UPSC 2023: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Jun 10 - Jun 16

• India is the world’s third largest salt producer.
• Among the Indian states, Gujarat accounts for the largest salt production. Gujarat accounts for 80% of the total salt production in India.
• Only around 0.5% of salt production in India is produced by mining. 99.5% salt is produced either from the seawater or from the subsoil water.

• The centre has extended the time for levy of GST compensation cess by four years till March 31,2026 based on the Goods and Services Tax (Period of levy and collection of cess) rules 2022 notified by the Finance Ministry.
• The levy of cess was to end on June 30 but has been extended till 2026 to repay the loans taken in the last two years to make up for the shortfall in their revenue collection. The regime of paying compensation to states would end by June 2022.

• A lithium-ion battery is composed of cathode, anode, separator and electrolyte. A lithium-ion battery applied at smartphones, power tools and EVs uses liquid electrolyte solution. On the other hand, a solid-state battery uses solid electrolyte, not liquid.
• The solid-state batteries are safer than batteries using liquid electrolytes. Li-ion battery has a risk of battery damage such as swelling caused by temperature change or leakage caused by external force since it uses liquid electrolyte solution. The liquid electrolytes are flammable and degrade at high temperatures leading to poor battery life and in extreme cases lead to battery fires. A solid-state battery with solid battery shows improved stability with a solid structure and increased safety. It doesn’t have a risk of explosion or fire.
• A solid-state battery has higher energy density than a Li-ion battery that uses liquid electrolyte solution. Solid-state batteries can deliver 2.5 times more energy density as compared to lithium-ion batteries. This tremendous increase in solid-state batteries’ energy density means that they will be far smaller and lighter.
• Solid-state batteries are capable of holding much more energy per unit of mass than today’s lithium-ion batteries, which means an EV could go for much longer before needing to be recharged
• Solid-state batteries can work at very high rates of power. Research suggests that they may be able to recharge 4-6 times faster than current technologies safely.

• The Banasura Chilappan bird is found in shola habitat in a small section of the Western Ghats in southwestern Karnataka and northern Kerala.
• The frogmouth is distributed across the Western Ghats’ wet evergreens from the Karnataka border to the Neyyar sanctuary at the tip of Kerala. The Thattekkad sanctuary has a rich population of the frogmouth. The frogmouths are named for their large flattened hooked bill and huge frog-like gape, which they use to take insects.
• Jerdon’s nightjar is a medium-sized nightjar species native to southern India and Sri Lanka. Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground.
• The great hornbill is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is predominantly frugivorous, but also preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds. The Government of Kerala declared it as the official Kerala state bird.

• Bank Board Bureau is responsible for the selection of chairmen of public sector banks.
• ‘The Committee to Review Governance of Boards of Banks in India, headed by Chairman – P. J. Nayak had recommended the constitution of the Banks Board Bureau.
• The government, in 2016, approved the constitution of the BBB as a body to make recommendations for the appointment of whole-time directors as well as non-executive chairpersons of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and state-owned financial institutions.
• It also engages with the board of directors of all the public sector banks to formulate appropriate strategies for their growth and development. It is tasked with improving corporate governance at public sector banks, building capacities, etc.

• Statement 1 is correct, Bharatnatyam is the oldest among all classical dance forms in India and it originated in the temples of Tamil Nadu.
• Statement 2 is correct, The tribhanga posture is innate to Odissi dance and the Hindustani music is popular in Odissi dance.
• Statement 3 is correct, Kathak dance originated from Uttar Pradesh and an important feature of it is the development of different gharanas.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and it currently consists of 38 teams, with all 28 states in India and four of the eight union territories having at least one representation.
• Statement 2 is not correct, Team Mumbai has won the tournament the most times.
  • Mumbai and Maharashtra are considered as individual cricket teams, not a state and there is no restriction that only one team should play from one state.
• Statement 3 is not correct, Madhya Pradesh has won the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy by beating Mumbai in the finals.

• Statement 1 is correct, Mithun which is a semi-domesticated bovine species is considered to be descended from wild Indian Gaur.
• Statement 2 is not correct, Mithun is found mainly in the north-eastern hill region of India and also in China, Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
• Statement 3 is not correct, Mithun is the state animal of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • The state animal of Manipur is Sangai.

