Test: May 2023 Weekly Current Affair - 3 - UPSC MCQ

At 12:17 pm on April 25, Bengaluru experienced a ‘Zero Shadow Day’, when vertical objects appear to cast no shadow. This was because the sun was at its zenith, and so the shadow was directly under the object.

For every point on Earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, there are two Zero Shadow Days a year.

The Zero Shadow Day is restricted to locations between the tropics, and so places north of Ranchi in India are out of it.

“One falls during the Uttarayan when the Sun moves northwards, and the other is during Dakshinayan when the Sun moves southwards”.

Uttarayan (movement of the Sun from south to north from winter solstice to summer solstice) and Dakshinayan (back from north to south) happen because Earth’s rotation axis is tilted at an angle of roughly 23.5° to the axis of revolution around the Sun.

Neurotoxins are poisonous substances which can directly affect the nervous system. Neurotoxicity occurs when exposure to natural or man-made toxic substances alters the normal activity of the nervous system. These substances can eventually disrupt or even kill neurons or nerve cells, which are important for transmitting and processing signals in the brain and other parts of the nervous system.

They directly attack the respiratory tract of the body, thereby overpowering the oxygen concentration of the body and then the nervous system as well.

Methane, hydrogen sulphide, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are common neurotoxic gases.

While methane and carbon monoxide are odourless gases, hydrogen sulphide has a pungent odour and in higher concentration it can be fatal for humans.

After Guglielmo Marconi sent out the first radio transmission in 1895, it took over two decades for radio broadcasting to become commercially available. In India, the Radio Club of Bombay sent out the first commercial transmission in 1923. In the same year, the Calcutta Radio Club was started and a year later, radio broadcasts reached Madras with the Madras Presidency Radio Club.

The ambitious Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) came into existence in 1927. In 1930, the Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS), under the Department of Industries and Labour, commenced its operations on an experimental basis.

Finally, on June 8, 1936, ISBS became All India Radio. A year later, AIR was brought under the Department of Communications, and four years later, under the Department of Information and Broadcasting, now called the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (under whose jurisdiction it remains till date).

At the time of Independence, AIR covered just two percent of India’s land area and reached just 11 percent of its population.

Today, with a network of over 262 radio stations, AIR is available to 92 per cent of India’s area and nearly all of its population. It broadcasts in 23 languages and 146 dialects, catering to India’s diverse demographics and tastes. It also has an External Services Division which broadcasts in 11 Indian and 16 foreign languages, reaching out to more than 100 countries.

FM broadcasting began in 1977 in Chennai, and expanded during the 1990s. Today, AIR 18 FM stereo channels, largely targeting the urban audience.

The typical impacts of El Niño include: increased rainfall in parts of southern South America, the southern United States, the Horn of Africa and central Asia. It can also cause severe droughts over Australia, Indonesia, and parts of southern Asia. During summer in the northern hemisphere, El Niño’s warm water can fuel hurricanes in the central/eastern Pacific Ocean and it can hinder hurricane formation in the Atlantic Basin.

El Niño might bring respite from the drought in the Horn of Africa and other La Niña-related impacts but could also trigger more extreme weather and climate events.

Both agricultural exports from and imports into India have scaled new highs in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2023.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index (FPI) crashed from an average of 119.1 points in 2013-14 to 90 points in 2015-16.

The FPI – a weighted average of world prices of a basket of food commodities over a base period value (2014-16=100) – recovered to 102.5 points by 2020-21, and further to 133 points in 2021-22 and 139.5 points in 2022-23.

India’s agri exports have, in recent times, been powered by three items: Marine products, rice and sugar.

When compared to Earth, the moon is significantly depleted of volatile elements such as sodium. “The amount of volatiles on the moon today can be used to test formation scenarios of the Earth-Moon system.

Sodium is the only element apart from potassium that can be observed through telescopes in the lunar atmosphere (its exosphere).

Conventional computers store and process information in bits. A bit is the smallest unit of data that computers can handle. It can take just two values — 0 or 1 — but only one of these at a time. A zero would result in a certain set of instructions to be carried out, while a one would lead to a different set of instructions. All data in computers, including text, pictures and videos, are broken down into a sequence of zeros and ones for purposes of storage and processing, and can be reconstructed from these.

