February 25-26 2024 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

• Kali Tiger Reserve (formerly Anshi National Park) is a protected area and tiger reserve.
• It is located in Uttara Kannada district, in Karnataka, India.
• The park is a habitat of Bengal tigers, black panthers and Indian elephants, amongst other distinctive fauna.
• The Kali River flows through the tiger reserve and is the lifeline of the ecosystem and hence the name.
• The tiger reserve is spread over an area of 1300 square kilometres.
  

  Recently, 40 spotted deer were relocated from Mysuru Zoo to Kali Tiger Reserve’s Panasoli range. The spotted deer, or chital, are native to the Indian subcontinent and are prevalent in Indian forests. They inhabit subtropical grasslands and forests, with a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, standing at 35 inches tall and weighing 187 pounds. Only males have antlers, and they live in social herds of 10 to 50 individuals. The species is categorized as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List.

Answer: (c) Karnataka; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• Exercise ‘DHARMA GUARDIAN’ is an annual exercise and conducted alternatively in India and Japan.
• The contingent of both sides comprises of 40 personnel each. The Japanese contingent is being represented by troops from the 34th Infantry Regiment and Indian Army contingent is being represented by a Battalion from the Rajputana Rifles.
• Aim of the Exercise is to foster Military Cooperation and enhance combined capabilities to execute joint operations in semi-urban environment under Chapter VII of United Nations Charter.
• The Exercise would focus on high degree of physical fitness, joint planning, joint tactical drills and basics of special arms skills.
• Tactical drills to be practiced during the Exercise will include establishing of Temporary Operating Base, creating an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Grid, setting up Mobile Vehicle Check Post, executing Cordon and Search Operations in a hostile village, Heliborne operations and House Intervention Drills.
• A Weapon and Equipment Display will also be organised showcasing ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative and the growing defence industrial capability of the country.
  

  The 5th edition of Joint Military Exercise ‘DHARMA GUARDIAN’ between the Indian Army and the Japan Ground Self Defence Force commenced on 25th Feb at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan. The Exercise will be conducted from 25th February to 9th March 2024.

Answer: (c) Japan; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Attukal Pongala, the world’s largest women’s congregation festival, extends globally with devotees observing rituals in the US and the UK.
• It is celebrated annually at Kerala’s Attukal Bhagavathy Temple.
• The festival has made its entry into The Guinness Book of World Records for the largest congregation of women at any single place.

Statement 2 is correct

• Sabarimala is basically male dominant pilgrimage because only women below ten and above 50 are permitted to reach the shrine. But, here, women of all ages are welcome to participate in Pongala, hence also called Women’s Sabrimala.
• The event spans 10 days, starting on the Karthigai star of the Malayalam month of Makaram or Kumbham.
• On the 9th day, the Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam occurs, featuring the ritualistic preparation and offering of a sweet payasam to the Goddess Bhagavathy, signifying the festival’s cultural and religious significance.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Tamil Nadu has established a special fund to conserve the Purple Frog, considered a ‘living fossil’ coexisting with dinosaurs.
• Acknowledged globally as one of the rarest frogs, it belongs to the Sooglossidae family and spends most of its life underground, emerging only during the monsoon for mating.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Physical description: The purple frog has a bloated body with short stout limbs and is dark purple to greyish in colour.

• It has a small head in comparison to the body length, and an unusually pointed snout.
• Unlike other frogs, it has very short hind legs, which does not allow it to leap from one spot to another.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• With a distinct appearance, short hind legs, and preference for specific Western Ghats habitats, the Purple Frog is listed as Near Threatened by IUCN and under Schedule I of WPA, highlighting its conservation significance.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Basohli of J&K to become Heritage Town and Aroma Startup Hub.
• It is situated on the right bank of River Ravi at an altitude of 1876 ft, in the uneven lofty hills of Shivaliks.

Statement 2 is correct

• Basohli paintings are considered the first school of Pahari paintings, and which evolved into the much prolific Kangra paintings school by mid-eighteenth century.
• Basohli paintings are said to have been described as ‘Poems in colours’.
• The earliest paintings in this style have been dated to the time of Raja Kirpal Pal (1678–93).
• Their central inspiration is Vashnavism, the themes have been taken from the Epics and the Puranas.

