UPSC 2024: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Dec 30 - Jan 05

• SRIJAN is the Ministry of Defence’s portal which acts as a one-stop-shop online portal that provides access to the vendors to take up items that can be taken up for indigenization.
• SRIJAN Portal was launched to partner with the private sector in the indigenisation efforts of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).

Greenwashing is an act by a country or a company projecting its efforts or its products as climate-friendly without any verifiable and justifiable data to support its claim.
Greenwashing refers to making unfounded claims that lead consumers into believing that a company’s products are more environmentally friendly.

• Statement 1 is correct, As per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, alcohol is a State Subject.
  • The State Legislatures have the right and responsibility to draft laws regarding alcohol, including the production, possession, transport, purchase and sale of intoxicating liquors.
• Statement 2 is correct, Article 47 which is part of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) directs the states to make efforts to bring about the prohibition of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health except for medicinal purposes.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 added four new Directive Principles to the list namely:
  • Article 39: To secure opportunities for the healthy development of children
  • Article 39A: To promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to the poor
  • Article 43A: To take steps to secure the participation of workers in the management of industries
  • Article 48A: To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wildlife

• INS Astradharini is India’s first totally indigenously designed and built torpedo launch and recovery vessel.
• The 50-metre twin-hulled Astradharini warship is also the first to be built in a private yard with armament fixtures.
• The design of the Astradharini was a collaborative effort of the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Shoft Shipyard and IIT Kharagpur.

• Advection fog is a type of fog that is formed as the warm, moist air moves horizontally over a cool surface causing the water vapor to condense
• Radiation Fog forms when all solar energy exits the earth and allows the temperature to meet up with the dew point.
• Freezing fog occurs when the temperature falls at 32°F (0°C) or below.
• Valley fog forms in the valley when the soil is moist from previous rainfall.

• Statement 1 is not correct, Unakoti is an ancient holy site associated with Shaiva worship present in Tripura. The site has been added the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites
• Statement 2 is correct, The site houses Shaivite rock carving figures and images of gods and goddesses.
• Among the rock cut carvings, the central Shiva head and gigantic Ganesha figures are the most prominent ones.
• The central Shiva figure is known as “Unakotiswara Kal Bhairava”
• On each side of the central Shiva, there are two full size female figures which include Durga standing on a lion and another female figure on the other side.
• Statement 3 is not correct, Ashokastami Festival is one of the important festivals of Tripura especially at Unakoti Hills and is celebrated every year during the months of March and April.

• “30×30 targets” is a part of Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) which was adopted during the COP15 to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD)
• Under the 30×30 biodiversity target, countries would pledge to protect 30% of world’s land and sea by 2030.

• Statement 1 is correct, IPEF is an initiative that aims to strengthen economic partnership among participating countries in the Indo-Pacific region to enhance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Statement 2 is correct, IPEF is a US-led initiative that was launched in 2022.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The current members of IPEF include: Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States, and Vietnam.
  • ASEAN Members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

• Arasavalli Sun Temple is a temple located in Andhra Pradesh.
• Amarkantak temple in Madhya Pradesh is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
• Omkareshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is situated in Madhya Pradesh.

• The Guardian Ring programme has been envisaged as a part of International Yoga Day, 2022.
• Guardian Ring programme is a collaborative exercise between 79 countries and United Nations organisations along with Indian Missions abroad to illustrate Yoga’s unifying power that surpasses national boundaries.

• Statement 1 is not correct, NPCIL was the sole body responsible for constructing and operating India’s commercial nuclear power plants until the setting up of BHAVINI Vidyut Nigam in October 2003.
• Statement 2 is not correct, All the nuclear reactors in India are not under IAEA safeguards.
• Statement 3 is not correct, India has 22 nuclear power reactors, and domestic uranium is used in nuclear plants which are not under the IAEA safeguards.

• Dokra is an ancient metal craft practised by the Ojha metal smiths of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Telangana.
• In West Bengal, two places are famous for Dokra work namely Bikna in Bankura and Dariyapur in Bardhaman.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The iDEX stands for Innovation for Defence Excellence. It is an initiative by the Government of India to modernise the nation’s defense industry.
  • The key aim of the initiative is to achieve self-reliance in the field of defence and defence production.
• Statement 2 is correct, iDEX aims at creating an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutes & academia.
• Statement 3 is correct, iDEX is funded and managed by the Defence Innovation Organization (DIO).

• Greenhouse Gas Protocol establishes comprehensive global standardised frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.
• Greenhouse Gas Protocol supplies the world’s most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards.

• Pair 1 is correct, Inbuan is a form of wrestling associated with the native people of Mizoram.
• Pair 2 is not correct, Pari Khanda is a famous martial art form started by the Rajputs that is practised in the state of​ Bihar.
• Pair 3 is correct, Thang Ta which is an art of the sword and spear traditional martial art of Manipur.
• Pair 4 is correct, Silambam is an ancient weapon-based martial art form associated with the state of​ Tamil Nadu.

