Daily Current Affairs MCQ / UPSC / IAS / 26-08-19

Table of Contents

MCQ 1

Tribhanga is a

Rock temple
Folk dance
Traditional liquor in north east
tri-bent pose (standing body position)

Tribhaṅga or Tribunga is a (tri-bent pose) standing body position or stance used in the traditional Indian sculpture, art and Indian classical dance forms like the Odissi.
As compared with the contrapposto pose Tribhanga, literally meaning three parts break, consists of three bends in the body; at the neck, waist and knee, hence the body is oppositely curved at waist and neck which gives it a gentle “S” shape and is considered the most graceful and sensual of the Odissi positions. It has been closely associated with the Hindu deity Krishna who is often portrayed in this posture
The Indian classical dance of Odissi is characterized by various Bhangas or stance, which involves stamping of the foot and striking various postures as seen in Indian sculptures, they are four in number, namely Bhanga, Abanga, Atibhanga and Tribhang a being the most common of all. The Sanskrit term Tribhanga means Three Bhanga and according to K. M. Varma the term Tribhanga is not the name of a particular standing position but is used in the Silpasastra literature to describe the group of the “Three Bhangas” , namely Abhanga, Samabhanga, and Atibhanga.
Like many other poses used in traditional Indian dance, including Odissi, Bharata Natyam and Kathak, Tribhangi or Tribhanga can be found in Indian sculpture as well. Traditionally the Yakshi is shown with her hand touching a tree branch, and a sinuous pose, tribhanga pose, as is Salabhanjika, whose examples dating to the 12th century can be found in the Hoysala temples of Belur, in south-central Karnataka and the Khajuraho temples built around 9th century CE, where Vishnu is depicted at various places in this position which commonly reserved for Krishna, playing the flute. The Agamic texts suggest that Shiva sculptures are to be made in tribhanga posture facing the east as seen in temple dating 8th-12th centuries.
The central deity at the Simhachalam temple near Visakhapatnam, the lion-man incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu is in the tribhanga posture. In the back it carries an inscription dating it 1098, the period of the Chola King Kuloththunga. The Tirumala Rama Idol at the famous Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Andhra Pradesh is also in the same posture. This style has also travels with Indian influence as in China where some sculptures at the Maijishan Grottoes built in the Later Qin era (384-417 CE). Some Buddha images in Thailand are also in the tribhanga (leaning) position and so are some of Boddhisattva in the ancient Yakushi-ji Buddhist temples in Nara, Japan, built in 680 CE, the Hakuhō period. Takkolam pallava period Shiva temple Durga also in Tribhanga style is best example is in Tamil Nadu.

MCQ 2

Henley Passport Index is released by IATA
India has Improved for 5 places from last year in the ranking

Choose correct

(A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(D) None

Henley Passport Index

Henley and Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm, prepares the Henley Passport Index.
It ranks passports based on their power and mobility.
The index gathers data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that manages inter-airline cooperation globally.
It is updated in real time according to countries’ visa policy changes and it covers 227 destinations and 199 passports.
It ranked India at 86, down 5 places from 81 in 2018.
Last year, an Indian passport holder had visa-free access to 60 countries. this year, it is down to 58.
A value of 1 is attributed to the score,
Based on the sum of number of countries accessible by that passport holder without requiring pre-departure government approval for visa-types.
It includes a visitor’s permit, visa on arrival or an electronic travel authority (ETA).
For instance in 2019, India’s score is 58, which means an Indian passport holder has a visa-free access to 58 countries.
India ranks 86 in the list.
A value of 0 is attributed to a score when,
A passport holder has to seek pre-departure government approval for visa-types including e-visa.
Japan and Singapore, are ranked 1 and have a score of 189.
Afghanistan holds the weakest passport, with a score and ranking of 25 and 109, respectively.
Syria and Pakistan follow with rankings of 107 and 106 and scores of 29 and 30, respectively.
The index assumes only the passport of citizen of country and it is not for diplomatic, emergency or temporary in nature.

Other Passport Index

Arton Passport Index, which ranks United Arab Emirates’s passport at rank 1.
As per this index,
India has a mobility score (MS) of 67
Visa required for 131 destinations,
visa on arrival required for 41 destinations and
26 visa free destinations.
It uses UNDP HDI 2018 in its methodology to rank passports.
It is powered by Arton Capital, a global financial advisory.

MCQ 3

Adratiklit boulahfa is a

Endangered fish
Endangered snake species
A newly discovered Stegosaurus
Bookers prize winner novel

Adratiklit boulahfa

Scientists have described a new species of “Stegosaurus”, it dated back to 168 million years ago.
It makes it the oldest known member of that group of dinosaurs ever known and it is named “Adratiklit boulahfa”.
It is also the first “Stegosaurus” to be found in North Africa.
Its remains were discovered in the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco, London’s Natural History Museum (NHM).

