Daily Current Affairs MCQ- April 15, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

Special Olympics Bharat (SOB), a National Sports Federation of India is forming district units across Tamil Nadu through elections on April 22.

• It is a National Sports Federation registered under the Indian Trust Act 1882 in 2001 and is accredited by Special Olympics International to conduct Special Olympics Programs in India.
• It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India as a National Sports Federation in the Priority Category, for development of Sports for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.
• It is a designated Nodal Agency for all disabilities on account of its national presence and experience, especially in rural areas which account for nearly 75 per cent of the disabled population in India.
• It is a social inclusion movement using sports, health, and education and leadership programs to empower people with intellectual disabilities.

Key facts about the Special Olympics International

• It is a program to provide individuals with intellectual disabilities who are eight years of age or older with year-round sports training and athletic competition in more than 20 Olympic-type summer and winter sports.
• It was inaugurated in 1968 and was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1988.
• Headquarters : Washington, D.C. USA

What is Intellectual Disability?

• Intellectual disability is characterized by significantly below-average intellectual functioning (generally regarded as IQ below 70) combined with impairment in carrying out varying aspects of daily life and adapting to the normal social environment.

Hence both statements are correct.

Jharkhand’s Pahariya tribe aims to achieve seed independence by depositing native varieties in community-led banks.

• The community name Paharia is “believed to have been derived from the word pahar meaning hills.
• They live mainly in the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. There are also scattered groups of them in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. 
• They practise jhum or shifting cultivation which involves clearing land by burning vegetation for farming for a few years.
• In Jharkhand, there are two types of Pahariyas.
• Mal Pahariya: These people live in the southern hills of Damin-i-koh and in the south and east of Santhal Parganas. They are a race of Proto-Ostroloid.
• Shauria Pahariya (or Maler Paharia): They are mostly found in Santhal Parganas.
• Their main residential place was in the area of Karnataka. At present, they live in mountains of Rajmahal and Santhal Pargana. Their own language is “Malto”.
• Religious Practices
• The Paharias worship their household, clan and village deities like Mait, Maa, Gangadi, Sunadi, Rupadi, Budharaja. They have a distinct set of gods and goddesses compared with the Hindus and other religious communities.
• Language: The Paharia people speak their own Pahariya language at home. Their language is influenced by Havli and Chharisgarhi.

Hence both statements are correct.

As input prices, which were benign for a few quarters, turn inflationary, the spectre of shrinkflation looms large within the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment. 

• It occurs when goods shrink in size but consumers pay the same price. It occurs when manufacturers downsize products to offset higher production costs but keep retail prices same.
• It is basically a form of hidden inflation.
• Instead of increasing the price of a product, producers reduce the size of the product while maintaining the same price.
• The absolute price of the product doesn’t go up, but the price per unit of weight or volume has increased.
• Reasons: The reasons for shrinkflation are rising production costs and market competition.
• Impacts:
• Shrinkflation runs the risk of turning customers away from a product or brand if they notice they are getting less for the same price.
• Another downside of shrinkflation is that it makes it harder to accurately measure price changes or inflation.
• The price point becomes misleading since the product size cannot always be considered in terms of measuring the basket of goods.

What are Fast-Moving Consumer Goods?

• These are products sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. The FMCG industry is characterized by high-volume sales, quick inventory turnover, and various products catering to consumer needs. 
• These goods include essential everyday items such as food and beverages, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and other low-cost household items.
• They have a short shelf life because of high consumer demand (e.g., soft drinks and confections) or because they are perishable (e.g., meat, dairy products, and baked goods).

Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

Qudsia Bagh was recently given a facelift as a part of Delhi Development Authority’s project to revive Yamuna’s floodplains.

• It was built by Qudsia Begum (in 1748), the wife of Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah Rangeela, who ruled in the early 18th century.
• Location: It is situated in North Delhi.
• Architecture style: It was built in the Persian char-bagh style.
• The only remains of the Bagh are its imposing western gateway, the Qudsia Mosque and a couple of pavilions in carved red sandstone.
• The Qudsia Mosque was the private mosque of the emperor and his wife, and had been built in a very simple style surmounted by three-storied high walls.
• The mosque is an ASI protected monument and it is built with lakhori bricks. 
• The Bagh had several entrances built with red sandstones, plastered with limestone. Stucco work is done on the walls. It had cusped arches with floral patterns above.
• This garden was one of the locations that played a role during the 1857 First War of Independence and was destroyed and damaged during the course of events
• It was also the site of the last meeting of Bhagat Singh and his comrades before they undertook their mission of throwing bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly.

Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

The tranquil flow of the Jiadhal river is now being disrupted by the harsh realities of climate change.

About Jiadhal River:

• It is a northern tributary of the Brahmaputra River.
• Course:
• It originates in the sub-Himalayan mountains of Arunachal Pradesh at an altitude of 1247m.
• After passing through a narrow gorge in Arunachal Pradesh, the river enters the plains of Assam in Dhemaji district, where it flows in braided channels. 
• The river finally debouches into the Brahmaputra near Selamukh in Lakhimpur district.
• But after the construction of the embankment over the Kherkutiya Suti of the Brahmaputra, the river confluences with the Subansiri River.
• Topographically, the upper part of the basin is hilly (Himalayan range), and the middle part onwards is a plain area.
• The total area of the catchment is 1053.20 sq.km., of which 696.80 sq.km., and 356.4 sq.km. come under Assam and Arunachal Pradesh respectively.
• The sub-basin of Jiadhal experiences heavy rainfall. It carries heavy silt load from its 1346 sq. km catchment area during the rainy season and deposits them on its bed in the plains, resulting in the considerable rise of its riverbed. 
• Jiadhal is known for frequent changing of its course and devastating floods.
• The Jiadhal River is a classic example of a flashy river and produces floods with a sudden, high discharge over a short time interval (a few hours to a day) and with a high sediment load and debris.

Hence both statements are correct.

The Supreme Court, in a dispute in connection with easementary rights over a 20 ft. wide road situated over a land, reiterated that the power of attorney holder can only depose about the facts within his personal knowledge.

About Easementary Right:

• The concept of easement has been defined under Section 4 of ‘The Indian Easements Act, 1882’.
• According to the provisions of Section 4, an easementary right is a right possessed by the owner or occupier of the land on some other land, not his own, the purpose of which is to provide the beneficial enjoyment of the land.
• This right is granted because without the existence of this right an occupier or owner cannot fully enjoy his own property.
• It includes the right to do or continue to do something or to prevent or to continue to prevent something in connection with or in respect of some other land, which is not his own, for the enjoyment of his own land.
• The word ‘land’ refers to everything permanently attached to the earth, and the word ‘beneficial enjoyment’ denotes convenience, advantage or any amenity, or any necessity. 
• The owner or occupier referred to in the provision is known as the Dominant Owner and the land for the benefit of which the easementary right exists is called Dominant Heritage.
• Whereas the owner upon whose land the liability is imposed is known as the Serviant Owner and the land on which such a liability is imposed to do or prevent something is known as the Servient Heritage.
• Eg: ‘P’, being the owner of certain land or house, has a right of way over Q’s house, adjacent to his house, to move out of the street. This is known as right of easement.
• An easement is, in no way, a transfer of property. It could be made, altered, or released as well, and should always be in written form, except when it has been enjoyed for a very long time without restrictions. A written document helps either party to challenge it in a court of law.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

The Indian Army recently commemorated 40 years since 'Operation Meghdoot' began, securing the Siachen Glacier.

About Operation Meghdoot:

• It was the code-name for the Indian Armed Forces operation to capture the Siachen Glacier, a strategically crucial region dominating Northern Ladakh.
• Siachen has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan ever since the Karachi Agreement of 1949, when the area was left undivided due to the hostile terrain and extremely rough weather. 
• Operation Meghdoot was India’s bold military response to what New Delhi calls Pakistan’s “cartographic aggression” in the uncharted territory of Ladakh, north of map reference NJ9842, where New Delhi and Islamabad had agreed the Line of Control (LoC) ran up to.
• Intelligence inputs about impending Pakistani military action prompted India to secure strategic heights on Siachen, deploying troops via airlifts and air-dropping supplies to high-altitude airfields.
• The primary objective behind this operation was to pre-empt the seizure of Sia La and Bilafond La passes by the Pakistan Army.
• Launched in 1984, this military operation was unique as the first assault launched on the world's highest battlefield. 
• It was launched under the leadership of Lieutenant General Manohar Lal Chibber, Lieutenant General PN Hoon and Major General Shiv Sharma.
• It is distinguished by being one of the greatest examples of seamless coordination and synergy between the Indian Army and the Air Force.
• The military action resulted in Indian troops gaining control of the entire Siachen Glacier. 
• Strategic Importance of the Siachen:
• Located at a height of around 20,000 feet in the Karakoram Mountain range, the Siachen Glacier is known as the highest militarised zone around the world. 
• It is located so strategically that while it dominates Shaksgam Valley (ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963) in the north, controls the routes coming from Gilgit Baltistan to Leh from the west, and at the same time, it dominates the ancient Karakoram Pass in the eastern side too.
• Further, towards the west, it observes nearly the entire of Gilgit Baltistan, which too is an Indian territory illegally occupied by Pakistan in 1948.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

According to British environmentalist Norman Myers, the precautionary principle is becoming an established principle for policymakers tackling environmental problems.

