UPSC 2024: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Nov 03 - Nov 10

• Statement 1 is correct, NGT has the power to take Suo Motu cognizance of Environmental Issues.
• Statement 2 is not correct, NGT is not bound by the procedure under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 or the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and is guided by principles of natural justice.
• Statement 3 is correct, NGT has not been vested with powers to hear any matter relating to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and various laws enacted by States relating to forests, tree preservation, etc.

• Statement 1 is correct, An individual to be eligible for appointment as Governor should be a citizen of India.
• Statement 2 is correct, The individual must have completed the age of 35 years.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The practice of appointing a person from an outside state as the governor is a parliamentary convention and is not mentioned in the Constitution.

• Statement 1 is correct, Under the scheme, a fixed amount of subsidy decided on an annual basis is provided on each grade of subsidized Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers, except for Urea, based on the nutrient content present in them.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The scheme is administered by the Department of Fertilizers under the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers. 

• The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes is a constitutional body that was established by the 89th Constitution Amendment Act, 2003.
• The Commission is an authority working for the economic development of Scheduled Tribes in India.

• Statement 1 is not correct, E-commerce companies must ensure none of their “related parties and associated enterprises” are listed as sellers on their shopping websites, and no related entity should sell goods to an online seller operating on the same platform.
• Statement 2 is correct, The degree to which they can own big sellers on their platforms is limited.

• Pair 1 is not correct, Chari dance is a folk dance form associated with the Gujjar and Saini communities of Kishangarh, Ajmer and other places of Rajasthan.
• Pair 2 is not correct, Dhimsa is a tribal dance form performed mainly by the Porja caste women in Andhra Pradesh.
• Pair 3 is not correct, Padayani is a ritual art form performed at Bhadrakali temples located on the banks of river Pampa in the state of Kerala.
• Pair 4 is correct, Wangala dance is performed during the Wangala festival, also called the festival of “The Hundred Drums”, associated with the Garo tribes in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Assam.

• Statement 1 is correct, Enemy properties are those left behind by the people who took citizenship of Pakistan and China after leaving India.
• Statement 2 is not correct, Law of succession does not apply to enemy property.

• RISAT-2 is an X-band SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) reconnaissance satellite of ISRO.
• RISAT-2 is India’s first satellite with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
• The applications of RISAT-2 satellite include:
  • Monitor India’s borders as part of anti-infiltration and anti-terrorist operations
  • High-resolution spot imaging of locations
  • Track hostile ships at sea that are deemed a military threat
  •  Beneficial in mapping and managing natural disasters, such as floods and landslides
  • Take images of the Earth through the thickest cloud cover, in rain, and in snowy or foggy conditions during night and day
• Hence option d is correct.

• Bonalu is a traditional Hindu festival centred on the Goddess Mahakali and celebrated in Telangana.
• Bonalu festival is celebrated annually in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and other parts of the state.

• Gandikota which is regarded as the “Grand Canyon of South India” is located in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.
• Gandikota gorge is situated along the Pennar River.

• In India, copyright is protected under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957. To ensure the protection of work across international borders, India has entered into various treaties for securing the global protection of Indians across different countries.
• The most significant ones include:
  • Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
  • The Universal Copyright Convention (UCC)
• The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants or UPOV is a treaty body with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Its objective is to provide an effective system for plant variety protection.
• • As of December 3, 2021, two intergovernmental organisations and 76 counties were members of UPOV.
  • India is not a member of UPOV.

• The Copyright Act, 1957 provides for certain exceptions to the infringement of copyright, under Section 52. The provision permits limited use of copyrighted material without the owner’s authorization.
• The following acts shall not constitute an infringement of copyright, namely, —
  • The recitation or reading in public of any reasonable extract from the published literary or dramatic work.
  • The publication in the collection, primarily composed of non-copyright matter, bonafide intended for the sake of educational institutions.
  • Reproduction of the judicial proceeding or of a report of the judicial proceeding.
  • Reporting present events in any print media.
  • By a cinematographic film or broadcast or by any means of photographs.

Polavaram Project is a multi-purpose irrigation project which has been accorded national project status by the central government. This dam across the Godavari River is under construction and located in West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh state and its reservoir spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha States also.

• Foreign Currency Assets are maintained as a multi-currency portfolio comprising major currencies, such as, the US dollar, Euro, Pound sterling, Japanese yen, etc. and are valued in terms of US dollars.
• FCA is the largest component of the forex reserve.
• FCA of the RBI includes Deposits with central banks, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) & commercial banks overseas, investments in foreign T-Bills & securities and special drawing rights (SDRs) with the IMF.

• Statements 01 and 02 are correct, The United Nations General Assembly may grant non-member states, international organisations, and other entities Permanent Observer Status.
• Statement 03 is correct, Permanent Observers may participate in the sessions and workings of the General Assembly and maintain missions at the UN Headquarters.

• Iran recently tested Ghaem 100.
• It is a three-stage, solid fuel launcher that will be able to place satellites weighing 80 kg in an orbit 500 km above the Earth’s surface.
• The new rocket will be used for future launches of Iran’s Nahid communications satellites.

The Sunda Strait is a strait which is between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. This strait connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean.

Image Source-Wikipedia

• Statement 01 is correct, The fastest land animal, Cheetah, went extinct in 1952  in India due to too much reckless hunting activities.
• Statement 02 is correct, Asiatic Cheetahs have a very small population base and are listed as critically endangered species in the (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
• Statement 03 is incorrect, African Cheetahs have been introduced into Kuno National Park under the cheetah reintroduction project.
  • They were brought from Namibia – are being introduced in India under Project Cheetah, which is the world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project.

• Statement 01 is correct, Raja Ram Mohan Roy visited England as an ambassador of the Mughal king Akbar Shah II (father of Bahadur Shah)  where he pleaded for his pension and allowances.
  • Akbar II awarded him the title ‘Raja’.
• Statement 02 is correct,  Atmiya Sabha was a philosophical discussion circle in India started by Ram Mohan Roy in 1814 in Calcutta. They used to conduct debate and discussion sessions on philosophical topics, and also used to promote free and collective thinking and social reform.
• Statement 03 is incorrect,  The Calcutta Unitarian Committee was jointly founded by William Adam and Rammohun Roy in September 1821.
  • It sought to bring together prominent Brahmins who were friends of Roy’s and supporters of his agenda for the promotion of religious monotheism and social reform.

• Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) are (intended) reductions in greenhouse gas emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The INDCs combine the top-down system of a United Nations climate agreement with bottom-up system-in elements through which countries put forward their agreements in the context of their national capabilities, circumstances and priorities with the goal of reducing greenhouse emissions.

• Statement 01 is correct, Recent study shows that the Long-term exposure to PM 2.5 pollutants may increase the prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age through systemic inflammation.
• Statement 02 is correct, India’s anaemia prevalence among women of reproductive age (15-45 years) is among the highest in the world. As per the study, ‘Reducing the burden of anaemia in Indian women of reproductive age with clean-air targets’, anaemia prevalence will fall from 53 per cent to 39.5 percent if India meets its recent clean-air targets.
• Statement 03 is correct, Anaemia is a major contributor to the global disease burden and it is characterised by diminished blood haemoglobin concentration and is often accompanied by a decrease in red blood cells. This results in a decrease in the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.

• The Falcon Heavy debuted in 2018 with the ‘Tesla Roadster’ car as a test payload on the launch.
• The car is still in space, taking an oblong path around the sun that swings out as far as Mars’ orbital path.

• Statement 01 is correct, Malaria kills nearly 600,000 people every year, the majority of whom are children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • The World Health Organisation African Region records a high share of the global malaria burden.
  • In 2020 the Region was home to 95% of all malaria cases and 96% of deaths.
  • Children under 5 years of age accounted for about 80% of all malaria deaths in the Region.
• Statement 02 is correct, WHO in October 2021 approved for RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix) vaccine, developed by GlaxoSmithKline for immunising children.
  • WHO recommended widespread use of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission.
• Statement 03 is correct,  RTS,S/AS01 fails to meet the WHO’s own benchmark for malaria vaccine efficacy of 75 per cent set in 2015. RTS,S/AS01 has modest efficacy and reduces severe malaria cases by only about 30 per cent after four doses given to children under age 5.

• Statement 01 is incorrect, The warmest year on record so far has been 2016, when the global mean temperatures were measured to be about 1.28 degree Celsius higher than pre-industrial times.
• Statement 02 is correct, As per World Meteorological Organization (WMO), global warming in 2022 so far has happened despite the presence of a prolonged La Nina (a cooling of sea-surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean) which tends to temporarily cool down the earth a bit.
• Statement 03 is correct, According to a new assessment by WMO, the global mean temperatures for 2022 are currently estimated to be about 1.15 degree Celsius higher than pre-industrial times.

• Statement 1 is incorrect, Corporate Lawyers, as well as patent attorneys, are too recognized as lawyers and there’s no prohibition on their recognition as lawyers.
• Statement 2 is correct, The Bar Council of India (BCI), under Section 7 (1) (h) of the Advocates Act, 1961, is empowered to promote legal education and lay down ‘standards’ of such education in consultation with the Universities imparting such education.
  • The Bar Council of India is a statutory body established under section 4 of the Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India.

• Statement 1 is correct, Ayushman Bharat not only helps in providing free treatment to the citizens, but also helps in the early detection of cancer.
• Statement 2 is correct, Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) are also providing screening services for some serious diseases like Oral Cancer, Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer.

• According to Article 355 of the Constitution, the Union is duty-bound to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and ensure that the government of every State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

• The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body and is constituted by a notification of the Government of India (Executive Body).
• The Law Commission of India acts as an advisory body to the Union Law Ministry.

• Statement 1 is correct, An elephant herd has mainly females and baby elephants. The oldest female is the leader of the herd.
• Statement 2 is correct, African elephants have a gestation period of up to 22 months, while Asian elephants have a gestation period of 18-22 months.
  • This is the longest gestation period of all mammals.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The ability of elephants to produce offspring is constant between the ages of 16 and 40 and then declines slightly.
  • However, females over the age of 60 can still give birth.
• Statement 4 is incorrect, According to a report released by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Karnataka has the highest number of elephants followed by Assam and Kerala.