Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC 2020 / IAS / 09-12-19

Table of Contents

MCQ 1

Typhoid fever is a vector borne disease
India is the first country to introduce the typhoid conjugate vaccine as part of its national immunization programme.

Choose correct
(A)Only 1
(B)Only 2
(C) Both
(D)None

Typhoid fever is caused by highly contagious Salmonella Typhi bacteria.
Nearly 11 million fall sick due to typhoid and about 1,17,000 deaths are reported each year.
The bacteria spread through contaminated food and water.
A typhoid vaccine (Typbar TCV) developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech has shown 81.6% efficacy in preventing typhoid fever at 12 months in a phase-3 clinical trial. The trial was carried out in Nepal in over 10,000 children who received the vaccine.
A single dose of the vaccine was found to be effective in preventing typhoid in children aged nine months to 16 years.
The vaccine confers protection two–three weeks after vaccination. The duration of protection is currently not known. The results of the trial were published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
The Typbar TCV vaccine was recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (WHO-SAGE) in December 2017.

Key advantages

The Typbar TCV typhoid vaccine tested in Nepal is a conjugate vaccine. A conjugate vaccine is one in which the antigen (which is a polysaccharide in this case) is chemically linked to a carrier protein. Two other typhoid vaccines are already used commercially —
polysaccharide typhoid vaccine and
live, weakened typhoid vaccine —
But the efficacy of these vaccines to protect against typhoid is lower than the conjugate vaccine that has now been tested in Nepal.
“The other two vaccines offer 60-70% protection unlike the conjugate vaccine which confers nearly 82% protection.
“More importantly, the conjugate vaccine can be given to babies as young as six months, while the other two vaccines cannot be given to children below two years of age.”
A large proportion of severe typhoid fever cases occur in children aged below two years.
While typhoid bacteria can be treated with antibiotics, the microbes have developed resistance against multiple antibiotics.
Multidrugresistant typhoid bacteria are seen in south Asia including India. Since 2016, extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid outbreaks have been reported from Sindh province in Pakistan. According to an editorial accompanying the paper, XDR typhoid has been found in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Pakistan is the first country to introduce the typhoid conjugate vaccine as part of its national immunization programme.

MCQ 2

Measles cases rise in 2018 globally is linked to Anti Microbial resistance issue
At 2.3 million, India has the highest number of children who are not vaccinated against measles

Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

Measles is caused by virus and not linked to AMR issue till now.

In 2018, measles caused an estimated 10 million cases and 1,42,000 deaths globally, according to a report published on December 6. The estimated cases and deaths are much more than what countries have reported to the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The number of measles cases reported in 2018 was only 3,53,000.
India is second highest, next only to Nigeria with 2.4 million unvaccinated children
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials) from working against it.
As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.

Preventable condition

Measles can be prevented through two doses of vaccination. But the number of children who are not vaccinated against measles is alarmingly high in six countries.
At 2.3 million, India has the second highest number of children who are not vaccinated against measles.
With 2.4 million, Nigeria has the most number of unvaccinated children.
The other four countries with the most number of unvaccinated children are Pakistan (1.4 million),
Ethiopia (1.3 million),
Indonesia (1.2 million) and
Philippines (0.7 million)
There were nearly 70,000 cases of measles in India in 2018, the third highest in the world.
In 2019, over 29,000 confirmed cases have been reported to the WHO.
The WHO recommends 95% coverage using two doses of measles vaccine to prevent outbreaks.
Though vaccine coverage with first and second dose has increased globally since 2000, it has not reached anywhere near 95%.
In 2018, only 86% of children globally received the first dose through routine immunisation.
In the case of second dose, the coverage globally is just 69%.

Failing to immunize

In India, the first dose of measles vaccine is given at nine-12 months of age and the second dose is given at 16-24 months of age through the national immunization programme.
But it appears that millions of children in India do not receive measles vaccine through routine immunization activities.
Nearly 163 million children in India received the measles vaccination during mass immunization campaigns.

