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

Researchers have developed a chewing gum that they say can potentially reduce transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

• The chewing gum is laced with a plant-grown protein, which serves as a “trap” for the virus.
• This reduces viral load in saliva and potentially tamps down transmission, say the researchers, who have published their study in the journal Molecular Therapy.
• When a person infected with SARS-CoV-2 sneezes, coughs or speaks, some of the virus can be expelled and reach others. The chewing gum targets the virus in the saliva, and does so by trapping it with the ACE2 protein.
• The ACE2 protein in humans is where the coronavirus latches on to, in order to enter the cell.
• Hence both statements are correct.

President of the Russian Vladimir Putin, paid a working visit to New Delhi on 06 December 2021 for the 21st India – Russia Annual summit with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

• The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the sustained progress in the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ between both countries despite the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic.
• They welcomed the holding of the first meeting of the 2+2 Dialogue of Foreign and Defence Ministers and the meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Military & Military-Technical Cooperation in New Delhi on 6 December 2021.
• The role of connectivity through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the proposed Chennai - Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor figured in the discussions.
• Both sides renewed the military-technical cooperation agreement for another 10 years till 2031 and also signed the deal for the manufacture of AK-203 assault rifles.
• AK-203 Assault Rifles will tremendously augment the operational capability of our soldiers. Hence, this contract ends the long quest of Indian Army to replace aging INSAS Rifle with a modern weapon. AK-203 Rifle, having an effective range of 300 meters is a light weight and easy to use Modern Assault weapon with proven technology.
• Both sides concluded 28 agreements and several hydrocarbon projects are on the anvil.
• they have set a target of trade worth 30 billion dollars and investment worth 50 billion dollars by 2025.
• Hence both statements are correct.

With the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreading across the country, the need for a booster shot or an additional jab may feel more urgent than ever.

• An additional dose, originally called a third dose, is given to people with moderately or severely compromised immune systems to improve their response to the initial vaccine series.
• The term “third dose” was used to refer to additional doses for the two mRNA vaccines, but now the term is “additional dose” because those who received a Johnson & Johnson “one dose” vaccine may also be eligible for a dose based on their immune systems.
• People with weakened immune systems might not develop enough immunity after vaccination with two doses of a vaccine. An additional dose, thus, might improve their protection against the novel coronavirus.

What is a booster shot?

• A booster shot is nothing but a means of strengthening one’s immune system against a particular pathogen. It may be exactly the same original vaccine, in which case its goal is to increase the magnitude of protection by producing more antibodies.
• The booster shot is an additional dose after the protection provided by the original shot(s) has started to decrease over time.

What is the difference between the two?

• A Covid-19 booster is given when a person has completed their vaccine series, and protection against the virus has decreased over time. Depending on the original series you had, some details will vary. An additional dose, however, is administered to people with moderately to severely compromised immune systems.
• While the additional Covid dose would be a “full” dose of the vaccine, booster shots being offered right now have a lesser volume, since the third dose is only supposed to increase the efficacy range.
• Experts have also suggested that there could be some differences in the side-effects one could expect. With booster shots, we have come to know about a higher intensity or symptoms similar to what one may go through with the second dose. However, it’s yet unknown how severe, or safe a third dose could be.

Hence both statements are correct.

Ram Nath Kovind, the President of India, will award the President’s Standard to the 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron, also known as the Killer Squadron at a ceremonial parade to be held at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai on 08 December 2021.

• The 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron was formally established at Mumbai in Oct 1991 with ten Veer Class and three Prabal Class missile boats.
• However, the genesis of ‘Killers’ dates back to the year 1969, with the induction of OSA I Class missile boats from erstwhile USSR to bolster the strength of the Indian Navy.
• These missile boats were transported to India on heavy lift merchant ships and commissioned in early 1971 at Kolkata. They were baptised by fire in the same year during the Indo – Pak war of 1971 where they played a decisive role in the outcome of the war.

President’s Standard

• The President’s Standard is the highest honour bestowed by the Supreme Commander to a military unit in recognition of the service rendered to the nation.
• The Indian Navy was awarded the President’s Colours on 27 May 1951 by the then President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad.
• The President’s Standard is the same honour as the President’s Colours, awarded to a relatively smaller military formation or unit.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Prominent business families that run empires such as the Reliance Industries Group and the Shriram Group have been in the news recently for their plans to set up trusts to ensure smooth transition of assets and control of the business to their heirs.

• This is primarily to avoid the messy legal battles and litigation seen among business groups in the past.
• Succession planning for a large or small family business entails transition of the management, the ownership and control of the business to the next generation of leaders, most often from within the family.
• Over the years, this process has changed from writing a will to setting up a management trust to manage the assets of the business and to ensure systematic decision-making and execution, helping the business become a wealth creator even after the demise of its founders.
• A trust is a fiduciary relationship in which one party, called a trustor, transfers an asset/ property, to another party, called a trustee. The trustee then manages this asset for the benefit of a third party, called a beneficiary.
• Trusts are tax-efficient. Very broadly, the transfer of assets to a trust in which your family members are the beneficiaries are not taxable at either end. It means neither the transferor nor the beneficiary will be taxed.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Buoyed by the success of its innovative Project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees) in Karnataka, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has now replicated the project in Assam.

