Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 27-03-2023

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Sarus crane

1. The Sarus crane is the tallest flying bird in the world

2. These are a common sight in the state of Uttar Pradesh

3. They are not covered under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a. 1 and 2 only

b. 2 and 3 only

c. 1 and 3 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (a)

Explanation:

Sarus Crane Turns Albatross Around U.P. Man’s Neck

• Arif Khan, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi district who had rescued a sarus crane and took care of it for a year, has received a notice from the State Forest Department. He has also been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

• The Forest Department officials had to relocate the bird to Samaspur Bird Sanctuary to “allow it to live in its natural environment”. The officials said they took the bird away with Mr. Khan’s consent and added that the avian species falls under the vulnerable category and cannot be “kept in captivity”.

• The Sarus crane is the tallest flying bird in the world standing 152- 156 cm tall with a wingspan of 240cm.

• It is a social creature, found mostly in pairs or small groups of three or four. Known to mate for life with a single partner, its breeding season coincides with heavy rainfall in monsoon. Nests are constructed on water in natural wetlands or in flooded paddy fields. Usually a clutch has only one or two eggs, which are incubated by both parents for a period of 26 to 35 days. The juveniles follow their parents from the day of birth.

The Sarus crane has three disjunct populations in the Indian sub-continent, south-east Asia and northern Australia with an estimated global population of 25,000-37,000 individuals. In the Indian subcontinent, it is found in northern and central India, Terai Nepal and Pakistan. It was once a common site in the paddy fields of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. Their population is now on the decline with only 15,000-20,000 found in India, a majority of which are in Uttar Pradesh. The Sarus crane is known for its ability to live in association with humans, inhabiting open, cultivated, well watered plains, marshlands and jheels. These areas suit them well for foraging, roosting and nesting.

Conservation Issues

The main threat to the Sarus crane in India is habitat loss and degradation due to draining the wetland and conversion of land for agriculture. The landscape of its historic range is rapidly changing due to construction of highways, housing colonies, roads, and railway lines. More recently, many deaths have been recorded due to collision with power lines. Also, due to the increase in agricultural land, Sarus cranes are left with no choice but to forage in these fields, and as a result ingest pesticides, which lead to poisoning.

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3)

1. LVM3 is the heaviest payload rocket of the Indian Space Research Organisation

2. The LVM-3 is capable of launching satellite in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) only

3. The LVM-3 rocket will also be used for India's maiden human space flight

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a. 1 only

b. 2 and 3 only

c. 1 and 3 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (c)

Explanation:

ISRO Puts 36 Satellites Into Orbit

• LVM3, the heaviest payload rocket of the Indian Space Research Organisation, carried 36 OneWeb satellites on board. With the successful launch, OneWeb completes its constellation of 618 satellites. OneWeb is awaiting India’s space communication policy and the policy on spectrum allocation to launch its services here.

• This launch is a significant milestone for India to move towards benefiting from remarkable capabilities of LEO connectivity and the spread of space-based Internet. This will surely aid in addressing the issue of low fixed broadband penetration and bridge the digital divide in the country’s most remote areas.

• The mission had the upgraded S200 motors with enhanced margins suitable for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission and the motors performed very well.

OneWeb:

OneWeb is a global communication network powered from space, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It is implementing a constellation of LEO satellites. India’s Bharti Enterprises serves as a major investor and shareholder in OneWeb. This is OneWeb’s 18th launch, its third this year, bringing its constellation to 618 satellites. This launch is a major milestone for the company, with the number of satellites now in orbit enabling global service, the first LEO operator to reach this milestone.

Launch Vehicle Mark-III

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has renamed the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark -III as Launch Vehicle Mark-III, mainly to identify its task of placing satellites into a variety of orbits.

• The LVM-3 rocket will also be used for India's maiden human space flight tentatively scheduled for late 2024.

• Earlier, the launch vehicles were named for a specific purpose, such as PSLV for putting polar satellites in orbit or GSLV for geostationary satellites.

