UPSC 2023: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Jan 21 - Jan 27

• Section 12(1)(c) mandates that non-minority private unaided schools should reserve at least 25% of seats in entry-level grades for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged backgrounds. Hence Statement 1 is correct.
• In 1993, the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in the Unnikrishnan JP vs State of Andhra Pradesh & Others held that Education is a fundamental right flowing from Article 21. Hence Statement 2 is correct.
• Tapas Majumdar Committee (1999) was set up, which encompassed the insertion of Article 21A. Hence Statement 3 is correct.

• The James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful infrared telescope of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).  Hence Statement 1 is correct.
• It is also considered a successor of the Hubble Telescope and will extend and complement its discoveries. Hence Statement 2 is correct.
• Launched into low Earth orbit in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has made more than 1.4 million observations, including tracking interstellar objects, capturing a comet colliding with Jupiter, and discovering moons around Pluto. Hence Statement 3 is correct.
• The telescope is the result of an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency.  Hence Statement 4 is not correct.

About Sri Aurobindo Ghosh

• He was a well-known and significant figure in the history of Indian revival and Indian nationalism.
• As a revolutionary leader, he was lured to the Indian liberation struggle.
• He passed the Indian Civil Service (ICS) test, finishing 11th out of 250 applicants.
• He enrolled at King’s College for training but disqualified himself from a test by coming late on purpose since he had no interest in the ICS.
• In 1897, he began teaching French at Baroda College while simultaneously learning Sanskrit and Bengali.
• In 1902, he helped form the Anushilan Samiti of Calcutta by attending Congress sessions.

• The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.
• The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
• Hence Statement 1 is correct.

• The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act of 2006 established the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).  TRAI is India’s first independent regulator.  Hence Statement 1 is not correct.
• PNGRB is responsible for ensuring competitive gas markets. Hence Statement 2 is correct.
• To settle conflicts, the PNGRB will have the same authority as a civil court. The Appellate Tribunal created under Section 110 of the Electricity Act of 2003 (36 of 2003) serves as the Appellate Tribunal for the purposes of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act of 2006.  Hence Statement 3 is correct.

• Lake Chilika is Asia’s biggest brackish water lagoon and the world’s second-largest coastal lagoon. The lagoon is located near the mouth of the Daya River on India’s east coast. Hence Statement 1 is not correct.
• In 1981, the Ramsar Convention classified Lake Chilika as the first Indian wetland of international significance. Hence Statement 2 is correct.
• With 225 bird species at weddings, Lake Chilika is also the greatest wintering place on the Indian subcontinent. Hence Statement 3 is correct.

• Chillai Kalan is a period of forty extremely cold days starting from 21st of December, the date on which Winter Solstice is observed in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Chillai Kalan is followed by a period of another 20 days of Chillai Khurd and 10 days of Chillai Bacha.
• As for its impact on J&K, the period of Chillai Kalan is accompanied by temperate cyclonic conditions of Western Disturbances.
• Collectively, Chillai Kalan and Western Disturbances render J&K both cold and wet (snowy) during winters.
• Hence Option C is correct.

• A Money Bill can be introduced in the state legislature on the recommendation of the Governor. A Money Bill shall be introduced only in a Legislative Assembly, not in the Legislative council. Hence Statement 1 is correct.
• The Contingency Fund of each State Government is established under Article 267(2) of the Constitution. This is in the nature of an imprest placed at the disposal of the Governor to enable him/her to make advances to meet urgent unforeseen expenditure, pending authorization by the State Legislature. Hence Statement 2 is not correct.

• Right to Information Act, 2005 orders the public authorities to publish the information to the public on regular intervals voluntarily and not on the demand of the public. Hence Statement 1 is correct.
• The public information officer (PIO) is bound to furnish information sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, within 48 hours if it concerns the life or liberty of a person. Hence Statement 2 is not correct.
• If information is required from intelligence organizations, alleging corruption or human rights violation, these organizations are bound to provide such information. Hence Statement 3 is correct.

• A black hole’s basic structure is a singularity hiding behind an event horizon. Within the event horizon, the escape velocity surpasses the speed of light, trapping an item indefinitely.
• The Higgs mechanism, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces are all described by the standard model of particle physics. String theory is a concept that is utilized in quantum physics to explain quantum events.
• As a result, all of the concepts are connected to seeing and comprehending the Universe.
• Hence Option A is correct.

• Toda people are a Dravidian ethnic group who live in the Nilgiri mountains of Tamil Nadu.
• Todas are one of the aboriginal polyandrous people that reside in the Nilgiri Hills of southern India. They lead a pastoral life, and practice a religion which is organized around the care and veneration of cattle and especially the buffalo.
• The Todas live in small hamlets called munds. The Toda huts, called dogles, are of an oval, pent-shaped construction with sliding door.

• Tsomgo Lake, also known as Changu Lake, is a glacial lake in the East Sikkim district of the state of Sikkim. The lake remains frozen during the winter season. The lake surface reflects different colours with change of seasons and is held in great reverence by the local Sikkimese people.

• Under the Mission Sagar, the Indian Navy has been assisting friendly foreign countries in the region.
• These are in solidarity with India’s extended Maritime Neighbourhood and highlights the importance accorded by India to these countries. It is an extension of the SAGAR doctrine of India’s foreign policy.
• India has undertaken missions to provide humanitarian and medical assistance to the Maldives, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros in the past and has recently provided such assistance to Mozambique.

• Dumping is a process wherein a company exports a product at a price that is significantly lower than the price it normally charges in its home (or its domestic) market.
• In order to protect their respective economy, many countries impose duties on products they believe are being dumped in their national market; this is done with the rationale that these products have the potential to undercut local businesses and the local economy.
• An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.
• Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry.

• Sri Lanka will soon sign the long-dragging deal with India to jointly develop the Trincomalee oil tank farms.

• The United Nations Convention against Corruption is the only legally binding international anti-corruption multilateral treaty. Negotiated by member states of the United Nations it has been adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2003 and entered into force in 2005.
• A highlight of the United Nations Convention against Corruption is the inclusion of a specific chapter on asset recovery, aimed at returning assets to their rightful owner
• The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime is a 2000 United Nations-sponsored multilateral treaty against transnational organized crime.
• The Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000. It is also referred to as the Smuggling Protocol.
• The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is mandated by its member States to assist in the implementation of both UNCAC and UNTOC.

Both statements are correct.

The Sabar people (also Shabar and Saora) are one of the Adivasi of the Munda ethnic group who live mainly in Odisha and West Bengal.

• The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act is a consolidating act whose scope is to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• Under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), registration is mandatory for any NGO or association to receive foreign funds or donations.
• The act is enforced by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

• Indian Minister for Road Transport and Highways has asked automobile manufacturers to manufacture flex-fuel vehicles complying with BS-6 norms within six months.
• Flex-fuel vehicles are capable of running on a combination of 100% petrol or 100% bio-ethanol and their blends.

• The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a mission led by the European Space Agency to detect and accurately measure gravitational waves, tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time from astronomical sources.
• LISA would be the first dedicated space-based gravitational wave detector. It aims to measure gravitational waves directly by using laser interferometry.
• The LISA concept has a constellation of three spacecraft arranged in an equilateral triangle with sides 2.5 million km long, flying along an Earth-like heliocentric orbit. The distance between the satellites is precisely monitored to detect a passing gravitational wave.
• The LISA Pathfinder was a mission that successfully demonstrated the technologies needed to build a future space-based gravitational wave observatory.

• Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century CE Sun Temple at Konark, on the coastline of Odisha. Also called the Surya Devalaya, it is a classic illustration of the Odisha style of architecture or Kalinga architecture.
• The temple is attributed to king Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty about 1250 CE.
• This temple was called the “Black Pagoda” in European sailor accounts as early as 1676 because it looked like a great tiered tower that appeared black and also its magnetic power that drew ships into the shore and caused shipwrecks. The temple served as an important landmark for sailors in the Bay of Bengal.
• Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1984, it remains a major pilgrimage site for Hindus, who gather here every year for the Chandrabhaga Mela around the month of February.

• The date for the Speaker’s election of the State Legislative Assembly is notified by the Governor.

• Patan Patola, a unique textile weaving art, is from the area of Patan in the North Gujarat region of western India and not Rajasthan.

• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India’s global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people.
• It was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of independent India.

• The visible/near-infrared reflectance properties of leaves from several eucalyptus species were studied to determine appropriate indices for remote sensing of chlorophyll content.
• Remote sensing is used in measuring greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddies and land surface temperature also at some specific locations.
• Indian scientists study high-resolution maps generated by satellite imagery of cloud-prone rice paddy cultivation regions.

• Goods & Services Tax Council is a constitutional body for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods and Service Tax. Article 279A says that President shall by order constitute a Council to be called the Goods and Services Tax Council.
• The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister and other members are the Union State Minister of Revenue or Finance and Ministers in charge of Finance or Taxation of all the States.
• The members of the Council from the states have to choose one amongst themselves to be the Vice-Chairperson of the Council.

• The New Development Bank, formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states.
• The New Development Bank (NDB) aims to mobilize resources for development projects in BRICS, emerging economies and developing countries.
• Member countries include-
  • Egypt
  • Brazil
  • Russia
  • India
  • China
  • South Africa
  • Bangladesh
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Uruguay

• Though India ranks as the highest milk producing nation in the world in terms of exports, its milk exports remain negligent.
• Dairy farmers in India have been included in the Kisan Credit Card programme in a bid to ensure adequate and quality financial services to the people involved in dairy farming.
• The value of milk produced outweighs the combined value of the output of wheat and rice in India.
• There is no official and periodical estimate of the cost of production and Minimum Support Price for milk.

• Carbofuran, methylparathion, phorate and triazophos are used as pesticides in India and are used to control insects in a wide variety of field crops. These are found to be highly toxic for vertebrates.