UPSC 2023: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Aug 12 - Aug 18

History of Madras

• The present-day city of Chennai started in 1644 as an English settlement known as Fort St. George.
• The region was then a part of the Vijayanagara Empire, then headquartered at Chandragiri in present-day Andhra Pradesh.
• Vijayanagaras appointed chieftains known as Nayaks who ruled different regions in the province, almost independently.
• Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka was in-charge of the area of present Chennai city when the English East India Company arrived to establish a factory in the area. The British secured a Grant by Venkatadri Nayaka giving over to the EIC a three-mile long strip of land in the fishing village of Madrasapattinam.
• On August 22, 1639, the deed was signed by EIC’s Francis Day accompanied by his interpreter Beri Thimmappa and superior Andrew Cogan.
• During World War I, Madras was the only Indian city to be bombarded by the German light cruiser SMS Emden.

• Statement 01 is correct, Aadhaar number is a 12-digit random number issued by the UIDAI (“Authority”) to the residents of India after satisfying the verification process laid down by the Authority.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, Linking of Aadhaar with the voter identity card is Voluntary.
• Statement 03 is incorrect, No entry in electoral roll shall be deleted on the ground of non-submission of Aadhaar number.Therefore, Voter ID would not be canceled if it is not linked to Aadhaar.

Below mentioned sections are entitled to Free Legal Services

Image Source:nalsa.gov

Read more on  National Legal Services Authority of India

• Jagjivan Ram, fondly known as Babuji, was a freedom fighter, a national leader, a crusader of social justice, a champion of depressed classes and an outstanding Parliamentarian.
• In 1935, he assisted with the formation of the All-India Depressed Classes League. 
• He pushed Dalit leaders to fight for social reforms and also demand political representation. In 1935, he appeared before the Hammond Commission at Ranchi and demanded, for the first time, voting rights for the Dalits.
• Inspired by Gandhiji he played a crucial role in the freedom struggle. He was arrested in 1942, for his active participation in the Quit India Movement launched by the Indian National Congress.

Read more about Babu Jagjivan Ram.

• Pair 1 is correctly matched: Anatolia, called Asia Minor (Lesser Asia) by the Romans, the land is the Asian part of modern Turkey. It lies across the Aegean Sea to the east of Greece and is usually known by its ancient name Anatolia.

Image Source: Britannica

• Pair 2 is correctly matched: The Amhara Region is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people.
• Pair 3 is incorrectly matched: Cabo Delgado is the northernmost province of Mozambique.There is an ongoing conflict in the region the mainly fought between militant Islamists and jihadists attempting to establish an Islamic state in the area and Mozambican security forces.

Image Source: BBC

• Pair 4 is incorrectly matched:The autonomous community of Catalonia occupies a triangular area in the northeastern corner of Spain. It is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east.
• From the 17th century it was the center of a separatist movement that sometimes-dominated Spanish affairs.

Image Source: BBC

• Statement 1 is correct, The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
• Statement 2 is correct, CACP submits its recommendations to the government in the form of Price Policy Reports every year, separately for five groups of commodities namely Kharif crops, Rabi crops, Sugarcane, Raw Jute and Copra.
• Statement 3 is correct, MSP for major agricultural products are fixed by the government, each year, after taking into account the recommendations of the Commission.
  • As of now, CACP recommends MSPs of 23 commodities, which comprise 7 kinds of cereal, 5 pulses, 7 oilseeds and 4 commercial crops.

• Statement 1 is correct, Zonal Councils are statutory bodies and are established by the States Reorganisation Act of 1956.
• Statement 2 is not correct, Union Home Minister is the common chairman of zonal councils.
• Statement 3 is correct, The Central Zonal Council comprises the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, for which, the soldiers are recruited from Nepal.
• Statement 2 is correct, Based on an age-old tradition existing between the armies of both countries, the Nepal Army Chief after assumption of the post visits India and will be conferred with the Honorary Rank of “General of Indian Army” by the President of India.
• Statement 3 is not correct,  The Gorkha soldiers serving in the Indian army are eligible for gallantry medals such as the Param Vir Chakra and have won several such medals in the past.

• Statement 1 is correct, In BS-VI fuel, the volume of PM 2.5 ranges from 20 to 40 micrograms per cubic metre. Whereas in BS-IV fuel it is up to 120 micrograms per cubic metre.
• Statement 2 is correct, BS-VI grade fuels will cost marginally higher than the BS-IV fuels.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The government has allowed retrofitment of CNG and LPG kits in petrol and diesel vehicles that are compliant with BS-VI emission norms.

• Statement 1 is correct, Near Field Communication (NFC) is a contactless communication technology based on an electromagnetic radio frequency (RF).
• Statement 2 is not correct, It uses a base frequency of 13.56 MHz. NFC technology is perfectly designed to exchange data between two devices through a simple touch gesture. NFC technology is designed for an operating distance of a few centimetres.
• Statement 3 is correct, NFC can use encryption when sending sensitive information.

• Statement 1 is correct, Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium gases.
• Statement 2 is correct, The Great Red Spot is a long-lived enormous storm system on the planet Jupiter and the most prominent feature of its visible cloud surface.
• Statement 3 is not correct, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are four main natural satellites (moons) of Jupiter and are called Galilean moons.
  • Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second-largest natural satellite in the Solar System.

• Pair 1 is correct, The Rhine river empties into the North Sea. 
• Pair 2 is correct, The Danube, originating in Germany, flows southeast and drains into the Black Sea.
• Pair 3 is correct, The Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea.
• Pair 4 is correct, Po River which is the longest river in Italy empties into the Adriatic Sea.

