Daily Current Affairs MCQ - November 19, 2021 - UPSC MCQ

Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minster of Civil Aviation here today inaugurated a curtain raiser event about Wings India, 2022 which is Asia’s largest event on Civil Aviation (Commercial, General and Business Aviation).

• The minister appreciated the efforts the Civil Aviation Ministry, AAI and FICCI with the support of MEA and states government in organising this important event i.e. Wings India 2022, Hyderabad with the apt theme India@75: “New Horizon for Aviation Industry”.
• It aims to bring together the key stakeholders of the Global Aviation market, International regulators, States Governments and business associations as a group representing airlines, to facilitate direct interaction with various airlines, airport operators, cargo operators and other players at a common platform.

The Indian Civil Aviation industry

• India today handles the third largest domestic traffic after the USA and China.
• Government of India had announced Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN (UdeDesh Ka Aam Nagrik) on 21st October 2016. As on date, 387 routes connecting 62 Airports including 6 Heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes have been made operational under RCS-UDAN Scheme.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) System ‘Shakti’ has been designed and developed by Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL) Hyderabad a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for Capital Warships of the Indian Navy for the interception, detection, classification, identification and jamming of conventional and modern Radars.

• The Shakti EW system will provide an electronic layer of defence against modern radars and anti-ship missiles to ensure electronic dominance and survivability in the maritime battlefield. This system will replace the earlier generation EW Systems of the Indian Navy.
• The system has been integrated with the wideband Electronic Support Measures (ESM) and Electronic Counter Measure (ECM) for the defence of Indian Navy Ships against missile attacks.
• The ESM of the system helps in finding accurate direction and interception of modern radars. The system has a built-in radar fingerprinting and data recording replay feature for post-mission analysis.
• First Shakti system has been installed on-board INS Visakhapatnam and is being installed on-board Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, INS Vikrant.
• Twelve Shakti Systems are under production at Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) supported by more than fifty MSMEs at a total cost of Rs 1805 Crores. These systems are scheduled to be installed on-board capital warships under production, including P-15B, P-17A and Talwar class follow-on ships.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

INS Trikand is currently deployed in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman as part of Operation Sankalp, the Indian Navy's effort to maintain a frontline ship in the region to ensure safe and secure movement of trade and contribute to regional maritime security.

• The ship entered Manama, Bahrain, on 13th November 21 for a three-day operational turn round (OTR).
• INS Trikand is a state-of-the-art guided missile stealth frigate and is part of the Western Fleet that operates under the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, based at Mumbai.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Russia carried out another successful test of its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, one the latest additions to the country’s arsenal of weapons called “invincible” by President Vladimir Putin.

• Moscow has in recent years touted the development of weapons that it hopes will give it the edge in any arms race with the U.S..
• Hypersonics can travel more than five times the speed of sound and manoeuvre in mid-flight, making them much harder to track and intercept than traditional projectiles.
• it fired the Zircon missile from a warship and hit a test target in Russia’s Arctic waters of the White Sea.
• Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

World Philosophy Day aims at promoting the international culture of a healthy, philosophical debate that respects people’s dignity and diversity.

• Every year, the third Thursday of November is celebrated as World Philosophy Day. This year it was observed on November 18.
• On 21 November, 2002, World Philosophy Day was observed for the very first time by UNESCO to bring to limelight the enduring value of philosophy. Following which in 2005, the UNESCO General Conference declared the annual celebration of this event.
• The theme for World Philosophy Day 2021 is intended to be based on “different interactions of human beings with their social, cultural, geographical and political environment, with the underlying objective of better understanding the contribution of philosophy in our contemporary societies and the challenges they face" in the wake of the pandemic.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the first operationalised private sector defence manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC) in Lucknow on November 13, 2021.