• The rocket no longer goes only to the geosynchronous orbit. A rocket can go anywhere, it does not have a fixed orbit to go anywhere— GEO (Geosynchronous Earth Orbit), MEO (Medium Earth Orbit), LEO (Low Earth Orbit).

• The decision to rename the rocket was to remove the confusion regarding the type of orbits identified for launch.

• A GSLV – for the GEO orbit – will continue to be called so, but the GSLV-Mark III has been renamed as LVM3. The LVM3 will go everywhere —GEO, MEO, LEO, missions to the moon, sun.

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to AUKUS

1. The primary focus of the AUKUS is submarine technology development

2. There is a second pillar for broader technology cooperation

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. 1 only

b. 2 only

c. Both 1 and 2

d. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (c)

Explanation:

AUKUS Focus Is On Submarine Tech., There Is No Room For A Fourth Nation’

• The primary focus of the AUKUS arrangement between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. is submarine technology development, and within that there is no room for a fourth country, diplomatic sources said on any potential collaboration between the alliance and India.

• There is a second pillar for broader technology cooperation where there is room for cooperation with other countries, including India. The pillar-2 is for cooperation in technologies like electronic warfare, cyberspace and quantum, and under that, there is a room for more partners.

• Recently, the three AUKUS partners announced their implementation plan to equip Australia with SSN class nuclear attack submarines.

• Under this, Australia will receive at least three second-hand SSNs from the U.S. in the 2030s as an interim measure, and five new SSNs to be designed and developed by the U.K. from the early 2040s to the late 2050s.

AUKUS is not a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for the Indo- Pacific. Rather, it is focused on technology and is very specific about developing strategically important capabilities to maintain stability, a diplomatic source said. On the other hand, the Quad is a broader collaboration at the political level.

Official sources too stated that cooperation between India and the U.S. on such a sensitive technology as the SSN is unlikely, given the U.S. regulatory frameworks and India’s strategic autonomy.

India has its own indigenous programme for the design and development of SSNs, which will give the Indian Navy unlimited endurance underwater.

India is currently looking at procuring six advanced conventional submarines to arrest its depleting submarine strength, and also speeding up its SSN programme.

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to

biotransformation technology recently seen in news

1. Plastics made using this technology self-destructs and bio transforms into bioavailable wax

2. Microorganisms convert this wax into water, CO2, and biomass

3. This process leaves harmful microplastics

Which among the following statements is/are correct?

a. 1 and 2 only

b. 2 and 3 only

c. 1 and 3 only

d. 1, 2 and 3

Answer (a)

Explanation:

What is biotransformation technology and how can it reduce packaging waste?

• A U.K.-based startup claims to have developed biotransformation technology that can alter the state of plastics and make them biodegradable without leaving behind any microplastics. Food packaging and health care industries could greatly benefit from such an innovation.

• The company calls the process “biotransformation”. It claims the technology would digest the plastic packaging waste naturally with the help of microbes and biodegrade the waste without leaving behind any microplastics.

What Is Biotransformation Technology?

• Biotransformation technology is a novel approach to ensure plastics that escape refuse streams are processed efficiently and broken down. The tech was co-developed by the Imperial College in London, U.K., and a Britain-based startup, Polymateria.

• Plastics made using this technology are given a pre-programmed time during which the manufactured material looks and feels like conventional plastics without compromising on quality. Once the product expires and is exposed to the external environment, it self- destructs and bio transforms into bioavailable wax. This wax is then consumed by microorganisms, converting waste into water, CO2, and biomass.

• This biotransformation technology is the world’s first that ensures polyolefins fully biodegrade in an open environment causing no microplastics.

Why Do We Need It?

• Last year in New Delhi, India’s Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that the country is generating 3.5 billion kgs of plastic waste annually and that the per capita plastic waste generation has doubled in the past five years. Of this, a third comes from packaging waste.

• In 2019, plastic packaging waste from e-commerce firms was estimated at over a billion kilograms worldwide, according to Statista.

Where Can This Technology Be Used?

• Food packaging and health care industries are the two prime sectors that could use this technology to reduce waste. The increase in cost is relatively small compared to conventional plastic that does not contain this technology.

