UPSC Weekly Current Affairs Quiz : June 11 to June 17, 2023

1. The production of pulses in India has increased by about 50 per cent in the last decade.

2. Among all the pulses, green gram (moong) is the least produced pulses in India.

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

QUESTION 2

“MQ-9” was recently in the news. It is:

(a) Surface-to-air missile

(b) All-weather tactical fighter aircraft

(c) Unmanned aerial vehicles

(d) Submarine-launched ballistic missile

QUESTION 3

Consider the following factors:

1. Warm sea temperature

2. Low level of dissolved oxygen

3. Clear skies

How many of the above factors are responsible for the Texas fish kill?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 4

Which of the following statements is not correct about tropical cyclones?

(a) In the western North Pacific, they are called typhoons.

(b) It has a low-pressure centre.

(c) They are known as hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea.

(d) The winds blow clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

QUESTION 5

Consider the following statements about State Food Safety Index (2022-23):

1. The index is developed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

2. In the category of larger states, Kerala has topped the index.

3. In the category of Union territories, Chandigarh has topped the index.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 6

With reference to the Commission of Railway Safety, consider the following statements:

1. It deals with matters pertaining to the safety of rail travel and train operations.

2. The Commission of Railway Safety Working Under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

3. The commission has statutory functions such as inspectorial, investigatory, and advisory – as laid down in the Railways Act, 1989.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 7

Mainpuri ki Pratigya and Ghulami Mita Do were written by:

(a) Makhanlal Chaturvedi

(b) Harivansh Rai Bachchan

(c) Shyamlal Gupta

(d) Ram Prasad Bismil

QUESTION 8

Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is the only paramilitary force with a dual control structure. While the administrative control of the force is with the MHA, its operational control is with the Indian Army, which is under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The above lines refer to:

(a) Central Reserve Police Force

(b) Border Security Force 

(c) Indo-Tibetan Border Police

(d) None of the above

ANSWERS TO MCQs

1. (a)

FYI:

— During the last 10 years, India’s pulses production has increased by about 50 per cent, from 18.3 million tonnes (mt) to 27.5 mt. Much of this has been from just two crops, chana (chickpea) and moong (green gram).

— During 2012–13 and 2022–23, chana’s output has risen from 8.8 mt to 13.5 mt and the latter’s from a mere 1.2 mt to 3.7 mt (see chart). The two together now account for 62.8 per cent of the country’s total pulses production, as against 54.6 per cent in 2012-13 and 45.9 per cent in 2002-03.

— In chana, the stimulus has come not only from a hike in its minimum support price (MSP), from Rs 3,000 per quintal in 2012-13 to Rs 5,335 in 2022-23, but also from government agencies undertaking procurement at these official rates.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

2. (c)

FYI:

— Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement of armed Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), an aeronautics company based in the United States.

— As per GA-ASI, the MQ-9 UAV has an endurance of over 27 hours, speeds of 240 KTAS, can operate up to 50,000 feet, and has a 3,850 pound (1,746 kilograms) payload capacity that includes 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms) of external stores.

— The aircraft’s manufacturer also says that it can carry 500 per cent more payload and has nine times the horsepower in comparison to the earlier MQ-1 Predator.

— MQ-9 UAV provides long-endurance, persistent surveillance, and strike capability for the warfighter.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

3. (b)

FYI:

— Thousands of dead fish washed up on multiple beaches in southeast Texas. The incident took place due to a phenomenon called “fish kill”.

— It is the sudden and unexpected death of many fish or other aquatic animals over a short period and mostly within a particular area.

— A combination of factors led to the occurrence of the Texas fish kill such as:

(i) Warm sea temperatures.

(ii) Low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water

(iii) Calm seas

(iv) Cloudy skies (phytoplanktons unable to carry out the process of photosynthesis, which is another way of producing oxygen in the water.)

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

4. (d)

FYI:

— Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to generate wind speeds of 125-135 kmph with gusts reaching up to 150 kmph by the time it reaches land.

— The National Disaster Management Authority classifies cyclones broadly into two categories: extratropical cyclones and tropical cyclones

— A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm originating over tropical oceans from where it draws the energy to develop. 

