UPSC Weekly Current Affairs Quiz : August 13 to August 19, 2023

2. 3D printers build from top to bottom by piling on layer after layer.

3. It requires the model to be designed on computer-aid design (CAD) software.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 2

Kalka-Shimla Railway (KSR) was in the news due to land sliding, consider the following statements about Kalka-Shimla Railway:

1. It is a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 2018.

2. The railway line was laid by the British after buying land from the Maharaja of Patiala and the Rana of Keonthal.

3. It is a broad gauge railway line in the state of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 3

Luna 25 was in the news recently. It is:

(a) Surface-to-air ballistic missile of Israel

(b) Unmanned air vehicle of France

(c) Intercontinental missile of the U.S.A

(d) Moon mission of Russia

QUESTION 4

He was born on September 18, 1883, in an affluent family of Amritsar. His father was the chief medical officer of Amritsar and a staunch British loyalist. He completed school education in Amritsar and was later sent to Lahore for his Master’s degree. It was in Lahore that his patriotism flowered, influenced by the burgeoning nationalist movement there. He was hanged to death on August 17, 1909, at the age of only 24, for killing British official Curzon Wyllie.

The above-mentioned lines refer to:

(a) Madal lal Dhingra

(b) Rajguru

(c) Ashfaqulla Khan

(d) Gulab Singh Saini

QUESTION 5

With reference to the EG.5/Eris variant of COVID, consider the following statements:

1. The WHO classified EG.5 as a Variant of Concern (VOC) due to rising infection rates attributed to the variant.

2. It has an additional spike mutation.

3. It spreads fast and has an ability called “immune escape”.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 6

Sulina Channel was in the news recently. It connects:

(a) Spain and Morrocco in the Mediterranean Sea

(b) Sudan and Saudi in the Red Sea

(c) Major Ukrainian ports on the river to the Black Sea

(d) Fishing region between Russia and the U.S.A

QUESTION 7

In her address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day, President Droupadi Murmu paid tributes to Matangini Hazra and Kanaklata Barua. Consider the following statements:

1. Matangini Hazra was martyred by British bullets, leading a march during the Quit India movement of 1942, in Tamluk in West Bengal.

2. Kanaklata Barua was the youngest martyr of the Non-cooperation Movement in Assam.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

QUESTION 8

With reference to the Aditya L1 mission, consider the following statements:

1. It will observe the Moon from a close distance, and try to obtain information about its atmosphere and magnetic field.

2. The vehicle used by the Indian Space Research organisation in the mission is PSLV-C57.

3. The satellite is placed in the halo orbit around Lagrange Point 1.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

ANSWERS TO THE MCQs

1. (b)

FYI:

— India’s first 3D-printed post office was virtually inaugurated by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in Bengaluru’s Cambridge Layout. Its construction was completed in just 43 days.

— 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a process that uses computer-created design to make three-dimensional objects layer by layer.

— It is an additive process, in which layers of a material like plastic, composites or bio-materials are built up to construct objects that range in shape, size, rigidity and colour.

— To carry out 3D printing, one needs a personal computer connected to a 3D printer. All they need to do is design a 3D model of the required object on computer-aid design (CAD) software and press ‘print’. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

— 3D printers construct the desired object by using a layering method, which is the complete opposite of the subtractive manufacturing processes. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— 3D printers build from the bottom up by piling on layer after layer until the object looks exactly like it was envisioned. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

2. (a)

FYI:

— The more than 120-year-old Kalka-Shimla Railway (KSR) has sustained severe damage due to the heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, and the section between the Jutogh and Summer Hill stations, just before Shimla, has been washed away.

— The British began to establish the hill station in 1830 after buying land from the Maharaja of Patiala and the Rana of Keonthal. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— Kalka-Shimla Railway (KSR) is a narrow gauge toy train that passes through 18 stations, 102 tunnels, and over 988 bridges. It offers majestic views for most of the route. Passengers see breathtaking valleys, covered with pine, oak, and deodar trees. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— It was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2008. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

3. (d)

FYI:

— India’s Chandrayaan-3 and Russia’s Luna 25 are both in lunar orbit, preparing for a landing on the Moon. Luna 25 is expected to go first, on August 21, while Chandrayaan-3 is likely to touch down two days later, on August 23 taking away the title of the first country to soft-land close to the South Pole.