• Some well-known Indian firms in the food and packaging industries deploy such technologies. Within the healthcare and pharma industries, this technology provides biodegradable solutions for non- woven hygiene products like diapers, sanitary napkins, facial pads, etc.

Are We Heading In The Right Direction?

• The Indian government has launched multiple initiatives to move the country towards sustainability. They have introduced a plastic waste management gazette to help tackle the ever-growing plastic pollution caused by single-use plastics. Additionally, last year, the government imposed a ban on single-use plastics to bring a stop to its use in the country.

• The National Dashboard on Elimination of Single Use Plastic and Plastic Waste Management brings all stakeholders together to track the progress made in eliminating single-use plastic and effectively managing such waste.

• An Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) portal helps in improving accountability, traceability, and facilitating ease of compliance reporting in relation to EPR obligations of the producers, importers and brand-owners.

• India has also developed a mobile app to report single use plastics grievances to check sale, usage or manufacturing of single use plastics in their area.

What Are The Alternatives To Reducing Plastic Waste?

• Char Dham plan: Visitors will scan a QR code on each plastic bottle and multi-layer plastic bag (of chips or biscuits) and pay a deposit over the maximum retail price (MRP). They can claim this amount back as a refund when they deposit the waste at a point at the end of the yatra. Up to 45 lakh QR codes are expected to be printed this year.

• A Switch To Jute Or Paper-based packaging could potentially cut down plastic waste. This could also build sustainability within the paper industry, and save on the import bill on ethylene solutions. The wooden packaging is yet another alternative, but that will make the packaging bulkier and increase cost.

• The Government of Tamil Nadu, in Chennai, organized a National Expo and Conference of Startups to raise awareness on alternatives to single-use plastics. The alternatives showcased were made using coir, bagasse, rice and wheat bran, plant and agricultural residue, banana and areca leaves, jute and cloth.

Q5. Consider the following statements with respect to

1. The IMF basically lends money in the form of special drawing rights (SDRs)

2. SDRs simply represent a basket of seven currencies including dollar

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. 1 only

b. 2 only

c. Both 1 and 2

d. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (a)

Explanation:

Understanding IMF Bailouts

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week confirmed a $3 billion bailout plan for Sri Lanka’s struggling economy. IMF officials are also in negotiations with Pakistan for a $1.1 billion bailout plan as the country faces a severe economic crisis marked by a falling currency and price rise.

Why Do Nations Seek An IMF Bailout?

• Countries seek help from the IMF usually when their economies face a major macroeconomic risk, mostly in the form of a currency crisis. For instance in the case of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, both countries have witnessed domestic prices rise rapidly and the exchange value of their currencies drop steeply against the U.S. dollar.

How Does The IMF Help Countries?

• The IMF basically lends money, often in the form of special drawing rights (SDRs), to troubled economies that seek the lender’s assistance. SDRs simply represent a basket of five currencies, namely the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Chinese yuan, the Japanese yen, and the British pound.

• The IMF carries out its lending to troubled economies through a number of lending programs such as the extended credit facility, the flexible credit line, the stand-by agreement, etc.

• Countries receiving the bailout can use the SDRs for various purposes depending on their individual circumstances. Currently, both Sri Lanka and Pakistan are in urgent need for U.S. dollars to import essential items and also to pay their foreign debt. So any money that they receive from the IMF is likely to go towards addressing these urgent issues.

Q6. Which of the following was the primary aim of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when it was first set up?

a. To become a lender of last resort to countries dealing with severe currency crises

b. To bring about international economic coordination to prevent competing currency devaluation by countries

c. To promote growth of capitalism and democracy across the world

d. To counter communist economic policies

Answer (b)

Explanation:

The IMF was set up in 1945 out of the Bretton Woods conference. The primary goal of the IMF back then was to bring about international economic coordination to prevent competing currency devaluation by countries trying to promote their own exports. Eventually, the IMF evolved to be a lender of last resort to governments of countries that had to deal with severe currency crises.