Daily Current Affairs MCQ- January 17, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

New research led by the Imperial College of London has found an intelligent knife (iKnife), which can be used to diagnose womb cancer within minutes.

Why in news?

• According to the World Cancer Research Fund International, womb or endometrial cancer is the 6th most commonly occurring cancer among people with uteruses.

How it works:

• The knife uses electric currents on biopsy tissue and then analyses the vapourised aerosols from the tissue in a mass spectrometer to give real-time information about activity in the tissue.
• The study noted that the knife reliably diagnosed endometrial cancer in tissue within seconds with an accuracy of 89%. This would greatly minimise the delays faced by patients who wait for a normal histopathological diagnosis.

Hence both statements are correct.

A recent detailed assessment of the survey conducted in the northern parts of Alappuzha, as part of the Asian Waterbird Census 2023 revealed that a shift in migration patterns of water birds appears to be taking place.

• In the recent survey, it is revealed that Duck species sighted in previous surveys were missing this time.
• The most shocking aspect was that duck species like Northern Shoveler, Common teal and Eurasian wigeon, sighted in the previous surveys, were missing this time around.

Key facts about the main birds which were sighted during the census

• Oriental darter
• It is mainly found in freshwater rivers and ponds.
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Near Threat
• Cattle egret
  • Conservation status
  • IUCN: Least Concern
• Spot-billed Pelican
  • It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia.
  • Conservation status
  • IUCN: Near Threatened
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule IV

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare recently said that India is committed to eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis by 2027 in the National Symposium on India’s Roadmap to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

• The Lymphatic filariasis disease commonly known as elephantiasis is a neglected tropical disease. Infection occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes.
• This impairs the lymphatic system and can lead to the abnormal enlargement of body parts, causing pain, severe disability and social stigma. 
• It is caused by infection with parasites classified as nematodes (roundworms) of the family Filariodidea. There are 3 types of these thread-like filarial worms:
  • Wuchereria bancrofti, which is responsible for 90% of the cases.
  • Brugia malayi, which causes most of the remainder of the cases.
  • Brugia timori, which also causes the disease.

Global Initiatives to eradicate Lymphatic Filariasis

• WHO’s road map 2021−2030: sets global targets and milestones to prevent, control, eliminate or eradicate 20 diseases
• Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF): WHO established this to stop the transmission of infection by mass drug administration (MDA) of anthelmintics and to alleviate the suffering of people affected by the disease through morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP).

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Astronomers have recently detected in the stellar halo that represents the Milky Way's outer limits a group of stars more distant from Earth than any known within our own galaxy - almost halfway to a neighboring galaxy.What is a Galactic halo?

• Galactic halo is a nearly spherical volume of thinly scattered stars, globular clusters of stars, and tenuous gas observed surrounding spiral galaxies, including the Milky Way.
• Galactic halo is dominated by invisible dark matter, whose presence is only measurable through the gravity that it exerts.
• Only about 1% of a galaxy’s stellar mass resides in its halo, and due to this low luminosity, the observation of halos in other galaxies is extremely difficult.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, a meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime was hosted by the Government of India in New Delhi.

• The meeting discussed traditional and emerging non-traditional security threats in the BIMSTEC region.
• The working group on counter-terror deals with a few key realms of policy. These include
  • Intelligence Sharing
  • Legal and Law Enforcement
  • Countering Radicalization and Terrorism
  • Anti- Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism
  • Human Trafficking
  • Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursor Chemicals

Key facts about BIMSTEC?

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation is a regional grouping started in 1997.
• Member countries: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.
• This group was launched by signing the Bangkok Declaration.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the world's most powerful telescope, NASA's James Webb telescope, has found a star formation in a dynamic cluster that lies within a nebula 200,000 light years away.

• As per the American space agency, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) star-forming region NGC 346 is one of the most dynamic in nearby galaxies and is a dwarf galaxy. It is close to the Milky Way with lower metal concentrations.

What is Magellanic Cloud?

