UPSC 2024: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Jan 06 - Jan 12

• Option 01 is incorrect-MANAK Programme: The objective of the scheme is to target one million original ideas/innovations rooted in science and societal applications to foster a culture of creativity and innovative thinking among school children.
• Option 02 is correct, The Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) Scheme is one of the several pioneering initiatives started by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for promoting women in science.
• Option 03 is correct, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a Statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology, initiated several schemes like “SERB-POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research)” which has been designed exclusively for women scientists to take up R&D at the highest level.
• Option 04 is incorrect, NIDHI (National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovations) is an umbrella program initiated by the Science & Technology department (DST) of the Indian government for cultivating knowledge-based innovations and ideas driven by technology into fruitful start-ups.

• Statement 01 is correct, The Centre launched National Good Governance Index on 25 December 2021, to provide quantifiable data to compare the state of governance in all states and union territories, enable them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for improving governance and shift to result-oriented approaches and administration.
  • It is prepared by the Department of Administration Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
• Statement 02 is correct, Good Governance Index covers ten sectors and 58 indicators.

Image Source: darpg.gov

• Statement 03 is correct, India’s First “District Good Governance Index” was released for the districts of Jammu and Kashmir. This index has been prepared by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) in collaboration with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir.

• Statements 01 and 02 are correct, The ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD)’ was launched by the Ministry of Tourism in the year 2014-15 with the objective of holistic development of identified pilgrimage destinations.
• Statement 03 is incorrect, For components within public funding under this scheme, the Union Government will provide 100% funding and for the improvement in the sustainability of the project, the scheme seeks to involve Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as well.

Smart India Hackathon is a nationwide initiative to provide students with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face in our daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem-solving.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The Boha geoglyphs or Great Indian Desert geoglyphs are a group of large geoglyphs found in the soil of the Thar Desert of Rajasthan.
  • Geoglyphs are a form of prehistoric rock art, created on the surface of laterite plateaus.
• Statement 2 is correct, The largest rock geoglyph in India is at Kasheli in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.
• Statement 3 is correct, Konkan geoglyphs are a part of UNESCO’s tentative world heritage list.

• Guru Gobind Singh’s most significant contribution was the institutionalising of the Khalsa, which was a warrior community.
• Guru Gobind Singh also started the tradition of the Five K’s for the Khalsa.
  • The Five K’s are kesh (uncut hair), kanga (wooden comb), kara (iron or steel bracelet), kirpan (dagger) and kacchera (short breeches).
• The Zafarnama is a letter written by Guru Gobind Singh which was addressed to the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb. In the letter, the Guruji condemns the Mughal Emperor for breaking the moral code.

• Statement 1 is not correct, According to the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Indian star Tortoises fall under Schedule IV. 
• Statement 2 is not correct, Indian Star Tortoises are found in scrub forests and dry areas.
  • In India, they are found in the states of Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Punjab.
• Statement 3 is correct, Indian star Tortoises are classified as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.

• A Prototype unit of Indigenously developed Tsunami Bottom Pressure Recorder (BPR) named “Sagar-Bhoomi” was successfully deployed off Chennai on 17th September 2022.

• Bani Thani belongs to the Kishangarh school of paintings.
• The Kishangarh province in Rajasthan is known for its unique style with highly exaggerated features like long necks, large, almond-shaped eyes, and long fingers.

• Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in the Haripura session of 1938, proposed the use of the Roman script for Indian languages.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Nipah virus is a type of RNA virus in the genus Henipavirus.
• Statement 2 is correct, Nipah Virus is an airborne transmission infection and can affect those who come in direct contact with contaminated bodies such as pigs or bats carrying the virus.
  • Nipah virus host species include flying foxes and pigs. Domestic pigs can also act as intermediate hosts.
• Statement 3 is correct, Fruit bats also known as flying foxes belong to the Pteropodidae Family – Pteropus genus.
  • They’re found in South East Asia.
  • The Nipah Virus can survive in the bat’s body without causing disease and antibodies were found in the Indian Flying Fox during the Bangladesh outbreak.

Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as a “brain-eating amoeba” is an amoeba (single-celled living organism) that lives in soil and warm freshwater, such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs.
Naegleria fowleri infects people when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose.
The amoeba then travels up the nose to the brain and affects the brain tissues causing an infection called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).

• Statement 1 is correct, According to Article 82 of the Constitution, the Parliament by law enacts a Delimitation Act after every census.
• Statement 2 is incorrect, In case of a difference of opinion among the members of the Delimitation Commission, the opinion of the majority shall prevail.
• Statement 3 is correct, The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 had put a ban on any further delimitation of the constituencies after the 2001 census.
  • Further, in 2001, the 84th Constitutional Amendment, 2001 extended the freeze on the number of constituencies by another 25 years i.e. till 2026.

• Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605 – 1689) was a 17th-century French gem merchant and traveller.
• Jean-Baptiste Tavernier was the first European to describe the diamonds and diamond mines in India.
• In a book written by Valentine Ball, “Travels in India by Jean Baptiste Tavernier”, he clearly states that Tavernier identified the diamond mining sites in India.

• The Thousand Pillar temple at Hanumakonda and the Ramappa Temple located in the village of Palampet in Telangana were built by Kakatiyas.
• The Brihadeshwara Temple at Thanjavur was built by Rajaraja I of the Chola Dynasty in 1009 CE.