About Precautionary Principle:

• It is an approach to policymaking that legitimizes the adoption of preventative measures to address potential risks to the public or environment associated with certain activities or policies.
• The principle says, “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent such environmental degradation.”
• It enables decision-makers to adopt precautionary measures when scientific evidence about an environmental or human health hazard is uncertain and the stakes are high.
• This implies that protective action should be taken to prevent any possible harm, even if there is a chance that such harm will not occur–thus playing it safe. 
• It first emerged during the 1970s and has since been enshrined in a number of international treaties on the environment, including the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the national legislation of certain Member States. 
• In 1987, it was incorporated into international law at the International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea.
• Since then, it has permeated most international environmental conventions. For example, entrenched by the 1992 Rio Declaration (Principle 15), it was written into the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and, retroactively, into the Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
• It was integrated into the criteria for the listing of endangered species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 1994, and the following year it was adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
• It is a cornerstone of European Union (EU) environmental law and has been central in determining the EU’s position toward genetically modified organisms. 

Hence option d is the correct answer.

In a study published recently, scientists from Germany and the U.K. led with a radical explanation for the Hubble tension.

About Hubble Tension:

• The "hubble tension" refers to a discrepancy between the measurements of the rate of expansion of the universe, known as the Hubble constant.
• The Hubble constant, denoted as H0, describes the rate at which galaxies are moving away from each other due to the expansion of the universe.
• If a researcher wants to estimate the Hubble constant, they have two main avenues. These are the cosmic distance ladder and the cosmic microwave background (CMB).
• Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB):
• CMB is a sea of photons, the particles of light, present throughout the universe. They are left over from the Big Bang, its afterglow.
• Scientists have measured temperature changes in the CMB and studied its large-scale properties using complicated trigonometry.
• Based on these studies, cosmologists have estimated space to be expanding at around 68 kilometres per second per megaparsec ((km/s)/Mpc). That is, an object one megaparsec (3.26 million lightyears) away is moving away at 68 km/s)/Mpc.
• Cosmic distance ladder:
• It is a set of techniques used to measure the distance to objects that are close, further away, or very far away from the Earth. One object in particular is the Cepheid variable star.
• The Cepheid variables have a unique feature: their brightness varies in a predictable way over time.
• Based on how bright a Cepheid variable is, scientists can estimate how far away it is. Using this, cosmologists have estimated based on various Cepheid variables (and other such objects) is 73 (km/s)/Mpc.
• Thus, these measurements have yielded slightly different values for the Hubble constant. This discrepancy is known as the Hubble tension.
• The significance of the Hubble tension is that it could potentially indicate unknown physics or systematic errors in the measurements.
• Resolving the tension is crucial for refining our understanding of the universe's expansion and its underlying physics.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

Recently, it is highlighted that Kuchipudi artists are struggling for survival and going through a tough phase due to lack of patronage.

• It is one of the Indian classical dances belongs to the Andhra Pradesh.
• History

It was originally performed by a group of itinerant actors known as Bhagavathalu, who would travel from village to village, performing plays and dances based on Hindu mythology.

• In the 15th century, the great poet and musician, Siddhendra Yogi, played a major role in the development of Kuchipudi. He is credited with transforming the dance form from a simple folk art to a sophisticated and refined classical dance form. 
• Features
• The dance form is characterized by its intricate footwork, graceful movements, and subtle facial expressions.
• It incorporates pure dance (Nritta) and expressive dance (Nritya) elements, as well as storytelling through dance (Natya).
• It is also performed on the edge of a brass plate (known as Tarangam) on the beats of Carnatic music.
• It is largely developed as a Hindu god Krishna-oriented Vaishnavism tradition, and it is most closely related to Bhagavata Mela.
• The Kuchipudi performer apart from being a dancer and actor has to be skilled in Sanskrit and Telugu languages, music and manuscripts of the performance.
• The Kuchipudi dancers wear light make-up and ornaments like the Rakudi (head ornament), Chandra Vanki (arm band), Adda Bhasa and Kasina Sara (necklace). A long plait is decorated with flowers and jewelry. The ornaments are made of light wood called Boorugu.
• The typical musical instruments in Kuchipudi are mridangam, cymbals, veena, flute and the tambura.

Hence both statements are correct.