• Chairman KVIC, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena launched Project RE-HAB at Village Mornoi in Goalpara district of Assam which severely grapples with elephant-human conflicts. The project has been implemented in Assam with the support of the local forest department.
• Surrounded by dense forests, a large part of Assam is infested by elephants with 332 human deaths reported between 2014 and 2019 due to elephant attacks.

Working

• Under Project RE-HAB, “Bee-fences” are created by setting up bee boxes in the passage ways of elephants to block their entrance to human territories.
• The boxes are connected with a string so that when elephants attempt to pass through, a tug or pull causes the bees to swarm the elephant herds and dissuade them from progressing further.
• It is a cost-effective way of reducing human-wild conflicts without causing any harm to the animals. It is scientifically recorded that elephants are annoyed by the honey bees.
• Elephants also fear that the bee swarms can bite their sensitive inner side of the trunk and eyes. The collective buzz of the bees is annoying to elephants that force them to return.

Project RE-HAB

• Notably, Project RE-HAB is a sub-mission of KVIC’s National Honey Mission.
• While the Honey Mission is a programme to increase the bee population, honey production and beekeepers’ income by setting up apiaries, Project RE-HAB uses bee boxes as a fence to prevent the elephant attacks.
• Project RE-HAB was launched at 11 locations in Kodagu district of Karnataka on 15th March 2021. In just 6 months, this project has reduced elephant attacks by over 70%.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Amid talk of MSP guarantee and Punjab’s urgent need to break away from the wheat-paddy cycle, experts feel that the state must follow cropping pattern as per its agro-climatic and soil conditions to protect the environment while increasing farmers’ income.

• According to Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana, there are six agro-climatic zones in Punjab which include Sub-Mountain Undulating Region, Undulating Plain Region (UPR), Central Plain Region (CPR), Western Plain Region (WPR), Western Region (WR) and Flood Plain Region (FPR).
• These regions have rainfall variations from 165 mm to 2000 mm annually and climate from humid to cold-arid to arid and extreme arid.
• The variations in soil range from hill soils, tarai, brown hill, alluvial to desert.

The Zones

• In Zone 1 and 2, district like Pathnakot, Ropar, Mohali, Gurdaspur, and Hoshiarpur are included and in Zone 3 districts like Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala and Sangrur are included.
• In Zone 4, Ferozepur, Moga, Barnala, and Faridkot are the parts while in Zone 5, Mukatsar, Fazilka, Bathinda and Mansa are included and in Zone 6, the parts of various districts along with Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Ghaggar rivers are included which are the flood-prone.
• In these zones all agro-climatic conditions, rainfall pattern, distribution, soil texture are taken into account to have a suitable cropping pattern, said experts, adding that temperatures and humidity levels are also little bit different from each other in all these zones.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Buoyed by the success of its innovative Project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees) in Karnataka, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has now replicated the project in Assam.

• Chairman KVIC, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena launched Project RE-HAB at Village Mornoi in Goalpara district of Assam which severely grapples with elephant-human conflicts. The project has been implemented in Assam with the support of the local forest department.
• Surrounded by dense forests, a large part of Assam is infested by elephants with 332 human deaths reported between 2014 and 2019 due to elephant attacks.

Working

• Under Project RE-HAB, “Bee-fences” are created by setting up bee boxes in the passage ways of elephants to block their entrance to human territories.
• The boxes are connected with a string so that when elephants attempt to pass through, a tug or pull causes the bees to swarm the elephant herds and dissuade them from progressing further.
• It is a cost-effective way of reducing human-wild conflicts without causing any harm to the animals. It is scientifically recorded that elephants are annoyed by the honey bees.
• Elephants also fear that the bee swarms can bite their sensitive inner side of the trunk and eyes. The collective buzz of the bees is annoying to elephants that force them to return.

Project RE-HAB

• Notably, Project RE-HAB is a sub-mission of KVIC’s National Honey Mission.
• While the Honey Mission is a programme to increase the bee population, honey production and beekeepers’ income by setting up apiaries, Project RE-HAB uses bee boxes as a fence to prevent the elephant attacks.
• Project RE-HAB was launched at 11 locations in Kodagu district of Karnataka on 15th March 2021. In just 6 months, this project has reduced elephant attacks by over 70%.
• Hence both statements are correct.

About Properties of Lithium

• It is a chemical element with the symbol Li.
• It is a soft, silvery-white metal.
• Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.
• It is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in mineral oil.
• Lithium has become the new 'white gold' as the demand for high performing rechargeable batteries is rising.
• Hence, option A is correct.

• Recognition of Prior Learning Programme (RPL) Programme is being implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • It aims to promote decentralization and local governance for better planning and implementation of skill development programmes.
  • It recognizes the value of learning acquired outside a formal setting and provides a government certificate for an individual’s skills. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a public-private-partnership working under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • NSDC aims to promote skill development by catalyzing the creation of large, quality and for-profit vocational institutions. It acts as a catalyst in skill development by providing funding to enterprises, companies, and organizations that provide skill training.
  • NSDC is the implementation agency for skills training in the country.