A two-bit system in a conventional computer can have four states — (0,0), (0,1), (1,0) and (1,1) — but again only one at a time. To go through each of these four states, the computer has to take four steps. A more powerful computer can speed up the process, but it would still have to go through the four steps.

This is where the quantum computer starts to do things differently. Superposition makes it possible for the quantum bit, or a qubit as it is called, to exist in both 0 and 1 state simultaneously. Counter-intuitive as it may appear, it can be 60 per cent 0 and 40 per cent 1 at the same time, or any other combination. Similarly, the two-qubit system can be in all four states at the same time — some part (0,0), some part (0,1), some part (1,0) and remaining (1,1). What it means is that a quantum computer can go through these four states in one step, unlike the conventional computer that requires four steps.

As more qubits are added, the processing capability of the quantum computer increases exponentially. With just a few qubits, say 50, quantum computers can outpace traditional computers that perform a couple of billion operations per second.

Apart from the challenges in building a quantum computer — requirements of very cold temperatures and extreme isolation — there is a significant risk of errors. The parallel processing happening in superposition states all lead to different results, only one of which is correct or desirable. In other situations, when the superposition breaks down, the final outcome is randomly selected from the range of possibilities.

1. The base year of the national accounts is chosen to enable inter-year comparisons. It gives an idea about changes in purchasing power and allows calculation of inflation-adjusted growth estimates.
2. The base year prices are termed as at constant prices. This reduces all the data to a comparable benchmark, base year price. The base year is a representative year which must not experience any abnormal incidents such as droughts, floods, earthquakes etc.

In the 2023 edition of the World Press Freedom Index, released annually by the non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders, India has slipped 11 places to the 161st rank out of 180 countries.

Reporters Without Borders or Reporters Sans Frontiers (in French) is a global media watchdog headquartered in Paris, France, and it publishes a yearly report on press freedom in countries across the world.

Recognised as a public interest organisation in France since 1995, RSF has consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF).

The environment performs four vital functions (i) it supplies resources: resources here include both renewable and non-renewable resources. (ii) it assimilates waste (iii) it sustains life by providing genetic and bio diversity and (iv) it also provides aesthetic services like scenery etc. The environment is able to perform these functions without any interruption as long as the demand on these functions is within its carrying capacity. This implies that the resource extraction is not above the rate of regeneration of the resource and the wastes generated are within the assimilating capacity of the environment.

Absorptive capacity means the ability of the environment to absorb degradation.

Basmati exports are mainly to the Persian Gulf countries and, to some extent, the US and UK. Non-basmati shipments are more diversified, with the destinations spread across Asia (Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam, UAE and Iraq) and Africa (from Senegal, Ivory Coast and Benin to Somalia and Madagascar). It’s non-basmati that has made India the biggest rice exporter, ahead of Thailand.

Cultivation of genetically-modified Bt cotton and high global prices had enabled India to become the world’s top producer (ahead of China) and No. 2 exporter (after the US) of the natural fibre.

There is a growing tendency among firms and governments to mark all kinds of activities as climate-friendly, as something that would lead to emissions reduction, or avoidance of emissions. Many of these claims are unverifiable, misleading, or dubious. While they help in boosting the image of the entity, sometimes even helping them garner benefits, they do nothing in the fight against climate change.

Greenwashing presents a false picture of the progress being made on the climate change front, thereby pushing the world towards disaster, while at the same time rewarding entities for irresponsible behaviour.

The most common method of determining the age of the tree is Dendrochronology – or tree-ring dating also called growth rings. Each year, roughly a tree adds to its girth, the new growth is called a tree ring. By counting the rings of a tree, the age can be determined.

Cape Town Convention (CTC) is a 2001 treaty designed to smooth the growth of aviation by protecting the repossession rights of aircraft. The CTC treaty eases the financing and leasing of aircraft, engines, and spare parts by reducing lessors’ risk and expanding legal predictability in these transactions, including the case of insolvency.

India acceded to the CTC in 2018 but has not been ratified by the Parliament yet. As a result Indian law prohibits any such recoveries once bankruptcy proceedings are initiated for a company, lawyers, and industry.

