UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 17 August 2024

Solution: c)

At the ancient site of Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey, a researcher has identified what might be the world’s oldest lunisolar calendar, believed to track the movements of the moon and sun.

• The V-shaped markings on a stone pillar are thought to document a significant comet strike around 10,850 B.C., which had catastrophic effects on Earth, including triggering a 1,200-year ice age.0
• The carvings suggest that ancient people were sophisticated enough to record astronomical events, indicating the event’s profound importance to them.

Solution: b)

Explanation:

Pyrocumulonimbus clouds, formed during extremely hot wildfires or volcanic eruptions, are becoming more common due to rising global temperatures.

• These clouds develop when intense heat from a fire causes surrounding air, carrying water vapor, smoke, and ash, to rise rapidly into the atmosphere.
• As the air cools and condenses, a pyrocumulus cloud forms, which can evolve into a pyrocumulonimbus cloud if conditions are right.
• These towering clouds, which can reach heights of 50,000 feet, generate thunderstorms but little rain,potentially sparking new wildfires and spreading existing ones.

Solution: a)

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct. The 2018 guidelines introduced a point-based system for designating senior advocates, evaluating their legal practice, judgments, and publications.
• Statement 2 is correct. The 2023 revised guidelines reduced the emphasis on publications and placed greater importance on judgments and legal achievements.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. The 2023 guidelines maintain that secret ballot voting should only be used in exceptional cases, not as the primary method for designating senior advocates.

The process for designating senior advocates in India has evolved to promote transparency and merit.

• Senior advocates, as defined by the Advocates Act, 1961, are distinguished lawyers recognized for their excellence and contributions to the legal profession.
• The Supreme Court recently designated 39 lawyers, including 10 women, as senior advocates based on revised guidelines from May 2023.
• The 2018 guidelines introduced a point-based system for evaluation, focusing on an advocate’s legal practice, judgments, and publications.
• The new guidelines in 2023, however, reduced the weightage for publications and emphasized judgments and legal achievements, while maintaining that secret ballot voting should only be used in exceptional cases.
• The changes were in response to the Centre’s concerns about subjectivity and the proliferation of low-quality publications affecting the designation process.

Solution: b)

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct. Tantalum is a rare metal known for its high melting point and corrosion resistance, making it valuable in various industrial applications.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. Tantalum is not used in the agriculture sector; it is primarily used in electronics, aerospace, and medical applications.
• Statement 3 is correct. India imports almost all of its Tantalum, primarily from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is the largest producer of Tantalum in the world.

Solution: c)

Explanation: Persistent droughts, exacerbated by climate change, have significantly lowered water levels in Lake Gatun, which provides the freshwater needed to operate the locks of the Panama Canal. This reduction in water levels poses a major threat to the canal’s capacity to handle ships.

Solution: d)

Namami Gange Mission 2.0 focuses primarily on sewage treatment, pollution abatement, and the rejuvenation of the River Ganga. The mission aims to clean the river through various projects, including the construction of sewage treatment plants and the development of riverfronts.

Solution: a)

A recent study has uncovered the reasons behind the vertical rise of stable landforms like the Western Ghats, the Guiana Shield, and the Drakensberg Mountains.

• The study links these topological features to the breakup of continental plates.

The process of Vertical rise:

• When continents split, the Earth’s crust and upper mantle, known as the lithosphere, thins out, leading to the formation of steep coastal escarpments at rift margins.
• This process triggers “deep mantle waves,” which move along the continent’s base and remove layers of rock, causing the land to rise—a process called isostasy.
• The study explains that this mechanism not only forms escarpments but also causes stable, distant regions (cratons) to rise vertically.
• This process is also linked to the rapid rise of diamonds from deep within the Earth.

Additionally, the study highlights that such land uplift can influence climate by increasing erosion, which draws down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and can create physical barriers that drive the evolution of new species by forcing organisms to adapt to different environments.

Solution: b)

Union Minister for Education, released the India Rankings 2024, which are based on the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).

• The rankings, reflecting the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, assess higher education institutions (HEIs) in India across five broad parameters: Teaching, Research, Graduation Outcomes, Outreach & Inclusivity, and Perception.
• This edition saw the inclusion of new categories such as State Public Universities, Open Universities, and Skill Universities, expanding the total ranking categories to 16.

Solution: d)

The Panama Canal, a crucial shipping route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, faces an existential threat from climate change.

• The canal relies on a system of locks and artificial lakes, particularly Lake Gatun, which provides the freshwater needed to operate the locks.
• However, persistent droughts, exacerbated by climate change, have significantly lowered water levels in Lake Gatun, reducing the canal’s capacity to handle ships.

Solution: a)

Explanation:

• • Statement 1 is correct. The wildlife sanctuary in Galathea Bay, Great Nicobar Island, was denotified to make way for a transhipment port project.
  • Statement 2 is correct. The area is a significant nesting site for the endangered giant leatherback turtle, highlighting its ecological importance.
  • Statement 3 is incorrect. The area was originally classified as a CRZ-1A zone, where large construction projects are generally prohibited to protect the environment.