UPSC Current Affairs Quiz : 4 December 2025

Solution: A

• Statement 1 is correct: Solar flares are defined as intense bursts of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. The magnetic fields become twisted and stressed (magnetic reconnection), releasing massive energy.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: While solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) often occur together, they are distinct phenomena. A solar flare can erupt alone without a corresponding CME. A flare is a flash of light/radiation, while a CME is a massive cloud of plasma.

Solar flares are classified (A, B, C, M, X) based on their peak X-ray brightness (intensity/flux) measured in watts per square meter. Each letter represents a tenfold increase in energy output.

• Statement 3 is correct: X-class flares are the most intense. They can trigger radio blackouts (R-scale), disrupt navigation systems (GPS), and pose significant radiation risks to satellites and astronauts in space.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is correct: Globally, most legal opium production utilizes the Concentrate of Poppy Straw (CPS) method. India holds a unique status as the only country that legally produces and exports opium gum (latex) extracted manually for pharmaceutical purposes under strict UN supervision.
• Statement 2 is correct: All activities related to the cultivation, production, and manufacturing of opium in India are strictly regulated by the Central Government under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Licenses are issued to farmers in specific tracts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is a winter (Rabi) crop, not a Kharif crop. It requires cool, dry regions with low humidity and well-drained soils. High humidity or waterlogging is detrimental to the crop and the quality of latex.

Solution: D

• Option (d) is correct: The Afar Triple Junction is a geological feature located in the Afar Triangle (Horn of Africa). It is the junction where three divergent plate boundaries meet: the Red Sea Rift, the Gulf of Aden Rift, and the East African Rift.
• It acts as a central point for the breakup of the African continent. The dynamics here involve the spreading of plates in three different directions, making it one of the most tectonically active and significant regions for studying continental breakup and ocean basin formation.

Solution: A

• A-1 (Bitra Island): Bitra is the smallest inhabited island of the Lakshadweep archipelago (Amindivi subgroup).
• B-2 (Lake Tanganyika): Lake Tanganyika is a deep lake formed by subsiding crust in the Western Rift.
• C-3 (Byramgore Reef): Bitra lies southeast of Byramgore Reef; thus Byramgore is to the northwest/north region relative to Bitra in the Arabian Sea.
• D-4 (Erta Ale): It is an active volcano located in the volcanic-rich Eastern Rift branch.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is correct: The African Plate is splitting into two: the larger Nubian Plate (often just called the African Plate) and the smaller Somali Plate.
• Statement 2 is correct: The driving force of the East African Rift is the divergence (moving apart) of these two plates at a rate of millimeters per year.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: The progressive divergence may rupture the crust entirely, allowing seafloor spreading to create a new ocean basin, effectively separating the Somali plate from the mainland. It does not suggest fusion with the Arabian plate; rather, the Afar Triple Junction dynamics imply these plates are all moving away from each other (diverging).

Solution: C

• Option (c) is the incorrect statement: GLP-1 receptor agonists do not work solely by burning calories. Their primary mechanisms are reducing appetite, slowing stomach emptying (which lowers calorie intake), and increasing insulin secretion.
• Option (a) is correct: They were originally diabetes drugs.
• Option (b) is correct: They are on the WHO Essential Medicines List.
• Option (d) is correct: They improve metabolic health, including cardiovascular and kidney issues.

Solution: C

• Statement 1 is correct. Solar flares themselves emit high-energy radiation, but when they occur along with a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), the associated plasma cloud and magnetic fields can significantly disturb Earth’s magnetosphere. This leads to geomagnetic storms, deformation of the magnetosphere, and disruptions such as auroras at lower latitudes. This combined effect, rather than radiation alone, is responsible for the strongest geomagnetic disturbances observed on Earth.
• Statement 2 is correct. Increased ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from solar flares heats the upper atmosphere, causing it to expand. This expansion increases atmospheric density in low-Earth orbit, enhancing aerodynamic drag on satellites. The increased drag can degrade satellite orbits, requiring additional fuel for orbit correction and sometimes leading to premature re-entry of smaller objects.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is correct. Indonesia is the world’s largest island country (>17,500 islands) and straddles the Equator between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is one of the most tectonically active zones on Earth, featuring plate collision zones and nearly 130 active volcanoes. It is not stable.
• Statement 3 is correct. The region hosts deep ocean trenches, specifically the Java Trench (7,450 m), which is associated with the subduction zone near Java.

Solution: D

Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) Routes are identified routes that link the Northeast with Bangladesh ports. The primary significance is that this connectivity enables trade access to Southeast Asia, reducing the isolation of the Northeast and promoting logistics efficiency.

Solution: C

The PEMA Method refers to Exposure Mapping incorporated in the revised code. It moves beyond just looking at physical ground shaking. It integrates Population density, Exposure of infrastructure, and socioeconomic vulnerability (likely standing for Population-Exposure-Modelling-Assessment or similar derivation in the code context) with the geological hazard. This ensures that regions with high population or critical infrastructure (like hospitals/power plants) in moderate seismic zones are designed with higher safety standards than uninhabited areas with similar seismic activity.