DAILY

CURRENT AFFAIRS

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Current Affairs MCQs for Practice – 09 March 2022

Question-1

With reference to the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, consider the following statements:

1. It is a volunteer foreign legion military unit created by the Government of Ukraine on the request of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fight in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

2. It would function under the territorial defence squad.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a)  1 only

b)  2 only

c)  Both 1 & 2

d)  Neither 1 nor 2

Ans-c

Explanation-

Over 500 Indians from across the country, including some veterans, have submitted applications volunteering to join the International Legion created to fight Russian forces in Ukraine, diplomatic sources said.

• The International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine is also known as the Ukrainian Foreign Legion.
• It is a volunteer foreign legion military unit created by the Government of Ukraine on the request of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fight in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• It would function under the territorial defence squad.
• It is one of several Ukrainian volunteer battalions formed since 2014.

Indian response

• One Indian has, so far, joined the Ukraine International Legion.
• Indian domestic law clearly states such an act is punishable under Chapter VI, Section 121-130 of the Indian Penal Code (offences against the state).
• They are punished under the section “Committing depredation on territories of power at peace with the Government of India”.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Question-2

Temporary Protection Directive (TPD), recently seen in news, is related to:

a)  BRICS

b)  European Union 

c)  G7

d)  None of the above

Ans- b

Explanation-

Over 1.5 million people fled Ukraine in the first 10 days of fighting, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which has described the displacement as the “fastest growing refugee crisis since the Second World War”.

• Responding to the crisis, EU Member States on March 3 made the unprecedented decision to activate the European Union’s Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001, known as the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD).
• The war in Ukraine is the first time that the EU has invoked the TPD. It is being seen as another sign of European unity against Russia.
• The European Commission describes “temporary protection” under the TPD as an “exceptional measure to provide immediate and temporary protection to displaced persons from non-EU countries and those unable to return to their country of origin”.
• The directive applies when “there is a risk that the standard asylum system is struggling to cope with demand stemming from a mass influx risking a negative impact on the processing of claims”.
• Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Question-3

With reference to the “PARAM Ganga”, consider the following statements:

1. The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) has deployed “PARAM Ganga”, a supercomputer at IIT Roorkee, with a supercomputing capacity of 1.66 Petaflops.

2. The system is designed and commissioned by C-DAC under Phase 2 of the build approach of the NSM.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a)  1 only

b)  2 only

c)  Both 1 & 2

d)  Neither 1 nor 2

Ans- c

Explanation-

·      The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) has deployed “PARAM Ganga”, a supercomputer at IIT Roorkee, with a supercomputing capacity of 1.66 Petaflops.

·      The system is designed and commissioned by C-DAC under Phase 2 of the build approach of the NSM.

·      The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) is being steered jointly by Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeiTY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and implemented by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.

·      The four major pillars of the NSM are, namely, Infrastructure, Applications, R&D, HRD.

·      C-DAC has been entrusted the responsibility to design, development, deployment and commissioning of the supercomputing systems under the build approach of Mission.

·      Till now C-DAC has deployed 11 systems at IISc, IITs, IISER Pune, JNCASR, NABI-Mohali and C-DAC under NSM Phase-1 and Phase-2 with a cumulative compute power of more than 20 Petaflops.

·      Hence both statements are correct.

Question-4

China has recently accused which country for trying to build an “Indo-Pacific NATO” ?

a)  India

b)  Japan

c)  The US

d)  The UK

Ans- c

Explanation-

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday accused the United States of trying to build an “Indo-Pacific NATO” using the Quad and its allies, and said “some forces” were seeking to “stoke tensions” between China and India as well as “sow discord” between China and Russia.

Question-5

Consider the following statements regarding the SARAS radio telescope:

1.    The telescope is built by India in collaboration with the Russian space agency.

2.   It is used in detecting extremely faint radio wave signals from the stars.

3.   Like all electromagnetic waves, radio waves travel in a vacuum at the speed of light.

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

a)  1 and 2 only

b)  2 only

c)  2 and 3 only

d)  1 and 3 only

Ans – c

Explanation-

SARAS 3 radio telescope refutes the recent claim of the discovery of a radio wave signal from cosmic dawn.

SARAS Telescope

• SARAS 3 is an indigenously invented and built radio telescope that can detect extremely faint radio wave signals from the depths of time.
• It can detect faint cosmological signals, especially radiation emitted by hydrogen atoms at the 21-cm wavelength (1.4 GHz) arising from the depths of the cosmos.
• Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz (GHz) and below.
• Like all electromagnetic waves, radio waves in vacuum travel at the speed of light, and in the Earth's atmosphere at a close, but slightly lower speed.

