February 14 2024 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation 

Statement 1 is correct 

• The e-Jagriti platform has case filing, online fee payment, case monitoring modules for seamless disposal of cases by all the Commissions.  
• It has Smart search facility on archived consumer complaints/cases/judgements using AI technology for metadata and keyword creation, and Voice-to-text conversion of judgements, case history and other details using AI/ML technology. 
• The portal will integrate a Virtual court facility for a convenient and accessible resolution of consumer complaints, reducing the time of disposal, multiple hearings, and physical court appearances, bringing effective and fast decisions & disposals in all Consumer Commissions. 

Statement 2 is incorrect 

• It is an initiative of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution. 
• It is a portal for consumer commissions. 
• This portal has been designed to further improve the customer experience. 
• It provides a simple, fast, and cost-effective consumer dispute redressal software solution at all levels. 

Statement 3 is correct 

• Leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the platform also facilitates predictive judgments, fostering efficiency and innovation in the dispute resolution landscape.
• It is developed, designed and maintained by National Informatics Centre, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.
• It is envisaged to integrate consumer grievance platforms, namely, the Online Case Monitoring System (OCMS), E-Daakhil, the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) Case Monitoring System, CONFONET website, mediation application, on a single platform.
  

  Key Facts about the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC): It is a quasi-judicial commission in India which was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. Its head office is in New Delhi. The Commission is headed by a sitting or retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India or a sitting or retired Chief Justice of the High Court. Any person aggrieved by an order of NCDRC may prefer an appeal against such an order to the Supreme Court of India within 30 days.

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

Explanation

• World Restoration Flagships is an initiative under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
• The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a global movement coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
• The United Nations has recognized seven initiatives from regions spanning Africa, and Latin America, the Mediterranean, and Southeast Asia as World Restoration Flagships.
• These initiatives, aimed at reviving ecosystems on the brink of degradation, hold promise for environmental conservation and socio-economic development.
• The combined efforts of these initiatives are projected to restore approximately 40 million hectares of land and generate around 500,000 employment opportunities.

Answer: (b) 2 and 4 Only; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• Baltic Sea is the arm of the North Atlantic Ocean.
• It extends northward from the latitude of southern Denmark almost to the Arctic Circle and separates the Scandinavian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe.
• It is the largest expanse of brackish water in the world.
• Bordering countries:
  • Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany.
• It has two large arms, the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland.
• The scientists have recently found a mysterious Stone Age wall one-km-long wall in Baltic Sea.
• Stone Age wall discovered beneath Baltic Sea in Germany, believed to be oldest megastructure in Europe.

Answer: (a) Baltic Sea; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• Kaji Nemu (Citrus Limon) is popular for its unique aroma and health benefits.
• It has been traditionally associated with the Assamese cuisines.
• It was recently accorded state fruit status by the Assam state government.
• The fruit is a powerhouse of nutrients, boosting health benefits.
• It is mainly grown at Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Cachar, Chirang, Nalbari and Dima Hasao districts of Assam.
• It was granted Geographical Indications (GI) tag in 2019.

Answer: (b) Assam; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Currently, most stem cell therapy utilizes adult stem cells found in blood, bone marrow, or fat tissues. These are readily available and less ethically controversial than embryonic stem cells (ESCs).
• induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) development: While iPSCs, created by reprogramming adult cells to an embryonic-like state, offer potential advantages, they are still in their early stages of clinical development and face challenges like potential tumour formation.
• Limited applications: The use of iPSCs in current approved stem cell therapies is minimal, with most available treatments relying on adult stem cells.
• Therefore, while Stem Cell Therapy is promising, relying primarily on iPSCs is not an accurate representation of its current state.

Statement 2 is correct

• Stem cells are the body’s raw materials, cells from which all other cells with specialized functions are generated.
• Under the right conditions in the body or a laboratory, stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells.
• Stem cell therapy, also known as regenerative medicine, promotes the repair response of diseased, dysfunctional or injured tissue using stem cells or their derivatives.
• Stem cells can then be implanted into a person.
• For example, Mumbai baby boy was injected with 40 million stem cells and gradually the lungs began to repair. In this case, doctors used mesenchymal stem-cell therapy (these are adult stem cells and are different from Embryonic stem cells) on an experimental basis.
  

  Through more equitable investments, researchers hope menstruation will be recognised as a new frontier in regenerative medicine.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices.
• MSP are announced by the Government at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
• The major objectives are to support the farmers from distress sales and to procure food grains for public distribution.
• The MSPs based on cost-plus pricing, without any consideration to market demand.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices.
• MSP protects the producer (farmers) against distress sale during bumper production years.
• MSPs have no statutory backing, i.e. a farmer cannot demand MSP as a matter of right.
• The Centre announces the MSP for 22 mandated crops. These include:
• 14 kharif crops (paddy, jowar, bajra, maize, ragi, tur/arhar, moong, urad, groundnut, soyabean, sunflower, sesamum, niger seed, cotton).
• 6 rabi crops (wheat, barley, gram, masur/lentil, rapeseed and mustard,and safflower).
• 2 commercial crops (jute and copra).

Statement 3 is incorrect

• The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs announces the MSP at the start of each sowing season, taking into account the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

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

Explanation

• The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has released new images of M87, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy (Messier 87).
• The EHT is not a single telescope but a worldwide network of radio telescopes that work together to study a common object in space.
• Very-long baseline interferometry: It is the technique, where the data each telescope collects about the object is correlated with data from the others using extremely precise clocks.
• In this setup, the maximum distance between the telescopes defines the network’s resolution.
• The Greenland Telescope has been commissioned to the array, which has improved the resolution of the EHT in the north-south direction.

Answer: (a) Black Hole; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• The foundations of NATO were officially laid down in 1949 to counter the Soviet Union with Cold War tensions rising with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, more popularly known as the Washington Treaty.
• If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations.
• These are carried out under the Collective Defence clause of NATO’s founding treaty, i.e. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.

Statement 2 is correct

• NATO currently has 31 members – most of them European nations, plus the United States and Canada.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• The newest member is Finland, which joined in 2023 in reaction to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
• Sweden applied to join along with Finland but is waiting for Hungary to ratify its application as the final major step before membership.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• It is a fungal disease caused by the pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT).
• It was first identified in Brazil in 1985.
• It is a fast-acting and devastating disease that poses a significant threat to wheat crops, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions.

Statement 2 is correct

• How does it spread?
  • It spreads via infected seeds, posing threat to new crops as the fungus can persist within them.
  • Airborne spores are key in wheat blast transmission, travelling long distances and swiftly infecting nearby wheat fields upon release.
  • Infected crop residues containing the fungus aid in disease spread by surviving and infecting new plants under favourable conditions.
  • Warmer temperatures and prolonged leaf moisture aid wheat blast pathogen spread, fostering disease growth.
  • Also, international wheat trade has been a cause in some countries like Bangladesh and Zambia.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Progressive bleaching of heads, where infected spikes show a silvery appearance with a green canopy, turning partially or fully bleached in severe cases.
• Infected plants exhibit discoloured stems and leave with dark brown lesions and visible dark grey fungal spores.

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