UPSC 2024: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Nov 18 - Nov 24

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The hottest years on record are 2016 and 2020 since record-keeping began in 1880.
• Statement 2 is correct: The Arctic region has warmed twice the global average. This phenomenon is known as the Arctic Amplification.

• Statement 1 is correct: In plants, vivipary occurs when seeds or embryos begin to develop before they detach from the parent. This adaptation is seen in mangrove trees to reproduce in highly saline environments.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The mangrove cover has increased by 0.34% in the previous assessment.
• Statement 3 is correct: Mangrove tree species of India include Avicennia Officinalis, Morinda Citrifolia, Rhizophora mucronata, Sonneratia Alba, Avicennia Alba, Bruguiera Cylindrica, Heriteira Littoralis, Phoenix paludosa, etc.

• Statement 1 is correct: The Khel Ratna Award, officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, is the highest sporting honour in India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. Table Tennis player Shri Sharath Kamal Achanta received the award for the year 2022.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy is awarded by the President of India each year to a University that has all-around best performance in sports at Inter-University, National, and International competitions.

• The Ninth Schedule of the Indian Constitution was added by the First Constitutional (Amendment) Act, 1951 during the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru.
• It contains a list of central and state laws that cannot be challenged in the courts. The first amendment added 13 laws to the list.

• Statement 1 is not correct, CCPI is published by three NGOs namely Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and Climate Action Network International.
• Statement 2 is correct, The Index is assessed based on four performance indicators namely Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Renewable Energy Adoption, Energy Use and Climate Policy.
• Statement 3 is correct, India has climbed two spots to reach the eighth rank out of 63 countries evaluated on CCPI 2023 on account of low emissions and the increasing use of renewable energy.
• Statement 4 is not correct, In the CCPI 2023, Denmark has reached the best ranking. However, no country performs well enough in all index categories to achieve an overall “very high” rating in the index.
  • Therefore, the first three ranks in the overall ranking remain empty.

• Andhra Pradesh: 1st of November 1953
• Gujarat: 1st of May 1960
• Nagaland: 1st of December 1963
• Meghalaya: 21st of January 1972
• Goa: 30th of May 1987
• Jharkhand: 15th of November 2000

• Statement 1 is correct, In the merchandise segment, India imports more than it exports in terms of value.
• Statement 2 is correct, In the services segment, India exports more than it imports in terms of value.
• Statement 3 is not correct, As the trade surplus from the services segment has failed to offset the trade deficit in the merchandise segment, India is witnessing a net trade deficit.

In the Samatha v/s State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors judgment in 1997, the Supreme Court declared that the transfer of tribal land to private parties for mining was null and void under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.

• Pair 01 is correctly matched, Chanderi sari is a traditional sari made in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh. The weaving culture of Chanderi emerged between the 2nd and 7th centuries. It is situated on the boundary of two cultural regions of the state, Malwa and Bundelkhand.
• Pair 02 is correctly matched, Jamdani is a fine muslin textile produced for centuries in South Bangladesh and West Bengal. The historic production of jamdani was patronised by imperial warrants of the Mughal emperors.
  • Jamdani is typically woven using a mixture of cotton and gold thread.
  • In 2013, the traditional art of weaving jamdani was declared a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
  • In 2016, Bangladesh received geographical indication (GI) status for Jamdani Sari.
• Pair 03 is correctly matched, Paithani is a variety of sari, named after the Paithan town in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra.
  • Paithani is characterised by borders of an oblique square design, and a padar (end of the sari) with a peacock design.
• Pair 04 is correctly matched, Patola is a double ikat woven sari, usually made from silk, made in Patan, Gujarat, India.
  • Patola are usually woven in Surat, Ahmedabad and Patan. But velvet patola styles are majorly made in Surat.
  • It received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2013.
  • Patola sarees are highly valued in Indonesia and became part of the local weaving tradition there.

• Statement 01 is correct, Kartar Singh Sarabha was Ghadar Party’s youngest founding member. He was one of the most active fundraisers in the organisation, holding meetings in the rural areas where the farmers donated generously.
• Statement 02 is correct, In 1915,  Kartar Singh Sarabha was arrested and put on a trial for what came to be called the Lahore conspiracy case which resulted in the execution of 24 Ghadris including him.

• Major literary works by Swami Dayananda Saraswati are Satyartha Prakash, Sanskarvidhi, Rigved Bhashyam, etc.
• Vedic chronology and Vedanga Jyotisha were authored by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

• The main objectives of the Artemis mission are:
  • Demonstrate new technologies, capabilities, and business approaches needed for future exploration including Mars.
  • Study the Moon to learn more about the origin and history of Earth, the Moon, and our solar system.
  • Establish American leadership and a strategic presence on the Moon while expanding our U.S. global economic impact.
  • Broaden NASA’s commercial and international partnerships.
  • Inspire a new generation and encourage careers in STEM.

• Statement 01 is incorrect, To measure the age of plant and animal remains scientists use the carbon dating method.
• Statement 02 is correct, DNA barcodes help to objectively identify species – even from small, damaged, or industrially processed material. It can be used to distinguish among species that look alike.
• Statement 03 is correct, DNA barcoding helps to identify the undesirable animal or plant materials in processed foods.

• Statement 01 is incorrect, Sant Kabir Das did not undertake any formal education. He was also not trained as a weaver. While his poems abound with weaving metaphors, his heart was not fully in this profession. He was on a spiritual journey to seek the truth, which is clearly manifested in his poetry.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, Kabir always opposed the idea of worshipping the idols and showed clear confidence in Bhakti and Sufi ideas.
• Statement 03 is correct, Sant Kabir Das was a highly acclaimed poet of his time.  His writings significantly influenced the Bhakti movement.
  • Some of his famous writings include ‘Sakhi Granth’, ‘Anurag Sagar’, ‘Bijak’ and ‘Kabir Granthawali’.

• Statement 01 is correct, Article 222 of the Indian Constitution makes provision for the transfer of a Judge (including Chief Justice) from one High Court to any other High Court.
  • The initiation of the proposal for the transfer of a Judge should be made by the Chief Justice of India whose opinion in this regard is determinative.
  • Consent of a Judge for his first or subsequent transfer would not be required.
• Statement 02 is correct, A Division Bench of Madras High Court held that only the transferred judge and no one else was entitled to file a case challenging such transfer and that even the aggrieved judge concerned could question the transfer order only on limited grounds such as the proposal not having emanated from the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

• Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis is a disorder characterised by abnormal storage of fats (lipids) in many areas of the body. People with this disorder cannot break down certain lipids effectively, specifically different forms of cholesterol, so these fats accumulate in the body in the form of fatty yellow nodules called xanthomas.
• People with cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis often develop neurological problems in early adulthood that are thought to be caused by an abnormal accumulation of fats and an increasing number of xanthomas in the brain.
• These neurological problems include recurrent seizures (epilepsy), movement disorders, impaired speech (dysarthria), loss of sensation in the arms and legs (peripheral neuropathy), a decline in intellectual function (dementia), hallucinations, and depression.

• Statement 01 is incorrect, Baliyatra is the major festival held at Cuttack, Odisha at Gadagadia Ghata of the Mahanadi river on Kartik Purnima. It is considered to be one of Asia’s largest open trade fairs.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, It is celebrated to mark the day when ancient Sadhabas (Odia mariners) would set sail to Indonesia and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural expansion from Odisha.
  • To commemorate this, the festival is celebrated every year from the day of Kartika Purnima (full moon day of the month of Kartika) according to the Odia calendar.

• Statement 01 is incorrect, As per the proposals of the Cripps Mission, after the end of the war, a constituent assembly would be convened to frame a new constitution. Members of this assembly would be partly elected by the provincial assemblies through proportional representation and partly nominated by the princes.
• Statement 02 is correct, Cripps Mission also proposed that the provinces not agreeing to the new constitution would have the right to keep themselves out of the proposed Union. Such provinces would also be entitled to create their own separate Union and have the right to sign a separate agreement with Britain regarding its future status.

• Statement 1 is not correct, The Chief Justice of India as the “Master of Roster” is both the judicial as well as the administrative head of the Supreme Court.
• Statement 2 is not correct, The Chief Justice of India is responsible for the allocation of cases to particular benches.
• Statement 3 is correct, The Chief Justice of India decides the number of judges and even its composition of a bench that will hear a case.

• Statement 1 is correct, The NPT represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.
• Statement 2 is correct, The Treaty establishes a safeguards system under the responsibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
  • Safeguards are used to verify compliance with the Treaty through inspections conducted by the IAEA.
• Statement 3 is correct, More countries have ratified the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement

• Statement 1 is not correct, The 2022 FIFA world cup will be the first World Cup to be held in the Arab countries and the second instance to be held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.
• Statement 2 is correct, FIFA has suspended Russia from international competitions “until further notice”, including its participation in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
• Statement 3 is not correct, The Official Mascot for the Qatar 2022 World Cup has been revealed and he is a super-skilled football player called “La’eeb”.
  • The official match ball for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is named “Al Rihla” by Adidas which means “the journey” in Arabic and is inspired by the culture, architecture, iconic boats and flag of Qatar.

• The “State of the economy” Report is published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

• Statement 01 is correct, The composition of Thirukkural is attributed to the poet Tiruvalluvar, who is thought to have lived in India in the 6th century. Thiruvalluvar, also called Valluvar, was a Tamil poet-saint.
• Statement 02 is correct, Tirukkural is comprised of 133 sections of 10 couplets each is divided into three books: Aram (virtue), Porul (government and society), and Kamam (love). It is considered one of the greatest works ever written on ethics and morality, it is known for its universality and secular nature.

• A sweet banana species with orange pulp named as Musa indandamanensis was discovered in Andamans by team of scientists from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) from a remote Krishna Nalah tropical rain forest on the Little Andaman islands. It has not been  accorded GI Tag.
• Recently, Tribal Development Council, Andaman & Nicobar Islands has applied for  the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Nicobari hodi boat. It has not been accorded GI Tag yet.
• Zingiber (commonly referred to as ginger)  has not been accorded GI Tag.

• The Papikonda National Park spreads  in East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh.
• The park lies on the left and right banks of the river Godavari.
• This National Park cuts through the Papikonda hill range of Eastern Ghats.
• The majority of the area of the park is covered with moist deciduous forest.

• The river is born in the Western Ghats on a hill known as Varaha Parvata at a place called Gangamoola. From here, the river flows through two districts in Karnataka – Chikmagalur District and Shimoga District.
• It is 147 km long and merges with the Bhadra River at Koodli, a small town near Shimoga City. The river is given the compound name Tungabhadra from this point on.
• The river flows eastwards and merges with the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh.

• Indirect transfers refer to situations where when foreign entities own shares or assets in India, the shares of such foreign entities are transferred instead of a direct transfer of the underlying assets in India.

• Statement 01 is incorrect, The great knot is a small wader. It is the largest of the calidrid species.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, They are listed as ‘Endangered’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
• Statement 03 is correct, They are long-distance migrants and they stay in the Yellow Sea region and Thailand in southeast Asia before proceeding to their southerly winter grounds, including Peninsular India along the Central Asian Flyway.