UPSC 2023: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Jun 11 - Jun 17

• The Minimum Support Price (MSP) is the rate at which the government purchases crops from farmers.
• They are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season.
• MSP is fixed twice a year on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and its recommendations are not binding and are only advisory in nature.
• MSP also covers commercial crops.
• MSPs cover:
  • Cereals (paddy, wheat, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, barley and ragi)
  • Pulses (gram, tur, moong, urad, lentil)
  • Oilseeds (groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, soyabean, sesamum, sunflower, safflower, nigerseed)
  • Commercial crops (copra, sugarcane, cotton and raw jute).

• Young India was a weekly paper or journal in English published by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
• Navjivan was also published by Mohandas Gandhi.
• Yugantar, the weekly magazine was started by Barindra Kumar Ghosh, and Bhupendranath Dutt.

There are 7 national parks in the state of Assam with Dihing Patkai recently being notified as a National Park.
National Parks in Assam are: Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang, Dibru-Saikhowa, Raimona and Dihing Patkai.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI).
• AFI is an international policy institute and public policy network that specializes in financial inclusion policy for the unbanked and underbanked population of the world.
• Institutions comprising central banks, financial regulatory institutions, and financial inclusion policymakers from 80 least developed and developing countries are its members.
• AFI is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
• As per the RBI Act, RBI should have four deputy governors – two from within the ranks (in RBI), one commercial banker and another economist to head the monetary policy department.
• Of the four deputy governors, two are from the outside and two from within the central bank.

• The Government of India Act 1919 was an act of the British Parliament that sought to increase the participation of Indians in the administration of their country.
• The act was based on the recommendations of a report by Edwin Montagu, the then Secretary of State for India, and Lord Chelmsford, India’s Viceroy between 1916 and 1921. Hence the constitutional reforms set forth by this act are known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms.
• Dyarchy was introduced, i.e., there were two classes of administrators – Executive councillors and ministers.
• The subjects were divided into two lists – reserved and transferred.
• It provided for devolution of legislative authority by the centre to the provinces.
• While the act extended consolidated and communal representation, the introduction of separate communal electorates for Muslims was not provided for in the GOI Act 1919.

• In the Lily Thomas case, the Supreme Court had struck down Section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to disqualify a legislator immediately when convicted for two or more years’ prison. It dealt with the issue of the criminalization of politics.
• In the I R Coelho case, also known as the Ninth Schedule Case, the unanimous judgement delivered by a 9-judge bench led by Chief Justice Sabharwal upheld the validity of the Doctrine of Basic Structure propounded in the Kesavananda Bharti case.
  • The Court upheld the power of the Judiciary to review any such law which in its opinion would in any way destroy the basic structure of the Constitution.
  • As a result of this judgement, ninth schedule items were open to judicial scrutiny.
• In the Kihoto Hollohan case, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court analyzed the various provisions of the 52nd amendment of the Constitution which inserted the Tenth schedule (Anti-Defection Law).

• Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act is based on the Directive Principles, contained in Article 47 of the Indian Constitution.
• Article 47 of the Constitution is a Directive Principle which stipulates that the State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.
• The state governments do not have the power to add/remove/modify/omit from the list of psychotropic substances. Only the Central government has this power.

• Atlantic Charter is a declaration signed by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in August 1941 (during World War II), setting out common goals for the world after Second World War.
• Those goals included freer trade, disarmament and the right to self-determination of all people.
• It is often cited as a cornerstone of the trans-Atlantic “special relationship.”
• The charter laid the foundation for the United Nations and NATO.

Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) is an interferometric radio telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in British Columbia, Canada.
CHIME comprises four massive cylindrical radio antennas operated by the National Research Council of Canada.
It is a superior instrument for observing the phenomenon of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs).
The telescope has detected 535 new fast radio bursts in its first year of operation itself (2018-2019).

• ‘Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)’ was formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative.
• It was established in Mauritius in March 1997 with the aim of promoting economic and technical cooperation.
• IOR-ARC is the only pan-Indian ocean grouping. It brings together countries from three continents – Asia, Australia and Africa.
• IOR-ARC alliance is meant for Maritime Safety and Security, Sustainable Development, Economic Co-operation and technological co-operation as well.

• Ram Prasad Bismil was associated with the Arya Samaj from an early age. This had a profound influence on him.
• He believed that revolution only can bring independence to India. He did not believe in non-violent means to achieve independence.
• He had participated in the Mainpuri Conspiracy in 1918. However, he was not a part of the Lahore Conspiracy.
• Bismil is perhaps most remembered for the Kakori Conspiracy Case. He was the mastermind behind the plan which was to loot a train carrying government money. The incident occurred on 9th August 1925 at Kakori, near Lucknow.

• National Green Tribunal (NGT) is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise solely for the purpose of adjudicating environmental cases in the country.
• It not only helps in the speedy disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests but also provides compensation for damages to persons and property for matters connected to the environment.
• NGT is guided by the principles of Natural Justice. It is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure.