MCQ 3
Choose Bacteria which have shown antimicrobial resistance repeatedly in the recent past

Staphylococcus aureus
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Escherichia coli
Salmonella typhi
Acinetobacter baumannii

(A) 2 only
(B) 2 & 3
(C) 2,3,4
(D) All

Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive, roundshaped bacterium frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin.
It is often positive for catalase and nitrate reduction and is a facultative anaerobe that can grow without the need for oxygen.
Although S. aureus usually acts as a commensal of the human microbiota it can also become an opportunistic pathogen, being a common cause of skin infections including abscesses, respiratory infections such as sinusitis, and food poisoning.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee identified a potent molecule that exhibits broadspectrum bactericidal activity against multidrugresistant bacteria — Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
The molecule also shows antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and diarrhoea causing Clostridium difficile.
In mice infected with sepsis-causing bacteria A. baumannii, the molecule was found to significantly reduce the bacterial load in the spleen, lungs, kidney and liver at half the dose of a well known drug nitrofurantoin. The results were published in Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Nitrofuran class

The molecule belongs to the nitrofuran class of antibiotics — nitrofurantoin and furazolidone — which are routinely used for treating urinary tract infections and intestinal ailments, respectively.
Molecule kills the bacteria by damaging their DNA as well as by inhibiting cell division.
The molecule was found to be effective against both gram-negative and Grampositive bacteria

MCQ 4

Coffee in India was introduced by Britishers originally
Highest production of coffee comes from northeast states presently

Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

Arrival in India

Coffee, originally Ethiopian in origin, was quickly taken over and held tight by the Arabs as their own drink (since wine was prohibited) that alerts the imams and the believers.
16th century Sufi saint Baba Budan smuggled several seeds of it from the Arab monopoly, and planted them in Chikkamagalur of the Mysore kingdom in 1670.
Although, it might have been brought to the Malabar Coast earlier by Arab traders.
Thus, coffee was planted and grown in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu.
Recently, it is also grown in the Araku Valley of Andhra Pradesh and more recently in some of the ‘seven sisters’ states of northeast India .
But then most south Indians drink not pure coffee, but a mixture of coffee and chicory. Chicory, a native plant, is cultivated and grown the in the Mediterranean regions of Spain, Greece, and Turkey.
Over time, South Indian coffee has come to mean a mixture of coffee and chicory in varied ratios, anywhere from 80% coffee and 20% chicory powder to the more common 60-40 ratio. We also cultivate chicory in India – in Gujarat and UP, where the soil and the climate suits it best.
The colonial British played a key role by introducing what they called as “camp coffee”, a secret blend of water, sugar, 4 % caffeine-free coffee essence and 26% chicory essence. And Indian soldiers and people at large warmed up to it

Going beyond south India

Traditionally, the South Indian Coffee confined itself to the four southern states, while tea was more popular and widely drunk almost exclusively in the North, since they produced, harvested and marketed the tea plant and its leaves in Assam, West Bengal and some of the northeastern states, where the climatic and soil conditions suit the plant best.

Recent change

MCQ 5
Pyrolysis is a process of

Burning
Oxidation
Breaking down materials with high temperature with oxygen
None

Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures in an inert atmosphere.
It involves a change of chemical composition and is irreversible. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements pyro “fire” and lysis “separating”.
Pyrolysis is most commonly used in the treatment of organic materials. It is one of the processes involved in charring wood.
In general, pyrolysis of organic substances produces volatile products and leaves a solid residue enriched in carbon, char.
Extreme pyrolysis, which leaves mostly carbon as the residue, is called carbonization.
The process is used heavily in the chemical industry, for example, to produce ethylene, many forms of carbon, and other chemicals from petroleum, coal, and even wood, to produce coke from coal.

MCQ 6

The National Policy on Biofuels-2018 approved by the Government envisages an indicative target of 5% blending of ethanol in petrol and 20% blending of bio-diesel in diesel by 2030.
1 st generation biofuels are also called conventional biofuels & 2nd generation biofuels are biofuel derived from algae.

Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

The National Policy on Biofuels-2018 approved by the Government envisages an indicative target of
20% blending of ethanol in petrol and
5% blending of bio-diesel in diesel by 2030.

