UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 7 June 2025

Solution: b)

• Statement 1 is incorrect. NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission, but a key difference is that NITI Aayog does not have powers to allocate funds; this role is now largely with the Finance Ministry. It is a policy think tank.
• Statement 2 is correct. The core function of NITI Aayog is to act as a policy think tank for the Government of India.
• Statement 3 is correct. NITI Aayog aims to foster cooperative federalism, bringing States together to align national development goals, as seen in the functions of its Governing Council.

Statement 4 is incorrect. The approval of annual budgets of Central Ministries is the prerogative of the Parliament, with the Ministry of Finance playing a central role in its preparation and presentation. NITI Aayog provides policy inputs but does not approve ministerial budgets.

Solution: a)

• Statement 1 is incorrect. Being on the FATF ‘Grey List’ signifies that a jurisdiction is under increased monitoring and has committed to resolving strategic deficiencies. It leads to enhanced scrutiny but does not automatically trigger full-fledged financial sanctions or a complete cutoff from international markets. Those severe consequences are associated with the ‘Black List’.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. The ‘Black List’ (High-Risk Jurisdictions) is for nations with severe and ongoing non-compliance. Minor strategic deficiencies, especially with a commitment to corrective actions, would more likely lead to a ‘Grey List’ placement. The ‘Black List’ is for more serious and persistent failures.

Statement 3 is correct. Nations on the ‘Grey List’ face consequences such as reduction in foreign investment and credit rating, and loss of developmental aid from institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and ADB. This is due to the reputational damage and perceived higher risk associated with their financial systems.

Solution: c)

• Statement 1 is correct. The Yamuna River originates from the Yamunotri Glacier in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. With a length of approximately 1,376 km, it is indeed the longest river in India that is a tributary and does not have a direct outlet to the sea, unlike the Ganga, Godavari, or Krishna.
• Statement 2 is correct. The Tons River is the largest tributary of the Yamuna. It contributes about 60% of the total discharge, which is more than half.
• Statement 3 is correct. The confluence of the Yamuna and the Ganga occurs at Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad). This sacred site is known as the Triveni Sangam, where the mythical Saraswati river is also believed to join them.

About Yamuna River:

• Location:
  • Originates from the Yamunotri Glacier in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, at an altitude of 4,421 meters in the Himalayas.
• States it Flows Through: The Yamuna basin covers Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Rajasthan.
• Total Length: Spans approximately 1,376 km, making it the longest river in India that does not drain directly into the sea.
• Major Tributaries
  • Himalayan Region:
    • Rishi Ganga, Hanuman Ganga, Tons, Giri.
    • Tons River is the largest tributary, contributing about 60% of total Yamuna discharge.
  • Plains: Hindon, Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken.
• Key Cities Along the River:
  • Delhi stretch: Enters at Palla Village, exits at Jaitpur (covers 52 km).
  • Other cities: Noida, Mathura, Agra, Firozabad, Etawah, Kalpi, Hamirpur, and Prayagraj.
  • Confluence:
  • Merges with Ganga at Prayagraj (Allahabad), forming the Sangam, one of Hinduism’s most sacred sites.

Solution: c)

• While several bodies are involved in environmental governance, the response mechanism for oil spills is highly specific. The National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP) is the key guiding document for such emergencies in Indian waters.
• The plan clearly designates the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) as the central coordinating and nodal agency for oil spill response. The ICG is responsible for overall coordination of the response, including monitoring the spill, mobilizing resources, directing cleanup operations, and ensuring public safety.
• While the NDMA has a broader disaster management mandate and the MoEFCC sets environmental policy, the on-ground operational command during an oil spill at sea rests with the ICG.
• The Directorate General of Shipping is primarily concerned with regulating merchant shipping, including safety and pollution prevention standards, but is not the lead response agency.

About Kerala Oil Spill Incident:

• MSC ELSA 3 sank due to flooding in one of its holds while en route from Vizhinjam to Kochi.
• The vessel was carrying 640 containers, including 13 hazardous cargoes, 84.44 MT diesel, and 367.1 MT furnace oil.

• Hazards onboard: Calcium carbide, hazardous chemicals, and large fuel volumes.

About Oil Spills:

• What is an Oil Spill?
  • An accidental release of petroleum or related substances into oceans, seas, or coastal waters.
  • Forms a toxic film that blocks sunlight, affects marine oxygen levels, and harms aquatic life.
• Impacts of Oil Spills:
  • Marine Life Destruction:
    • Coating of birds, mammals, and turtles disrupts thermoregulation and mobility.
    • Toxic exposure affects fish reproduction, growth, and survival.
  • Ecosystem Disruption:
    • Destroys phytoplankton, mangroves, coral reefs, and marine food chains.
    • Long-lasting contamination in coastal areas and estuaries.
  • Economic Losses:
    • Hits fisheries, tourism, and shipping industries.
    • Cleanup and compensation costs are extremely high.

