Test: Monthly Current Affairs May- 2 - UPSC MCQ

It is a blood disorder in which the body has less haemoglobin than normal. The disorder results in the extreme damage of red blood cells, which leads to a condition where the body doesn’t have sufficient regular healthy red blood cells. This condition in medical terms is called Anaemia. The disorder is primarily inherited by individuals from their parents.

Recently, the Climate and Clean Air (CCA) Coalition and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has released the report titled “Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions”.
Statement 1 is not correct: Methane is the second biggest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide.
Statement 2 and 3 are correct: It is 84 times more potent than carbon but it does not last as long in the atmosphere before it breaks down.
Statement 4 is not correct: Most anthropogenic (human-caused) methane emissions come from three sectors, namely fossil fuels, waste and agriculture.

The Dahla Dam, also known as Arghandab Dam is located in the Shah Wali Kot District of Kandahar Province in Afghanistan. It was constructed in 1952 by the USA on the Arghandab River.

Statement 1 is incorrect: It is a semi-nomadic tribe based largely in Karnataka and sparsely spread in other districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It is said that in earlier times, the Hakki Pikki community migrated from Northern India to Karnataka.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Their mother tongue is ‘Vaagri’ (belongs to the Dravidian language). However, they speak ‘Vaagri’ at home but they speak Kannada for their daily business.

It is a blockchain-based secure medical data and information exchange system for mobile phone applications.Blocktrack aims to securely digitise healthcare information systems while protecting sensitive personal information and medical records by decentralising control and ownership of patient data through a blockchain-based innovation.

Statement 1 is not correct: Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) is a Miniratna enterprise under the administrative control of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). It was established as a Non-Banking Financial Institution in 1987.
Statement 2 is correct: It is the only dedicated institution for financing Renewable Energy (RE) & Energy Efficiency (EE) projects in India.

In News: Recently, Puducherry has achieved the target of 100 per cent piped water connection (Har Ghar Jal) in rural areas under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
Option C is correct: The Union Territory of Puducherry comprises the former French establishments of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. All the regions of Puducherry were under French rule for 138 years. On 1st November 1954, the French possessions in India were transferred to the Indian Union and became a Union Territory. However, in 1963, Puducherry officially became an integral part of India.

It is a mobile all-weather air defence system developed by Israel (with financial and technical support from the United States) to intercept and destroy short-range rockets (in mid-air) and artillery shells fired from short distances.

In News: Recently, India has participated in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3).
Statement 1 is correct: The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum to promote cooperation, coordination and interaction towards sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
Statement 2 is not correct: The Arctic Council is not a treaty-based international legal entity like the UN bodies or trade, military or regional groupings like WTO, NATO or ASEAN. It is a much more informal grouping. It cannot and does not implement or enforce its guidelines, assessments or recommendations. That responsibility belongs to the individual Arctic States or international bodies.
Statement 3 is correct: Since 2013, India has enjoyed ‘Observer’ status in the Arctic Council with twelve other countries and it was renewed for another five-year term in 2018.

West African Nok culture was one of the earliest known societies of Western Africa and existed in modern-day Nigeria from around 500 BCE to 200 CE. It is known for its unique terracotta sculptures which represent the oldest figurative art in Africa. These clearly depict the triangular or oval-shaped eyes on human faces.

In News: Recently, Assistant Police Inspector was dismissed from service by Mumbai Police Commissioner under Article 311 (2) (b) without a departmental enquiry.
Statement 1 is correct: Article 312 deals with the creation of one or more All India Services common to the Union and the States.
Statement 2 is not correct: Article 312 is a special power of the Rajya Sabha where it can pass a resolution if it feels necessary or expedient in the national interest to create one or more All India Services.

The Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report is released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The report will encourage businesses to go beyond regulatory financial compliance and will make businesses report on their social and environmental impacts.

