Test: Weekly Current Affairs: February 15 to 21, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

- Statement 1: The Kharif season actually corresponds to the summer monsoon season, not the rainy season. Therefore, this statement is incorrect.
- Statement 2: The short period in between the harvest of the Kharif crops and the sowing of the Rabi crops is actually called the Zaid season, not the short period in between the harvest of the Rabi crops and the sowing of the Kharif crops. Therefore, this statement is also incorrect.

Therefore, both statements 1 and 2 are incorrect.son corresponds to the rainy season, while Rabi season with the winter. The short period in between the harvest of the Rabi crops and the sowing of the Kharif crops is called the Zaid season.

• Coal emits nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas and about 60% more than oil, on a kilogram comparison having a greater role in global warming.
• Combusting coal also leaves behind partially burnt carbon particles that feed pollution and trigger respiratory disorders.
• Environmental issues associated with Coal Mining that is air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution etc.
• Opencast mining and underground mining of coal affect the vegetation pattern.
• Several occupational hazards are associated with coal mining: Pneumoconiosis (by inhaling coal dust), allergies and asthma, noise hazard etc.

The 2023 World Trade Report, published by the WTO, explores the role of international trade in building a more secure, inclusive, and sustainable world.

The report addresses the shift in the narrative around globalization. It emphasizes policy goals beyond trade efficiency, including peace, security, poverty reduction, and sustainability. The report advocates for “re-globalization,” expanding trade integration to more economies, people, and issues.

Are decisions of the Court binding?
Yes, decisions of the Tribunal are binding. The Tribunal’s orders are enforceable as the powers vested are the same as in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Are decisions of the Tribunal final?
The Tribunal has powers to review its own decisions. If this fails, the decision can be challenged before the Supreme Court within ninety days.

Only statement 1 is correct.

Under the Indian Constitution, public libraries are a state subject. Nineteen states have passed the Library Legislation Act. In 2013, the National Mission on Libraries came into being under the Ministry of Culture, to revive and modernise public libraries.

“In the UN’s Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”

Only Statement 1 is correct.

• A payments bank is a new type of bank that can perform most banking operations but cannot issue credit cards or loans. Payments banks are registered as public limited companies and licensed under the Banking Regulation Act of 1949.
• Payments banks can accept deposits up to ₹200,000 per customer, but this limit may increase.

Option 4 is incorrect.

Jordan is a country in West Asia, located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe in the Levant region. Bordered by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, and the Palestinian West Bank and Israel, Jordan has a coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba’s Red Sea.

Key Budget documents include:

• Annual Financial Statement (Article 112)
• Demands for Grants (Article 113)
• Finance Bill (Article 110)
• Fiscal Policy Statements mandated under the FRBM Act, 2003, including
• The Macro-Economic Framework Statement and
• The Medium-Term Fiscal Policy cum Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement.

Zodiacal light is a faint, diffuse glow of sunlight scattered by dust particles that orbit the sun. It appears in the night sky as a roughly triangular white glow that extends from the sun’s direction and along the zodiac.

• PM-JANMAN Yojana aids the development of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG).
• PM-Vishwakarma Yojana provides end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople engaged in 18 trades
• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has played a pivotal role in providing access to clean cooking fuel, releasing 10 crore LPG connections to households.
• Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) program has contributed to energy efficiency by distributing over 37 crore LED bulbs, along with providing about 72 lakh LED tube lights and 23 lakh energy-efficient fans.

Statement 3 is incorrect.

The Union Cabinet, approved the extension of the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) to be implemented under the Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF).

The Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) was announced under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

The objective of AHIDF is to incentivize investments by various entities, including individual entrepreneurs, private companies, MSMEs, Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs), and Section 8 companies, in establishing dairy processing and value addition infrastructure, meat processing and value addition infrastructure, and animal feed plants.

Statement 1 is incorrect.

• The Subika painting style is deeply connected to the Meitei community’s cultural historythrough its six surviving manuscripts – Subika, Subika Achouba, Subika Laishaba, Subika Choudit, Subika Cheithil and Thengrakhel Subika.
• The paintings are a composition of cultural motifs created by pre-existing features and other influences. However, the Subika painting style is nearly extinct due to neglect.
• The Subika Laishaba is a composition of cultural motifs influenced by the cultural worldviews of the community.
• Its illustrations incorporate visual elements like lines, shapes, forms, colours, and patterns.
• These visual images serve as cultural motifs, creating visual effects and expressing cultural significance.
• The paintings are done on handmade paper, and the materials for manuscripts, such as handmade paper or tree bark, are prepared locally.
  

Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity. The process is called electrolysis. 

Only statement 1 is correct.

Forest Conservation Act, 1980.

• This is the legislation enacted to protect India’s forests and empowers the Central government to regulate the extraction of forest resources — from timber and bamboo to coal and minerals — by industries as well as forest-dwelling communities.
• A separate Act, the Forest Rights Act, protects the rights of tribals and forest-dwellers dependent on forests for their livelihood. From 1951-1975, about four million hectares of forest land has been diverted for various non-forestry purposes.
• From 1980 to 2023, under the purview of the Act, only a million hectares have been diverted — a sign of its impact in reducing the pace of forest appropriation.
• However, such protection was only available for areas already marked out as ‘forest’ in Central or State government records.
• A Supreme Court judgment in 1996, in the Godavarman Thirumulpad case, expanded the scope of such protection. Under it, even areas not formally notified as ‘forests’ but conforming to the ‘dictionary’ meaning of forests were protected.

• The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has launched the GHAR (GO Home and Re-Unite) Portalfor the digital monitoring and tracking of the restoration and repatriation of children as per the protocols under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
• The portal facilitates the digital tracking and monitoring of children in the Juvenile Justice system who need to be repatriated to another country, state, or district.
• It enables the digital transfer of cases to the concerned Juvenile Justice Board/Child Welfare Committee for speedy repatriation and allows for requests for translators or interpreters if required.

Many reforms can be pursued to internationalise the rupee. It must be made more freely convertible, with a goal of full convertibility by 2060 – letting financial investments move freely between India and abroad. This would allow foreign investors to easily buy and sell the rupee, enhancing its liquidity and making it more attractive. Additionally, the RBI should pursue a deeper and more liquid rupee bond market, enabling foreign investors and Indian trade partners to have more investment options in rupees, enabling its international use. Indian exporters and importers should be encouraged to invoice their transactions in rupee — optimising the trade settlement formalities for rupee import/export transactions would go a long way. Additional currency swap agreements (as with Sri Lanka) would further allow India to settle trade and investment transactions in rupees, without resorting to a reserve currency such as the dollar.

Additionally, tax incentives to foreign businesses to utilise the rupee in operations in India would also help. The RBI and the Ministry of Finance must ensure currency management stability (consistent and predictable issuance/retrieval of notes and coins) and improve the exchange rate regime.

Manatees, typically solitary animals, are known to gather in warm waters during colder weather.

Manatees are large, aquatic mammals that are sometimes called “sea cows”.  Manatees are herbivores that eat over 60 different types of plants.

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

The Indian Preamble, based on the Objectives Resolution, was moved by Jawaharlal Nehru in the Constituent Assembly on 13 December 1946 and adopted on 26 November 1949. It came into force on 26 January 1950, Republic Day. During the Indian emergency, Indira Gandhi amended it to include the words “socialist,” “secular,” and “integrity.” (42nd Amendment Act of 1976).

It signifies the principle of popular sovereignty, emphasizing that power resides with the citizens, not just the government.

• The Kamakhya Temple is a significant pilgrimage site and one of the largest Shakti shrines in India. It is located on the Nilachal hills in Guwahati, Assam.
• The temple is dedicated to the goddess Kamakhya and is a centre of Tantric practices. It is also the site of the Ambubachi Mela, an annual festival that celebrates the goddess’s menstruation.
• PM-DevINE is a Central Sector scheme introduced in the Union Budget 2022-23. It aims to fund infrastructure projects and support social development initiatives in the North-East Region (NER). Implemented by the Ministry of Development of the North-East Region, it focuses on ensuring connectivity, addressing critical issues, and empowering youth and women in the NER.

• SAFEETY, developed by the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) under MeitY’s guidance, features conveyorized loading and unloading of grain bags with RFID traceability, online weight and moisture measurement, and Radio Frequency Based Removal of Moisture from Grain.
• This advanced system can handle nearly one truckload (approximately 28 tons) of grains in just 40 minutes.

Statement 3 is incorrect.

‘Primary forests’ are forests predominant with native tree species, undisturbed with little to no human interference (roads, dams, mining, etc.), and the ecological processes are not significantly disrupted.  These forests are the densest, wildest, and of most ecological importance on Earth. They cover a large geographical area expanding from the snow-covered boreal region to the humid tropics, though 75% of them are found in 7 countries i.e., Russia, Canada, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United States, Peru, and Indonesia.