Daily Current Affairs MCQ- June 13, 2024 - UPSC MCQ

The newly formed Cabinet has decided to further expansion of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and construct 3 crore additional rural and urban houses.

About Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is a credit-linked subsidy scheme initiated to provide affordable housing to low and moderate-income residents across the country.
• The newly formed government has approved the proposal to provide 3 crore additional rural and urban houses under PMAY.
• The scheme has two components: PMAY-U for the urban poor and PMAY-G and PMAY-R for the rural poor.

PMAY-U (Urban)

• Objective: To provide housing for all in urban areas.
• Beneficiaries: Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low-Income Group (LIG), and Middle-Income Group (MIG).
• Subsidy Schemes:
  • Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme: Offers interest subsidy on home loans for EWS, LIG, and MIG categories.
  • In-Situ Slum Redevelopment: Utilizes land as a resource to provide houses to eligible slum dwellers.
  • Affordable Housing in Partnership: Promotes partnerships with public and private sectors to provide affordable housing.
  • Beneficiary-Led Construction: Provides financial assistance to individuals to construct or enhance their own houses.

PMAY-G (Gramin)

• Objective: To provide a pucca house with basic amenities to all rural families who are homeless or living in kutcha or dilapidated houses.
• Beneficiaries: Identified using the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011.
• Features:
  • Financial Assistance: Rs. 1.2 lakh in plain areas and Rs. 1.3 lakh in hilly, difficult, and Integrated Action Plan (IAP) areas.
  • Construction: Houses are to be constructed by beneficiaries with technical assistance from the government.
  • Convergence with other schemes: Encourages convergence with other schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) for toilet construction, and MGNREGA for wage employment.

Hence both statements are correct.

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog (AIM) announced the launch of two groundbreaking initiatives aimed at fostering innovation and sustainability in India: the ‘AIM – ICDK Water Challenge 4.0’ and the fifth edition of ‘Innovations for You’ handbook, spotlighting SDG entrepreneurs of India.

About AIM – ICDK Water Challenge 4.0

• The AIM – ICDK Water Challenge 4.0 is an initiative launched by the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under NITI Aayog to address critical water-related challenges through inventive solutions.
• The challenge is a collaborative effort with the Innovation Centre Denmark (ICDK) at the Royal Danish Embassy in India.

Objectives

• Address water challenges: To address critical water-related challenges through innovative solutions.
• Global participation: The selected teams from India will participate in the global Next Generation Digital Action program, engaging with young talents from leading universities and innovation hubs in nine countries (India, Denmark, Ghana, Kenya, Korea, Tanzania, South Africa, Ghana, Colombia, and Mexico).
• Focus on sustainability: The program emphasizes sustainability, digital solutions, inclusion, and universal design principles.
• Showcase innovations: Participants will be able to showcase their innovations at the Digital Tech Summit in Copenhagen from October 30th to 31st, 2024, funded by the Government of Denmark.
• Two Tracks: The challenge invites entries under two tracks: one for students and the other for young entrepreneurs under the age of 35, including early-stage startups, researchers, and young innovators committed to driving positive environmental change.

Hence option d is the correct answer.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the victory of two candidates serving prison sentences on terror charges has raised questions about their ability to take oath and function as legislators.

Can Jailed Leaders Function as MPs?

• Legal framework: Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 (RPA) disqualifies MPs if they are convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years.
• Constitutional right: Despite being in prison, jailed leaders have the constitutional right to take oath as Members of Parliament.
• Temporary bail: Jailed leaders can seek temporary bail or custody to attend the oath-taking ceremony and perform other ancillary functions as MPs.

Rights of MPs if Arrested

• Oath-Taking: Jailed leaders can take oath as MPs, but they must seek permission from authorities to be escorted to Parliament for the ceremony.
• Inability to attend proceedings: After taking the oath, they must inform the Speaker in writing about their inability to attend House proceedings.
• Speaker's referral: The Speaker will refer their requests to the House Committee on Absence of Members, which will make a recommendation on their absence.
• Conviction and Disqualification: If convicted and sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison, they will immediately lose their seats in the Lok Sabha.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

The Socialist Kanak National Liberation Front (FLNKS) of the South Pacific French territory of New Caledonia called for French President Emmanuel Macron to abandon the plan to modify the electoral reform.

