UPSC Weekly Current Affairs Quiz | November 24 to November 30, 2024

UPSC Weekly Quiz is a current affairs-based quiz on relevant topics from the past week, curated for the aspirants of competitive examinations. Attempt the weekly quiz every Saturday and find answers to the MCQs with explanations.

With reference to the electric vehicles in India, consider the following statements:

1. More than 30 per cent of India’s electric vehicles comprise four-wheelers.

2. A new study has found that a shift to night-time charging of e-vehicles could avoid an additional ten per cent of emissions.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

While the number of electric cars (EV) in India is increasing rapidly, the climatic benefits of EV use are not being fully achieved, owing to the country’s persistent reliance on coal for power generation and night-time EV charging.

A new analysis by the New Delhi-based Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) indicated that switching to day-time charging, when renewables such as solar and wind contribute a large share of electricity generation, may save an additional 10% of emissions. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

“To put things into perspective, this means that day-time charging can unlock additional yearly emission reductions of 10 kg of CO2 per vehicle in case of electric scooter, and about 106 kg for an electric sedan,” Shyamasis Das, the study’s primary investigator, stated.

India presently boasts over four million electric cars, about 90% of which are two-wheelers. Electric vehicles currently account for less than 2% of the four-wheeler passenger market, although this figure is rapidly increasing. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 2

Which of the following are the impacts of satellite pollution?

1. Warming of atmosphere

2. Space debris

3. Depletion of ozone layer

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Explanation

More than 10,000 active satellites are in orbit around the planet today. This number is estimated to shoot up to more than 100,000 by the 2030s, and possibly half a million in the decades to follow.

Most satellites, at the end of their life-cycle, fall to a fiery death through Earth’s atmosphere. As they disintegrate, however, they leave all kinds of pollutants in the upper atmosphere.

While pollution from burnt-up satellites high up in the atmosphere is seemingly a distant concern for humans, it might lead to ripple effects that will change the chemistry of the atmosphere. It increases the space debris. Hence, 2 is correct.

Scientists are particularly concerned about the impact of this pollution on the ozone layer in Earth’s stratosphere. This layer absorbs up to 99% of ultraviolet rays from the Sun, which would otherwise harm living organisms on Earth’s surface. Hence, 3 is correct.

Pollutants from burnt-up spacecraft are likely already harming it. Aluminium oxide, for instance, is a known catalyst for ozone depletion.

Soot emitted from rocket engines absorbs solar energy, which can warm the atmosphere. Copper and other metals released during the incineration of spacecraft wiring and alloys are known to be powerful catalysts for chemical reactions in the atmosphere. Hence, 1 is correct.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 3

Which of the following are the applications of high-altitude balloons?

1. Space exploration

2. Tourism

3. Disaster relief and rescue

4. Military reconnaissance

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2, 3 and 4

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Explanation

Taiwan said it had detected a Chinese balloon over the sea northwest of the island. It is the first time since April that Taiwan has reported such an incident. The balloon was sighted on Sunday around 111 km to the north Keelung port. According to Taiwan’s Defence Ministry, the balloon entered the island’s air defence identification zone.

Balloons have been in frequent use for several decades now, though the first uses go back at least 200 years.

They are used mainly for scientific purposes but increasingly for tourism and joy rides, surveillance, space exploration, military reconnaissance and disaster relief and rescue.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 4

The cyclonic storm “Fengal” hovering over:

(a) Arabian Sea

(b) Southern Indian Ocean

(c) Persian Gulf

(d) Bay of Bengal

Explanation

The cyclonic storm “Fengal” hovering over Bay of Bengal is likely to make landfall over Puducherry, the India Meteorological Department said.