• EnVision is European Space Agency’s next Venus orbiter mission.
• It will be launched in 2030.
• Its aim is to provide a holistic view of the planet from its inner core to the upper atmosphere to determine how and why Venus and Earth evolved so differently.

• Aerosols are minute particles that are suspended in the atmosphere.
• An aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air or another gas.
• Aerosols can be natural or anthropogenic.
• 90% of aerosols present in the atmosphere are natural.
• Automobiles, power plants, cigarettes, volcanic eruptions, desert storms are all sources of aerosols.

• Indus Valley Civilization was predominantly a secular civilization and the religious element, though present, did not dominate the scene.
• During this period, cotton was used for manufacturing textiles in India.

• The annual “Operation Olivia” by the Indian Coast Guard helps protect Olive Ridley turtles as they congregate along the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting.
• The Coast enforce laws near the rookeries Guard carries out round-the-clock surveillance from November till May utilizing Coast Guard assets and helps.

• The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae.
• The species is one of the most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
• It is primarily found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but also in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
• The Olive Ridley is listed as vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red list.
• It is included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and in the Appendix I of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
• The coast of Odisha is one of the largest mass nesting site for the Olive Ridley Turtles. There are three beaches along the Odisha coast including Gahirmatha, the mouth of the Devi river, and Rushikulya.

• Given that Coral reefs need sunlight they occur in shallow waters. Reef-building corals require warm water conditions to survive.
• Soft corals are not capable of building reefs.

• The Yerrapalli Formation of the Pranhita-Godavari Basin in Telangana has had several fossils unearthed from it.
• One of the species identified includes a carnivorous reptile that lived 240 million years ago. It has been named Bharitalasuchus tapani. Studies have revealed that the reptile belonged to a family of extinct reptiles named Erythrosuchidae.
• The Bharitalasuchus tapani were robust animals with big heads and large teeth, and these probably predated other smaller reptiles. They were approximately the size of an adult male lion and might have been the largest predators in their ecosystems.

• The Chief Secretary in a State is appointed by the government of the state.
• The Chief Secretary in a State does not enjoy a fixed tenure.

• Bhitarkanika National Park is located in northeast Kendrapara district in Odisha in eastern India. It is also a Ramsar site.
• The national park and wildlife sanctuary is inundated by the rivers Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra, Pathsala. It hosts many mangrove species, and is the second-largest mangrove ecosystem in India.
• The national park is home to Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), Indian python, king cobra, black ibis, darters and many other species of flora and fauna.

A new species named Pyrostria laljii belonging to the genus of the coffee family has recently been discovered from the Andaman Islands.
The new species has been reported from the Wandoor forest in South Andaman.
It is also the first record of the genus Pyrostria in India.
Plants belonging to the genus Pyrostria are usually found in Madagascar.
Pyrostria laljii has been assessed as ‘Critically Endangered’ based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List criteria.

Kawasaki disease is a syndrome of unknown cause that results in a fever and mainly affects children under 5 years of age. It is a form of vasculitis, where blood vessels become inflamed throughout the body.
While the specific cause is unknown, it is thought to result from an excessive immune system response to an infection in children who are genetically predisposed. It does not spread between people.
Kawasaki disease affects people of Asian ethnicity, particularly Japanese people. The higher incidence in Asian populations is thought to be linked to genetic susceptibility.

• Rare earth metals are a group of 17 elements – lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium, yttrium – that appear in low concentrations in the ground. They are lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals.
• Although they are more abundant than their name implies, they are difficult and costly to mine and process cleanly.

New START is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation with the formal name of Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed in 2010 in Prague, and, after ratification, entered into force in 2011.

• Tilak Swarajya Fund was started to fund the non-cooperation movement.
• It gathered over 1 crore rupees and was a part of the constructive agenda of the non-cooperation movement.

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.
It is mandated to ensure that all laws, policies, programmes, and administrative mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
For the Commission, the protection of all children in the 0 to 18 years age group is of equal importance.
It has the powers to take suo-moto cognisance of serious cases of violation of child rights.

• Floating raft agriculture is a way of utilising areas that are waterlogged for long periods of time in the production of food.
• It employs an approach where a floating raft set up on bamboo frames and held together by coir geotextile with a bed of degraded water hyacinth or beds of rotting vegetation, which act as compost for crop growth.
• This form of farming is taken up as a measure of improving adaptability and resilience in the background of climate change.

• The Karman Line is an attempt to define a boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
• It is an internationally recognised boundary of space.
• According to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), it is at an altitude of 100 kilometres, or 62 miles, above sea level.
• The definition is based on a calculation by physicist Theodore von Karman that shows that around this point the atmosphere becomes too thin to support flight.

Article 21 and freedom guaranteed in Part III implies that the Right to Privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty.