Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC 2020 / IAS / 01-12-19 | Free PDF

 
MCQ 1

1. E. coli is a Gram-negative coliform bacterium that is commonly  found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms.
2. Gram negative Bacteria lack cell wall and its easy to kill them with  antibiotics

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• Gram +ve & _ve both have Cell  Wall but the  composition

Difference in structure of Gram positive vs Gram negative bacteria

• The two key features that lead to the differing visualization properties of Gram positive and Gram negative species are the thickness of the  peptidoglycan layer and presence or absence of the outer lipid 
• This is because the wall structure affects the cell’s ability to retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining procedure which can  then be visualized under a light microscope.
• Gram positive bacteria have a thick peptidoglycan layer and no outer lipid membrane whilst Gram negative bacteria have a thin  peptidoglycan layer and have an outer lipid membrane.
• The Gram staining technique was developed in 1884 by Danish bacteriologist Hans Christian Gram.
• Whilst a Gram stain will not tell you the specific species you are looking at, it can be a quick way to narrow down greatly the list of  potential candidates and direct follow-up testing where necessary.

• Gram positive bacteria have a distinctive purple appearance when observed under a light microscope following Gram staining. This is  due to retention of the purple crystal violet stain in the thick  peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall. Examples of Gram positive  bacteria include all staphylococci, all streptococci and some listeria
• Gram negative bacteria appear a pale reddish color when observed under a light microscope following Gram staining. This is because  the structure of their cell wall is unable to retain the crystal violet  stain so are colored only by the safranin counterstain. Examples of  Gram negative bacteria include enterococci, salmonella species and  pseudomonas species.

MCQ 2

1. Chloroquine is the 2^nd line antibiotic used to treat MDR-Tb  patients.
2. India is complying with the WHO’s End TB Strategy by setting a  target of eliminating TB in India by 2035

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• Chloroquine is a medication used to prevent  and to treat malaria in  areas where malaria is  known to be sensitive to its  effects

India sets 2025 as Tb elimination target  five years ahead of the global target.

• National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2017 – 2025
• The National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2017 – 2025 is the plan produced by the government of India (GoI) which sets out what the  government believes is needed to eliminate TB in India.
• The NSP 2017 – 2025 describes the activities and interventions that the GoI believes will bring about significant change in the incidence,  prevalence and mortality from TB.
• The World Health Assembly, convened annually by WHO at the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva, passed a resolution in May  2014 approving           the new post-2015 Global TB Strategy with its  ambitious targets.
• The strategy aims to end the global TB epidemic, with targets

1. to reduce TB deaths by 95% and
2. to cut new cases by 90% between 2015 and 2035,
3. and to ensure that no family is burdened with catastrophic  expenses due to TB.

MCQ 3

1. Golconda Fort, also known as Golkonda is a fortified citadel and  an early capital city of the Nizam Shahi Shahi dynasty.
2. Golconda flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds, known  as the Golconda Diamonds.

Choose correct

• Only 1
• Only 2
• Both
• None

1. Adil Shahi – Bijapur
2. Nizam Shahi – Ahmednagar
3. Qutubshahi – Golconda
4. Baridshahi – Bidar
5. Imadshahis – Berar

• Golconda Fort, also known as Golkonda (lit. “round hill”) is a fortified citadel and an early capital city of the Qutb Shahi dynasty (c.1512–1687), located in Hyderabad.
• Because of the vicinity of diamond mines, especially Kollur Mine, Golconda flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds, known as the Golconda
• The region has produced some of the world’s most famous diamonds, including the colorless Koh-i-Noor (now owned by the United Kingdom), the blue Hope (United States), the pink Daria-i-Noor (Iran), the  white Regent (France), the Dresden Green (Germany), and the colorless Orlov (Russia), Nizam and Jacob (India), as well as the now lost diamonds Florentine Yellow, Akbar Shah and Great Mogul.

MCQ 4

1. The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) is an annual exercise to  estimate the forest cover
2. CartoSat data is used to map the forest cover.

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• Report Every 2 years.
• A biennial Exercise.

MCQ 5
For any political party to be eligible for recognition as a State Party in  a state, it has to satisfy

1. Secure at least 6% of the valid vote & win at least 2 seats in LS  General Election.
2. Secure at least 6% of the valid vote & win at least 2 seats in an  Assembly General Election.
3. Win at least 1 out of every 25 seats from a state in an Assembly  General Election
4. Win at least 3% of the seats or at least 3 seats , whichever is more,  in a LS General Election

• News – Jannayak Janta Party of Haryana has been granted the status  of a recognized State party by the ECI.
• Registration of political parties:
• Registration of Political parties is governed by the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
• A party seeking registration under the said Section with the Commission has to submit an application to the Commission  within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation

To be eligible for a ‘State Political Party,’ the Election Commission has  set the following criteria:

• it has to satisfy any of the five conditions listed below:

1. Secure at least 6% of the valid vote & win at least 2 seats in an Assembly General Election.
2. Secure at least 6% of the valid vote & win at least 1 seats in a Lok Sabha General Election
3. Win at least 3% of the seats or at least 3 seats , whichever is more, in an Assembly General Election
4. Win at least 1 out of every 25 seats from a state in a Lok Sabha General Election
5. Secure at least 8% of the total valid vote in an Assembly or a Lok Sabha General Election.

