UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 09 January 2024

Solution: b)

Statement 1 is incorrect.

Ennore Creek in Chennai, situated along the Coromandel Coast, serves as a crucial buffer for the aquifers of the Araniyar-Kosasthalaiyar Basin, protecting them from the sea. Positioned in the floodplains of three rivers on a disaster-prone coastline, Chennai relies on wetlands like Ennore Creek as natural shock absorbers during calamities.

The creek is part of the Pulicat water system, including the Pulicat lagoon and the Buckingham Canal.

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Solution: a)

Only Statement 1 is correct.

India’s engagement with the Arctic began when it signed the Svalbard Treaty in February 1920 in Paris between Norway, the US, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Ireland, and the British overseas Dominions and Sweden concerning Spitsbergen. Ever since then, India has been closely monitoring all the developments in the Arctic region.

India has launched its first winter expedition to Himadri, its Arctic Research Station at Ny-Ålesund in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.  The station, which was previously operational for about 180 days annually, will now remain operational throughout the year. This move makes India one of the few countries to operate its Arctic research bases during winter.

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Solution: a)

Only Statement 1 is correct.

The Rajya Sabha’s Subordinate Legislation Committee has criticized the Union government for prolonged delays in framing rules for Acts passed by Parliament.

What are Subordinate Legislations?

Subordinate legislations are laws or regulations created by authorities to implement and administer the broader statutes passed by the legislature. These regulations, also known as delegated or secondary legislation, provide detailed guidelines and procedures necessary for the effective enforcement of primary laws.

Although the concept of delegated legislation was not mentioned specifically in the Indian Constitution it can be understood by interpreting Article 312.

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Solution: b)

Statement 3 and 4 is correct.

Solution: b)

Statement 1 is incorrect.

• The fourth unit of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP-4) in Gujarat, with a capacity of 700 MWe, achieved criticality recently, marking the initiation of a controlled fission chain reaction.
• The Kakrapar facility, houses the largest indigenous nuclear power reactors built by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
• These pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) utilize natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as coolant and moderator.
• The Kakrapar Atomic Power Station includes two operating PHWRs with a capacity of 220 MWe each, known as KAPS-1 and -2.
• The NPCIL, a public sector undertaking of the Department of Atomic Energy, already operates indigenous PHWRs at other facilities.

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