Daily Current Affairs MCQ- March 29, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

One of the significant developments at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Abu Dhabi was the non-adoption of the agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD). 

• It is a joint initiative launched at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11) in 2017 on a plurilateral basis by 70 countries.
• This was done through a process known as the Joint Statement Initiative.
• Aim: This agreement aims to create legally binding provisions to facilitate investment flows.
• It also aims to develop predictable, transparent and open investment rules that will contribute to more efficient investment flows and increased business confidence and it is now in a formal negotiation phase. 
• Objective: A core objective of the framework is to facilitate greater participation by developing and least-developed WTO Members in global investment flows.
• The IFD agreement was finalised in 2023 and at present around 120 of 166 WTO member countries (more than 70% of the membership) back this agreement.
• Key areas included in the IFD Agreement to promote and facilitate investment:
• Improving regulatory transparency and predictability: such as publishing investment-related measures and establishing enquiry points;
• Streamlining and speeding up administrative procedures: such as removing duplicative steps in approval processes and simplifying applications;
• Enhancing international cooperation and addressing the needs of developing members – such as providing technical assistance and capacity-building for developing countries and least developed countries; and
• Other issues: such as implementing provisions to encourage responsible business conduct.
• India is not a part of this initiative.

Hence both statements are correct.

Moyar valley is the biggest nesting colony of critically endangered Gyps vultures in the wild.

• It is also known as Maayar valley.
• Location: It extends from Gudalur through the core area of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.
• This entire stretch is a wildlife haven and important biome in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
• It is sheltering several vital species like tiger and elephant and the critically endangered Gyps vulture.
• It is the only region in peninsular India where you have the biggest nesting colony of Gyps vultures in the wild.
• How it supports Gyps population?
• This valley offers plenty of wild kills and natural deaths of wildlife from Moyar village to Bhavanisagar.
• This provides a stable food-chain to nature’s scavengers, simply because these carcasses are mostly free from NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs)

and other poisonous chemicals.

Hence both statements are correct.

Recently, scientists at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Srinagar, reported that altitude and temperature play an important role in the development of mushk budiji aroma.

• It is an indigenous aromatic rice variety is usually grown at an altitude ranging from 5000 to 7000 ft above mean sea level in Highland Himalayas. 
• It is short, bold aromatic rice grown in the higher reaches of Kashmir valley.
• The cooked rice is unique and possesses a harmonious blend of taste, aroma and rich organoleptic properties.
• It is mainly is grown in areas of Sagam, Panzgam and Soaf Shali of district Anantnag and Beerwah belt of district Budgam.
• The consumption of aromatic rice in Kashmir has now been limited to special occasions, marriages, and festivals.
• It has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

India recently applied to the International Seabed Authority (ISBA) for rights to explore two vast tracts in the Indian Ocean seabed, including a cobalt-rich crust long known as the Afanasy Nikitin Seamount (AN Seamount).

About Afanasy Nikitin Seamount: 

• The AN Seamount is a structural feature (400 km-long and 150 km-wide) in the Central Indian Basin, located about 3,000 km away from India’s coast.
• It comprises a main plateau, rising 1200 m above the surrounding ocean floor (4800m), and secondary elevated seamount highs.
• It is rich in deposits of cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper.

What is a Seamount?

• It is an underwater mountain formed through volcanic activity.
• These are recognised as hotspots for marine life.
• Like volcanoes on land, seamounts can be active, extinct, or dormant volcanoes.
• These are formed near mid-ocean ridges, where the earth’s tectonic plates are moving apart, allowing molten rock to rise to the seafloor.
• The planet’s two most-studied mid-ocean ridges are the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the East Pacific Rise.
• Some seamounts have also been found near intraplate hotspots—regions of heavy volcanic activity within a plate—and oceanic island chains with volcanic and seismic activity called island arcs.
• Significance of seamounts:
• They provide information about the mantle’s composition and how tectonic plates evolve.
• These are helpful in understanding their influence on how water circulates and absorbs heat and carbon dioxide.
• They are good places for life because they can cause localised ocean upwelling, the process by which nutrient-rich water from deep within the ocean moves up to the surface.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

Recently, a citizen scientist spotted a comet in an image from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, which has now been confirmed to be the 5,000th comet discovered using SOHO data. 

About Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO): 

• It is a project of international collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
• Launched in 1995, SOHO was designed to study the Sun.
• In order to provide continuous observations, it was maneuvered to orbit the first Lagrangian Point (L1), a point some 1.5 million km (900,000 miles) from Earth toward the Sun where the gravitational attraction of Earth and the Sun, combine in such a way that a small body remains approximately at rest relative to both. 
• It carries 12 scientific instruments to study the solar atmosphere, helioseismology, and the solar wind. 
• Information from the mission has allowed scientists to learn more about the Sun’s internal structure and dynamics, the chromosphere, the corona, and solar particles.
• Though its mission was scheduled to run until only 1998, it has continued collecting data, adding to scientists' understanding of our closest star, and making many new discoveries, including thousands of comets.
• SOHO is the longest-lived Sun-watching satellite to date. 