National Policy on biofuels- salient features:

Categorization:

First Generation (1G) – “Basic Biofuels” viz. bioethanol & biodiesel from food sources such as sugar, starch, vegetable oil
Second Generation (2G) “Advanced Biofuels” –from from non-food crops ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Third Generation (3G) are produced from micro-organisms like algae.Example- Butanol

Classification of Biofuels:
1st generation biofuels are also called conventional biofuels. They are made from things like sugar, starch, or vegetable oil. Note that these are all food products. Any biofuel made from a feedstock that can also be consumed as a human food is considered a first generation biofuel.
2nd generation biofuels are produced from sustainable feedstock.
The sustainability of a feedstock is defined by its availability, its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, its impact on land use, and by its potential to threaten the food supply. No second generation biofuel is also a food crop, though certain food products can become second generation fuels when they are no longer useful for consumption. Second generation biofuels are often called “advanced biofuels.”
3rd generation biofuels are biofuel derived from algae. These biofuels are given their own separate class because of their unique production mechanism and their potential to mitigate most of the drawbacks of 1st and 2nd generation biofuels.

MCQ 7

Every year the “Hornbill Festival” is celebrated between December 1 and December 10 in Nagaland
Morung is a folk dance performed by village men in it.

Choose correct
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both
(D) None

Every year the “Hornbill Festival” is celebrated between December 1 and December 10. It is also called Festival of Festivals. The festival is organized by the State Tourism and art and culture department in Kohima.
Highlights of the festival
The festival is held every year in the Kisama village near Kohima, the state capital. The aim of the festival is to protect and revive the rich culture of Nagaland. All the tribes of Nagaland take part in the festival. Traditional arts of the state such as wood carvings, paintings and sculptures are displayed in the festival.

Naga Morungs
The Naga Morung is one of the major highlights of the festival. The Morung is a self-governing body that aims to protect the village men. Morungs were the community spaces in Nagaland where the young boys were trained. The boys are taught history and culture of the tribes in the land. They also learnt folk songs and tales during their stay. The boys were made Naga warriors in these Morungs.
At the Hornbill festival, the culture of the Morung tribes is exhibited. Their arts, paintings, lifestyle are displayed.
Hornbill is a revered bird that is featured widely in the songs of Nagaland tribes. Hence the name horn bill is given to the festival. Hornbills are birds that are found in tropical and sub-tropical Asia, Africa and Melanesia.

MCQ 8
‘Diwali – Power of One’ award is given to

Indian environmentalists
Cultural institutions from India
Peace activists from India
NOTA

About Diwali-Power of One Awards

The awards which have now come to be known as ‘Oscars of Diplomacy’ were established by Diwali Foundation USA, Inc in 2017. The awards seeks to promote a peaceful and consensus-based process to achieve societal good, as befitting high hopes and ideals of humanity enshrined in UN Charter.
The co-organisers of this year Diwali Foundation USA’s Power of One awardees were- Permanent Missions of Belarus, Georgia and India to UN, along with 32 co-sponsors.
Currently, Ranju Batra chairs, the Diwali Foundation USA. Ranju Batra had spearheaded efforts for nearly 7 years to get a commemorative ‘Forever Diwali’ stamp issued by US Postal Service in 2016 Winners 2019
Awardees: The award is conferred to former High-Level UN diplomats or Permanent Representatives or those diplomats who will soon finish their tenure at world organisation for working selflessly towards helping form a more secure, peaceful and perfect world for all.
The diplomats who were honoured are:
Kairat Abdrakhmanov (Kazakhstan)- Former foreign minister and Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to UN
Nicholas Emiliou (Cyprus)– former Permanent Representative of Cyprus to UN
Frantisek Ruzicka (Slovakia)- Former Chef de Cabinet to President of 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and Permanent Representative of Slovakia to UN
Volodymyr Yelchenko (Ukraine)– Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN

MCQ 9
City located north to tropic of cancer

Rajkot
Khajuraho
Ahmedabad
Jabalpur

MCQ 10
Ox-Bow lake is a formation in

Glaciers
Upper river course
Karst topography
Lower river topography

An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water.
This landform is so named for its distinctive curved shape, which resembles the bow pin of an oxbow.
In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong
In south Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called resacas.
The word “oxbow” can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether or not it is cut off from the main stream.
It happens in the lower reaches at the mature stage of the river, where it moves very slowly because of very low gradient