February 05 2025 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• About H1B Visa Program–Validity and Extensions: The visa is initially valid for three years, with a one-time extension option for an additional three years, making six years the general maximum duration.

Statement 2 is correct

• Green Card: H-1B visa holders can apply for a Green Card (Lawful Permanent Residency) for themselves and eligible family members, allowing a path to longer-term residency.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• There is no limit on the total number of H-1B visas an individual can hold over their lifetime, as long as each visa term follows standard application and approval procedures.

Statement 4 is correct

• Indians are the largest beneficiaries, making up over 70% of H-1B petitions since 2015.

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

Explanation

Countries 1 and 2 are correct

• The US, under Trump, signed an executive order to exit WHO, citing COVID-19 mishandling and needed reforms.
• About World Health Organisation (WHO):
  • WHO is a specialised agency of the UN responsible for international public health.
  • It was established on 7 April 1948. The day is now being celebrated every year as World Health Day.
  • Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
  • The World Health Report (WHR) is a series of annual reports produced by the WHO.
  • Upon the US withdrawl, it will have 193 members (including India). All UN member states except for Liechtenstein (192 countries), plus Cook Island and Niue.
  • It became the first specialised agency of the UN to which every member subscribed.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Extra-Long Staple (ELS) Cotton:
  • Derived from Gossypium barbadense, also known as Egyptian or Pima cotton, it is a premium cotton variety with fibre lengths of 30 mm and above.
• Characteristics:
  • Longer fibres ensure finer, stronger, and smoother yarns.
  • Used in luxury textiles due to superior quality and durability.
  • Does not require intense finishing, preserving natural softness and strength.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Major Producers: Egypt, China, Australia, Peru, and US
• Indian Regions: Limited cultivation in Atpadi taluka (Maharashtra), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Karna-taka, and Madhya Pradesh.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Sagarmala project is a port-led development programme of Ministry of Shipping.
• A Shipping ministry study has claimed that the project could lead to an annual saving of Rs 40,000 crore by optimizing logistics.

Statement 2 is correct

• Need for such a project:
  • Currently 95% of India’s trade by value and 70 % by volume take place through maritime transport.
  • India is lacking the high quantity of international trade via coastal line due to the lack of infrastructure facilities and advanced coastal technologies.
  • The cost of shipping/evacuating goods through Indian maritime transport is quite high.
• Objectives of the project:
  • Augmenting operational efficiency of ports (more terminals for loading and unloading cargo)
  • Optimizing logistics (rails, roads and inland waterways).
  • Identify capacity additions (more ports wherever viable).
  • Modernize India’s Ports so that port-led development can be augmented.

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

Explanation

Option (b) is correct

• Astronomers have discovered Gaia BH3, a massive black hole located about 2,000 light years away in the constellation Aquila, using the ESA Gaia spacecraft.
• Gaia Spacecraft: A European Space Agency mission launched in 2013 to map the Milky Way by ob-serving the motions of billions of stars.
• Astronomical Significance:
  • Gaia BH3 is the first black hole found in the Milky Way’s outer reaches, and its mass exceeds Cygnus X-1, the previous largest known black hole in the galaxy.
  • Unlike other black holes, Gaia BH3 doesn’t show X-ray emissions, indicating it isn’t actively consuming surrounding matter.

Answer: (b) European Space Agency (ESA); Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Option (a) is correct

• Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun like planets, but they are much smaller than planets and are irregular shaped (not all round like planets).
• Formed around 4.6 billion years ago, they are remnants of protoplanetary disk- the cloud of gas and dust from which the sun and planets formed.
• Size: Some are tiny, only a few metres across while others can be several kilometres wide.
• Asteroids are divided into three categories:
  • Asteroids in the main asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter.
  • Trojans (name comes from Greek mythology), which are asteroids that share an orbit with a larger planet.
  • Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA): It has orbits that pass close to the Earth.
• Earth Crossers: Those that cross the Earth’s orbit. More than 10,000 such asteroids are known, of which over 1,400 are classified as potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs).

Answer: (a) A type of asteroid that shares an orbit with a larger planet; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• The difference between the total expenditure of the government and the total receipts (excluding borrowings) is called fiscal deficit.
• To fund its fiscal deficit, the government mainly borrows money from the bond market.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• There is a strong direct relationship between the government’s fiscal deficit and inflation in the country.
• Role of Fiscal Deficit:
  • Fiscal deficit (FD) is indicative of fiscal discipline upheld by the government.
  • The less the FD, the more the confidence to lenders and drives down the government’s borrowing cost.
  • A high fiscal deficit can also adversely affect the ability of the government to manage its overall public debt.
  • A lower fiscal deficit may help the government to sell its bonds overseas more easily and access cheaper credit.

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

• In Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), genetic material (DNA) is altered or artificially introduced using genetic engineering techniques.
• Genetic modification involves the mutation, insertion, or deletion of genes.
• Inserted genes usually come from a different organism (e.g. In Bt cotton, Bt genes from bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis are induced).
• Genetic modification is done to induce a desirable new trait which does not occur naturally in the species.

All applications are correct

• GM techniques are used in:
  • Biological and medical research,
  • Production of pharmaceutical drugs,
  • Experimental medicine (e.g. gene therapy),
  • Agriculture (e.g. golden rice, Bt cotton etc.),
  • Genetically modified bacteria to produce the protein insulin,
  • To produce biofuels from some GM bacteria, etc.

Answer: (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4; Difficulty Level: Easy