April 01 2025 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Option (d) is correct

• Sarhul festival is a New Year festival celebrated in Jharkhand and the larger Chhotanagpur region.
• Key Features:
  • Sarhul: 3-day festival celebrated by the Oraon, the Munda and the Ho tribes of the Jharkhand.
  • Sarhul, literally “worship of the Sal tree”, is among the most revered Adivasi festivals.
  • Sal trees (Shorea robusta) are seen as the abode of Sarna Maa, the deity protecting the village from inclement natural forces.
  • Celebrated Every Year: In the 1st month of the Hindu calendar, on the 3rd day of the moon or the fortnight of ‘Chaitra, ‘ Sarhul marks the advent of the “Phaagun” (spring season).
  • Marks Beginning of New Year: Only after this festival do new agricultural activities like sowing of seeds, etc., take place.

Answer: (d) Jharkhand; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statements 1, 2 and 4 are correct

• Key Features of Sahkar taxi:
  • Cooperative-based Ride-hailing Platform: Drivers can retain their full earnings.
  • Drivers will be stakeholders, not just workers, with ownership through share capital contributions.
  • Goal: To create a fairer alternative to existing ride-hailing giants like Uber, Ola, and Rapido.
  • At present, Uber and Ola dominate over 50% of the ride-hailing market.
  • Multi-Vehicle Registration: Sahkar Taxi will register two-wheeler, rickshaw, and four-wheeler taxis under a multi-state cooperative society (MSCS).
  • Commission Free Service: Unlike traditional platforms that take commissions of 20%-40% or charge subscription fees, this cooperative model will allow drivers to retain their full earnings.
  • Backed by National Cooperative Development Corporation: It will assist in planning, promotion, and financial support.
  • This will include funding for setting up the platform, developing the mobile app, and providing loans to drivers for vehicle purchases.
• Benefits:
  • It will be the first cooperative to operate at a national scale. It will function like existing ride-hailing services, allowing users to book rides and deliveries via smartphones.
  • It will not only improve driver incomes but also offer more affordable and stable pricing for customers.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Cooperative’s Initial Capital will be raised through share capital contributions from its driver-members, each purchasing shares to become stakeholders in the business.

Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 4; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Both statements are correct

• The AMoRE experiment in South Korea has reported no evidence of neutrinoless double beta decay, setting stringent limits on this elusive subatomic event.
• AMoRE Project:
  • Conducted using molybdenum-100 nuclei (Mo-100) to detect evidence of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (0vßß) by observing energy differences in emitted particles.
  • It is a series of experiments with the 1st phase AMoRE-Pilot operating since 2015.
  • Findings (2025): No evidence found, but experiment refined mass constraints for neutrinos.
  • Future Plans: Increasing material sample size to 100 kg of Mo-100 to improve detection chances.
• Neutrinos:
  • They are subatomic particles like electrons but with an extremely small mass and no electrical charge.
  • Second-most Abundant Particles in the universe after photons, produced in the Big Bang, radioactive decay, cosmic ray interactions, and nuclear fusion in stars.
  • Detection Challenge: Weak interaction with matter makes them difficult to observe, earning them the name “ghost particles.”
• Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (0vßß):
  • Beta Decay: Process where an unstable atomic nucleus emits an electron and an anti-neutrino or a positron and a neutrino.
  • Double Beta Decay: Occurs when two neutrons in a nucleus convert into protons, emitting two electrons and two anti-neutrinos.
  • Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay: Hypothetical process where only two electrons are emitted, proving neutrinos are Majorana particles

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2; Difficulty Level: Hard

Explanation

Pairs 2 and 3 are incorrect

Answer: (b) Only two; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statements 1 and 3 are correct

• The Ministry of Education has banned the use of asbestos in the construction or refurbishment of Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs).
• What is Asbestos?
  • Asbestos: A group of naturally occurring silicate minerals composed of long, thin fibres with different shapes and colours.
  • Chrysotile asbestos is the most used and commercially important type of asbestos nowadays.
  • Key Properties: Resistance to heat and fire, insulation capability, chemical inertness and strength.
  • Applications: Building and construction, shipbuilding, automobile, textiles, electronics, aerospace, mining and milling, and petrochemicals.
• Regulation:
  • Ban: Over 65 countries have implemented bans on its use.
  • Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade lists 5 varieties of asbestos: actinolite, anthophyllite, amosite, crocidolite and tremolite.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Health Concerns:
  • Lung Disease: Exposure to asbestos increases the risk of developing lung disease. It can cause asbestosis, a serious, progressive, long-term, non-cancerous disease of the lungs.
  • Carcinogenic: Asbestos is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, as classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
  • It can cause Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that is found in the thin lining of the lung, chest, abdomen and heart.