Solution: b)

The term “agentic” refers to the capacity of AI systems to act as autonomous agents that can perform tasks, make decisions, and interact with each other and their environment. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a crucial component for enabling this vision.

The primary role of the MCP, as supported by the Gemini API and Vertex AI, is to create a standardized way for different AI agents to communicate and share context. This allows them to work together on complex tasks. For example, one agent might search for information, another might analyze it, and a third might summarize it, all while seamlessly passing information back and forth using the MCP. It is the protocol that allows the different “dolls” in the Matryoshka to interact intelligently.

• What is AI Matryoshka?
  • A multi-layered AI ecosystem where Google’s core artificial intelligence acts as the central brain (like a Matryoshka doll), powering every layer from APIs to user applications.
• Launched By:
• Aim:
  • To embed AI deeply and uniformly across Google’s platforms.
  • To build agentic, intelligent, and autonomous systems for real-time user, developer, and enterprise interactions.
• Key Features of AI Matryoshka
  • Gemini 2.5 Models:
    • Pro version excels in complex reasoning and coding, achieving top scores in USAMO.
    • Flash version is 20–30% more efficient, supports multi-speaker TTS in 24 languages.
  • Ironwood TPUs: 7th-gen TPUs deliver 5 exaFLOPS of computing power for deep learning at scale.
  • Data & Media Models: Imagen 4 (images), Veo 3 (video), and Lyria 2 (music) create high-quality outputs, while SynthID tools watermark and verify content for copyright.
  • Gemini API & Vertex AI: Supports Model Context Protocol (MCP) for agent interactions and thinking budgets for better resource management.
  • User Integration: AI Mode in Search provides deep, cited search results; Gemini App enables private data analysis, raising privacy concerns.

Solution: a)

• Statement 1 is incorrect. Kuwait is not landlocked. It has a coastline on the Persian Gulf, which is a critical feature for its economy and geography, including the significant Kuwait Bay.
• Statement 2 is correct. Kuwait lacks natural freshwater sources and features only intermittent wadis. Consequently, it is highly dependent on desalination plants to meet its water needs, a common situation for many Gulf states.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. The demographic composition is the opposite of what is stated. Only about 30% of Kuwait’s population are citizens. The vast majority are expatriate workers, in addition to a significant population of stateless residents known as Bidoon.

About Kuwait:

• Located in: Northwestern Persian Gulf, Kuwait is a small constitutional monarchy in West Asia.
• Capital: Kuwait City.

• Neighbouring Nations: Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Persian Gulf.
• Geological Features:

• • Topography:
    • Mostly flat desert terrain, with gentle undulations and low hills.
    • Highest elevation: Al-Shiqāyā Peak at 290 metres.
  • Major Landforms:
    • Al-Zawr Escarpment near Kuwait Bay (145 m high).
    • Kuwait Bay: A significant natural harbour and economic zone.
  • Water Resources:
    • No permanent rivers or lakes.
    • Features intermittent wadis and seasonal basins.
    • Lacks natural freshwater sources and relies on desalination.
  • Ethnic Composition:
    • Only ~30% of Kuwait’s population are citizens.
    • Large expatriate community, with Bidoon (stateless residents) numbering ~1 lakh.
    • Indigenous Kuwaiti identity is often defined through paternal lineage.

Solution: c)

The paradox, a well-known concept in geography and fractal geometry, posits that a coastline does not have a single, definitive length. The measured length is contingent upon the scale of the measurement. If you measure a coastline with a kilometer-long ruler, you will get one length. If you use a meter-long ruler, you will have to account for more of the smaller curves and indentations, resulting in a longer total length. If you could use a centimeter-long ruler, the length would be even greater.

The recent update to India’s coastline is a practical demonstration of this. The older measurement used a coarse scale (1:4,500,000), effectively “stepping over” many smaller features. The new measurement uses a much finer scale (1:250,000) and advanced tools that capture intricate details like creeks and estuaries, thus yielding a significantly longer length. Therefore, the paradox illustrates that coastline length is relative to the measurement scale, not an absolute value. The new measurement also used the high-water line, not the low-water line.

Solution: c)

The land uplift in South Africa, observed at a rate of approximately 2 mm per year, is primarily attributed to an isostatic or elastic rebound effect. This phenomenon occurs due to the significant reduction in the mass of surface and groundwater, largely resulting from prolonged droughts and water overuse.

