UPSC 2023: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz May 13 - May 19

• Statement 1 is correct, The Samjhauta Express is a bi-weekly train that operated between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan.
  • Samjhauta in Hindi means “agreement” and “accord”.
• Statement 2 is correct, The Thar Express was an international passenger train that ran between Jodhpur in the Indian State of Rajasthan and Karachi Cantonment of Karachi in Pakistan.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The Maitree Express connects India with Bangladesh.

• ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ is a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of IMF was set up to provide assistance to countries experiencing serious payment imbalances because of structural impediments or slow growth and an inherently weak balance-of-payments position.
  • EFF provides support for comprehensive programs including the policies needed to correct structural imbalances over an extended period.
• Statement 2 is correct, Amounts drawn under an EFF are to be repaid over 4½–10 years in 12 equal instalments every six months.
• Statement 3 is correct, Extended arrangements are generally approved for periods of three years, but may be approved for periods as long as 4 years to implement deep and sustained structural reforms.

• Statement 1 is correct, The members of the NGT hold the office for a term of five years and are not eligible for reappointment.
• Statement 2 is correct, The NGT is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but is guided by principles of “natural justice”.
• Statement 3 is correct, The NGT is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of the filing of the same.

• Statement 1 is not correct, According to Section 33(7) of The Representation of the People Act, a candidate can contest from a maximum of two constituencies (more constituencies were allowed until 1996 when the RPA was amended to set the cap at two constituencies).
• Statement 2 is correct, In 1991, Haryana deputy chief minister Devi Lal contested three Lok Sabha seats namely Sikar, Rohtak and Ferozepur, as well as the Ghirai assembly seat.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The costs of the by-elections in such cases are borne by the Election Commission of India.

• Statement 1 is not correct, According to Section 28(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code 1973, A Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge may pass any sentence authorized by law, but any sentence of death passed by any Judge shall be subject to confirmation by the High Court.
  • The Court of a Magistrate of the first class can pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or of fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees, or both. Hence a Judicial Magistrate of the first class cannot award a death sentence.
• Statement 2 is not correct, In 1962, the Law Commission, in its 35th report, had recommended the retention of the death penalty.
  • The 262nd Law Commission of India’s report on the death penalty has recommended the abolition of the death penalty for all offences except those related to terrorism.

• Statement 1 is correct, the International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) installed at Devasthal is the world’s first liquid mirror telescope.
• Statement 2 is correct, It is located at an altitude of 2450 metres at the Observatory of the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in Nainital, Uttarakhand which is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology.
• Statement 3 is not correct, International Liquid mirror telescope has been constructed by a collaboration of scientists from Canada, Belgium and India.
  • It was designed and built at the Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems Corporation and the Centre Spatial de Liege, Belgium. 

• Statement 1 is correct, Sufiana Gharana of Kashmir is the only Hindustani Classical Music Gharana from Jammu and Kashmir.
• Statement 2 is correct, Santoor is a stringed instrument that has many variations all over the world and is popular in Hindustani classical music.

• Statement 1 is correct, Guru Arjan Dev built the Harmandar, which is popularly known as the Golden Temple.
• Statement 2 is correct,  Guru Arjan Dev became the founder of the major cities of Punjab such as Tarn Taran Sahib and Kartarpur.
• Statement 3 is not correct, Guru Arjan Dev was captured and executed by Mughal Emperor Jahangir because of his increasing influence among people and also the spread of Sikhism.

• Water molecule has a positive and negative pole due to the uneven distribution of electrons within it, called dipolar.
• This dipolar nature of water molecules helps it to dissolve other polar molecules (positive or negative) very easily.

Hence option a is correct.