— It has a low-pressure centre and clouds spiraling towards the eyewall surrounding the “eye”, the central part of the system where the weather is normally calm and free of clouds.

— Its diameter is typically around 200 to 500 km but can reach 1000 km.

— A tropical cyclone brings very violent winds, torrential rain, high waves and, in some cases, very destructive storm surges and coastal flooding.

— The winds blow counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

— Tropical cyclones have different names depending on their location and strength. For instance, they are known as hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the North Atlantic Ocean and the eastern and central North Pacific Ocean. In the western North Pacific, they are called typhoons.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

Other Source: (public.wmo.int)

5. (b)

FYI:

— The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) released the State Food Safety Index (SFSI) 2022-23.

— The index aims to measure the performance of states and Union Territories on selected “parameters” of food safety.

— According to the FSSAI, the index is aimed at encouraging states and UTs to “improve their performance and work towards establishing a proper food safety ecosystem in their jurisdiction”.

— The top performers of the Index are:

(i) In larger states: Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu

(ii) In smaller states: Goa, Manipur and Sikkim

(iii) In Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

Other Source: (http://www.fssai.gov.in)

6. (c)

FYI:

— The Commission of Railway Safety Working Under the Ministry of Civil Aviation of the Government of India.

— It deals with matters pertaining to the safety of rail travel and train operation.

— It is charged with certain statutory functions as laid down in the Railway Act(1989), which are of inspectorial, investigatory and advisory nature.

— The key responsibility of CRS is investigating serious train accidents.

— It is headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

Other Source: (crs.gov.in)

7. (d)

FYI:

— Ram Prasad Bismil was born on June 11, 1897 in a nondescript village in the United Provinces’ (now Uttar Pradesh) Shahjahanpur district.

— Today, he is one of India’s most revered freedom fighters, known as much for his revolutionary zeal as for his poetic profundity.

— Fighting against the British Raj, he was involved in the Mainpuri Conspiracy of 1918 as well as the more famous Kakori Train Action of 1925. He founded the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA, later Hindustan Socialist Republican Association) and was hanged for his revolutionary activities in 1927.

The Mainpuri Conspiracy

— After graduating from school, Bismil got involved in politics. However, he would soon be disillusioned by the so-called moderate wing of the Congress Party. Bismil was not willing to “negotiate” or “beg” for his country’s freedom – if the British did not accede, he was willing to take it by force, as one of his most famous poems, Ghulami Mita Do illustrates.

“Duniya se ghulami ka main naam mita doonga,
Ek baar zamaane ko azaad bana doonga.”

(Loosely translated: I will erase all servitude from this world, And usher in an age of freedom)

— In 1918, Bismil wrote arguably his most famous poem, Mainpuri ki Pratigya, which was distributed across the United Provinces in pamphlets, bringing him adulation of nationalist locals and notoriety with the British. That year, in order to collect funds for his fledgling organisation, her carried out at least three instances of looting at government offices in Mainpuri district.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

8. (d)

FYI:

— For the past some days, about seven battalions of the Assam Rifles deployed in south Manipur have not received fresh ration with people in Meitei areas allegedly blocking supplies from reaching the camps of the force.

— The Meiteis have been accusing the Assam Rifles, the longest-serving paramilitary force in India, of being partisan and siding with the Kukis in the ongoing conflict.

The Assam Rifles

— Assam Rifles is one of the six central armed police forces (CAPFs) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The other forces being the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

— It is tasked with the maintenance of law and order in the North East along with the Indian Army and also guards the Indo-Myanmar border in the region. It has a sanctioned strength of over 63,000 personnel and has 46 battalions apart from administrative and training staff.

The dual control structure

— Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is the only paramilitary force with a dual control structure. While the administrative control of the force is with the MHA, its operational control is with the Indian Army, which is under the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

— This means that salaries and infrastructure for the force is provided by the MHA, but the deployment, posting, transfer and deputation of the personnel is decided by the Army. All its senior ranks, from DG to IG and sector headquarters are manned by officers from the Army. The force is commanded by a Lieutenant General from the Indian Army.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

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