The Earth’s crust is not entirely rigid; it behaves elastically under massive loads like ice sheets or large bodies of water. When this weight is removed, the crust slowly rebounds or “bounces back” to a higher elevation.

This is distinct from land subsidence, which is often a poro-elastic effect caused by the collapse of aquifer structures due to over-extraction of groundwater. The South African case, confirmed by GNSS and GRACE satellite data, directly correlates the loss of Total Water Storage (TWS) with the observed uplift, making it a classic example of crustal response to surface load changes rather than tectonic or volcanic activity.

About South Africa Land Uplift:

• What It Is?

• • A gradual uplift of land observed in parts of South Africa due to reduced surface and groundwater pressure.

• Reason Behind the Uplift:

• • Elastic rebound effect: Removal of surface water (from drought or overuse) reduces weight on the Earth’s crust, causing it to rise upward.
  • Confirmed via GNSS-Trignet base stations and satellite data (GRACE).
  • Unlike subsidence caused by aquifer collapse, this is a loading-unloading effect.

• Key Features:

• • Uplift Rate: About 2 mm/year, totaling nearly 6 mm between 2012 and 2020.
  • Cape Town Impact: Severe drought years showed clear correlation between Total Water Storage (TWS) loss and land uplift.
  • Measurement Tools: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), hydrological models, and gravity satellite data (GRACE).
  • Distinction from Subsidence:
    • Uplift = Loss of surface load (elastic rebound).
    • Subsidence = Collapse of pore structure due to groundwater over-extraction (poro-elastic effect).

Solution: b)

• Statement 1 is incorrect. The Bharat Forecasting System (BFS) was developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, which is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, not ISRO. It is a numerical weather prediction model, not a satellite-based system.
• Statement 2 is correct. BFS leverages the computational power of India’s supercomputer ‘Arka’ (11.77 PetaFLOPS) to process its high-resolution data. This capability allows it to generate highly localized forecasts, extending its reach to the micro-level, including individual villages and panchayats, which is crucial for agriculture and disaster management.

About Bharat Forecasting System (BFS):

• • What is BFS?
    • BFS is India’s most advanced numerical weather prediction system.
    • It provides highly localized, short-term weather forecasts up to panchayat level using ultra-high-resolution grids.
  • Developed by
    • Developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.
    • Led by researcher Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay.
  • How It Works?
    • Utilizes supercomputer Arka (11.77 PetaFLOPS, 33 Petabyte storage) to run simulations faster (within 4 hours).
    • Uses real-time inputs from 40+ Doppler Weather Radars, which will soon expand to 100.
    • Processes data for regions between 30° South to 30° North latitude, covering tropical zones including India.
  • Key Features:
    • Highest global resolution: 6 km grid (compared to 9–14 km used by EU, UK, US models).
    • Faster processing: Cuts prediction time by 60% compared to previous model Pratyush.
    • Covers India comprehensively: Including small villages and blocks.
    • Supports nowcasting – forecasts for the next 2 hours.

Solution: b)

• Statement 1 is incorrect. MARPOL (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships) is an international convention by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), not a domestic Indian law. While India is a signatory and incorporates its provisions into national law (like the Merchant Shipping Act), MARPOL itself is an international treaty.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. The OPRC Convention (International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation, 1990) is focused on facilitating global cooperation and establishing national response systems for oil spill incidents. The conventions that primarily deal with liability and compensation are the Civil Liability Convention (CLC) and the Fund Convention (IOPC Fund), not the OPRC.
• Statement 3 is correct. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 is the principal piece of domestic legislation in India that governs maritime activities. It includes specific parts and sections dedicated to the control of pollution, prevention of oil spills from ships, and penalties for violations within Indian waters, thereby providing the legal backbone for actions taken by agencies like the Indian Coast Guard.

Legal Framework Governing Oil Spills:

• International Conventions:
  • MARPOL (1973/78): Marine Pollution prevention by IMO; India is a signatory.
  • OPRC Convention (1990): Facilitates global cooperation in oil spill response.
• Indian Laws:
  • Merchant Shipping Act, 1958: Governs pollution control in Indian waters.
  • National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP):
    • Managed by Indian Coast Guard as the nodal response agency.
    • Ensures monitoring, emergency response, and public safety.
  • Technologies & Methods to Manage Oil Spills:
    • Skimmers: Devices that physically remove oil from the water surface.
    • Dispersants: Chemicals that break oil into small droplets for microbial degradation.
    • Oil Booms: Floating barriers used to contain oil spread.
    • In-situ Burning: Controlled burning of surface oil in isolated patches.
    • Bioremediation: Use of oil-eating microbes, e.g., TERI’s Oil Zapper.