• The Keki Mistry committee was constituted by SEBI to review the share buyback regulations.
• As recommended by the Keki Mistry committee, SEBI will phase out buyback through the stock exchange route with effect from April 1, 2025.
• Share buyback/share repurchase refers to an instance when a listed company buys its own shares from the existing shareholders.

• Statement 1 is correct, Nai Roshni Scheme is a welfare scheme launched for the leadership development of minority women.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The Ministry of Minority Affairs started the Nai Roshni Scheme.
• Statement 3 is correct, Nai Roshni scheme has been merged as a component of the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) scheme w.e.f FY 2022-23.

• NABH is a constituent board of the Quality Council of India and was set up to establish and operate accreditation programmes for healthcare organisations.
• It sets benchmarks for the progress of the health industry.

• A Soil Health Card is used to assess the current status of soil health and, when used over time, to determine changes in soil health that are affected by land management.
• A Soil Health Card displays soil health indicators and associated descriptive terms.
• The card lists soil health indicators that can be assessed without the aid of technical or laboratory equipment.

• Statement 1 is correct, The GEAC is India’s apex biotechnology regulatory body.
  • GEAC regulates the use, manufacture, storage, export and import of hazardous microorganisms or genetically-engineered organisms and cells in India.
• Statement 2 is not correct, GEAC is a statutory body that functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• Statement 3 is correct, The Committee has the power to take punitive action against people/bodies under the Environment (Protection) Act.

• Statement 1 is correct, Millets were among the first crops to be cultivated and there is evidence that the people of Harappan or the Indus Valley civilization cultivated millets.
• Statement 2 is not correct, Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the lining of the small intestine due to the consumption of gluten.
  • Gluten is a kind of protein found in wheat, barley, rye and sometimes oats.
  • Millets are considered to be naturally gluten-free.
  • With the consumption of Millet, a Celiac patient’s body mounts an immune response that attacks the small intestine.
• Statement 3 is correct, The Agriculture Ministry has declared certain varieties of millets as “Nutri Cereals” for the purposes of production, consumption, and trade. These include:
  • Major millets namely Jowar, bajra, ragi/mandua,
  • Minor millets namely kangani/kakun, cheena, kodo, sawa/jhangora, and kutki
  • Two pseudo millets namely buckwheat (kuttu) and amaranth (chaulai)

• Loya Jirga, or “grand council” in Pashto, is a mass national gathering that brings together representatives from various ethnic, religious, and tribal communities in Afghanistan.
• Loya Jirga is a special type of legal assembly according to the traditional code of laws of the Pashtun people.

Image Source: Britannica

• Pair 1 is not correct, Kurds or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia which spans across southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria.
• Pair 2 is correct, Madheshis is a term used for several groups of people living in the Terai region of Nepal.
• Pair 3 is correct, The Rohingya people are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly reside in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.

• Statement 01 is incorrect, Measles is also known as rubeola or red measles. It is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by a virus which causes rashes all over the body.
• Statement 02 is correct, Measles can lead to severe complications, such as blindness,  pneumonia (infection of the lungs) and encephalitis (swelling of the brain).

• Statement 01 is correct, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) is a centrally-sponsored scheme announced in 2014. It is a demand-driven placement-linked skill training initiative working under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).
• Statement 02 is incorrect, The focus of the scheme is on rural poor youth between the ages of 15 and 35.
• Statement 03 is correct, The scheme is under the Union Ministry of Rural Development.

• Statement 01 is correct, The Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 originally provided for a maximum of ten judges (excluding the CJI).
• Statement 02 is correct, There have been no women CJI till date. Since 1950 the Supreme Court only had eight women justices.
• Statement 03 is correct,  There is no procedure laid down for the appointment of the CJI in the constitution. The Collegium system is followed in the appointment of judges, consisting of five senior-most judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
  • The Chief Justice of India and the other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Indian Constitution.

• Statement 01 is correct, The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, GBR is located on Queensland Australia’s north-eastern coast.
• Statement 03 is correct, The entire ecosystem was inscribed as World Heritage in 1981 when UNESCO recognised its environmental wonder and scientific importance.

• Statement 01 is correct, The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker. While on the other hand the date of election of the Speaker is fixed by the President.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, It is only by convention that the position of Deputy Speaker is offered to the opposition party in India. There is no mandatory provision regarding this.
• Statement 03 is correct, The Deputy Speaker presides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha and conducts the business in the house when the Speaker is absent. The Deputy Speaker has the same power as the Speaker when presiding over the sitting of the House.
• Statement 04 is incorrect, The Deputy Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha from among its members. There is no established practice of moving the motion for his election by the speaker and it is seconded by the Prime Minister.

• Statement 01 is correct, The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica.
• Statement 02 is correct, Of the 17 species of penguins, only emperor penguins breed during the extreme Antarctic winter, when temperatures can drop to below -50C and winds can reach 300 kilometres per hour.
• Statement 03 is incorrect, They are listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List.