Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 20, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

With food poisoning and diarrhoea becoming a common occurrence, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is working towards creating a network of 34 microbiology labs across the country that will be equipped to test food products for 10 pathogens.

About Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI):

• It is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
• The FSSAI has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India.
• Vision: Build a new India by enabling citizens to have safe and nutritious food, prevent diseases, and lead a healthy and happy life.
• Mission: Set globally benchmarked standards for food, encourage and ensure that food businesses adhere to these standards, adopt good manufacturing and hygiene practices, and ultimately enable citizens to access safe and right food.
• Functions:
• FSSAI is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
• It lays down standards and guidelines in relation to articles of food, and provides for licensing, registration, and accreditation for food business operators.
• Anyone selling or importing food in India needs a food licence issued by FSSAI.
• FSSAI also directly monitors compliance of food regulations, especially in the area of food imports to India. 
• FSSAI officers carry out food import controls and ensure that the contain no harmful ingredients. To do this, they send selected test products from the import to accredited laboratories for inspection.
• The FSSAI is also responsible for the accreditation of food testing laboratories throughout India.
• The FSSAI is responsible for the Food Certification in India.
• It is mandated to specify systems for enforcing its standards, for accreditation of certification systems, and for certification of food safety management systems for food businesses.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

March 19 marked the spring or vernal equinox, the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

About Spring Equinox:

• As Earth revolves around the Sun, there are two moments each year when the Sun is exactly above the equator.
• These moments — called equinoxes — occur around March 19, 20 or 21 and September 22 or 23. 
• Equinox literally means “equal night," since the length of day and night is nearly equal in all parts of the world during the equinoxes.
• The March equinox marks when the Northern Hemisphere starts to tilt toward the sun, which means longer, sunnier days. 
• In the Northern Hemisphere, the March equinox is called the vernal equinox, because it signals the beginning of spring (vernal means fresh or new like the spring).
• The September equinox is called the autumnal equinox because it marks the first day of fall (autumn).
• When the Northern Hemisphere starts to tilt toward the sun in spring, the Southern Hemisphere starts to tilt away from the sun, signaling the start of fall.
• Thus, in the Southern Hemisphere, the March equinox is called the autumnal equinox, and the September equinox is called the vernal equinox.
• While the March equinox brings later sunrises, earlier sunsets, chillier winds and dry, falling leaves in the Southern Hemisphere, while the reverse happens in the Northern Hemisphere.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) commenced the first part of its 29th session recently. 

About International Seabed Authority (ISA):

• It is an autonomous international organization established in 1994 to regulate mining and related activities in the international seabed beyond national jurisdiction, an area that includes most of the world’s oceans.
• The ISA came into existence upon the entry into force of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which codified international law regarding territorial waters, sea lanes, and ocean resources. 
• ISA is the organization through which states parties to UNCLOS organize and control all mineral-resources-related activities in the Area (the seabed and ocean floor and the subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction) for the benefit of humankind as a whole. 
• In so doing, ISA has the mandate to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment from harmful effects that may arise from deep-seabed-related activities.
• Headquarters: Kingston, Jamaica
• Members: As of May 2023, ISA has 169 Members, including 168 Member States and the European Union.
• Functions:
• The ISA is responsible for granting licenses and regulating activities related to the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources in the international seabed. 
• It ensures that these activities are carried out in a manner that protects the marine environment and promotes the equitable and efficient utilization of resources.
• Structure:
• The supreme authority of the ISA is the assembly, in which all ISA members are represented. 
• The assembly sets general policies, establishes budgets, and elects a 36-member council, which serves as the ISA’s executive authority. 
• The council approves contracts with private corporations and government entities for exploration and mining in specified areas of the international seabed.
• The council oversees implementation of the seabed provisions of the UNCLOS and establishes provisional rules and procedures (subject to approval by the assembly) by which the ISA exercises its regulatory authority. 
• The secretary-general of the ISA is nominated by the council and is elected by the assembly to a four-year term.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Startups such as Pine Labs, Zepto, Meesho are the latest new-age companies looking to move headquarters to India.

