UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 18 October 2024

Solution: d)

The Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. It originated from post-World War II cooperation between the U.S. and U.K., focusing on signals intelligence. Canada joined in 1948, followed by Australia and New Zealand in 1956. India is not part of this alliance, which primarily works on intelligence sharing and surveillance operations among its English-speaking members.

Solution: c)

Types of Production Costs:
CACP uses three cost projections:

• A2: Paid-out costs for inputs like seeds, labor, and fertilizers.
• A2+FL: Includes unpaid family labor.
• C2: Comprehensive cost including rent and capital interest, used as a benchmark reference.

Solution: a)

Kaziranga National Park, located entirely in Assam, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, renowned for housing the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses. Recently, it has been recognized as the second-largest butterfly diversity hub in India, following Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh.

It is not located in both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, contrary to statement 3.

Solution: b)

The DTAB is India’s highest statutory body for advising on technical drug-related matters and was established under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

It functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, not the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. The DTAB is part of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), contributing to policymaking on drugs in India.

Solution: c)

The Battle of Walong occurred during the 1962 Sino-Indian War, not the Indo-Pak war.

Indian troops held off a significantly larger Chinese force in Walong, located in Arunachal Pradesh near the McMahon Line.

This battle marked India’s only counteroffensive during the Sino-Indian War, highlighting the resilience of the Indian forces despite the Chinese invasion.

Solution: a)

Neutrinos are elementary particles produced in high-energy processes such as nuclear reactions in stars (statement 1).

These particles are incredibly difficult to detect because they rarely interact with matter (statement 2 is incorrect).

Neutrinos pass through ordinary matter almost undisturbed, making detection challenging. The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is being constructed in China, not in the United States (statement 3 is incorrect).

Furthermore, neutrinos are electrically neutral, meaning they do not carry any electric charge (statement 4 is incorrect).

Solution: b)

The Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) is the highest statutory body in India for advising on drug-related technical matters. It provides guidelines for drug approval processes and assists in the enforcement of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. However, the responsibility of setting drug prices lies with the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), not the DTAB.

Solution: c)

Cotton is a Kharif crop, typically sown during the monsoon season and harvested in autumn. In contrast, Wheat, Gram, and Mustard are all Rabi crops, which are sown in winter and harvested in the spring season.

Solution: d)

The Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance originated from US and UK codebreaking collaborations during World War II. The alliance later expanded to include Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. India is not a member (statement b is incorrect), and the alliance focuses on signals intelligence (SIGINT), not space exploration (statement a is incorrect). Canada joined after the US and UK, not as a founding member (statement c is incorrect).

Solution: b)

Under the migration pact, only men from “safe” countries such as Bangladesh and Egypt are sent to Albania for asylum processing. Vulnerable individuals, including women, children, and men showing signs of illness or torture, are taken to Italy.