Daily Current Affairs MCQ- November 26, 2023 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund have entered into collaboration with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to unveil a $600 million India-Japan Fund.

• It is an investor-owned fund manager, anchored by the Government of India (GoI) in collaboration with leading global and domestic institutional investors. 
• It is India’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund (SWF) which was set up in the year 2015.
• It is an institution for enhancing infrastructure financing by investing in greenfield (new), brownfield (existing) and stalled projects.
• The primary goal of setting up NIIF was to optimise the economic impact largely through investing in infrastructure-related projects.
• Types of NIIF Funds
• Master Fund: This fund primarily invests in infra-related projects such as roads, ports, airports, and power. Also, the master fund invests in well-established enterprises that are into a long-term agreement and are operating in a regulated environment with a good history.
• Fund of Funds:  It looks to invest in funds managed by the renowned fund managers having an excellent track record. The fund of funds invests as anchor investors, and this enables the fund managers to accumulate more funds from the institutional investors
• Strategic Fund: This fund is registered as an Alternative Fund II under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in India. Strategic funds invest primarily in equity and equity- linked instruments.
• The funds are registered as Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). 

Hence both statements are correct.

New research revealed that platypuses are disappearing from waterways after the Black Summer bushfires swept across eastern Australia in 2019–20.

• It is a duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed, egg-laying mammal.
• It is a small species of semi-aquatic mammal indigenous to the eastern coast of Australia.
• They are solitary animal that despite occupying overlapping home ranges, only comes together during the breeding season.
• They are nocturnal hunters.
• Habitat: They are found in freshwater systems from tropical rainforest lowlands and plateaus of far northern Queensland to cold, high altitudes of Tasmania and the Australian Alps.
• Appearance
• The platypus is an animal with a small, streamlined body that is covered in short and dense waterproof fur.
• The watertight nostrils on its bill remain sealed so that the animal can stay submerged for up to two minutes as it forages for food.
• The bill also comes equipped with specialized nerve endings, called electroreceptors, which detect tiny electrical currents generated by the muscular contractions of prey.
• Male platypuses have a spur on the inner side of each ankle that is connected to a venom gland located over the thighs.
• Diet: They are carnivorous mammal whose diet is almost solely comprised of bottom-dwelling aquatic creatures.
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Near Threatened

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, a glacial lake outburst flood in the South Lhonak Lake of Sikkim killed ten people and many Army personnel are missing.

• Glacial lakes are large bodies of water that sit in front of, on top of, or beneath a melting glacier.
• As they grow larger, they become more dangerous because glacial lakes are mostly dammed by unstable ice or sediment composed of loose rock and debris.
• In case the boundary around them breaks, huge amounts of water rush down the side of the mountains, which could cause flooding in the downstream areas. This is called glacial lake outburst floods or GLOF.
• It can be triggered by several reasons, including earthquakes, extremely heavy rains and ice avalanches
• These lakes are also often found in steep, mountainous regions, which means landslides or ice avalanches can sometimes fall directly into the lakes and displace the water, causing it to over-top the natural dam and flood downstream

Key facts about South Lhonak Lake 

• This lake in northern Sikkim is situated about 5,200 metres above sea level.
• It formed due to the melting of the glacier.
• It is a moraine-dammed glacial lake at the snout of South Lhonak glacier, Sikkim Himalaya.
• It has become the largest and fastest-growing glacial lake in the state, with a glacial retreat of almost two kilometres in 46 years between 1962 and 2008. 

Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

Recently, researchers opinioned that the Haploclastusnilgirinusa species of tarantula could be under threat from habitat loss and climate change.

• It is an elusive Nilgiri large burrowing spider and a venomous species of tarantula.
• It is endemic to the Nilgiris hills of Western Ghats.
• It shows sexual dimorphism, the males are much smaller than the females.
• Threats: It is threatened by the illegal trade in wildlife as well as by climate change,

Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

The Indian defence establishment recently initiated a tender for the procurement of 30 units of the indigenous Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) missile system.

About Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) missile system:

• It is a Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD) specially designed to counter low-altitude aerial threats over short distances. 
• These are short-range, lightweight, and portable surface-to-air missiles that can be fired by individuals or small groups.
• It has been designed and developed indigenously by DRDO's Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian industry partners.
• The use of VSHORAD missiles in India is primarily by the Indian Army.
• Features:
• It is designed to provide short-range air defence capabilities to protect ground forces and critical assets from aerial threats, including helicopters and low-flying aircraft.
• The missile incorporates many novel technologies, including a Dual-band IIR Seeker, a miniaturised Reaction Control System, and integrated avionics.
• It is propelled by a dual-thrust solid motor. 
• The missile and its launcher were designed by the DRDO to be portable, which enables their quick deployment over difficult terrain.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Indian Navy has recently given accordance of necessity (AON) approval for 12 autonomous weaponised boat swarms, which have been developed by Pune-based Sagar Defence Engineering.

Why in News?

• Sagar Defence Engineering Private Limited has emerged as the winner of the iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) DISC-7 program, particularly under the SPRINT framework.
• The agreement between the Indian Navy and the organisation marks the 50th contract awarded under the SPRINT program.