Basaveshwara was a 12th century Kannada social reformer, poet and philosopher during the rule of the Kalachuri-dynasty king Bijjala I in Karnataka. He was the founding saint of the Lingayat sect and gave two very important socio-economic principles known as “Kayaka” (Work-Divine work) and “Dasoha” (DistributionEqual distribution). He established the Anubhava Mantapa, which was an academy of mystics, saints and philosophers of the Lingayat faith and acted as the fountainhead of thoughts on common human values and ethics. It is often referred to as the “first Parliament of the world”.

In News: Recently, there has been a rise in global commodity prices that is being billed as a new commodity super cycle.
Statement is 1 correct: A monetary policy that lowers interest rates and stimulates borrowing is an expansionary monetary policy or loose monetary policy. It increases the money supply in order to lower unemployment, boost private-sector borrowing and consumer spending, and stimulate economic growth.
Statement 2 is correct: A monetary policy that raises interest rates and reduces borrowing in the economy is a contractionary monetary policy or tight monetary policy. It slows the rate of growth in the money supply or outright decreases the money supply in order to control inflation. While sometimes necessary, contractionary monetary policy can slow economic growth, increase unemployment and depress borrowing and spending by consumers and businesses.

In News: Recently, the Minister of State for Culture & Tourism discussed various issues under the Cultural Exchange Programme with his Mongolian counterpart.
Option C is correct: The Indo-Mongolian Joint Military Exercise is termed as Nomadic Elephant. It is a bilateral exercise between two nations. The troops of armies of both countries participate in Nomadic Elephant exercise.

In News: Recently, the Delhi High Court (HC) has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to consider a few changes regarding the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
Statement 1 is not correct: The FCRA was first enacted in 1976 and was amended in 2010 and 2020. It falls under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Statement 2 is correct: Even persons prohibited to receive foreign funds such as journalists, politicians, members of the judiciary “are allowed to accept foreign contributions from their relatives” if the amount does not exceed Rs. 1 lakh. MHA needs to be informed for any such transaction above Rs. 1 lakh.
Statement 3 is correct: Foreign contribution has to be received only through banking channels and it has to be accounted for in the prescribed manner.
Statement 4 is not correct: In September 2020, Section 17 of the Act was amended and a new provision was inserted, which made it mandatory for all NGOs to receive foreign funds in a designated bank account at the New Delhi branch of the State Bank of India.

Winchcombe is the name of a meteorite, which will be displayed at the National History Museum, Gloucestershire (UK). It is known as a carbonaceous meteorite, meaning it cannot be modified, by either melting or differentiation of the parent body. Meteoroids are objects in space that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids and are also known as “space rocks”. When meteoroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere they are called meteors but if a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere and hits the ground, it is called a meteorite.

Statement 1 is correct: Zeolites are crystalline solid structures made of silicon, aluminium and oxygen.
Statement 2 is not correct: Zeolites occur naturally and are also produced industrially on a large scale.
Statement 3 is correct: These are often also referred to as molecular sieves and are used in oxygen generation.

In News: The first instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme for 2021-22 was released with Rs. 20,667 crore being transferred to more than 9.5 crores beneficiary farmer families.
Statement 1 is not correct: PM Kisan is a central sector scheme and is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Central Sector Schemes are entirely and directly funded and executed by the central government. Centrally Sponsored Schemes are implemented by state governments with some help from the central government.
Statement 2 is not correct: The scheme aims to supplement the financial needs of the Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs). It initially provided income support to all Small and Marginal Farmers’ families across the country, holding cultivable land up to 2 hectares. Later, it was expanded to cover all farmer families in the country irrespective of the size of their landholdings. Institutional land holders are exempted from the benefits of the scheme.

Bogs (also called quagmires) are soft, spongy wetlands that accumulate peat– a fossil fuel that is used for heating homes and businesses in northern Europe. They are formed in northern climates, and take thousands of years to develop.Bogs also act as carbon sinks, sequestering around 200 million tons of carbon from the environment in Siberia and Scandinavia. For centuries, however, they have been drained for extracting peat or for development, leading to the destruction of their delicate ecosystems, including damage to species such as cranes that breed here