Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 22-03-2023

Q1. NASA’s Magellan mission of past and proposed DAVINCI and VERITAS missions are for probe of

a. Mars

b. Venus

c. Saturn

d. Jupiter

Answer (b)

Explanation:

Active volcano found on Venus: What a new study says

For years, scientists have thought that Venus is geologically dead. But a new research paper indicates that a volcano on the planet's surface is still active.

A new analysis of archival radar images taken around three decades ago has found direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity on the surface of Venus, also known as Earth’s twin, for the first time. Researchers have observed a volcanic vent changing its shape and getting bigger in size in around eight months, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said.

The new findings are described in a study, ‘Surface changes observed on a Venusian volcano during the Magellan mission’, published in the journal Science last week. The research has been carried out by Robert Herrick of the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks (USA), and Scott Hensley of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (USA).

For years, scientists have known that numerous volcanoes cover Venus but there wasn’t any evidence up till now to show if any one of them is still active.

As volcanoes act like windows to provide information about a planet’s interior, the new findings take scientists a step further to understand the geological conditions of not just Venus but also other exoplanets. Apart from this, the findings give us a glimpse of what more is to come regarding Venus as in the next decade, three new Venus missions would be launched, including the European EnVision orbiter and NASA’s DAVINCI and VERITAS missions.

Q2. Which of the following can be created by Generative AI?

1. Texts

2. Images

3. Computer codes

Select the correct answer from codes given below

a. 1 2, and 3

b. 1 and 3 only

c. 3 only

d. 2 and 3 only

Answer (a)

Explanation:

What is Generative AI, the technology behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT?

Like other forms of artificial intelligence, generative AI learns how to take actions from past data. It creates brand new content - a text, an image, even computer code - based on that training, instead of simply categorising or identifying data like other AI.

The most famous generative AI application is ChatGPT, a chatbot that Microsoft-backed OpenAI released late last year. The AI powering it is known as a large language model because it takes in a text prompt and from that writes a human-like response.

GPT-4, a newer model that OpenAI announced this week, is “multimodal” because it can perceive not only text but images as well. OpenAI’s president demonstrated on Tuesday how it could take a photo of a hand- drawn mock-up for a website he wanted to build, and from that generate a real one.

What Is It Good For?

Demonstrations aside, businesses are already putting generative AI to work.

The technology is helpful for creating a first draft of marketing copy, for instance, though it may require cleanup because it isn’t perfect. One example is from CarMax Inc, which has used a version of OpenAI’s technology to summarise thousands of customer reviews and help shoppers decide what used car to buy.

Generative AI likewise can take notes during a virtual meeting. It can draft and personalise emails, and it can create slide presentations. Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc’s Google each demonstrated these features in product announcements this week.

Q3. Which of the following statements are correct with respect to the Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?

1. The world is on track to breach the 1.5 degree Celsius global warming limit by the 2030s

2. Earth has already warmed an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius since the industrial age

3. Humans have been responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 1200 years

Select the correct answer from codes given below

a. 1 and 2 only

b. 1 and 3 only

c. 3 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (a)

Explanation:

IPCC releases its Synthesis Report: What are the key takeaways

The new report has urged governments and policymakers to take urgent action to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

The world is on track to breach the 1.5 degree Celsius global warming limit by the 2030s, which would cause irrevocable damage to the planet’s ecosystem and severely impact humans and other living beings, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an UN-backed body of world’s leading climate scientists warned.

Releasing the final report, known as the Synthesis Report, of its sixth assessment cycle, IPCC added that there is still a chance to avert this mass- scale destruction, but it would require an enormous global effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and completely phase them out by 2050.

Earth has already warmed an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius since the industrial age while humans have been responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years.

Speaking to the media during the report’s release, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “Humanity is on thin ice — and that ice is melting fast.” He added, “Our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once.”

The Synthesis Report has come after a week-long negotiation with the approval of 195 countries. It is essentially a non-technical summary of the previous reports, which were released between 2018 and 2022, and sets out possible policies and measures that might help stave off the worst consequences of climate change.

Key Takeaways From The Report

• The new report lays out the present impact of soaring global temperature and imminent ramifications in case the planet continues to get warmer.

• Due to the current global warming levels, almost every region across the planet is already experiencing climate extremes, an uptick in deaths due to heatwaves, reduced food and water security and damage to ecosystems, causing mass extinction of species on land and in the ocean.

• Moreover, “vulnerable communities who have historically contributed the least to climate change are being disproportionately affected,” the report said. It added that more than three billion people live in areas that are “highly vulnerable” to climate change — people living in these regions were “15 times more likely to die from floods, droughts and storms between 2010-2020 than those living in regions with very low vulnerability”.

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to Chambal sanctuary

1. It is situated at the trijunction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh

2. It is known for its population of critically endangered gharials

3. The sanctuary is listed as an ‘Important Bird and Biodiversity Area’

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a. 1 and 3 only

b. 1 only

c. 2 and 3 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (d)

Explanation:

3 States chip in to stop illegal sand mining in Chambal sanctuary

Three States have commenced joint action to stop illegal sand mining in National Chambal Sanctuary, situated at the trijunction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which is known for its population of critically endangered gharials. The Chambal river cuts through the mazes of ravines and hills in the sanctuary.

Coordination among the three States was discussed at a high-level meeting in Jaipur on Tuesday with emphasis on protecting the fragile ecosystem critical for breeding of gharials, which are fish-eating crocodiles. Illegal sand mining is threatening the flora and fauna in some parts of the sanctuary.

The sanctuary is listed as an ‘Important Bird and Biodiversity Area’ and is also a proposed Ramsar site.

Q5. Which of the following states has legislated for mandatory free-of-cost emergency treatment for every resident of the State at both the government hospitals and the privately-run institutions?

a. Madhya Pradesh

b. Chattisgarh

c. Rajasthan

d. Gujarat

Answer (c)

Explanation:

Amid protests, Rajasthan becomes first State to pass Right to

Health Bill

• Amid a strong protest by the agitating private doctors, the Rajasthan Assembly passed the Right to Health Bill with the provision for mandatory free-of-cost emergency treatment for every resident of the State at both the government hospitals and the privately-run institutions. With this, Rajasthan has become the first and the only State in the country to legislate the right to health.

• The Bill, which was tabled in the Assembly on September 22 last year and was later referred to a Select Committee, was passed by voice vote in the House. The Bill gives every resident of the State the right to emergency treatment care “without prepayment of requisite fee or charges” by any public health institution, health care establishment and designated health care centres.