Daily Current Affairs MCQ- May 16, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

After two successful editions in virtual mode, Startup India, Department of Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce organized the third edition in the form of first-ever physical Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Startup Forum in New Delhi recently.

• The engagement aimed at expanding the startup interactions amongst the SCO Member States, nurturing the spirit of innovation, generating more employment and encouraging young talent to build innovative solutions.
• The forum witnessed physical participation from SCO Member States including a delegation of government officials, private industry players, incubators and startups.
• This engagement focused on the spirit of collaboration and entrepreneurship.
• It aimed at promoting innovation development, particularly through the creation of common platforms and the facilitation of ideas and best practices among the SCO Member States.
• Various startup-to-startup bilateral meetings were conducted in promoting and achieving this agenda.
• In addition, the delegates also attended a workshop conducted by Startup India on the ‘Role of Bilateral and Multilateral Engagements in developing startup ecosystem’.
• The workshop included an interactive session to understand various models of engagements that can be undertaken to develop closer ties between these nations and boost the startup ecosystem in SCO nations.
• Previously, Startup India had organized various initiatives for SCO Member states including:
  • SCO Startup Forum 2020: The SCO Startup Forum laid the foundation for multilateral cooperation and engagement for startups among the SCO Member States.
  • SCO Startup Forum 2021: The two-day Forum was held virtually through a customized platform representing the Indian culture in augmented reality. SCO Startup Hub, a single point of contact for the SCO startup ecosystem, was launched in this forum.
  • Focused Mentorship Program: A 3-month long virtual mentorship series ‘Starting-Up’ was organized for the nominated startups, to build capacity among the SCO Startup founders.

India and Pakistan became full members at the Heads of State Council meet in Astana in 2017.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Allahabad High Court recently ordered a “scientific survey”, including carbon dating, of a “Shivling” said to have been found at the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi after setting aside a lower court order on the issue.

• Carbon dating is a widely-used method to establish the age of organic materials, things that were once living.
• Living things have carbon in them in various forms. The dating method is based on the fact that Carbon-14 (C-14), an isotope of carbon with an atomic mass of 14, is radioactive, and decays at a well-known rate.
• The most abundant isotope of carbon in the atmosphere is C-12. The ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the atmosphere is almost static, and is known.
• Plants and animals acquire C-12 and C-14 in roughly the same proportion as is available in the atmosphere.
• When they die, their interactions with the atmosphere stops. While C-12 is stable, the radioactive C-14 reduces to one half of itself in about 5,730 years — known as its ‘half-life’.
• The changing ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the remains of a plant or animal after it dies can be measured, and can be used to deduce the approximate time when the organism died.
• Carbon dating cannot be used to determine the age of non-living things like rocks. Also, the age of things that are more than 40,000-50,000 years old cannot be arrived at through carbon dating.

Hence both statements are correct.

Union Home Ministry recently said that comprehensive ‘Model Prisons Act, 2023’ has been finalized.

• The government had earlier decided to review and revise the colonial-era outdated Prison Act in tune with contemporary modern-day needs and correctional ideology.
• The Model Prison Act, 2023 may serve as a guiding document for the States, and for adoption in their jurisdiction.
• Union Home Ministry had assigned the task of revision of the Prisons Act, 1894 to the Bureau of Police Research and Development.
• The Bureau prepared a draft after holding wide-ranging discussions with State Prison authorities, correctional experts, and others.
• It has been prepared with the objective of holistically providing guidance and addressing the gaps in the existing Prisons Act.

Features:

• Some salient features of the new Model Prisons Act include provision for security assessment and segregation of prisoners, and individual sentence planning.
• Grievance redressal, prison development board, attitudinal change towards prisoners, provision of separate accommodation for women prisoners, and transgender are some of the other features.
• There is also a provision for use of technology in prison administration with a view to bring transparency in prison administration.
• The new Act will focus on vocational training and skill development of prisoners and their reintegration into the society.

Hence both statements are correct.

Under the One Station One Product’ (OSOP) scheme of Indian Railways, 728 stations are covered with 785 OSOP outlets in 21 States and 3 Union Territories across the country so far.

• Ministry of Railways launched this scheme in March, 2022.
• The objective is to promote ‘Vocal for Local’ vision of the government, providing a market for local or indigenous products and create additional income opportunities for the marginalized sections of society.
• Under the scheme, OSOP outlets at railway stations are allotted for showcasing, selling and giving high visibility to indigenous or local products.
• These OSOP stalls are designed through National Design Institute for uniformity.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The first Ministerial meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council will be held in Brussels on 16th May. 