• Statement 1 is not correct, Tiangong space station is being constructed by China and will be placed in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• Statement 2 is not correct, Since 1971, 12 space stations launched into a low orbit around Earth have been occupied for varying lengths of time.
  • A few important space stations include Salyut, Skylab, Mir, the International Space Station and Tiangong.
• Statement 3 is not correct, International Space Station is much larger compared to the Tiangong space station.

• Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport is an ambitious project undertaken by the Government of Kerala.
• It is being constructed on the Arabian Sea coast at Trivandrum.

• The Denisovans are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans in the genus Homo that ranged across Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic Ages.
• Nuclear DNA indicates close affinities of Denisovans with Neanderthals and they are known to have coexisted with them in some regions.

• Statement 01 is incorrect, The main system of Indigo cultivation in Champaran was the Tinkathia system. In this Tinkathia system, the ryots were obligated to cultivate three Kathas per Beegha with indigo, i.e. 3/20th of their landholdings (1 Beegha = 20 Kathas) instead of essential food crops.
• Statement 02 is correct, Raj Kumar Shukla, a money lender and cultivator persuaded Gandhi to go to Champaran and help the suffering villagers.
• Statement 03 is correct, Along with Gandhiji, other prominent leaders associated with the satyagraha were Brajkishore Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha and Acharya Kripalani.

Read more on the Early movements of Gandhiji.

Read more on Slave Dynasty. 

• Statement 01 is correct, It is a theatrical art form of Karnataka, originally an all-night performance where the mela travelled from one village to another.
• Statement 02 is incorrect. Traditionally, men used to portray all roles, including female ones. Now women are also part of Yakshagana troupes. A typical troupe consists of 15 to 20 actors and a Bhagavatha, who is the master of ceremonies and the main storyteller.

• The Anang Tal lake is situated in Mehrauli, Delhi and is claimed to be created by Anangpal II in 1,060 AD.
• Anangpal II/Anangpal Tomar, belonged to the Tomar dynasty. He founded Dhillika Puri, which eventually became Delhi. He was the ruler of present-day Delhi and Haryana between the 8th-12th centuries.
• He was succeeded by his grandson Prithviraj Chauhan.

The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the administration and control of Scheduled Areas as well as of Scheduled Tribes residing in any State other than the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

• Under the provisions of Article 102 (1) and Article 191 (1) of the Constitution, an MP or an MLA (or an MLC) is barred from holding any office of profit under the central or state government.
• The decision of the President of India is final regarding the disqualification of a member of either house of Parliament. However, the President does take the opinion of the Election Commission before taking a decision on disqualification.
• On the question of whether an MLA/MLC has become subject to disqualification (other than Anti-defection law), the Governor’s decision is final. However, he should obtain the opinion of the Election Commission of India and act accordingly.

• Noise pollution impacts crores of people regularly. The most common health problem it causes is Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL).
• Exposure to loud noise can also cause high blood pressure, stress, heart disease and sleep disturbances. These health problems can affect all age groups, especially children.

• The Sattriya dance form was introduced in the 15th century A.D by the great Vaishnava saint and reformer of Assam, Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva as a powerful medium for the propagation of the Vaishnava faith.
• Sattriya was given the status of classical dance in the year 2000 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Read more on Sattriya Dance.

• Statement 1 is correct, Thumri originated in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, mainly in Lucknow & Benares, around the 18th century.
• Statement 2 is correct, It is a romantic and erotic style of singing; also called “the lyric of Indian classical”. Its lyrics are typically in Brij Bhasha and are usually romantic and religious.
• The Thumri is included in the Hindustani style of music.

• The Ghadar Party was an international political movement consisting of expatriate Indians to overthrow British rule in India. The official founding has been dated to a meeting on 15 July 1913 in Astoria, Oregon, the United States of America.
• Some of the prominent Ghadar leaders were: Baba Gurmukh Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Rahmat Ali Shah, Bhai Parmanand, Mohammad Barkatullah, Rash Bihari Bose, Raja Mahendra Pratap, Lala Hardayal, Abdul Rahim, Champak Raman Pillai, Sardar Singh Rana, and Madam Cama.

• The Article 26 provides that every religious denomination has the right to:
  • Form and maintain institutions for religious and charitable intents.
  • Manage its own affairs in the matter of religion.
  • Acquire the immovable and movable property.
  • Administer such property according to the law.
• The rights guaranteed by Article 26 are subject to restrictions under morality, health, and public order.

• Statement 1 is not correct, African swine fever (ASF) is a highly infectious viral disease found in pigs caused due to the African swine fever virus (ASFV) of the Asfarviridae family.
• Statement 2 is correct, ASF is a different disease compared to the swine flu as ASF does not affect people and there is no impact on human health.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Speaker is elected by the assembly from amongst its members.
• Statement 2 is not correct, If the speaker wishes to vacate his/her office, he/she can do so by writing a resignation letter to the Deputy Speaker.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The speaker decides on the question of disqualification of members of the State legislature arising on the ground of defection on his own and there is no need for the consultation with the election commission 

• Zorawar tanks are a fleet of indigenously developed light tanks.
• Zorawar tanks are named after the legendary Zorawar Singh Kahluria, a military general and an expert in mountain warfare who served under the Dogra KingRaja Gulab Singh of Jammu

• Statement 1 is not correct, Various physical and chemical processes which are both manmade and natural produce nanoparticles.
  • Naturally occurring nanoparticles can be found in volcanic ash, ocean spray, fine sand and dust
• Statement 2 is correct, The cosmetics industry is benefited from the development of nanotechnologies. The applications of nanotechnology and nanoparticles are in numerous cosmetic products including moisturizers, hair care products, make up and sunscreen.
• Statement 3 is correct, Nanoparticles of some commercial products which enter the environment are unsafe for humans as they affect liver, heart or blood cells.