The name is derived from the words used by the ‘Berber’ (an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa) for,
Mountains (Adras),
Lizard (tiklit) and
the area where the specimen was found, (Boulahfa).
It was armoured and herbivorous, and lived on the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana.
Later it split into Africa, South America, Australia and Antarctica.
Most Stegosaurus remains so far have been found in the northern hemisphere.
Most known stegosaurs date from far later in the Jurassic period.
It helps to increase our understanding of the evolution of this group of dinosaurs.
When stegosaurs were alive, the world was divided into two supercontinents: Laurasia and Gondwana.
Laurasia included the land masses that today make up most of the northern hemisphere’s continents.
Gondwana eventually split into land masses including Africa, South America, Australia and Antarctica.
‘Stegosaurs’ were diverse and abundant in Laurasia. In contrast, their remains are extremely rare in Gondwana.
This, however may not mean that stegosaurs were not so common in Gondwana
It may be due to the fact that Gondwana rock formations have been subject to far fewer excavations and detailed studies.

MCQ 4

One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme is launched by Ministry for home.
It was launched on 1 st June 2019 across India
Aadhaar Card will not be necessary for registration

Choose correct

(A) 1 & 3

(B) 2 & 3

(D) None

Aadhaar linkage needed for it to work; States given one more year to use point of sale machines in ration shops, says Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan
‘One Nation One Ration Card’ scheme, which will allow portability of food security benefits, will be available across the country from July 1, 2020. This means poor migrant workers will be able to buy subsidised rice and wheat from any ration shop in the country, so long as their ration cards are linked to Aadhaar.
All the States have been given one more year to use point of sale (PoS) machines in the ration shops and implement the scheme, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told journalists on Saturday. Already, 77% % of the ration shops across the country have PoS machines and more than 85% of people covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) have their cards linked to Aadhaar, he said.
While Aadhaar linkage is not necessary to access NFSA benefits in a beneficiary’s local registered ration shop, located closest to her home address, it will be necessary to access the portability scheme, according to senior Food Ministry officials.
Ten States — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura – already offer this portability, pointed out Mr. Paswan. Delhi had also begun implementing portability, though it was later stopped for technical reasons. Other States, including Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, could easily implement the scheme, as they had PoS machines in all the ration shops.
“This scheme will ensure that no poor person is deprived of subsidised grains,” said the Minister. “We have written to all State governments to fast track its implementation, so that the whole country is ready to implement ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ latest by June 30, 2020.”
A senior Ministry official clarified that migrants would only be eligible for the subsidies supported by the Centre, which include rice sold at Rs. 3/kg and wheat at Rs. 2/kg. Even if a beneficiary moved to a State where grains were given for free, that person would not be able to access those benefits, as they were funded by the State exchequer.
Fortified grains
In a bid to reduce nutrition deficiencies among beneficiaries, the Centre would roll out a pilot project in 15 districts to fortify rice grains with iron, folic acid, Vitamin A and Vitamin B12. The first fortified grains would be available in ration shops from this November.
The State governments have also been given a six-month deadline to bring the operations of their depots and warehouses online, said Mr. Paswan.
Ultimately, it would be possible to monitor the entire network of stateowned grain storage facilities, including Central warehouses that were already computerised, using an integrated dashboard.
Recently, the government launched the pilot project for the interstate portability of ration cards.
It was launched between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and between Maharashtra and Gujarat.
It is a part of ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme launched by Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
A ration card is issued to the head of the family depending on the number of members in a family and its financial status.
It is used by households to get essential food grains at subsidised prices from designated ration shops under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
Over the years, different types of ration cards were issued depending on the level of deprivation.
In 2013, when the National Food Security Bill was passed, different ration cards were compressed to just 2,
“Priority” and “Antyodaya” (for the most poor).
The responsibility of identifying eligible families and issuing ration cards to them rests with the state/UT government.

Ration shops

It can be privately owned or owned by cooperative societies or by the government.
Ownership licenses are issued by the concerned state government.
Presently, commodities including wheat, sugar, rice and kerosene are being allocated as part of the TPDS.
State governments have the discretion to provide additional commodities.
Since ration cards are issued by state governments, the beneficiaries could procure food grains only from the designated ration shops within the concerned state.
If a beneficiary were to shift to another state, he/she would need to apply for a new ration card in the second state.
The ONORC scheme attempts to address this gap in TPDS delivery.
The scheme has been launched keeping in mind the internal migration of our country.
As per Census 2011, 4.1 crore people were inter-state migrants and 1.4crore people migrated (inter and intra-state) for employment.
The government hopes to implement the scheme across India by June 2020.

MCQ 5

To supplement the efforts of Jal Shakti Ministry, CWC has prepared the Second Round of CWMI 2.0.(Composite Water Management Index 2.0)
Except groundwater all other water management issues will be assessed under it.

