February 06 2024 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• The black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis) is a medium-sized crane that is native to Asia and endemic to Tibetan Plateau.

• This species is found in India, China and Bhutan and breeds in high altitude wetlands in the Tibetan plateau at elevations.
• A small wintering population is also found in Sangti and Zimithang valleys of Arunachal Pradesh in India.
• It is listed in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
• It is listed in Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora and the Convention on conservation of Migratory Species.

Statement 2 is correct

• The Tso Kar Wetlands Complex is an important foraging and breeding ground for Black-necked Crane has been designated as a Ramsar Site.
• This high-altitude wetland complex is found at more than 4,500 metres above sea level in the Changthang region of Ladakh.
• The complex includes two connected lakes, the freshwater Startsapuk Tso and the larger hypersaline Tso Kar, it presents a notable example of two such lakes existing in close proximity.
• Inhabiting the Site are numerous threatened species including the endangered saker falcon (Falco cherrug) and Asiatic wild dog or dhole (Cuon alpinus laniger), and the vulnerable snow leopard (Panthera uncia).

Statement 3 is correct

• The assessment was recently carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India and the Zoological Survey of India.
• As per the survey conducted by Wildlife Institute of India in 2016-2017 in Ladakh region, the population size of black necked crane was around 66-69 individuals.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• A Ramsar site is a wetland that has been designated as being of international importance.
• The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
• It is named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the Caspian Sea, where the treaty was signed on February 2, 1971.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• The Ramsar sites are maintained in the Montreux Record to track any major ecological changes that might affect any of the wetland sites positively or in a reverse way.
• The Ramsar convention entered into force in India on 1 February 1982.
• India currently has 80 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), this is the highest in South Asia.
• The total number of Ramsar sites in Tamil Nadu is 16, highest in India.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Renuka Wetland (0.2 sq. km) of Himachal Pradesh is the smallest Ramsar Site in India, followed by Chandertal Wetland (0.49 sq. km) in Himachal Pradesh.

Statement 4 is incorrect

• The countries with the most Sites are the United Kingdom with 175 and Mexico with 142.
• The United Kingdom has the most number of Ramsar sites in the earth.
• The world’s first Ramsar Site was the Cobourg Peninsula in Australia, designated in 1974.
• The largest Site is Rio Negro in Brazil (120,000 square kilometres), which is followed by Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Queen Maud Gulf in Canada.

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

Explanation

• Candida Auris is a type of yeast that can cause serious infections, particularly in hospital settings.
• Candida Auris is a fungal infection that may lead to Candidiasis (a dangerous and potentially lethal disease).
• It can persist on surfaces and spread between patients makes containment efforts complex.
• It is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, making it difficult to treat.
• The fungus can infect an open wound or lungs or can enter though bloodstream.
• It has a wide range of symptoms that include fever, chills and body aches.
• Usually, it’s treatment involves antifungal medications, but because of its resistance profile, treatment options can be limited.
• If it is left untreated, it can cause serious complications like sepsis, shock and organ failure.
  

  The recent outbreak of a rare fungal infection Candida Auris has sparked concerns in United States.

Answer: (d) A type of yeast that can cause serious infections; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• The Aldabra Giant Tortoise is the second-largest species of land tortoise in the world, after the Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis niger).
• Habitat: It lives in open grassy areas with trees and bushes or scrub, and swampy mangroves.
• Physical description:
  • They are dark grey to black in colour with a highly domed, thick carapace.
  • Aldabra tortoises are sexually dimorphic, meaning that there are differences in appearance between males and females.
  • Males are considerably larger than females and have longer, thicker tails.
• Distribution: They are found on Aldabra Island. They were apparently introduced to Mauritius and the Reunion Islands.
• Diet: They are grazers and browsers, feeding mainly on grasses and woody plants.

Answer: (d) Aldabra Giant Tortoise; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• ‘Sandhayak’ means the one who carries out a special search.
• 1st of the four ships of SVL Project under construction at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers.
• Role of the Ship,
  • To carry out full scale hydrographic surveys of ports, harbours, navigational channels/routes, coastal areas and deep seas, towards enabling safe marine navigation.
  • Undertaking naval operations.
• It is equipped with state-of-the-art hydrographic equipment including Deep & Shallow Water Multi-Beam Echo-Sounders, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Remotely Operated Vehicle, etc.
• The ship is propelled by two Diesel Engines and can achieve speeds more than 18 knots.
• It has an indigenous content of over 80% by cost.

Answer: (a) India’s first Survey Vessel Large Ship of the Indian Navy; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• The portal is developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), an R&D organization under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Statement 2 is correct

• C-CARES is the web portal for Coal Mines Provident Fund Organization (CMPFO), an autonomous organization working under aegis of the Ministry of Coal.
• CMPFO was established in the year 1948 for administering Provident Fund and Pension schemes for the purpose of providing social security to the coal sector workers.

Statement 3 is correct

• The portal marks a significant leap in the digitization journey of CMPFO aiming to address the long-standing issue of digitizing its records and work processes.
• With launch of the portal, settlement of PF and pension claims will now be processed and settled online.
• It will facilitate faster processing, transparency in operations, better record management and monitoring.
• It will also instil confidence in the subscribers and pensioners.
• At present, CMPFO process settlement claims of Provident Fund subscribers and pensioners manually.

Answer: (c) All; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is the percentage of deposits that banks are required to maintain with the central bank.
• By lowering the CRR, the central bank essentially releases more funds that banks can lend out. This, in turn, leads to an expansion of the money supply in the economy.
• As a result, the lower CRR reserved with the central bank leads to higher overall liquidity in the economy, which increases the money supply.

Answer: (b) Money Supply increases; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• PMAY-G instead of selecting the beneficiary from among the BPL households, selects them using housing deprivation parameters in the SECC 2011 which is to be verified by the Gram Sabhas.
• Towards better quality of construction, setting up of a Nation Technical Support Agency (NTSA) at the national level is envisaged.
• Also, a pan-India training and certification programme of Masons has been launched in the States/UTs.

Statement 2 is correct

• In PMAY-G, programme implementation and monitoring are to be carried out through an end-to-end e-Governance model, using AwaasSoft and Awaas App.
• Also, the programme implementation is to be monitored through community participation (Social Audit), Member of Parliament (DISHA Committee), etc.

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