Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC / IAS / 26-07-19 | PDF Downloads

MCQ 1

Tiangong-2 is a

1. JAXA’s asteroid mission
2. Chinese moon mission
3. Korea’s space mission
4. None

• Tiangong-2 (“Heavenly Palace”) is a Chinese Space Laboratory.
• It is an experimental space station which carried out research and human operations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• It was launched on September 2016 and it was has deorbited on July 19, 2019 spent over 1,000 days in orbit.
• It was brought down to Earth in a controlled fashion and burned up over the South Pacific ocean by China.
• It followed the Tiangong-1, China’s first space station, which crashed into the southern Pacific Ocean on 2018.
• It deploys to space the first-ever ‘Cold Atomic Fountain Clock’ which has a higher precision than conventional atomic clocks.
• It detected 55 ‘gamma-ray bursts’ by a device names POLAR installed on the spacecraft.
• It also docked a micro-satellite that took high-resolution pictures of the connected space lab and Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft.
• The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program also known as the Chang’e Project after the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
• Chang’e 5, expected to launch in December 2019 aboard a Long March 5 rocket, will build on the success of the previous missions, with a lander capable of collecting up to 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) of lunar samples and returning them to the Earth.

 MCQ 2

1. Lightning is the biggest contributor to accidental deaths due to natural causes.
2. For safety shelter under a tree, In a rice field filled with water or lying flat on ground can lower the risk of hitting by lightening shocks

 Choose correct

 (A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(C) Both

(D) None

• Lightning strike
• 29 people have been killed by lightning over the past 36 hours in Bihar.
• India sees 2000-2500 lightning deaths every year on average.
• Lightning is the biggest contributor to accidental deaths due to natural causes.
• It is a rapid, massive discharge of electricity in the atmosphere, some of which is directed towards the Earth’s surface.
• It is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground, or within the clouds themselves.
• Occurrences of lightning are not tracked in India, as not enough data for scientists to work with.
• As water vapour moves upward in the cloud, the falling temperature causes it to condense.
• As they move to temperatures below zero degrees celsius, the water droplets change into small ice crystals.
• They continue to move up, gathering mass until they are so heavy that they start to fall to Earth.
• This leads to a system in which, simultaneously, smaller ice crystals are moving up and bigger crystals are coming down.
• Collisions triggers the release of electrons , a process that is very similar to the generation of sparks of electricity.
• This process results in a situation in which the top layer of the cloud gets positively charged, while the middle layer is negatively charged.
• The electrical potential difference between the two layers is huge, of the order of a billion to 10 billion volts.
• In very little time, a massive current, of the order of 100000 million amperes, starts to flow between the layers.
• While the Earth is a good conductor of electricity, it is electrically neutral.
• However, in comparison to the middle layer of the cloud, it becomes positively charged.
• As a result, about 15%-20% of the current gets directed towards the Earth as well.
• It is this flow of current that results in damage to life and property on Earth.
• Lightning rarely hits people directly, people are most commonly struck by what are called “ground currents”.
• The electrical energy, after hitting a large object (such as a tree) on Earth, spreads laterally on the ground for some distance.
• The people in this area receive electrical shocks.
• It becomes more dangerous if the ground is wet or if there is metal or other conducting material on it.
• Water is a conductor, and many people are struck by lightning while standing in flooded paddy fields.
• Taking shelter under a tree is dangerous, lying flat on the ground too, can increase risks.
• Grounded buildings offer protection but occupants who uses a landline phone may be shocked by conducted electricity.

MCQ 3

1. Medical Innovation was the theme for Global innovation index this year
2. According to the report Increased protectionism is improving growth in innovation productivity in countries

Choose correct

 (A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(C) Both

(D) None

• Global Innovation Index-2019
• It is an annual ranking that quantifies the state of national innovation ecosystem across countries. • Its co-published by World intellectual property organisation (WIPO), Cornell University and INSEAD.
• The CII, Dassault Systèmes and the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and SEBRAE are its Knowledge Partners.
• It ranked 129 economies based on 80 indicators ranging from intellectual property filing rates to mobileapplication creation, education spending and scientific and technical publications.
• This year’s theme– “Creating Healthy Lives – The Future of Medical Innovation”.
• Switzerland is the world’s most-innovative country followed by Sweden, the U.S, the Netherlands and the U.K.
• India maintains its top place in the Central and Southern Asia region as the 52nd ranked (57th in 2018).
• India remains 2nd among middle-income economies in the quality of innovation.
• It maintains top ranks in indicators such as productivity growth and exports of services related to information and communication technologies.
• Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi features in the GII ranking on the world’s top science and technology clusters.