The weather department has forecast extremely heavy rainfall in parts of north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

A cyclone is a large-scale system of air that rotates around the centre of a low-pressure area. It is usually accompanied by violent storms and bad weather.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), a cyclone is characterised by inward spiralling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Tropical cyclones are characterised by destructive winds, torrential rainfall and storm surges disrupt normal life with the accompanying phenomena of floods due to the exceptional level of rainfall and storm surge inundation into inland areas.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 5

Consider the following statements:

1. He was born in 1141 CE in Sistan, a Persia (Iran) province bordering present-day Afghanistan.

2. He is said to have been a descendant of Prophet Muhmmad.

3. By the age of 20, he had travelled far and wide studying theology, grammar, philosophy, ethics, and religion in seminaries at Bukhara and Samarkand.

The above mentioned statements refer to:

(a) Nizamuddin Auliya

(b) Naseeruddin Charagh

(c) Fareeduddin Ganj-e-Shakar

(d) Moinuddin Chishti

Explanation

An Ajmer court on Wednesday (November 27) admitted a petition by the Hindu Sena which claims that there lies a Shiva temple under the revered Ajmer Sharif dargah, and that an archaeological survey should be conducted to ascertain the same.

Dargahs are shrines built over the graves of respected religious figures, most notably Sufi saints. The one at Ajmer is the mausoleum of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (also known as Muinuddin or Mu’in al-din), one of the most important figures in the spread of Sufism in the subcontinent.

Moinuddin was born in 1141 CE in Sistan, a province of Persia (Iran) that borders modern-day Afghanistan.

He is thought to have been a descendant of Prophet Muhmmad.

Moinuddin, who was orphaned at the age of 14, began his spiritual journey after meeting Ibrahim Qandozi, a travelling mystic.

By the age of 20, Moinuddin had travelled extensively, studying theology, linguistics, philosophy, ethics, and religion in seminaries in Bukhara and Samarkand.

His trip eventually brought him to Khwaja Usman Harooni, a respected Sufi guru of the Chishti order near Herat (now Afghanistan). Moinuddin found a tutor in Khwaja Usman, who guided him through years of hard spiritual practice. He was eventually inducted into the Chishti silsila (chain of spiritual descent), after which his instructor left and Moinuddin went off on his own road.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 6

Consider the following states:

1. Arunachal Pradesh

2. Mizoram

3. Nagaland

4. Tripura

The state of Manipur shares borders with:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 3 and 4 only

(d) 1 and 4 only

Explanation

Four militants from two banned groups have been detained in Manipur for possessing firearms and engaging in extortion. Three militants from the Kangleipak Communist Party (Peoples’ War Group) were arrested for carrying weaponry and extorting others.

The state of Manipur has borders with:

Nagaland: To the north of Manipur.

Assam: To the west of Manipur.

Mizoram lies south and southwest of Manipur.

Myanmar: To the east and south of Manipur.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 7

The words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were inserted in the preamble through:

(a) 25th amendment

(b) 44th amendment

(c) 42nd amendment

(d) 61st amendment

Explanation

Almost exactly 75 years since the Constitution of India was adopted, the Supreme Court on Monday (November 25) upheld the insertion of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble of the founding document.

Through the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, 1976 (42nd Amendment), Parliament during the Emergency enacted a sweeping series of amendments to the Constitution, one of which was labelling India a “SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC”.

Though the Supreme Court has curbed some of the more controversial changes introduced through the 42nd amendment, it refused to interfere with the phrasing of the Preamble.

The preamble of the Constitution serves as a statement clarifying the guiding principles and purpose behind the Constitution of India. When the Constitution first came into force on January 26, 1950, the Preamble stated:

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 8

Large Magellanic Cloud refers to:

(a) feathery clouds

(b) clouds formed at the vent of volcanoes

(c) Clouds resulting in the formation of cyclones

(d) a satellite galaxy

Explanation

Scientists have taken the first zoomed-in image of a star in another galaxy. The star, known as WOH G64, appears to be wrapped in an egg-shaped cocoon and is located 160,000 light years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the tiny galaxies that orbit the Milky Way.

The Milky Way’s satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, floats in space, doing a long and languid dance around our galaxy.