About Reverse Flipping:

• It is a term used to describe the trend of overseas start-ups shifting their domicile to India and listing on Indian stock exchanges. 
• The general motivation for a reverse flip is the increased certainty of an exit at a higher valuation in India. 
• This trend has been gaining traction in recent years, as start-ups look to capitalise on India’s large and growing economy, access to deeper pools of venture capital, favourable tax regimes, better intellectual property protection, a young and educated population, and favourable government policies. 
• The Economic Survey 2022-23 recognised the concept of reverse flipping and proposed ways to accelerate the process, such as simplifying the processes for tax vacations, taxation of ESOPs, capital movements, decreasing tax layers, and the like.

What is flipping: 

• Flipping is when an Indian company transforms into a 100% subsidiary of a foreign entity after it has moved its headquarters overseas, including a transfer of its Intellectual Property (IP) and others.
• It effectively transforms an Indian startup (company) into a 100% subsidiary of a foreign entity, with the founders and investors retaining the same ownership via the foreign entity, having swapped all shares.
• What’s the harm to India from flipping?
• Brain drain of entrepreneurial talent from India.
• It results in value creation in foreign jurisdictions rather than in India.
• It also results in the loss of Intellectual Property and Tax Revenue for the country.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

The new annual State of the Global Climate report, published recently by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), found that 2023 was the hottest year on record.

About State of Global Climate Report 2023:

• It is an annual report published by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
• Dozens of experts and partners contribute to the report, including UN organizations, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), and Global Data and Analysis Centers, as well as Regional Climate Centres, the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW), the Global Cryosphere Watch, and the Copernicus Climate Change Service operated by ECMWF.
• Highlights of the 2023 Report:
• 2023 was the hottest year on record, with the global average near-surface temperature at 1.45 °Celsius (with a margin of uncertainty of ± 0.12 °C) above the pre-industrial baseline.
• It was the warmest ten-year period on record.
• Numerous records for indicators of the climate system, including greenhouse gas levels (GHGs), surface temperatures, ocean heat, sea level rise, Antarctic Sea ice cover, glacier retreat, etc., were broken.
• On an average day in 2023, nearly one third of the global ocean was gripped by a marine heatwave, harming vital ecosystems and food systems. 
• Towards the end of 2023, over 90% of the ocean had experienced heatwave conditions at some point during the year.
• The global set of reference glaciers suffered the largest loss of ice on record (since 1950), driven by extreme melt in both western North America and Europe, according to preliminary data.
• In 2023, renewable capacity additions increased by almost 50% from 2022, for a total of 510 gigawatts (GW), the highest rate observed in the past two decades.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

The Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare recently inaugurated the Krishi Sammelan (Farmer's Meet), organised by the ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute.

About Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI):

• It was established by the Government of Madras in 1916 for coconut research.
• Later, it was acquired by the Indian Central Coconut Committee in 1947.
• The CPCRI was established in 1970 as one of the agricultural research institutes in the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). 
• Headquarters: Kasaragod, Kerala
• Mandate:
• The institute had the mandate to undertake research on coconut, arecanut, cocoa, cashew, oil palm, and spices at the time of establishment. 
• The research on cashew, oil palm and spices was later delinked from CPCRI to form separate institutes.
• In 2023, a new mandate crop, Palmyra Palm, was added to its institute.
• The research programmes of the institute are organized under five divisions viz. Crop Improvement, Crop Production, Crop Protection, Physiology, Biochemistry and Post Harvest Technology and Social Sciences. 
• The Institute also holds the International Coconut Gene Bank for South Asia at Kidu in Karnataka. 
• The Institute also serves as the headquarters of the All-India Co-ordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Palms.

Hence both statements are correct.

Delhi's biomining project to clear landfill sites is likely to miss the latest deadline of 2024.

