UPSC 2024: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Jun 29 - Jul 05

Russia-Ukraine War. Donetsk and Luhansk regions (together called the Donbas region) are in Eastern Ukraine which borders Russia.

Statements 1 and 3 are incorrect. The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) was initiated in 2011, during which data for the year 2010-11 was collected. It is released by the Ministry of Education.

The European Space Agency’s Euclid mission is set to launch into space on a Falcon9 rocket from SpaceX. The mission is specifically designed to study the dark universe, probing both “dark matter” and “dark energy”.

CCEA is one of the standing committees of the cabinet constituted by the government. It is headed by the Prime Minister.

Financial Stability Report (FSR) is a biannual report published by the Reserve Bank of India.

ENSO affects the tropics (the regions surrounding the equator) and the subtropics (the regions adjacent to or bordering the tropics).

Read more on El Nino & La Nina.

Statement 2 is incorrect. It functions under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

The Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary, alongside the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary in Chilika Lake, is located in the Bargarh district in Odisha. It is situated near the city of Sambalpur’s Hirakud Dam.

All three statements are correct.

None of the given statements is incorrect. Read more on the National Payments Corporation of India in the linked article.

• 10 years after the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enacted, the union government has revised the nutritional standards of meals at schools and anganwadis.
• The revised nutritional standards have augmented the proportion of calories and protein, while also mandating the inclusion of micronutrients in them.
• The amendment has been done on the recommendations of an inter-ministerial committee.
• The guidelines for nutritional requirements in certain groups, like lower primary and upper primary classes, have been updated. Previously, students in lower primary classes were provided with 450 kilocalories (kcal) and 12 grams of protein for their midday meals.
• Now, the protein quantity has been increased to 15-20 gms, while fat (18-21 gms) and carbohydrates (70 gms) are part of the mix as well.
• Standards for micronutrients have also been fixed: calcium 170 mg, zinc 2 mg; iron 3.5 mg; dietary folate 50 micrograms, Vitamin A 100 micrograms; Vitamin B6 0.43 micrograms; Vitamin B12 0.66 micrograms.

• Pair 01 is incorrectly matched, Operation Ganga was an evacuation mission carried out by the Indian government to rescue its citizens stranded in neighboring countries during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Pair 02 is correctly matched, Operation Kaveri is a codename for India’s evacuation effort to bring back its citizens stranded in Sudan amid intense fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary force in April 2023.
• Pair 03 is incorrectly 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.

• Statement 01 is correct, The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu.  It is called ‘Yamanika Tirtha’ where, according to the Hindu beliefs, the power of ‘Yama’, the god of death, has been nullified in Puri due to the presence of Lord Jagannath.
• Statement 02 is correct, This temple was called the “White Pagoda” and is a part of Char Dham pilgrimages (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri, Rameswaram).
• • The Puri temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars.
    • Unlike the stone and metal icons found in most Hindu temples, the image of Jagannath is made of wood and is ceremoniously replaced every twelve or 19 years by an exact replica.
• Statement 03 is incorrect, The temple is believed to have been constructed in the 12th century by King Anatavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was established on 20th February, 1997 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.

• Mosul & Kirkuk are both in Iraq. Been in news due to ISIS controlled territory.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The Government of India launched Mission Karmayogi in September 2020, which is a National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building.
  • Mission Karmayogi is a scheme that exhorts civil servants to maintain a very high standard of conduct and behaviour.
• Statement 2 is correct, The mission aims to establish a new national architecture for civil services capacity building at individual, institutional and process levels.
• Statement 3 is correct, iGOT Karmashala is a consultative workshop conducted as a part of the mission.

• Statement 1 is not correct, A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention which includes a product or a process that generally provides a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem.
  • Discoveries however are not patentable and are excluded from patent protection.
• Statement 2 is correct, The term for protection for a product patent according to Indian Patent Act 2005 is 20 years.

• Statement 1 is correct, Malthus stated that population increased in a geometric progression i.e. 2, 4, 16, 132, while resources such as food production increased in arithmetic progression i.e. 2, 4, 6, 8.
  • Thus according to Malthusian Population theory, the population grew faster than food production and tended to outstrip it in a short time.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The Total Fertility Rate is the average number of children that a woman will have during her lifetime.
  • It is measured in terms of children per woman.
• Statement 3 is correct, According to the United Nations Population Division, a Total Fertility Rate of about 2.1 children per woman is called replacement-level fertility.
  • Replacement Level Fertility is the level of fertility at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The Union Ministry of Urban Development takes up the Swachh Survekshan in urban areas
  • The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation takes up the Swachh Sarvekshan in rural areas.
• Statement 2 is not correct, A city/ward can be notified/declared as an ODF city/ODF ward if, at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating in the open.
• Statement 3 is correct, A city/ward can be notified/declared as ODF+ city/war if, at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating and/or urinating in the open AND all community and public toilets are functional and well maintained.

• The substitution of steel for wooden plough in agricultural production is an example of Capital-augmenting technological progress.
• Capital-augmenting technological progress ensures more productive use of existing capital goods.
• Replacement of wooden ploughs by steel ploughs increases productivity.

