Test: Monthly Current Affairs June- 3 - UPSC MCQ

In News: The Union ministry of ports, shipping and waterways and the Union ministry of culture signed an MoU for ‘Cooperation in the development of the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC)’ in Lothal in Gujarat.

• The city of Lothal stood beside a Bhogava river, a tributary of Sabarmati, in Gujarat, close to the Gulf of Khambhat.
• It was situated near areas where raw materials such as semi-precious stones were easily available.
• This was an important centre for making objects out of stone, shell and metal.
• There was also a storehouse in the city.
• The excavated site of Lothal is the only port-town of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
• A metropolis with an upper and a lower town had in on its northern side a basin with vertical wall, inlet and outlet channels have been identified as a tidal dockyard.
• The site provides evidence of Harappa culture between 2400 BCE to 1600 BCE.

Statement 1 is not correct: Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, under the Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for arranging, conducting and analysing the results of the demographic surveys of India including Census of India and Linguistic Survey of India.
Statement 2 is not correct: The decennial Census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011. The first complete census was taken in 1881.

In News: Recently, 120 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) teachers and principals from 3 states completed a 40 days’ NISHTHA-National initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement Program.
Statement 1 is not correct: The Department of School Education and Literacy has launched a National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha.
Statement 2 is correct: NISHTHA is a capacity building programme for "Improving Quality of School Education through Integrated Teacher Training". It aims to build competencies among all the teachers and school principals at the elementary stage. NISHTHA is the world's largest teachers' training programme of its kind. The basic objective of this massive training programme is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students. The initiative is the first of its kind wherein standardized training modules are developed at the national level for all States and UTs.

In News: Recently, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India has signed a USD 484 million loan to improve transport connectivity and facilitate industrial development in the Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Option B is correct: Strategy 2030 is Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) long-term corporate strategy. It sets the course for the ADB to respond effectively to the region’s changing needs. Under it, ADB will sustain its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and expand its vision to achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific. ADB’s aspirations are aligned with major global commitments.

In News: Recently, the repair and relining of the Indira Gandhi Canal has been accomplished, restoring 70 km of both the main canal and the feeder distributaries in Rajasthan and parts of Punjab.
Statement 1 is correct: The Indira Gandhi Canal originates at the Harike barrage, Punjab at the confluence of Sutlej and Beas. It was previously known as the Rajasthan Canal and was renamed the Indira Gandhi Canal on 2nd November 1984. It is India’s longest canal terminating in irrigation facilities in the Thar desert.
Statement 2 is not correct: It originates in Punjab and enters Rajasthan at Hanumangarh and passes through Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner and ends at Mohangarh in Jaisalmer. It was envisaged for utilization of 7.59 MAF water out of Rajasthan’s share in surplus water of Ravi-Beas rivers.

In News: Reserve Bank of India has released its quarterly House Price Index (HPI) (base: 2010-11=100) for Q4:2020-21, based on transaction-level data received from housing registration authorities in ten major cities (viz., Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai).
All-India HPI increased (year-on-year basis) by 2.7% in Q4:2020-21 vis-a-vis 3.9% growth a year ago.
HPI growth showed large variation across major cities, from an increase of 15.7% (Bengaluru) to a contraction of -3.6% (Jaipur).
On a sequential (q-o-q) basis, all-India HPI growth rate moderated to 0.2% in Q4:2020-21; Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Jaipur recorded a sequential decline in HPI, whereas it increased for other cities

In News: Recently, Bayer (German agrochemicals major) has launched the first-ever yellow watermelon variety Yellow Gold 48 under Seminis brand in India.
Option A is correct: Yellow Gold 48 is a yellow watermelon variety. It has been developed from superior germplasm and is best suited for cultivation from October to February and for harvest from April onwards and will be available in the market until mid-July. It has been commercially introduced in India following two years of local trials. It has high yield and income potential and will empower watermelon growers to diversify into new categories and meet the growing demand for exotic fruits.

Statement 1 is not correct: Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
Statement 2 is not correct: The GEAC is the apex biotech regulatory body in India. It is a statutory body. GEAC is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of MoEF&CC and cochaired by a representative from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). The body regulates the use, manufacture, storage, import and export of hazardous microorganisms or geneticallyengineered organisms and cells in India.

In News: Recently, 8 of 12 captive-bred pygmy hogs have been released in the Manas National Park of western Assam.
Statement 1 is correct: Pygmy Hog (Porcula salvania) is the world’s rarest and smallest members of the pig family. It is an indicator species as its presence reflects the health of its primary habitat, tall and wet grasslands.
Statement 2 is correct: Currently, the only known population lives in Assam, India and possibly southern Bhutan. The only viable population in the wild is in the Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam.
Statement 3 is not correct: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies it as Endangered. Once found in the narrow strip of tall and wet grassland plains on the Himalayan foothills, from Uttar Pradesh to Assam, through Nepal’s terai areas and Bengal’s duars, it was thought to have become extinct in the 1960s. However, in 1971 it was re-discovered with a small population in the Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam.