Hence both statements are correct.

A recent study in southern Africa has unearthed a wealth of previously undocumented biodiversity in a newly recognised ecoregion called the South East Africa Montane Archipelago (SEAMA).

About South East Africa Montane Archipelago (SEAMA): 

• It is a newly recognised mountainous ecoregion.
• It stretches across northern Mozambique to Mount Mulanje in Malawi, southern Africa’s second-highest mountain. 
• The ecoregion encompasses 30 granitic inselbergs reaching > 1000 m above sea level, hosting the largest(Mt Mabu) and smallest (Mt Lico) mid-elevation rainforests in southern Africa, as well as biologically unique montane grasslands.
• SEAMA has distinctly higher annual rainfall and humidity, especially in the dry season, compared to surrounding regions.
• Endemic taxa include 127 plants, 45 vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals), and 45 invertebrate species (butterflies, freshwater crabs), and two endemic genera of plants and reptiles.
• This endemism arose from divergence events coinciding with the repeated isolation of these mountains from the pan-African forests, together with the mountains’ great age and relative climatic stability.
• Since 2000, the SEAMA has lost 18% of its primary humid forest cover (up to 43% in some sites)—one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa. 
• The major cause of montane forest loss in SEAMA is slash and burn shifting agricultural practices, typically used for subsistence food production by local communities, along with charcoal production, for household cooking, and as a source of revenue.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

The polar vortex circling the Arctic is swirling in the wrong direction after surprise warming in the upper atmosphere triggered a major reversal event recently.

About Polar Vortex:

• The polar vortex is a large area of low-pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth’s poles. 
• It always exists near the poles but weakens in summer and strengthens in winter. 
• The term "vortex" refers to the counter-clockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the poles.
• Many times, during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will expand, sending cold air southward with the jet stream.
• This occurs fairly regularly during wintertime and is often associated with large outbreaks of Arctic air in the United States and Canada.
• Portions of Europe and Asia also experience cold surges connected to the polar vortex. 
• The polar vortex extends from the tropopause (the dividing line between the stratosphere and troposphere) through the stratosphere and into the mesosphere (above 50 km). 
• Low values of ozone and cold temperatures are associated with the air inside the vortex.

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

The Peregrine Lunar Lander was launched aboard the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket to embark on its pioneering journey to explore the Moon.

• It is designed to carry scientific instruments and other payloads to the Moon's surface, specifically targeting the Sinus Viscositatis region.
• This area, also known as the Bay of Stickiness, lies adjacent to the Gruitheisen Domes near the Oceanus Procellarum, or Ocean of Storms.
• Aim: To locate water molecules on the moon, measure radiation and gases around the lander, and evaluate the lunar exosphere (the thin layer of gases on the moon's surface).
• The mission's scientific goals are ambitious:
• To analyze the lunar exosphere, assess the thermal properties and hydrogen content of the lunar regolith, study magnetic fields, examine the radiation environment, and test advanced solar arrays.
• Peregrine Mission 1 will transport approximately ten payloads, with a total mass capacity of 90 kilograms.
• The scientific payload features cutting-edge instruments such as the Laser Retro-Reflector Array (LRA), Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS), Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS), PROSPECT Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS), and Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS).

Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Recently, the Chandubi Festival was celebrated along the Chandubi Lake in the state of Assam.

• It is organised every year for five days starting from the first day of the New Year along the Chandubi lake, which is situated in the state of Assam.
• The main attractions of the Chandubi festival are the local folk culture, ethnic cuisine, local handloom and dresses, boating, etc.
• The major aim of the Chandubi Festival is to promote eco-tourism in this biodiversity hotspot of Assam.
• Preserving the waterbody, the water level of which has rapidly been lowering over the years, has been the motive for organising the festival every year.
• The festival has been providing an opportunity to generate livelihood to different tribes – Rabhas, Garos, Gorkhas and tea tribes – living in the area by selling different food items and homemade beverages, and traditionally woven attires.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

Researchers at the Indian Institutes of Technology Madras and Mandi have metabolically engineered Nothapodytes nimmoniana plant cells to increase production of anti-cancer drug camptothecin (CPT).  

• Camptothecin (CPT) is an important anti-cancer drug lead molecule for high-value drugs like Topotecan and Irinotecan.
• It is a potent topoisomerase I inhibitor extracted mainly from - Camptotheca acuminata (native to Eastern Asia) and Nothapodytes nimmoniana (native to India).
• It is majorly produced in Southeast Asian region, with the plant being largely found only in China and India.
• However, the conjunction of climate change and extensive deforestation undertaken for CPT extraction has pushed these plants into the endangered species category.

Hence option d is the correct answer.