UPSC Weekly Current Affairs Quiz | June 23 to June 29, 2024

1. Cultural disruption

2. Coastal erosion

3. Salinisation of freshwater

4. Relocation of people

Which of the above are the impacts of sea level rise?

(a) 1 and 4 only

(b) 2, 3 and 4 only

(c) 1, 2, 3 and 4

(d) 3 and 4 only

Explanation

— Earlier in June, over 300 residents were relocated from the island of Gardi Sugdub in Panama’s Guna Yala province owing to fears about increasing sea levels. The families were relocated to Nuevo Cartí, a recently constructed housing estate on the mainland in Guna Yala, an autonomous part of the country.

— Gardi Sugdub is home to roughly 1,300 members of the Guna community, an indigenous population that has settled in Panama’s autonomous zones and a few Colombian communities.

— Many small island developing states (SIDS) in the Caribbean, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea face existential concerns as sea levels rise.

— SIDS such as Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, and Kiribati are facing some of the most severe consequences of increasing sea levels. In addition to losing territory, these islands face existential threats to their culture and economics.

— Rising sea levels, combined with storm surges and ‘king tides’ (the maximum high tide of the year at a coastal site), are causing coastal erosion, salinity of freshwater resources, and greater vulnerability to extreme weather events.

— As the effects of sea level rise worsen, the fate of small islands like Gardi Sugdub in Panama demonstrates the rising human toll of such climate disasters. The disappearance of island dwellings is both an environmental and cultural issue.

— The move jeopardises these traditions as the Guna adjust to a new environment that may not support their customary customs.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 2

Which of the following states’ governments formally applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the sweet called Dodol?

(a) Goa

(b) Kerala

(c) Karnataka

(d) Tamil Nadu

Explanation

— The Goa government has formally applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Goan sweet known as Dodol.

— The application was filed by the All Goa Bakers and Confectioners Association, with the Goa Government’s Department of Science, Technology, and Waste Management serving as a facilitator.

— Dodol is a traditional Goan sweet that is sometimes compared to Bebinca, the ‘Queen of Goan desserts’. It has a hard, jelly-like feel and is dark brownish in colour. It is created with rice flour, coconut milk, and black palm jaggery.

— Dodol and its derivatives are popular in southern India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 3

Recently, the Chang’e-6 became the first spacecraft to bring back samples from the far side of the Moon — the part that the Earth never gets to see. Which of the following countries has launched Chang’e-6?

(a) Russia

(b) United States

(c) China

(d) Japan

Explanation:

— China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft became the first to return samples from the far side of the Moon, which the Earth never sees.

— On June 1, the lander descended to the Moon’s surface and spent two days collecting rocks and soil from one of the oldest and largest lunar craters, the 2,500 km-wide South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, using a robotic arm and drill.

— The lander then launched an ascension module, which delivered the samples to the Chang’e-6 lunar orbiter. On June 21, the orbiter released a service module, which returned the samples to Earth.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 4

With reference to the GST Council, consider the following statements:

1. The GST regime came into force after the Constitutional (124th Amendment) Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament in 2017.

2. The President set up the GST Council as a joint forum under Article 279A (1).

3. Each state can nominate a minister in charge which act as chairperson on a rotational basis.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Explanation

— The 53rd Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council met in Delhi under the Chairpersonship of Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs.

— The council recommended taxes on items such as milk cans and solar cookers and announced some relief for students living in certain kinds of rented accommodation.

— It also reduced the GST on cartons from 18% to 12% to provide relief to apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

— The GST regime came into force after the Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament in 2016. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

— It came into effect in 2017 and was billed as an attempt to simplify the existing tax structure in India, where both the Centre and states levied multiple taxes, and to make it uniform.

— The President set up the GST Council as a joint forum of the Centre and the states, under Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution. Hence statement 2 is correct.

— It said that members of the Council include the Union Finance Minister (chairperson), and the Union Minister of State (Finance) from the Centre. Each state can nominate a minister in charge of finance or taxation or any other minister, as a member. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

— According to Article 279, the council is meant to “make recommendations to the Union and the states on important issues related to GST, like the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST Laws”. It also decides on various rate slabs of GST, whether they need to be modified for certain product categories, and so on.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 5

Consider the following statements:

1. The Northern Hemisphere gets more direct sunlight between March and September over the course of a day.

2. During the solstice, the Earth’s axis is tilted in a way that the South Pole is tipped towards the Sun and the North Pole is away from it.

