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

Recently, the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve reopened with a literary tribute to a British-era forest officer Patrick D. Stracey who rid its name of any hunting connotations. 

• It is located in the state of Assam.
• It is part of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspots.
• It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and houses two-thirds of the total world population of greater one-horned rhinoceros.
• It is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of avifaunal species. 
• Flora:
• It is a mix of eastern wet alluvial grasslands, semi-evergreen forests and tropical moist deciduous forests.
• It is primarily famous for its dense and tall elephant grasses intermixed with small swamplands.
• It also includes an abundant cover of water lilies, water hyacinths and lotus.
• Fauna:
• It is home to the One-horned rhinoceros, Leopard, Fishing Cat, other Lesser cats, royal Bengal tiger, Large Indian Civet and Small Indian Civet etc
• It is also one of the last remaining homes of the endangered and endemic western hoolock gibbon, the only species of apes found in India. 
• It is one of the last homes of the critically endangered Bengal florican.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, the Jaderi namakatti was given the GI tag by the Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai.

• These are clay sticks that are white in colour, usually available in finger-like shape with a smooth texture. 
• Jaderi is a small village in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu.
• There are around 120 families in Cheyyar taluk whose primary occupation has been the making of namakatti for more than hundreds of years now.
• Namakatti is made up of the rich deposit of hydrous silicate minerals that form fine grain particles of clay.
• The clay is processed and shaped in a finger like structure.
• The production of namakatti depends on the climatic condition as it needs a lot of sunlight to dry.
• It is used to adorn the foreheads of idols, men, and temple elephants as well as traditionally to treat stretch marks caused by by childbirth.

Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

According to the recent study by the astronomers from the University of Tokyo, bolsters support for a starquake source for these colossal outbursts of Fast Radio Bursts.

• A fast radio burst is a bright and brief burst of electromagnetic radiation (light) seen in radio-wave frequencies.
• They usually last for very short period of time.
• Some FRBs repeat, but the vast majority happen once and disappear forever.
• They reach earth from faraway galaxies, emitting as much energy in a millisecond as the sun does over weeks.
• Scientists don't know for sure what causes fast radio bursts.
• However, the current prevailing theory is that at least some FRBs are emitted by neutron stars. 
• These stars form when a supergiant star collapses, going from eight times the mass of our sun (on average) to a superdense core only 20–40 kilometers across.
• Magnetars are neutron stars with extremely strong magnetic fields, and these have been observed to emit FRBs.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Despite threats of new infrastructure and encroachments, winged visitors continue to arrive at the Pallikaranai marshland.

• It is a freshwater marsh and partly saline wetland situated about 20 kilometres south of the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• On its eastern periphery, the Marsh is flanked by the Buckingham Canal. 
• The diverse ecosystem of the marshland supports some 115 bird species, ten mammals, 21 reptiles, ten amphibians, 46 fish, nine molluscs, five crustaceans, and seven butterfly species.
• These include notable species such as Russell’s viper (Daboia siamensis) and birds such as the glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), grey-headed lapwings (Vanellus cinereus) and Pheasant-tailed jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus).
• Apart from its biodiversity value, the wetland also plays a vital role in the prevention of flooding for the city of Chennai, soaking up water during wet periods and releasing it during dry spells.
• The site is threatened by invasive and non-native species, household sewage, urban wastewater and droughts.
• It is one of the Ramsar sites from India.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Hundreds of tonnes of aid from several countries have been waiting in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula for days pending a deal for its safe delivery to Gaza.

About Sinai Peninsula:

• It is a triangle-shaped peninsula located in northeastern Egypt.
• It serves as a land bridge connecting Asia and Africa.
• Area: 23,500 square miles (61,000 square km). 
• It is the sovereign territory of Egypt.
• Boundaries:
• The peninsula is bordered to the north by the Mediterranean Sea and to the east by Israel and the Gaza Strip. 
• To the west of the Sinai Peninsula is the Suez Canal, across which lies the African part of Egypt. 
• The Sinai is bordered to the southwest by the Gulf of Suezand to the immediate south by the Red Sea. 
• The Gulf of Aqaba borders the Sinai in the southeast.
• Egypt shares maritime borders in the Sinai with Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
• History:
• In the late 19th century, Egypt, including the Sinai Peninsula, became part of the British Empire.
• British rule in Egypt would last until 1922, when the country was granted independence.
• The peninsula was occupied by Israeli forces during the Six-Day War of June 1967.
• It was returned to Egypt in 1982under the terms of the peace treaty concluded between those countries in 1979.
• Geography: It is characterized by a diverse landscape, including mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, and coastal regions.
• Population:
• The Sinai is sparsely populated; about 600,000 people live in the region.
• Today, the Sinai is mostly inhabited by Arab Egyptians and Bedouins.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

An Israeli legislator's recent calls for the use of a "doomsday" weapon against Hamas and Palestine have once again put the spotlight on nuclear weapons in West Asia, particularly the Jericho missile system.

About Jericho Missile System:

• Jericho is Israel's original ballistic missile programme, initiated in the 1960s and named after the biblical city located in the West Bank.
• This programme was initially a collaboration with the French aerospace company Dassault, but when France withdrew in 1969, Israel continued its development.
• Jericho-1:
• It had a weight of 6.5 tonnes, a length of 13.4 metres, and a diameter of 0.8 metres.
• It had a range of 500 kilometres and could carry a 1,000-kilogram payload, though it had a 50 percent chance of hitting within a 1,000-metre radius of its target.
• It was retired in the 1990s.
• Jericho-2:
• It was developed in the late 1980s, with a length of 15 metres and a diameter of 1.35 metres, while maintaining the same payload capacity. 
• It had a range between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres.
• Jericho-3:
• It is the first Israeli Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM).
• It was first tested in 2008 and entered service in 2011.
• It featured improvements over the previous models, with a longer length than Jericho-2 and a larger diameter of 1.56 metres.
• It has an estimated launch weight of 29,000 kg and a payload of 1,000 to1,300 kg.
• It has a range of 4,800 to 6,500 km and uses inertial guidance with a radar-guided warhead.
• The missile is reportedly equipped with a 750-kg nuclear warhead.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

An intense hailstorm recently caused massive damage to the crops and fruits in south Kashmir’s Kulgam and Shopian districts. 

About Hailstorm:

• Hail is a type of solid rain made up of balls or lumps of ice.
• Storms that produce hail that reaches the ground are known as hailstorms. 
• They typically last for no more than 15 minutes but can cause injuries to people and damage buildings, vehicles, and crops.
• They are most common in the midlatitudes.
• Hailstorms can sometimes be accompanied by other severe weather events, such as cyclones and tornadoes. 
• Size: The size of hailstones can vary widely, from small pellets less than 1/4 inch in diameter to larger stones measuring several inches in size.
• Conditions for Hailstorms to occur:
• Highly developed Cumulonimbus clouds need to be present. These are the massive anvil or mushroom-shaped clouds that are seen during thunderstorms, which can reach heights of up to 65,000 feet.
• There must be strong currents of air ascending through these clouds. These currents are commonly known as updrafts.
• The clouds will need to contain high concentrations of supercooled liquid water.
• How are Hails formed?
• It begins as a water droplet that is swept up by an updraft inside of a thundercloud.
• Other supercooled water droplets which are already present inside the cloud will adhere to the water droplet’s surface, forming layers of ice around it.
• As the water droplet reaches higher elevations within the cloud, it comes into contact with more and more supercooled particles. 
• The hail embryo will grow larger and larger as it reaches higher altitudes in the updraft.
• Finally, it will reach a size and weight where gravity will begin to act on it and pull it down.
• Large hailstones are often characterized by alternating layers of clear and opaque ice, caused by irregular rates of freezing.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Sigachi Industries (SIGACHI) recently initiated its long-anticipated 10:1 stock split. 

About Stock Split:

• A stock split happens when a company increases the number of its shares to boost the stock's liquidity.
• It is a corporate action in which a company issues additional shares to shareholders, increasing the total by the specified ratio based on the shares they held previously.
• Although the number of shares outstanding increases, there is no change to the company's total market capitalization as the price of each share will split as well.
• The most common split ratios are 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 (sometimes denoted as 2:1 or 3:1). This means that for every share held before the split, each stockholder will have two or three shares, respectively, after the split.
• The number of shares increases, but the price per share goes down in proportion.
• Why is a stock split done?
• It is done to infuse liquidity and to make shares affordable for various investors who could not buy the shares of that company before due to high prices.
• It is sometimes aimed at helping a company meet the minimum requirements to remain listed on an exchange. This is becausesome stock indexes are price-weighted, meaning a company wishing to join the index would need to have, among other criteria, a price that falls within a certain band. 
• What is a Reverse Stock Split?
• It is the opposite transaction, in which a company lowers, instead of increasing, the number of shares outstanding, raising the share price accordingly.
• The total value of your shares would remain consistent.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Recently, Tamil writer Sivasankari was presented with the ‘Saraswati Samman’ 2022 for her book of memoirs Surya Vamsam.

• It is given annually for outstanding literary works in 22 Indian languages in the last 10 years.
• It is among the highest recognitions in the field of Indian literature.
• The selection follows a rigorous three-tier process leading up to a final decision by Chayan Parishad 
• It was instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation. (the Vyas Samman and the Bihari Puraskar are other literary awards instituted by the foundation.)
• It carries a citation, a plaque and prize money of 15 lakh rupees.

Other works of Sivasankari

• Sivasankari’s literary career spans over five decades. She is the author of 36 novels, 48 novellas, 150 short stories, 15 travelogues, seven collections of essays, and three biographies.
• Her 2019 memoir, Surya Vamsam, unfolds in two volumes -- the first is the metamorphosis from a child to a young writer, and the second is the life and times of an acclaimed author spreading her wings.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Manipur Forest Department will carry out a head count of Amur falcons-the world’s longest travelling raptors- in Tamenglong district.

• It is a small raptor of the falcon family.
• Locally known as Akhuipuina, the bird arrives mainly in Manipur and Nagaland.
• They breed in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China and migrate long distances in large flocks to winter in Southern and East Africa.
• The one-way journey via India is about 20,000 km long and the birds do this twice a year.
• Conservation efforts:
• It is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and included under its Schedule IV.
• Hunting of the birds or possessing its meat is punishable with imprisonment up to three years or a fine upto 25,000 or with bonds.
• In 2018, the forest department started a conservation programme by radio-tagging the birds to study their migratory route.
• IUCN: Least Concern.
• Threats: Illegal trapping and killing during migration,habitat loss from agricultural practices and land reclamation.

Hence both statements are correct.