  

• Basohli painting obtained Geographical Indication (GI) Tag in 2023.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Popularly referred as “Lavender or Purple Revolution“, has started from J&K.
• The mission aims to increase the income of the farmers and promote lavender cultivation on commercial scale. Lavender oil, which sells for, at least, Rs. 10,000 per liter, is the main commodity.
• Other popular products include medicines, incense sticks, soaps, and air fresheners.
• The cultivation of lavender is very cost-effective as it yields a revenue immediately.
• Jammu and Kashmir’s climatic conditions are conducive to lavender cultivation, since the aromatic plant can withstand both chilly winters and pleasant summers.
• Additionally, it is a low maintenance crop, which can be used from its second year of plantation and blossoms for fifteen years. In its entirety, lavender production gives better returns when compared to other traditional crops.
• Nodal Agency: CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow.

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

Explanation

• Hanooman is a series of Indic large language models trained on 22 Indian languages, all Languages Included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• The models can currently respond in 11 Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi.
• There is an aspiration to extend the model’s capabilities to all 22 Indian languages.
• Capabilities – It has multimodal AI capabilities for generating text-to-text, text-to-speech, text-to-video and vice versa content.
• Hanooman has been designed to work in 4 fields including health care, governance, financial services, and education.
• VizzhyGPT – The first customised versions is VizzhyGPT, an AI model fine-tuned for healthcare using reams of medical data.
• Size of the AI – It ranges from 1.5 billion to a whopping 40 billion parameters.
• The first four among the series which are 1.5 billion, 7 billion, 13 billion and 40 billion parameters will be released next month and will be open-sourced.
• Hanooman is unveiled by Seetha Mahalaxmi Healthcare (SML) in partnership with the IIT Bombay-led BharatGPT ecosystem.
• BharatGPT ecosystem – Is a research consortium led by IIT Bombay with seven other IITs. It is backed by the Department of Science and Technology, SML and Reliance Jio.
• Other Indic AI models – It includes Ola’s Krutrim, SaravamAI’s OpenHathi and IIT-Madras’ Airavata model.

Answer: (c) Series of Indic large language models trained on 22 Indian languages.; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Gharials are part of the crocodile family and distinguished by their long and thin snouts.

  

• Among the largest crocodilians, the Gharial can grow to 7m in length and has a thick skin covered with smooth epidermal scales that do not overlap.
• The snout of the gharial is uniquely the thinnest and most elongated among all the crocodilians.
• Gharials were once widely distributed in the large rivers such as Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra and the Mahanadi-Brahmani-Baitrani river systems of India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.
• It is categorised as a “critically endangered” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• It is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection Act) 1972.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• They resides exclusively in river habitats with deep, clear, fresh, fast-flowing waters and steep, sandy banks.
• Unlike other crocodiles, the gharials feed on warm-blooded species and even the largest gharial adults feed exclusively on fish, which they catch between the pointed interlocking teeth of their long jaws.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Gandak Gharial Recovery Project – It is a joint effort between the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the Bihar government to revive the breeding of gharials in the Gandak River.
• The project began in 2014 with the release of around 30 captive-born gharials from the Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan (Patna Zoo).

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

Explanation

• Godawan Whisky is a part of corporate conservation effort to conserve the Great Indian -Bustard.
• Great Indian Bustards (Ardeotis nigriceps) is the State bird of Rajasthan and it was also known as Godawan.
• Historically distributed throughout Western India, as well as parts of Pakistan, its population is presently confined to mostly Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Bustards generally favour flat open landscapes with minimal visual obstruction and disturbance, therefore adapt well in grasslands.
• Hunting, intensive agricultural practices, laying of power lines and industrialisation pose some serious threats to the species’ survival.
• The captive breeding of GIBs was taken up in the Desert National Park (DNP) through a project executed by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in 2019.
• GIB is listed in the:
• Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972
• Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)
• Appendix I of CITES
• Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List
• The National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016)

Answer: (b) Great Indian Bustard; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Guinea Worm Disease (GWD), also known as Dracunculiasis is an infection caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis.
• It affects poor communities in remote parts of Africa that do not have safe water to drink.

