UPSC 2022: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Apr 02 - Apr 08

The Fast Patrol Vessel named PS Zoroaster is the fourth ship to be gifted by India to Seychelles.
The other vessels gifted by India include PS Topaz (2005), PS Constant (2014), Patrol Boat Hermes (2016).

African Swine Fever (ASF) is different from swine flu. The virus does not affect people and there is no impact on human health.
It is a respiratory disease of pigs, which is caused by Type A influenza virus.
ASF is a severe viral disease that affects wild and domestic pigs typically resulting in an acute haemorrhagic fever.
ASF is caused by a large DNA virus of the Asfarviridae family.

• G-Secs are debt instruments issued by the government to borrow money.
• Like bank fixed deposits, g-secs are not tax-free.
• Treasury bills are short term instruments issued by the central government only.
• Dated securities are long-term instruments having maturity between 5 years and 40 years.

• Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) had launched a unique project of creating “bee-fences” to mitigate human-elephant conflicts.
• RE-HAB is an acronym for Reducing Elephant – Human conflict using Bees.
• Project RE-HAB is a sub-mission under KVIC’s National Honey Mission.
• While the Honey Mission is a programme to increase the bee population, honey production and beekeepers’ income by setting up apiaries, Project RE-HAB uses bee boxes as a fence to prevent the attack of elephants. 

SARTHAQ, developed by the Department of School Education and Literacy, is an indicative and suggestive implementation plan for school education. It will help in the implementation of the National Education Policy in the country.

In particle physics, a lepton is an elementary particle of half-integer spin that does not undergo strong interactions.
Two main classes of leptons exist: charged leptons (also known as the electron-like leptons or muons), and neutral leptons (better known as neutrinos).
Neutrons have a higher mass than neutrinos.

• Fundamental right under Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees the freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion, subject to public order, morality and health.
• It further provides that this article shall not affect any existing law and shall not prevent the state from making any law relating to:
  • Regulation or restriction of any economic, financial, political, or any secular activity associated with religious practice.
  • Providing social welfare and reform.

Opening of Hindu religious institutions of public character for all the classes and sections of the Hindus. (The term ‘Hindus’ includes individuals who profess Sikh, Jain or Buddhist religion).

• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines the distance of 12 nautical miles from the baseline as Territorial Sea limit and a distance of 200 nautical miles as Exclusive Economic Zone limit.
• EEZ is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.
• “Territorial Sea” confers full sovereignty over the waters, whereas “Exclusive Economic Zone” is merely a sovereign right that refers to the state’s rights below the surface of the sea.
• While India ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1995, the U.S. has failed to do it so far.

• NanoSniffer is the world’s first microsensor based Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) developed by NanoSniff Technologies, an IIT Bombay incubated startup.
• NanoSniffer is a 100% ‘Made in India’ product in terms of research, development & manufacturing. The core technology of NanoSniffer is protected by patents in the U.S. & Europe.
• NanoSniff has passed tests conducted by DRDO’s High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune; and by the National Security Guard (NSG) as well.

Umngot, considered India’s clearest river, is associated with the state of Meghalaya.

• Marib is in Yemen. Fighting for the key Yemeni region of Marib has intensified between the pro-government and Houthi rebel fighters. The Houthis have been trying to seize oil-rich Marib, the government’s last significant pocket of territory in the north.
• Nagorno-Karabakh region is recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but it is controlled by ethnic Armenians.

• Fermilab, housing the American particle accelerator, has released the first results from its ‘muon g-2’ experiment.
• These results spotlight the anomalous behaviour of the elementary particle called the muon.
  • The muon is considered as a heavier cousin of the electron.
• Muon g−2 is a particle physics experiment at Fermilab to measure the anomalous magnetic dipole moment of a muon to a precision of 0.14 ppm, which will be a sensitive test of the Standard Model. It might also provide evidence of the existence of entirely new particles.

• Brucellosis is a disease caused by a group of bacteria from the genus Brucella. These bacteria can infect both humans and animals.
• Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection. It is a bacterial infection that spreads from animals to people. It affects thousands of people worldwide.
• Most commonly, people are infected by eating raw or unpasteurized dairy products. Sometimes, the bacteria that cause brucellosis can spread through the air or through direct contact with infected animals.

• Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) is a system of grading institutes depending on the enrolment of women and the advancement of the careers of women faculty and scientists.
• The Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) will develop a comprehensive Charter and a framework for assessing Gender Equality in STEM.
• It is intended to create a level-playing field for meritorious girls in high schools to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in their higher education.

