February 24 2024 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• The Aihole Inscription, also known as the Aihole prashasti, is a nineteen line Sanskrit inscription at Meguti Jain temple in Aihole, Karnataka, India.
• An eulogy dated 634–635 CE, it was composed by the Jain poet Ravikirti in honor of his patron king Pulakesin Satyasraya (Pulakeshin II) of the Badami Chalukya dynasty.
• It speaks in detail the victory of Pulakesin II over Harsha.
• After the victory, Pulakesin II assumed the title of Parameshvara (Supreme Lord).

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Land Governance & Polity
• The empire was divided into Maharashtrakas (provinces), then into smaller Rashtrakas (Mandala), Vishaya (district), Bhoga (group of ten villages) similar to Dasagrama unit of Kadambas.
• Many autonomous regions existed ruled by feudatories like Alupas, Gangas, Banas, and Sendrakas.
• Local assemblies looked after local issues.
• Groups of mahajanas (learned brahmins), looked after agraharas (like Ghatika or place of higher learning) like the ones at Badami (2000 mahajans) and Aihole (500 mahajanas).

Statement 3 is correct

• Society during the Chalukya Dynasty
• The Hindu Caste system appeared and the government recognized prostitution.
• Sati may have been absent as widows like Vinayavathi and Vijayanka are mentioned in records.
• Women enjoyed political power in administration.
• Queens Vijayanka, a noted Sanskrit poetess; Kumkumadevi, the younger sister of Vijayaditya; and Lokamahadevi, queen of Vikramaditya II who fought wars, stand as three examples.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Guru Ravidas was an Indian mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement and founder of the Ravidassia religion during the 15th to 16th century CE.
• Guru Ravidas Jayanti is celebrated yearly on Magh Purnima (full moon day of Magh month).
• Guru Ravidas was born in Varanasi into an untouchable leather-working Chamar caste.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• He valued the worship of a formless God, Nirguna sampradaya (sant parampara).
• The Sikh Holy Book, Guru Granth Sahib ji, compiled by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, contains 41 verses of Guru Ravidas.

Statement 3 is correct

• He was a vocal critique of caste discrimination and gender inequality.
• Guru Ravidas envisioned a society called “Begampura”, a city without grief or fear, where everyone is equal, and discrimination is not tolerated.

Statement 4 is correct

• He is considered a Spiritual Guru of Meera Bai who was the queen of Chittoor.
• Meera broke many social norms of the time.
• She accepted Raidas (Ravidas), a Dalit by birth, as her guru ( Guru Miliyaa Raidasjee ).
• It is believed that it was Raidas who had given her that statue of Krishna, all those years ago when she was a small girl.
• Guru Ravidas’s philosophy of life is reflected in India’s constitutional values of social justice, freedom, equality and fraternity.

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

Explanation

• The Asian giant softshell turtle, commonly as Cantor’s giant softshell turtle and the frog-faced softshell turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle.
• The species is native to South and Southeast Asia.
• Physical Appearance: The turtle has a broad head and small eyes close to the tip of its snout.
  • The carapace is smooth and olive–colored.

• Behaviour: The turtle spends 95% of its life buried and motionless, with only its eyes and mouth protruding from the sand.
• Habitat: Lakes, rivers, estuaries, seacoasts, and occasionally in coastal marine waters.
• Range: Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore (extirpated), Thailand, Vietnam
• Diet: Primarily carnivores (piscivores) feeding on fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. They may also supplement their diet with some aquatic plants.
• Conservation Status: IUCN: Critically Endangered (CR) | WPA: Schedule I | CITES: Appendix II
• Threats: Illegal Poaching, Habitat destruction, etc.

Answer: (c) Asian Turtle Softshell Turtle; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (the Protocol) is a legally binding global agreement that implements the access and benefit-sharing obligations of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• It was adopted by the CBD in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2010 and entered into force on October 12, 2014.
• It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD,
  • the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

Statement 2 is correct

• It applies to genetic resources that are covered by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and to the benefits arising from their utilization.
• It also covers traditional knowledge (TK) associated with genetic resources that are covered by the CBD and the benefits arising from their utilization.
• CBD, with currently 196 contracting parties, is the most comprehensive binding international agreementin the field of nature conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources.

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

Explanation

• Turhā and Karnā are straight trumpets which came to India with the spread of Islam.
• They are used in the Royal Muslim Naubat (wind and drum), temple and procession ensembles.
• The tutari was played as a salute during the reign of the Adilshahi kings of Bijapur (1490-1686).
• In Maharashtra, the turha was a popular instrument in the court of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
• The blowing of the turha heralded the beginning of preparations for a significant journey or work, as well as of battle.