India has made it easier for lessors to take back planes if airlines default on payments after joining an international treaty known as the Cape Town Convention. But lack of proper legislation to enforce the treaty means India’s bankruptcy law will supersede lessors’ repossession requests.

India has 40 World heritage sites—seven natural world heritage sites, 32 cultural world heritage sites, and one mixed world heritage site. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, and the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, provide for the protection of the country’s heritage. 

The United States Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit in which Republicans attempted to preserve a programme instituted by former President Donald Trump that allowed American officials to promptly deport hundreds of thousands of migrants at the US-Mexico border.

What is Title 42?

The COVID restrictions, known as Title 42, were first implemented under Republican then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. At the time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the order was needed to stem the spread of the coronavirus in crowded detention settings.

The Group of Five (G5) encompasses five nations which have joined together for an active role in the rapidly evolving international order. Individually and as a group, the G5 nations work to promote dialogue and understanding between developing and developed countries. The G5 seek to find common solutions to global challenges.

The grouping includes Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa.

What is a company limited by guarantee?

A company limited by guarantee is one in which, if the company goes bankrupt, those running it only have to pay a sum they had guaranteed to pay when it was set up.

The Companies Act, 2013, says, “Company limited by guarantee means a company having the liability of its members limited by the memorandum to such amount as the members may respectively undertake to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of its being wound up.”

Put very simply, such a company has no shareholders, but is owned by a group of people called members or guarantors. When coming together to form the company, these members pledge to pay a certain amount — usually not a large amount — in case it is wound up. Their liability, if the company fails, is limited to this amount.

Usually, this structure is put in place for charitable organisations and non-profits, where any profit earned by the company is re-invested into the business. The members or guarantors can seek donations and funds in the name of the company, but if it fails, they are shielded from the debts it may have accrued.

• Department of Pharmaceuticals functions under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers.
• Nearly 80 per cent of the medical devices currently sold in the country are imported, particularly high-end devices.
• India’s medical devices sector has so far been regulated as per provisions under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940, and a specific policy on medical devices has been a long-standing demand from the industry.

• An iceberg is a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water.
• Icebergs travel with ocean currents and either get caught up in shallow waters or ground themselves.
• On the other hand, there are some positives of an iceberg being stuck in the open ocean, since icebergs carry dust which fertilises ocean plankton, which draws up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

• Intimate partner violence is also recognised under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) as a kind of domestic violence. 
• Domestic violence is a punishable offence under Indian law. It is a violation of human rights. 

The League makes decisions on a majority basis, but there is no mechanism to compel members to comply with resolutions.

The Arab League, formally known as the League of Arab States, was established in 1945 with initially just six nations: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Currently, it has 22 member states, who have pledged to cooperate on economic and military affairs, among other issues.

Iran is not a member of Arab League.

Article 361 of the Constitution prohibits the court from initiating proceedings against a Governor or the President for any act done in exercise of their powers. They enjoy complete immunity from court proceedings.

It may be noted that the Governor while declaring that he withholds assent will have to disclose the reason for such refusal. If the grounds for refusal disclose mala fide or extraneous considerations or ultra vires, the Governor’s action of refusal could be struck down as unconstitutional. This point has been settled by a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in Rameshwar Prasad and Ors. vs Union Of India and Anr.

Since the Constitution does not fix any timeline for the Governor to decide the question of assent, he can wait for any length of time without doing anything. Not fixing any time line does not and cannot mean that the Governor can indefinitely sit on the Bill that has been passed by an Assembly.

• Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be taken at a meeting, by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting, in accordance with the following principles, namely: —
• The vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of one third of the total votes cast, and
• the votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast, in that meeting.

Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airspace.

The primary purpose of ATC worldwide is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots.

The pilot in command is the final authority for the safe operation of the aircraft and may, in an emergency, deviate from ATC instructions to the extent required to maintain safe operation of their aircraft.

The Committee on Public Undertakings in its first report tabled in Parliament in January 2021 recommended changing the code name for Gaya airport, assigned by global trade body International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The IATA assigns a two-character code name for airlines and a three-character code for airports for easy identification. These are also fundamental to the smooth running of hundreds of electronic applications.