April 16 2025 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect and statement 2 is correct

• IUCN’s first Green Status assessment has classified the Lion as ‘Largely Depleted’.
• The lion is the second-largest cat species in the world. It is divided into two subspecies: the African lion and the Asiatic lion (Persian or Indian Lion).
• IUCN Green Status is a global standard to assess species recovery, complementing the IUCN Red List.
• Largely Depleted: The Species is no longer ecologically functional across most of its natural range due to human impacts and habitat fragmentation.

Statement 3 is correct

• Report Highlights:
  • Conservation Status: IUCN Green Status assessment: ‘Largely Depleted’ | IUCN: ‘Vulnerable’.
  • Updated Subspecies Classification (2017):
    • Panthera leo leo: Includes West & Central Africa and India.
    • Panthera leo melanochaita: Includes East & Southern Africa.
  • Regional Extinction: Lost from large parts of their historical range, including North Africa, Southwest Asia and much of India except Gir.
  • Human Impact: Human activities continue to limit the lion’s ability to perform its natural ecological role across its range, including habitat fragmentation and population decline.
  • Conservation Successes: Efforts in India, South Africa, and parts of West and Southern Central Africa have prevented local extinctions and stabilised populations in certain regions.

Answer: (d) 2 and 3 only; Difficulty Level: Hard

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect but Statement 2 is correct

• Kerala becomes 1st state to achieve total digital literacy.
• What is Digital Literacy?
  • Digital Literacy: The ability of individuals and communities to understand and use digital technologies for meaningful actions within life situations.
  • It includes basic skills like using smartphones, navigating the internet, using email, and understanding digital safety and privacy.
  • Digitally Literate Household: If at least one person in the household can operate a computer and use the internet (among individuals 5 years of age and older).
  • Objective: To impart basic ICT skills relevant to the needs of the trainees, which would enable them to use IT and related applications to participate actively in the democratic process and further enhance opportunities for their livelihood.

Answer: (a) 1 only; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is a statutory organisation constituted under section 3(1) of the Electricity Supply Act 1948, which has been superseded by section 70(1) of the Electricity Act 2003.
• Composition: It consists of not more than 14 Members (including its Chairperson) of whom not more than 8 shall be full-time Members to be appointed by the Central Government.

Statement 2 is correct

• Role and Functions of CEA:
  • It advises the Central Government on matters relating to the national electricity policy and formulates short-term and long-term plans for developing the electricity system.
  • Specify the technical standards for constructing electrical plants, electric lines and grid connections.
  • Specify safety requirements for the construction, operation and maintenance of electrical plants & lines.
  • Advise the Appropriate Government and the Appropriate Commission on all technical matters relating to electricity generation, transmission and distribution.
  • Promote research in matters affecting electricity generation, transmission, distribution and trading.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• EV Adoption Targets and Projections:
  • Government Targets: 30% for private cars and up to 80% for 2Ws and 3Ws by 2030.
  • Current EV Share: About 8% of total vehicles sold.
  • Forecasted Growth: Expected rise to 45-50 million EVs by 2030 from over 1 million in 2022.

Statement 2 is correct

• Some challenges of EV Adoption:
  • Financial Risk to Automakers: Automakers face cash flow threats due to the delayed EV transition.
  • Grid Load Surge: Transport-related electricity demand may rise by 59% by 2030, straining India’s power grid and risking failure to meet climate targets due to coal-based electricity.
  • Inadequate Charging Infrastructure: India has only ~2,000 public charging stations; investment in infra is 4–7 times more effective than subsidies according to the World Bank.
  • Environmental Trade-offs: EVs can match Internal Combustion Engine emissions if powered by coal; they shift pollution from cities to rural thermal zones without renewable integration.
  • Battery Supply Chain Dependency: India is heavily import-dependent for lithium, cobalt, and nickel, with minimal presence in global battery value chains, increasing strategic risks.

Statement 3 is correct

• Some Govt Initiatives for EVs:
  • National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020
  • E-Amrit portal: Launched at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, it is a one-stop destination for all information on EVS.
  • GST restructuring: GST on EVs has been reduced from 12% to 5%; GST on chargers/ charging stations for electric vehicles has been reduced from 18% to 5% by the GST Council.
  • Global EV30@30 campaign, which aims for at least 30% of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.

Answer: (c) All three; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Option 1 is correct

• Unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS) is sleep where one half of the brain rests while the other half remains alert. This is in contrast to normal sleep where both eyes are shut and both halves of the brain show unconsciousness.
• Dolphins shut down half of their brain, which rests, while the other half is alert and looking out for any potential hazards.
• During this time, dolphins often float motionless at the surface in a behaviour known as “logging”, because they resemble a floating log.
• Among mammals, unihemispheric sleep is restricted to aquatic species (Cetaceans, eared seals and manatees).

Other Options are incorrect

• Elephants are among the lightest sleepers in the animal kingdom. In the wild, they average just two hours of sleep daily, usually split into short naps.
  • Most of their rest happens while standing. They occasionally lie down for deeper sleep.
• Koalas sleep for around 14 hours a day, plus a healthy amount of rest.
  • This is because of their diet, which consists of eucalyptus leaves that take a lot of time and energy to digest.

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

Explanation

Option (c) is correct

• Several species across the animal kingdom are known to detect and respond to electric fields – a sense called electroreception.
• It helps animals navigate, hunt, communicate, and survive in low-visibility environments.
• Researchers have found that fruit fly larvae can sense electric fields and navigate toward the negative electric potential using a small set of sensory neurons in their head.
• Other Species that Can Sense Electric Fields are sharks, platypuses, echidnas, sturgeon, catfish, Bumblebees, Electric eels, Electric rays, elephant nose fish, stingrays, etc.

Answer: (c) Fruit Fly Larvae; Difficulty Level: Hard

Explanation

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

• Scientists have successfully grown miniaturised lasers directly on silicon chips, overcoming a key limitation in silicon photonics.
• What is Silicon Photonics?
  • It is the integration of photonic systems into silicon-based electronic chips for faster data transmission using light instead of electricity.
  • Uses Photons Instead of Electrons because photons carry information faster, with lower energy losses and greater data capacity than electrons.
• Components of a Silicon Photonic Chip:
  • Laser (Light Source): Produces photons, which are the hardest to integrate directly on-chip.
  • Waveguides: Act like wires, directing photon movement.
  • Modulators: Encode/decode data onto/from light by varying its properties like intensity or wavelength.
  • Photodetectors: Convert light signals into electric signals.
• Core Innovation and How It Works?
  • Researchers grew a nano-ridge laser directly onto a 300-mm silicon wafer.
  • The entire process was carried out in standard Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) lines, ensuring compatibility with current semiconductor manufacturing.
  • Wavelength of Light Produced: 1,020 nm, suitable for short-range chip-to-chip communication.

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