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

• Shallow earthquakes are generally more devastating because they carry greater energy when they emerge on the surface. Deeper earthquakes lose much of their energy by the time they come to the surface. The deeper quakes spread farther — the seismic waves move radially upwards to the surface — even as they lose energy while travelling greater distances, and hence cause less damage.
• The earthquake magnitude scale gives a measure of the energy released, although the reading in itself is not of energy. Rather, it takes into account amplitude or ‘size’ of the seismic waves released, and variations in distance between various seismographs and the earthquake epicentre. Thus, it is a dimensionless number — with no physical units.

• Criminals or suspects often flee to other countries to evade facing justice. A Red Corner Notice, or Red Notice (RN) alerts police forces across the world about fugitives who are wanted internationally.
• Interpol says “Red Notices are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.”
• RNs contain information that helps identify wanted persons, such as their names, dates of birth, nationality, and physical attributes such as the colour of their hair and eyes, as well as pictures and biometric data such as fingerprints, if they are available. RNs also mention the crime(s) they are wanted for.
• An RN is only an international wanted persons’ notice; it is not an international arrest warrant.

• The Prime Minister inaugurated the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area office & Innovation Centre in India. ITU is the United Nations’ specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs). India signed a Host Country Agreement in March 2022 with ITU for the establishment of Area Office. It will serve India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Iran, enhancing coordination among nations and fostering mutually beneficial economic cooperation in the region.
• The ITU promotes the shared global use of the radio spectrum, facilitates international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, assists in developing and coordinating worldwide technical standards, and works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world. It is also active in the areas of broadband Internet, wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology, TV broadcasting, amateur radio, and next-generation networks.

• In legislative parlance, to “guillotine” means to bunch together and fast-track the passage of financial business. It is a fairly common procedural exercise in Lok Sabha during the Budget Session.
• After the Budget is presented, Parliament goes into recess for about three weeks, during which time the House Standing Committees examine Demands for Grants for various Ministries, and prepare reports. After Parliament reassembles, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) draws up a schedule for discussions on the Demands for Grants. Given the limitation of time, the House cannot take up the expenditure demands of all Ministries; therefore, the BAC identifies some important Ministries for discussions.
• It usually lists Demands for Grants of the Ministries of Home, Defence, External Affairs, Agriculture, Rural Development and Human Resource Development. Members utilise the opportunity to discuss the policies and working of Ministries.
• Once the House is done with these debates, the Speaker applies the “guillotine”, and all outstanding demands for grants are put to vote at once. This usually happens on the last day earmarked for the discussion on the Budget. The intention is to ensure timely passage of the Finance Bill, marking the completion of the legislative exercise with regard to the Budget.

• Although India continues to be the largest contributor to global TB cases, there has been a decline in the number of cases in 2021. India accounts for 28% of all TB cases in the world, according to the Global TB Report 2022.
• Although elimination of Tuberculosis is one of the sustainable development targets to be achieved by 2030 by the world, India has set the target of 2025.

• As per Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act of 1951, conviction of a lawmaker for an offence with a two-year sentence or more leads to disqualification from the House.
• Section 8(4) of the RPA said that the disqualification takes effect only “after three months have elapsed” from the date of conviction. Within that period, the convicted lawmaker could have filed an appeal against the sentence before a higher court.
• However, this provision was struck down as “unconstitutional” in the Supreme Court’s landmark 2013 ruling in ‘Lily Thomas v Union of India’.

The Representation of the People Act, 1951 is an act of Parliament of India to provide for the conduct of election of the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of those Houses, the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections and the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections. It was introduced in Parliament by law minister Dr BR Ambedkar.

• Marburg virus disease (MVD), earlier known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal hemorrhagic fever, according to the WHO.
• Marburg, like Ebola, is a filovirus; and both diseases are clinically similar.
• Rousettus fruit bats are considered the natural hosts for the Marburg virus. However, African green monkeys imported from Uganda were the source of the first human infection, the WHO points out. It was first detected in 1967 after simultaneous outbreaks in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany; and in Belgrade, Serbia.
• The disease has an average fatality rate of around 50%. However, it can be as low as 24% or as high as 88% depending on virus strain and case management, says the WHO.
• It is difficult to clinically distinguish MVD from diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and other viral haemorrhagic fevers. However, it is confirmed by lab testing of samples, which like Coronavirus and Ebola are extreme biohazard risks.
• There is no approved antiviral treatment or vaccine for MVD as of now. It can be managed with supportive care. According to the WHO, rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids, and treatment of specific symptoms can help prevent death.

• Nowruz, also spelled as Navroz, is celebrated by the ethnic Iranian population every year in various parts of the world. The Parsi community in India, which follows Zoroastrianism, celebrated Nowruz on March 21, marking the beginning of the New Year.
• The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the International Day of Nowruz in 2010. The festival had also been listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. Terming it as a day which marks the “renewal of nature,” the UNESCO describes it as a festival which “promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighborliness.”

• Researchers in the UK, led by Nobel laureate Andre Geim, have discovered another property of graphene – a single-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms bonded in a honeycomb pattern – that further distinguishes this ‘wonder’ material.
• Dr. Geim & co. found that graphene displays an anomalous giant magnetoresistance (GMR) at room temperature.
• GMR is the result of the electrical resistance of a conductor being affected by magnetic fields in adjacent materials. It is used in harddisk drives and magnetoresistive RAM in computers, biosensors, automotive sensors, microelectromechanical systems, and medical imagers.