• The Kisan Credit Scheme (KCC) was introduced in 1998 based on a model scheme prepared by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• The scheme was introduced to meet the various credit requirements of the agriculture sector by giving financial assistance to farmers.
• Eligibility Criteria are as follows for the Kisan Credit Card Scheme:
  • Individual farmers who are owners/cultivators
  • Sharecroppers, tenant farmers
  • Self-Help Groups of sharecroppers, farmers, tenant farmers, etc
  • Farmers involved in the production of crops or activities such as animal husbandry
  • Fish farmers, fishers, SHGs, JLGs, and women groups
  • Fishermen who own a registered boat or any other type of fishing vessel and possess the necessary license or permissions for fishing in estuaries or the sea.
  • Poultry farmers and even those who raise sheep, rabbits, goats, pigs, etc.
  • Dairy: Farmers, dairy farmers, SHGs, JLGs, and tenant farmers who own, lease, or rent sheds.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Supreme Court in a landmark judgement in the Vishakha and others v/s State of Rajasthan 1997 case came up with ‘Vishakha guidelines’.
  • These guidelines formed the basis for the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act).
• Statement 2 is correct, According to Section 4 of the POSH Act, 2013, the employer of every organisation is required to establish an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).
• Statement 3 is not correct, The Internal Complaints Committee must constitute the following members:
  • Presiding Officer: One: a woman employed at a senior level at the workplace from amongst employees.
  • Members: not less than two: from employees preferably committed to the cause of women or who have experience in social work or have legal knowledge.
  • Member: One: from amongst non-governmental organizations or associations committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues relating to sexual harassment
  • The Act provides that at least one-half of the total Members so nominated shall be women.
• Statement 4 is correct, The POSH Act provides a special redress mechanism for complaints in the unorganised sector.
  • Section 7 of the Act mandates the establishment of a Local Complaints Committee by the State Government.

• The Yanomami Area is the largest indigenous territory in Brazil.
• It is located in the northern part of the country, on the border of Venezuela.
• Close to about 20 thousand indigenous people live in this area.
• Illegal miners, pollution of rivers and large-scale deforestation have threatened the existence of the indigenous populations in the area.

• Statement 1 is correct, Due to less landmass, the winds experience a lesser frictional force in the Southern Hemisphere compared to the Northern Hemisphere.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The Coriolis effect is an apparent force, relative to the earth’s surface, that causes deflection of moving objects to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere due to the earth’s rotation.
  • The magnitude and intensity of the Coriolis Force are identical in both Hemispheres. 

• Statement 1 is incorrect, In a free-market economy, the exchange rate is decided by the supply and demand for rupees and dollars. However, in India, the exchange rate is not fully determined by the market. From time to time, the RBI intervenes in the foreign exchange (forex) market to ensure that the rupee “price” does not fluctuate too much or that it doesn’t rise or fall too much all at once.
  • Currently, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs manually notifies the rate of exchange of conversion of 22 foreign currencies every fortnight.
• Statement 2 is correct, Devaluation means officially lowering the value of the currency in terms of foreign exchange. The devaluation of currency is done by the government.
  • The Indian rupee was devalued in the years 1949, 1966, and 1991 by the government of India.

• Statement 1 is correct, Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an organ-specific autoimmune disease caused by the autoimmune response against pancreatic β cells.
  • It is a condition where the pancreas completely stops producing insulin, the hormone responsible for controlling the level of glucose in the blood by increasing or decreasing absorption to the liver, fat, and other cells of the body.
• Statement 2 is incorrect, Type 2 diabetes is caused by a combination of two primary factors: defective insulin secretion by pancreatic β-cells and the inability of insulin-sensitive tissues to respond appropriately to insulin.
  • In type 2 diabetes, the body isn’t able to use insulin the right way. This is called insulin resistance. As type 2 diabetes gets worse, the pancreas may make less and less insulin. This is called insulin deficiency.
• Statement 3 is incorrect,  Type 1 diabetes, accounts for 5 to 10 out of 100 people who have diabetes.

• Statement 01 is correct, The Aspirational Blocks Programme is on the lines of the Aspirational District Programme that was launched in 2018 and covers 112 districts across the country.
  • It is aimed at improving the performance of blocks lagging on various development parameters.
  • This will enable holistic development in those areas that require added assistance.
  • The program will cover 500 districts across 31 states and Union Territories initially.
  • Over half of these blocks are in 6 states—Uttar Pradesh (68 blocks), Bihar (61), Madhya Pradesh (42), Jharkhand (34), Odisha (29) and West Bengal (29).
• Statement 2 is incorrect, Maharashtra has conceptualised and initiated the Aspirational Cities Programme (ACP) modelled on the lines of the Aspirational Districts initiative of Niti Aayog.

Image Source: World Atlas

Subsidiary Alliance was basically a treaty between the British East India Company and the Indian princely states, by virtue of which the Indian kingdoms lost their sovereignty to the English. It also was a major process that led to the building of the British Empire in India.

The Subsidiary Alliance system was used by Lord Wellesley to build an empire in India.

The Subsidiary Alliance Treaty

• Acknowledge the British East India Company as the paramount power
• Permanently station a British army within his territory
• Pay subsidy for maintaining this army.
• Post a British resident in his court.
• Not negotiate with any other rulers without prior consent from the Governor-General.
• Not employ any European in their service without getting approval from the British.
• If the ruler fails to make payment as per the Alliance, then the state would be confiscated by the British East India Company.