• Pair 1 is correct, Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu is a hub of the textile processing and knitting industry.
• Pair 2 is correct, Jalandhar in Punjab is well known for the production of sports equipment, leather and rubber goods.
• Pair 3 is correct, Surat in Gujarat is famously called as the “diamond city of the world” and it is a hub for diamond cutting and polishing.
• Pair 4 is correct, Titagarh in West Bengal is famous for paper manufacturing.

• Carbofuran, methyl parathion, phorate and triazophos are banned pesticides used in agriculture.
• To promote organic farming in Kerala, the state agriculture department had ordered a ban on the use of these categories of pesticides.

Under the anti-defection law, there is no provision for barring a disqualified MP or MLA from contesting an election.

• Small Saving Schemes comprise 12 instruments. Small savings instruments can be classified under three heads:
  • Postal Deposits (comprising savings account, recurring deposits, time deposits of varying maturities and monthly income scheme).
  • Savings Certificates: National Small Savings Certificate (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP).
  • Social Security Schemes: Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme, Public Provident Fund (PPF) and Senior Citizens‘ Savings Scheme (SCSS).
• Collections from all small savings instruments are credited to the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF).

• Union Education Ministry releases the Performance Grading Index (PGI) for States and Union Territories. It is initiated and implemented by the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL).
• The index assesses the performance of the school education system at the District level by creating an index for comprehensive analysis. It is used as a tool to provide insights into the status of school education in States and UTs.
• PGI-D grades the districts into ten grades:
  • Daksh – highest achievable grade – for Districts scoring more than 90% of the total points in that category or overall.
  • Akanshi-3 – lowest grade – for scores up to 10% of the total points.
• As per PGI of 2019, none of the States has districts in the top category, called the ‘Daksh’ category which is equal to scoring above 90% points.

• India is a member of four of the five constituents of the World Bank Group viz., the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
• It is not a member of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

• Statement 1 is correct. The Indian Constitution provides for only single citizenship, that is, Indian citizenship. The citizens in India owe allegiance only to the Union. There is no separate state citizenship. There is only one domicile allowed in India. Domicile Certificate can be made only in one State/UT. In 2010, the Uttarakhand High Court declared that there is no separate domicile for each State and there is only one domicile for the entire country.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. The President is the Head of the Indian State. In India, both a citizen by birth as well as a naturalised citizen is eligible for the office of President.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. A foreigner, who has been earlier granted Indian citizenship, can be deprived of his citizenship. His Indian citizenship can be terminated by the Central government, if: he has obtained the citizenship by fraud, he has shown disloyalty to the Constitution of India, he has unlawfully traded or communicated with the enemy during a war; he has, within five years after registration or naturalisation, been imprisoned in any country for two years; and he has been ordinarily resident out of India for seven years continuously.

• Statement 1 is correct, As per Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution, the GST Council has to be constituted by the President.
  • As per Article 279A of the amended Constitution, the GST Council will be a joint forum of the Centre and the States.
• Statement 2 is not correct, In the Union of India Anr. vs Mohit Minerals Pvt. Ltd case, the Supreme Court ruled that “the recommendations of the GST Council are not binding on either the Union or the States”.
• Statement 3 is correct, Article 246A confers simultaneous or concurrent powers on Parliament and the state legislatures to make laws relating to GST.

• ‘Hermit’ is the latest sophisticated spyware in the news, and it is said to have targeted iPhones and Android devices in Italy and Kazakhstan.
• Hermit’ spyware has been developed by an Italian vendor named RCS Lab.
• Hermit spyware works similar to Pegasus by NSO Group which can record audio on the device, carry out unauthorised calls, and other unauthorised activities once installed on a device.