Statement 1 is correct: Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) scheme is for pregnant women and Lactating Mothers only.
Statement 2 is not correct: It is a Centrally sponsored Scheme.
Statement 3 is correct: Eligibility is only for the first child of the family.
Additional Information

• Centrally sponsored Scheme
• Started in 2017
• Rs.6,000 is transferred directly to the bank accounts of pregnant women and Lactating Mothers for availing better facilities for their delivery to compensate for wage loss
• Eligible for First Child of the family
• Implementation of the scheme is closely monitored by the central and state governments through the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana - Common Application Software (PMMVY-CAS).

In News: Recently,The Prime Minister has paid tribute to Sant Kabir Das ji on his Jayanti on 24 June 

• He was a 15th-century Indian mystic, social reformer, poet and saint who had a significant role among the people in India. ○ He was one of the most influential saints.
• He was brought up in a family of Muslim julahas orweavers settled in or near the city of Benares (Varanasi).
• He was best known for his two-line couplets, known as 'Kabir Ke Dohe'
• He is a widely revered poet whose works had a tremendous influence on the Bhakti movement.
• Kabir's legacy is still going on through a sect known as Panth of Kabir, a religious community that considers him as the founder.
• His teachings openly ridiculed all forms of external worship of both Brahmanical Hinduism and Islam,the pre-eminence of the priestly classes and the caste system.

In News: Recently, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs. 1,860 crore for implementation of Supporting Andhra's Learning Transformation (SALT) programme.
Statement 1 is correct: IBRD is an international financial institution and was established in 1944 to help Europe rebuild after World War II. It is owned by 189 member countries and is the largest development bank in the world.
Statement 2 is correct: It is the lending arm of the World Bank Group. It joins with the International Development Association (IDA) to form the World Bank. It offers loans to middleincome developing countries.

In News: Recently, Sri Lanka released prisoners, after they were pardoned by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on the occasion of Poson Poya.

• It is an annual festival celebrated by Sri Lanka’s Buddhist majority to mark the arrival of Buddhism in the country.
• It is the most venerated day for the devout Buddhists of Sri Lanka as it marks the arrival of Arahat Mahinda Thero carrying the noble teachings of the Buddha.
• It is a festival of great historical and religious significance celebrated island-wide by Buddhists.

In News: Recently, the Mumbai Police has arrested five persons trying to sell Ambergris.
Option C is correct: Ambergris is generally referred to as whale vomit. It is a solid waxy substance originating in the intestine of the Sperm Whales (Physeter catodon). It floats around the surface of the water body and at times settles on the coast. It is referred to as floating gold as a kilogram of ambergris is estimated to be around Rs. 1 crore in the international market. It is used in the perfume market to create fragrances which are in high demand in countries like Dubai. Ancient Egyptians used it as incense and is also believed to be used in some traditional medicines.

Option B is correct: Scientists said on Thursday they had discovered a new kind of early human after studying pieces of fossilised bone dug up at a site used by a cement plant in central Israel. The fragments of a skull and a lower jaw with teeth were about 130,000 years old and could force a rethink of parts of the human family tree, the researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said. Nesher Ramla Homo - named after the place southeast of Tel Aviv where it was found - may have lived alongside our species, Homo sapiens, for more than 100,000 years, and may have even interbred, according to the findings. The early humans, who had very large teeth and no chin, may have also been ancestors of the Neanderthals, the study added, challenging the current thinking that our evolutionary cousins originated in Europe.

Statement 1 is not correct: The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) is a technical intelligence agency under the National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister's Office, India. It was set up in 2004.
Statement 2 is correct: It operates India's ocean surveillance ship named INS Dhruv, with the Indian Navy. Also, a joint NTRO - IAF team operates Very Long Range Tracking Radar (VLTR) systems.

Option B is correct: The Kali Masi/Kadaknath chicken is a local breed of chicken that is completely black in colour: feathers, flesh and even bones. The chicken, traditionally reared by Jhabua’s Adivasi communities, was granted a Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the government registry in 2017. This chicken is mostly famous in Madhya Pradesh adjoining areas of Gujarat. Kadaknath chicken has more protein and iron content, with lower levels of fat and cholesterol. Thus Statement 3 is incorrect.

Option c is correct: China operationalises Baihetan hydro project of 16GW capacity, biggest since Three Gorges. It is located on the Border of the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan. Constructed on: Jinsha, the upstream section of the Yangtze River. The Yangtze is the longest in Asia and the third-longest river in the world. It rises in the northern part of the Tibetan Plateau and flows in a generally easterly direction to the East China Sea.

He was related to the Poona pact, Kalaram Temple Movement and Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha. But he was not related to Surat Split.

Both statements are not correct: African swine fever is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and feral swine of all ages. ASF is not a threat to human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans. It is not a food safety issue.