  

• It was also blown to signal the beginning and the end of combat.
• In Popular Culture:
  • Today, the instrument is often used at weddings or other happy occasions, and at political rallies in Maharashtra.
  • The turha was blown as a rallying call at the farmers’ protest of 2020-21.
  • The instrument has featured on the Chhattisgarh float at the Republic Day parade and is played as a ritual musical instrument in Nepal and Sri Lanka as well.

Answer: (a) A straight trumpet which came to India with the spread of Islam; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• It is a Biennial exercise.
• It is a trilateral coast guard exercise between India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
• It was first conducted in 1991 between the Indian and Maldives Coast Guards.
• Sri Lanka joined the exercise for the first time in 2012.
• Dosti was last conducted in 2021.
• Aim and Objectives:
  • The exercises have focused on exercises and drills on providing assistance in sea accidents, eliminating sea pollution, and the coast guard’s procedures and conduct during situations such as oil spills.
  • The aim of the exercise is to further fortify the friendship, enhance mutual operational capability, exercise interoperability and build cooperation between the Coast Guards of India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
• Dosti 16 in 2024, is the 16th edition of the exercise.
• The Coast Guards of the Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka, along with observers from Bangladesh, is participating in Dosti 16 to enhance collaboration between the forces.
• India is sending ICGS Samarth (with integral helo), ICGS Abhinav, and ICG Dornier for the exercise.

Answer: (a) Sri Lanka and Maldives; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• The National Video Gateway of Bharat (NaViGate Bharat) is developed by the New Media Wing of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• It empowers citizens by providing a single platform with an interactive user interface to search, stream, share, and download videos related to various Government schemes, initiatives, and campaigns, with filter-based advanced search option.

Statement 2 is correct

• It is a unified bilingual platform which hosts videos on the entire gamut of Government’s development-related and citizen welfare-oriented measures.
• The portal eliminates the hassle of searching for official and reliable information from multiple sources, providing a one-stop platform for media and the general public.

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

Explanation

• The MakhaBucha (Magh Puja) ceremony is one of the 5 most revered events for Buddhists in Thailand.
• It was conducted by the esteemed Somdet and other senior monks of Thailand.
• The ceremony took place at the SanamLuang Pavilion, Thailand where the holy relics of Lord Buddha and his two disciples, brought from India, are enshrined, symbolizing the profound spiritual connection between Thailand and the roots of Buddhism.
• MakhaBucha Day (Magha Puja) is a religious celebration marking Lord Buddha’s teachings to his disciples.
• The term makha comes from the word “Magha” in Pali and it refers to the 3rd lunar month, while bucha can translate as “to worship” both of which are derived from the Pali language used in Buddhist scripture.
• The term MakhaBucha refers to a day intended for worshiping on the 3rd lunar month.
• It takes place in nations including Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, where the majority of Buddhists practice Theravada Buddhism, also known as “Buddhism of the south”.
  

  MakhaBucha Ceremony was recently organized at SanamLuang Pavilion that houses holy relics from India.

Answer: (d) Buddhism; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Antimatter is the same as ordinary matter except that it has the opposite electric charge.
• It is also known as “mirror” matter.
• For instance, an electron, which has a negative charge, has an antimatter partner known as a positron. A positron is a particle with the same mass as an electron but a positive charge.
• These anti-particles can combine to form anti-atoms and, in principle, could even form anti-matter regions of our universe.

Statement 2 is correct

• Matter and antimatter cannot coexist at close range for more than a small fraction of a second because they collide with and annihilate each other, releasing large quantities of energy in the form of gamma rays or elementary particles.
• Antimatter was created along with matter after the Big Bang.
• Humans have created antimatter particles using ultra-high-speed collisions at huge particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider, which is located outside Geneva and operated by CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research).
• There are also naturally produced antiparticles made sporadically throughout the universe.

Statement 3 is correct

• Positronium is a short-lived hydrogen-like atom, which consists of an electron and its antimatter equivalent, a positron (rather than an electron and a proton).
• Due to its very short life, it annihilates with a half-life of 142 nano-seconds.
• This hydrogen-like system is a great contender for attempting laser cooling and thereby performing tests of fundamental theories in physics.
• It can shed light on ‘antimatter’ which existed at the beginning of the Universe.

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