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

Recently, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways said that the Setu Bandhan Scheme approval has been granted for 7 bridge projects in Arunachal Pradesh under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF).

• It is an initiative of the Ministry for Road Transport and Highways.
• Objective: It has introduced to improve inter-state connectivity, especially on the rural areas at the borders where state roads do not get the required attention.
• It is aimed at replacement of railway line Level Crossings (LCs) with Road Over Bridges (ROBs)/Rail Under Bridges (RUBs) in states.

Key facts about Central Road and Infrastructure Fund

• It was established in 2000 under the Central Road Fund Act, 2000.
• It was previously known as Central Road Fund.
• Its subject matter belongs to the Ministry of Finance.
• The fund consists of a cess imposed along with excise duty on the petrol and diesel.
• The Central Road Fund Act, 2000 was amended in 2018 and its objectives are as follows
• To use proceeds of the road cess under CRIF to finance other infrastructure projects such as waterways, some portion of the railway infrastructure and even social infrastructure, including education institutions and medical colleges.

Hence both statements are correct.

As per the latest scientific survey, the Mountain chicken frog which was numbering in the hundreds of thousands and enjoyed as a delicacy, has dwindled to an alarming 21 frogs.

• The mountain chicken frog (Leptodactylus fallax) is one of the largest frogs in the world and can weigh over 40 times as much as a European common frog, reaching up to 1kg in size.
• It was endemic to seven Caribbean islands, including Montserrat and Dominica
• The predator eats a variety of animals, including insects, snakes, small mammals, and even other frogs. 
• Officially named the Giant Ditch frog, the species is commonly known as the mountain chicken.
• Appearance: Its reddish brown and cream colour provides effective camouflage against the leaf litter of the forest floor.
• Its large, drumstick legs hold enough power to jump high enough to clear a standing adult human
• Threats: Combinations of habitat destruction, invasive species and hunting have contributed to its decline.
• It was majorly affected by the introduction of the deadly fungal disease, Chytridiomycosis.
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Critically Endangered

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Recently, a rare bird from arctic tundra Buff-breasted Sandpiper was sighted in Kannur, Kerala.

About Buff-breasted Sandpiper:

• It is one of the most delicately beautiful of the shorebirds.
• It breeds in the open arctic tundra of North America and winters usually in South America.
• Habitat: Shortgrass prairies; in summer, tundra ridges. Migrants in North America mostly on dry open ground, such as prairies, pastures,
• The male Buff-breasted Sandpipers gather in groups on display territories called leks, where they flash their eye-catching underwings to compete for females' attention.
• It is a champion long-distance migrant, leaving high-Arctic dry tundra nesting grounds and migrating thousands of miles to winter on the grasslands of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. 
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Near Threatened

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, for the first time artificial intelligence (AI) fully automated the process of discovering a supernova without any human intervention.

• Bright Transient Survey Bot (BTSbot) is a machine-learning algorithm which has been trained by using over 1.4 million images from nearly 16,000 sources,
• It detected the newly discovered supernova named SN2023tyk in data from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF)
• How does it work?
  • It automatically requested the potential supernova’s spectrum from Palomar Observatory – where another robotic telescope, the Spectral Energy Distribution Machine (SEDM) performed an in-depth observation to obtain the source’s spectrum. 
  • This new system not only allows automation of the entire search for new supernovae across the night sky but also eliminates human error and dramatically increases speed. 
  • It searched ,detected, confirmed, classified, and announced the findings without any human intervention

Hence option a is the correct answer.

The defence ministry recently signed a ₹ 313 crore contract with Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for mid-life "upgrade and re-powering" of frontline frigate INS Beas.

About INS Beas:

• INS Beas (F37) is a Brahmaputra-class frigate of the Indian Navy.
• It was built at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
• It was commissioned on 11th July, 2005.
• It is the second ship in the Indian Navy to bear the name. The first was a Leopard-class frigate commissioned in 1960 and scrapped in 1992.
• Role: It is a versatile warship capable of a range of missions, including anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, and anti-ship warfare. It is also used for patrolling, surveillance, and providing security to India's maritime interests.
• Features:
• The design and construction of the ship are entirely Indian and is a modification of the Godavari-class frigate.
• It has a displacement of about 3,850 tons.
• The ship has a length of 126 meters (413 feet) and a beam width of 14.5 meters (48 feet).
• Propulsion: 2 steam turbines
• It is capable of reaching speeds of over 30 knots, making it swift and agile in naval operations.
• It is fitted with an array of modern sensor suites and matching weapon systems.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

The United States recently signed a new 20-year agreement on economic assistance to the Marshall Islands worth $2.3 billion.

