Test: Monthly Current Affairs February- 3 - UPSC MCQ

The Bilimora-Waghai Heritage Train is a 63-km narrow gauge train connecting Bilimora in Navsari district with Waghai in Dang district in Gujarat. The Indian Railways had proposed to preserve its route as ―industrial heritage” in 2018.

Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC)  under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment  inaugurated the 3rd Edition of the Indian Sign Language Dictionary with 10,000 terms. The first edition was launched in March 2018 with 3,000 terms, followed by the second edition in February 2019 that had 6,000 terms.The dictionary included terms of daily use, academic, legal and administrative, medical, technical and agricultural terms.

Statement 1 is not correct: He was born into a middle-class Hindu family and raised by his parents, Mehta Kalu and Mata Tripta. He was the first of the 10 Sikh Gurus and the founder of Sikhism in the 15th century. He started writing the Guru Granth Sahib and completed 974 hymns. He advocated the ‘Nirguna’ (devotion to and worship of formless divine) form of bhakti.
Statement 2 is correct: His verses preach selfless service to humanity, prosperity and social justice for all, irrespective of differences.Rules were set up by him for congregational worship (Sangat). Guru Nanak travelled across South Asia and the Middle East to spread his teachings. A Gurdwara was built at his birthplace in the city now known as Nankana Sahib which is located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. 

Carbon Watch is India’s first app to assess one’s carbon footprint. It has been launched by Chandigarh but can be accessed by all.
It asks the user to feed certain data in 4 parts:

• Water: inform about the consumption of Water
• Energy: Data regarding monthly electricity units consumed and solar energy consumed
• Waste Generation: Amount of waste produced by individual and family is to be inputted
• Transport (Vehicular movement): Mode of transport like bicycle, two-wheeler or four-wheeler, etc will be asked

In News: MSME minister recently inaugurated 50 SFURTI clusters.
Statement 1 is not correct. The SFURTI scheme was launched by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in 2005.
Statement 2 is not correct. The aim of SFURTI clusters is to organise traditional industries and artisans into clusters to make them competitive and increase their income.

Statement 1 is not correct. Bangladesh  proposed the idea to observe International Mother Language Day.
Statement 2 is correct. The proposal got UNESCO’s approval in 1999. the UN General Assembly welcomed it in its resolution of 2002.
The UN General Assembly in 2007 asked its member states ―to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world.”

Recently, scientists have successfully cloned a Black-footed Ferret using frozen cells from an animal that died more than 30 years ago. This is the first time any native endangered species has been cloned in the US. Black-footed ferrets are found in short or middle grass prairies in North America and are the only ferret species native to the continent. These are listed as ―endangered” in the IUCN Red List.

In News: Kutia Khonds are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) of Kalahandi District of Odisha and need special care for their upliftment.
Statement 1 is not correct. Kutia Kondhs are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) of Odisha.
Statement 2 is not correct. There are 75 PTVGs out of 705 Scheduled Tribes spread across 17 states in India identified by Census 2011.

In order to promote the production, processing, packaging and branding of Kala Namak Rice, the UP Government has declared it as the One District One Product (ODOP) of Siddharth Nagar whereas the Central Government has announced it as the ODOP of Basti, Gorakhpur, Maharajganj and Sant Kabir Nagar.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) works under the Ministry of Defence and was constituted for overall guidance of the defence procurement planning process. The Defence Minister acts as its chairperson.

In News: Supreme Court expressed its displeasure on no reply of Central Government on plea against RTI Amendment Act 2019.
Statement 1 is not correct. The Chief Information Commission (CIC) is a statutory body.
Statement 2 is not correct. The new term of CIC as decided by the Central Government is 3 years after the 2019 amendment.
Statement 3 is correct. Public Information Officers are liable to reply to RTI applications or plead within 30 days.

Mount Etna is situated in Sicily in Italy and is Europe’s most active volcano. Its geological characteristics indicate that it has been active since the end of the Neogene Period (i.e., for about the past 2.6 million years).

