[MISSION 2024] RTM(Revision through MCQs)- 8 February 2024

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Statement 2 is incorrect.
• What is Uniform Civil Code?
  • A UCC would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities, in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
  • All Hindus of the country are not governed by one law, nor are all Muslims or all Christians. For instance, in the Northeast, there are more than 200 tribes with their own varied customary laws. The Constitution itself protects local customs in Nagaland. Similar protections are enjoyed by Meghalaya and Mizoram. Even reformed Hindu law, in spite of codification, protects customary practices.
  • The exception to this rule is the state of Goa, where all religions have a common law regarding marriages, divorces, and adoption.
• What does the Constitution say about a UCC?
  • Article 44 of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for citizens throughout the territory of India.
  • Article 44 is among the Directive Principles of State Policy. Directive Principles are not enforceable by court, but are supposed to inform and guide governance.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/08/uttarakhand-uniform-civil-code-ucc-2024-bill/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It fulfills the obligations to the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a signatory.
• Disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept.
• The types of disabilities have been increased from existing 7 to 21 and the Central Government will have the power to add more types of disabilities.
• Additional benefits such as reservation in higher education (not less than 5%), government jobs (not less than 4 %), reservation in allocation of land, poverty alleviation schemes (5% allotment) etc. have been provided for persons with benchmark disabilities and those with high support needs.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/08/draft-guidelines-for-accessibility-for-the-hearing-and-visually-impaired-in-movie-halls/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Context: Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Hussain’s fusion band Shakti earned recognition at the 66th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, winning the Global Music Album award for their album “This Moment.”
  • Formation: Shakti was formed in 1973 after the disbandment of the first Mahavishnu Orchestra.
  • Album: Shakti reformed in 2020 and released their first album in 46 years, “This Moment,” in 2023, featuring eight new compositions.
  • The highlight is the historic achievement of Ustad Zakir Hussain winning three Grammys in one night.
• The Grammy Awards, often referred to simply as the Grammys, is an annual ceremony recognizing outstanding achievements in the music industry. Hosted by the Recording Academy, the awards cover various genres and categories, including pop, rock, rap, country, classical, and more. Winners are selected through a voting process involving music industry professionals. The Grammy Awards ceremony features live performances by popular artists and serves as a platform to celebrate artistic excellence and innovation in music.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/08/grammy-awards-2024/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Context: The Geological Institute of Israel has discovered a previously unknown underwater canyon near Cyprus, named Eratosthenes after the nearby underwater mountain.
  • This canyon dates back to the Messinian Event approximately 5.5 million years ago.
  • It measures about 10 kilometres wide and 500 meters deep and was formed during a period of decreased Mediterranean Sea levels and increased salinity, resulting in gravity currents and subsidence of the seabed.
• A submarine canyon is a steep-sided valley that cuts into the continental slopes and rises of the ocean.
• Submarine canyons are believed to be primarily formed by a combination of turbidity currents and erosion by underwater landslides. Turbidity currents are dense sediment-laden currents that flow downslope along the ocean floor, often carving out canyon-like features. Additionally, underwater landslides can rapidly erode and shape the canyon walls, further contributing to their formation. This combination of processes results in the distinctive morphology of submarine canyons observed in various ocean basins.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/08/underwater-canyon/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Statement 4 is incorrect.
• Context: Satyendra Nath Bose, born on January 1, 1894, and passing away on February 4, 1974, was an eminent Indian mathematician and physicist renowned for his collaboration with Albert Einstein in developing a theory concerning the gas-like properties of electromagnetic radiation.
  • Bose’s contributions to quantum physics are significant, with his name associated with the Boson particle, Bose-Einstein condensate, and Bose-Einstein statistics.
  • His achievements earned him prestigious honours, including the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, and a Nobel Prize nomination for his contributions to Bose-Einstein statistics.
• Contributions:
  • His ground-breaking work introduced a new class of particles and laid the foundation for quantum statistics, bridging the gap between classical and modern quantum mechanics.
  • His collaboration with Einstein led to the development of the Bose-Einstein condensate theory, predicting the existence of a unique state of matter.
  • Deduced Planck’s Black body radiation law without any reference to classical electrodynamics.
  • Einstein applied Bose’s method to give the theory of ideal quantum gas and predicted the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC).

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/08/satyendra-nath-bose/

Ans: (c )

Explanation:

• Context: In a session of the Rajya Sabha, it was disclosed that the invasive pest species Thrips Parvispinus may have significantly damaged chilli crops in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, causing up to 80% of the crop loss
• Thrips parvispinus is an invasive pest species that is native to Thailand and is most prevalent in Southeast Asian countries. It is also known as Taiwanese thrips or Southeast Asia thrips.
• Thrips parvispinus can feed on a variety of host plants, including ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruit crops. It can cause severe damage, wilting, and yield loss by piercing the cells of plant tissues and extracting their contents

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/08/invasive-thrips/

Ans: (c )

Explanation:

• What are 5 differences between a turtle and a tortoise?
  • The turtle in general is an aquatic animal and the tortoise is a land animal.
  • Turtles have webbed feet and tortoises’ feet are round and stumpy (like tiny elephant feet), suitable for walking on land and burrowing.
  • Tortoises are largely vegetarians while turtles are generally omnivores.
  • Tortoises usually have dome-shaped shells whereas those of the turtles are flat and streamlined.
  • The shell of tortoises is harder and heavier compared to turtles.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/08/aldabra-giant-tortoises/

Ans: (a )

Explanation:

• Statements 1 (not air transport) and 2 (The KMTTP is a bilateral project between India and Myanmar, with both countries involved in its funding and execution.) are incorrect.
• Project Name : The Kaladan Road Project is an initiative connecting the Kolkata seaport in India to the Sittwe seaport in Myanmar via sea. It extends to Paletwa in Chin State through the Kaladan river route, and then by road to Mizoram state in Northeast India.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/02/08/kaladan-multimodal-transit-transport-project-kmttp-2/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before law but the courts have permitted reasonable classification to be made. Where the law is valid under the article, a discriminatory action would still be violative of the equality clause.
• Hence, option (a) is correct.

Refer:  UPSC CSE 2021

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers. The most important feature of the federal system adopted by the Indian Constitution is the principle that relations between the States and the centre would be based on cooperation. And for this, Independent Judiciary is the prerequisite. Hence, Option (a) is correct.

Rfer: UPSC CSE 2021