3 DEC CURRENT AFFAIRS (MCQ)

Q1. Consider the following statements pertaining to the office of Attorney General and Solicitor General

1. Article 76 of the Constitution mentions the solicitor general and additional solicitor general.
2. The Attorney General is not deemed as a government servant and is allowed to take up private practice.
   Which of the above statement(s) is /are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : b)
Explanation :-
Statement 1 is incorrect: There is a point to take special note of the fact that only the office of the AG is created by the Constitution. It means that Article 76 of the Constitution does not mention the solicitor general and additional solicitor general in an explicit manner.
Statement 2 is correct.The Attorney General represents the Union and the States before the courts but is also allowed to take up private practice provided the other party is not the State. S(He) is not deemed as a government servant.

Q2. Consider the following pairs:
Tropical cyclones Region

1. Cyclones A. Indian Ocean
2. Hurricanes B. Atlantic Ocean
3. Willy-willy C. Western Pacific Ocean
   Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched ?
   a) All of the above
   b) 1 only
   c) 1 and 2
   d) 2 and 3

Solution : c)
Explanation :-
Different names of Tropical Cyclones:
• In the China Sea and Pacific Ocean, they are known as typhoons;
• In the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, they are known as hurricanes;
• In north-western Australia they are known as willy-willies and In Indian Ocean they are known as tropical cyclones.

Q3. Consider the following statements:

1. The caste portion of the socio-economic caste census (SECC) has not been disclosed so far.
2. The Census of India has not collected caste-wise data in the post independence era. Which of the above statement/s is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 & 2
   d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution : c)
Explanation :-
The Census of India has not collected caste-wise data since 1931, with the exception of details about SCs and STs.
• The Centre conducted a ‘socio-economic caste census’ in 2011, in an attempt to link the collection of caste data along with socio-economic data so that there could be a comprehensive assessment of levels of deprivation and backwardness in society. However, presumably because of the lack of reliability of the data collected, or its political and electoral sensitivity, the caste portion of the SECC has not been disclosed so far.

Q4. C3 and C4 tests are in news, they are related to
a) Coronavirus diagnosis
b) AIDS diagnosis
c) Blood tests
d) Purity of honey

Solution : d)
Explanation :-
C3 and C4 tests
• The AOAC 998 method, also referred to as the C4 sugar test, looks at a carbon 13 ratio, where the two major isotopes of carbon is Carbon-12 and Carbon-13.
• They’re both stable, and they both occur naturally.
• The ratios of those two isotopes varies based on what type of plant the honey is from.
• The plants that bees go to have a specific signature of carbon-13 to carbon-12 as opposed to something like corn, where we get corn syrup.

Q5. Which of the following countries became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) Covid-19 vaccine for use?
a) Russia
b) USA
c) China
d) Britain

Solution : d)
Explanation :-
Britain became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use and said that it will be rolled out from early next week. Hence option (d) is correct.
The British regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) declared that the vaccine offers protection of up to 95 per cent and is safe to be used for immunization against Covid-19.The American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech last month concluded phase 3 study of their mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate BNT162b2, meeting all primary efficacy endpoints.
BNT162b2 is a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by BioNTech and Pfizer and given by intramuscular injection. It is an RNA vaccine composed of nucleoside-modified mRNA encoding a mutated form of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, and is encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles.

Q6. With reference to the contempt of court, consider the following statements:

1. The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, lays down the law on contempt of court. Section 15 of the legislation describes the procedure on how a case for contempt of court can be initiated. 2. In the case of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General or the Solicitor General, and in the case of High Courts, the Advocate General, may bring in a motion before the court for initiating a case of criminal contempt.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 & 2
   d) None of these Solution : c)
   Explanation :-
   Attorney General for India K K Venugopal granted consent to initiate criminal contempt of court proceedings against comic illustrator Rachita Taneja for allegedly scandalising the judiciary through her tweets and illustrations.
   • The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, lays down the law on contempt of court. Section 15 of the legislation describes the procedure on how a case for contempt of court can be initiated.
   • In the case of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General or the Solicitor General, and in the case of High Courts, the Advocate General, may bring in a motion before the court for initiating a case of criminal contempt.
   • However, if the motion is brought by any other person, the consent in writing of the Attorney General or the Advocate General is required. If the AG denies consent, the matter all but ends.
   • The objective behind requiring the consent of the Attorney General before taking cognizance of a complaint is to save the time of the court.
   • The AG’s consent is mandatory when a private citizen wants to initiate a case of contempt of court against a person. However, when the court itself initiates a contempt of court case, as it did in the case of Prashant Bhushan recently, the AG’s consent is not required.
   • This is because the court is exercising its inherent powers under the Constitution to punish for contempt and such Constitutional powers cannot be restricted because the AG declined to grant consent.
   • Hence both statements are correct.