— Luna-25 was launched using a Soyuz rocket, the lift-off mass for Luna 25 is just 1,750 kg as compared with the 3,900 kg of Chandrayaan-3.

— Luna-25 does not carry a rover while Chandrayaan-3 has a rover capable of moving around 500 metres.

— The Russian lander has eight payloads mainly to study the soil composition, dust particles in the polar exosphere, and most importantly, to detect surface water.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

4. (a)

FYI:

— Madan Lal Dhingra was an Indian revolutionary who was hanged to death on August 17, 1909, at the age of only 24, for killing British official Curzon Wyllie.

— Madan Lal Dhingra was born on September 18, 1883, in an affluent family of Amritsar. His father, Dr Ditta Mal Dhingra, was the chief medical officer of Amritsar and a staunch British loyalist.

— Dhingra was transferred to Lahore for his Master’s degree after finishing his schooling in Amritsar in 1904. His patriotism blossomed in Lahore, spurred by the city’s developing nationalist movement.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

5. (b)

FYI:

— There is a new COVID variant – EG.5, also known as Eris. The WHO classified EG.5 as a Variant of Interest (VOI) due to rising infection rates attributed to the variant. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

— It spreads fast and it has an ability called “immune escape”. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

— EG.5 is one of three variants on the WHO’s watchlist. The other two are XBB.1.5, which is largely circulating in Europe and the Americas, and XBB.1.16, which is predominant in Asia.

— EG.5 is a descendent lineage of XBB. 1.9.2. It has an additional spike mutation that may explain why it can escape the human immune system’s response. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— Variants of Concern are those whose characteristics have a significant influence on the spread of the virus — because of higher rates of contagion and rising infection rates, or an increase in severe cases of the illness and COVID mortality rates.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

6. (c)

FYI:

— The Danube Delta has provided Ukraine with an alternative passage for its grain after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal.

— The deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey, used to provide safe passage for cargo ships carrying grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi.

— The Sulina Channel is a 63 km long distributary of the Danube, connecting major Ukrainian ports on the river to the Black Sea.

— The Danube River is the second-longest European River, that has historically been crucial for the movement of freight. The river spread out into its delta which has three major channels – Chilia, Sulina and St George.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

7. (a)

FYI:

— During her address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day, President Droupadi Murmu paid tributes to women freedom fighters – Matangini Hazra and Kanaklata Barua.

— Matangini Hazra was 73 when she fell to British bullets, leading a march during the Quit India movement of 1942, in Tamluk in West Bengal. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— After the death of her husband, she devoted herself to social causes. In the early 1900s, the Nationalist movement began gaining traction across the subcontinent and Gandhi travelled extensively across the length and breadth of the region, raising awareness about the freedom movement.

— Kanaklata Barua was one of the youngest martyrs of the Quit India Movement, Kanaklata Barua has an iconic status in Assam. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— She led the Mrityu Bahini, a procession of freedom fighters, to unfurl the Tricolour at the Gohpur police station on September 20, 1942.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

8. (b)

FYI:

— The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has released images of the Aditya-L1 mission — the space agency’s first attempt to study the Sun.

— The Aditya-L1 will observe the Sun from a close distance, and try to obtain information about its atmosphere and magnetic field. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

— The PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 Mission is equipped with seven payloads (instruments) on board to study the Sun’s corona, solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out round-the-clock imaging of the Sun. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— Every storm that emerges from the Sun and heads towards Earth passes through L1, and a satellite placed in the halo orbit around L1 of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

— L1 refers to Lagrangian/Lagrange Point 1, one of five points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system.

— The L1 point is home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO), an international collaboration project of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The L1 point is about 1.5 million km from Earth, or about one-hundredth of the way to the Sun.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

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