Daily Current Affairs MCQ- February 10, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Recently, a lone male tiger safely entered its natural habitat of Papikonda National Park (PNP) from the Eluru district side.

• It is located in East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh.
• The area plays a key role in high precipitation and the consequent origin of various small streams and rivulets which drain and enrich the perennial River Godavari.
• A unique dwarf breed of goat known locally as the “kanchu mekha” originates in this region.
• It was declared as a national park only recently in 2008.
• The national park has been recognized as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area by BirdLife International.
• Vegetation:
• Dry Mixed Teak Forests, Southern dry mixed deciduous forests and Southern moist mixed deciduous forests.
• The predominant and most extensive forest type found in the park is Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous type and the species found in this type are mainly dry deciduous species.
• Flora: Some species of flora include Albizia Amara, Latifolia, Albizia Lebbeck, Terminalias, Tectona Grandis, Lagerstroemia Lanceolata, Tomentosa, Arundinacea, Bambusa, Albizzia Amara, Dendrocalamus Strictus, Pterocarpus among others.
• Fauna: Tiger, Leopard, Hyena and vulnerable bovidae the Indian gaur area. It has species like sambar, barking deer, chowsinga, spotted deer etc.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Recently, the union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries informed the Rajya Sabha about the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana.

• The Central Sector Scheme - SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) was approved by the cabinet in May 2017.
• The scheme has now been renamed as the "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)".
• It is a comprehensive package of component schemes, which is aimed at creation of modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet.
• It provides a boost to the growth of food processing sector in the country, helps in providing better prices to farmers, creates employment opportunities especially in the rural areas, reduces wastage of agricultural produce, increases the processing level and enhances the export of the processed foods. 
• Objective: The objective of PMKSY is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease Agri-Waste.
• Components
• Mega Food Parks,
• Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure
• Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Clusters,
• Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages,
• Creation/Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities,
• Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure and
• Human Resources and Institutions
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Food Processing Industries

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, astronomers from the Nanjing University in China and elsewhere have detected a radio pulsar in a supernova remnant known as CTB 87 by using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST).

• The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), located in a karst depression in Guizhou, China.
• It is the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, with a receiving area equivalent to 30 football fields.
• It is expected that FAST will maintain its world-class status for the next 20 to 30 years.
• Goals
• Detect neutral hydrogen to the edge of the universe, reconstruct the images of the early universe;
• Discover pulsar, establish a pulsar timing array, and participate in pulsar navigation and gravitational wave detection in the future;
• Join the International Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry Network to obtain hyperfine structures of celestial bodies;
• Perform high resolution radio spectral survey. Detect weak space signals;
• Participate in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology is developing a first-for-India Earth System Model to improve climate forecasts and predict climate impacts.

• It is open-source software that is designed to integrate the interactions of atmosphere, ocean, land, ice, and biosphere to estimate the state of regional and global climate under a wide variety of conditions.
• Since it is based on numerical weather prediction and data assimilation, it can be used for accurate climate change predictions.
• The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology along with the Centre for Climate Change Research (CCCR), is developing this first-for-India Earth System Model.
• Purpose: To improve its forecasts, facilitate long-term climate studies, and predict climate impacts in the coming years.
• IITM-ESM incorporates earth system components in the Climate Forecast System (CFS) from National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP, USA), and transforms the CFS seasonal prediction model to a long-term climate mode,
• Funding: An amount of ₹192.28 crores has been sanctioned under the Monsoon Convection, Clouds and Climate Change (MC4) sub scheme to develop the climate forecasting system.
• The work on the model is currently underway and is expected to be completed by 2025.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

An exchange of fire took place between Maoists and security forces in the Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary recently.

About Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary:

• Location: It is located in the Nuapada district of Odisha, adjoining Chhattisgarh.
• It is spread over a sprawling area of 600 sq kms. It was declared a sanctuary in the year 1983.
• It adjoins the Sitanadi and Udanti sanctuaries of Chhattisgarh. 
• The sanctuary harbors a great diversity of wildlife habitats, with a vast plateau, canyons, and 11 waterfalls.
• It also forms the catchment area of the Jonk River (tributary of Mahanadi River), over which a dam has been constructed to facilitate irrigation.
• Vegetation: The important vegetation of this sanctuary comprises dry deciduous tropical forests.
• Flora: Bija, Teak, Sisoo, Asan, Dharua, Mahul, Char, Sandal wood, Sidha, etc.
• Fauna:
• It is an ideal habitat for the Barasingha (swamp deer).
• Other important animals found are tigers, Leopards, hyenas, Barking Deer, Chital, Gaur, Sambar, Sloth Bear, Hill Myna, etc.
• It also works as a migration link for rare wild Buffaloes between the states of Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

The Supreme Court of India recently agreed to examine whether the words "socialist" and "secular" can be removed from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

About the Preamble of the Indian Constitution:

• The preamble of the Indian Constitution serves as a brief introductory statement of the Constitution that sets out the guiding purpose, principles, and philosophy of the Indian Constitution.
• The Preamble is based on the Objectives Resolution, drafted and moved by Jawaharlal Nehru.
• The Preamble reveals four ingredients or components:
• Source of authority of the Constitution: It is indicated by the Preamble that the source of authority of the Constitution lies with the people of India.
• Nature of the Indian State: It declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic.
• Objectives of the Constitution: The objectives stated by the Preamble are to secure justice, liberty, and equality for all citizens and promote fraternity to maintain the unity and integrity of the nation.
• Date of adoption of the Constitution: It stipulates November 26, 1949, as the date.
• Amendments: By the 42nd Amendment of 1976, the words “Socialist” and “Secular” were inserted; the Preamble now reads “Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic”.
• Interpretation by the Supreme Court:
• Berubari Union case: In this case, it was held by the Supreme Court that the Preamble is part of the Constitution. However, it recognised that the Preamble could be used as a guiding principle if a term in any article of the Constitution is ambiguous or has more than one meaning.
• Keshvananda Bharti v. State of Kerala: In this case, the Supreme Court overturned its earlier decision and held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution and can be amended under Article 368 of the Constitution.
• Again, in the LIC of India case, the Supreme Court held that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a curative petition filed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) against the multinational conglomerate GMR Group concerning the operational management of Nagpur's Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport.

About Airports Authority of India (AAI):

• It is a statutory body under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India.
• It was constituted by an Act of Parliament and came into being on 1st April, 1995, by merging the erstwhile National Airports Authority and the International Airports Authority of India.
• The merger brought into existence a single Organization entrusted with the responsibility of creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastructure both on the ground and air space in the country.
• AAI manages 137 airports, which include 24 International Airports (including 3 International Civil Enclaves), 10 Customs Airports (including 4 Customs Civil Enclaves), 80 Domestic Airports, and 23 Domestic Civil Enclaves at Defence airfields.
• AAI also provides Air Traffic Management Services (ATMS) over the entire Indian Air Space and adjoining oceanic areas, with ground installations at all airports, and 25 other locations to ensure the safety of aircraft operations.
• The functions of AAI are as follows:
  • Design, development, operation and maintenance of international and domestic airports and civil enclaves.
  • Control and management of the Indian airspace extending beyond the territorial limits of the country, as accepted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
  • Construction, modification and management of passenger terminals.
  • Development and Management of cargo terminals at international and domestic airports.
  • Provision of passenger facilities and an information system at the passenger terminals at airports.
  • Expansion and strengthening of the operation area, viz. Runways, Aprons, Taxiway etc.
  • Provision of visual aids.
  • Provision of communication and navigation aids, viz. ILS, DVOR, DME, Radar etc.

Hence both statements are correct.

In an unprecedented effort, the European Space Agency plans to survey billions of galaxies using the Euclid Space Telescope which is to be launched on July 1.

• It is named after the Greek mathematician, Euclid of Alexandria.
• This mission is part of ESA’s Cosmic Vision programme which plans to explore the origin and components of the Universe and the fundamental laws that govern it. 
• The spacecraft will have a 1.2 metre-wide telescope and two instruments;
• A visible-wavelength camera (the VISible instrument): It will look for tiny distortions in the shapes of distant galaxies from different points in time to highlight the tussle between the pull of gravity and the push of dark energy. 
• A near-infrared camera/spectrometer (the Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer): It will look at how quickly the galaxies are moving away from each other which will offer scientists insight into both dark energy and the working of gravity.
• The detectors of the near-infrared instruments have been supplied by NASA making the American agency an important part of the Euclid Consortium. 
• It will be floating 1.5 million kilometres above the Earth, and the telescope hopes to deliver images that are at least four times sharper than ground-based ones. 
• The spacecraft measures approximately 4.7 metres tall and 3.7 metres in diameter
• It will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and will remain operational for a minimum of six years. 

Hence, option b is the correct answer.

Recently, Senegal signed the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P) deal.

• It is a mechanism for multilateral financing by developed countries to support an energy transition in developing countries.
• It aims to reduce emissions in the energy sector and accelerate the coal phase-out.
• Transition describes the gradual movement towards lower carbon technologies, while ‘Just’ qualifies that this transition will not negatively impact society, jobs and livelihoods.
• It was launched at the COP26 in Glasgow with the support of the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), France, Germany, and the European Union (EU).
• Senegal has become the fourth country after South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam to sign the JET-P deal, with the International Partners Group comprising France, Germany, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada.
• India refused to give its consent saying that coal cannot be singled out as a polluting fuel, and energy transition talks need to take place on equal terms.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, a greater racket-tailed drongo bird was found in the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary which is known for its loud musical whistling sound.

• It is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
• It lies alongside the northern tip of the River Ganga, flowing thru the districts of Muzzafarnagar and Bijnore.
• It has a variety of landforms and is a mixture of different habitats such as wetlands, marshes, dry sand beds and gently sloping ravines.
• Fauna: Swamp Deer, Leopard, Wild Cats, Wild Otter, Pythons etc.
• Under Crocodile Breeding Projects, baby crocodiles are released in the Ganga River near Hastinapur.
• Under the aegis of the World Wide Fund (WWF) the Turtle Rehabilitation Program also has its centre near the Hastinapur Sanctuary.
• It is a part of the "Asia Flyway" project and many migratory Birds, both local and foreign flock in numbers near the numerous water bodies present in the region.

Hence, option a is the correct answer.