• If a party is recognized as a State Party’, it is entitled for exclusive allotment of its reserved symbol to the candidates
• Recognised `State’ and `National’ parties need only one proposer for filing the nomination and are also entitled for two sets of electoral rolls free of  cost at the time of revision of rolls and their candidates get one copy of  electoral roll free of cost during General Elections.
• They also get broadcast/telecast facilities over Akashvani/Doordarshan during general elections.
• Political parties are entitled to nominate “Star Campaigners” during General Elections. A recognized National or State party can have a  maximum of 40 “Star campaigners” and a registered un-recognized party  can nominate a maximum of 20 ‘Star Campaigners”.
• The travel expenses of star campaigners are not to be accounted for in the election expense accounts of candidates of their party.

MCQ 6

1. Global Migration Report 2020’ has been released by International  Organization for Migration’s (IOM).
2. Syria accounts for the highest share with 17.5 million living  outside the country.

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• ‘Global Migration Report 2020’ has been released by International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM)

Key findings- India specific:

• India accounts for the highest share with 17.5 million Indians living outside the country.
• India is the leading recipient of remittances. International remittances in 2018 (2020 report) reached $689 billion, out of which India received $78.6  billion from the 17.5 million living abroad.
• Remittances received by India have consistently increased between the 2005 and 2020.
• The top migration corridors for Indians are the United Arab Emirates, the US and Saudi Arabia.
• Highest number of migrants entering India come from Bangladesh.

Global scenario:

• As compared to the 2000 Global Migration Report, the number of international migrants has nearly doubled in the 2020 report, from 150  million to 272 million.
• India is followed by Mexico (11.8 million) and China (10.7 million).
• Roughly two-thirds of international migrants are labour migrants.
• The United States was the top remittance-issuer, at $68 billion, followed by the United Arab Emirates ($44.4 billion) and Saudi Arabia  ($36.1 billion).
• The top destinations for international migrants is the US where, as of September 2019, there were 50.7 million international migrants.
• The US is followed by Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russian Federation and the UK.
• The UAE is the country with the highest proportion of international
• More than half of all international migrants (141 million) live in Europe and North America.

MCQ 7

1. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental  military alliance under UNSC
2. NATO’s Headquarters are located near Mons, Belgium.

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• The U.S. contribution to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) operating budget has been cut down at the cost of an increase in Germany’s payments to the alliance. This move comes after repeated criticism  of European members of the organization by the U.S.

Impact:

• Previously the US provided some 22% of NATO’s direct funding, which covers the cost of maintaining the NATO headquarters, joint security investments and  some combined military operations.
• It’s a largely symbolic move as NATO’s direct budget is relatively small, at about $2.5 billion, and is separate from national defense budgets that NATO recommends should stand at 2% of GDP.
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 North  American and European countries.
• The organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.
• NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to  an attack by any external party.
• NATO’s Headquarters are located in Evere, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons,
• Since its founding, the admission of new member states has increased the alliance from the original 12 countries to 29.
• The most recent memberstate to be added to NATO is Montenegro on 5 June 2017.
• NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia and Ukraine as aspiring members
• Objectives:
• Political – NATO promotes democratic members to consult and cooperate security security-related related issues to solve the long run, prevent conflict.
• Military – NATO is committed to disputes. If diplomatic efforts to undertake crisis-management carried out under the collective founding treaty – Article 5 of the carried out under the collective founding treaty – Article 5 of the under a United Nations mandate, with other countries and international democratic values and enables cooperate on defence and solve problems, problems, build trust and, in conflict. committed to the peaceful resolution of efforts fail, it has the military power management operations. These are the collective defence clause of NATO’s the Washington Treaty or the collective defence clause of NATO’s the Washington Treaty or mandate, alone or in cooperation international organisations.

MCQ 8

1. In 1913, Pacific Coast Hindustan Association was founded by  Damodar Savarkar as its president, which was called Ghadar Party.
2. Udham Singh and Bhikaji Cama, both were associated with this  party

Choose correct

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

• A MP recently mentioned about Udham Singh in Parliament.

Who was Udham Singh?

