th-century fortress of red sandstone located on the Yamuna River in the historic city of Agra, west-central Uttar Pradesh.
• It is about 2.5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. 
• It was built under the commission of Emperor Akbar in 1565.
• It was only during the reign of Akbar’s grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site took on its current state.
• It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty till 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi.
• Features:
• The fort is crescent-shaped, with a long, nearly straight wall facing the Yamuna river on the east side.
• The fort houses a maze of buildings, including vast underground sections. 
• The outer wall is surrounded by a wide and deep moat on three sides. 
• The Agra Fort has four main gateways- the Khizri Gate, Amar Singh Gate, Delhi Gate and Ghazni Gate.
• The fort complex was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Logistics company DP World on recently said that it has won a major contract to develop, operate and maintain a mega-container terminal at Deendayal Port in Gujarat under the public-private partnership mode.

About Deendayal Port:

• Deendayal Port (previously called Kandla port) is situated in the Kandla Creek and is 90 kms from the mouth of the Gulf Of Kachch in Gujarat.
• It is a protected natural harbour.
• It is recognized as one of major ports in India.
• It was constructed in the 1950s as the chief seaport serving western India, after the partition of India from Pakistan left the port of Karachi in Pakistan. 
• Deendayal Port is hub for major imports like petroleum, chemicals and iron also export grains, salt and textiles.
• It remains India’s biggest state-owned cargo handler by volume, but it has steadily lost market share to privately owned Mundra Port (India’s largest private port) 60km to the southwest.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.