Choose correct

(A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(D) None

Composite Water Management Index 2.0 (CWMI 2.0)

NITI Aayog is set to release the second Round CWMI 2.0.
‘Jal Shakti Ministry’ launched the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyaan’ a campaign for water conservation and water security.
To supplement the efforts of Jal Shakti Ministry, NITI Aayog has prepared the Second Round of CWMI 2.0.
The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States and Union Territories in efficient management of water resources.
This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with,
Ministry of Jal Shakti,
Ministry of Rural Development and
all the States/ Union Territories.
The index would provide useful information for the States and to Central Ministries to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.
CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-18 as against the base year 2016- 17. The Index and this associated report are expected to,
Establish a clear baseline and benchmark for state-level performance on key water indicators.
To uncover and explain how states have progressed on water issues over time.
To identify areas for deeper engagement and investment on the part of the states.

The Index comprises 9 themes with 28 different indicators covering,

Groundwater and surface water restoration,
major and medium irrigation,
watershed development,
Participatory irrigation management,
On-farm water use,
Rural and urban water supply, and
Policy and governance.

MCQ 6

Akademik Lomonosov is a

Moon Landing rover by Russia
Spaceship by NASA
World’s 1 st ‘Floating Nuclear Power Plant’ (FNPP) developed by Russia’s ROSATOM
None

Akademik Lomonosov

It is the World’s 1 st ‘Floating Nuclear Power Plant’ (FNPP) developed by Russia’s ROSATOM.
It is designed to make it possible to supply electricity to hard-to-reach areas, regardless of transport infrastructure & landscape.
It left the Arctic port of Murmansk to begin its 5,000 kilometre voyage to Pevek in northeastern Siberia.
The reactor has the potential to work particularly well in regions with power supply shortages, limited access to electrical grids.
The plant, loaded with nuclear fuel, will replace a coal-fired power plant.
For fossil fuel-based electricity generation, up to 40% of the cost is attributed to the price of coal, oil or gas and for delivery.
This figure is even higher for especially remote locations.
So, the small size, lightweight, and fixed cost of the FNPP eliminate many such challenges.
ROSATOM insists that the vessel is designed to be safe, and will not harm the environment. • However, it has warned of the dangers as “Chernobyl on ice” and a “Nuclear Titanic” bound for catastrophe.

ROSATOM

It is Russian State-run Atomic Energy Corporation.
It is the only company in the world to offer integrated clean energy solutions across the nuclear supply chain and beyond.
It includes the design, build and operation of nuclear power stations, uranium mining, conversion and enrichment.
Globally, the company has the second biggest uranium reserves.
It has 40% of the world’s enrichment market and is the world’s biggest builder of the latest generation nuclear power stations.

MCQ 7

GSOMIA was recently in news, it is a

An AI based supercomputer
An agreement between USA & Iran
Military Information Agreement between US JAPAN & South Korea
None

GSOMIA

It is the “General Security Of Military Information Agreement”.
It was signed in 2016 to streamline intelligence sharing between the U.S., Japan and South Korea about North Korean nuclear activity.
It automatically renews annually unless one of the countries decides to pull out.
Before the GSOMIA, the U.S. had two separate intelligencesharing agreements with South Korea and Japan.

Japan and South Korea’s Feud

South Korea has terminated its military intelligence-sharing pact GSOMIA with Japan.
It comes after Japan removed South Korea’s favoured trade partner status and imposed export controls on its important electronics sector.
Tensions between Japan and South Korea have been mounting over trade and intelligence disagreements.
Japan removed South Korea from its list of preferred trade partners, called the “Whitelist.”
Japan alleged that South Korea had broken protocol and illegally shared chemical imports with North Korea. However, South Korea denied the accusation.
The 2 nations share a complicated history.
South Korea has for long complained about wartime atrocities and inadequate apologies for colonial excesses on Japan’s part.
They have fought on and off since at least the 7th Century, and Japan has repeatedly tried to invade the peninsula since then.
In 1910, it annexed Korea, turning the territory into a colony.
When World War 2 began, thousands of women, from across Asia were sent to military brothels to service Japanese soldiers.
Many of these victims, known as “Comfort women” were Korean.
Japan’s rule of Korea ended in 1945 when it was defeated in the war.
In 1965, 20 years after Japan’s defeat, South Korea agreed to normalize relations, in exchange for millions of dollars in loans and grants.
The issue of “comfort women” remains a sensitive one.
A deal was eventually signed in 2015, Japan apologized and promised to pay 1 bn yen, the amount South Korea asked for to fund victims.
The historic dispute rumbles on, with neither country looking likely to bend.

MCQ 8

Atlas Mountains are located in

Algeria
South Africa
Ethiopia
Western China

The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb. It stretches around 2,500 km (1,600 mi) through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
The range’s highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of 4,167 metres (13,671 ft) in southwestern Morocco.
It separates the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert.
The Atlas mountains are primarily inhabited by Berber populations.
The terms for ‘mountain’ in some Berber languages are adrar and adras, which are believed to be cognates of the toponym Atlas.
The mountains are home to a number of animals and plants unique within Africa, some of which can be found in Europe; many of which are endangered and some already extinct.

MCQ 9

Sisir Kumar Mitra was a

Writer
Space scientists
Physicist
Botanist

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