UPSC Daily Quiz | 28 October 2024

Relevance: Recently, the Chief Justice of India of India during a national consultation on children's rights, discussed nemaline myopathy, a genetic condition affecting his foster daughters.

Explanation:

• Nemaline Myopathy is a genetic disorder that primarily affects muscle strength and causes muscle weakness, particularly in skeletal muscles. (Hence, statement 1 is correct)
• Nemaline Myopathy affects muscle function but does not typically impact cognitive abilities or intelligence. Individuals with this condition generally have normal intelligence. (Hence, statement 2 is not correct)

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

Subject: Current Affairs | S&T

Level of Difficulty: Moderate | Factual

Relevance: In a groundbreaking feat, a baby great Indian bustard was born via artificial insemination (AI) at the Sudasari Great Indian Bustard Breeding Centre in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan.

Explanation:

Great Indian Bustard

• GIBs are the largest among the four bustard species found in India. (Hence, statement 1 is correct)
• It is one of the heaviest flying birds which can grow up to one metre in height. 
• Males have a gular pouch around their neck, which helps produce a resonant booming mating call to attract females and can be heard up to a distance of 500 metres. 
• They breed mostly during the monsoon season when females lay a single egg on open ground. 
• Males play no role in the incubation and care of the young.

Distribution

• Today, its population, about 150, is confined mostly to Thar in Rajasthan. (Hence, statement 2 is not correct)

• Small populations occur in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. 

• The Pokhran Field Firing Range offers a safe habitat to a breeding population of GIBs outside the Desert National Park Sanctuary in Jaisalmer. 

• Most of the population of the species is confined to the Jaisalmer Desert National Park (DNP).

• More than 100 bird species have been listed from Desert National Park including a good population of the Great Indian Bustard (locally called Godawan) and is a home for migrant Houbara Bustard. 

• GIBs are considered the flagship bird species of grassland and hence barometers of the health of grassland ecosystems.
• Their numbers have declined drastically due to hunting and mismanagement of grassland habitat.

Conservation Status

• • It is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

• It is covered by the Convention on Migratory Species.

• • It is covered in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
  • It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and habitat loss and degradation appear are the primary causes of decline. (Hence, statement 3 is correct)
  • The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has prepared a centrally sponsored scheme of Species Recovery Programme (Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats) for the Great Indian Bustard, the Lesser Florican and the Bengal Florican, three of the four bustard species found in India.

• Rajasthan forest department, finally announced its own Project Great Indian Bustard. The bird is also the state bird of Rajasthan. 

• A conservation effort like ‘Project Tiger’ may not work for a large bird of an arid region that can always fly out of the protected area. Experts are calling for community-centric conservation of the species. 

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

Subject: Current Affairs | Environment

Level of Difficulty: Moderate | Factual

Relevance: Saudi Arabia and Iran have recently conducted joint naval exercises in the Sea of Oman, as relations strengthen between the long-time regional rivals.

Explanation:

Gulf of Oman

• The Gulf of Oman, also known as the Gulf of Makran, is the western extension of the Arabian Sea and lies in the Middle East.
• It forms the only entrance to the Persian Gulf from the Indian Ocean. (Hence, statement 1 is correct)
• The Gulf connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then empties into the Persian Gulf. 
• The major international shipping ports that are situated in the Gulf of Oman include Port Sultan Qaboos Muttrah in Muscat, Oman; Chabahar Port in Iran; the Port of Fujairah; and Khor Fakkan Container Terminal in the UAE. (Hence, statement 2 is correct)
• Roughly one-third of the world's oil is exported via the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

Subject: Current Affairs | Geography

Level of Difficulty: Moderate | Factual

Relevance: India’s coking coal imports for the first six months of the current fiscal (April – September) were at a six-year-high at 29.6 million tonnes (mt) with shipments from Russia witnessing a substantial rise of over 200 per cent during this period.

Explanation:

• Metallurgical coal, also known as met and coking coal, is a naturally occurring sedimentary rock found within the earth’s crust. (Hence, statement 1 is not correct)
• It typically contains more carbon, less ash, and less moisture than thermal coal, which is used for electricity generation. (Hence, statement 2 is correct)
• It is an essential ingredient in the production of steel, making it one of the most widely used building materials on earth. (Hence, statement 3 is correct)
• It is a bituminous coal with a suitable quality that allows the production of metallurgical coke, or simply named coke.
• The largest producers of coking coal are China (about 62%), Australia (15%), Russia (9%), USA (5%), and Canada (3%). 

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

Subject: Current Affairs | Geography

Level of Difficulty: Moderate | Factual

Relevance: Over 40 migratory birds, belonging to two to three different species, have been found dead around Sambhar Lake in Jaipur district recently, prompting concerns among the officials.

Explanation:

Sambhar Lake

• It is the largest saltwater lake in India. It is located in the districts of Nagaur and Jaipur in Rajasthan. (Hence, statement 1 is correct)
• The water from two major ephemeral streams, namely Mendha and Runpangarh, along with numerous rivulets and surface runoff feed the lake.
• It was designated as a Ramsar site in the year 1990. (Hence, statement 2 is correct)
• Several migrating birds visit the waterbody during the winter. 
• Along with Phulera and Deedwana, the wetland is the most important wintering area for flamingoes (both Phoniconaias minor and Phoenicopterus roseus) in India outside the Rann of Kachchh. (Hence, statement 3 is not correct)
• Sambhar Lake produces 2,10,000 tonnes of salt each year, placing Rajasthan among the top three salt-producing states of India. 

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

Subject: Current Affairs | Geography

Level of Difficulty: Moderate | Factual