MCQ - Current Affairs (February - 2020) - UPSC MCQ

The Exercise Sampriti is an annual exercise held alternately in India and Bangladesh. It was held for the first time in 2011. The aim of this exercise is to build, strengthen and promote positive relations between the Armies of India and Bangladesh. The exercise will also involve tactical level operations in a counter insurgency and counter terrorism environment under the mandate of the United Nations. India and Bangladesh will hold the ninth edition of the joint military training exercise called SAMPRITI at Umroi, Meghalaya.

The government proposes to set up an Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation under the Ministry of Culture, and develop five archaeological sites as “iconic sites” with onsite museums in Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), Sivsagar (Assam), Dholavira (Gujarat) and Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu).
Rakhigarhi in Haryana’s Hissar district is one of the most prominent and largest sites of the Harappan civilisation. It is one among the five known townships of the Harappan civilisation in the Indian subcontinent.
Excavations at Hastinapur, in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, were led by Dr B B Lal, who was at the time Superintendent of the Excavations Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
In Sivasagar, excavations at the Karenghar (Talatalghar) complex between 2000 and 2003 led to the discovery of buried structures in the north-western and north-eastern side of the complex. Among the structural remains found at the site were ceramic assemblages including vases, vessels, dishes, and bowls, etc. Terracotta smoking pipes were also found.
Dholavira in Gujarat is located in the Khadir island of the Rann of Kutch, and like Rakhigarhi is one of the sites where the remains of the Harappan civilisation have been found.
Adichnallur lies in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. The urn-burial site was first brought to light during a “haphazard excavation” by a German archaeologist in 1876. Following this, an Englishman Alexander Rae excavated the site between 1889 and 1905.

Blue Dot Network has been jointly launched by the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The aim of this initiative is to bring governments, the private sectors, and civil societies for promoting high-quality global infrastructure development in an open and inclusive framework. The Network will classify the market-driven nominated infrastructure projects which will be based on the transparency and financially sustainability in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world.

The Karnataka government has launched a doorstep delivery scheme- called Jana Sevaka scheme. Its aim is to provide citizens with easy access to important government services at a doorstep delivery. Under the scheme, the citizens will have to place the request for the service through the website or mobile phones. After the request is placed, a Jan Sevak will be assigned to collect required documents and to deliver several government services such as issuance of ration card, Health card among others.

DefExpo is being held for the first time in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) from 5th February 2020. It is a biennial event organized by the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence. Theme: India-The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub and the focus will be on Digital Transformation of Defence.

The Indian Army has commenced the joint field training exercise with 17 African nations held at Aundh Military Station, Pune. Dubbed as Africa-India Field Training Exercise-2019 (AFINDEX-19), training began with an opening ceremony held on 18 March. It is scheduled to conclude on 27 March. Maratha Light Infantry contingent is representing India for the first edition of this training exercise The 17 African nations are Benin, Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The aim of the AFINDEX-19 exercise is to support the participating nations in planning and conducting humanitarian mine assistance (HMA) and peacekeeping operations (PKO) as described under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.

The United States announced the launch of a 27-nation International Religious Freedom Alliance, which will try to adopt a collective approach in protecting and preserving religious freedom across the world. Around 27 Countries from around the world have joined the alliance. Some of the prominent countries are Austria, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Israel, Ukraine, the Netherlands and Greece. The members of the alliance have pledged to uphold the Declaration of Principles which commits countries to object and oppose, publicly and privately, all abuses or violations of religious freedom.

The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has handed over Sharang, an artillery gun to the Indian Army. Sharang is an indigenously upgraded 155 mm calibre artillery gun. The hitting range of the gun system has also been increased from 12km to 39 km.

Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier has been in the spotlight in recent years, as scientists have undertaken a multi-part international project to study the vast glacier from all angles. The urgency stems from observations and analyses showing that the amount of ice flowing from Thwaites—and contributing to sea level rise—has doubled in the span of three decades. Scientists think the glacier could undergo even more dramatic changes in the near future.

