UPSC 2024: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Apr 06 - Apr 12

• Statement 1 is not correct, A foreign lawyer and law firms registered under the rules shall be entitled to practise law in India in non-litigious matters only.
• Statement 2 is correct, Further, foreign lawyers or foreign law firms shall not be permitted to appear before any courts, tribunals or other statutory or regulatory authorities.
  • They shall be allowed to practise on transactional work or corporate work such as joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property matters, drafting of contracts and other related matters on a reciprocal basis.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The Exercise Sea Dragon is an annual, multinational high-end exercise hosted by the U.S. Navy.
• Statement 2 is correct, The Exercise Sea Dragon focuses mainly on coordinated multilateral Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) exercises amongst the participating countries.

• Mission Sahbhagita is a platform for sharing wetland management experiences, best practices, success stories, and associated challenges.
• It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in 2022 with a mission of a healthy and effectively managed network of 75 wetlands of national and international significance.

• The Al-Hilal was a newspaper established by Indian leader Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and used as a medium for criticising the British Raj in India.
• The Comrade was a weekly English-language newspaper that was published and edited by Maulana Mohammad Ali.
• Shyamaji Krishnavarma who was the founder of the India House in London started to publish and edit “The Indian Sociologist”.
  • The subtitle of “The Indian Sociologist “was “an Organ of Freedom, of Political, Social and Religious Reform”.
• The “Zamindar” is a newspaper edited by Maulana Zafar Ali Khan.

Kudumbashree is the poverty eradication and women empowerment programme implemented by the State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM) of the Government of Kerala. The name Kudumbashree in the Malayalam language means ‘prosperity of the family’.

• Pair 01 is correctly matched, Barak River (Lakhipur -Tuker Gram) in Assam was declared as National waterway 16.
• Pair 02 is correctly matched, Gandak River (Bhaisalotal Barrage to Hazipur) in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh was declared as National Waterway 37
• Pair 03 is correctly matched, Indus River in Jammu & Kashmir was declared as National Waterway 46.
• Pair 04 is correctly matched, Tapi River (Hatnur Dam to Gulf of Khambhat) in Maharashtra and Gujarat was declared as National Waterway 100.

• Statement 01 is correct, The Mission seeks to achieve livelihood-driven tribal development in the next five years through the formation of Van Dhan groups who have been organized into Vandhan Kendras. The MFP gathered by tribals will be processed in these kendras and marketed through Van Dhan Producer Enterprises.
• Statement 02 is correct, TRIFED would be the nodal agency for implementing the scheme. The products produced will be marketed through Tribe India Stores.
• Statement 03 is incorrect, Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana aims to transform villages with significant tribal population into model villages (Adarsh Gram) covering a population of 4.22 crore (About 40% of the total Tribal Population).

• Statement 01 is correct, Sokra Misawa Festival is celebrated by Tiwas tribals in Karbi Anglong district, Assam.
  • Tiwas worship nature during this spring-time festival and then prepare their fields for the next crop.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, Tiwas are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in Assam excluding the autonomous districts.

The Indian National Congress conducted its first session in Bombay from 28 to 31 December 1885.

Image Source: Britannica

• Statement 01 is correct, Magellan, named after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), was the first probe launched by a space shuttle. The Magellan mission to Venus was one of the most successful deep space missions.
• Statement 02 is correct, It was the first spacecraft to image the entire surface of Venus and made several discoveries about the planet.
• Statement 03 is correct, On October 13, 1994, the spacecraft was commanded to plunge into the atmosphere to gather aerodynamic data. The spacecraft burned up in the Venusian atmosphere about 10 hours later after one of the most successful deep space missions.

• Statement 01 is correct, PM Gati Shakti Master Plan is a 100 lakh crore rupees ambitious plan to provide multi-modal connectivity to more than 1,200 industrial clusters, including two defence corridors across the country.
• Statement 02 is correct, Objective of the plan is to ensure integrated planning and implementation of infrastructure projects in the next four years, with focus on expediting works on the ground, saving costs and creating jobs. It intends to bring together 16 infrastructure related Ministries.
• Statement 03 is correct,  PM Gati Shakti is based on six pillars: Comprehensiveness, Prioritization, Optimization, Synchronisation, Analytics and Dynamic. Instead of planning and designing the projects separately in silos, the projects will be designed and executed with a common vision.

Article 36 to Article 51 of our Constitution deals with Directive Principles of the State Policy. Article 50 of the Indian Constitution provides that the State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the state.

Statement 1 is correct, Tightening of monetary policy is usually implemented to tackle rising inflation.
Statement 2 is not correct, in case of tighter monetary policy, the central banks look to increase short-term interest rates in a bid to shrink the money supply.
Statement 3 is correct, In India, increasing the cash reserve ratio and the repo rate by RBI is an example of tight monetary policy.

• The inaugural edition of the bilateral air exercise “Veer Guardian” between the Indian Air Force and Japan Air Self Defence Force was conducted in Japan in January 2023.
• Japan and India had signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2011.
• Japan and India had announced the “India-Japan Clean Energy Partnership (CEP)” in March 2022 during the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister to India.
• The landmark “India-Japan Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” came into force in July 2017. The agreement was signed in Tokyo during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra to Japan in November 2016.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organisation and international tribunal headquartered in The Hague.
  • The ICC is governed by the Rome Statute
  • The ICC is not part of the UN.
• Statement 2 is not correct, India is not a member of the International Criminal Court.
• Statement 3 is correct, ICC investigates and tries people charged with serious and grave crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.  The ICC can start investigation in three ways:
  • A state-party brings a case to the Court
  • The Court takes a suo motu cognizance
  • The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) refers a case to the Court.

