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Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 18 January 2023

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC 2023

Q) Which one of the following statement is correct about the ‘Shukrayaan-1 mission’?

  1. It is an orbitor-cum-lander mission to Planet Venus.
  2. It will be launched by ISRO in the year 2025.
  3. It will examine the atmosphere of Venus in infrared wavelength.
  4. It will be launched on the PSLV rocket of ISRO.

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 17 January 2023

Explanation:

  • Option (1) is incorrect: The idea for ISRO’s Venus mission, called Shukrayaan-1, was first born in 2012. Shukrayaan-1 will be an orbiter mission and its scientific payloads currently include high-resolution synthetic aperture radar and ground-penetrating radar.
  • Option (2) is incorrect: The optimal launch windows from Earth to Venus come around every eight years. So, should India miss the 2024 opportunity, the 2031 window is considered suitable by the experts. The Shukrayaan orbiter will be the first mission to Venus by the India Space Research Organization (ISRO) and will study the planet for four years.
  • Option (3) is correct: Shukrayaan will examine Venus atmosphere in infrared, ultraviolet and submillimeter wavelengths. Earlier in 2020, scientists announced the possible detection of phosphine-a life-friendly element-in Venus’ atmosphere, although many in the science community remain skeptical of the findings. The mission is expected to study Venus’s geological and volcanic activity, emissions on the ground, wind speed, cloud cover, and other planetary characteristics from an elliptical orbit.
  • Option (4) is incorrect: Shukrayaan will be launched on India’s GSLV Mk II rocket, or the more powerful GSLV Mk III rocket. Both the NASA and the European Space Agency have Venus missions planned for 2031, namely VERITAS and EnVision, respectively.

Q) Consider the following statements about ‘Deep Water Circulation’:

  1. It is driven by water density differences caused by ocean salinity.
  2. The Indian Ocean has its own separate deep-water circulation.
  3. The plate tectonics play significant role in altering the circulation.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct: The movement of water in the deep ocean is termed Deep Water Circulation. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.
  • Statement 2 is incorrect: The Indian Ocean does not have any major Deep-Water Circulations of its own. It acts only as a host for Northern component water and Antarctic Bottom Water and it only receives it from other sources such as the North Atlantic and Antarctic. The northern part of the Indian Ocean is located at one of the terminal ends of the Global Ocean currents (GOC), making it a good place to study the impact of ocean circulation changes.
  • Statement 3 is correct: Studies suggest that changes in ocean routes caused by tectonics had a big effect on ocean circulation. It has been observed that tectonically driven changes in the ocean gateways such as the closure of the Central American Seaway, a body of water that once separated North America from South America, since the late Miocene period, had a dramatic impact on the circulation. It is thought that tectonic changes might have led to the formation of two separate water bodies: Northern component water (NCW) in the North Atlantic and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) in the Southern Ocean. It is also hypothesised that there would have been large-scale changes in the Deep Water Circulation (DWC) in the oceans across the world, thus impacting global climate through ocean-atmosphere carbon dioxide and heat exchanges.

Q) Consider the following statements:

  1. The saltwater crocodile is endemic to the coasts of India.
  2. The Greater Scaup is a medium-sized diving duck that is found only in Asia.
  3. Both Indian crocodile and Greater Scaup are listed as least concerned in the IUCN red list.

Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is incorrect: The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is a species found across saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands of India, Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. They are also known as the estuarine crocodile, Indo-Pacific crocodile, marine crocodile, sea crocodile etc. They are the largest crocodile species in the world, and the largest living reptile in the world.
  • Statement 2 is incorrect: The Greater Scaup is a medium-sized diving duck species that belongs to the family of Anatidae. It is locally known as Sadangman. The greater scaup species is distributed in Asia, Europe, United States and Canada. It is a rare visitor to the Indian Subcontinent. It was recently sighted in Loktak lake in Manipur’s Bishnupur district after a gap of over 90 years.
  • Statement 3 is correct: The saltwater crocodile has been listed as ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN Red List since 1996. The Greater Scaup is also listed as Least Concerned on the IUCN Red List. The population of saltwater crocodiles in the Bhitarkanika National Park and its nearby areas has marginally increased in 2023. The saltwater crocodile is illegally hunted for its skin and it is threatened by habitat loss.

Q) With reference to inequality in India, consider the following statements:

  1. The richest 1 percent of Indians own more than 40 percent of the country’s total wealth.
  2. According to Oxfam International, about half of Goods and Services Tax collection came from the rich 10 percent population in FY 2021-22.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct: Oxfam International has released the India supplement of its annual inequality report titled ‘Survival of the Richest’, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. The richest 1 percent in India now own more than 40 percent of the country’s total wealth, while the bottom half of the population together share just 3 percent of wealth. The report said that female workers earned only 63 paise for every 1 rupee a male worker earned.
  • Statement 2 is incorrect: According to the Oxfam International report, approximately 64 percent of Goods and Services Tax (GST) came from the bottom 50 percent of the population in 2021-22, with only 3 percent of GST coming from the top 10 percent. Combined wealth of India’s 100 richest could fund the entire Union Budget for more than 18 months. The country’s marginalised – Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, Women and informal sector workers – continue to suffer in a system which ensures the survival of the richest. The poor are paying disproportionately higher taxes, spending more on essential items and services when compared to the rich.

Q) Consider the following statements about PARAKH:

  1. India’s participation in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) will be managed by PARAKH.
  2. PARAKH will set standards for student assessment for all recognized school boards in the country.
  3. PARAKH was recently launched by the Department of School Education and Literacy.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 1 and 2 only
  3. 2 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:

  • Statements 1 and 2 are correct: PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) will work on setting norms, standards and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation for all recognised school boards in the country. PARAKH will work on three major assessment areas: large-scale assessments, school-based assessment, and examination reforms. PARAKH will manage India’s participation in international assessments like the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), or Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).
  • Statement 3 is incorrect: NCERT has notified India’s first national assessment regulator, PARAKH. The regulator aims to help all boards to remove disparities in scores of students enrolled with different state boards. It has been launched as a part of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, which envisaged a standard-setting body to advice school boards. It will not just conduct future rounds of National Achievement Surveys (NAS) and other surveys on learning outcomes, but also review NAS 2017/2018 and 2021 exercises to identify areas for improvement.

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FAQs

The statement "It will examine the atmosphere of Venus in infrared wavelength." is correct about the ‘Shukrayaan-1 mission’?

Yes

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