UPSC 2024: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Apr 20 - Apr 26

• Statement 1 is correct, UPI is an advanced version of Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)- round–the–clock funds transfer service that makes cashless payments faster, easier and smoother.
• Statement 2 is correct, NPCI launched UPI with 21 member banks in April 2016.
• Statement 3 is correct, NPCI is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
  • It is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

• Pair 1 is correct, Chailo Sahib or Chaliha is a forty-day festival which falls in the months of July – August when Sindhis observe fast for forty days to please their God Jhulelal.
• Pair 2 is not correct, Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra is a three-week-long pilgrimage and festival of Uttarakhand.
  • Gonds are not native to the Uttarakhand state.
• Pair 3 is not correct, Wari is a pilgrimage for the Warkari sect related to Pandharpur god Vithoba in Maharashtra.
  • It’s part of the Bhakti movement rather than a festival of a particular tribal group.

• Statement 1 is not correct, Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) is a joint venture company of Canara Bank and the Union Ministry of Education.
• Statement 2 is correct, All the centrally funded higher educational institutions would be eligible for joining as members of HEFA.
• Statement 3 is correct, For joining as a member, the institution should agree to escrow a specific amount from their internal accruals to HEFA for a period of 10 years.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) was enacted during the Emergency in 1976 amid apprehensions that foreign powers were interfering in India’s affairs by pumping money into the country through independent organisations.
• Statement 2 is correct, FCRA requires every person or NGO seeking to receive foreign donations to open a bank account for the receipt of the foreign funds in the State Bank of India, Delhi.
• Statement 3 is not correct, Once granted, FCRA registration is valid for five years.
  • NGOs are expected to apply for renewal within six months of the date of expiry of registration.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Competition Commission of India (CCI) was established as a statutory body in March 2009 by the Government of India under the Competition Act, 2002.
• Statement 2 is correct, CCI consists of a Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.
• Statement 3 is correct, The government replaced the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in 2017.

• Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IMPDS) is a central sector scheme that has been launched and implemented by the Department of Food & Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

• Statement 1 is not correct, When a President’s Rule is imposed, the state legislative assembly would be either suspended or dissolved by the President.
  • Therefore the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly is not necessarily the consequence.
• Statement 2 is correct, Upon the imposition of the President’s rule, there would be no Council of Ministers.
  • Although the power of dissolution of the state Assembly is vested with the Governor, yet such a power can be exercised only after both Houses of Parliament approve the decision.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The President’s Rule does not lead to the dissolution of local bodies.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is a statutory organisation constituted in September 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
• Statement 2 is correct, One of the mandates of CPCB is to collect, compile and publish technical and statistical data relating to water and air pollution and the measures devised for their effective prevention, control or abatement.

• Under NAMP, four air pollutants have been identified for regular monitoring at all the locations. They are:
  • Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)
  • Oxides of Nitrogen as NO2
  • Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM / PM10)
  • Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)

• Statement 1 is not correct, The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
  • The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
  • Therefore, the Court settles legal disputes between nations only and not between individuals.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague in the Netherlands.
• Statement 3 is correct, The ICJ is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Security Council (UNSC).
  • Judges are also eligible for re-election.

Image Source: The World Atlas

• K.G. Deshpande, a friend of Aurobindo, was in charge of a weekly, “Induprakash”, published from Bombay. He requested Sri Aurobindo to write upon the current political situation.
• Aurobindo Ghosh began writing a series of fiery articles under the title “New Lamps for Old”, strongly criticising the Congress for its moderate policy.

Assamese Gamosa/Gamusa or Gamucha is a white rectangular piece of cloth with embroidered red borders. While it has a lot of uses, it is mostly used as an article presented to guests, elders, family or friends on special occasions as a sign of respect. It is an article of significance for the indigenous people of Assam and no important ceremony or event is complete without the Gamosa.

• Although cotton yarn is the most common material for making/weaving gamosas, there are special occasion ones made from Pat silk.
• There are a total of nine types of Gamosas used for different occasions. Uka Gamosa, Phulam Gamosa, Bihuwan Gamosa, Tiyoni Gamosa, Pani Gamosa, Anakota Gamosa, Telosh Gamusa, Jor Gamosa and Xadharon Gamosa.

Image Source: Hindustan Times

• As per Section 8 in the Right To Information Act, 2005, the following are the exemptions from disclosure of information under RTI
  • information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence;
  • information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court;
  • information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;
  • information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
  • information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
  • information received in confidence from foreign government;
  • information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;
  • information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
  • cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers:
    • Provided that the decisions of Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material on the basis of which the decisions were taken shall be made public after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete, or over
  • information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual.

• Statement 01 is incorrect,“Ancient monument” means any structure, erection or monument, or any tumulus or place of interment, or any cave, rock sculpture, inscription or monolith, which is of historical, archaeological or artistic interest and which has been in existence for not less than one hundred years.
• Statement 02 is correct, Currently, construction up to 100 metres around protected monuments is prohibited.