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is bursting with star-forming areas.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 9

The Union Cabinet approved the PAN 2.0 Project to make PAN the “single source of truth and data consistency”. The Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a:

(a) 12-digit alphanumeric

(b) 8-digit numerical

(c) 10-digit alphanumeric

(d) 14-digit numerical

Explanation

On Monday, the Union Cabinet authorised the PAN 2.0 Project, which aims to make PAN the “single source of truth and data consistency”. With PAN already linked to Aadhaar, it is intended to be a valuable source of identity and information for authorities.

The Income Tax Department’s 10-digit alphanumeric Permanent Account Number (PAN) will be upgraded with a slew of new features, including an enhanced QR code feature for new and old cards, a completely online application process, and a merger of all existing identification numbers to make PAN the common identifier for businesses.

Furthermore, a “PAN data vault system” will be developed for all companies that use PAN data in order to preserve data and ensure cybersecurity.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 10

With reference to the bromalites, consider the following statements:

1. These are fossilised feces which are also known as coprolites.

2. They preserve digestive byproducts.

3. They do not contain leaves and insects.

4. Several bromalites revealed that the earliest dinosaurs were opportunistic omnivores that ate mainly insects.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1, 2 and 4

(d) 2, 3 and 4

Explanation

The most famous bromalites are fossilized feces, also known as coprolites. But bromalites also preserve digestive byproducts such as regurgitations and gut contents that help researchers pinpoint who was eating whom in ancient ecosystems. Hence, statements 1 and 2 are correct.

Most research on the Triassic Period, when dinosaurs were cat-size, has centered on fossilized bones. Martin Qvarnström, a paleontologist at Uppsala University in Sweden, and his colleagues focused instead on bromalite specimens from the Polish Basin, a geological formation in central Poland that spans the Late Triassic into the Jurassic.

The new study examined more than 500 bromalite specimens that collectively weighed more than 220 pounds.

These methods provided detailed glimpses of paleo-diets. Some bromalites contained leaves and well-preserved insects that retained antennae. Others had fish scales, bone and even fragments of chipped teeth. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Several bromalites revealed that the earliest dinosaurs were opportunistic omnivores that ate mainly insects. Slightly more recent dinosaur dung belonged to early carnivores (meat eaters) and small herbivores (plant eaters). Hence, statement 4 is correct.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 11

With reference to space mission Proba-3, consider the following statements:

1. ISRO will launch this mission of the European Space Agency.

2. The mission will also attempt the first-ever “precision formation flying”.

3. This mission will explore one of Jupiter’s largest moons.

Which of the above given statements is/are correct?

(a) 2 only

(b) 3 only

(c) 1 and 2 only

(d) 1 and 3 only

Explanation

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission on its PSLV rocket to study the solar corona, the outermost and hottest part of the Sun’s atmosphere, from Sriharikota on December 4. Hence, statements 1 and 3 are correct.

The mission will also attempt the first-ever “precision formation flying”, where two satellites will fly together and maintain a fixed configuration in space. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

This is the latest solar mission in ESA’s Proba suite of missions. Its predecessors Proba-1 (also launched by ISRO) and Proba-2 were launched in 2001 and 2009, respectively. Teams of scientists from Spain, Belgium, Poland, Italy and Switzerland have worked on Proba-3.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 12

Why was the discovery, fifty years ago of a 3.2 million-year-old skeleton called Lucy significant?

(a) It proved that human populations moved away from the equator to tropical areas.

(b) Early man lived only in Africa.

(c) It helped to understand the cohabitation of hunter gatherers and first agriculturists.

(d) It changed our idea of human evolution forever as depicted in a diagram called ‘The March of Progress’.

Explanation

The discovery of Lucy, a 3.2 million-year-old skeleton, changed our theory of human evolution forever.

The chart shows an ape walking on all fours, shedding its hair, standing upright, grabbing a spear and growing taller to become a modern human. This diagram called ‘The March of Progress’ simplifies evolution into a series of stages which took place over millions of years.

