Daily Current Affairs MCQ UPSC / IAS / 09-06-19 | PDF Downloads

MCQ 1
1. Indian Air Force (IAF) signed Rs.300 crore deal with France’s Rafael
Advanced Defense Systems.
2. It is ordered under the strategic partnership model
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

•  Indian Air Force (IAF) signed Rs.300 crore deal with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, an Israeli defense firm to procure a batch of SPICE 2000 guided bombs.
• The order for bombs was placed under Special Financial Powers gave by the government to armed forces for emergency purchases. The bombs are expected to be supplied within next three months.
• Following Pulwama attack in February 2019, the government granted emergency powers to all three defense services (Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy) for procuring weapons and military hardware so as to enhance their operational preparedness along the border with Pakistan.
• The government also eased certain rules to cut delays in military purchase such as allowing three services to procure required weapons and equipment from a single vendor.

The SPICE stands for Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective

• SPICE can overcome errors in locating a target, GPS jamming and also reduces collateral damage. SPICE kit adds a sophisticated guidance system that consists of satellite guidance, inertial navigation and electro-optical sensors which can be used for pinpoint accuracy and adds control fins to a conventional unguided bomb (called as free-fall bomb/gravity bomb).
• It is reportedly biggest conventional bomb that can be delivered by IAF and is used on French-origin Mirage-2000 jets. The SPICE kit has two variants SPICE-1000 kit and SPICE-2000 kit. These two are difficult to detect by most ground-based radars. SPICE-1000: meant for 500kg bombs and has glide range of about 100km. SPICE-2000: meant for 1,000kg bombs and has a glide range of about 60km.
• To destroy the largest terror camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Indian Air Force used the Israeli SPICE-2000 guidance kit. Bombs fitted with the kit were dropped over Pakistan in a pre-dawn raid on February 26.
• It’s been widely reported that the Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 jets used SPICE-2000 bombs during the mission to destroy Jaish-eMohammad’s Balakot terrorist training camp.
• The SPICE-2000 is not a bomb at all. It in fact is a ‘guidance kit’ that is attached to a standard warhead or bomb

MCQ 2
1. Sudan is land locked country
2. Blue Nile rises from Sudan here and meets with white nile.
3. Its not a member of African Union
Choose correct
(A) 1 & 2
(B) 2 & 3
(C) All
(D) None

• The African Union (AU) suspended Sudan until the establishment of a civilian-led transition to democracy and also demanded to resolve an entrenched and bloody crisis. The decision was taken at AU’s peace and Security Council meet in Addis Ababa, (Ethiopia’s capital).
•  Since December 2018 Sudan has been rocked with anger over increasing bread prices and shortages, which then turned into protests against Omar al-Bashir (7th President of Sudan) and culminated in military removing him after a three-decade rule where he became a pariah in eyes of Western world. The military leadership then took control of Sudan after ouster of Omar in April 2019, but it had failed to hand over power to civilians.
• Thus African Union’s Peace and Security Council with immediate effect suspended participation of Sudan in all AU activities until effective establishment of a Civilian-led Transitional Authority, as only way to allow Republic of Sudan to exit from current crisis.
  About African Union (AU) It was established in 2002. It is a continental union with headquarter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Members: 55 countries located on African continent (expect territories possessed by European located in Africa).
  The highest decision-making organ of AU is Assembly of African Union, a semi-annual meeting of heads of state and government of its member states.
  AU’s secretariat, called African Union Commission is based in Addis Ababa.