• The meeting will be co-chaired on the Indian side by the Ministers for External Affairs, Commerce and Industry, and Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology.
• Trade and Technology Council was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during Ms Leyen's visit to India in April last year.
• Both sides established three Working Groups under the Council.
• These are Working Group on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance, and Digital Connectivity, Working Group on Green and Clean Energy Technologies, and Working Group on Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains.
• Meetings of the three Working Groups have also taken place leading to the Ministerial meeting in Brussels.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Madhya Pradesh government recently decided that the forest department cannot give permission to translocate Dhar’s famed Baobab trees.

About Baobab Trees:

• Baobabs are long-lived deciduous, small to large trees from 20 to 100 ft tall with broad trunks and compact tops.
• The Baobab Tree is also known as the upside-down tree.
• The baobab is a prehistoric species which predates both mankind and the splitting of the continents over 200 million years ago. 
• Distribution:
• There are 9 species of baobab tree. Two are native to mainland Africa, six to Madagascar, and one to Australia. 
• Mandu, in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, is perhaps the only place in India where baobab trees are found in abundance, with an estimated 1,000 trees in the periphery of Mandu town.
• Features:
• Baobab trees can live to become thousands of years old. The oldest baobab tree on record was the Panke baobab in Zimbabwe, which lived to be a venerable 2450 years old
• They only have very faint growth rings.
• Mature trees have massive trunks that are bottle-shaped or cylindrical and tapered from bottom to top.
• The fruit of the tree is round or oval-shaped and is highly nutritious.
• Why are they called the ‘Tree of Life’?
• They can store large amounts of fresh water in their extraordinary trunks.
• It also allows the baobab tree to produce nutritious fruits even during the driest years.
• This makes them true life savers during times when water is scarce.

Hence both statements are correct.

All 10 Kuki MLAs in Manipur recently urged the Centre to create a separate administration in the wake of the violent clashes between their community and the Meiteis.

About Kukis:

• They are an ethnic group comprising multiple tribes who originally inhabited the North-Eastern states of India, parts of Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
• Kuki is not a term coined by the ethnic group itself but is used generically for tribes associated with it under colonial rule.
• They are present in all Northeast Indian states except Arunachal Pradesh.
• Around fifty tribes of Kuki peoples in India are recognised as scheduled tribes.
• The Chin people of Myanmar and the Mizo people of Mizoram are kindred tribes of the Kukis and are collectively known as the Zo people.
• In Manipur, Kuki tribes comprise around 30% of the population and mainly reside in the hills.
• History: The first resistance to British hegemony by the Kuki people was the Kuki Rebellion of 1917-19, after which their territory was subjugated by the British and divided between the administrations of British India and British Burma. Up until their defeat in 1919, the Kukis had been an independent people ruled by their chieftains.
• Reliogion and Culture:
• Normally they do not arrange any marriage alliance outside their community.
• Traditionally they were not Christian but animist and worshipped different deities and spirits.
• But for the last 90 years, the majority of them have embraced Christianity as their religion.
• They have their own customary laws and village council. LAL is a term used to denote village chief.
• The village chief generally looks up all sorts of social and religious disputes, Including disputes related to marriage and divorce.

Hence both statements are not correct.

A team of researchers and history enthusiasts recently made a praiseworthy discovery of relics and artefacts which they suggest belong to the Satavahana period from the 1st Century BC to the 3rd Century AD.

About Satavahana Dynasty:

• The Satavahanas, also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. 
• Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the late second century BCE and lasted until the early third century CE.
• They ruled from Pune in Maharashtra to Coastal Andhra Pradesh. At its greatest extent, the Satavahana empire covered the whole of the Deccan and spread far into Northern India, perhaps even as far as Magadha.
• They played the most significant role in Indian history in the period between the fall of the Mauryas and the rise of the Gupta Empire.
• Origin:
• Satavahana Dynasty was established in the 1st century BC in the western Deccan Plateau.
• Satavahana Rulers had emerged from the Andhra region or the delta areas of the Krishna River and Godavari River. 
• The dynasty was built upon the ruins of the Maurya Empire.
• Rulers of the Satavahana Dynasty:
• Simuka was the founder of the Satavahana Dynasty, and he is believed to have destroyed the Sunga Power.
• The dynasty reached its zenith under the rule of Gautamiputra Satakarni and his successor Vasisthiputra Pulamavi. 
• Gautamiputra Satakarni received wide recognition because of his policy of military expansion.
• Satakarni carried on expansion through the entire country and became famous during that era as a king of great power and valour.
• Capital: The dynasty had different capital cities at different times, including Pratishthana (Paithan) and Amaravati (Dharanikota).
• The Decline of the Satavahana Dynasty:
• Till the end of the 2nd century, the Satavahana dynasty expanded from western India to the Krishna delta and northern Tamil Nadu , but this expansion did not continue for long.
• The Satavahanas Dynasty collapsed when Abhiras seized Maharashtra, and Ikshwakus and Pallavas appropriated the eastern province.
• Their greatest competitors were the Sakas, who had established their power in upper Deccan and Western India. 
• The kingdom had fragmented into smaller states by the early 3rd century CE.
• Administration:
• The Satavahana polity was extensively decentralized, as local administration was left largely to feudatories subject to the general control of royal officials.
• The king was at the apex of the administrative hierarchy and was considered the guardian of the established social order.
• Though the royal power was absolute, it was subject to religious dictates & public opinion. The king had to rule in accordance with the rules laid down in the Dharmashastras.
• The ruler appointed several ministers & executive officers to assist him in administration. The officers in the king’s ministry were called Raj-amateurs.
• Religion and Culture:
• The Satavahanas were followers of Hinduism and patronised Maharashtri Prakrit literature.
• They were influenced by the sacrificial tradition of the Vedic religion.
• The Satavahana rulers gave liberal patronage to Buddhism as well. Gautamiputra Satakarni, Pulumavi, Yajna Satakarni & some other kings financed the excavation of caves, stupas, chaityas & viharas in the Deccan. 
• They were the first Indian kings to give royal grants of land to those practising Buddhism and Brahmanism.
• Other practices:
• The most intriguing practice instituted by the Satavahanas was that of metronymics, i.e., the name of emperors was often derived from the female lineage.
• The Satavahanas were early issuers of Indian state coinage struck with images of their rulers. 

