Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 23, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Warehousing Development & Regulatory Authority (WDRA) signed an agreement to promote financing against e-NWR (Electronic Negotiable Warehousing Receipt).

• The negotiable warehouse receipt (NWR) system was launched in 2011 allowing the transfer of ownership of a commodity stored in a warehouse without having to deliver it physically.
• These receipts are issued in negotiable form, making them eligible as collateral.
• The Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) regulates the entire operation under NWR. 
• All e-NWRS can be traded through off-market or on-market Commodity Exchanges platforms. 
• An e-NWR can be auctioned under certain conditions such as loan not repaid, on expiry and delivery not taken, and on likely damage or spoilage of the commodity in the warehouse. 
• e-NWR can be transferred fully or in part.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Punjab government has cancelled 813 gun licenses in the state to clamp down on the “gun culture”.

• The Indian Arms Act of 1959 was passed after India attained independence.
• It scrapped the erstwhile Act of 1878, passed by the British that restricted Indians from possessing firearms.
• The act was amended in 2019 decreasing the number of licensed firearms allowed per person.
• Conditions under the act
  • No one can acquire, possess or carry any firearms in India without a license.
  • The Act bars one person from carrying more than one firearm.
  • It prevents persons of unsound mind or those out on bond from getting such a license.
  • Validity: The validity of a firearm license was increased from 3 years to 5 years (2019 amendment).
• Non- prohibited bore (NPB): Indian citizens aged 21 years and above are eligible to get Non-Prohibited Bore (NPB) guns and these are issued by the state governments.
• Prohibited bore (PB): Prohibited Bore guns can only be issued to defence personnel or persons facing imminent threats to life and these are issued by the Central Government or Ministry of Home Affairs.

Hence both statements are not correct.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have developed a low-cost star sensor for astronomy and small CubeSat class satellite missions.

• The star sensor Starberry-Sense can help small CubeSat class satellite missions find their orientation in space.
• Any satellite needs to know where it is pointed in space, and the instrument used for this purpose is called a star sensor.
• The position of stars in the sky is fixed relative to each other and can be used as a stable reference frame to calculate the orientation of a satellite in orbit. 
• Features of Starberry-Sense
  • The brain of the instrument is a single-board Linux computer called Raspberry Pi, which is widely used among electronics hobby enthusiasts.
  • Based on commercial/off-the-shelf components, this star sensor costs less than 10% of those available in the market.
  • It is ready for launch on the PS4-Orbital Platform by ISRO and can be used for CubeSats and other small satellite missions in the future.
  • The star sensor has successfully undergone the vibration and thermal vacuum test that qualifies it for a space launch and operations, and these tests were conducted in-house at the environmental test facility located at the CREST Campus of IIA in Hosakote.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Defence Acquisition Council headed by the Union defence minister gave its approval for Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the procurement of 307 ATAGS.

• It is a large calibre gun system which has high precision.
• This gun system has the capability to be programmed and fire Long Range Guided Munitions.
• It has the capabilities like an automatic ammunition handling system which can fire six successive rounds and can fire in Zone 7, and also has a self-propelled mode.
• It also has the shoot and scoot capability and is also the first of its kind gun which is capable of achieving the shortest minimum range at a high angle.
• These guns can be deployed in high-altitude regions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
• The gun is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the production partners of these ATAGS are two private sector companies – Pune-based Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems. 

Hence both statements are correct.

Scientists have recently urged the Odisha government to immediately come up with a robust protection mechanism before the Horseshoe crabs (living fossil) becomes extinct due to destructive fishing practices.

• The horseshoe crab is a marine chelicerate arthropod living in shallow coastal waters on soft sandy or muddy bottoms and spawns mostly on intertidal beaches at summer-spring high tides. 
• The Chelicerata is a division within the Arthropoda, containing animals such as spiders, scorpions, harvestmen, mites and ticks. Like all arthropods, they have a segmented body and segmented limbs and a thick chitinous cuticle called an exoskeleton.
• It is known as a marine ‘living fossil’.
• There are four extant horseshoe crab species:
  • The American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) is along the eastern coast of the USA and in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • The tri-spine horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus)
  • The coastal horseshoe crab (Tachypleus gigas) 
  • The mangrove horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda) 
• The last three are Indo-Pacific species found mainly in the coastal waters of India, Southeast Asia, China and Japan.    
• Conservation status in India
  • Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Schedule IV

Hence both statements are correct.