India lags in areas like,

1. Overall quality of education,
2. Access to information and communication technologies.
3. Student to teacher ratio in secondary level education.
4. Proportion of women with advanced degrees in the workforce.

 GII 2019 Key Findings –

1. Middle-income economies especially in Asia are increasingly contributing to global R&D.
2. Public R&D expenditures particularly in some high-income economies are growing slowly or not at all.
3. Increased protectionism poses risks. It may lead to a slowdown of growth in innovation productivity.
4. Innovation inputs and outputs are still concentrated in very few economies.
5. Most top science and technology clusters are in the U.S., China and Germany.
6. Brazil, India, Iran, the Russian Federation, and Turkey feature in the top 100 list.

MCQ 4

1. New Space India Limited (NSIL) is announced in budget 2019-20
2. It will be the first commercial arm of ISRO and it will be functioning under it.
3. Main task will be to develop upgraded models of GSLV in collaboration with Private Sector.

Choose correct

(A) Only 1

(B) 1 & 3

(C) 3 only

(D) None

• The Union Government has already set up New Space India Limited (NSIL), a wholly owned Government of India undertaking/ Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), under the administrative control of Department of Space (DOS) on 06th March 2019 to commercially exploit the research and development work of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Centres and constituent units of DOS.
• NSIL has been incorporated to carry out the following roles and functions as part of its madate viz. (i) Small Satellite technology transfer to industry, wherein NSIL will obtain license from DOS/ISRO and sub-license it to Industries; (ii) Manufacture of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in collaboration with Private Sector; (iii) Productionisation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) through Indian Industry; (iv) Productionisation and marketing of Space based products and services, including launch and application; (v) Transfer of technology developed by ISRO Centres and constituent units of DOS; (vi) Marketing spin-off technologies and products/services, both in India and abroad; and (vii) any other subject which Government of India deems fit.
• NSIL was set up to meet the ever-increasing demands of Indian space programme and to commercially exploit the emerging global space market. The emergence of NSIL would spur the growth of Indian industries in the space sector and enable Indian industries to scale up manufacturing and production base.
• A total of 239 satellites were commercially launched by Antrix Corporation Limited during the last three years.
• The total revenue from operations during the last three years is Rs 6289.05 Crores.
• Acoording to a report of Business Standard, it was registered to commercialize the activities of ISRO in the space with an authorised share capital of Rs 100 crore and initial paid up capital of Rs 10 crore, and also to develop private enterpreneurism in the sphere of space technologies. NSIL will also be at the helm of producing Small Satellite Launch Vehicle ( SSLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to cater to the increasing SSLV market demand, including the supply of various sub-systems for worldwide applications and will enable space technology spin-offs through Indian industry interface.

MCQ 5

1. Mahatma Gandhi called Tilak, ‘The Father of the Indian unrest’.
2. He started two newspaper, ‘Kesari’ and ‘Mahratta’ (referred as ‘Maratha’) in Marathi

