February 20 2025 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Option (d) is correct

• The sun or moon can provide directional information via their position; however, they can often be obstructed by clouds, canopy or the horizon.
• Despite being hidden, these bodies can still provide compass information through the polarised light pattern they produce/reflect.
• Sunlight produces polarised light patterns across the overhead sky as it enters the atmosphere, and solar polarised light is a well-known compass cue for navigating animals.
• Moonlight produces an analogous pattern, albeit a million times dimmer than sunlight.
• Recently, the bull ant was discovered as the second animal to find its way by polarised moonlight, after dung beetles.
  • Also known as inch ant, Bull ant is an Australian ant. Guinness World Records listed them as the world’s most dangerous ant due to its extremely aggressive.
  • It is a ‘monogynous ant species’, meaning it has only one queen per colony. However, it is known to survive without a queen.

Answer: (d) Bull ant; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• FCA, 1980 was enacted to protect India’s forests and regulate forest resource extraction by industries and forest-dwelling communities.
• The Act restricts the states and other authorities from allowing de–reservation (i.e., use of forest land for non-forest purposes) without permission from the central government.
  • Non-forest purposes include using land for cultivating horticultural crops or for any purpose other than reafforestation.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• The Act provided that any aggrieved person may file an appeal to the National Green Tribunal against the decision of the State Government or any authority.
  • The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was established under the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010. The NGT is a judicial body that handles environmental disputes in India.
• The Act empowered the Central Government to constitute a committee to advise the Government regarding forest conservation.
• The Act levies penalties in case of violations of the provisions of FCA.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• The Act empowers the Central Government, not Parliament, to make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

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

Explanation

All options are correct

• Panchayati Raj System was introduced through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 as 11th Schedule to the constitution, to establish democratic decentralisation in rural areas, allowing local self-government.
  • Three-tier structure: Gram Panchayat (village level), Panchayat Samiti (block level), and Zila Parishad (district level).
  • Ensures representation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and women (50% reservation).
  • State-specific variations exist, leading to different levels of success.
• Powers & Functions of Panchayat as per the 11th Schedule of the constitution:

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

Explanation

Only options 1 and 4 are correct

• Together, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) form the World Bank.
• IBRD and IDA, along with MIGA, IFC, and ICSID, form the ‘World Bank Group.’

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

Explanation

• Strait of Hormuz, channel link the Persian Gulf (west) with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea (southeast).

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow channel between the Omani Musandam Peninsula and Iran.

• It is of great strategic and economic importance, especially as oil tankers collecting from various ports on the Persian Gulf must pass through the strait.

  

Answer: (a) Iran and Oman; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

• SC imposed a gag order on influencer Ranveer Allahbadia while granting him interim protection from multiple FIRs, sparking debates on free speech and prior restraint in legal proceedings.

Statement 1 is correct

• Prior restraint prohibits free speech before it takes place, restricting expression preemptively.

Statement 2 is correct

• Legal Basis: Imposing prior restraint violates Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, but restrictions must align with Article 19(2), which allows reasonable limits on free speech.
• Cable TV Regulations: Sec. 5 of Cable Television Networks Act, 1995 mandates adherence to a pro-gramme code & Sec. 19 allows banning broadcasts that may incite disharmony or disturb public order.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Burden of Proof: Any law imposing prior restraint must justify its restrictions under Article 19(2) and is generally permitted only in exceptional cases.
• Judicial Test: Courts apply the “proximity test” to assess whether speech has a direct link to public disorder before allowing prior restraint.

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

Explanation

All four countries are correct

• ITER is the world’s largest collaborative fusion research project aimed at proving the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale, carbon-free energy source.
• Established in 1985, it involves seven core members, China, India, EU, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the US.
• Under development since 2005, the facility is expected to achieve deuterium-tritium fusion by 2039, generating 500 MW of fusion power.
• What is a Tokamak?
  • A tokamak is a device that uses magnetic fields to confine plasma for fusion reactions.
  • ITER’s tokamak will be the world’s largest, twice the size of existing machines.
  • Originally developed in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, it remains the most promising design for con-trolled fusion energy.

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

Explanation

Option (a) is correct

• False Killer Whale:
  • Distribution: Found in tropical and temperate waters between latitudes of 30°S and 30 N.

Option (b) is correct

• Habitat: Occur more frequently in deeper open ocean waters; occasionally move into nearshore areas.

Option (c) is incorrect

• Conservation Status: IUCN: Nearly Threatened

Option (d) is correct

• Physical Appearance: Are dark gray, often appearing black; is large and slender & males are slightly larger than females.
• Diet: Variety of fish and squid, sometimes taking large fish species like mahi-mahi, tuna etc.

Answer: (c) They are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN; Difficulty Level: Medium