• Statement 1 is correct, The Arya Samaj opposes worship of murtis (images), animal sacrifice, shraddha (rituals on behalf of ancestors), basing caste upon birth rather than upon merit, untouchability, child marriage, pilgrimages, priestly craft, and temple offerings.
• Statement 2 is correct, Arya Samaj has worked to further female education and intercaste marriage, built missions, orphanages, and homes for widows, established a network of schools and colleges; and undertaken famine relief and medical work.
• Statement 3 is correct,  Arya Samaj upholds the infallibility of the Vedas, the doctrines of karma (the accumulated effect of past deeds) and samsara (the process of death and rebirth), the sanctity of the cow and the importance of the samskaras (individual sacraments).

• The Ribbon weed (Posidonia australis), recently discovered in Shark Bay of Australia is said to be the world’s largest plant. 
• It is a seagrass that stretches for about 180 km in length.
• The ribbon weed covers an area of 20,000 hectares and the next largest plant is the clonal colony of a quaking Aspen tree in Utah, which covers 43.6 hectares.
• The largest tree in India is the Great Banyan in Howrah’s Botanical Garden which covers 1.41 hectares.

• Statement 1 is correct, Employee’s Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is a government organization that manages provident funds and pension accounts for the workforce engaged in the organized sector in India.
• Statement 2 is correct, EPFO came into existence through the Employee Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952.
• Statement 3 is not correct, EPFO works under the aegis of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

• Statement 1 is not correct, NAS is a nationwide survey to assess the learning outcomes and health of the education system conducted by the Ministry of Education.
  • It is conducted once every three years.
• Statement 2 is correct, NAS assesses the students at the end of classes 3, 5, 8 and 10.
• Statement 3 is correct, The first edition was conducted in 2001.

• A light-year is the distance a beam of light travels in a vacuum in one year.
• The reason for measuring astronomical distances in light-years is that familiar units like kilometres and miles are small for describing the vastness of the cosmos but the speed of light is both finite and constant with a value of approximately 2.998 x 108 m/s.
• Hence option d is correct.

• It is Saturn which has the lowest density among all the planets as it is mostly composed of gases and is referred to as the gas giant. This makes option 1 incorrect.
• Uranus is the planet which exhibits lopsided oddity. It is the only planet that spins on its sides. This makes option 2 incorrect.
• Due to the similarity in terms of their mass, size, composition, and rotation, Uranus and Neptune are known as planetary twins.
• This makes option ‘c’ the correct answer.

• Munneru River is the left tributary of the Krishna River.
• It originates from the Warangal district of Telangana and flows into the districts of Khammam and Krishna.
• It is named after Rishi Maudgalya who was believed to have created the river through his spiritual powers.
• Therefore, option ‘c’ is the correct answer.

• ITU is a specialised agency of the United Nations for Information and Communications Technologies which was established in 1865. This makes option 1 correct.
• ITU is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland with 193 member countries and 6 regional offices in Europe, Africa, America, Asia-Pacific, Arab States and the Commonwealth Independent States. This makes option 2 correct.
• The Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) is an initiative of ITU to protect and support the rights of people to communicate safely.
• As all the statements are correct, option ‘c’ becomes the right answer.

• The Prime Minister has launched the global initiative LiFE movement which upholds the objectives of putting collective efforts to protect the environment. This idea was propounded during the COP26 at Glasgow. This makes option 1 correct.
• The LiFE movement does aim at mindful and deliberate utilisation of natural resources by eliminating misuse of resources through destructive consumption. This makes option 2 correct.
• Therefore, the right answer to this question is option c.

• It is true that Chengiz Khan invaded India during the reign of Iltutmish by defeating the Kharezmian empire in the battle of Indus in 1221. 
• Taimur invaded Northern India in 1398 by attacking the Delhi Sultanate which was under the rule of the Tughlaq dynasty. It was only after crossing the Indus River that Taimur captured Multan. This makes option 2 incorrect.
• The reign of Deva Raya II of the Vijayanagara Empire ended much before Vasco da Gama reached the coast of Calicut in 1498. This makes option 3 incorrect.
• This makes option ‘a’ the correct answer.

• Sampriti Exercise is a bilateral defense cooperation exercise between the armies of India and Bangladesh. Hence Pair 1 is correct.
• Vajra Prahar is a joint military exercise between the special forces of India and the United States (US).  Hence Pair 2 is correct.
• Hand in Hand exercise is an India-China joint military exercise. The exercise takes place between the armies of both countries.  Hence Pair 3 is incorrect.
• It is an annual exercise between the Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defense Force Hence Pair 4 is incorrect.
• Hence option B is correct.

The fishing cat is mainly active at night as in nocturnal. It is usually found near water bodies and is able to swim at long distances. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
It is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. It is mostly found in wetlands, swamps and mangroves. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.
The fishing cat is the state animal of West Bengal and is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. Hence statement 3 is correct.

• Sant Kabir Das was one of the foremost influential saints. He was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet, whose writings influenced the Bhakti movement.
• Bijak is the compilation of the verses of Kabir. It comprises three main sections called Sakhi, Ramaini and Shabda.
• The major part of his work was collected by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev. The verses of Kabir Das are found in Sikhism’s scripture Guru Granth Sahib.
• Hence both statements are correct.

• Tiangong, officially the Tiangong space station, is a space station being constructed by China in low Earth orbit.
• Chang’e is  China’s spacecraft mission that included stereoscopic imaging of the lunar surface, assaying the chemistry of the surface, and testing technologies that could be used in expanding the Chinese national space program to the Moon.
• Artemis is an ongoing space mission run by NASA with the goal of landing the first female astronaut and the first astronaut of colour on the Moon’s South Pole.
• Gaia is a space observatory of the European Space Agency, launched in 2013 and expected to operate until 2025.

Dew is formed when moisture is deposited as water droplets on cooler surfaces of solid objects (rather than nuclei in the air above the surface) such as stones, grass blades, and plant leaves.
When the sky is clear and the trees and plants are cooler at night, more water evaporates, resulting in more dew formation. However, when the sky is cloudy, the trees and plants do not cool down at night, resulting in less dew formation.
Clear skies, calm air, high relative humidity, and a cold and long night are ideal conditions for its formation. The dew point must be higher than the freezing point in order for dew to form.

Jan Samarth Portal is a one-stop digital portal linking government credit schemes. It is a first of its kind platform which directly connects beneficiaries to lenders. The main purpose of the portal is to encourage inclusive growth and development of various sectors by guiding and providing them with the right type of government benefits through simple and easy digital processes. The portal ensures end-to-end coverage of all the linked schemes.

Hence C is the correct option.

• The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty dealing with the rights of disabled people.
• India ratified the UNCRPD in October 2007. The Parliament enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 with a view to fulfilling the obligations under the UNCRPD. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• Incheon Strategy has been adopted to achieve the goals mentioned in UN Convention for Rights of Persons with Disabilities.India is a Party to the Incheon Strategy “To make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and Pacific Region. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• Yanti Kuti Valley is a Himalayan valley situated in the Pithoragarh District, Kumaon division of the Uttarakhand state of India. Hence pair 1 is correct.
• The Yumthang Valley is a nature sanctuary with river, hot springs, yaks and grazing pasture on rolling meadows surrounded by the Himalayan mountains in  Sikkim state in India. Hence pair 2 is incorrect.
• The Dzüko Valley is a valley located at the borders of the states of Nagaland and Manipur in Northeast India.   Hence pair 3 is incorrect.
• Chamba is a town in the Chamba district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.  Hence pair 4 is correct.

The amount of money created by commercial banks for a given fixed amount of base money and reserve ratio is referred to as the money multiplier. A higher cash reserve ratio prevents banks from lending more money and lowers the money multiplier. An increase in the population’s banking habits will increase lending, resulting in more deposits in the banking system and thus increasing the money multiplier.

Hence option B is correct.

• Statement 1 is correct: Geoglyphs are a form of prehistoric rock art, created on the surface of laterite plateaus by removing a part of the rock surface through incision, picking, carving, or abrading.
• Statement 2 is correct: Ratnagiri has more than 1,500 pieces of petroglyphs, locally called “Katal Shilpa”.