• The facility, run by Aerolloy Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of PTC industries, will manufacture parts for Aircraft Engines, Helicopter Engines, Structural parts for aircrafts, Drones and UAV, Submarines, Ultra-Light Artillery Guns, Space Launch Vehicles and Strategy Systems etc.
• The Raksha Mantri also laid the foundation stone for an integrated Metal Manufacturing Facility under PTC industries that will produce key Raw Materials in Titanium and other Exotic Alloys for aerospace applications.

Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UP DIC)

• Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UP DIC) is an aspirational project that intends to reduce foreign dependency of Indian Aerospace & Defence Sector. It took off to an encouraging start with the announcement of investments worth over Rs. 3700 crores in Defence production at the Meet organized at Aligarh on 11Aug2018.
• It is planned across 6 nodes namely – Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi, Agra Aligarh, Chitrakoot.
• Hence both statements are correct.

A Hindu man from Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, who converted to Christianity in the 18th century, is set to become the first Indian layman to be declared a saint by the Vatican on May 15, 2022.

• Devasahayam Pillai, who took the name ‘Lazarus’ in 1745, was first approved for sainthood in February 2020 for “enduring increasing hardships” after he decided to embrace Christianity, the Vatican said.
• Devasahayam is said to have faced harsh persecution and imprisonment after he decided to convert to Christianity, ultimately resulting in his killing in 1752.
• Born on April 23, 1712 in the village of Nattalam in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari District, Devasahayam went on to serve in the court of Travancore’s Maharaja Marthanda Varma. It was here that he met a Dutch naval commander, who taught him about the Catholic faith.
• In 1745, soon after he was baptised, he assumed the name ‘Lazarus’, meaning ‘God is my help’. But he then faced the wrath of the Travancore state, which was against his conversion.
• It was only in February 2020, when the Vatican cleared him for sainthood, that they dropped ‘Pillai’ from his name, referring to him as ‘Blessed Devasahayam’.
• Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

On November 24, at around 11.50 am (IST), NASA will launch the agency’s first planetary defense test mission named the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART).

• The main aim of the mission is to test the newly developed technology that would allow a spacecraft to crash into an asteroid and change its course. The spacecraft will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
• The target of the spacecraft is a small moonlet called Dimorphos (Greek for “two forms”). It is about 160-metre in diameter and the spacecraft is expected to collide when it is 11 million kilometres away from Earth.
• The target of the spacecraft is a small moonlet called Dimorphos (Greek for “two forms”). It is about 160-metre in diameter and the spacecraft is expected to collide when it is 11 million kilometres away from Earth.
• Dimorphos orbits a larger asteroid named Didymos (Greek for “twin”) which has a diameter of 780 metres.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has set the stage for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the State by renaming the Habibganj railway station after Rani Kamlapati, an 18th century Gond queen.

• She was the last Hindu queen of Bhopal.
• Many believe Rani Kamlapati was the widow of Gond ruler Nizam Shah, chief of Ginnorgarh.
• They say the station was built in 1905 and was named Shahpur (one popular area in new Bhopal is known as Shahpura, named after the Shahpura lake).
• In 1979, when the Railways was looking for land for the expansion of the station, Habib Miya decided to give land free of cost and the station was named after him.

Gond community

• The Gond community is the largest tribal group in India with more than 1.2 crore population.
• The community is largely spread in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattsigarh and Jharkhand.
• In the previous Assembly election, the BJP recorded its worst performance in a decade in reserved seats across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
• ​Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

The UN refugees agency, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR has said that the number of forcibly displaced person has exceeded 84 million globally this year.

• The reason for this displacement include violence, insecurity and the effects of climate change.
• The UNHCR's Mid-Year Trends report, covering the first six months of this year, revealed a surge from 82.4 million largely due to internal displacement.
• More people are fleeing due to multiple active conflicts around the world, especially in Africa.
• It also noted that COVID-19 border restrictions continue to limit asylum access in many locations.
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo witnessed 1.3 million displacements and Ethiopia, 1.2 million, the report detailed. Meanwhile, violence in Myanmar and Afghanistan also saw an increase in the number-driven to leave home.
• Hence both statements are correct.