Daily Current Affairs MCQ- January 8, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Seven products from Odisha, ranging from the Similipal Kai chutney made with red weaver ants to the embroidered Kapdaganda shawl, have bagged the coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

• It is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• This is typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts and industrial products.
• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India.
• This GI tag is valid for 10 years following which it can be renewed.
• Kapdaganda Shawl
• It is woven and embroidered by the women of the Dongria Kondh tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) in the Niyamgiri hills in Odisha’s Rayagada and Kalahandi districts.
• The shawl reflects the rich tribal heritage of the Dongria Kondhs.
• The shawl is worn by both men and women and the Dongrias gift it to their family members as a token of love and affection.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Innovations for Defence Excellence- Defence Innovation Organization (iDEX-DIO) is all set to participate in the tenth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2024 from 10 to 12 January 2024 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. 

• It is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Defence, Govt of India launched in 2018.
• The objective of the scheme is to cultivate an innovation ecosystem in the Defence and Aerospace sector by collaborating with startups, innovators, MSMEs, incubators, and academia.
• iDEX offers grants and support for R&D with significant potential for future adoption in Indian defence and aerospace.
• It is currently engaged with around 400+ Startups and MSMEs.
• It is recognized as a game-changer in the defence ecosystem, iDEX has received the PM Award for Innovation in the defence sector.
• Funding: It will be funded and managed by a ‘Defence Innovation Organization (DIO)’ which has been formed as a ‘not for profit’ company as per the Companies Act 2013 for this purpose, by the two founder members i.e. Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) - HAL & BEL.
• iDEX will function as the executive arm of DIO, carrying out all the required activities while DIO will provide high level policy guidance to iDEX.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) Kozhikode have successfully developed a new granular lime-based Trichoderma formulation.

• The formulation named ‘Tricholime’, integrates Trichoderma and lime into a single product, making the application easier for farmers. 
• Trichoderma is a fungal biocontrol agent, has proven effective in suppressing several soil-borne plant pathogens and serves as a successful bio-pesticide and bio-fertilizer in crop production.
• Recognizing the importance of Trichoderma and the challenges posed by traditional lime applications, the scientists at IISR developed ‘Tricholime’ to integrate lime and Trichoderma.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

In a significant discovery, the hog deer has been spotted for the first time at the Rajaji Tiger Reserve.

• It is a solitary creature but sometimes spotted feeding as small groups in open fields when food there is plentiful.
• For the most part it is sedentary and does not migrate.
• Males tend to be territorial and mark their territory with glandular secretions.
• This species exhibits sexual dimorphism. The females are slightly smaller than males and lack antlers.
• Distribution
• It has a native geographic range throughout India, including the Himalayan foothill zone and Southeast Asia, including Burma and Thailand.
• Humans have introduced free-ranging populations of this deer in Sri Lanka, Australia and the United States, including Texas, Florida, and Hawaii.
• Habitat:
• It appears to prefer dense forests; however, they are often observed in clearings, grasslands and occasionally wet grasslands.
• This variation is usually associated with time of year and food distribution.
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Endangered
• Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Scheduled I 

Hence both statements are correct.

Archaeologists in Kazakhstan recently discovered two gold ornaments in a 1,500-year-old tomb that feature the earliest known depictions of the great khan, or "khagan," of the Göktürks.

About Gokturks:

• The Göktürks were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples who lived in ancient Inner Asia and the steppes of Central Asia.
• They emerged into history in the early sixth century AD from obscure tribal origins. 
• The Göktürk rulers originated from the Ashina tribe, an Altaic people who lived in the northern corner of the area presently called Xinjiang.
• The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Khan (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the Xiongnu as the main Turkic power in the region and took hold of the lucrative Silk Road trade during the sixth century. 
• Under their leadership, the Göktürks rapidly expanded to rule huge territories in north-western China, North Asia, and Eastern Europe (as far west as the Crimea). At their height, the Gokturks controlled a vast area stretching from Eastern Europe all the way across northern China.
• They were the first Turkic tribe known to use the name "Turk" as a political name. 
• Their religion, Tengriism, a form of shamanism centered on a celestial deity, Tengrii, includes elements which resemble concepts of Confucian and Hindu thought.
• From 552 to 745, Göktürk leadership bound the nomadic Turkic tribes together into an empire, which eventually collapsed due to a series of dynastic conflicts.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Pressure is mounting on German Chancellor to give the green light for long-range Taurus missiles that would be a significant boost to Kyiv's weapons arsenal for striking critical Russian assets.