Statement 2 is correct

• GWD is primarily a human disease, but in recent years it has been identified in the animals, particularly dogs.
• It is spread by drinking water containing Guinea worm larvae.
• Larvae are immature forms of the worm.
• People become infected with Guinea worms by drinking unfiltered water from ponds and other stagnant water containing copepods.
• Copepods are tiny “water fleas” too small to be clearly seen without a magnifying glass.
• These copepods swallow Guinea worm larvae.
• People who drink water containing copepods that have swallowed Guinea worm larvae can develop Guinea worm disease.
• People do not usually have symptoms until about one year after they become infected.
• A few days to hours before the worm come out of the skin, the person may develop a fever, swelling, and pain in the area.
• More than 90% of worms come out of the legs and feet, but worms can appear on other body parts, too.
• Treatment – There is no drug to treat Guinea worm disease and no vaccine to prevent Guinea worm infection.

Statement 3 is correct

• India eliminated Guinea worm disease in the late 1990s.
• The government of India received Guinea worm disease-free certification status from the WHO in 2000.
• It is the second communicable disease after smallpox, which has been eradicated from the country.

Answer: (c) All; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• Cubbon Park is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• It is officially known as Sri Chamarajendra Park.
• The park is home to the State Library housed in the Sheshadri Iyer Memorial Hall, a splendid red Gothic structure.
• It has a rich recorded history of abundant flora and fauna plantations coupled with numerous impressive and aesthetically located buildings and statues of famous personages, in its precincts.
• This public park was first named as Meade’s Park after Sir John Meade, the acting commissioner of Mysuru in 1870 and subsequently renamed as Cubbon Park after the longest-serving commissioner of the time, Sir Mark Cubbon.
• To commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Sri Krishnaraja Wodeyar’s rule in Mysore State, in 1927, the park was again renamed as Sri. Chamarajendra Park, in memory of the 19th-century ruler of the state Sri Chamarajendra Wodeyar (1868–94), during whose rule the park came into existence.
• Tourists visiting this park in the city of Bengaluru have nicknamed the city itself as ‘Garden City‘.

Answer: (b) Karnataka; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• The system, known as the personalized skin-integrated facial interface (PSiFI), features a first-of-its-kind bidirectional triboelectric strain and vibration sensor that enables the simultaneous sensing and integration of verbal and non-verbal expression data.
• The PSiFI system is self-powered, facile, stretchable, and transparent.
• Coupled with a sophisticated data processing circuit, the system facilitates seamless wireless data transfer, enabling the instantaneous recognition of emotions.
• Empowered by machine learning algorithms, the technology showcases remarkable efficiency in recognizing human emotions accurately and promptly, even in scenarios where individuals wear masks.
• Its practical application has already been demonstrated in a digital concierge service within a virtual reality (VR) environment, where customised services based on users’ emotions were provided.

Answer: (c) A skin-integrated face interface technology that can recognize human emotions in real time; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• It is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia, headquartered in Moscow, which was established in 2002.
• Key Objectives include:
• The provision of national and collective security, intensive politico-military cooperation, foreign policy coordination on international and regional security issues, the establishment of multilateral cooperation mechanisms, including a military component, the development of cooperation in the counteraction to modern challenges and security threats.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 15, 1992 in Tashkent by the Heads of six countries: Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• Subsequently, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Belarus joined it.
• The treaty came into force on April 20, 1994.
• Members of the organization at present are: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Statement 3 is correct

• On May 14, 2002, in Moscow, the Collective Security Council made a decision to grant the status of an international regional organization to the Collective Security Treaty.
• In 2004 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution granting the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) an observer status in the UN General Assembly.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• It is a global blended finance initiative to develop mid-size climate resilient infrastructure & nature-based solutions.
• Mission:
• To invest in subnational climate-smart infrastructure and nature-based solutions delivering measurable and certified climate and sustainable development impact at the local level.
• The model is designed to attract public and private investment and to deliver certified climate and Sustainable Development impacts and Nature-based Solutions.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Fund Manager: It is managed by Pegasus Capital.
• Technical assistance: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is responsible for the Technical Assistance component of SCF.
• Anchor Investor of Concessional Capital: The Green Climate Fund (GCF).
• Governance of the Subnational Climate Fund (SCF) includes a High-level Advisory Committee.
• The role of the committee is to advise the SCF Consortium on best opportunities to invest in regard to SCF mission, and more widely on the theory of change encompassed by SCF.

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