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

India will soon begin a diplomatic campaign to reclaim the Kohinoor diamond and thousands of other treasures taken by Britain during their centuries-long colonial exploits in the Indian subcontinent.

About Kohinoor Diamond:

• The Kohinoor/Koh-i-Noor diamond (also Koh-i-Nur or Kūh-e Nūr) is one of the largest and most famous cut diamonds in the world.
• The name of the stone is Persian, meaning ‘Mountain of Light’ and refers to its astounding size.
• The diamond originally weighed 191 carats, but it was recut to 105.6 carats to enhance its fire and brilliance in 1852 by Garrard of London, the royal jeweller.
• History:
• It is believed that the diamond was first mentioned more than 5000 years ago in a Sanskrit script, where it was called the Syamantaka.
• After this first written mention, for over 4,000 years, the diamond is not mentioned.
• Up until 1304, the diamond was in the possession of the Rajas of Malwa.
• In 1304, it belonged to the Emperor of Delhi, Allaudin Khilji.
• In 1339, the diamond was taken back to the city of Samarkand, where it stayed for almost 300 years.
• In 1526 the Mogul ruler Babur mentioned the diamond in his writings, Baburmama. The diamond was gifted to him by Sultan Ibrahim Lodi.
• From Babur, the diamond passed to Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb before coming into the possession of his grandson, Sultan Mahamad.
• In 1739, the Persian general Nadir Shah defeated Sultan Mahamad to conquer Delhi – and the diamond. It was Nadir Shah that gave the diamond its current name.
• In 1747, Nadir Shah was assassinated, and the diamond got to one of his generals, Ahmad Shah Durrani.
• A descendant of Ahmad Shah, Shah Shuja Durrani brought the Koh-i-noor back to India in 1813 and gave it to Ranjit Singh (the founder of the Sikh Empire). In exchange, Ranjit Singh helped Shah Shuja get back the throne of Afghanistan.
• In 1849, after the conquest of the Punjab by the British forces, the properties of the Sikh Empire were confiscated.
• The Koh-i-Noor was transferred to the treasury of the British East India Company in Lahore.
• Since 1849, the Koh-i-Noor has been part of the British crown jewels.

Hence both statements are correct.

According to the Election Commission (EC) figures, over 2.6 lakh voters opted for NOTA in the recently held Karnataka assembly polls.

About NOTA (None of the Above):

• It is a ballot option provided in the elections to the Indian voter.
• It is the option which enables the voter to officially register a vote of rejection for all candidates who are contesting.
• If a voter chooses to press NOTA, it indicates that the voter has not chosen to vote for any of the parties.
• Objective: To enable electors who do not wish to vote for any of the candidates to exercise their right to reject without violation of the secrecy of their decision.
• When was it first used?
• NOTA was used for the first time in the 2013 Assembly elections in five states - Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh - and later in the 2014 General Elections.
• It was introduced into the electoral process following the 2013 Supreme Court directive in the PUCL versus Union of India case.
• How does a person cast a NOTA vote?
• The NOTA option in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) is given at the bottom of the candidates' list.
• Earlier, in order to cast a negative ballot, a voter had to inform the presiding officer at the polling booth.
• Now the voter has just to press the NOTA option on the EVM.
• Does it have any impact on the results?
• NOTA has no electoral value in the Indian system.
• Even if the maximum votes are given in favour of NOTA, the candidate with the largest number of votes, which could theoretically even be just one, will still be declared the winner.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.