UPSC 2024: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Feb 24 - Mar 01

• Statement 1 is correct, The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is a statutory body established in 2007 under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.
  • NCPCR functions under the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
• Statement 2 is correct, The commission consists of a chairperson who is a person of eminence and six members, out of which at least two are women.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The Chairperson and every Member of NCPCR hold the office for a term of three years from the date on which they assume the office.

• Statement 1 is correct, NICRA is a network project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched in February 2011.
• Statement 2 is correct, NICRA aims at strategic research on adaptation and mitigation, demonstration of technologies on farmers’ fields and creating awareness among farmers and other stakeholders to minimize the climatic change impacts on agriculture.
• Statement 3 is correct, The project studies crops, livestock, horticulture, poultry and fisheries to develop and promote climate-resilient technologies in agriculture.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The National Commission for Women was set up as a statutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.
• Statement 2 is correct, The National Commission for Women was established to review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women.
• Statement 3 is correct, The Commission recommends remedial legislative measures, facilitates redressal of grievances and advises the government on all policy matters affecting women.
• • It enjoys all the powers of a civil court.

Image Source: World Atlas

• Statement 1 is correct, As a general rule, when RBI is more concerned about containing inflation it raises interest rates (thus depressing economic activity), and when it wants to stimulate growth it brings down interest rates.
• Statement 2 is correct, The increase in repo rate will make loans such as home, auto and personal loans and EMIs on vehicles costlier.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The decisions by the MPC are decided by a majority of votes by the members present and voting.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) platform was launched on 9th August 2016 as an online, end-to-end solution for procurement of commonly used goods and services for all Central Government and State Government Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Units (PSUs) and affiliated bodies.
• Statement 2 is not correct, One of the key advantages offered by GeM is dynamic pricing i.e. price can be changed based on market conditions.
  • Hence there is no fixed price for the whole year, and no fear of fluctuation of raw material prices, or exchange rate variations.
• Statement 3 is not correct, Government e-Marketplace is a 100% Government owned company set up under the aegis of the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce.

• “Alderman” refers to a nominated member of a city council or municipal body with exact responsibilities depending on the location of its usage.
• Members to be nominated as Aldermen must have “special knowledge or experience in municipal administration”.

• Statement 1 is not correct, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) grew out of the work of Sir Syed Ahmad khan.
  • The movement associated with Syed Ahmad Khan and the university has been referred to as the Aligarh Movement.
• Statement 2 is correct, AMU was initially established as Madrasatul Uloom in 1875, and after two years it evolved as Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO).
• Statement 3 is not correct, MAO became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920, following the Aligarh Muslim University Act.

• The Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh is famous for the Indian swamp deer or Barasingha.
• The Kanha National Park is the site of Barasingha reintroduction which had significantly saved their numbers from terminal decline
• Kanha National Park was created on 1 June 1955 and was designated a tiger reserve in 1973.
• Along with the barasingha, the park is also home to the Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, sloth bear, and dhole.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The President’s Rule is initially for a period of six months. Later, it can be extended for a period of three years with parliamentary approval, every six months.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The proclamation of the President’s Rule should be approved in both Houses of Parliament within two months of its issue. The approval is through a simple majority i.e. majority of the members of the House present and voting.
• Statement 3 is correct, The President’s Rule has no effect on the Fundamental Rights of the citizens.

• Statement 1 is correct, SSLV caters to the launch of up to 500 kg satellites to Low Earth Orbits on a ‘launch-on-demand’ basis. It provides low-cost access to space.
• Statement 2 is correct, SSLV uses three solid stages which are then followed by a liquid-fuel-based Velocity Trimming Module (VTM) to place satellites in the intended orbits.

• Pair 1 is correct, Dhol Cholom is a form of drum dance performed during Holi in the state of Manipur.
• Pair 2 is correct, Hojagiri is a tribal folk dance performed in the state of Tripura by the Bru Reang clan on the occasion of Hojagiri Festivals or Laxmi puja.
• Pair 3 is correct, Kalbelia dance is a folk dance performed by the snake charming tribe from the Thar Desert in Rajasthan.
• Pair 4 is correct, Ottanthullal is a recite-and-dance art form belonging to the state of Kerala.

• Statement 1 is correct, According to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, every child with a benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education.
• Statement 2 is correct, As per the Act, Special Courts are to be designated in each district to handle cases concerning the violation of the rights of persons with disabilities (PwDs).
• Statement 3 is not correct, 21 types of disabilities are listed in the RPwD Act and the Central Government will have the power to add more types of disabilities.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The Public Accounts Committee has 22 members.
• All the members are taken from the Indian Parliament.
• Out of 22 members, 15 are elected from Lok Sabha and 7 members are elected from the Rajya Sabha.
  • The members of the committee are elected annually by the Parliament according to the principle of Proportional Representation by means of a Single Transferable Vote (PRSTV.)

• Pair 01 is correctly matched, Operation Devi Shakti was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Afghanistan after the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.
• Pair 02 is correctly matched, Operation Dost is an ongoing search and rescue operation initiated by the Government of India to aid Syria and Turkey, after a violent earthquake devastated both countries on 6 February 2023.
• Pair 03 is correctly matched, Operation Ganga was an evacuation mission carried out by the Indian government to rescue its citizens stranded in neighbouring countries of Ukraine and Russia during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Pair 04 is correctly matched, Operation Maitri was a rescue and relief operation in Nepal by the government of India and Indian armed forces in the aftermath of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.