In News: Recently, 7 elephants in Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha have died of haemorrhagic septicaemia caused by bacteria Pasteurella multocida.
Option A is correct. Pasteurella multocida is a Gram-negative, nonmotile, penicillin-sensitive coccobacillus of the family Pasteurellaceae. It is the cause of a range of diseases in mammals and birds, including fowl cholera in poultry, atrophic rhinitis in pigs, and bovine hemorrhagic septicemia in cattle and buffalo.

Statement 1 is correct: Through participation in SARAS Aajeevika Mela, rural self-help groups (SHG) women get vital national level exposure to understand the demand and taste of urban customers. It brings SHG under one platform to showcase their skills, sell their products and help them build linkages with bulk buyers.
Statement 2 is not correct. It is an initiative of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) under the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).

The City Innovation Exchange (CIX) Platform will connect cities to innovators across the national ecosystem to design innovative solutions for their pressing challenges. It has been launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

In News: India’s biggest silk fair was recently inaugurated by the Textiles Minister. It is a 5 days event, being organised on Indian Silk Export Promotion Council’s virtual platform (Virtual due to COVID).
Option B is correct: India is the 2nd largest producer of Silk in World. India is the only country in the world that produces all four major varieties of silk - Mulberry, Eri, Tassar, and Muga. There are four major types of silk produced in India: Mulberry, Tasar, Muga, Eri of which Mulberry accounts for 70% of total raw silk production. India has around 11 Geographical Indications such as Pochampally Ikat, Chanderpaul Silk, Mysore Silk, Kanchipuram Silk, Muga Silk, Salem Silk, Arni Silk, Champa Silk, Bhagalpur Silk, Banaras Brocade and Sarees, etc.

In News: Finance minister in her budget speech has proposed a glide path for fiscal consolidation to bring down the fiscal deficit to 4.5% of GDP by FY26. She proposed to introduce amendments to the FRBM Act to make necessary changes in the fiscal consolidation roadmap.
Statement 1 is not correct: The Union Budget defines Fiscal Deficit as the difference between the Revenue Receipts plus Non-debt Capital Receipts (NDCR) and the total expenditure. In other words, it is reflective of the total borrowing requirements of the Government.
Statement 2 is not correct: In the economy, there is a limited pool of investible savings. These savings are used by financial institutions like banks to lend to private businesses (both big and small) and the governments. If the FD ratio is too high, it implies that there is a lesser amount of money left in the market for private entrepreneurs and businesses to borrow.

In News: Stardust 1.0 was launched by blueshift Aerospace from Loring Commerce Centre in Maine, the US, a former military base.
Option A is correct: Stardust 1.0 is a small sounding rocket powered by a "bio-derived" solid fuel to act as a testbed for future blueshift rockets capable of launching tiny nanosatellites. Stardust 1.0 is a launch vehicle suited for student and budget payloads. It will help to launch small satellites called CubeSats into space in a way that is relatively cheaper than using traditional rocket fuel and is less toxic for the environment.

In News: On his first ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme for the year, the Prime Minister recognised Kottayam native NS Rajappan’s untiring effort in cleaning the Vembanad Lake.
Option B is correct: Vembanad is the longest lake in India, and the largest lake in the state of Kerala. With an area of 2033 square kilometres, it is the second-largest Ramsar site in India only after the Sunderbans in West Bengal. It receives water from rivers like the Pamba and Periyar. The lake is a major source of fresh water for the state but also has brackish water areas. also known as Vembanad Kayal, Vembanad Kol, Punnamada Lake (in Kuttanad) and Kochi Lake (in Kochi). The lake witnessed Snake boat race known as Nehru Trophy Boat Race (locally known as Vallam Kali) in August. The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the east coast of the lake.

In News: PM inaugurated the centenary Celebrations at Chauri Chaura at Gorakhpur Dist. Uttar Pradesh. He also releases a postal stamp dedicated to the Chauri Chaura centenary during the event.
Option C is correct: The incident occurred at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Province, (modern Uttar Pradesh) in British India on 4 February 1922. During this incident, a large group of protesters, participating in the Non-cooperation movement, clashed with police, who opened fire. Mahatma Gandhi, who was strictly against violence, halted the Non-cooperation Movement at the national level on 12 February 1922, as a direct result of this incident. Wherever some leaders like Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Das were against calling off of the NonCooperation movement. Hence, statement 1 and 3 are not correct.