India is working on a new tactical ballistic missile capable of striking targets at a range of 200km. The surface-to-surface missile, being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has been named Pranash. The new weapon traces its origin to the Prahaar missile developed by the DRDO. The Prahaar has a range of 150km but the army wanted a weapon with a better range, which is why Pranash is being developed. The non-nuclear Pranash missile will be propelled by a single-stage solid propellant engine.

In its mission to Mars this summer, NASA is sending a new laser-toting robot as one of seven instruments aboard the Mars 2020 rover. Called SuperCam, the robot is used for studying mineralogy and chemistry from up to about 7 meters away. It might help scientists find signs of fossilized microbial life on Mars. SuperCam packs what would typically require several sizable pieces of equipment into something no bigger than a cereal box. It fires a pulsed laser beam out of the rover’s mast to vaporize small portions of rock from a distance, providing information that will be essential to the mission’s success.

United Nations Conference on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals (COP13) will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 17 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The conference, which is held every third year, is being hosted in India this time from February 15 to February 22. As part of its central agenda, a number of endangered species from around the world will be added to the global list of protected species under the Convention on conservation of migratory species (CMS). Some of the vulnerable species proposed by India will also be put to vote and may get incorporated including the Great Indian Bustard, Asian Elephant and Bengal Florican, and Irrawaddy Dolphin, the information on the website of Convention on the Convention of Migratory species showed. India has been a member of the UN conference since 1983.

Kerala will be hosting a three-day international conference called ClimFishCon 2020. The aim of the expo is to study the impact of climate change on the Hydrological cycle, ecosystem, fisheries and food security. It is organized jointly by the CUSAT School of Industrial Fisheries and the Department of Fisheries, Kerala.

Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai today inaugurated the Field Training Exercise of 2nd BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise on flood rescue at the Ramachandi Beach, Puri (Odisha). Delegates & rescue teams of five member nations namely- India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka & Myanmar, of BIMSTEC group participated in this exercise with great zeal and enthusiasm. This exercise will provide a platform for member states to evaluate existing capabilities, share best emergency response practices, improve existing emergency preparedness and strengthen regional response mechanism and also to conduct risk assessment in the context of cultural heritage sites at the time of disaster. In order to bring in a feel of real disaster scenario, “simulated exercise sites including villages & Heritage Site (Konark Sun Temple)”were set up at Ramachandi Beach in Puri to depict flooded localities and houses due to the flood disaster. Large number of simulated dummy structures including multi-storied buildings and houses were erected in inundated condition with marooned people & livestock at the exercise site to reflect the real disaster scenario and ultimately it was helpful to all the participating teams to become familiar to preserve the damage cultural heritage during disasters.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, announced a new global campaign calling on people all over the world to cover the distance travelled by refugees each year. The 2 Billion Kilometres to Safety campaign will encourage people to support refugees by championing individual acts of solidarity. These acts, when taken together, acknowledge the resilience and strength of refugees. UNHCR traced the journeys of refugees around the world and calculated that collectively, people forced to flee travel approximately two billion kilometres every year to reach the first point of safety. In 2016, Syrian refugees travelled more than 240 kilometres to reach Turkey. South Sudanese refugees travelled more than 640 kilometres to reach Kenya and Rohingya refugees in Myanmar travelled approximately 80 kilometres to reach Bangladesh. The 2 Billion Kilometres to Safety campaign invites people to act in solidarity and run, walk or cycle to achieve a cumulative total of two billion kilometres.

Union Finance Minister has launched an eBkray or eBक्रय which is a common e-auction platform. The eBkray platform enables the online auction of the attached assets transparently and cleanly for the improved realization of value by the Public Sector banks. The platform is equipped with property search features and navigational links to all PSB e-auction sites. It also provides single-window access to information on properties up for e-auction as well as facility for comparison of similar properties.