• The Magellanic Clouds are irregular galaxies that share a gaseous envelope and lie about 22° apart in the sky near the south celestial pole.
• They are comprised of two irregular galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), which orbit the Milky Way once every 1,500 million years and each other once every 900 million years.
• These companion galaxies were named for the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, whose crew discovered them during the first voyage around the world (1519–22).
• Magellanic Clouds were formed at about the same time as the Milky Way Galaxy, approximately 13 billion years ago.
• They are presently captured in orbits around the Milky Way Galaxy and have experienced several tidal encounters with each other and with the Galaxy.
• They contain numerous young stars and star clusters, as well as some much older stars.
• The Magellanic Clouds are visible to the unaided eye in the Southern Hemisphere.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently Maghi Mela was held in the holy city of Sri Muktsar Sahib in Punjab.

• It is held every year in January or the month of Magh according to the Nanakshahi calendar.
• The Mela is celebrated in memory of 40 Sikh warriors who fought the Mughals in the battle of Khidrana, which was named Muktsar after the battle.
• The battle took place near a pool of water, Khidrane di Dhabi, on 29 December 1705.
• The bodies of the warriors were cremated the following day, the first of Magh (hence the name of the festival), which now falls usually on the 13th of January.
• Sikhs celebrate the Maghi with an end-to-end recital of the holy Guru Granth Sahib and religious rituals in all the Sikh Gurudwaras.

What is Nanakshahi Calendar?

• The Nanakshahi calendar was designed by Sikh scholar Pal Singh Purewal to replace the Bikrami calendar, to work out the dates of gurpurab and other festivals.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Commerce and industry minister will launch the mentorship, advisory, assistance, resilience and growth (MAARG) platform on 16th January 2023 in New Delhi.

• It is the National Mentorship Platform by Start-up India to help and guide new start-ups to grow and flourish.
• It is a one-stop platform to facilitate mentorship for start-ups across diverse sectors, functions, stages, geographies, and backgrounds.
• Nodal Ministry: Launched by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

What are the objectives?

• To provide sector-focused guidance, handholding, and support to start-ups throughout their lifecycle.
• To establish a formalized and structured platform that facilitates intelligent matchmaking between the mentors and their respective mentees.
• To facilitate efficient and expert mentorship for start-ups and build an outcome-oriented mechanism that allows timely tracking of mentor-mentee engagements.

Implementation of MAARG Initiative:

• Phase I: Mentor Onboarding
• Successfully launched and executed, 400+ expert mentors are on board across sectors.
• Phase II: Startup Onboarding
• DPIIT launched the onboarding of startups on the MAARG Portal with effect from 14th November 2022
• Phase III: MAARG Portal Launch and Mentor Matchmaking.
• Final launch where the mentors will be matched to the startups DPIIT has initiated the onboarding process of startups under Phase II.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), the headhunter for directors of state-owned banks and financial institutions, recently recommended names for the posts of managing directors of Bank of Baroda and Bank of India.

About Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB)

• What is it? It’s a government body set up under the Department of Financial Services.
• It replaced the Bank Board’s Bureau (BBB) which was declared an incompetent authority.
• Structure:
• FSIB would be headed by a chairman, a central government nominee.
• The board would comprise the Secretaries of the DFS, the chairman of IRDAI, and a deputy governor of the RBI.
• Additionally, it will have three part-time members who are experts in banking and three more from the insurance sector.
• Primary role of FSIB:
• To identify manpower capabilities and ensure proper selection of talent for senior positions at financial institutions owned by the government.
• It is entrusted with making recommendations for the appointment of full-time directors and non-executive chairman of state-run financial services institutions.
• The final decision on the FSIB recommendation would be taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister.

Hence both statements are not correct.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently kick-started the ‘Soul of Steel’ alpine challenge, an initiative to promote tourism in border areas, at an event in Dehradun coinciding with Veterans Day.

About ‘Soul of Steel’ challenge

• The ‘Soul of Steel’ expedition will test one’s high-altitude endurance and adventure in Uttarakhand's Garhwal Himalayas.
• It will initially have 12 Indian participants plus six international teams, between the age group of 18 and 30 years.
• The challenge will be spread across three months.
• It is being organized by CLAW Global, an entity comprising a group of veterans.
• The Indian Army is supporting the adventure challenge.
• It is based on the lines of the ‘Ironman triathlon’, a long-distance triathlon held in Europe which tests an individual's physical capabilities.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.