September 12-2024 Current Affairs MCQs

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• The Prime Minister has approved health coverage for all senior citizens aged 70 and above under the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme.
• Eligible seniors will receive up to ₹5 lakh in annual health insurance, with an additional ₹5 lakh top-up for those already benefiting from the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Senior citizens availing benefits from other public health insurance schemes (like Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), or Ayushman Central Armed Police Force (CAPF)) with existing public or private health insurance can continue their coverage or opt for AB PM-JAY.

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

Explanation

Option (a) is incorrect

• It is not related to cancer treatment; it is focused on antimicrobial activity.

Option (b) is correct

• AV0328 is a proprietary broad-spectrum anti-microbial vaccine candidate developed by Alopexx.
• It is a synthetic vaccine designed to target poly N-acetyl glucosamine (PNAG), a surface molecule found on the surface of various bacterial, fungal, and parasitic pathogens.
• Its antibodies successfully target a broad range of PNAG-expressing pathogens.

Option (c) is incorrect

• It is not a gene-editing technology; it is a vaccine.

Option (d) is incorrect

• It is not related to renewable energy technology; it is a vaccine targeting pathogens.

Answer: (b) Broad-spectrum antimicrobial vaccine candidate targeting multiple pathogens; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• The National Florence Nightingale Awards were established by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, not the Ministry of Education.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• The awards are open to nurses working in hospitals, community, educational, or administrative settings, not just in hospital settings.

Statement 3 is correct

• Each awardee is honored with a Certificate of Merit, a cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000/-, and a medal.

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

Explanation

• Delhi government will spray bio-decomposer, an eco-friendly alternative to stubble burning, to combat air pollution.

Statement 1 is correct

• The bio-decomposer is an eco-friendly microbial spray that helps decompose paddy stubble into compost, reducing the need for stubble burning, contributing to air pollution.
• When sprayed onto paddy stubble, the bio-decomposer facilitates the stubble’s breakdown within 20 to 25 days.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• The bio-decomposer was not developed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change but by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).

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

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• Mission Mausam is under the aegis of Ministry of Earth Sciences, not the Ministry of Science and Technology.
• It is to be Implemented by Indian Meteorological Department, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, and National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting, Noida.

Statement 2 is correct

• The objective of the mission is to boost India’s weather and climate-related science, research, and services.

Statement 3 is correct

• It includes deploying next-generation radars and satellite systems with advanced sensors and high-performance supercomputers, developing improved Earth system models, and developing a GIS-based automated Decision-Support System for real-time data dissemination.

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

Explanation

Statement-I is incorrect but statement-II is correct

• Organ-on-chip (OoC) technology refers to micro-engineered systems that simulate the physiological functions of human organs using living cells.
• They are also known as a micro-physiological system or tissue chip.
• They are used for drug screening, toxicity testing, and understanding disease mechanisms, potentially accelerating drug development by reducing time and costs.
• One of the main challenges associated with the technology is that, it cannot accurately replicate the complex microenvironment, cellular interactions, and physiological functions of human organs, especially for multi-organ systems.

Answer: (d) Statement-I is incorrect but statement-II is correct; Difficulty Level: Medium

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect

• The National Education Policy (NEP) was first formulated in 1968, based on the recommendations of the Kothari Commission.
• Dr. Kasturirangan chaired the Committee for Draft National Education Policy which submitted its report in 2019, on which National Education Policy, 2020, is based on.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• The policy sets the following targets:
  • Universalization of education from Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) to Secondary Education by 2030.
  • Attaining Foundational Learning and Numeracy Skills through National Mission by 2025.
  • 100% gross enrolment ratio (GER) in Pre-School to Secondary Level by 2030.
  • 50% gross enrolment ratio (GER) in Higher Education by 2035.

Statement 3 is correct

• The NEP includes Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a school education program, as component and it provides:
  • Uniforms and textbooks to students in government schools
  • Supports differently-abled children
  • Reimburses private schools for admitting children from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.

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

Explanation

Option (c) is correct

• Global South, often used in contrast to the developed Global North, are countries characterized as developing, less developed or underdeveloped.
• The term does not inherently refer to a geographical south; for example, most Global South is geographically within the Northern Hemisphere.

Option (a) is incorrect

• The first voice of Global South meeting was hosted at New Delhi under India’s presidency during G20, 2023.

Option (b) is incorrect

• In 1978, the Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA) was adopted by the United Nations Conference on Technical Co-operation for technical collaboration among ‘least-developed countries’ and established the first framework for South-South Cooperation.

Option (d) is incorrect

• American activist Carl Oglesby is said to have coined the term ‘Global South’ in 1969 to denote countries beset by the dominance of the Global North through political and economic exploitation.

• Our Common Future, Brundtland Report, was released in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) which introduced the concept of sustainable development and ways to achieve it.

Answer: (c) Not inherently referring to a geographical south, most of the Global South is within the Northern Hemisphere.; Difficulty Level: Easy