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect

• A devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake, followed by at least six aftershocks, struck central Myanmar, claiming over 2000 lives.
• The quake’s epicentre was located 17.2 km from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city.
• What Caused the Earthquake?
  • Strike-Slip Faulting: The Myanmar earthquake took place due to the “strike-slip faulting” between the Indian and Eurasian plates, meaning these two plates rubbed sideways against each other.
  • Sagaing Fault: The quake took place on the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of Myanmar and is prone to earthquakes.
  • The Sagaing fault marks the tectonic plate boundary between the Indian plate to the west and the Eurasian plate to the east.
  • Movement of Indian Plate: It is moving north along the fault compared to the Eurasian plate.
• What is Fault?
  • A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks to move relative to each other.
  • This movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake or may occur slowly, in the form of creep. During an earthquake, rock on one side of the fault suddenly slips with respect to the other.
  • Faults may range in length from a few millimeters to thousands of kilometers. Most faults produce repeated displacements over geologic time.
• Types of Faults:
  1. Normal Fault: A geological fault where the hanging wall moves downward relative to the footwall due to extensional forces. They are typically associated with divergent plate boundaries.
     • E.g., Rio Grande Rift (USA), East African Rift Valley, etc.
  2. Reverse (thrust) Fault: A geological fault where the hanging wall has moved upward relative to the footwall due to compressional forces. E.g., Himalayan Thrust Fault, the San Gabriel Fault (California), etc.
     • When the dip angle is shallow, a reverse fault is often described as a thrust fault.
     • Typically associated with convergent plates where one plate is being subducted under another.
  3. Strike-Slip Fault: A fault on which 2 blocks slide past one another. E.g., San Andreas Fault (California).
  4. Left-lateral strike-slip fault: Displacement of far block is to the left when viewed from either side.
  5. Right-lateral strike-slip fault: Displacement of far block is to right when viewed from either side.

Answer: (c) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect.; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect and statement 2 is correct

• The AI chatbot ChatGPT upgraded its 4o model to include native image generation capabilities, including Studio Ghibli’s iconic animation style.
• What is Studio Ghibli?
  • Studio Ghibli is a renowned and award-winning Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo.
  • Meaning: The name Ghibli comes from a Libyan Arabic word referring to a hot desert wind.
  • Founded by: Animators & directors Miyazaki Hayao & Takahata Isao & producer Suzuki Toshio in 1985.
  • Last year, Miyazaki was honoured with this year’s prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, often referred to as Asia’s Nobel Prize.
• Key Elements of Ghibli Art Style:
  • It features hand-drawn, vivid frames with minimal use of computer techniques.
  • Their animation style is distinguished by meticulous detailing of its human figures, along with soft pastel and muted colour palettes.
  • For example, the Ghibli version of the Dandi March photo will look like this:

Answer: (b) 2 only; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Pair 1 is incorrect

• The Syrian Civil War, ongoing since 2011, has witnessed periods of intense fighting, shifting allegiances, and intermittent ceasefires, the last major one being in 2020.
• The renewed offensive comes amid a strained Russian military presence due to its ongoing conflict in Ukraine, impacting support for Assad. Turkey’s military operations in northern Syria and its backing of opposition groups have played a significant role in destabilising the region.
• Aleppo: The first major city to be captured by Islamist-led rebels in the renewed offensive.
• Currently, Ahmed al-Sharaa is the interim president of Syria and he has announced a transitional government on 29 March 2025 by appointing 23 cabinet ministers.

  

Pair 2 is incorrect

• The conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led to widespread destruction, displacement, and severe humanitarian crises.
• RSF was driven out of most of parts of Khartoum recently, but the leaders said that the war with the army was not over.
• Khartoum is the capital of Sudan.

  

Pair 3 is correct

• Democratic Republic of Congo: DRC is the second-largest country in Africa, bordered by nine countries.
• Historical Conflict: DRC has endured several wars, with the First and Second Congo Wars claiming millions of lives, often fuelled by ethnic tensions and competition for resources.
• M23 rebels have intensified their control in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), capturing Goma in the North Kivu province.
• Economic Challenges: Despite its mineral wealth, DRC remains mired in poverty, corruption, and ongoing conflict, with regions like North and South Kivu often the center of insurgencies.

  

  Source: BBC

Answer: (a) Only one; Difficulty Level: Medium