• Payroll Automation for Disbursement of Monthly Allowances (PADMA) is an automated Pay & Allowances module for the Indian Coast Guard.
  • PADMA makes use of the latest technology to provide a seamless and timely disbursal of Pay & Allowances to Indian Coast Guard personnel.
  • This module has been developed under the aegis of Defense Accounts Department and will be operated by Pay Accounts Office Coast Guard in Noida
• Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) is a unique integrated and interactive platform through which the Prime Minister oversees the implementation of various government schemes, grievances, state and central related projects & programmes by directly interacting with all stakeholders through Videoconferencing on a single platform.
• e-Kranti: National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) envisages “transforming e-Governance for Transforming Governance”
  • Its mission is “to ensure a Government-wide transformation by delivering Government services electronically to the citizens through integrated and interoperable systems via multiple modes, while ensuring efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at affordable costs.”
• DARPAN is an online tool that can be used to monitor and analyze the implementation of critical and high-priority projects of the State.
  • It facilitates the presentation of real-time data on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of selected schemes/projects to the senior functionaries of the State Government as well as district administration.

• Statement 1 is not correct, Ekalavya Model Residential Schools is a scheme for making model residential schools for Indian tribals (ST- Scheduled Tribes) across India.
• Statement 2 is correct, Grants were provided for the construction of schools and recurring expenses to the State Governments under Grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution.
• Statement 23 is correct, The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

During the Gupta period, memorizing chronicles, dynastic histories or epic tales was the work of a different group of people, the Sutas and Magadhas, who were the descendants of priestly families of the Vedic period.

• Statement 1 is correct,  The Vice-President is indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of members (elected as well as nominated) of both Houses of Parliament.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The value of the vote of each Member of Parliament would be the same.
• Statement 3 is not correct, Under the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote as envisaged for the election of the Vice President, an elector must compulsorily mark his/her first preferences and marking the rest is up to his/her choice and is not compulsory.
• Statement 4 is correct, The election shall be by secret ballot and the political parties cannot issue any whip to their MPs in the matter of voting in the Vice-Presidential election.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The Marine exports from India have witnessed growth and have recorded an all-time high in FY 2021-22.
• Statement 2 is correct, Frozen shrimp has remained the major export item in terms of quantity and value.
• Statement 3 is correct, the USA is the largest importer of Indian seafood both in terms of value as well as volume.

• Statement 1 is correct, The mRNA vaccines function differently from traditional vaccines.
  • Traditional vaccines stimulate an antibody response by injecting a human with antigens.
  • mRNA vaccines inject a fragment of the RNA sequence of a virus directly into the cells, which then stimulates an adaptive immune response.
• Statement 2 is not correct, Gemcovac-19 is the first mRNA vaccine developed in India and the third mRNA vaccine to be approved for COVID-19 in the world.

• The Tunguska event refers to an explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate, Russia in 1908 which was said to have occurred due to a meteor airburst of small asteroid or comet.

• Tobacco, cocoa, and rubber were introduced into India by the Europeans in the late medieval or early modern era and so these are the groups of plants that were domesticated in the ‘New World’ and introduced into the ‘Old World’.

• Statement 1 is not correct, Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis.
• Statement 2 is correct, Anthrax mainly affects livestock and wild animals and humans can become infected through direct or indirect contact with sick animals or by inhaling spores.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is a four-stage rocket that alternately utilizes solid & liquid propulsion systems.
• Statement 2 is correct, The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) is a platform that will help perform in-orbit experiments using the final stage of ISRO’s PSLV.
• Statement 3 is correct, POEM will derive its power from solar panels mounted around the PS4 tank, and a Li-Ion battery and it will navigate using four sun sensors, a magnetometer, gyros and NavIC.

• Statement 1 is correct, The NSC was established in 1998 by the government of AB Vajpayee.
  • Brajesh Mishra served as the country’s first National Security Advisor (NSA).
• Statement 2 is not correct, Before the NSC was formed, these functions were carried out by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The NSC is headed by the Prime Minister. 
  • NSA is the Secretary of NSC.

• Snake Island which is also referred to as Serpent Island or Zmiinyi Island, is an island located in the Black Sea and belongs to Ukraine.
• Snake Island lies close to the mouth of the River Danube, which delineates Romania’s border with Ukraine.

• Statement 1 is correct, Guchhi mushroom is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae of the Ascomycota.
• Statement 2 is correct, Guchhi mushroom is grown in some Himalayan forest areas.
• Statement 3 is not correct, Gucchi mushrooms cannot be cultivated commercially and instead they grow in the wild only.
  • They grow in conifer forests across temperate regions, and the foothills of Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, and Jammu and Kashmir.