The MSC wants to promote trust and contribute to the peaceful settlement of conflicts by enabling a lasting, curated and at the same time informal dialogue within the international security community. Today, the MSC is the world’s leading forum for debates on international security policy. The MSC sees its conferences as an independent “marketplace of ideas”, where suggestions and solutions are developed and opinions are exchanged. It provides a platform for official and unofficial diplomatic initiatives and approaches to address the world’s most pressing security risks. The MSC gives a special place to informal meetings between public officials in order to promote peace through dialogue, according to its original motto. In addition to the annual Main conference, the MSC regularly organizes top-class events on specific Themes and regions and publishes the Munich Security Report, an annual compendium of the most relevant figures, maps and analyzes on key challenges of international security.

BioAsia, Asia’s largest annual global Biotechnology and Life Sciences forum organized by the Government of Telangana. BioAsia is a comprehensive framework dedicated to investors, researchers, start-ups, and conglomerates in biotechnology, pharma and healthcare to bring them at one stage. The aim is to create business paradigms for the ever-evolving needs of the Life-sciences industry.

Explanation: The Ministry of Culture recently set up a seven-member panel of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to locate the grave of the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh (1615-59). He is believed to be buried somewhere in the Humayun’s Tomb complex in Delhi, one of around 140 graves of the Mughal clan. The eldest son of Shah Jahan, Dara Shikoh was killed after losing the war of succession against his brother Aurangzeb. Dara Shikoh is described as a “liberal Muslim” who tried to find commonalities between Hindu and Islamic traditions. He translated into Persian the Bhagavad Gita as well as 52 Upanishads.

GMR-led Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said that Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport has become free of single-use plastic usage. The Confederation of Indian Industry-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (CII-ITC CESD) that supports the business community towards achieving sustainability has certified DIAL for its successful voluntary implementation of single-use plastic-free airport measures within IGI Airport’s operations.

A new award called the Food Planet Prize, established by the Curt Bergfors Foundation in Stockholm (Sweden), will award two annual $1million awards: the first will be given to an existing scalable solution for sustainable foods. The second will be awarded for innovative initiatives that could transform the global food sector. Nominations for The Food Planet Prize are now open, with the first prizes awarded later in 2020. The nominations will be evaluated by an international jury of leading scientists, policymakers, and entrepreneurs.

G20 is an international group initially founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis as a forum for finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries and the European Union. Saudi Arabia will be the first Arab nation to hold the G20 presidency in its capital, Riyadh. The theme of Summit- “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”. G20 leaders discuss about the Global economic growth remains slow due to geopolitical, trade tensions, and policy uncertainty. However, it is expected to improve in 2020 and 2021 due to loose monetary policy and an easing of trade tension. The countries have projected a V-shaped, rapid recovery for the global economy. But it has warned about the uncertainty around the spread of the coronavirus, rising debt levels and climate change.

The Indian government on Wednesday announced it will hold RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020’ summit in New Delhi between April 11 and April 12. The RAISE 2020 summit will also host a “Startup Pitchfest.” The summit will be aimed at bringing together people to exchange ideas on the use of Artificial Intelligence for “social empowerment, inclusion and transformation” in industries such as education, smart mobility, agriculture, and healthcare among others.

It’s now more than a year since NASA’s InSight lander mission touched down on Mars on November 26, 2018. InSight is the first mission dedicated to looking deep beneath the Martian surface. Among its science tools are a seismometer for detecting quakes, sensors for gauging wind and air pressure, a magnetometer, and a heat flow probe designed to take the planet’s temperature. The InSight mission is part of NASA’s Discovery Program. It is being supported by a number of European partners, which include France’s Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA).

The correct option is Option D.

ICoSDiTAUS-2020, the two-day International Conference on Standardisation of Diagnosis and Terminologies in Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha Systems of Medicine concluded in New Delhi. About: The conference was jointly organized by the Ministry of AYUSH and the WHO during 25- 26 February 2020 at New Delhi. It adopted the “New Delhi Declaration on Collection and Classification of Traditional Medicine (TM) Diagnostic Data”