Statement 1 is not correct, The WHO recommended against the use of Convalescent Plasma Therapy because such therapies did not increase the clinical improvement or reduce the mortality risk.
Statement 2 is correct, Under Convalescent Plasma Therapy, convalescent plasma, or blood plasma collected from patients who have recovered from an infection, will be used to treat various infectious diseases.
Statement 3 is correct, Under Convalescent Plasma Therapy, the donor must have in the past been infected and should have recovered from the disease.
Statement 4 is not correct, Studies have found that convalescent plasma therapy is associated with a survival benefit in patients with hematologic cancers and few other genetic diseases.

• Statement 1 is not correct, In the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case 1973, the Supreme Court laid down a new doctrine of the “Basic Structure of the Constitution”.
  • There is no mention of the term “Basic Structure” anywhere in the Constitution of India.
• Statement 2 is not correct, There is no direct reference to the provision of the “Judicial review” in the constitution which empowers the courts to invalidate laws.

• Statement 1 is correct, Central sector schemes are 100% funded by the Union government and implemented by the Central Government machinery.
  • Central sector schemes are mainly formulated on subjects from the Union List.
• Statement 2 is not correct, Centrally sponsored schemes are jointly funded by the Centre and State Governments
  • Centrally sponsored schemes are formulated in subjects from the State List and are implemented by the State Governments.
• Statement 3 is correct, The NITI Aayog has the authority to conduct an evaluation of both of the above schemes.
  • Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), an attached office of NITI Aayog, conducts independent evaluation studies of both Central Sector as well as Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

Image Source: Interpol

• The Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3) is ISRO’s medium-heavy lift launch vehicle.
• The LVM3 rocket was previously known as Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk3).

• Statement 1 is not correct, Target Olympic Podium is a scheme under the National Sports Development Fund of the Department of Sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
  • The objective of the TOP Scheme is to improve India’s performance at the Olympics and Paralympics.
  • Further, the support for customised training of medal prospects including for the Olympic Games and Asian Games is provided under TOP Scheme.
• Statement 2 is not correct, There is no such restriction that TOPS funding is given to new sportspersons who have never represented India in the Olympics yet.
  • Neeraj Chopra, who won India’s first-ever gold medal in athletics at Tokyo Olympics 2020, is being provided TOPS funding to train in Gloria Sports Arena, Turkey.

• The Industrial Revolution revolutionised economies that were based on agriculture and handicrafts into economies based on large-scale industry, mechanized manufacturing, and the factory system.
• Post the Industrial Revolution, Britain started producing machine-made goods and textiles that were much cheaper than Indian goods which ruined the market for Indian handicrafts.

Statement 1 is correct, Navroz/Nowruz is the Iranian or Persian New Year celebrated on the spring equinox day.
Statement 2 is correct, Ugadi is mainly celebrated in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Statement 3 is correct, Gudi Padwa, also known as Samvatsara Padvo or the Maharashtrian New Year marks the beginning of harvest season for Rabi crops.

• Statement 1 is correct, Chambal river is the right-bank tributary of the Yamuna river.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The Yamuna Action Plan is being undertaken with the assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
• Statement 3 is correct, the Yamuna river mainly flows through 4 Indian states namely Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

• Statement 1 is not correct, Shallow quakes tend to be more dangerous and damaging compared to deeper quakes as seismic waves from deep quakes have to travel farther to reach the surface and hence would have lost their energy.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The focus is the place inside Earth’s crust where an earthquake originates.
  • The point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus is the epicentre.

• Windfall profits are an unexpected rise in profits of a company as a consequence of an external incident which might be due to long-term or short-term reasons and not because of a business decision.
• A tax imposed on such an unanticipated rise in profits is called a windfall profit tax.

• Pair 1 is correct, The Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978 identified primary health care as the key to the attainment of the goal of Health for All.
• Pair 2 is not correct, The Hague Convention is a treaty that gives the basic framework for dealing with children who are abducted between member countries.
• Pair 3 is correct, The Talanoa declaration is a process which would help countries implement their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions by the end of 2020.
  • Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) are reductions in greenhouse gas emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• Pair 4 is not correct, The Under2 Coalition is the largest global network of states, regions, provinces and other subnational governments committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement.

• Statement 1 is correct, UNCLOS defined the rights and duties of countries in the oceans, the extent of ocean areas over which countries could claim sovereignty, and the legal status of marine resources.
  • UNCLOS also specified general rules for a range of activities in the oceans such as navigation, scientific research, and deep-sea mining.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The treaty established exclusive economic zones (EEZ), ocean areas up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coastline, where a country would have exclusive rights over all economic resources such as fish, oil, minerals, and gas.
• Statement 3 is correct, The high seas are the areas beyond the EEZ of any country.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) is the bankruptcy law of India which seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy.
• Statement 2 is correct, Section 53 of the Code prescribes an order of priority in which proceeds will be distributed to the creditors based on the liquidation value.
  • According to this waterfall mechanism, secured financial creditors rank the highest in the order of priority followed by unsecured financial creditors, government dues and operational creditors.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The creditors receive proceeds under the resolution plan in order of the mentioned priority and hence financial creditors like banks have the first claim until exhaustion.