• Pair 01 is incorrectly matched, The Liancourt Rocks dispute is a territorial dispute between South Korea and Japan. Both countries claim sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks, a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan which are referred to as “Dokdo” in Korean and “Takeshima” in Japanese. North Korea also claims sovereignty of the islands.
• Pair 02 is correctly matched, Falkland Islands, also called Malvinas Islands or Spanish Islas Malvinas, internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic Ocean. The territory’s sovereignty status is part of an ongoing dispute between Argentina and the UK.
• Pair 03 is correctly matched,  The Kuril Islands dispute between Japan and Russia is over the sovereignty of the South Kuril Islands. The Kuril Islands are stretched from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula separating the Okhotsk Sea from the North Pacific Ocean.
• Pair 04 is correctly matched, Both Japan and China claim the uninhabited islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and Tiaoyu in China, as their own, but Japan has administered them since 1972.

Under Article 47 – Prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of other drugs which are injurious to health is mentioned, i.e., Directive Principles of State policy. And, the prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour (Article 23) is a Fundamental Right.

• Statement 1 is not correct: Thirra is a ritual dance performed in the temples of the Malabar region in Kerala.
• Statement 2 is correct: It is performed by the artists of the Malaya community.

• Statement 1 is correct: In terms of length, catchment area, and discharge, the Godavari is the largest river in peninsular India. It is known as the Dakshina Ganga.
• Statement 2 is correct: The source of the river is in the Sahyadris, near Trimbakeshwar in the Nashik district of Maharashtra.
• Statement 3 is not correct: Banganga, Kadva, Shivana, Purna, Kadam, Pranahita, Indravati, Taliperu, and Sabari are the left bank tributaries of Godavari.

• Statement 1 is correct: Bastille Day is the national day of France. It is celebrated on 14 July each year.
• Statement 2 is not correct: It is the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789.

• Statement 1 is correct: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar is caused by protozoan parasites which are transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies.
• Statement 2 is correct: The species commonly found in the Indian subcontinent is Leishmania donovani.
• Statement 3 is correct: There are no vaccines for preventing the Kala-azar. However, the vaccines are under development.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a collaboration of 35 nations that was launched in 1985. It is located in Southern France.

• Statement 1 is correct, Adeno-associated viruses 2 (AAV2) belong to the family Parvoviridae, genus Dependovirus which infects both humans and some primates.
• Statement 2 is correct, AAV2 belongs to the parvovirus family and is dependent on co-infection with other viruses, mainly adenoviruses, in order to replicate.

• The RBI controls the money supply in the economy through quantitative and qualitative tools.
• Under Quantitative measures money supply is controlled through tools like Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), or bank rate or open market operations.
• Qualitative or selective methods of credit control include regulation of margin requirement, credit rationing, regulation of consumer credit, direct action, etc.

• Pair 1 is correct, Asola-Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli hill range on Delhi-Haryana border lies in Southern Delhi and northern parts of Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana state.
• Pair 2 is not correct, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Devikulam taluk in the Idukki district of Kerala.
• Pair 3 is not correct, Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Andhra Pradesh
• Pair 4 is not correct, Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the northern part of Amravati District of Maharashtra.

• Statement 1 is correct, El Niño events are associated with a warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific, while La Niña events are the reverse, with a sustained cooling of these same areas.
• Statement 2 is not correct, Indian context, El Niño means lesser than average rains for India and La Niña is associated with good rainfall during the monsoon season. 

• Subh-e Azadi is an Urdu language poem written by Faiz Ahmed Faiz in 1947.
• Faiz Ahmed Faiz in his poem Subh-e Azadi expressed anguish and displeasure about the “Partition of India”.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Reverse osmosis (RO) process can effectively remove dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium, resulting in softer water.
• Statement 2 is correct, The UV (Ultraviolet) technology helps in killing bacteria and viruses, but unlike the RO water purifier the UV technology cannot eliminate or eradicate the bacteria that the radiations manage to kill.
  • The dead organisms continue to be present in the water consumed.
• Statement 3 is correct, The UF (Ultrafiltration) technology does not require electricity to function, while the UV and RO technologies need that.

• Statement 1 is not correct, Only the State Bank of India is authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds.
• Statement 2 is not correct, Only those political parties which are registered with the Election Commission of India and secured not less than one percent of votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly, are eligible to receive funding from these bonds.
• Statement 3 is correct, An electoral bond can be purchased by any citizen of India or a body incorporated in India and donate them to the political party of their choice.

• The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is an economic indicator derived from the monthly survey of private sector companies.
• PMI aims to provide information regarding the current and future conditions of a business to the decision-makers, analysts and investors of the company.
• PMI or a Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is an indicator of business activity-both in the manufacturing and services sectors.
• The PMI Index is compiled by IHS Markit in India.