Q7. Which of the following best describes “Theremin”, recently seen in news?
a) Electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact
b) New human organ that protect body tissues from damage
c) Anti-tank missile from Russia
d) Planned orbiter to study the surface and atmosphere of the Venus

Solution : a)
Explanation :-
Theremin instrument turned 100 years old this year. It is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the thereminist (performer). Hence option (a) is correct.
The instrument was invented in 1920. It is named after its inventor, Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928.
The instrument’s controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the thereminist’s hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker.

Q8. With respect to “The World Malaria Report (WMR) 2020”, consider the following statements:

1. It is released by UNDP in collaboration with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
2. India achieved a reduction of 83.34% in malaria morbidity and 92% in malaria mortality between the year 2000 and 2019.
   Which of the above given statements is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 & 2
   d) None of these

Solution : b)
Explanation :-
Hence Statement 1 is incorrect: The World Malaria Report (WMR) 2020 released by WHO indicates that India has made considerable progress in reducing its malaria burden. India is the only high endemic country which has reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018. The Annual Parasitic Incidence (API) reduced by 27.6% in 2018 compared to 2017 and by 18.4% in 2019 as compared to 2018. India has sustained API less than one since year 2012. India has also contributed to the largest drop in cases region-wide, from approximately 20 million to about 6 million. The percentage drop in the malaria cases was 71.8% and deaths was 73.9% between 2000 to 2019.
Hence Statement 2 is correct: India achieved a reduction of 83.34% in malaria morbidity and 92% in malaria mortality between the year 2000 and 2019, thereby achieving Goal 6 of the Millennium Development Goals (50- 75% decrease in case incidence between 2000 and 2019).
States of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh disproportionately accounted for nearly 45.47 percent of malaria cases and 70.54 percent of falciparum Malaria cases in 2019. 63.64% of malaria deaths were also reported from these states.

Q9. Who among following will be the chairman of a high-level inter-ministerial Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA)?
a) Prime Minister
b) Minister of State for External Affairs
c) Secretary for Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
d) Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy

Solution : c)
Explanation :-
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has constituted a highlevel inter-ministerial Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA) under the chairmanship of Secretary, MoEFCC. Hence option(c) is correct.
The purpose of AIPA is to generate a coordinated response on climate change matters that ensures India is on track towards meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement including its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Senior officials from fourteen ministries will serve as Members to AIPA who will oversee the progress in implementation of India’s NDC Other key functions of AIPA would be to
o operate as a National Authority to regulate carbon markets in India under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement,
o formulate guidelines for consideration of projects or activities under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, o issue guidelines on carbon pricing, market mechanism, and other similar instruments that have a bearing on climate change and NDCs.

Q10. Researchers from which of the following institute have developed ‘Damaru’ Inspired Lattice that finds applications in stealth submarines and high speed trains?
a) Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
b) IIT Madras
c) Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai
d) IIT Kanpur

Solution : d)
Explanation :-
IIT Kanpur Researchers have developed ‘Damaru’ Inspired Lattice that finds applications in stealth submarines and high speed trains. Hence option(d) is correct.
IIT Kanpur researchers have demonstrated how with the use of a micro-structured hour-glass shaped meta-structure in the lattice unit, one can get a wider variation of propagation and stop bands. Inspiration of the lattice they developed has come from a two-headed drum called ‘Damaru’ or ‘Damaru’ which is used in ancient Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. It is said that Lod Shiva has produced a special sound through this musical instrument to create and regulate the universe. In this application, IIT Kanpur researchers have shown the nature of stiffness of a vibrating medium could be altered drastically by controlling the lattice microstructure from regular honeycomb to auxtetic honeycomb structure.
This has wide applications in the field of vibration isolation in high speed trains, stealth submarines and helicopter rotors. This work is sponsored by a SPARC project of Ministry of Education.

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