About Taurus Missile:

• Taurus KEPD 350, known as the 'bunker buster', is a Swedish-German long-range air-to-surface cruise missile.
• The high-precision stand-off guided missile system can penetrate through dense air defence systems and destroy hard and deeply buried stationary and semi-stationary military targets on the ground.
• The missile attacks target bridges, ships in ports, runways, command, control and control centers, bunkers, port facilities, and air base buildings.
• It is in service with the German (Luftwaffe) and Spanish Air Forces.
• Features:
• It has an overall weight of 1,400kg. 
• It has a length of 16.7 feet, a wingspan of 6.7 feet, and diameter of 3.5 feet.
• The missile is constructed of modular pieces that can be assembled in different ways depending on the mission. Its electronic systems are also modular. 
• It is suitable for day and night and all-weather deployment. 
• It has low observability and terrain-masking features for survivability. 
• The modular design and reliability reduce the lifecycle cost of the system.
• The missile carries about 481kg of inert multi-effect penetrator high sophisticated and target optimized (MEPHISTO) dual-stage warhead system for superior target penetration.
• It is powered by a turbofan engine which provides the missile with a cruise speed of about Mach 0.6 to 0.95 at very low altitudes.
• The missile has a range of up to 500km (270nm).

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The UAE recently announced its participation in developing a module on Nasa’s Lunar Gateway Station alongside the USA, Japan, Canada, and the European Union.

About Lunar Gateway Station:

• It is a primary component of NASA's Artemis program.
• Artemis intends to establish a long-term base on the Moon (Artemis base), and the Lunar Gateway will serve as a multi-purpose outpost that orbits the Moon.
• The Gateway is a multinational project involving four of the International Space Station partner agencies: NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
• Basically, the Gateway Station is similar to the International Space Station currently in low Earth orbit, but the Gateway will orbit the Moon.
• Incidentally, the Gateway will be the first space station ever to exist outside of low Earth orbit, or LEO.
• From the Gateway, NASA and international partners can provide essential support for long-term human presence on the lunar surface, as well as launch additional missions for deep space exploration.
• Its flight path is a highly elliptical orbit, bringing it both relatively close to the Moon’s surface and also far away, making it easier to pick up astronauts and supplies from Earth, around a five-day trip.
• It will also offer a place to relay communications and act as a base for scientific research.
• The Gateway will weigh around 40 tonnes and consist of a service module, a communications module, a connecting module, an airlock for spacewalks, a place for the astronauts to live, and an operations station to command the Gateway’s robotic arm or rovers on the Moon.
• Astronauts will be able to occupy it for up to 90 days at a time, occasionally travelling to the lunar surface to conduct science and test new technologies.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

Scientists recently uncovered the fossils of the newfound species of carnivorous worm, named Timorebestia koprii, or "terror beast", in northern Greenland.

About Timorebestia koprii:

• Timorebestia koprii, meaning ‘terror beasts’, is a species of carnivorous worm, one of the earliest carnivorous animals to have colonized the water column during the early Cambrian period (541 million to 485.4 million years ago).
• The fossils were discovered from the Early Cambrian Sirius Passet fossil locality in North Greenland. 
• They were giants of their day and would have been close to the top of the food chain. That makes it equivalent in importance to some of the top carnivores in modern oceans, such as sharks and seals back in the Cambrian period.
• Features:
• It could grow to be up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) long, making it one of the largest swimming animals in its time period.
• It also had some unusual physical characteristics, such as a row of fins flanking each side of its body, a pair of long antennae, and a huge jaw structure.
• Timorebestia is a distant but close relative of a living group of tiny marine worms known as arrow worms, or chaetognaths. These are much smaller ocean predators today that feed on tiny zooplankton.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) in Bengaluru have found that many bird species have started shifting to higher elevations due to rising temperatures in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary.

• It is a protected area of India in the Himalayan foothills of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh.
• It conjoins Sessa Orchid Sanctuary to the northeast and Pakhui Tiger Reserve across the Kameng river to the east.
• It is situated in the biodiversity hotspot of Eastern Himalayas and home to over 500 bird species.
• Altitude ranges are extreme: from 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 3,250 metres (10,663 ft).
• It is also a part of the Kameng Elephant Reserve.
• It is notable as a prime birding site due to the extraordinary variety, numbers and accessibility of species.
• It derives its name from Red Eagle Division of the Indian army which was posted in the area in the 1950s.
• Flora: The temperate cloud forest is intermixed with dense bamboo patches and broadleaved evergreen forest across a wide altitudinal range, with conifers and rhododendrons at the higher elevations.
• Fauna: Capped langur, Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, red panda, Asiatic black bear, Arunachal macaque and gaur.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

The third edition of Project ‘Veer Gatha’, as part of Republic Day celebrations, has witnessed an overwhelming pan India response.

• It is a joint initiative of Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education.
• It was instituted under Gallantry Awards Portal (GAP) in 2021.
• Aim: With the aim to disseminate the details of acts of bravery of the Gallantry Awardees and the life stories of these brave hearts among the students so as to raise the spirit of patriotism and instill amongst them values of civic consciousness.
• Project Veer Gatha deepened this noble aim by providing a platform to the school students to do creative projects/activities based on gallantry award winners.
• As part of this, the students framed different projects through various media like art, poems, essays and multimedia on these gallantry award winners and best projects were awarded at national level by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Education.

Hence both statements are correct.