The thinking of early theorists was that our evolution was a coordinated, linear process. Our ancestors’ brains grew steadily larger as they started walking on two legs and standing taller until they became modern human — Homo sapiens.

This is still a commonly used depiction of human evolution, with the famous Progress diagram having been published in a book called “Early Man” in 1965 explaining how we grew from apes to modern humans. But this oversimplified view of human evolution is not quite right, and was upended in 1974 after the discovery of a 3.2 million-year-old skeleton called Lucy.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 13

With reference to Constitution of India, consider the following statements:

1. On November 26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India, and it came into effect on January 26, 1950.

2. K.M.Munshi, Alladi Krishnaswamy and Shayama Prasad Mukherjee were among the members of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution .

3. In 2015, the Union Cabinet announced that November 26 would be observed as Constitution Day which was earlier celebrated as National Law Day.

Which of the above given statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation

On November 26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India, and it came into effect on January 26, 1950. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

In May 2015, the Union Cabinet announced that November 26 would be observed as Constitution Day to promote “constitutional values amongst citizens”. That year also marked the 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution. K.M. Munshi, Muhammed Saadulah and Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer were also among the committee’s members. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Before this, the day was observed as National Law Day as Ambedkar was also the first Law Minister of India. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 14

With reference to Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal, recently seen in the news, consider the following statements:

1. A crucial novelty in the agreement is the addition of the United States and France to the tripartite mechanism of Lebanon, Israel, and the UNIFIL.

2. It calls for a complete disarmament of Hezbollah in Lebanon, north of the Litani.

3. Principally, the ceasefire mimics UNSC Resolution 1701, which was adopted in the wake of the 2006 conflict.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1 and 3 only

Explanation

In these early days at least, the fresh ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is holding.

Principally, the (unpublished) ceasefire mimics UNSC Resolution 1701, which was adopted in the wake of the 2006 conflict. Hezbollah is supposed to withdraw to the north of the Litani river, Israel to the south of the Blue Line, with the Lebanese Army remaining as the only armed force allowed between the two in South Lebanon. It gives both forces 60 days to withdraw to their respective positions. Hence, statements 1 and 3 are correct.

A crucial novelty in the agreement is the addition of the United States and France to the tripartite mechanism of Lebanon, Israel, and the UNIFIL that oversees the implementation of UNSCR 1701. Notably, it does not call for a complete disarmament of Hezbollah in Lebanon, north of the Litani, while Israel proclaimed that it retains the right to strike again if Hezbollah violates the agreement (something that the Lebanese government rejects). Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 15

With reference to the proposed National Mission on Natural Farming, consider the following statements:

1. The proposed NMNF is an improvement of the Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhti (BPKP).

2. It is a standalone Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare.

3. It also envisages a single national brand for naturally grown chemical-free produce.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 2 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation

The Union Cabinet on Monday (November 25) approved the launch of the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) as a standalone Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare. The NMNF aims to promote natural farming in mission mode across the country. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

The proposed NMNF is an improvement of the Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhti (BPKP) launched by the NDA government in its second term (2019-24). The initiative was launched under an umbrella scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY). The Centre also promoted natural farming in a five-kilometre belt along the Ganga River under the Namami Gange scheme in the financial year 2022-23. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

The natural farming mission is different from the earlier initiatives in several ways. First, it has a higher budgetary outlay. Second, it targets over one crore farmers. Moreover, it aims to create an ecosystem for sustainable natural farming in the country. It also aims to establish “scientifically supported common standards and easy farmer friendly certification procedures for naturally grown chemical free produce.” It also envisages a single national brand for naturally grown chemical-free produce. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

According to an official statement, the scheme has a total outlay of Rs. 2,481 crore of which the central government will contribute Rs.1584 crore and the states Rs.897 crore) till the 15th Finance Commission (2025-26).

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.