About New Caledonia

• New Caledonia is a French overseas territory located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, approximately 1,500 km east of Australia.

History of Island

• New Caledonia, originally inhabited by the Kanaks, came under French control in 1853.
• Post-WWII, Kanaks gained French citizenship, but 1960s French migration made them a minority, sparking an independence movement.
• Tensions led to the Matignon Agreements (1988) and Nouméa Accord (1998), promising three independence referendums.
• The 2018 and 2020 referendums favored France. Despite COVID-19 concerns, the 2021 referendum also favoured France, angering the Kanaks.

Significance of New Caledonia for France

• Strategic location: Situated in the South Pacific, New Caledonia provides France with a military and geopolitical presence in a region with growing global interest, particularly with increasing influence from China.
• Economic resources: The island is rich in natural resources, notably nickel, which is vital for various industries, including manufacturing and technology.

Hence option a is the correct answer.

Understanding heat has changed metallurgy, materials science, mining, refineries, a large variety of chemical reactions, semiconductor electronics, meteorology, and transportation.

About

What is Heat?

• Heat is a form of energy that is transferred from one body to another due to a temperature difference.
• Heat can be transferred through three modes: conduction, convection, and radiation.

How Does Heat Animate Engines?

• Internal Combustion Engines: Heat from combustion of fuel in the engine cylinders is converted into mechanical energy, which powers the vehicle.
• Heat exchangers: Heat is transferred from the engine to the cooling system, which helps maintain the engine's optimal operating temperature.

How Does Heat Cause Global Warming?

• Greenhouse effect: Heat from the sun is trapped in the Earth's atmosphere by greenhouse gases, leading to an increase in global temperatures.
• Human activities: Human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation release large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, exacerbating global warming.

Hence option b is the correct answer.

Israel Aerospace Industries unveiled a new air-launched variant of its Lora ballistic missile recently.

About Air LORA:

• It is an air-launched variant of the Long-Range Artillery (LORA) ballistic missile.
• It is designed and developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
• It is a long-range air-to-ground missile (AGM) developed for strike missions against high-value and well-protected targets such as command centres, air force bases, infrastructure, and naval vessels in dense littoral environments.
• With a robust warhead of various types, Air LORA enables air forces to strike enemy targets from far distances outside the reach of enemy air defences.
• It features high survivability with advanced immune INS/GNSS navigation and strong anti-jamming capabilities, allowing for 24/7 operation in extreme weather conditions and highly contested battlefields.
• It can be simply integrated into airborne platforms as a stand-alone configuration or through the avionics system” and is easy to operate, “with simple fire-and-forget and autonomous operation.
• It has a very high mission success rate mainly due to its supersonic speed and its combat-proven GNSS anti-jamming system”, as well as terminal trajectory shaping and a 90° attack angle.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

A team of scientists in the UK recently developed non-invasive measurement techniques and novel analysis methods to decode disease progression and evaluate the effect of potential treatments or lifestyle changes in people with Huntington's disease.

About Huntington’s Disease:

• HD is an inherited disorder that causes nerve cells (neurons) in parts of the brain to gradually break down and die.
• It has a wide impact on a person's functional abilities and usually results in movement, thinking (cognitive), and psychiatric disorders.
• There are two types of HD:
• Adult-onset is the most common. Persons with this form usually develop symptoms in their mid-30s or 40s.
• Early-onset affects a small number of people and begins in childhood or in the teens.
• Cause:
• A genetic change (mutation) in the HTT gene causes HD.
• The HTT gene makes a protein called huntingtin. This protein helps your nerve cells (neurons) function.
• The normal HTT gene contains a stretch of DNA that specifies the number of times the amino acid glutamine is repeated in the Htt protein. This number varies from 11 to 31.
• In the mutant versions of the HTT gene, this stretch is expanded to encode 35 or more repeats. 
• As the number of repetitions increases, the severity of Huntington’s disease increases and its debilitation begins at an earlier age.
• HD is rare. The disease is passed down through families.
• Symptoms:
• HD usually causes movement, cognitive, and psychiatric disorders with a wide spectrum of signs and symptoms.
• The patient suffers mood swings, has difficulty in reasoning, shows abnormal and uncontrollable jerky movements, and experiences difficulty in speaking, swallowing, and walking.
• Treatment:
• There is no cure for HD. There is no known way to stop the disease from getting worse.
• The goal of treatment is to slow the symptoms and help the person function for as long as possible.

