[MISSION 2024] RTM(Revision through MCQs)- 25 January 2024

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Only statements 2 and 3 are correct.
• The Border Security Force (BSF) is India’s border guarding organisation at its borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 “for ensuring the security of the borders of India and for related matters”.
  • 7 security forces in CAPF namely- Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Assam Rifles (AR), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guards (NSG) and Border Security Forces (BSF).
• It is under the control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. However, the BSF has a small force of officers or “Cadre”. Notably, the head designated Director-General (DG), has been an Indian Police Service officer since its establishment
• BSF has been termed the First Line of Defence of Indian territories

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/01/25/border-security-force-bsf-and-issues-of-operational-jurisdiction/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• About Bharat Ratna:
  • The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award in India, awarded by the President of India.
  • It is conferred “in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order” without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.
  • The award was established on January 2, 1954, by the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad.
  • Initially, the Bharat Ratna was only awarded for exceptional services in the fields of science, arts, literature, and public services, but the criteria were later expanded to include any field of human endeavour.
  • The recipients receive a certificate signed by the President and a medallion. The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year. It does not carry any monetary grant. It is not a title under Article 18.
• S1 is incorrect: National awards such as Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri do not amount to titles within the meaning of Article 18(1) of the Constitution and thus are not to be used as prefixes or suffixes to the name of the recipient in any manner.
• S2 is incorrect: Padma Awards were instituted in 1954 to be awarded to citizens of India in recognition of their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity.
  • The government suspended the practice of granting the Padma awards for two years in 1977. It was again suspended during mid-1992 when 2 PILs were filed in the High Courts of India
  • They are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher-order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).
• S3 is incorrect: A maximum of 3 people can be awarded the Bharat Ratna.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/01/25/bharat-ratna-karpoori-thankur/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Context: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) announced the first recipients of the ‘Vaibhav’ fellowship, a scheme designed to attract Indian-origin scientists based abroad for short-term collaboration.
• This program aims to recognize outstanding scientists and technologists of Indian origin residing in other countries (NRI/OCI/PIO) who are engaged in research.
• The program will award fellowships to 75 selected individuals who will be invited to work in various knowledge verticals such as quantum technology, health, electronics, agriculture, and more.
• The VAIBHAV program was initiated after the VAIBHAV Summit, which connected the Indian STEMM diaspora with Indian institutions. The fellowship program will foster collaboration between scientists from the Indian diaspora and Indian educational institutions, universities, and scientific institutions.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/01/25/vaibhav-fellowship/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Statements 2 and 3 are correct.
• Statement 1: While infertility is a common reason for using ARTs, they are also used by individuals or couples who face other challenges, such as same-sex couples seeking to have children, people with medical conditions affecting fertility, or those looking to preserve their fertility for future use.
• Statement 2: All ARTs involve fertilization occurring outside the body, whether through techniques like in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), or gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT).
  • According to this definition, ART includes all fertility treatments in which either eggs or embryos are handled. In general, ART procedures involve surgically removing eggs from a woman’s ovaries, combining them with sperm in the laboratory, and returning them to the woman’s body or donating them to another woman.
• Statement 3: ARTs raise various ethical concerns, such as informed consent, potential exploitation of egg and sperm donors, surrogacy arrangements, and the implications of multiple embryo creation and potential discard. Additionally, social issues around access to these expensive technologies and potential discrimination against individuals using them also come into play.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/01/25/surrogacy-act-2021/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Context: The Director General of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), advocates for the implementation of the SMART (Standards Machine Applicable Readable and Transferable) approach to make Indian standards easily readable and understandable for all stakeholders.
• Statement 1: You can find it here http://www.bis.org.in/cert/ProdUnManCert.asp
• Statement 2: AGMARK is a certification mark employed on agricultural products in India, assuring that they conform to a set of standards approved by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, an agency of the Government of India.
  • agritech.tnau.ac.in/amis/food_agmark.html