The Government of India recently announced the sites for setting up of 7 PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks for the Textile industry. 

• Seven sites were chosen out of 18 proposals for PM MITRA parks which were received from 13 States. 
• The Parks will come up in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• It will offer the opportunity to create an Integrated Textiles Value Chain right from spinning, weaving, processing/dyeing and printing to garment manufacturing etc. at one location and will reduce the logistics cost of the Industry.
• A Special Purpose Vehicle owned by the Centre and State Government will be set up for each park which will oversee the implementation of the project. 
• Funding
  • The Ministry of Textiles will provide financial support in the form of Development Capital Support up to Rs. 500 crores per park to the Park SPV.
  • A Competitive Incentive Support (CIS) of up to Rs 300 crore per park to the units in PM MITRA Park shall also be provided to incentivise speedy implementation.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, the Society of Earth Scientists (SES), a group of independent researchers bridging the gap between earth science and society gathered to scout a fossil park at Jhamarkotra and the metallurgical remains at Zawar, around 20 km southeast of Udaipur, Rajasthan.

• A fossil park at Jhamarkotra located in the state of Rajasthan hosts stromatolites dating back 1.8 billion years, exhibiting a variety of textures and sizes.
• A stromatolite is a layered sedimentary rock created by microorganisms.
• Stromatolites are sometimes called ‘crocodile-skin rock’ due to their unusual textures. 
• As such, stromatolite fossils preserve records of cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae – the earliest life on the planet.
• These organisms developed the ability to photosynthesise and make their food. By doing so, they pumped large quantities of oxygen into the atmosphere of primaeval earth, allowing most other life to evolve and flourish.
• Jhamarkotra’s fossils are phosphate-rich because the trapped sediments were mainly phosphate minerals.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development will celebrate the fifth Poshan Pakhwada from 20th March 2022 to 3rd April 2023 with various activities nationwide. 

• The Poshan Pakhwada aims to raise awareness about the importance of nutrition and promote healthy eating habits through Jan Andolan and Jan Bhagidari.
• The theme of this year’s Poshan Pakhwada 2023 is "Nutrition for All: Together Towards a Healthy India".
• With the declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets, this year the focus of Poshan Pakhwada will be to popularise ‘Shree Anna’- the mother of all grains, as a valuable asset to address malnutrition.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, researchers from S. N. Bose National Center for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata, tested the efficacy of the laccase enzyme in degrading some standard dye molecules.

• Laccase is generated by a group of fungi that have been found capable of degrading a variety of hazardous organic dye molecules that are regularly drained into waterbodies after dying clothes in the textile industry.
• This observed characteristic which the scientists termed substrate promiscuity can have deep implications in designing enzyme-coated cassettes for treating heavily dye-polluted water.
• Laccase was known for its capacity to degrade various organic molecules.
• Laccase, generated by a group of fungi, contains 4 copper atoms in two different oxidation states, and degrades substrates through redox reactions, producing only water and the simplest non-virulent or less virulent oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur.  

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, a female leopard died in a suspected road kill in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS).

• Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Kerala and is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
• This Sanctuary is contiguous to the tiger reserves of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka and Madhumalai of Tamil Nadu.
• Kabini river which is a tributary of the Kaveri River flows through the sanctuary.
• Flora: It includes moist deciduous forests, West coast semi-evergreen forests and plantations of teak, eucalyptus and Grewelia.
• Fauna: Elephant, Gaur, Tiger, Panther, Sambar, Spotted deer, Barking deer, Wild boar, Sloth bear, Nilgiri langur etc.

Hence both statements are not correct.