Question-6

Consider the following statements regarding Daylight Harvesting Technology (DHT):

1.    It is an advanced technology used in harvesting cash crops, powered by solar energy.

2.   The technology is funded by the Ministry of Power in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture.

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

Ans- d

Explanation-

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh says, Ministry of Science & Technology has decided to promote a unique, possibly India's first, Start-up in latest Daylight Harvesting Technology.

Daylight Harvesting Technology (DHT)

• Daylight Harvesting is one of the most advanced techniques used in sustainable lighting designs for contemporary buildings.
• It automatically adjusts the brightness of light in conjecture to the amount of light available in that space.
• The solar energy spectrum has 45% energy as visible light and this can be used to harvest building illumination for about 9-11 hours a day.
• The Technology used is completely indigenous, economically viable and easy to deploy and needs minimal maintenance with longevity.

Question-7

Consider the following statements regarding the Temporary Protection Directive:

1.    It is an exceptional measure by the European Commission used to protect the displaced persons from the non-EU countries.

2.   Germany and France are the European Union members who are not part of the Temporary Protection Directive.

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

Ans- a

Explanation-

Temporary Protection Directive

• The European Commission describes temporary protection as an exceptional measure to provide immediate and temporary protection to displaced persons from non-EU countries and those unable to return to their country of origin.
• The European Commission describes “temporary protection” under the TPD as an “exceptional measure to provide immediate and temporary protection to displaced persons from non-EU countries and those unable to return to their country of origin”.
• All members of the European Union are members of the Temporary protection directive.

Question-8

With reference to the Government e Marketplace, consider the following statements:

1. It is a 100 percent Government owned Section 8 company setup under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Finance.

2. It aims for procurement of goods and services by State Government and Central Government organizations.

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

Ans- b

Explanation-

·      On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, Government eMarketplace [GeM] has launched a new service vertical “Stitching and Tailoring Services” on the GeM portal in partnership with USHA International Ltd., through its Silai School Programme.

·      The service will open new opportunities for Usha Silai Women and self-help groups in urban and rural areas to enhance their livelihood incomes through sewing orders placed by various Government departments and agencies and fulfil the 3 percent procurement target set aside for women MSE entrepreneurs.

·      Government e Marketplace is a 100 percent Government owned Section 8 company setup under the administrative control of the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for procurement of goods and services by State Government and Central Government organizations.

·      Hence only statement 2 is correct.

Question-9

With reference to the age of consent, consider the following statements:

1. The Philippines raised its age of sexual consent from 12 years to 16 years.

2. In India, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, defines a “child” as anyone below 18 years of age, and hence, engaging in sexual activity with a ‘child’ is considered sexual assault.

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

Ans- c

Explanation-

·      The Philippines raised its age of sexual consent from 12 years to 16 years.

·      For years activists had called upon the government to raise the age of consent in the Philippines.

·      Until now, it had one of the lowest ages of consent in the world, with roughly one in five children experiencing sexual violence.

Age of consent in other countries

·      In India, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, defines a “child” as anyone below 18 years of age, and hence, engaging in sexual activity with a ‘child’ is considered sexual assault.

·      With the Philippines’ new law, the age of consent remains lowest in Angola at 12 years.

·      According to data provided by the World Population Review, Japan has the age of consent at 13, and countries like China, Germany, Italy and Brazil have it as 14.

·      In the United States, the age of consent is decided by states individually and varies between 16 to 18. The United Kingdom, too, has 16 as its age of consent.

·      Hence both statements are correct.

Question-10

Consider the following statements regarding Plasma:

1.    Plasma is the third state of matter and is a poor conductor of electricity.

2.   It has equal numbers of positively and negatively charges particles.

3.   Plasma is produced when the atoms in a gas become ionized.

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

a)   1 and 2 only

b)   1 only

c)   3 only

d)   1, 2 and 3

Ans- b

Explanation-

Scientists have unravelled the science behind the jets of plasma - the fourth state of matter consisting of electrically charged particles that occur just about everywhere in the sun’s chromosphere.

Plasma

• Plasma, in physics, is an electrically conducting medium.
• There are equal numbers of positively and negatively charged particles, produced when the atoms in a gas become ionized.
• It is sometimes referred to as the fourth state of matter, distinct from the solid, liquid, and gaseous states.

Source- The Hindu Newspaper /PIB/ The Indian Express