• The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) is an international treaty that prohibits all use, transfer, production, and stockpiling of cluster bombs. Additionally, the convention establishes a framework to support victim assistance, clearance of contaminated sites, risk reduction education, and stockpile destruction. The convention was adopted on 30 May 2008 in Dublin. It entered into force on 1 August 2010.
  • As of February 2022, a total of 123 states are committed to the goal of the convention, with 110 states that have ratified it, and 13 states that have signed the convention but not yet ratified it.
  • India is not a signatory to this convention.
• India formally became the 43rd member of the Australia Group on 19 January 2018.
• India ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) in 1974.
• India is a signatory of the Chemical Weapons Convention 
• India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in December 2017 as its 42nd participating state.

The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (NCRLM) was constituted under the Chairmanship of Justice Ranganath Misra to recommend measures for the welfare of socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities. It submitted its report in 2007 and the same was laid on the Table of both Houses of Parliament in December 2009.

• GMRT is a very versatile instrument for investigating a variety of radio astrophysical problems ranging from the nearby Solar system to the edge of the observable Universe.
• It is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes of 45-metre diameter.
• It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
• The observatory of the GMRT is located north of Pune at Khodad, while its office is located at Savitribai Phule University.

• Statement 01 is correct, The horse latitudes are regions located at about 30° to 35° north and south of the equator.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, They are characterised by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as subtropical ridges or highs. It is a high-pressure area at the divergence of trade winds and the westerlies.

• Statement 1 is correct: CBFC is a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• Statement 2 is correct: CBFC’s function is to regulate the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952.
• Statement 3 is correct: Films are categorized under 4 categories in India namely U (Unrestricted), UA (unrestricted public exhibition, with parental guidance for children under 12), A (Adult), S (restricted to specialized audiences, such as Doctors or Scientists)
• Statement 4 is incorrect: FCAT was abolished in 2021 and appeals can be made only in a High Court.

• Statement 1 is correct: Agastyaarkoodam is one of the peaks in the Western Ghats of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is situated in the Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Statement 2 is correct: The peak is a part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve.
• Statement 3 is correct: The perennial Thamirabarani River originates from the eastern side of the range.

• Statement 1 is correct: Quasicrystal or quasi-periodic crystals are used in surgical instruments, LED lights, and non-stick frying pans. They are also used in Selective solar absorbers, broad-wavelength reflectors, and bone repair and prostheses applications.
• Statement 2 is correct: They have poor heat conductivity thereby making them good insulators.

• Satyarth Prakash was originally written by Dayanand Saraswati in Hindi in 1875.

• Statement 1 is correct: The repo rate refers to the rate at which other banks borrow from the RBI.
• Statement 2 is not correct:  A Gini coefficient of 0 reflects perfect equality (where all income or wealth values are the same), whereas a Gini coefficient of 1 (or 100%) reflects maximal inequality among values.

• Statement 1 is correct, Article 50 of the Constitution of India talks about the separation of the executive from the judiciary
  • As per Article 50, The State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State
• Statement 2 is not correct, Before Justice S Abdul Nazeer, at least three other retired Supreme Court judges have been appointed Governors of states which include former Chief Justice of India Justice P Sathasivam, former Justice M Fathima Beevi and former Justice Saiyid Fazl Ali.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The major-minor classification has nothing to do with the quantum/availability of these minerals.
  • The classification is based on their end use, rather than level of production, level of mechanization, export and import etc.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The power to frame policy and legislation relating to minor minerals is entirely delegated to the State Governments.
  • However, the policy and legislation relating to the major minerals are dealt with by the Ministry of Mines, Government of India.
• Statement 3 is not correct, There is no official definition for “major minerals” mentioned under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR Act).

• Statement 1 is not correct, The IIP index is computed and published by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on a monthly basis.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The current Base Year for IIP is 2011 – 12
• Statement 3 is correct, The Eight Core Industries which include  Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the IIP Index.
• Statement 4 is correct, The Index of Eight Core Industries highest weight is currently possessed by the Refinery Products Industry.

• The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the only tripartite U.N. agency with government, employer, and worker representatives.
• The ILO was created in 1919, as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it’s based on social justice.
• ILO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

• Statement 1 is correct, A proclamation declaring financial emergency must be approved by both the Houses of Parliament (i.e., Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) within two months from the date of its issue.
• Statement 2 is not correct, If any proclamation of financial emergency is in operation, the President can issue directions for the reduction of salaries and allowances of all or any class of persons serving in connection with the affairs of the Union, including the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. 

• Statement 1 is correct, “Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik” or UDAN Scheme is a regional connectivity scheme spearheaded by the Civil Aviation Ministry.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The Scheme aims to develop smaller regional airports to allow common citizens easier access to aviation services and operationalization and development of hundreds of underserved or unserved airports in the country is one of the primary objectives.
• Statement 3 is correct, International UDAN is an extension of the domestic UDAN scheme which aims to enhance air connectivity from certain States of the country with selected international destinations to promote socio-economic growth.