April 02 2025 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Option (b) is correct

• Greenland is the largest island on Earth, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, acting as a bridge between North America and Europe.
• It is home to the northernmost point of land in the world, Kaffeklubben Island.
• Kaffeklubben Island is 37 km (20 nautical miles) east of Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland.
• Kaffeklubben (Danish: “Coffee Club”) was discovered in 1900 by Robert E. Peary, the American Arctic explorer.

Answer: (b) It is the northernmost point of land in the world; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statements 1 and 2 are incorrect, but Statement 3 is correct

• Gounsa Temple, meaning “Solitary Cloud Temple,” was built in 681 A.D. during the Shilla dynasty.
• The temple housing a stone Buddha statue built in the 8^th century is nestled at the foot of Deungun Mountain in Uiseong, southeastern South Korea.
• Cultural Significance: While it doesn’t house structures from the Shilla period, it is home to several renowned cultural assets built in later periods.
• Joseon Dynasty Pavilions: Gaunru Pavilion (1668) and Yeonsujeon Pavilion (1904), both designated national treasures, are protected cultural heritage with state maintenance.
• Gounsa Temple serves as the headquarters of the 16th District of the Jogye-jong Order, Korea’s largest Buddhist order.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect, but statement 4 is correct

• Solid pseudopapillary epithelial neoplasms (SPEN):
  • SPEN of the pancreas are rare pancreatic tumors described by the WHO as low-grade malignant tumors.
  • These were previously known by various names, including solid and cystic tumors of the pancreas, Frantz tumors, solid and papillary epithelial neoplasms, Hamoudi tumors, and papillary-cystic tumors.
  • They tend to affect young women in the 2nd or 3rd decade of life and rarely affect children or men.
  • Symptoms: Patients may experience vague abdominal pain, a palpable mass, or be asymptomatic.
  • Treatment: Complete surgical removal of the tumour remains the only definitive treatment.

Statement 2 is correct

• Whipple Operation:
  • It is also called pancreaticoduodenectomy. It’s often used to treat pancreatic cancer that hasn’t spread beyond the pancreas.
  • It involves removing the head of the pancreas, the 1st part of the small intestine, gallbladder and bile duct.
  • It is a complex operation, and performing it laparoscopically further elevates the complexity.

Statement 3 is correct

• Laparoscopic Operation:
  • Minimally invasive surgical technique that uses small incisions instead of a large open cut.
  • In this method, surgeons insert a laparoscope (a thin, flexible tube with a camera and light) and specialised surgical instruments into the body through small incisions.
  • The camera provides a magnified, high-definition view of the internal organs on a screen, allowing precise surgical procedures with minimal trauma.

Answer: (c) 2, 3 and 4 only; Difficulty Level: Hard

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Adulteration refers to the process of deliberately adding harmful, inferior, or non-authentic substances to an original product, usually to increase the quantity or reduce the cost.
  • Adulteration can happen in food, beverages, medicines, and even cosmetics.
• Adulterants: The ingredients added to adulterate a product are known as adulterants.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Types and Examples of Adulterants:
  • Intentional Adulterants: Sand, stones, mud, talc, chalk powder, water, mineral oil and harmful colour.
  • Incidental Adulterants: Pesticide residues, droppings of rodents, larvae in foods.
  • Metallic Contaminants: Arsenic from pesticides, lead from water, effluent from industries, tin from cans.

Statement 3 is correct

• Food Adulteration:
  • It refers to the alteration of food quality that takes place deliberately for economic advantage.
  • It can be done by food substitution with inferior quality or less valued food, using artificial ripening and sweetening to increase food palatability, etc.
    • Calcium carbide is a chemical used to ripen fruits artificially.

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

Explanation

Option (c) is correct

• Sukhatal Lake:
  • Freshwater Lake: Located in Nainital, surrounded by dense pine and oak forests.
  • Feeder Lake for Naini: Acts as upstream storage during monsoons, preventing erosion & silt depostion.
  • Previously known as Khudariya Tal, renamed Sukha Tal due to complete drainage into Naini Lake.
    • Dumping of construction waste has damaged its lakebed and recharge capacity.
• Naini Lake:
  • Natural freshwater crescent-shaped lake, tectonic in origin, with the deepest point reaching 89 feet.
  • Location: Nainital, Uttarakhand, surrounded by seven hills.
  • Hydrology: Fed by 26 major drains, with subsurface inflows & outflows balancing ~50% of its water.
  • Usage: Supplies ~76% of Nainital’s drinking water demand; supports tourism and recreation.

Answer: (c) It acts as a feeder lake for Naini Lake; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Option (b) is correct

• ‘Baalpan ki Kavita’ was launched to restore & promote Indian rhymes for young children.
• Objective: To provide young learners with joyful and contextually relevant learning material, helping them connect with their cultural roots while making foundational education engaging.
• Ministry: Implemented by Department of School Education & Literacy under Ministry of Education.
• Collaborating Platform: The initiative is run in collaboration with MyGov to invite public contributions.

Answer: (b) Ministry of Education; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Gold Monetization Scheme (GMS) was launched in 2015 modifying the “Gold Deposit Scheme (GDS)” and Gold Metal Loan Scheme (GML).
• Objective: To mobilise gold held by the country’s households and institutions and facilitate its use for productive purposes, as well as to reduce the country’s reliance on gold imports in the long run.
• 3 Components of Scheme:
  • Short-term bank deposit (1-3 years)
  • Medium-term government deposit (5-7 years)
  • Long-term government deposit (12-15 years)

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Interest Rates Offered: GMS allows gold depositors to earn interest on their bank deposit accounts.
  • Short Term Deposits: The interest rate is decided by the banks on the basis of the prevailing international lease rates, other costs, market conditions, etc., and is borne by the banks.
  • Medium and Long Term Deposits: The Interest rate was decided by the government, in consultation with the RBI and borne by the Central government.
    • The interest rate was fixed at 2.25% for medium-term bonds and 2.5% for long-term bonds.

Statement 3 is correct

• Minimum Limit: 10 gm of raw gold (bars, coins, jewellery excluding stones and other metals).
• Maximum Limit: There was no maximum limit for deposits under the scheme.
• Eligible Banks: All Scheduled Commercial Banks, excluding Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).
• Eligibility for Depositing: Individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), Proprietorship & Partnership firms, Trusts, including Mutual Funds/Exchange Traded Funds registered under SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations, Companies, charitable institutions, Central Government, State Government, etc.
  • Joint deposit of two or more eligible depositors is allowed under the scheme.

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