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/01/25/standards-machine-applicable-readable-and-transferable-smart/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Only statement 3 is correct.
• Context: India has surpassed Hong Kong to become the fourth-largest equity market globally, with the combined value of shares listed on Indian exchanges reaching $4.33 trillion compared to Hong Kong’s $4.29 trillion.
• Statement 1: This is false. While a higher stock price can often indicate strong company performance, it does not always tell the whole story. Stock prices are also influenced by market sentiment, investor expectations, and other factors not directly related to company performance.
• Statement 2: This is false. Stock splits simply divide existing shares into a larger number of shares, essentially making each individual share less valuable. This doesn’t necessarily reflect positive news about the company’s performance but rather a decision to make the stock more affordable for smaller investors.
• Statement 3: This is true. Diversifying your portfolio across different sectors and asset classes helps spread out risk and reduces the impact of volatility in any single sector on your overall investment.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/01/25/indian-stock-market/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• S1 and S2: About Dynamic Wireless Charging Technology:
  • Dynamic wireless charging technology refers to a system that enables electric vehicles (EVs) to charge while on the move by using base pads embedded under the surface of the road.
  • Unlike traditional stationary wireless charging, dynamic wireless charging allows EVs to receive power continuously as they travel, eliminating the need to stop charging.
  • This technology relies on inductive transfer of energy, similar to stationary wireless charging. The base pads installed beneath the road’s surface generate a magnetic field, and a corresponding pad on the vehicle receives this energy, facilitating charging without physical connections.
• S3:While the potential benefits of dynamic wireless charging are significant, practical challenges remain. Ensuring efficient energy transfer across varying distances and obstacles, managing potential interference with existing radio frequencies, and establishing safety protocols for large-scale implementation are ongoing areas of research and development.

Refer” https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/01/25/dynamic-wireless-charging-technology/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Statement 1: The Big Bang Theory is the prevailing cosmological model for the universe’s origin and evolution. It posits that the universe began from an incredibly small, hot, and dense point and has been expanding and cooling ever since. This aligns with current scientific observations and measurements.
• Statement 2: Galaxies, consisting of billions or even trillions of stars, gas, and dust, did not exist in the early universe. Gravity played a crucial role in pulling together clumps of matter after the Big Bang, eventually leading to the formation of galaxies over billions of years.
• Statement 3: Stars are celestial bodies fueled by nuclear fusion, primarily converting hydrogen into helium. This process releases tremendous amounts of energy in the form of light and heat, powering stars and influencing the surrounding environment.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/01/25/evolution-of-universe/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Statements 1 and 3 are correct.
• S1: A change in the Earth’s magnetic field resulting in the magnetic north being aligned with the geographic south, and the magnetic south being aligned with the geographic north is called a geomagnetic reversal. Complete magnetic reversals have happened every 200,000 to 300,000 years over the past 20 million years. But that regularity hasn’t continued, as the last known reversal occurred roughly 780,000 years ago.
• S2: Between 4.5 and 2.5 billion years (the Archaean and Proterozoic time), the earliest atmosphere contained carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), water vapour (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO), a little nitrogen (N), and hydrogen (H).
• s3: Life started to have a major impact on the environment once photosynthetic organisms evolved. While photosynthetic life reduced the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere, it also started to produce oxygen. So, when living beings originated, they did modify the atmosphere.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/01/25/evolution-of-universe/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• FMR, implemented in 2018, the Free Movement Regime (FMR) permits residents on both sides of the 1,643 km India-Myanmar border to travel up to 16 km into each other’s territory without a visa. This requires a border pass with one-year validity, allowing a two-week stay. The border spans four states: Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The India-Myanmar border is a 1,643-kilometer international boundary running from the tripoint with China in the north to the tripoint with Bangladesh in the south. The trijunction between India, China, and Myanmar is yet to be agreed upon, with the de facto tripoint located just north of the Diphu Pass. The border traverses various geographical features, including the Mishmi Hills, Patkai, Kassom Ranges, Tiau River, and Chin Hills, before reaching the Bangladeshi tripoint through irregular lines.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/01/25/free-movement-regime-fmr-with-myanmar/