About Autonomous Weaponised Boat Swarms:

• These swarms are strategically designed for naval tactics, employing a coordinated deployment of numerous small unmanned boats to overwhelm an adversary’s naval defenses.
• They are equipped with a variety of weapons and sensors that are capable of remote or autonomous operation. 
• They are equipped with an integrated system capable of executing a variety of naval and security missions, such as littoral/ODA Patrol, High-Speed Interdiction, Coastal Surveillance, Local Naval Defence, Constabulary Operations, C4ISR, Medium-Sized Unmanned Surface Vessel, and Low-Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO).

What is the SPRINT Initiative?

• It is an initiative to promote the development of niche defence technologies by domestic companies.
• The Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO), in conjunction with the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), aims to induct at least 75 new indigenous technologies/products into the Indian Navy as a part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebration.
• This collaborative project is named SPRINT - Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence), NIIO and TDAC (Technology Development Acceleration Cell).
• It was launched by the Prime Minister in July, 2022.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Chenab Bridge, the world’s highest steel arch rail bridge situated in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi town, is set to be developed as a tourist spot.

About Chenab Bridge:

• Location: It is located between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
• The 1.3-km-long bridge is located 359 metres above the Chenab riverbed.
• It is the highest single-arch railway bridge in the world.
• It is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project.
• Features:
• The arch consists of steel boxes. Concrete has been filled in the boxes to improve stability.
• The bridge has been designed with a life span of 120 years. 
• It has been designed to withstand high wind speeds of up to 266 Kmph. 
• It is capable of withstanding the nation’s maximum intensity zone-V earthquake forces.

Hence both statements are correct.

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was recently awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Alexei I. Ekimov recently for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots. 

About Quantum Dots (QDs):

• Quantum dots, often referred to as "artificial atoms," are semiconductor nanoparticles that have unique optical and electronic properties due to their small size.
• They were first theorized in the 1970s and then successfully synthesized in the early 1980s.
• Many semiconductor substances can be used as QDs, such as cadmium selenide, cadmium sulfide, or indium arsenide. Nanoparticles of these, or any other semiconductor substance, have the properties of a QD.
• The size and composition of the QDs can be controlled during synthesis, allowing scientists to tailor their properties for various applications.
• Optical Properties: One of the most notable features of QDs is their tunable emission properties.
• By controlling the size of the QD, researchers can precisely tune the wavelength of light emitted or absorbed.
• They can be engineered to emit light across the entire visible spectrum and into the infrared and ultraviolet ranges, offering a wide palette of colors for various applications.
• The smallest quantum dots emit higher energy waves and produce blue light, and the biggest dots release lower energy waves, creating red light, with the middle sizes creating the colours in between.
• Applications:
• Displays: They are used in display technology to enhance the color and efficiency of displays for TVs, monitors, and other electronic devices.
• Compared to organic luminescent materials used in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), QD-based materials have purer colors, a longer lifetime, lower manufacturing costs, and lower power consumption.
• Photovoltaics: QDs can be used in solar cells to enhance light absorption and energy conversion efficiency.
• Bio-medical applications: The small size of QDs allows them to go anywhere in the body, making them suitable for different bio-medical applications like medical imaging, biosensors, targeted drug delivery, etc.
• Quantum Computing: QDs are being investigated for their potential role in quantum computing, as they can serve as qubits, the fundamental units of quantum information.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Recently, an international team of scientists have published a paper detailing the impact of the prototype BlueWalker 3 satellite on astronomy.

• It is a prototype satellite, part of a satellite constellation planned by its owner AST SpaceMobile.
• It was one of the brightest objects in the night sky, outshining all the brightest stars. 
• It was launch in September 2022.
• It is the largest-ever commercial communications array deployed in low-Earth orbit and is designed to communicate directly with cellular devices via 3GPP standard frequencies at 5G speeds.
• It uses wavelengths close to those that radio telescopes observe in; the satellite could also hamper radio astronomy.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, scientists at the Materials Research Centre (MRC), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), have developed a new type of enzyme mimetic called NanoPtA.

• The research team synthesised a platinum-containing nanozyme called NanoPtA, which can be converted into powder form for industrial use. 
• How it works?
• When the NanoPtA comes in contact with wastewater, the benzene rings and long alkyl chains present in the molecule form multiple non-covalent interactions.
• Individual NanoPtA molecules connect together to form tape-like structures that start emitting light, which is the origin of its oxidising capacity.
• The nanozyme can then degrade pollutants present in wastewater by oxidising them in the presence of sunlight, thereby reducing the toxicity of wastewater. 
• The team found that the nanozyme could degrade even small (micromolar) quantities of common effluents like phenols and dyes within ten minutes when placed under sunlight.
• The researchers also found that the NanoPtA complex was quite stable, lasting for up to 75 days at room temperature.  
• Applications: The nanozyme can also have applications in healthcare and could be a potentially useful diagnostic tool for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. 

What are Enzymes?

• These are proteins that catalyse a majority of biological reactions in living systems.
• The practical use of natural enzymes is hindered by inherent limitations such as sensitivity to denaturation (breakdown/damage), complex production procedures, high costs, and difficulties in recycling.
• Mass producing these enzymes is an expensive and time-consuming process.
• Another problem is storage – most of the natural enzymes are temperature-sensitive and require storage at cooler temperatures, often as low as -20°C. 
• Nano-sized enzyme mimetics or “nanozymes” manufactured in the lab can mimic such natural enzymes and overcome these practical challenges.  

Hence both statements are correct.