Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 23-11-2022

Q1. Which of the following states has the longest coastline in India?

1. Gujarat
2. Maharashtra
3. Andhra Pradesh
4. Tamil Nadu

Answer (a)

Explanation:

The Ministry of Earth Sciences informed the Lok Sabha that of the 6,907.18-km-long coastline of the Indian mainland, about 34% is under varying degrees of erosion, while 26% is of an accretional nature and the remaining 40% is in a stable state.

Q2. Which of the following is/are correctly matched?

Select the correct answer using the code given below

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

Answer (a)

Explanation:

Due to the popularity of Buddhism and Jainism, stupas and viharas were constructed on a large scale. However, there are also examples of a few Brahmanical gods in the sculptural representations. It is important to note that the stupas were constructed over the relics of the Buddha at Rajagriha, Vaishali, Vethadipa and Pava in Bihar, Kapilavastu, Allakappa and Ramagrama in Nepal, Kushinagar and Pippalvina in Uttar Pradesh. The textual tradition also mentions the construction of various other stupas on the relics of the Buddha at several places including Avanti and Gandhara which are outside the Gangetic valley.

Q3. Consider the following statements

1. India aims to provide fortified rice under all state-run food schemes in three stages by 2024 to improve nutritional outcomes
2. Rice is to be fortified with Iron

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (c)

Explanation:

1. India aims to provide fortified rice under all state-run food schemes in three stages by 2024 to improve nutritional outcomes, a plan that will need a massive upgrade of the country’s food infrastructure to deliver a programme that some experts say is no magic bullet.
2. In his Independence Day speech in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government would distribute fortified rice by 2024 under all schemes, leading up to the Cabinet’s approval.
3. The Food Corporation of India (FCI), the Centre’s grain-handling agency, has already amassed 8.8 million tonnes of rice fortified with iron for distribution and supply in specific schemes.

Fortification of rice scheme:

1. During stage 1, the programme will cover the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and PM POSHAN by March Both the schemes target schoolchildren and women with nutritional interventions, comprising at least one hot, cooked school meal.
2. In stage 2, the programme will cover the public distribution network in all of India’s so-called aspirational districts and 291 districts with the highest levels of stunting by March 2023. The third stage will expand the programme to all remaining districts by March 2024.

Q4. Consider the following statements

1. Methane has 84 times the warming potential of CO2 over a short timeframe.
2. Agriculture is mainly responsible for methane emissions from India
3. India is largest methane producer in the world

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

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

Answer (a)

Explanation:

• Climate crisis produced another record-breaking year of extreme weather in Europe in 2021, triggering catastrophic flooding and the hottest summer on record, according to scientists at the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
• Summer temperatures in Europe last year were 1°C above the average of the previous 20 years, and the rainfall that battered Germany and Belgium broke records, the scientists said in their annual European State of the Climate report.
• Globally, the last seven years have been the warmest since records began in 1850, with 2021 ranking sixth.

Greenhouse emissions:

• There were worrying findings in terms of greenhouse emissions, too: concentrations of carbon dioxide and particularly methane continued to rise in the atmosphere.
• The continued increase in greenhouse gases is the main driver behind the global increase in temperatures.
• It also painted a stark picture of the crisis in the Arctic, with wildfires mostly from eastern Siberia contributing to the fourth- highest amount of carbon emissions from such events in the region.

Methane rising:

• Methane - which has 84 times the warming potential of CO2 over a short timeframe - jumped by 16.5 parts per billion, marking a second consecutive year of sharp increases.
• The cause of the rise was unclear, the scientists said, though a large portion was likely attributable to rice and cattle farming, as well as the gas escaping from natural sinks.
• The Copernicus findings come after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that the world may be on track to warm by more than 3°C - twice the Paris Agreement target.

Q5. Which of the following island countries is not situated in the pacific ocean?

1. Fiji
2. Solomon Islands
3. New Caledonia
4. Agalega Islands

Answer (d)

Explanation:

China’s security pact with the Solomon Islands is a first, but unlikely to be the last.

• China’s government announced that it had signed a landmark security pact with the Solomon Islands, evoking concern from Australia and the U.S.
• The agreement is the first of its kind that China has agreed with any country, and underlines its ambitions to play a security role in the Pacific.
• The final version has not been made public, but according to a draft that was leaked last month, it will pave the way for China to deploy its security forces there.
• The Solomon Islands can request police and military personnel “to assist in maintaining social order”, while China can make ship visits and use its ports for logistics.
• This will give China’s vessels a strategic foothold in the Pacific, in a region close to Australia and Guam, where the S. has a naval base.