Choose correct

(A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(C) Both

 (D) None

• Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar birth anniversary (23 July 1856)
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak or Lokmanya Tilak was an Indian nationalist, social reformer and lawyer.
• The Britishers called him, ‘The Father of the Indian unrest’.
• He was given the honourary title of ‘Lokmanya’, which means admired (or accepted) by the people. • He is known as the ‘Father of Swarajya’ and made ‘Swaraj’ as a part of the independence movement and he was the strongest advocates of ‘Swaraj’ (self-rule).
• He started the Swadeshi movement.
• He joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in the year 1890.
• He started two newspaper, ‘Kesari’ in Marathi and ‘Mahratta’ in English (referred as ‘Maratha’).
• He had a political regime with Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai and they were referred as ‘Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate’.
• He organised ‘Deccan Education Society’ along with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Mahadev Ballal Namjoshi and Vishnushastri Chiplunkar.
• It was set up to teach young Indians, the nationalist ideas through an emphasis on Indian culture. • He founded the ‘All India Home Rule League’ in 1916 along with Joseph Baptista, Annie Besant and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
• He transformed the household worshipping of Ganesha into a grand public event ‘Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav’ in 1894.
• Today, ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’, started by Tilak, is considered as the prime festival in Maharastra and adjacent states. • Tilak was the poineer for the celebration of “Shiv Jayanti”, the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
• In 2007, the Government of India released a coin to commemorate Tilak on his 150th birth anniversary.

 MCQ 6

1. Heat-wave is defined as the condition where maximum temperature at a grid point is 45˚C or more, consecutively for 10 days or more.
2. No city in india till now has prepared a Heat wave Action Plan.

Choose correct

(A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(C) Both

 (D) None

• Prevention and Management of Heat-Wave – Action Plan
• National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued Guidelines for ‘Preparation of Action Plan – Prevention and Management of Heat Wave’.
• The ‘Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’ issued ‘Guidelines on Prevention and Management of Heat Related Illnesses’.
• It provides insights into heat-related illness and the necessary mitigative and response actions to be undertaken.
• Heat-wave is defined as the condition where maximum temperature at a grid point is 3˚C or more than the normal temperature, consecutively for 3 days or more.
• WMO defines it as, maximum temperature at a grid point is 5˚C or more than the normal temperature, consecutively for 5 days or more.
• This condition may leads to physiological stress, which sometimes can claim human life
• Ahmedabad was among the first city to prepare a Heat wave Action Plan in 2015.
• It is expected that extreme heat waves will become more common worldwide because of climate change.
• India is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
• More than 2400 people died in the heat wave of 2015.
• Heat wave also caused death of cattle and wildlife besides affecting animals in various zoos in India.
• The guidelines serve as a tool for developing risk management plans, early warning systems, preparedness for health-related problems.
• Key strategies of the Plan –
• Establish Early Warning System and Inter-Agency Coordination.
• Capacity building and training programme.
• Public Awareness and community outreach.
• Collaboration with non government and civil society.

Roles and Responsibilities for Managing Heat Wave –

1. Preparation of Heat Wave Action Plan – NDMA
2. Early Warning – IMD
3. Mitigating Heat Wave – Ministry of Urban/Rural Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Transport

4. Monitoring and Response – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

5. Occupational Support and advisories – All Ministries.
6. Media campaign and IEC activities – Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
7. Documentation – Ministry of Health & Family Welfare 8. Long Term Measures – Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change. Heat wave is called as “Silent disaster” as it develops slowly and kills and injures humans and animals nationwide. The adverse impact of heat wave are preventable by educating the public on the preventive actions.

• The sobering report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last fall warns of more extreme temperatures in the United States, China and India, the three largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world. Heat waves are becoming more intense and more frequent in India and around the world, fueled by climate change.
• The global wake-up call to extreme heat happened in 2003 when a European heat wave resulted in a devastating 70,000 deaths.
• In 2006, the California heat wave resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of patient visits. In 2015, heat waves caused over 4,000 deaths in South Asia— including India and Pakistan. Recent extreme temperatures in California resulted in tragic wild fires, causing alarming air pollution levels in major cities, major damage to infrastructure, and multiple deaths. The historic Ahmedabad heat wave in 2010 resulted in over 800 excess deaths in one week alone, leading to the urgency to innovate and develop the groundbreaking Heat Action Plan.

MCQ 7

1. Sree Narayana Guru was a great saint, scholar, philosopher, poet and the forerunner of social renaissance in Kerala, born in a higher caste.
2. He gave the universal message, ‘No Caste, No Religion, No God for Mankind’.

