Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 19 January 2023

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC 2023

Q) Which one of the following is correct with reference to Ken-Betwa Link Project?

1. Under it, water from Betwa will be transferred to the ken river.
2. It will benefit the water-deficit Bundelkhand region.
3. The Daudhan dam will be built on the Betwa River.
4. It impacts wildlife in the Pench Tiger Reserve.

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 18 January 2023

Explanation:

• Option (1) is incorrect: The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers, under which water from the Ken River will be transferred to the Betwa River, both of which are tributaries of river Yamuna.
• Option (2) is correct: The project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved Bundelkhand region, while also boosting socio-economic prosperity in the backward region, on account of increased agricultural activities and employment, all of which will also help in arresting distress migration from this region. The project is expected to provide annual irrigation, drinking water supply and also generate hydropower.
• Option (3) is incorrect: Ken-Betwa Link Project has two phases, with mainly four components. Phase-I will involve one of the components -Daudhan Dam complex and its subsidiary units such as Low-Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa Link Canal and power houses. Phase-II will involve three components-Lower Orr Dam, Bina Complex Project and Kotha Barrage. The Daudhan dam will be built on the Ken River.
• Option (4) is incorrect: According to the National Water Development Agency under the Jal Shakti Ministry, the Daudhan dam will involve submerge 5803 ha of Panna Tiger Reserve. It would impact the Panna Tiger Reserve, which is home to many critically endangered wildlife species. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called Ken-Betwa Link Project Authority (KBLPA) will be set up to implement the project.

Q) Consider the following statements about the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2022:

1. As per the report, the proportion of children enrolled in government schools have decreased in last four years.
2. The report stated that the basic arithmetic levels of children’s of most grades have increased over past four years.
3. ASER is a citizen-led household survey that assesses level of basic literacy and numeracy in children.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), a national survey which sheds light on learning outcomes in schools and led by the Pratham Foundation, has been released recently. Despite school closures during the pandemic, overall enrolment figures have increased from 2018 to 2022. The proportion of children (aged 6 to 14) enrolled in government schools have increased sharply from 2018 to 2022. In 2022, the all-India figure for 11-14-year-old girls not enrolled in school stands at 2%, thereby continuing the falling trend since 2006.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: As per the survey, the proportion of 3-year-olds enrolled in some form of early childhood education has increased in 2022. Nationally, children’s basic reading ability has dropped to pre-2012 levels, reversing the slow improvement achieved in the intervening years. Drops are visible in both government and private schools in most states, and for both boys and girls. Also, children’s basic arithmetic levels have declined over 2018 levels for most grades.
• Statement 3 is correct: ASER Report is the key annual, citizen-led household national survey that captures the state of foundational literacy and numeracy in the country. It aims to understand whether children in rural India are enrolled in school and whether they are learning. The survey provides representative estimates of the enrolment status of children aged 3-16 and the basic reading and arithmetic levels of children aged 5-16 at the national, state and district level. The survey is led by the Pratham Foundation and the first ASER was conducted in 2005 and repeated annually for ten years. ASER 2022 is the first field-based ‘basic’ nationwide ASER after a gap of 4 years. It comes at a time when children are back in school after an extended period of school closure.

Q) Consider the following statements about ‘Giving to Amplify Earth Action’ (GAEA) and ‘Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero’ (GFANZ):

1. GAEA is an initiative to develop green hydrogen-based energy technologies only.
2. GFANZ is a global coalition of developed countries that finances initiatives of developing countries for de-carbonizing the economy.
3. Both GAEA and GFANZ are launched by the World Economic Forum.

Which of the statements given above are not 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 incorrect: Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) is a global initiative to fund and grow new and existing public, private and philanthropic partnerships (PPPPs) to help unlock the $3 trillion of financing needed each year to reach net zero, reverse nature loss, and restore biodiversity by 2050. It GAEA’s growing body of philanthropic partners includes organizations such as the African Climate Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, and the Rockefeller Foundation. It also includes the Clean Air Fund, Climate Leadership Initiative, IKEA Foundation etc.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) is a global coalition of leading financial institutions that claim to be committed to accelerating the de-carbonization of the economy. The sectoral alliances of GFANZ have over 550 members. These financial institutions represent managed and owned assets of more than $150 trillion. The financial firms have pledged to report annually on the carbon emissions linked to the projects they lend to.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: The World Economic Forum has launched Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) to finance Net-Zero Targets, whereas Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) was launched in April 2021 by UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance and UK Prime Minister’s Finance Adviser for COP26 in partnership with the Race to Zero campaign.

Q) With reference to ‘Anti-biotic resistance’, consider the following statements:

1. The deaths caused by antibiotic resistance are greater than the deaths caused by HIV/AIDS.
2. Bacteria can develop antibiotic resistance by producing proteins that modify the antibiotic compound.
3. It can be completely eradicated by sophisticated drug discovery technologies developed using artificial intelligence.
4. It can impact the process of organ transplantation in humans.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

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

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Anti-biotic resistance is a type of Anti-Microbial Resistance in which certain types of bacteria become resistant to anti-biotic drugs. A study in 2019 found that more than 1 million people a year died from infections linked to microbes that are resistant to antibiotics. This was more than deaths caused by Malaria or HIV/AIDS. Experts have identified antibiotic resistance as one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. If the problem remains unsolved, 10 million people could die as a result by 2050.
• Statement 2 is correct: The main reason for anti-biotic resistance is overuse and misuse of antibiotics. More we use antibiotics, the worse the problem of antibiotic resistance becomes. Antibiotics work by binding to a specific target protein on a bacterium, then entering to kill it from the inside.  Bacteria evade antibiotics through mutations that allow them to stop drugs from binding to bacterial proteins, thus preventing their demise. Bacteria can also achieve resistance by producing proteins that inactivate or modify the antibiotic compound.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: Antibiotic resistance will be difficult to be completely eradicated as it is the nature of evolution by natural selection that allows bacteria to find ways to evade antibiotics. Scientists have to continuously modify old antibiotics so that they overcome resistance. For example, Penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics have undergone many rounds of modifications to improve their drug-like properties and overcome resistance. Recently, there are some signs of progress due to sophisticated drug discovery technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). Machine learning and computer simulations have helped scientists to check the efficacy of the drugs.
• Statement 4 is correct: When infections can no longer be treated by first-line antibiotics, more expensive medicines must be used. A longer duration of illness and treatment, often in hospitals, increases health care costs as well as the economic burden on families and societies. Antibiotic resistance is putting at risk the procedures of Organ transplantations, chemotherapy and surgeries such as caesarean sections, they become much more dangerous without effective antibiotics for the prevention and treatment of infections.

Q) Consider the following statements about ‘Solitary waves’:

1. These are bipolar magnetic field fluctuations in the Earth’s inner core.
2. The shape and size of solitary waves are less affected during their propagation.

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 incorrect but statement 2 is correct: Recently, scientists have reported the first evidence of the presence of solitary waves or distinct electric field fluctuations in the Martian magnetosphere. Solitary waves are the distinct electric field fluctuations (bipolar or monopolar) that follow constant amplitude-phase relations. Solitary waves have been found to play a significant role in the dynamics of various physical systems, such as in the Earth’s magnetosphere and in the Martian magnetosphere. Their shape and size are less affected during their propagation.

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