December 25-26 2023 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• It is a Yemeni island in the Red Sea between the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, connecting Asia, Africa, and the Gulf.
• “Socotra” originated from “Dvipa – Sakhadara”, meaning ‘Island Abode of Bliss’ with significant ancient Indian trade links.

Statement 2 is correct

• It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a vibrant and rare biodiversity.
• The island designated as a World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2008.
• Socotra got its governorate status in 2013 and has seen significant investments from the UAE.

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

• ASEAN was established on 8th August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration (a.k.a ASEAN Declaration) by the founding fathers of the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines. The preceding organisation was the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA) comprising of Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia.
• ASEAN has five free trade agreements (FTAs) with six Dialogue Partners, namely China, Japan, Republic of Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Answer: (c) 1, 3, 4 and 5; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• The bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata), also known as zati, is a species of macaque endemic to southern India.
• They are found in a variety of habitats, including evergreen high forest and dry deciduous forest of the Western Ghat Mountains.
• They are distributed throughout southern India in a territory, restricted to the Indian Ocean on three sides as well as the Godavari and Tapti Rivers.

Statement 2 is correct

• They are highly arboreal and are strong swimmers.
• They feed on fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers, invertebrates and cereals.
• Bonnet macaques are diurnal, arboreal and terrestrial quadrupeds, although they spend much of their time on the ground.
• These highly social creatures form groups of 30 individuals on average, consisting of multiple males and females.

Statement 3 is correct

• Main threat to them is human-animal conflict in agricultural and urban areas.
• They are hunted, and live macaques are also traded for research and road shows.

Statement 4 is incorrect

• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the bonnet macaque as vulnerable.

Answer: (c) All ; Difficulty level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• PLI scheme incentivizes companies for incremental sales of domestically manufactured products.
• The scheme aims to attract foreign and domestic investment.
• The concerned Ministries/Departments will implement the PLI schemes.

Statement 2 is correct

• India has refrained from signing the pledge to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030 because it wanted a smooth transition to renewables rather than a drastic one.

Statement 3 is correct

• A solar park is a large land area with shared infrastructure such as transmission facilities, roads, water, drainage, communication networks, and necessary statutory clearances.
• Development of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects is a scheme rolled out by Ministry of New & Renewable Energy on 12-12-2014.
• Under the scheme, it was proposed to set up at least 25 Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects targeting 20,000 MW of solar power installed capacity within a span of 5 years starting from 2014-15.
• The capacity of the Scheme was enhanced from 20,000 MW to 40,000 MW on 21-03-2017. These parks are proposed to be set up by 2025-26.
• The scheme envisages supporting the States/UTs in setting up solar parks at various locations in the country with a view to create required infrastructure for setting up of solar power projects.

Statement 4 is incorrect

• Green Energy Corridor was launched to synchronise electricity produced from renewable sources with conventional power stations in the grid.
• It comprises both Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) and Intra State Transmission System (InSTS), along with the setting up of a Renewable Energy Management Centre (REMC).

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana is a Sub-Scheme of Samarthya under Mission Shakti.
• Mission Shakti is a scheme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Its aim is to strengthen the interventions for women’s safety, security, and empowerment.
• It will be implemented during the 15^th Finance Commission period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana:
  • A maternity benefits program by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in which a cash incentive of ₹ 5000/- to Pregnant Women of 19 years of age or above for the first live birth. The incentive is provided in three instalments and is to be claimed within 150 days, 180 days, and at childbirth respectively.
  • The scheme is aimed at women who were working and had to experience a wage loss due to pregnancy. The incentive can be used to meet the daily requirement of nourishment of pregnant women.
  • PMMVY is implemented through the Anganwadi Centers (AWC). It is being implemented in States / UTs in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare & Empowerment and the Department of Health & Family Welfare.

Statement 2 is correct

• GoI aims to establish 17000 Crèches across the country as part of the Palna programme.
• The erstwhile National Creche Scheme has been reorganized and renamed as Palna Scheme under the sub-scheme ‘Samarthya’ of ‘Mission Shakti’.
• Under Palna Scheme, the provision of Anganwadi cum Creches has been introduced.
• Further, the crèches which were running under the erstwhile National Creche Scheme have been included as Stand Alone Creches.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Nodal Ministry for Palna Scheme is Ministry of Women & Child Development.
• It’ll be Implemented by State Governments. The State Governments could implement the Scheme through other suitable voluntary/ non-governmental organizations.

Statement 4 is incorrect

• Palna scheme focuses on children of 6months-6years of working women in rural and urban areas who are employed for a minimum period of 15 days in a month, or six months in a year.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• WHO added R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine to its list of prequalified vaccines.
• The vaccine is developed by Oxford University and manufactured by Serum Institute of India.
• It is the world’s second WHO-recommended malaria vaccine, after RTS, S/AS 01.
• The new vaccine will be sold under the brand Mosquirix.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• This vaccine is meant for children under the age of five years.
• It has three primary doses and a booster shot after a year.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• The Vaccine is specific to Plasmodium falciparum. So, it cannot be used to prevent infections caused by other malaria parasites like Plasmodium vivax.

Statement 4 is correct

• The Vaccine uses the same adjuvant, Matrix M, as the COVID-19 vaccine, Novavax, a version of which was also rolled out by SII.
• Adjuvant is a substance that is added to a vaccine to enhance the immune response to the vaccine.
• Matrix M: It is a proprietary saponin-based adjuvant from Novavax, licensed to the SII for use in endemic countries, while Novavax retains commercial rights in non-endemic countries.

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

Explanation

• At the recent COP28 (UAE), NASA and IBM announced an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool called watsonx.ai that will do weather forecasting more accurately.
• It will be available on the open-source AI platform Hugging Space.
• Watsonx.ai enables users to monitor Earth from space, assessing past environmental changes and providing predictions for the future.

Answer: (d) It is an AI Tool that will do weather forecasting more accurately; Difficulty Level: Medium