January 03 2025 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statements 1 and 3 are incorrect

• OPT permits international students on F-1 visas to work in the US for 12 months in fields directly related to their study area.
• STEM Extension: Students in STEM fields can extend OPT for an additional 24 months, totalling 3 years.
• Approval Process: Institutions recommend eligible students, and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services grants final approval.
• Types of OPT: Pre-completion OPT allows part-time work during academic sessions and full-time during breaks, while Post-completion OPT mandates at least 20 hours of work per week.

Statement 2 is correct

• Eligibility: Full-time international students in the US for at least one academic year can apply.
• Participation Rate: 27.47% of international students in the US, approximately 2.42 lakh, were in the OPT program in 2023-24.
• Indian Student Involvement: 97,556 Indian students participated in OPT in 2023-24, a significant increase from 69,062 in 2022-23.
• STEM Dominance: A large proportion of OPT participants are in STEM fields, with 42.9% in mathematics or computer science and 24.5% in engineering.

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a contract with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) for air-independent propulsion (AIP) plugs. The plugs will integrate the DRDO-developed AIP system into the Kalvari class submarines.
• AIP is any marine propulsion technology that allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen (by surfacing).

Statement 2 is incorrect

• AIP enables conventional submarines to remain submerged for two to three weeks at a time.
• Scorpene Class Submarines:
  • Scorpene class submarines are a series of diesel-electric attack submarines designed for various mis-sions, including anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes and intelligence gathering.
  • They use diesel-electric propulsion systems, with an additional air-independent propulsion (AIP) system that allows them to remain submerged for longer durations.
  • The Indian Navy has commissioned six Scorpene class submarines under Project 75, with names like INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, and INS Vela. INS Vaghsheer is set for commissioning.

Answer: (a) 1 only; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Only Pair 3 is correctly matched

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• INS Sarvekshak is a hydrographic survey ship (Sarvekshan in Hindi = Survey) under the Southern Naval Command.
• In 2017, Sarvekshak became the first ship of the Indian Navy to deploy solar power. It replaces the ship’s emergency diesel alternator.

Statement 2 is correct

• It has state-of-the-art survey equipment like the multi-beam swath echo sounding system, Side Scan Sonar, Sound Velocity Profilers, and a fully automated digital surveying and processing system.
• In addition, the ship carries a Chetak helicopter, which was extensively deployed during the survey.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• It has undertaken foreign cooperation surveys in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania, and Kenya.

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Option (d) is incorrect

• The award is personally bestowed upon recipients by the President of India during the ceremony. No proxies are allowed to receive the award or prize money.

All other options are correct

• The major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, formerly known as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is the highest sporting honour in India.
• It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• Criteria:
  • The award is given for exceptional performance in sports over the previous four years. Achievements in the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and World Championships are considered.
  • A maximum of two sportspersons can be nominated for each sport discipline.
• Sportspersons who have been penalised for the use of drugs/substances banned by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and tested by the National Dope Testing Laboratory or any other World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory shall be eligible to be considered for the award after completion of their sentence/penalty/suspension/ban period. The achievements during the said suspension/ punishment would not be considered.

Answer: (d) The award allows a proxy to receive the honour if the recipient is unavailable; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Tinnitus is a condition causing perceived sounds (ringing/buzzing) in the ear without an external source, affecting 6.7% of Indian adults and 14% globally, with 2% facing severe cases.
• Features of the Device:
  • Offers customisable, multimodal treatment approaches tailored to individual patient needs.
  • Includes precise tinnitus matching to identify perceived sounds’ exact nature and frequency.
  • Equipped with tools to monitor disease progression over time.
  • Portable and cost-effective, enhancing accessibility for patients.

Statement 2 is correct

• Funding and Development:
  • Supported by the Tata Centre for Technology and Design (TCTD) and the Wadhwani Research Centre for Bioengineering (WRCB) at IIT Bombay.
  • The device has passed EMI/EMC testing.
• Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) standards ensure that medical devices operate without causing or being affected by electromagnetic disturbances, adhering to guidelines like IEC 60601-1-2 for safety and performance.

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2; Difficulty Level: Easy

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect, and Statement 2 is correct

• Article 84 deals with the qualifications for membership of Parliament, not the summoning of Parliament.
• Article 85(1) of IC empowers the President to summon each House of Parliament to meet.
• But the maximum gap between two sessions cannot be more than six months.
• It is not necessary that the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha should be summoned simultaneously or on the same date.
• The Parliament has no fixed calendar for sittings.
• Normally, three sessions are held in a calendar year, namely:
  1. Budget Sessions
  2. Monsoon Sessions
  3. Winter Sessions

Statement 3 is correct and Statement 4 is incorrect

• Under Article 108 of IC, the President can call a joint sitting of both Houses.
• The president calls a joint sitting if a Bill passed by one House and transmitted to the other House:
  • is rejected by the other House
  • the Houses have finally disagreed to the amendments to be made in the Bill
  • more than six months elapse from the date of the reception of the Bill by the other House
• In the past, joint sittings of the Houses have been convened on three occasions.
• They are:
  1. The Dowry Prohibition Bill (1961)
  2. The Banking Services Commission (Repeal) Bill (1978)
  3. The Prevention of Terrorism Act (2002)

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

Explanation

Information 1 is incorrect

• Kanwar Lake is known as Kabartal locally and is located in Bihar’s Begusarai district.
• It is a residual oxbow lake & Asia’s largest freshwater oxbow lake.
• It is formed due to the meandering of the Burhi Gandak River, a tributary of Ganga.
• It is a rainfed lake, according to waterbody experts and fills up during the monsoon season.
• It is the first wetland in Bihar of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
• Challenges faced by Kanwar Lake: Increasing silt accumulation, deforestation, and land disputes.

  

  Source: Researchgate

• Currently, there are 3 Ramsar sites in Bihar including Kanwar Lake. The other two are:
  1. Nagi Bird Sanctuary: Nagi Bird Sanctuary was created following the damming of the Nagi River.
  2. Nakti BS: Nakti Bird Sanctuary is a man-made wetland which was developed primarily for irrigation through the construction of Nakti Dam.

Information 2 is correct

• The Karakoram Range, also known as Krishnagiri, is the northernmost Trans-Himalayan range in India.
• It extends 800 km eastwards from the Pamirs of Pakistan.
• The Karakoram Range spans Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, China, and India.
• It has been in the news due to declining trends in snowfall.
• It has lofty peaks, including K2 (8611 m), also known as Godwin Austen or Qogir, the second highest globally and the highest in the Indian Union.
• The Ladakh Plateau lies northeast of the Karakoram Range, divided into various plains and mountains, such as Soda Plains, Aksai Chin, Lingzi Tang, Depsang Plains, and Chang Chenmo.

Information 3 is incorrect

• Ashtamudi Wetland is a natural backwater in the Kollam district of Kerala, not Tamil Nadu.
• National Waterway 3 passes through it.
• It is the second-largest estuarine ecosystem in Kerala.
• It forms an estuary with the sea at Neendakara (a famous fishing harbour in Kerala).
• River Kallada and Pallichal drain into it.
• Kerala’s government faced penalties for failing to protect both Ashtamudi Lake and Vembanad Lake.

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