About Biomining:

• It is the technique of extracting metals from ores and other solid materials, typically using micro-organisms (bacteria, archae, fungi, or plants).
• Biomining techniques may also be used to clean up sites that have been polluted with metals.
• Process:
• Valuable metals are commonly bound up in solid minerals.
• Some microbes can oxidize those metals, allowing them to dissolve in water.
• This is the basic process behind most biomining, which is used for metals that can be more easily recovered when dissolved than from solid rocks.
• A different biomining technique, for metals which are not dissolved by the microbes, uses microbes to break down the surrounding minerals, making it easier to recover the metal of interest directly from the remaining rock.
• When the metal of interest is directly dissolved, the biomining process is called “bioleaching,” and when the metal of interest is made more accessible or “enriched” in the material left behind, it is called “bio oxidation.” 
• What metals are currently biomined?
• Most current biomining operations target valuable metals like copper, uranium, nickel and gold that are commonly found in sulfidic (sulfur-bearing) minerals.
• Microbes are especially good at oxidizing sulfidic minerals, converting metals like iron and copper into forms that can dissolve more easily.
• Compared to typical mining that uses hazardous chemicals and has a large CO₂ footprint, biomining represents an environmentally friendly alternative, producing very little (if at all) hazardous waste. 

Hence option c is the correct answer.

The Battle of Okinawa (April 1–June 21, 1945) was the last major battle of World War II and one of the bloodiest.

• It was fought between U.S. and Japanese forces on Okinawa.
• Okinawa is the largest of the Ryukyus Islands and lies 350 miles from mainland Japan.
• The Americans wanted control of Okinawa because it had four airfields and could support tactical and strategic air operations.
• Capturing Okinawa was regarded as a vital precursor to a ground invasion of the Japanese home islands.
• Code named Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa and other islands in the Ryukyus began on April 1, 1945.
• The immense size of the invasion forces made it the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War. 
• It involved more than 1,500 ships of all types. Total American forces numbered approximately 548,000; of these, there were approximately 183,000 combat troops for the assault.
• By the time Okinawa was secured by American forces on June 22, 1945, the United States had sustained over 49,000 casualties, including more than 12,500 men killed or missing.
• Okinawans caught in the fighting suffered greatly, with an estimate as high as 150,000 civilians killed.
• Of the Japanese defending the island, an estimated 110,000 died.
• The enormous casualties and the brutal fighting that occurred on Okinawa forced military planners to reconsider the invasion of Japan.
• It directly influenced the American decision to use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Wildlife enthusiasts and experts are abuzz with excitement after the recent sighting of Indian grey wolf in the expansive confines of National Chambal Sanctuary in Etawah.

• Scientific Name: Canis lupus pallipes
• It is a subspecies of grey wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian Subcontinent.
• They live in warmer conditions.
• It is intermediate in size between the Tibetan and Arabian wolf and lacks the former’s luxuriant winter coat due to it living in warmer conditions.
• It travels in smaller packs and is less vocal than other its variants. They are nocturnal and hunt from dusk to dawn
• Description: It is of intermediate in size lies between the Tibetan and Arabian wolf, and lacks the former’s luxuriant winter coat due to its living in warmer conditions.
• Habitat: The Indian wolf inhabits areas dominated by scrub, grasslands and semi-arid pastoral agro-ecosystems.
• Distribution: It has a wide distribution range that extends from the Indian subcontinent to Israel. There are about 3,000 animals in India, some in captivity.
• Conservation Status
• IUCN: Least concern
• Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 : Schedule I
• CITES : Appendix 1 
• Threat: Habitat loss and depletion of prey species etc.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, Alabama successfully executed a man who spent decades on death row using a new method called nitrogen hypoxia.

• Hypoxia is a medical term for a state of insufficient oxygen in the body. 
• Nitrogen hypoxia is a process where pure nitrogen gas, or nitrogen gas at concentrations high enough to be lethal, is inhaled to the point of causing asphyxiation.
• It is a relatively new alternative to more common forms of capital punishment, like lethal injection and electrocution
• In this method of execution, a respirator mask is placed over the inmate's face, pure nitrogen is pumped into person's lungs instead of oxygen.
• It leads to unconsciousness and then death from lack of oxygen.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.