Hence option c is the correct answer.

A rare four-horned antelope has been sighted for the first time in Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve (Sagar district), which was earlier known as Nauradehi Sanctuary.

About Four-Horned Antelope:

• The four-horned antelope, also called Chousingha, is a small bovid antelope.
• They are the smallest antelopes found in Asia.
• Scientific Name: Tetracerus quadricornis
• Distribution:
• It is endemic to India and Nepal.
• In India, they range from the foothills of the Himalayas in the north to the Deccan Plateau in the south. 
• Habitat:
• They mostly occur in open, dry, deciduous forests in hilly terrain.
• They inhabit areas with significant cover from grasses or heavy undergrowth, and close to water bodies.
• Features:
• They have a yellowish-brown to reddish coat and are slender, with small legs and a short tail.
• These antelopes have four horns, which distinguish them from most other bovids, which have two horns.
• Only males in this species grow horns. One pair of horns is located between the ears, and the other on the forehead. 
• They are usually diurnal and solitary by nature; however, can be spotted in loose groups of three to four.
• Conservation Status:
• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable

Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Recently, police registered a zero FIR case against former minister of Telangana for allegedly making objectionable comments against the Telangana Chief Minister. 

• It refers to a First Investigation Report (FIR) that is registered irrespective of the area where the offense is committed.
• The police in such a case can no longer claim that they have no jurisdiction.
• It is later transferred to the police station that has the actual jurisdiction so that the investigation can begin.
• It was introduced on the recommendation of the Justice Verma Committee formed at the backdrop of the brutal Nirbhaya gang rape in Delhi in 2012.
• This puts a legal obligation on the police to begin an investigation and take quick action without the excuse of the absence of jurisdiction.
• Objective: It is to ensure the victim doesn’t have to run from pillar to post to get a police complaint registered. The provision is meant to provide speedy redressal to the victim so that timely action can be taken after the filing of the FIR.

What is an FIR?

• It is information recorded by a police officer on duty given either by the aggrieved person or any other person to the commission of an alleged offence.
• It is not defined in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, or in any other law.
• In police regulations or rules, information recorded under Section 154 of CrPC is known as First Information Report (FIR).

Hence all statements are correct.

A recent study highlighted that due to factors like climate change and geological shifts, Earth's changing rotation may prompt clocks to skip a second, potentially necessitating a "negative leap second" around 2029.

• It is used as a measure to combat the long-term slowdown in the Earth’s rotation which is caused by the constant melting and refreezing of ice caps.
• It is added every now and then to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) in order to synchronize a clock worldwide with the Earth’s ever slowing rotation.
• The system of leap seconds was introduced in the early 1970s. So far, there have been 27 positive leap seconds have been added.
• UTC consists of a time scale that combines the output of more than 300 highly precise Atomic clocks worldwide. Atomic clocks are very accurate and are stable within 1 second over a period of millions of years.
• On the other hand, the Astronomical Time known as Universal Time (UT1) refers to the Earth's rotation around its own axis and determines the length of a day.
• Reason for addition: The Earth's rotation around its own axis is not regular, as sometimes it speeds up and sometimes it slows down, due to various factors including the moon’s gravitational Earth-braking forces that often results in ocean tides.
• As a result, Astronomical Time (UT1) gradually falls out of synch with Atomic time (UTC), and as and when the difference between UTC and UT1 approaches 0.9 seconds, a “Leap Second” is added to UTC through Atomic clocks worldwide.
• A leap second is normally inserted either on June 30 or December 31.

What is Negative Leap second?

• It is a second that is subtracted from our clocks to keep them in sync with the Earth's rotation.
• Till date, no negative leap second has been introduced because, in the last few decades the Earth's rotation has generally been a bit slow.
• The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) monitors the Earth's rotation and takes decisions on when to add or subtract a leap second.
• Since Earth is spinning faster than usual recently so timekeepers had thought of using negative leap seconds for the first time.
• In other words, they thought of subtracting leap seconds from our clocks to synchronise them with Earth's rotation.

Hence only statement 1 is correct.