UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 3 May 2024

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Context: NABARD has initiated a study to evaluate the impact of Geographical Indication (GI) products.
  • This study aims to assess the benefits received by artisans and producers due to GI tags.
• In India, GI tags are issued as per the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act,1999. This tag is issued by the Geographical Indication Registry under the Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/02/impact-of-gi-certified-products/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Context: In 2023, while world food prices experienced a significant decline from their 2022 highs, India saw persistently high food inflation, reaching 9.5% in December 2023. This contrasts sharply with global deflation of -10.1% during the same period.
• If inflation were entrenched, it would mean that prices would not come back down, and that the new prices we see in the market would be a more permanent fixture in the economic life of citizens.
• Entrenched inflation tends to stick around even after the immediate problems that spurred it on have resolved.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/02/indias-high-food-inflation/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Context: In 2023, while world food prices experienced a significant decline from their 2022 highs, India saw persistently high food inflation, reaching 9.5% in December 2023. This contrasts sharply with global deflation of -10.1% during the same period.
• Core inflation — that is the inflation rate when prices of food and fuel are taken away. Core inflation typically rises and falls more gradually than inflation in food and fuel.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/02/indias-high-food-inflation/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Demand-pull inflation occurs when the aggregate demand for goods and services in an economy exceeds aggregate supply, leading to upward pressure on prices. Option C accurately describes this situation where demand outstrips supply, causing prices to rise. Options A and B describe scenarios related to monetary policy but do not specifically address the relationship between demand and supply. Option D describes a situation of deflation, where demand is lower than supply, leading to falling prices.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/02/indias-high-food-inflation/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Hyperinflation is an extreme form of inflation characterized by rapid and out-of-control increases in prices. One consequence of hyperinflation is the erosion of savings and wealth as the real value of money rapidly declines. Option C accurately describes this consequence, as individuals’ savings and assets lose value in hyperinflationary environments. Options A, B, and D are not consequences associated with hyperinflation; instead, they may be observed under conditions of low or stable inflation.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/02/indias-high-food-inflation/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Methane, like other greenhouse gases, absorbs and re-emits infrared radiation, leading to the trapping of heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. This phenomenon, known as the greenhouse effect, contributes to global warming by increasing the Earth’s average surface temperature.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/02/reports-study-in-news/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: ‘Standards for a Net Zero Iron and Steel sector in India’

• Released by the International Energy Agency
• The policy brief emphasizes standards for low and near-zero emissions steel (including the promotion of Green Steel), covering measurement methodologies and defining emissions thresholds.
• India ranks as the world’s second-largest steel-producing country, contributing 7% of total crude steel productionIndia’s steel industry presently represents 12% of carbon dioxide emissions, a figure projected to double by 2030, fueled by government infrastructure initiatives.
• Initiatives to standardize the steel sector in India include the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy of 2019, the Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) scheme under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, and the establishment of 14 Task Forces by the Ministry of Steel to support the development of a “Roadmap for Green Steel.” Globally, initiatives such as the Steel Breakthrough launched during COP26 in 2021 and the Steel Standard Principles introduced at COP28 in 2023 focus on defining and establishing measurement methodologies for low and near-zero emissions steel.
• The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the global energy sector. The 31 member countries and 13 association countries (including India) of the IEA represent 75% of global energy demand.
• India, which joined the IEA Family as an Association country in 2017, sent a formal request for full membership to IEA ministers in October 2023.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/02/reports-study-in-news/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Context: Alok Shukla, a forest and tribal rights activist of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, has won the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize for his campaign saving over 4 lakh acres of forests in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Aranya region from 21 planned coal mines.
  • The Hasdeo Aranya forests, spread across 1.70 lakh hectares in Chhattisgarh, are vital for biodiversity, home to 25 endangered species, 92 bird species, and 167 rare plants. The Hasdeo River, fed by these forests, irrigates 741,000 acres of farmland. Chhattisgarh, with 44% forest coverage, ranks third in India.
• The award, also known as the Green Nobel, is given by the Goldman Environmental Foundation to grassroots environmental leaders worldwide, with winners receiving USD 200,000.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/02/goldman-environmental-prize-2/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: About Ethylene:

• Ethylene is a colorless, flammable, and lighter-than-air hydrocarbon gas with a sweet, musky odour and the chemical formula C₂H₄ or H₂C=CH₂.
• It is the simplest alkene and the second simplest unsaturated hydrocarbon.
• Ethylene is a plant hormone that regulates growth and senescence and is used in agriculture to ripen fruits and germinate seeds.
  • Ethylene gas promotes fruit ripening by stimulating the breakdown of complex carbohydrates into simpler sugars, which leads to softening, color changes, and flavor development
• Ethylene is also widely used in the chemical industry, and the world produces more ethylene than any other organic compound.
• Polyethene is produced using ethylene.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/02/ethylene/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Context:  A recent study by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) predicts a significant warming of the Indian Ocean, leading to a tenfold increase in marine heatwaves, from an average of 20 days per year to 220–250 days per year. The Arabian Sea experiences maximum warming.

• What is the period of heat waves over India?
  • It is occurring mainly during March to June and in some rare cases even in July. The peak month of the heat wave over India is May.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2024/05/02/indian-ocean/