Test: Weekly Current Affairs: April 22nd to 30th, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

• Context: Srinagar is being considered for the prestigious World Craft City (WCC) title by the World Crafts Council International (WCCI).
• About WCC:
  • The World Craft City (WCC) initiative was launched in 2014 by the World Crafts Council International (WCCI), a Kuwait-based organization. It acknowledges the contributions of local authorities, craftspeople, and communities to cultural, economic, and social development worldwide. WCC aims to establish a network of craft cities globally, promoting the principles of the creative economy and preserving traditional crafts.

Solution:

1. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): While FAO works on forestry issues and provides important data on global forests, it is not the organization behind Global Forest Watch.

2. World Meteorological Organization (WMO): WMO focuses on weather, climate, and water resources, and does not run Global Forest Watch.

3. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): UNEP deals with environmental issues on a global scale, but it is not responsible for the Global Forest Watch initiative.

4. World Resources Institute (WRI): WRI is the organization that launched and manages Global Forest Watch, making it the correct answer. WRI is a global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being.

Thus, the correct answer is:

4. World Resources Institute

State of World Population 2024 report

Released by the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA)
The report, titled “Interwoven Lives, Threads of Hope: Ending Inequalities in Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and Rights,” highlights women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), encompassing freedom from torture, right to health, privacy, education, life, and discrimination prohibition.

• Context: Private investment in India, measured by Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) as a percentage of GDP, has seen a decline since 2011-12. Despite government efforts like corporate tax cuts, private investment hasn’t picked up.
• What is GFCF?
  • Gross Fixed Capital Formation, measures the growth in fixed capital in an economy, including assets like buildings and machinery. It serves as an indicator of private sector investment willingness and includes government investment. GFCF is important because fixed capital boosts economic growth by increasing productivity and living standards. Developed economies tend to have more fixed capital per capita compared to developing ones.

Let's evaluate each statement regarding Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs):

1. In RCTs, participants are randomly allocated into two or more groups to receive different interventions.
   - This statement is correct. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) involve randomly assigning participants into different groups to receive different interventions. This randomization helps to minimize bias and ensures that the groups are comparable at the start of the study.

2. RCTs are primarily used to study the prevalence of diseases in a population.
   - This statement is incorrect. RCTs are not primarily used to study disease prevalence. They are used to evaluate the effectiveness or efficacy of interventions, treatments, or therapies in a controlled setting.

3. RCTs are qualitative research methods that rely on in-depth interviews.
   - This statement is incorrect. RCTs are quantitative research methods, not qualitative. They involve rigorous control and measurement of variables, and they typically do not rely on in-depth interviews. Instead, they use structured protocols for data collection.

Based on the evaluation:

- Statement 1 is correct.
- Statement 2 is incorrect.
- Statement 3 is incorrect.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

Answer: A: Only one

• Context: The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific, along with other environmental groups, has urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to take strong action against plastic pollution ahead of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) session.
  • Over 100 civil society organizations (CSOs) emphasized the urgent need for ASEAN to lead in negotiations for a global treaty on plastic pollution, given the region’s challenges with overflowing landfills, polluted waterways, and marine ecosystem destruction.
  • The CSOs called for legally binding measures to reduce plastic production and consumption, focusing on the entire plastic lifecycle, including phasing out single-use plastics.
• The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) was established to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, beginning its work in the second half of 2022 with the ambition of completing its work by the end of 2024.

• Context: Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami alert after Mount Ruang volcano erupted five times, expelling ash and lava.
• The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation issued the highest-level alert, warning of potential hazards including the collapse of the volcano into the sea, which could trigger a tsunami.
• Indonesia, with 120 active volcanoes, faces frequent volcanic activity due to its location along the Ring of Fire.

• WHO prequalified the Euvichol-S vaccine for Cholera The WHO prequalified the Euvichol-S vaccine for Cholera, a simplified and cost-effective formulation of the oral cholera vaccine Euvichol-Plus.
  • Meaning of Prequalification: “Prequalified” means that the vaccine has undergone a rigorous assessment by the WHO and has been deemed to meet international standards of quality, safety, and efficacy. The vaccine is suitable for procurement by United Nations agencies and other international organizations
• Cholera, caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria, is transmitted through contaminated food or water, with the highest number of cases reported in the Middle East and Africa. India reported 132 cases in 2023 (till July).