• Statement 1 is correct, A polar vortex is a constant, upper-level low pressure spinning over the North and South poles.
• Statement 2 is correct, A polar vortex rotates counter-clockwise at the North Pole and clockwise at the South Pole.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The polar vortex spins in the stratosphere.

• Sammakka Saralamma Jathara is a tribal festival of honouring the goddesses celebrated in the state of Telangana.
• The festival begins at Medaram in Tadvai Mandal in Mulugu district.
• The festival commemorates the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law.
• Sammakka Saralamma Jathara is held every two years.
• During the festival, people take holy bath in the Jampanna Vagu.
• Jampanna vagu is a tributary to River Godavari and it is said that Jampanna was a tribal warrior and the son of Tribal Goddess Sammakka.

Image Source: Britannica

• The Sarkaria Commission had recommended that the Governor should be eminent in some walk of life and from outside the state, should be a detached figure without intense political links, or should not have taken part in politics in the recent past. Besides, the individual should not be a member of the ruling party.

• Operation Greens is a Central Sector Scheme announced on the lines of “Operation Flood” in the Union Budget of 2018-19.
• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been implementing the Operation Greens scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana since November 2018.
• The scheme aims to promote Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs), processing facilities, agri-logistics, and professional management of agricultural produce.

• The Government of India formulated the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) Scheme in order to incentivise employers for new employment generation.
• Under the scheme, the employers would be paid the EPS contribution of 8.33% for every new employment created, by the government.
• The scheme has been operational since August 2016 and is being implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The James Webb Space Telescope is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
• Statement 2 is not correct, The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an infrared space telescope which conducts infrared astronomy and is deployed in a solar orbit near the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point.
• Statement 3 is correct, The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was formerly known as the “Next Generation Space Telescope” (NGST) and it was renamed in September 2002 after James Webb who was a former NASA administrator.

• Statement 1 is correct, In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, who are less developed among the tribal groups.
  • In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
• Statement 2 is correct, Odisha has the highest number of PVTGs in India.
• Statement 3 is not correct, Great Andamanese, Jarawas, Onges, Sentinelese, and Shorn Pens are  PVTGs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• 3D printing has applications in:
  • Preparation of confectionery items: 3D printing food has become a reality and 3D printed food is now seen in restaurants and kitchens.
  • Manufacture of bionic ears: Engineers in the US have created a bionic ear that can be manufactured using a 3D printer.
  • Automotive industry: The automotive industry has made significant progress in the adoption of 3D Printing technology.
  • Reconstructive surgeries: 3D Printing in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery has helped surgeons to visualise how components interact with one another while in motion.
  • Data processing technologies: 3D Printing is revolutionising the various data processing technologies.

• Statement 1 is correct, Maharashtra became the first State in India to have a “State butterfly” after declaring the Blue Mormon as the State butterfly.
• Statement 2 is correct, No two states in India have declared the same butterfly as the state butterfly. A few of the State butterflies in India are listed below:
  • Maharashtra – Blue Mormon
  • Karnataka – Southern Bird Wing
  • Uttarakhand: Common Peacock
  • Tamil Nadu: Tamil Yeoman
  • Arunachal Pradesh: Kaiser-i-Hind
  • Kerala: Budha Mayoori
• Statement 3 is correct, The Himalayan butterfly, Golden Birdwing is India’s largest butterfly.

• Statement 1 is correct, Adi Shankaracharya established four Mathas in the four corners of India for the propagation of Sanatana Dharma.
  • The four Mathas of Shankaracharya were established in Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri, and Sringeri.
• Statement 2 is correct, Shankaracharya wrote many commentaries on the Vedic canon – Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit.
• Statement 3 is correct, Shankaracharya propounded the Doctrine of Advaita and was a devotee of Lord Shiva.

• Yuktdhara is a geospatial planning portal for facilitating Gram Panchayat level planning of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA).
• The portal under Bhuvan “Yuktdhara” will enable the planning of MGNREGA assets using remote sensing and GIS-based information.
• The platform will serve as a repository of assets (Geotags) created under various national rural development programmes i.e. MGNREGA, Integrated Watershed Management Programme, Per Drop More Crop and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, etc., along with field photographs.

• Lala Lajpat Rai wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji, Dayanand and Shri Krishna to inspire the people with patriotic zeal.
• He was a prolific writer and a nationalist leader of India and was elected the President of the Indian National Congress in 1920 at the Calcutta session.

• Statement 01 is correct, Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) is a buffer or transition zone around highly-protected areas such as National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
  • Eco Sensitive Zones are notified by the Union Government through Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change (MOEFCC) under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act of 1986
• Statement 02 is correct, Madhav Gadgil Committee and Kasturirangan Committee dealt with implementation of ESZs.
  • The Madhav Gadgil Report had classified the whole of the Western Ghats, spread across six states and covering 44 districts and 142 talukas, as an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ).
  • The Kasturirangan Committee had reduced the ESZ to 37 percent of the total area, covering about 60,000 sq km. It had recommended that 123 revenue villages be demarcated as ESA.
• Statement 03 is correct, The Supreme Court in June 2022 directed that every national park and wildlife sanctuary in the country will have a mandatory eco-sensitive zone of at least one kilometre starting from its demarcated boundaries. The decision was made in response to a petition to protect forest lands in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district.