• Born in Sunam in Punjab’s Sangrur district in 1899.
• He was a political activist who got associated with the Ghadar Party while in the US.
• In 1934, Singh made his way to London with the purpose of assassinating O’Dwyer, who in 1919 had been the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab and unsurprisingly, Singh  considered O’Dwyer to be responsible for the massacre.
• Instead of Dyer, who instructed his men to open fire at the crowd gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, O’Dwyer is considered to be the actual perpetrator, since Dyer could  not have executed it without his permission.
• On March 13, 1940 Singh shot O’Dwyer at a meeting of the East India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society at Caxton Hill.
• He was sentenced to death and was hanged on July 31, 1940 at Pentonville Prison.
• Original name of Ghadar Party was Pacific Coast Hindustan Association. The founding president of Ghadar Party was Sohan  Singh Bhakna and Lala Hardayal.

Lala Hardayal, India House and launch of Ghadar Party

• The Surat split of 1907 followed suppression of the extremists. But at the same in time in London, numerous informal nationalist organizations were working.
• The most important among them was the India House. After 1910, the activities of India House had declined and the cradle of activities shifted from Europe to  Lal Hardayal was In India till 1909, when he moved to Paris and  associated himself with a newspaper Vande Mataram over there.
• In 1911 he settled in San Francisco and indulged in Industrial Unionism. In 1913, Pacific Coast Hindustan Association was founded by Lala Hardayal with Sohan  Singh Bhakna as its president, which was called Ghadar Party. The members of  this party were the immigrant Sikhs of US and Canada. The first issue of The  Ghadar, was published from San Francisco on November 1, 1913. Later it got  published in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and other languages also.
• Bhikaji Cama
• best known for founding the Paris Indian Society; was born in a wealthy Parsi family in Mumbai in 1861.
• She not only worked in the slums of Mumbai during outbreak of plague but also left her husband to work selflessly for the poor  people afflicted with the disease.
• She fell sick and was taken to Germany for treatment.
• Later, she went to England to work with the Indian revolutionaries.
• On 22 August 1907, Madam Cama had unfurled a self-designed tricolour in Stuttgart town of Germany.
• This enraged the British.
• She then later moved to US and worked with the Ghadar activists.

MCQ 9
Consider the following pairs:

• Rivers   Source of Origin 

1. Satluj : Rakas Lake
2. Son : Amarkantak Plateau
3. Kaveri : Brahmagiri Hills

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

• 1, 2 and 3
• 1 and 3 only
• 2 and 3 only
• 1 and 2 only

1. Satluj: RakasLake
2. Indus : BokharChu glacier
3. Jhelum : Spring at Verinag
4. Chenab : Chandra and Bhagastream
5. Ravi : Rohtangpass in the Kulluhills of Himachal Pradesh
6. Beas : Beas Kund in Rohtang Pass
7. Ghaghara : Mapchachugoglacier
8. Son : Amarkantak plateau
9. Kaveri : Brahmagiri hills
10. Krishna : Mahabaleshwar in Sahayadri
11. Narmada : Amarkantakplateau
12. Godavari : Rises near Nasik District of Maharashtra

MCQ 10
In terms of geographical distance Chagos Archipelago  is closest to

1. Seychelles
2. Mauritius
3. Madagascar
4. Maldives

• The Chagos Archipelago or Chagos Islands are a group of seven atolls in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives archipelago.
• This chain of islands is the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge, a long submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean.
• The Chagos was home to the Chagossians, a Bourbonnais Creole-speaking people, for more than a century and a half until the United Kingdom evicted them between 1967 and 1973 to allow the United States to build a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands.
• Since 1971, only the atoll of Diego Garcia is inhabited, and only by military and civilian contracted personnel. Since being expelled, Chagossian natives have  been prevented from returning to the islands.
• In 2016, after several judicial challenges, Britain extended Diego Garcia’s lease until 2036 and declared that the expelled islanders would not be allowed to go back.
• The sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago is disputed between the United Kingdom and Mauritius. In 1965, three years before Mauritius gained
• independence, the United Kingdom excised the archipelago from Mauritius and the islands of Aldabra, Farquhar and Desroches from the Seychelles to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
• The islands were formally established as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom on 8 November 1965.
• On 23 June 1976, Aldabra, Farquhar and Desroches were returned to the
• On 22 June 2017, the UN General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on the separation of the Chagos Archipelago  from Mauritius.
• On 25 February 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled that the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end to its  administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible.
• On 22 May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly debated and adopted a resolution that affirmed that the Chagos archipelago “forms an  integral part of the territory of Mauritius.”
• The resolution demanded that the UK “withdraw its colonial administration … unconditionally within a period of no more than six months.” 116 states voted in favour of the resolution, 55 abstained and only 5 countries  supported the UK.
• For now, the UK might possibly be searching for reassurance in the fact that the ICJ ruling is not binding and no immediate sanctions or adverse actions  will be taken against it.

Download Free PDF

Sharing is caring!