UPSC 2023: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Aug 05 - Aug 11

• Statement 1 is not correct, Aurobindo attended the 1906 Congress meeting headed by Dadabhai Naoroji and participated as a councillor in forming the fourfold objectives of “Swaraj, Swadesh, Boycott, and national education”.
• Statement 2 is correct, In May 1908, Aurobindo was arrested in connection with the Alipore Conspiracy Case or Alipore Bomb Case.
• Statement 3 is correct, Aurobindo’s literary works include Bases of Yoga, Bhagavad Gita and Its Message, The Future Evolution of Man, Rebirth and Karma, Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol and Hour of God.
  • ‘Savitri’ is said to be an epic poem with about 24000 lines.

• Ramman is a religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwali people in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
• Sankirtana is a form of performing art which involves ritual singing, drumming and dancing performed in the temples and domestic spaces in Manipur.
• Koodiyattam is a traditional performing art form in the state of Kerala. It is a combination of ancient Sanskrit theatre with elements of Koothu, an ancient performing art from the Sangam era.
• Kalbelia is a folk dance of Rajasthan. The dancers show bending movements that look like a snake. It is performed by the Kalbelia tribes who are known to be a snake-charming tribe.

• Statement 1 is not correct, River Mahanadi originates from Sihawa Mountain (Satpura Range) in Chhattisgarh and drains into the Bay of Bengal.
• Statement 2 is correct, Seonath, Jonk, Hasdeo, Mand, Ib, Ong and Tel are the major tributaries of Mahanadi.

• Statement 1 is correct, It is located in the state of Sikkim.
• Statement 2 is not correct, Khangchendzonga National Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 2016, becoming the first “Mixed Heritage” site in India.
  • However, it is not the only UNESCO mixed world heritage site in the world.
• Statement 3 is correct, A notable aspect of the National Park is the large altitudinal variation observed over the protected area.

• Statement 1 is not correct, LTE (Long-Term Evolution) is a fourth-generation (4G) wireless standard and Voice over Long-Term Evolution is an advanced or enhanced LTE.
• Statement 2 is not correct, LTE is data-only technology but VoLTE is both data and voice technology.

• Statement 1 is not correct, Petcoke is a carbon-rich solid material that is obtained as a residue during the oil distillation or refining process.
• Statement 2 is correct, Petcoke (>7800 Kcal/Kg) has a higher calorific value as compared to coal (3500-4500 Kcal/Kg).
• Statement 3 is correct, Petcoke has higher sulphur content and produces more sulphur dioxide emissions as compared to coal.

• Statement 1 is correct, Gabon is located on the West coast of Africa and the equator passes through it.

Image source: WorldAtlas

• Statement 2 is not correct, Nigeria is India’s largest trade partner in the African continent.

• Statement 1 is not correct, Child mortality is defined as the probability of a child dying between birth and exactly 5 years of age, expressed per 1,000 live births.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The proposed UN SDG target for child mortality aims to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age by 2030, with all countries aiming to reduce under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 deaths per 1,000 live births.
• However, despite a significant reduction in recent years, child mortality in India stands at 35 per 1,000 live births (2019). 

• Statement 1 is not correct, “Nipun” is a new generation anti-personnel mine.
• Statement 2 is not correct, “Nipun” has been developed indigenously with the efforts of Armament Research and Development Establishment, Pune and the Indian industry.

• Statement 1 is not correct, A  Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is an electronic record that identifies the certifying authority issuing it.
• Statement 2 is not correct, A Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) can be presented electronically to prove your identity, to access information or services on the Internet or to sign certain documents digitally manually.
• Statement 3 is correct, A digital signature is an electronic method of signing an electronic document and ensuring that the original content is unchanged.

• West Nile virus (WNV) is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States. It is most commonly spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito.
• Mosquitoes of the genus Culex are generally considered the principal vectors of West Nile Virus.
• Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, who happen to be the main host of the West Nile Virus.
• West Nile virus is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes West Nile fever. It is a member of the family Flaviviridae, from the genus Flavivirus, which also contains the Zika virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus.

• The Godavari is the largest river in peninsular India. The river originates in the Western Ghats of central India near Nashik in Maharashtra.
• Its major tributaries include Pranahita (combined flow of Wainganga, Penganga, Wardha), Indravati, Sabari (left bank tributaries) and Manjira (right bank tributary). Pranhita is the largest tributary not the longest.
• The basin is bounded by Satmala hills, the Ajanta range and the Mahadeo hills on the north, by the Eastern Ghats on the south and the east.

• Kasuti is a traditional form of folk embroidery practised in the state of Karnataka.
• Lac bangles of Hyderabad still does not have GI tag.

• Lumpy skin disease is caused by a virus in the family Poxviridae, genus Capripoxvirus which affects cattle.

Maitreya is considered to be the successor of Gautama Buddha. Maitreya is a Bodhisattva who will appear on Earth in the future and is regarded as a future Buddha of this world.

• The tradition of Vedic chanting was added to the intangible cultural heritage of Humanity list in 2008. Chhau dance was added in 2010.

Read more on Chhau Dance.

• Annie Besant was the first woman President of the Indian National Congress. She presided over the 1917 Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress.
• Annie Besant started a newspaper called “New India” to highlight issues related to the freedom struggle in India.

Read more on Annie Besant.

• Landholder’s Society formerly known as Zamindari Association was the first political association of modern India. It was launched in Calcutta in March 1838. Landlords like Raja radhakant dev, dwarkanath tagore, Prasanna Kumar Tagore, Ramkamal Sen and Bhabani Charan Mitra were its leading members.
• The promotion of landholders’ interests through petitions to government and discreet persuasion of the bureaucracy was its main objective.
• The demand for reform of the judiciary, the police and the revenue departments was also on its agenda.

• Fort William is a fort in Hastings, Calcutta. It was built during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It sits on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River.
• River Damodar is known as the ‘Sorrow of Bengal’ because of its destructive floods in the plains of West Bengal.
• River Hooghly is formed by the junction of the Bhagirathi and Jalangi rivers at Nabadwip. From there the Hugli flows generally south to the Bay of Bengal, through a heavily industrialized area in West Bengal.

• The Lok Sabha has certain powers that make it more powerful than the Rajya Sabha. Motions of no confidence against the government can be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha only. The Council of Ministers is not responsible to the Rajya Sabha. Therefore, a no-confidence motion cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
• The proclamation of emergency must be approved by both houses of parliament within one month from the date of its issue.
• Both houses of parliament can initiate the motion to impeach the President of India.

• Default bail also known as statutory bail is granted on the default of the police or investigating agency to file its report/complaint within a specific prescribed period of time.
• This is enshrined in Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

• Eastern Bridge Exercise is a Bilateral Joint exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) and Royal Air Force Oman (RAFO) conducted biennially. The first exercise was held in 2009 at Thumrait, Oman.
• ‘SHINYUU Maitri’ is a military exercise between the Japanese Air Self Defense Force and the Indian Air Force.

Read more on Military Exercises of the Indian Army.

• Interest on the SGB will be taxable as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• The capital gains tax arising on redemption of SGB to an individual has been exempted.
• The indexation benefits will be provided to long terms capital gains arising to any person on transfer of bond.
• These securities are eligible to be used as collateral for loans from banks, financial Institutions and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC). They can be gifted or transferred to others who are eligible under the scheme. They can also trade these bonds on stock exchanges subject to notifications from the Reserve Bank of India.

Read more on Sovereign Gold Bond.

Project Zero is a security analysis employed by Google tasked with finding zero-day vulnerabilities announced in 2014.

• If the vulnerability has not been fixed after 90 days, the Project Zero team automatically releases information about the bug and provides the general public with a sample attack code.

• WHO Air Quality Guidelines are ambitious and reflect the large impact that air pollution has on global health.
• They recommend aiming for annual mean concentrations of PM2.5 not exceeding 5 µg/m3 and NO2 not exceeding 10 µg/m3, and the peak season mean 8-hr ozone concentration not exceeding 60 µg/m3.

Image Source: Health and Environment Alliance

• The highest levels of ozone pollution occur during periods of sunny weather and not during inclement weather. Ozone at ground level is formed by the reaction with the sunlight of pollutants from vehicles and industry emissions and volatile organic compounds emitted by vehicles, solvents and industry.
• Particles with a diameter of 10 microns or less, (≤ PM10) can penetrate and lodge deep inside the lungs whereas PM2.5 can penetrate the lung barrier and enter the blood system.

The major tributaries of the Beas River are Bain, Banganga, Luni, and Uhal, along with Banner, Chakki, Gaj, Harla, Mamuni, Parvati, Patlikuhlal, Sainj, Suketi and Tirthan.

• Statement 1 is incorrect as it is established under Article 338 of the Indian Constitution.
• Statement 2 is incorrect as the two bodies were separated by the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act.
• Statement 3 is also incorrect because there are three other members apart from the chairman and vice chairman.

Enhanced surveillance framework was imposed on Greece by European Union intended for continued adoption of measures to ensure tackle all sources of economic difficulties and sustain a stable economy.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: As per the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act of 2019, The Chairman of the NHRC can also be a Judge of the Supreme Court apart from the Chief Justice.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The tenure has been reduced to three years by the amendment of 2019.

Wetlands are called the Kidneys of the earth because of the ability of the aquatic plants to absorb heavy metals and nutrients. The plants use these nutrients to grow and support the whole of the ecosystem.