• In August 2017, B. N. Srikrishna Committee was constituted to study and identify key data protection issues and recommend methods to address them.
• Kris Gopalakrishnan Committee was formed by the Ministry of Information Technology in September 2019 to develop a governance framework for Non-Personal Data.
• P K Mohanty Committee was constituted by RBI to review the ownership guidelines and corporate structure for Indian Private Sector Banks.
• Sushil Modi Committee was constituted to look into revenue shortfall being faced by the states after the GST roll-out, and suggest steps for augmenting collections.

Shapari Scheme is a certification scheme for aquaculture products. ‘Shaphari’ is a Sanksrit word that means superior quality of fishery products suitable for human consumption.

Natanz, Fordow and Arak house Iran’s major nuclear facilities.

• The Chief Election Commissioner as well as the other Election Commissioners are appointed by the President.
• The Chief Election Commissioner and the two other election commissioners have equal powers and receive equal salary, allowances and other perquisites.
• In case of difference of opinion amongst the Chief Election Commissioner and/or two other election commissioners, the matter is decided by the Commission by a majority.
• The chief election commissioner is provided with security of tenure. He cannot be removed from his office except in the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court. In other words, he can be removed by the President on the basis of a resolution passed to that effect by both the Houses of Parliament with a special majority, either on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
• Thus, he does not hold his office until the pleasure of the president, though he is appointed by him.

• Under Section 100 of the Patents Act, 1970, the Central government has the power to authorise anyone to use any patents or patent applications for the “purposes of government”.
• Section 92 of the Patents Act allows the Central government to issue a compulsory licence (a licence issued to manufacture the patented product without the consent of the patent holder) in circumstances of national emergency or extreme urgency or in case of public non-commercial use.

• AT-1 bonds are unsecured, perpetual bonds that banks issue to shore up their core capital base to meet the Basel norms.
• They carry call options that allow banks to redeem them after five or 10 years.
• But banks are not obliged to use this call option and can opt to pay only interest on these bonds for eternity.

• Rabi crops are sown in the winter season and harvested in spring.
• Wheat, mustard, gram, rapeseed and barley are Rabi crops.

• Raisina Dialogue is an annual geo-political event.
• It is organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
• It is designed to explore prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia’s integration with the larger world.
• Every year, leaders in politics, business, media, and civil society converge in New Delhi to discuss the state of the world and explore opportunities for cooperation on a wide range of contemporary matters.
• The Dialogue is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion.

• Indian Rhino Vision 2020 aimed at attaining a population of 3,000 wild greater one-horned rhinos in seven of Assam’s protected areas by the year 2020.
• Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has the highest density of greater one-horned rhinos.
• Kaziranga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a tiger reserve hosting greater one-horned rhino.
  • It is also recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of avifaunal species.

• The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place on the 13th of April 1919.
• The Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab at that time was Michael O’Dwyer. Lord Chelmsford was India’s Viceroy.
• The Rowlatt Act was passed by the British government to increase their grip on power over the common folk. This law was passed in March 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council which gave them the power to arrest any person without any trial. To abolish this act, Gandhi and the other leaders called for a Hartal (suspension of work) to show Indians’ objection to this rule.
• The Jallianwala Bagh massacre or the Amritsar Massacre took place when many villagers gathered in the park for the celebration of Baisakhi. The gatherers wanted to also peacefully protest the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar started magazines like Mooknayak, Equality Janta and Bahishkrit Bharat.

Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary and an elephant reserve situated in Andhra Pradesh. It is the only sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh with a population of Asian elephants, which migrated after 200 years from neighbouring regions.

• Natural uranium consists of nearly 99% U-238 and only around 0.7% of U-235.
• U-235 is a fissile material that can sustain a chain reaction in a nuclear reactor.
• Enrichment of up to 3-4% is required for nuclear reactors, which is known as Low Enriched Uranium.
• Enrichment of up to 90% or more is required for nuclear weapons. This is known as Highly Enriched Uranium or weapons-grade uranium.

• The Union government classifies its liabilities into two broad categories.
• The debt contracted against the Consolidated Fund of India is defined as public debt and includes all other funds received outside Consolidated Fund of India under Article 266 (2) of the Constitution, where the government merely acts as a banker or custodian.
• The second type of liabilities is called public account.
• Public debt excludes liabilities contracted against Public Account.
• Government securities (G-Secs), treasury bills, external assistance, and short-term borrowings are sources of public debt.

• The ICESCR is part of the International Bill of Human Rights, along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
• India is a signatory to ICESR.
• The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) was set up in 1985 by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.
• It was constituted with an aim to monitor on its behalf the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR).

• State of World Population Report is the annual flagship report of the United Nations Population Fund.
• United Nations Population Fund is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide.