UPSC 2023: Weekly GK and Current Affairs Quiz Sep 10 - Sep 16

Schematic diagram of continental spreading from the Neoproterozoic era to the present time (cenozoic era)

• The coalesced Rodinia supercontinent (Neoproterozoic era) was followed bt the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent (middle Paleozoic era), and the subsequent breakup of the Pangea supercontinent into Gondwana in the southern hemisphere and Laurasia in the Northern hemisphere during the late paleozoic era.

• BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) is a vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) in humans.
  • TB continues to be a major public health problem in the world. According to the WHO’s Global TB Report, 10 million people developed TB in 2019 with 1.4 million deaths. India accounts for 27% of these cases.
• Currently, BCG is the only licensed vaccine available for the prevention of TB. It is the world’s most widely used vaccine with about 120 million doses every year and has an excellent safety record.
• One intriguing fact about BCG is that it works well in some geographic locations and not so well in others. Recent studies into the efficacy of the BCG vaccine have noted that farther a country is from the equator, the higher is the efficacy of BCG Vaccine. BCG has a high efficacy in the UK, Norway, Sweden and Denmark; and little or no efficacy in countries on or near the equator like India, Kenya and Malawi, where the burden of TB is higher. These regions also have a higher prevalence of environmental mycobacteria. It is believed that these may interfere with the protective effect against TB.

• Oodaaq or Oodap Qeqertaa is a bank of gravel and silt northeast of Greenland that has been considered by some to be the most northerly point of land on Earth, though a number of other places have also been given that title since its discovery.
• Scientists have recently discovered what is believed to be the world’s northernmost landmass — a yet-to-be-named island north of Greenland that could soon be swallowed up by seawaters. The new island is 780 m north of Oodaaq.

• AFSPA, which was enacted in 1958 amid the nascent Naga insurgency, gives powers to the army and state and central police forces to shoot to kill, search houses and destroy any property that is “likely” to be used by insurgents in areas declared as “disturbed” by the home ministry.
• Security forces can “arrest without warrant” a person, who has committed or even “about to commit a cognizable offence” even on “reasonable suspicion”. It also protects them from legal processes for actions taken under the act.
• The choice of declaring any area as ‘disturbed’ under AFSPA vests both with state and central government.
• In recent years, prominent Indian bodies have recognized the brutality of the AFSPA and echoed demands for repeal or amendment. The Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee set up by the Government of India to review the working of the AFSPA, has advocated its repeal. The Fifth Report of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission seconded this recommendation.

• Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar. Thus photosynthesis removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• Volcanic action, respiration and decaying of organic matter add carbon to the carbon cycle.

• The Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition or POSHAN Abhiyaan or National Nutrition Mission is the Government of India’s flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children, adolescent girls and pregnant women and lactating mothers.
• The POSHAN Abhiyaan directs the attention of the country towards the problem of malnutrition and addresses it in a mission mode.

• As part of the efforts to further deepen the defence cooperation between India and Russia, India and Russia are expected to conclude the bilateral logistics agreement, Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS) during the upcoming Russian Defence Minister’s visit to India.
• This means Indian ships or aircraft can now use Russian ports or airfields without having to take permission or make immediate payments. India has already signed a similar agreement with the USA. The LEMOA or the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement between India and the United States was signed in 2016.

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
• The CBI is not a statutory body. It derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
• The Director of CBI has been provided security of two-year tenure in office by the CVC Act, 2003.

• The South China Sea is the connecting link between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
• The South China Sea is connected by Taiwan Strait with the East China Sea and by Luzon Strait with the Philippine Sea.

• The Scarborough Shoal located in the disputed South China Sea is claimed by the Philippines, China, and Taiwan.

• During Akbar’s reign, many manuscripts were illustrated, the prominent being Razmnamah, the Persian translation of Mahabharata. It was during Jahangir’s reign that manuscripts became less important and individual portraits became more prominent.
• Jahangir shifted emphasis from illustrated manuscripts to the album and individual portraits.

• Three railways, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and the Kalka–Shimla Railway, are collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Mountain Railways of India.
• The fourth railway, the Matheran Hill Railway, is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• The basis of UNESCO’s designation of the Mountain Railways of India as a World Heritage Site is “outstanding examples of bold, ingenious engineering solutions for the problem of establishing an effective rail link through rugged, mountainous terrain.”

• Kashmir has been known for producing the most exclusive Pashmina Shawls in the world. Kashmir Pashmina Shawl making is rooted in the valley of Kashmir, where artisans follow age-old processes and techniques.
• The name Pashmina has been derived from the Persian word “Pashm” meaning a weavable fibre precisely wool. The cashmere wool used for making Pashmina comes from a special breed of Kashmiri goat – Changthangi found in the high altitude regions of the Himalayas.
  • The fine variant of spun cashmere is derived from the animal-hair fibre forming the downy undercoat of the Changthangi goat.
• The Pashmina shawls were considered luxury items and were indicators of wealth and part of a rich woman’s dowry in India, Nepal and Pakistan.
• Kashmir Pashmina or Cashmere has a unique geographical origin & unique methods of making. “Kashmir Pashmina” has been registered under the Geographical Indications Registry of India.

• 38th parallel is the popular name given to the latitude line that roughly demarcates North Korea and South Korea.

Image source: https://www.tandfonline.com/

• The Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) was set up in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development with the aim of eliminating leaded petrol globally. It was set up by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) as part of its campaign to eliminate lead in petrol.
• UNEP hosts the Secretariat of PCFV.
• The PCFV worked as a public-private partnership that brought all stakeholders together, providing technical assistance, raising awareness as well as investing in refinery upgrades.
• It is the only global-scale effort dedicated to cleaner air and lower greenhouse gas emissions from road transport through the introduction of cleaner fuels and vehicles.

• Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are organobromine compounds that have an inhibitory effect on combustion chemistry and tend to reduce the flammability of products containing them. (Flame-retardant)
• Some brominated flame retardants have been identified as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic to both humans and the environment and were suspected of causing neurobehavioral effects and endocrine disruption.
• Given the high resistance they offer to environmental degradation they persist in the environment for long periods.

• The base effect refers to the effect that the choice of a basis of comparison or reference can have on the result of the comparison between data points.
• Example – Using the 2020-21 fiscal year as the base which had recorded a substantially low GDP, would invariably lead to very high growth rates for the 2021-22 fiscal year even if the absolute GDP were to reach only 2020-21 levels.

• The Supreme Court collegium’s record of providing for gender diversity and representation in its appointments to the higher judiciary has been dismal. Only 10 women including the three recently appointed have become SC judges.
• Women’s representation in the High Courts stands at a dismal 11%. The lower judiciary fares much better than the higher judiciary when it comes to women representation.
• India has never had a woman Chief Justice of India.

• The European Council is the body of the Heads of state or government of EU member states, President of the European Council and President of the European Commission.
• It is based in Brussels and is presided by the President of the European Council.
• The European Council gives the necessary political impetus for the development of the Union and sets its general objectives and priorities. It is to be noted that it does not legislate.

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations and weather forecasting.
• IMD provides early warning & forecasting services for the following:
  • Monsoon forecast
  • Tropical cyclones
  • Dust storms
  • Heavy rains and snow
  • Cold and heat waves

• The Department of Economic Affairs is responsible for the preparation of the Union Budget that is presented to the parliament.
• No amount can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India without authorization from the Parliament of India.
• Public Account of India accounts for flows for those transactions where the government is merely acting as a banker. This fund was constituted under Article 266 (2) of the Constitution.
  Examples of those are provident funds, small savings and so on. These funds do not belong to the government. They have to be paid back at some time to their rightful owners. Because of this nature of the fund, expenditures from it are not required to be approved by the Parliament.

• Union Territory of Ladakh has declared the Black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis) as its state bird.
• Its IUCN status is Near Threatened.

• The date of election of Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker.
• There is no time limit prescribed by the Indian Constitution with respect to the election of Deputy Speaker.
• Article 93 states that the House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof.

Reports that are published by International Labour Organization (ILO) are:

• Global Wage Report
• World Employment and Social Outlook
• World Social Protection Report

• Coal-fired power accounts for more than 70% of India’s electricity generation.
• China is the leading coal producer worldwide.

The phenomenon of hibernation can be observed in Bats, Bears and Rodents.

• Controller General of Accounts is not a Constitutional body. It comes under the Department of Expenditure in the Finance Ministry.
• It is the Principal Accounting Adviser to the Government of India.

• India accounts for around 34% of the global production of coconuts.
• The secretariat of the International Coconut Community under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) is headquartered in Jakarta.

• Red-crowned roofed turtle, Northern River terrapin and Black softshell turtle are critically endangered as per IUCN classification.

• The Durand line was slightly modified by the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919, meant to be for 100 years but was never renewed.

• Shale gas has some proportion of methane as well.
• In India, both coal bed methane and shale gas sources have been found.