About Marshall Islands:

• The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is located in the western Pacific Ocean.
• It is a chain of five volcanic islands and 29 coral atolls.
• Capital: Majuro
• Official languages: English and Marshallese
• Government:
• It is a presidential republic with a parliamentary system.
• The President of the Marshall Islands is both the head of state and the head of government.
• Economy: Agriculture and tourism are the mainstays of the economy.
• Official currency: US dollar 
• In 2018, RMI became the first country to issue its own cryptocurrency and certify it as legal tender.
• History:
• The islands have been under the control of various nations throughout the last few centuries, including Spain from the late 1400s to the late 1800s, Germany from 1885 to World War I, and Japan from 1914 to World War II.
• After World War II, the RMI became a part of the United Nations (UN) Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under the United States (US) administration.
• The RMI Government was officially established in 1979, following the signing of the Constitution.
• The RMI gained its independence in 1986 after signing the Compact of Free Association with the US, ending the UN-US Trusteeship Agreement.
• Compact of Free Association with the United States:
• It provides the Marshall Islands with financial assistance, defense protection, and access to U.S. government programs.
• The Compact recognises RMI's right to self-government and seeks to promote economic development and budgetary self-reliance.
• The United States has full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Union Cabinet recently approved royalty rates in respect of 3 critical and strategic minerals, namely, lithium, niobium, and Rare Earth Elements.

About Niobium:

• It is a rare, soft, malleable, ductile, gray-white metal.
• Atomic symbol: Nb
• It has a body-centered cubic crystalline structure.
• It must be placed in a protective atmosphere when processed at even moderate temperatures because it tends to react with oxygen, carbon, the halogens, nitrogen, and sulfur.
• Melting point: 2,477 degrees Celsius
• Boiling point: 4,744 degrees Celsius
• In air, an oxide layer forms over it whose color depends on its thickness. Shades of blue, green, and yellow are typical.
• Niobium resists corrosion due to the oxide film.
• The metal starts to oxidize rapidly in the air at 200 degrees Celsius.
• The metal is inert to acids, even to aqua regia at room temperature, but is attacked by hot, concentrated acids, and especially by alkalis and oxidizing agents.
• It is one of the five major refractory metals (metals with very high resistance to heat and wear).
• It has the property of becoming superconducting at low temperatures.
• Sources:
• It is not found free in nature but in minerals such as columbite and tantalite. 
• Commercially, niobium is extracted by first forming the oxide (Nb2O5). The oxide is then reduced using carbon or hydrogen.
• Major Producers: Brazil is the world's largest supplier, with Canada a distant second.
• Applications:
• It is used for the production of high-temperature-resistant alloys and special stainless steels.
• It is also used in its pure form to make superconducting accelerating structures for particle accelerators.
• Niobium alloys are used in surgical implants because they do not react with human tissue.
• Niobium carbide is used in cutting tools.
• Niobium-tin and niobium-titanium alloys are used as wires for superconducting magnets capable of producing exceedingly strong magnetic fields.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

A recent study revealed that a liquid-biopsy approach that measures DNA-methylation levels in the blood may improve the detection of pregnancies at risk of developing preeclampsia at early stages.

• Preeclampsia is a serious blood pressure condition that develops during pregnancy.
• It typically develops after the 20th week of pregnancy.
• It can also affect other organs in the body and be dangerous for both the mother and her developing fetus. 
• Symptoms:
• People with preeclampsia often have high blood pressure (hypertension) and high levels of protein in their urine (proteinuria).
• Changes in vision, including temporary loss of vision, blurred vision or light sensitivity.
• Prevention
• Medication: The best clinical evidence for prevention of preeclampsia is the use of low-dose aspirin. 
• Lifestyle and healthy choices: If one had preeclampsia before, it's a good idea to be as healthy as you can be.

Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

Recently, the Delhi High Court permitted two children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to undergo stem cell therapy for treatment of their condition.

• It is a form of regenerative medicine designed to repair damaged cells within the body by reducing inflammation and modulating the immune system.
• This phenomenon makes stem cell therapy a viable treatment option for various medical conditions.
• Process involved:
• Harvesting: The process of collecting the stem cells to be used in the transplant, either from you or a donor.
• Conditioning: Treatment to prepare your body for the transplant.
• Transplanting the stem cells.

What are stem cells?

• These are cells from which all other cells, with their respective specialised functions, are generated.
• The human body, under certain conditions, “divides” stem cells to either create new stem cells or cells with specific functions, such as blood cells, brain cells, bone cells, muscle cells, etc.
• There are two main categories of stem cells:
• Pluripotent stem cells: With the ability to differentiate into all of the cells of the adult body.
• Adult stem cells: These are tissue or organ-specific and regenerate to form cells only of that particular organ.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Central Government's innovative employment incentive scheme, the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY), has exceeded its initial employment generation goals, showcasing its success in fostering job creation and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• It was launched in 2020.
• This was designed to stimulate the creation of new job opportunities by extending financial support to employers of establishments registered with the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO).
• This scheme aimed to incentivize employment of unemployed individuals, including those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, by covering both the employee and employer contributions (24% of wages) for establishments with up to 1000 employees.
• For establishments with over 1000 employees, only the employee's EPF contributions (12% of wages) were covered in respect of new employees.
• As of July 31, 2023, the ABRY has already achieved an enrolment of over 7.58 million new employees, surpassing its initial employment generation target.
• Significance: It substantially contributed to the job market's revival, underscoring its role in boosting economic recovery during these challenging times.

Hence both statements are correct.