March 01 2024 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• VSHORADS – Very Short-Range Air Defence System.
• The VSHORADS is a Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD) indigenously developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and other industry partners.
• The missile incorporates many novel technologies including miniaturised Reaction Control System (RCS) and integrated avionics.
• A reaction control system (RCS) is a spacecraft system that uses thrusters to control attitude and translation. It can also provide torque to control rotation.
• Research Centre Imarat (RCI) is a premier laboratory of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex, DRDO spearheading R&D in a wide range of Avionics Systems for diversified defence and aerospace applications.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• It is designed to destroy hostile aircraft, drones and helicopters at very short ranges.
• The design of the missile including launcher has been highly optimized to ensure easy portability.
• The range of the missile is upto 6km.

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• A hydrogen fuel cell generates electricity by utilizing the chemical energy contained in hydrogen.
• It releases only pure water, not discharging pollutants.
• Hydrogen is loaded into cells.
• The energy within the hydrogen is converted into electricity and heat, which is then used to power the vessel’s propulsion mechanism.
• In the fuel cell, the hydrogen reacts with the oxygen in the air to produce electricity.
• Unlike batteries, hydrogen fuel cells do not require recharging and keep generating electricity as long as they have hydrogen and oxygen.

Statement 2 is correct

• The hydrogen fuel cell-powered vessel has zero emission, zero noise and is energy-efficient, which makes it more environment-friendly.
• Since there are no moving parts, the ferry requires less maintenance than combustion vessels.
• The vessel is a 24-meter-long catamaran, which can carry 50 people in its air-conditioned passenger area.
• Hydrogen fuel cell vessels do not use conventional batteries as the primary storage house of electrical energy.
• This vessel uses a 50-kW PEM (proton-exchange membrane) fuel cell, with Lithium-Ion Phosphate batteries.

Statement 3 is correct

• The PEM (proton-exchange membrane) fuel cell is a type of hydrogen fuel cell.
• The vessels run on hydrogen fuel, which is stored in cylinders. This boat has five hydrogen cylinders that can carry 40kg of hydrogen and support eight hours of operations.
• The ferry will be handed over to the Inland Waterways Authority of India by the Cochin Shipyard Limited after rigorous trials.
• India has now indigenously developed hydrogen fuel cells and their related systems.
• It is built under the ‘Harit Nauka’(green boat) initiative of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways envisages a green transition of inland vessels.

Answer: (c) All; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a cautionary message to mobile phone users advising them against charging their devices using public ports.
• The warning comes amidst growing concerns over the security risks posed by a cyberattack known as “juice jacking.”
• Juice jacking is a form of cyberattack where hackers tamper with public USB charging ports, infecting them with malware or making hardware changes that allow them to steal data from devices connected to them.
• This type of attack has been a growing concern, with incidents reported in various public spaces such as airports, hotels, and shopping centres.

Answer: (c) Cyber Security; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is located in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu state at the tri-junction of three states, viz, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• It is a part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (1st Biosphere Reserve in India) along with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) in the West, Bandipur National Park (Karnataka) in the North, Mukurthi National Park and Silent Valley in the South.
• The name Mudumalai means ”the ancient hill range”. Indeed, it is as old as 65 million years when Western Ghats were formed.

Important Flora and Fauna

• Flora:
  • The Reserve has tall grasses, commonly referred to as ‘Elephant Grass‘.
  • Bamboo of the giant variety, valuable timber species like Teak, Rosewood, etc.
  • There are several species of endemic flora.
• Fauna:
  • Flagship Species: Tiger and Asian Elephant.
  • Other species: Indian Gaur, Spotted Deer, Common Langur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Wild Dog, Jungle Cat among others.
  • Reserve has got a wide variety of more than 260 species of birds.
  • 8% of bird species found in India are recorded in Mudumalai.
  • This includes rare birds like Malabar grey hornbill, Malabar pied hornbill, Malabar laughing thrush among others.

Answer: (d) Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR); Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• Tiny Belgium, the seat of the European Union (EU), has scored another first.
• The country has become the first in the European Continent to recognise ‘Ecocide’ as a national as well as an international crime.
• The Federal Parliament of Belgium voted in favour of a new penal code which makes ecocide a national and international crime on February 22, 2024, according to a document uploaded on its website.
• Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide defined Ecocide as, “Unlawful acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.”
• The Definition was given in June 2021 by the Panel, which itself was formed in late 2020 by the Stop Ecocide Foundation.
• Nationally, the new crime of ecocide, aimed at preventing and punishing the most severe cases of environmental degradation, such as extensive oil spills, will apply to individuals in the highest positions of decision-making power and to corporations.
• The punishment for individuals may include up to 20 years in prison, while corporations could face fines of up to 1.6 million euros.
• Belgium has already recognised genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