• The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf in Antarctica, covering an area of about 182,000 square miles. It floats in, and covers, a large southern portion of the Ross Sea and the entire Roosevelt Island located in the east of the Ross Sea.
• Ice shelves are extensions of glaciers or ice sheets that float on the sea, but they remain connected to the landmass. Thus, the Ross Ice Shelf is not completely detached from the Antarctic landmass.
  

• Context: UN Secretary-General Guterres highlights Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) reform as a key theme at the upcoming Summit of the Future during UNGA, praising the Indian G20 presidency’s efforts.
• About the Summit:The Summit of the Future 2024 is a flagship event organized during the annual high-level UN General Assembly meeting in September. It focuses on key global issues, with a particular emphasis on reforming multilateral development banks (MDBs) to address contemporary challenges like poverty and climate crisis.
• Originating from the Our Common Agenda report, it emphasizes renewing trust and solidarity across nations and generations. Member States aim to create a Pact for the Future, reaffirming the UN Charter, reinvigorating multilateralism, and agreeing on solutions to current and future challenges.

• Context: Mpox, a DNA virus, exhibits a unique evolutionary strategy known as the genomic accordion, involving expansions and contractions of its genome.
• Researchers identified 4-kilobase sections of the genome, previously deemed unimportant, as critical for human-to-human transmissibility and evolutionary adaptability.

Sustainable Development Goal 6 declares the importance of achieving “clean water and sanitation for all”. It is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations General Assembly to succeed the former Millennium Development Goals.

• Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct.
• S1: Butterflies are cold-blooded, meaning they cannot regulate their own body temperature. As a result, their body temperature changes with the temperature of their surroundings. If they get too cold, they are unable to fly and must warm up their muscles in order to resume flight.
• S2: The main source of food for butterflies is the nectar from flowers, and because there are few nutrients in flower nectar, male butterflies of most species land at the edge of a wet area where they feed on essential salts and other nutrient found in sand or mud.
• S3: Butterflies have six jointed legs, a pair of antennae and three body parts called a head, thorax (chest), and abdomen (tail end). The four wings and the six legs of a butterfly are attached to its thorax.
• S4: Butterflies and moths undergo a complete metamorphosis, which means there are four separate stages in the life cycle (egg, larva, pupa, and adult). Each stage looks completely different and serves a different purpose in the life of the insect.

• Context: Israel recently utilized the Rampage missile in an attack on an Iranian military base.
  • The Rampage missile is an air-to-surface weapon developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and Israeli Military Industries Systems.
• Features of Rampage:
  • Designed for precision strikes, it targets high-quality, well-protected sites such as communication centres and air force bases.
  • The missile boasts supersonic speeds, making it challenging to intercept.
  • With a range exceeding 190 miles, it can be deployed from aircraft or as a stand-alone system, utilizing GPS/INS guidance navigation and anti-jamming capabilities.
  • Additionally, it can adjust its trajectory mid-flight and operate effectively in various weather conditions, ensuring precise target hits.

• Context: Butterfly enthusiasts made a remarkable discovery in Tale Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Lower Subansiri district, India, spotting the elusive Neptis philyra, also known as the long-streak sailor, for the first time in the country.
• Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh, India.

• Context: The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute achieved a significant breakthrough in mariculture by successfully developing seed production technology for golden trevally, a high-value marine fish.
• Marine aquaculture is the cultivation or farming of marine organisms in saltwater environments such as oceans, seas, and estuaries. This practice involves raising a variety of organisms including fish, shellfish, and seaweeds for food, commercial, and conservation purposes.

• Context: Recent deadly storms that submerged Dubai and caused fatalities in Oman were likely exacerbated by climate change, with human-induced heat making the record rainfall 10-40% heavier, according to scientists.
• difference between Cyclone and Anticyclone:
  

• Context: The Maharashtra government informed the Supreme Court that the phrase “material resources of the community” encompasses both public and private resources, subject to judicial review for redistribution.
• The concentration of wealth violates the Directive principles of state policy. Under Article 39 of the Constitution of India, the State shall direct its policy towards securing that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment.

• Context: The Maharashtra government informed the Supreme Court that the phrase “material resources of the community” encompasses both public and private resources, subject to judicial review for redistribution.
• The case concerns Article 39(b) of the Constitution, directing the state to distribute material resources for the common good. The SC bench, comprising nine judges, seeks clarity on whether privately owned resources fall under this provision.
• Certain principles of policy to be followed by the State
• The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing–
  (a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means to livelihood;
  (b) that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to sub serve the common good;
  (c) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment;
  (d) that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women;
  (e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength;
  [In article 39 of the Constitution, for clause (f), the following clause shall be substituted through Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, 1976]
  (f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

• Context: In the Surat Lok Sabha constituency, the BJP candidate won uncontested due to the rejection of the Congress candidate’s nomination papers (due to alleged discrepancies in the signatures of his proposers) and the withdrawal of other candidates. The Congress alleged coercion of their proposers and appealed to the Election Commission (EC).
• Nominations in elections follow specific criteria outlined in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RoPA). Section 33 of the RoPA specifies the requirements for valid nominations, including the need for proposers from the respective constituency. The Returning Officer (RO) can reject nominations if signatures are found to be not genuine, as per Section 36 of the RoPA.

• Only statement 3 is correct.
• Context: UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, has undergone a significant rebranding as “UN Trade and Development” to mark its 60th anniversary.
• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is a permanent intergovernmental organization that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade.
• It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 30, 1964 and has its headquarters in Geneva.
• UNCTAD’s work focuses on trade, development, finance, technology, investment, and sustainable development.
• It collects data, conducts research, and analyses policies to help countries frame policies in these areas.
• UNCTAD also outlines recommendations for realigning the global debt architecture with developing countries’ needs.

• The latest Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) reveals that in 2023, nearly 282 million people across 59 countries and territories faced high levels of acute hunger
• The GRFC is produced annually by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) and launched by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC)

Let's evaluate each statement about the Vaigai River:

1. It originates in Varusanadu Hills.
   - This statement is correct. The Vaigai River originates in the Varusanadu Hills, located in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, India.

2. The Vattaparai Falls are located on this river.
   - This statement is correct. The Vattaparai Falls, also known as Varushanadu Falls, are indeed located on the Vaigai River.

3. Madurai city lies on this river.
   - This statement is correct. Madurai, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in India, lies on the banks of the Vaigai River.

Based on the evaluation:

- Statement 1 is correct.
- Statement 2 is correct.
- Statement 3 is correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

Answer: D: 1, 2 and 3

• Context: Recent ancient DNA analysis sheds light on the vanished Avar nomads of Europe, revealing intricate family ties and social dynamics.
  • They uncovered a patrilineal society where men maintained lineage continuity, while women fostered social cohesion through marriage outside their paternal community. Additionally, the study identified unique social practices such as levirate unions and highlighted a transition in lineage coinciding with political shifts.
  • About Avars:
    • They were the nomadic people from eastern central Asia, who thrived from the 6th to 9th centuries. Seen as successors to the Huns, they were hired by the Byzantine Empire for military campaigns. A strict patrilineal descent system characterized their society, and they avoided inbreeding, engaging in limited intermarriage with non-Avar groups. They were renowned for their way of life and warfare.
  • Option A is incorrect because the capital of the Byzantine Empire was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), not Rome.
  • Option B is incorrect because Emperor Constantine the Great founded Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire in the 4th century, but the Byzantine Empire as a distinct entity emerged later.
  • Option C is incorrect because the official religion of the Byzantine Empire was Christianity, particularly Eastern Orthodox Christianity, not Buddhism.
  • Option D is correct. The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, upheld many Roman traditions, including administrative structures, legal systems, and the use of the Greek language. Additionally, Christianity, particularly Eastern Orthodox Christianity, was the official religion of the Byzantine Empire and played a central role in its culture, governance, and identity.