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

— June 21 marks the longest day of the year for everyone residing north of the Equator. The day is known as the summer solstice, and it happens when the Sun is squarely above the Tropic of Cancer, or just over 23.5 degrees north latitude.

— Because the Earth revolves on its axis, the Northern Hemisphere receives more direct sunshine every day between March and September, resulting in summer for those who live there. Hence statement 1 is correct.

— During the solstice, the Earth’s axis — around which the planet spins, completing one revolution per day — is tilted so that the North Pole is turned towards the Sun and the South Pole is pointed away from it. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

— Typically, the Northern Hemisphere receives the most sunlight around this time on June 20-21 or 22. In contrast, the Southern Hemisphere receives the maximum sunlight on December 21, 22, or 23, when the Northern Hemisphere experiences its longest night – also known as the winter solstice.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 6

Consider the following countries:

1. Iran

2. Kyrgyzstan

3. Russia

4. Afghanistan

Which of the countries given above enjoy the status of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) full members?

(a) 1, 2 and 4 only

(b) 2, 3 and 4 only

(c) 1, 2, 3 and 4

(d) 1, 2 and 3 only

Explanation

— Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit this year. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to lead the Indian delegation to Kazakhstan’s capital Astana next week.

— The External Affairs Minister will be leading our delegation to the SCO Summit.

— The summit will take place from July 3-4 in Astana.

— Kazakhstan took over the SCO presidency from India, which was the president last year. India hosted the SCO summit virtually in July 2023.

— Currently, nine countries enjoy the status of the SCO full members: India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; three countries — Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia — have an observer status with the SCO, and fourteen countries — Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Cambodia, Egypt, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Türkiye and UAE — have a dialogue partner status.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

(Other Source: eng.sectsco.org)

QUESTION 7

With reference to the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) method used in Cricket, consider the following statements:

1. It fairly determines results and sets targets in rain-truncated matches.

2. The method was fully adopted by the ICC in 1999.

3. In 2014, some crucial updates were made to better reflect modern scoring trends.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Explanation

— Frank Duckworth, 84, died on June 21. It is not an exaggeration to claim that he and colleague statistician Tony Lewis have had a greater influence on cricket than many players.

— The Duckworth-Lewis system, which is used to fairly judge results and set targets in rain-truncated matches, was devised by the duo. Hence statement 1 is correct.

— This system was introduced in international cricket in 1997 and was fully adopted by the ICC in 1999. Hence statement 2 is correct.

— In 2014, Australian statistician Steven Stern updated the DL method to better represent recent score trends, resulting in the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) approach. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 8

The Republic of Dagestan was recently in the news. It is located in:

(a) Finland

(b) Russia

(c) China

(d) Mongolia

Explanation

— In Dagestan, Russia’s southern republic, gunmen killed at least 15 police officers and many civilians in what appeared to be coordinated attacks.

— According to Dagestan’s Interior Ministry, the attackers targeted a synagogue and a church in Derbent, near the Caspian Sea.

— The Republic of Dagestan is situated on Russia’s southern tip. The Caspian Sea is to the east, Azerbaijan to the south, and Georgia to the west. Chechnya, another restive Russian republic, is located to its northwest.

— According to a 2012 census, Dagestan has a population of 2.2 million, with at least 83% practising Islam. The region is also home to minority native Tati-speaking Jews and pentecostal Christians.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 9

Consider the following statements:

1. The five-year term of a Lok Sabha MP begins after subscribing to an oath or affirmation prescribed in the Constitution.

2. The Constitution does not specify any penalty if a person participates or votes in House proceedings without taking an oath.

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

— Before the House may undertake legislative business, freshly elected members must take the Members of Parliament (MP) oath, as mandated by the Constitution.

— The President has appointed him as Speaker (pro tem) under Article 95(1) of the Constitution until the new Speaker is elected. Mahtab will preside over the House while his colleagues take oaths.

— The five-year tenure of a Lok Sabha MP begins when the Election Commission of India (ECI) declares the results under Section 73 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. MPs are now eligible for some rights as elected representatives. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

— The beginning of their term also implies that if MPs change their party affiliation, their political party can request that the Speaker dismiss them from Parliament under the anti-defection law.