Answer: (c) Unlawful acts committed with potential to cause widespread or long-term damage to envi-ronment; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• The European Parliament on February 27, 2024, adopted the first European Union (EU) law to restore degraded ecosystems across the 27-nation political and economic bloc.
• The new law sets a target for the EU to restore at least 20 per cent of its land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
• The law calls on EU members to restore at least 30 per cent of drained peatland by 2030, 40 per cent by 2040 and 50 per cent by 2050.
• To improve biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems, EU countries will have to make progress in two of the following three indicators:
  • the grassland butterfly index,
  • the share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features, and
  • the stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soil.
• Measures to increase the common farmland bird index must also be taken as birds are good indicators of the overall state of biodiversity.
• Targets for agricultural ecosystems can be suspended under exceptional circumstances if they severely reduce the land needed for sufficient food production for EU consumption.
• The legislation also demands a positive trend in several indicators in forest ecosystems and an additional three billion trees to be planted.

Answer: (c) European Union; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) have jointly launched a USD 50 million global fund called the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund.
• Aim: The aim of this fund is to assist women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs in developing economies and least-developed countries in adopting digital technologies and expanding their online presence.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has allocated USD 5 million as the first donor to the fund.
• Additionally, the ITC hosted the SheTrades Summit, bringing together women entrepreneurs, global business leaders, and development partners to discuss solutions to challenges faced by women in accessing new markets in the digital trading system.

Answer: (a) World Trade Organization and International Trade Centre (ITC); Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• Semiconductor fabs produce microchips using a process called photolithography, which involves patterning a silicon wafer with intricate circuit designs.
• Photolithography, also known as optical lithography, is a patterning process in which parts are patterned on a thin film or a substrate, also called a wafer, which is photosensitive.
• A circuit pattern is photographed on this substrate, and its background is then chemically etched away.

Statement 2 is correct

• Semiconductor fabs, also known as fabs or foundries, are specialized facilities where semiconductor devices are manufactured on silicon wafers.
• The semiconductor manufacturing process involves several steps, including wafer preparation, patterning, deposition, etching, and packaging, each carried out within specialized areas of the fab.
• Semiconductor fabs are often categorized based on the size of silicon wafers they process, with common sizes including 200mm, 300mm, and 450mm wafers.
• Larger fabs tend to produce larger wafers, which can yield more chips per wafer and reduce manufacturing costs.
• Many types of ICs are manufactured in a semiconductor fab facility, including NAND flash devices, dynamic RAM memory chips, microprocessors, graphics controllers, hard drive controllers, RAID (redundant array of independent disks) controllers and application-specific ICs.

Statement 3 is incorrect

• Semiconductor fabs are not limited to developed countries.
• While many are located in developed regions due to technological expertise and investment availability, fabs can also be found in emerging economies like Taiwan, South Korea, China and now in India.

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

Explanation

• The Reserve Bank recently revised Regulatory Sandbox (RS) guidelines, allowing live testing of products or services in a controlled regulatory space.
• Acting as a “safe space” it offers flexibility for business testing, potentially influencing innovation-friendly regulations.
• RS aims to facilitate low-cost financial products, promoting dynamic, evidence-based regulatory environments that adapt to emerging technologies.
• Essentially, it’s a formal program for market players to test innovations within specific safeguards and oversight before broader launches.

Answer: (c) A live testing of new low-cost financial products; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

• Researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have identified a new species of head-shield sea slug, Melanochlamys Droupadi, along the coasts of Odisha and West Bengal.
• Measuring up to 7 mm, it’s a small invertebrate with a brownish-black body and a distinctive ruby red spot.
• Inhabiting wet sandy beaches, the hermaphroditic slug forms a protective mucus sheath, leaving a trail like a turtle as it moves beneath the sand.
• Sea slugs, mollusks found in various marine environments, include 18 known species globally.

  

Answer: (b) Sea Slug; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• It is a genetic disorder that affects the body’s ability to form blood clots.
• It is a rare disorder in which the blood doesn’t clot in the typical way because it doesn’t have enough blood-clotting proteins.
• Signs and symptoms of hemophilia vary, depending on the level of clotting factors.
• Males are much more likely to have hemophilia than are females.

Statement 2 is correct

• It is a sex linked disorder.
• The gene for hemophilia is carried on the X chromosome.
• It is caused by a mutation or change, in one of the genes, that provides instructions for making the clotting factor proteins needed to form a blood clot.
• This type is caused by a lack or decrease of clotting factor VIII.
• Treatment:
  • It involves replacement therapy, which involves infusing clotting factor concentrates into the bloodstream to help the blood clot.
  • Other treatments may include medications to promote clotting or surgery to repair damage caused by bleeding.

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