 
MCQ 3
1. The Equator Prize is awarded biennially to recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities
2. The Prize, organized by the Equator Initiative by UNEP to recognize outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

• What’s the Equator Prize?
• The Equator Prize, organized by the Equator Initiative within the United Nations Development Programme, is awarded biennially to recognize outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. As sustainable community initiatives take root throughout the tropics, they are laying the foundation for a global movement of local successes that are collectively making a contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As local and indigenous groups across the tropics demonstrate and exemplify sustainable development, the Equator Prize shines a spotlight on their efforts by celebrating them on an international stage.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for the Equator Prize 2019, the following requirements apply:
• The initiative must have been in existence for at least three years, and/or the actions taken must have been in place for at least three years.
• The nominee must be either a local community-based group, operating in a rural area, based in a country receiving support from the United Nations Development Programme (for a list of eligible countries, see the list below); or an indigenous peoples’ community in any country, operating in a rural area.
• The actions taken must be nature-based and must deliver benefits related to two or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Eligible Initiatives

• Community-based associations or organizations
• Community-based enterprises and cooperatives
• Women’s associations or organizations
• Indigenous or ethnic minority groups or associations
• Youth groups or associations
• Non-governmental organizations

Selection Criteria

•  Equator Prize winners are selected by an independent Technical Advisory Committee, which assesses nominations based on the following criteria:
•  Impact: The extent to which the nominated initiative has resulted in measurable and positive environmental, social and economic impacts, related to two or more Sustainable Development Goals;
•  Innovation: The extent to which the nominated initiative demonstrates new approaches and models that overcome prevailing constraints, and could offer fundamentally new approaches to attaining sustainable development;
•  Scalability and/or replicability: The extent to which the nominated initiative could be scaled up sub-nationally or nationally and/or, the extent to which the initiative can be replicated within the country and beyond;
• Resilience, Adaptability, and Self-Sufficiency: The extent to which the nominated initiative demonstrates adaptability to environmental, social and economic change, resilience in the face of external pressures, and improved capacity for local self-sufficiency;
  Reduced inequalities: The extent to which the initiative reduces inequalities in income as well as those based on age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status, particular for the poor;
• Social Inclusion: The extent to which the nominated initiative includes youth, elders, indigenous members and other diverse groups in the decision-making processes and the actions that affect them;
• Gender Equality: The extent to which the nominated Initiative promotes the equality and empowerment of women and girls.
• The Women Sangams (groups) of Deccan Development Society (DDS) were honoured with Equator Prize 2019 by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for their contribution to ecology and innovations in rainfed millet cultivation.
• The Equator Prize 2019 was awarded to six women farmer belonging to Deccan Development Society (DDS) sanghams. They became only Indian group to have won 2019 award.
• Although women working with DDS sanghams are mostly non-literate, dalit, and under-privileged yet more than three decades of their work in farming sector following age-old practices is now being recognized globally.
  Achievement: They were awarded in recognition of efforts of building their own seed banks and growing millets in predominantly rain-fed villages of Sangareddy district, Telangana.
  Their effort showcased an outstanding example of a local, nature-based solution to
  climate change and sustainable development

MCQ 4
‘Fridays for Future’ movement, recently in news was related to
A. Climate change
B. Girl child
C. National movement To lessen the work days in a week
D. None
The 16-year old climate activist, Greta Thunberg of Sweden won Amnesty International’s ‘Ambassador of Conscience’ Award 2019 for mobilizing world public opinion global warming.

• About Greta Thunberg She is a Swedish teenage climate activist and a fierce campaigner who began protesting outside Swedish parliament in August 2018.
• She skipped school every Friday demanding Swedish government take more serious action to tackle climate crisis. Her demand was soon joined by other students. She announced that she would take a year off school to pursue her campaigning.
• She has now become a figurehead for young climate activists internationally. Her ‘Fridays for Future’ movement has spread globally with students around the world strike from school to participate in climate protests.
•  About Amnesty’s Ambassador of Conscience Award It was established in 2002.
• Objective: It celebrates individuals and groups who further human rights cause with their acts of conscience, confronting injustice and using their talents to inspire others. Past awardees include Nelson Mandela, Harry Belafonte, Malala Yousafzai, Colin Kaepernick, Ai Weiwei and Joan Baez.