— An MP’s participation in House proceedings is not guaranteed just because they won the election and began their term. To debate and vote in Lok Sabha, an MP must take an oath or affirmation as mandated by the Constitution (Article 99).

— The Constitution also provides a Rs 500 financial penalty (the only one in the document) for participating or voting in House sessions without taking an oath (Article 104). Hence statement 2 is not correct.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 10

Consider the following countries:

1. Vietnam

2. Laos

3. China

4. Malaysia

5. Indonesia

6. Philippines

Which of the above countries have been making competing claims over parts of the South China Sea?

(a) 1, 2, 3 and 6 only

(b) 2, 3, 4 and 6 only

(c) 1, 3, 4 and 6 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Explanation

— The Philippine ambassador to the United States has warned that his country’s confrontation with China in the South China Sea may escalate to the point where “the entire Asian region will be completely included”.

— China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei Darussalam have long had rival claims to areas of the South China Sea.

— Sierra Madre, a ship from World War II, is an important aspect in China and the Philippines’ relationship.

— In the 1990s, the Philippines brought this ship to the Second Thomas Shoal, part of the mostly uninhabited Spratly Islands. A few years ago, China claimed the neighbouring Mischief Reef.

Zoomed out map of South China Sea. (Via Wikimedia Commons)

— The Philippines deliberately positioned the ship to further its territorial claims. Since then, it has deployed smaller boats to repair the ship and supplies to the crew on board.

— China has ordered the ship’s withdrawal, which the Philippines has denied. Today, the ship is mostly deteriorated and rusted. However, removing it would weaken the Philippines’ claims to the islands and allow China to establish a presence there.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 11

With reference to the office of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, consider the following statements:

1. According to the Constitution of India, both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be appointed “as soon as may be” and specifies a time frame for making the appointments.

2. The Deputy Speaker has the same general powers as the Speaker when presiding over the House.

3. The Speaker or Dy Speaker is elected from among the Lok Sabha members by a simple majority of members present and voting.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 2 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanations

What does the Constitution say about the Deputy Speaker?

— According to Article 95(1), the Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker if the post is vacant. The Deputy Speaker has the same general powers as the Speaker when presiding over the House. All references to the “Speaker” in the Rules are deemed to be references to the Deputy Speaker as well for the times when he or she presides. Hence statement 2 is correct.

— Both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be appointed “as soon as may be”. Article 93 states that “The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker”.

— Article 178 contains the corresponding provision for the Speakers and Deputy Speakers in the state Assemblies.

Is it mandatory under the Constitution to have a Deputy Speaker?

— The Constitution does not specify a time frame for making the appointments. It is this gap in the provision that allows governments to delay or avoid appointing a Deputy Speaker. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

— However, constitutional experts have pointed out that both Article 93 and Article 178 use the words “shall” and “as soon as may be” – indicating that not only is the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker mandatory, it must be held at the earliest.

What are the rules for the election of the Deputy Speaker?

— The Speaker / Dy Speaker is elected from among the Lok Sabha members by a simple majority of members present and voting. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 12

With reference to Sucheta Kriplaini, consider the following statements:

1. She was associated with several relief activities including the pre-Partition riots in Noakhali in 1946.

2. She was India’s first woman Chief Minister.

3. She was the first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 2 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanations

— June 25 was the birth anniversary of Sucheta Kripalani, India’s first woman Chief Minister. Kripalani, a freedom fighter who was born in 1908, served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for about three and a half years from October 2, 1963 to March 13, 1967. She than served as Lok Sabha MP until 1971. Hence, statement 2 is correct and statement 3 is not correct.

— In the last week of September 1963, when the Congress leadership was considering probable successors of Chandra Bhanu Gupta, who had been asked to resign as the CM of UP under the Kamaraj Plan, Gupta was in Delhi to pay a courtesy call to the ailing Acharya J B Kripalani, a former Congress president and a Gandhian stalwart. His wife Sucheta Kripalani, who was a cabinet colleague of Gupta, was also in Delhi at that time, taking care of her husband. During a conversation, J B Kripalani, in a lighter vein, asked Gupta, “Why don’t you give the CM’s post to her [Sucheta]?”

