Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 22-11-2022

Q1. In the naval battle fought in 1671 on the Brahmaputra at Saraighat near Guwahati, Borphukan, despite being terribly ill, led his army from the front to a resounding victory. Battle was fought against

1. Bengal Nawab
2. Mughal
3. Konbaung dynasty Burma
4. East India Company

Answer (b)

Explanation:

Ahom commander Lachit Borphukan

A statue of Ahom commander Lachit Borphukan in Guwahati.

• In the naval battle fought in 1671 on the Brahmaputra at Saraighat near Guwahati, Borphukan, despite being terribly ill, led his army from the front to a resounding victory over the invading Mughal army.
• Before Saraighat at the battle of Alaboi fought on August 5, 1669, the Ahoms were routed by the Mughal cavalry and lost 10,000 soldiers in a single day.

• The war memorial is now being constructed at Alaboi near Dadara in the Kamrup district of Assam. Along with Borphukan’s statue, the memorial will also feature a 100-ft-long ‘Hengdang’ (Ahom sword).
• The legacy of his unflagging valour, determination and war skills has become an integral part of Assamese culture and identity.
• In his honour, the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla in Pune confers the Lachit Borphukan gold medal to its best cadet every year.
• The Ahoms had ruled major parts of Assam for nearly 600 years, between 1228 and 1826. The Ahom kingdom had been repeatedly attacked by the Turkic and Afghan rulers of the Delhi Sultanate and later by the Mughals.

Q2. The traditional Ahom sword is known as

1. The samurai sword or katana
2. Shamshir
3. The Hengdang
4. Muzakka

Answer (c)

Explanation:

The Hengdang is a single edged sword with a long handle used by the Ahoms in India. The handle and the scabbard were designed in gold, silver or wood according to the position of the person. It is similar in many ways to the samurai sword or katana. Hengdang was used as a special kind of sword which was used by high ranking officials of the Ahom Kingdom like the King, Prime Minister, Commander, and Sub-Commander. It has ceremonial use today in the Ahom wedding.

The war memorial will be in the form of a ‘Hengdang’ (sword) with a height of 150 ft, rising from the midst of a reflective pool. 3-D image of Alaboi Ron Smriti Khetra.

Q3. Consider the following statements about the Rohini RH-200

1. It is a sounding rocket
2. It can help in studying the upper atmosphere
3. Sounding in the rocket context is equivalent to "taking a measurement".

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 1 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (d)

Explanation:

ISRO to attempt the 200th successful launch of a sounding rocket in a row

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will attempt the 200th consecutively successful launch of the Rohini RH-200 sounding rocket from Thumba.
• RH-200 is a solid motor-powered, expendable rocket capable of climbing up to a height of 70 km bearing payloads designed to study the upper atmosphere.
• A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight.
• Sounding in the rocket context is equivalent to "taking a measurement".
• The rockets are used to launch instruments from 48 to 145 km (30 to 90 miles) above the surface of the Earth, the altitude generally between weather balloons and satellites; the maximum altitude for balloons is about 40 km (25 miles) and the minimum for satellites is approximately 121 km (75 miles)

Q4. What is the Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records (FASTER) system recently seen in the news?

1. System for electronic delivery of court orders
2. Interbank financial record transmission system
3. India and Russia made a secure bilateral trade record management system
4. A digital proof of environmental clearances

Answer (a)

Explanation:

1. Days of endless waiting to get a hard copy of a Supreme Court order is over. Now, all it takes for the court to do is a soft tap of the ‘send’ button and, maybe, a couple of blinks of the eye after, with ‘FASTER’, an abbreviation of ‘Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records’, a digital platform formally launched by Chief Justice of India (CJI) V. Ramana.
2. The platform would be used by the court officials to instantly send e- copies of the orders through a secured electronic communication channel to the intended parties. The CJI said FASTER would aid the cause of quick and effortless justice.
3. The idea stemmed from a case in July 2021 last about several prisoners in the Agra Jail forced to remain behind bars for three days after the court granted them bail because the hard copies of the order had not reached the prison officials.

   

Shocked by the brazen violation of the fundamental rights of personal liberty, life and dignity of the prisoners, the Chief Justice had suo motu taken cognisance of the issue of delay in delivery of court orders.

Q5.Consider the following statements about Near Field Communication (NFC) technology

1. NFC is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that allows to pay bills, exchange business cards, download coupons or share a document
2. NFC transmits data through electromagnetic radio fields
3. NFC-enabled devices must be physically touching each other
4. NFC is used in wireless charging
5. NFC can be used for UPI enabled payment

Select the correct answer from the codes given below

1. 1 and 4 only
2. 2, 3, 4 and 5 only
3. 1, 2, 4 and 5 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Answer (c)

Explanation:

Google Pay has recently launched a new feature in India, ‘Tap to pay for UPI’, in collaboration with Pine Labs. The feature makes use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

• Near-field communication is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that allows NFC-enabled devices to communicate with each other and transfer information quickly and easily with a single touch.
• NFC tech has a wide range of applications besides driving payment It is used in contactless banking cards or to generate contact-less tickets for public transport.

• Google Pay will now allow users with UPI accounts to make payments just by tapping their NFC-enabled Android smartphones on any Pine Labs Android POS terminal. This process will be much faster compared to scanning a QR code or entering the UPI-linked mobile Till now, Tap to Pay was only available for cards.

What is NFC and how does it work?

1. NFC is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that allows NFC-enabled devices to communicate with each other and transfer information quickly and easily with a single touch — whether to pay bills, exchange business cards, download coupons or share a document.
2. NFC transmits data through electromagnetic radio fields, to enable communication between two devices. Both devices must contain NFC chips, as transactions take place within a very short distance.
3. NFC-enabled devices must be either physically touching or within a few centimetres from each other for data transfer to occur.

How will this technology work with the recently launched feature, ‘Tap to pay for UPI’?

Once users tap their phones on the POS terminal, it will automatically open the Google pay app with the payment amount pre-filled. Users can then verify the amount and merchant name and authenticate the payment, using their UPI PIN.

What are the other applications of NFC technology?

1. It is used in contactless banking cards to perform money transactions or to generate contact-less tickets for public transport.
2. It also has an application in healthcare, to monitor patient stats through NFC-enabled wristbands.
3. NFC is used in wireless charging too.

How safe is this technology?

1. NFC technology is designed for an operation between devices within a few centimetres from each This makes it difficult for attackers to record the communication between the devices compared to other wireless technologies which have a working distance of several metres.
2. The security level of NFC communication is by default higher compared to other wireless communication protocols.

Where does it stand in comparison to other wireless technologies?

There are other wireless technologies available that are replacing cable- based connections.

1. The IrDa technology is a short-range (a few metres) connection based on the exchange of data over infrared light where the two communication devices must be positioned within a line of Today, this technology is mainly used for remote control devices.
2. For larger data communication with computer devices, this technology was replaced by Bluetooth or WiFi connections.
3. However, these technologies’ receiver devices need their own power supply due to the larger working distance. Therefore, the receiving device cannot be powered by the radiofrequency (RF) field like in NFC.
4. Another consequence of the larger working distance is the need for the user to configure their device and pair them together for The connection cannot be initiated by a simple touch gesture like in NFC.