 Choose correct

(A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(C) Both

 (D) None

• Sree Narayana Guru
• Sree Narayana Guru was a great saint, scholar, philosopher, poet and the forerunner of social renaissance in Kerala.
• He was born in 1856 in a peasant family of then untouchable Ezhava caste, in Thiruvananthapuram.
• He led a reform movement in Kerala, against the injustice in the casteridden society in order to promote social equality.
• He gave the universal message, “One caste, one religion, one God.”
• ‘Sahodaran Ayyappan’ (Pulaya Ayyappan), a social reformer from Kerala coined a rejoinder ‘No Caste, No Religion, No God for Mankind’.
• ‘Aravipuram Movement’ was launched by Narayana Guru.
• He defied the religious restrictions traditionally placed on the Ezhava community and consecrated an idol of Shiva at Aravipuram.
• He was a follower of Advaitha philosophy.
• He translated Tamil works like “Thirukkural” into Malayalam.
• He had written number of hymns to different gods and some of the notable ones are “Atmopadesa Sathakam” and “Darsanamala”.
• He lent his support to the ‘Vaikkom Satyagraha’. Mahatma Gandhi met him during this time.
• ‘Sivagiri pilgrimage’ was conceived by three of the disciples, Vallabhasseri Govindan Vaidyar, T. K. Kittan and Muloor S. Padmanabha Panicker.
• The goal of the pilgrimage was the promotion of education, cleanliness, devotion to God.
• Fight against casteism
• Casteism was practised in Kerala during the 19th and early 20th centuries and the lower caste people such as Ezhavas and Thiyyas and the untouchable castes like Paraiyars, tribals and Pulayars had to suffer discrimination from the upper caste people such as Brahmins. It was against this discrimination that Guru performed his first major public act, the consecration of Siva idol at Aruvippuram in 1888. Overall, he consecrated forty five temples across Kerala and Tamil Nadu. His consecrations were not necessarily conventional deities; a slab inscribed with the words, Truth, Ethics, Compassion, Love, a vegetarian Shiva, a mirror and a sculpture by an Italian sculptor were among the various consecrations made by him. He propagated the ideals of compassion and religious tolerance and one of his noted works, Anukampadasakam, extols various religious figures such as Krishna, The Buddha, Adi Shankara, Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammad.
• Vaikom Satyagraha
• The social protest of Vaikom Satyagraha was an agitation by the lower caste against untouchability in Hindu society of in Travancore. It was reported that the trigger for the protest was an incident when Narayana Guru was stopped from passing through a road leading to Vaikom Temple by an upper caste person. It prompted Kumaran Asan and Muloor S.Padmanabha Panicker, both disciples of Guru, to compose poems in protest of the incident. T. K. Madhavan, another disciple, petitioned the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly in 1918 for rights to enter the temple and worship, regardless of the caste. A host of people including K. Kelappan and K. P. Kesava Menon, formed a committee and announced Kerala Paryatanam movement and with the support of Mahatma Gandhi, the agitation developed into a mass movement which resulted in the opening of the temple as well as three roads leading to it to people of all castes. The protest also influenced the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936

MCQ 8

 Sea of marmara joins

1. Sea of azov & Black sea
2. Adriatic sea & Aegean sea
3. Adriatic sea & ionian sea
4. Black sea & Aegean sea

MCQ 9

1. Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) is a government scheme by ministry of culture
2. For components within public funding under this scheme, Central Government will provide 100% fund and CSR funds cant be used

Choose correct

(A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(C) Both

(D) None

•  Context: To implement the PRASAD scheme a Mission Directorate has been set up in the Ministry of Tourism.

PRASAD Scheme:

• Introduced in 2015, the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) is a government scheme that focuses on identifying and developing the pilgrim sites across the country to enrich the religious tourism experience.
• It was launched by Union Ministry of Tourism.
• It aims at integrated development of pilgrimage destinations in planned, prioritized and sustainable manner to provide complete religious tourism experience.

Objectives:

• Harness pilgrimage tourism for its direct and multiplier effect upon employment generation and economic development.
• Enhance tourist attractiveness in sustainable manner by developing world class infrastructure in the religious destinations.
• It also seeks to promote local art, culture, handicraft, cuisine, etc.

Funding:

• • Under it, Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to State Governments for promoting tourism at identified destinations. For components within public funding under this scheme, Central Government will provide 100% fund. For improved sustainability of project, it also seeks to involve Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as well.

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