— The idea appealed to him (Gupta), and he, at an opportune moment, suggested to PM Nehru to consider replacing him with Sucheta as the new leader of the CLP, ignoring the likes of Kamalapati Tripathi. Sucheta Kripalani, while recounting the story, said that when J B Kripalani had had a heart attack and was being treated at the Willingdon Hospital (now Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital) in New Delhi, K C Pant (the son of G B Pant) had come to see J B Kripalani, and he had told Sucheta that her name was being considered as Gupta’s successor.

— However, a final decision was taken after a meeting of the CLP was held in Lucknow, where party MLAs were given blank papers to write the name of the person they favoured as leader of the CLP. There were only two contenders — Sucheta Kripalani and Kamalapati Tripathi. When the counting was completed, it turned out that Sucheta won by a margin of 99 votes. That is how she was elected as the CLP leader. She was sworn in as the fourth CM of UP on 2 October 1963 and, thus, became the first female CM of not only UP, but of any Indian state.

— The politics of Sucheta Kripalani cannot be understood in isolation; her contributions were multidimensional. She was associated with several relief activities, be it for the 1934 earthquake in Bihar; the pre-Partition riots in Noakhali in 1946; the rehabilitation of Tibetan refugees, including the Dalai Lama, in 1959; or providing help to the East Pakistan refugees during the Indo-Pak War of 1971. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 13

With reference to ‘Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence’, consider the following statements:

1. It is a foreign policy concept that was first articulated in an agreement betweem India and China in 1954.

2. What China calls the Five Principles is known in India as Panchsheel, which was a key aspect of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of the world and the relations between nations and neighbours.

3. The agreement aimed to enhance trade and cooperation between the two countries, listed important religious pilgrimages and India for the first time recognised Tibet as the Tibet Region of China.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation

— China will hold commemorative events to mark the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence — a foreign policy concept that was first articulated in an agreement with India in 1954 — on Friday (June 28).

— The ceremony in Beijing will be chaired by Prime Minister Li Qiang. President Xi Jinping will deliver the keynote address. The event has been given a forward-looking focus, with the theme of “From the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence to Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind”.

Panchsheel: The Five Principles

— The Panchsheel Agreement, formally known as The Agreement on Trade and Intercourse with Tibet Region, was signed on April 29, 1954, by N Raghavan, the Indian Ambassador to China, and Zhang Han-Fu, China’s Foreign Minister.

— The preamble of the Panchsheel Treaty lay down five guiding principles:

1) Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty;

2) Mutual non-aggression;

3) Mutual non-interference;

4) Equality and mutual benefit; and

5) Peaceful co-existence.

— The agreement aimed to enhance trade and cooperation between the two countries, establishing each country’s trade centres in major cities of the other, and laid out a framework for trade. The agreement also listed important religious pilgrimages, provisions for pilgrims, and acceptable routes and passes available to them.

— Importantly, India for the first time recognised Tibet as the Tibet Region of China.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 14

Which of the following countries have jointly developed Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), recently seen in news?

(a) US and France

(b) India and Russia

(c) China and France

(d) China and Russia

Explanation

— A satellite jointly developed by China and France was launched into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province on Saturday (June 22).

— It is the most powerful satellite yet for studying gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) — they result from some of the universe’s most explosive events such as the birth of black holes and neutron star collisions — according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

— Known as Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), the spacecraft is expected to play an important role in astronomical explorations.

— It is the first astronomy satellite jointly developed by China and France. In 2018, the two countries had together developed and launched an oceanographic satellite.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 15

With reference to Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is a reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism drive decided by the National Action Plan’s Central Apex Committee of Bangladesh.

2. Neighbouring countries have also exchanged information regarding priorities and procedures for designating various terrorist entities/ groups and individuals with respect to the operation.

Select the answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

— A senior commander of the banned terror group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed that his outfit is working with outlawed separatist groups in Balochistan to sabotage the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, the restive province’s Home Minister Mir Zia Langrove said on Wednesday.

— “Nasrullah aka Maulvi Mansoor, who heads the defence shoora in the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), was arrested recently in Balochistan by security forces while he was planning terror attacks in the province.

— Maulvi Mansoor has revealed some very important information about the terror activities in Balochistan,” Langrove told a press conference in Quetta.

— The arrests came a day after the federal cabinet approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam — a reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism drive decided by the National Action Plan’s Central Apex Committee, The News International reported.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

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