MCQ 5
choose correct options :
1. pioneer species are large carnivorous on top of food chain
2. A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural – for example, wildfires or avalanches
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) none
Pioneer species are hardy species which are the first to colonize previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems.

• Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so may be among the first of life forms, and break down the rocks into soil for plants. Since some uncolonized land may have thin, poor quality soils with few nutrients, pioneer species are often hardy plants with adaptations such as long roots, root nodes containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and leaves that employ transpiration.
• Note that they are often photosynthetic plants, as no other source of energy (such as other species) except light energy is often available in the early stages of succession, thus making it less likely for a pioneer species to be non-photosynthetic
• The plants that are often pioneer species also tend to be windpollinated rather than insect-pollinated, as insects are unlikely to be present in the usually barren conditions in which pioneer species grow; however, pioneer species tend to reproduce asexually altogether, as the extreme or barren conditions present make it more favourable to reproduce asexually in order to increase reproductive success rather than invest energy into sexual reproduction.
• Pioneer species will die creating plant litter, and break down as “leaf mold” after some time, making new soil for secondary succession (see below), and nutrients for small fish and aquatic plants in adjacent bodies of water
• Examples of the plants and organism that colonize such areas are pioneer species:
• Barren sand – lyme grass (Leymus arenarius), sea couch grass (Agropyron pungens), Marram grass (Ammophila breviligulata)
• Saltwater – green algae, marine eel grass (Zostera spp.), pickleweed (Salicornia virginica), and cordgrass (hybrid Spartina × townsendii) and (Spartina anglica).
• Clearwater – algae, mosses, freshwater eel grass (Vallisneria americana).
• Solidified lava flows – in Hawaii: swordfern (Polystichum munitum), ‘ōhi‘a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha), ‘ohelo (Vaccinium reticulatum) and ‘āma‘u (Sadleria cyatheoides); on Surtsey: lichen (Stereocaulon vesuvianum and Placopsis gelida) and moss (Racomitriumericoides); green algae
• Disturbed areas such as construction sites, road cuttings and verges, cultivated lands – Buddleia davidii, Nettles, Tagetes minuta, Bidens pilosa, Argemone mexicana
• Bare clay – Orchids
• Mountains – Lichens
• A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural – for example, wildfires or avalanches – or a consequence of human activity, such as construction (of roads, of buildings, mining, etc.) or agriculture (abandoned fields, irrigation, etc.).
• The word ruderal comes from the Latin rudus rubble.
• Ruderal species typically dominate the disturbed area for a few years, gradually losing the competition to other native species. However, in extreme disturbance circumstances, such as when the natural topsoil is covered with a foreign substance, a single-species ruderal community may become permanently established, as depicted in the image on the right. In addition, some ruderal invasive species may have such a competitive advantage over the native species that they, too, may permanently prevent a disturbed area from returning to its original state despite natural topsoil.

MCQ 6
1. liquidity adjustment facility is the monetary tool by RBI
2. It was started after 1991 crisis
3. MSF rate is an instrument under LAF only
Choose correct
(A) 1 & 2
(B) 1 only
(C) 1 & 3
(D) 2 & 3

• Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) is a new scheme announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Monetary Policy (2011-12) and refers to the penal rate at which banks can borrow money from the central bank over and above what is available to them through the LAF window.
• MSF, being a penal rate, is always fixed above the repo rate. The MSF would be the last resort for banks once they exhaust all borrowing options including the liquidity adjustment facility by pledging government securities, where the rates are lower in comparison with the MSF. The MSF would be a penal rate for banks and the banks can borrow funds by pledging government securities within the limits of the statutory liquidity ratio. The scheme has been introduced by RBI with the main aim of reducing volatility in the overnight lending rates in the inter-bank market and to enable smooth monetary transmission in the financial system.
• MSF represents the upper band of the interest corridor with repo rate at the middle and reverse repo as the lower band

 

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