Daily Current Affairs MCQ- May 2, 2022 - UPSC MCQ

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has launched a gluten-free millet products for all age groups at affordable prices.

• A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats.
• Gluten may cause both gastrointestinal and systemic symptoms for those with gluten-related disorders, including coeliac disease (CD), non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), gluten ataxia, dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), and wheat allergy.
• Gluten proteins have low nutritional and biological value and the grains that contain gluten are not essential in the human diet.

Hence both statements are correct.

Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued an advisory to e-commerce entities against the illegal sale and facilitation of wireless jammers.

• Consumer Affairs Ministry said, sale and use of any wireless device without authorization and license under the Indian Telegraph Act or Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act is illegal.
• The Ministry said, as per the guidelines issued by the Central Government, Jammers may be allowed only under exceptional circumstances, only when authorized by Secretary (Security) and Cabinet Secretariat.
• The Department of Telecommunication had also issued an advisory in January this year with reference to illegal facilitation and sale of wireless jammers on online platforms.

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Minister of Communications, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, recently said that the commercial rollout of 5G services could be expected from August-September 2022 onwards.

Advantages of 5G Technology:

• Greater Speed in Transmissions:
  • Speed in transmissions can approach 15 or 20 GBPS (Gigabytes Per Second).
  • In comparison, 4G offers maximum real-world download speeds up to around 100 MBPS.
• Lower Latency:
  • Latency is the time that elapses since we give an order on our device until the action occurs.
  • In 5G the latency will be ten times less than in 4G, being able to perform remote actions in real time.
• Greater Number of Connected Devices:
  • All connected devices will have access to instant connections to the internet, which in real time will exchange information with each other. This will favour the IOT (Internet of Things).
  • The Internet of Things describes the network of physical objects—“things”—that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the internet.
  • It is anticipated that a common home will have a hundred connected devices sending and receiving information in real time.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

An energy crisis is emerging across India, as low coal supplies across the majority of thermal power plants have triggered blackouts in several urban and rural areas.

• Jharkhand:
  • With estimated 83.15 billion tonnes of reserves which is more than 26% of India’s total reserves, Jharkhand ranks first.
    The state’s main coal-mining centres are Jharia (India’s oldest and richest coalfield), Bokaro, Auranga, Giridh, Dhanbad, Ramgarh, Karanpur and Hutar.
• Odisha: 
  • Second on the list for coal reserves is the state of Odisha (over 24% of the country’s total reserves and about 15% of India’s total coal production). Talchar is Odisha's biggest coalfield.
• Chattisgarh: 
  • Chhattisgarh has the third largest coal reserve in India and carries about 17% of the total coal reserves. However, the state has the first rank in the production of coal. Coalfields of the state include Korba, Hasdo-Arand, Chirmiri, Jhimli, and Johilla.
• Others are West Bengal (about 11% of the total coal reserves of India), Madhya Pradesh (about 8%), Andhra Pradesh (7%), Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

• Recently, the Ministry of Education has released the “mandate document” for a National Curriculum Framework under the new National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Central to the implementation of the transformative National Education Policy 2020 is the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF) which will empower and enable outstanding teaching and learning in the country, by converting the vision of the NEP 2020 into reality in our schools and classrooms.
• The development of the NCF is being guided by the National Steering Committee (NSC), chaired by Dr K Kasturirangan, supported by the Mandate Group, along with the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT). Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• The NCF will include:
  • The National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE),
  • The National Curriculum Framework for Early Childhood Care & Education (NCFECCE),
  • The National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE),
  • The National Curriculum Framework for Adult Education (NCFAE). Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Semiconductors

• These are a class of crystalline solids intermediate in electrical conductivity between a conductor and an insulator. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Semiconductors are employed in the manufacture of various kinds of electronic devices, including diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits.
• Such devices have found wide application because of their compactness, reliability, power efficiency, and low cost.
• Some examples of semiconductors are silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• India is home to approximately around 27,000 Asian Elephants, which is the world’s largest population of the species.
  • As per Elephant Census (2017), Karnataka has the highest number of elephants (6,049), followed by Assam (5,719) and Kerala (3,054). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Asian Elephants:
  • There are three subspecies of Asian elephant which are the Indian, Sumatran and Sri Lankan.
    • The Indian subspecies has the widest range and accounts for most of the remaining elephants on the continent.
  • Elephants have the longest-known gestational (pregnancy) period of all mammals, lasting up to 680 days (22 months).
  • Global Population: Estimated 20,000 to 40,000.
  • Protection Status:
    • IUCN Red List: Endangered.
    • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.
    • CITES: Appendix I
• African Elephants:
  • There are two subspecies of African elephants, the Savanna (or bush) elephant and the Forest elephant.
  • Global Population: Around 4,00,000.
  • Earlier in July 2020, Botswana (Africa) witnessed the death of hundreds of elephants.
  • Protection Status:
    • IUCN Red List Status:
      • African Savanna Elephant: Endangered. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
      • African Forest Elephant: Critically Endangered
    • CITES: Appendix II

Sloth Bear

• Sloth bears are found in Sri Lanka, India, Bhutan and Nepal, predominantly in lowland areas.
• Sloth bears primarily eat termites and ants, and unlike other bear species, they routinely carry their cubs on their backs.
• They are also very fond of honey, hence their alternative name of “honey bear”.
• Sloth bears do not hibernate. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• It is a forest-dwelling member of the family Ursidae (comprising 8 species of bears) that inhabits tropical or subtropical regions of India and Sri Lanka.
• Protection Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
  • CITES listing: Appendix I
  • Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

In response to an RTI request, the State Bank of India (SBI) stated that in the 20th phase (April), it sold worth Rs 648.48 crore electoral bonds.

• Announced in the 2017 Union Budget, the Electoral Bond Scheme (EBS) was notified by the Central government in 2018.
  Under the scheme, electoral bonds can be bought by any Indian citizen or company incorporated in India from select branches of State Bank of India (SBI).
• An electoral bond is like a promissory note - a legal instrument in which one party promises to pay a sum of money to the other.
• The bonds are sold in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore.
• There is no limit on the number of bonds an individual or company can purchase.
• The citizen can then donate the same to any eligible political party (23 - only those registered under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and have secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last LoK Sabha/State Assembly elections) of his or her choice anonymously.
• The political party can then encash these bonds through its verified account within 15 days.
• The SBI deposits bonds that a political party hasn’t encashed within 15 days into the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Going ahead with its downsizing plan, the Indian Railways has announced the closure of the Special Railway Establishment for Strategic Technology and Holistic Advancement (SRESTHA), Lucknow.

• Established in 2016, the SRESTHA directorate, part of the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), was tasked with the role of taking up long-term railway research projects requiring technological advancement.
• As part of the restructuring plan, the Railways also decided to merge 32 directorates of the RDSO and brought them under seven verticals — administration, infrastructure, rolling stock, traction and power supply, signal and telecommunication, resource and testing and traffic and psychology.
• Another notification is that the Geotech Engineering Directorate will be merged with the Track and Bridges & Structures Directorate.
• The Railways also proposed to create new posts in the rank of Executive Director, Design, to be posted at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala and Modern Coach Factory, Rae Bareli, under the Railway Board’s Rolling Stock Directorate.
• The restructuring plan of the Indian Railways is in line with the recommendations for rationalisation of government bodies made by Principal Economic Adviser Sanjeev Sanyal.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.