There are 16 elements essential to growth of crop plants:

• Supplied by air and water: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen
• Macronutrients: nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium
• Secondary Nutrients: calcium, magnesium, sulfur
• Micronutrients: boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), and zinc (Zn).

• The Wildlife Protection Act came into force on September 9, 1972, to “provide for the protection” of wild animals, birds and plants to ensure the “ecological and environmental security of the country.” It aims to conserve protected species in two main ways: firstly, by prohibiting their hunting and secondly by protecting their habitat through the creation and regulation of sanctuaries, national parks, reserves, etc.
• Further, the Act prohibits capturing or hunting any species of animals listed under Schedules I-IV, barring a few exceptions such as hunting a diseased or dangerous animal or bird constituting a threat to human life or property or for scientific research or management.

• A V-shaped recovery is characterised by quick and effective recovery in measures of economic performance after an acute decline in the economy.
• A K-shaped recovery occurs when, following a recession, different parts of the economy recover at different rates, times or magnitudes.

Many traditional water harvesting systems are practised in the Northeast, Among them are

• ‘dongs’ (water channels that originate in rivers) in Assam,
• the ‘wet rice cum fish cultivation’ system (where water is allowed to stay on in the fields, leading to fish farming along with paddy cultivation), followed in Ziro Valley of Arunachal Pradesh,
• the ‘zabo’ system (a method of preventing rainwater from rolling off the mountains) of Kikruma village in Nagaland’s Phek district
• the ‘rooftop rainwater harvesting’ system of Mizoram and Meghalaya.
• bamboo drip irrigation system can be seen in Meghalaya and other hilly areas of the Northeast, in parts of the northern plains and the Bhutan border area.

• The IMF was set up in 1945 with the aim to bring about international economic coordination to prevent competing currency devaluation by countries trying to promote their own exports. It later went on to become a last resort lender for countries facing severe economic crises.
• IMF funds come from three sources: member quotas, multilateral and bilateral borrowing agreements. Quotas are the IMF’s main source of financing, wherein each member of the IMF is assigned a quota, based broadly on its relative position in the world economy.

In India, the most important category in the consumer price index is Food and beverages which has highest weight in CPI rural and CPI urban.

Brazil, the only team that has participated in every World Cup, is also the most successful team in the competition, having won five titles and finished second twice.

Exercise “SURYA KIRAN” is conducted annually between India and Nepal with the aim to enhance interoperability in jungle warfare & counter terrorism operations in mountainous terrain.

• Left almost unattended to for 20 years after it came to light through the excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) between 1994 and 2001, the ancient Buddhist site on the bank of Bhima river near Kanaganahalli (forming part of Sannati site) in Kalaburagi district, has finally got some attention.
• The Kanaganahalli excavation opened up many marvels. For example, an ‘abandoned well’ in the eyes of local villagers turned out to be the magnificent Maha Stupa, which was referred to as Adholoka Maha Chaitya (the Great Stupa of the netherworlds) in the inscriptions and, more significantly, the stone-portrait of Emperor Ashoka, surrounded by his queens and female attendants.
• The Maha Stupa is believed to have been developed in three constructional phases – Maurya, Early Satavahana and Later Satavahana periods stretching from 3rd Century B.C. to 3rd Century A.D. The Stupa is believed to have been destroyed in an earthquake.

• Buddhism became the predominant religion in Tibet by the 9th century AD. It evolved from the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions of Buddhism, incorporating many tantric and shamanic practices of both post-Gupta period Buddhism in India as well as the Bon religion which was spread across Tibet before Buddhism’s arrival.
• Tibetan Buddhism has four major schools: Nyingma (8th century), Kagyu (11th century), Sakya (1073), and Gelug (1409). The Janang school (12th century) is one of the smaller schools that grew as an offshoot of the Sakya school. Since 1640, the Gelug school has been the predominant school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama belongs to this school.

Substantive equality is a fundamental aspect of human rights law that is concerned with equitable outcomes and equal opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalized people and groups in society.

Jal Jeevan Mission, is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. The programme will also implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rain water harvesting. The Jal Jeevan Mission is based on a community approach to water and include extensive Information, Education and communication as a key component of the mission. JJM looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority.

• Nitrous oxide is also known as laughing gas.
• Nitrous oxide has significant medical uses, especially in surgery and dentistry, for its anaesthetic and pain reducing effects. 
• It is on the World Health Organisation’s List of Essential Medicines, the safest and most effective medicines needed in a health system.

• It was in 1976, with the advent of the 42nd Amendment Act, that the subject of “Forests and Protection of Wild Animals and Birds” was transferred from State to Concurrent List. However, state governments still enjoy a host of powers under the WPA, 1972.
• Section 4 allows the State government to appoint a Chief Wildlife Warden alongside wildlife wardens, honorary wildlife wardens, and other officers and employees. In addition, Section 6 empowers the state to constitute a State Board for Wild Life, consisting of the Chief Minister as chairperson, the Minister in charge of Forests and Wildlife as the vice chairperson, and at least three members of the State legislature, among others.
• State governments can also add or delete any entry to or from any Schedule or transfer any entry from one part of a Schedule to another, provided that any such alteration made by the State Government is done with the previous consent of the Centre, under Section 61.
• Besides this, under Section 64, state governments can notify certain rules, including the conditions subject to which any license or permit may be granted or under which the officers will be authorised to file cases in court.