Daily Current Affairs Quiz: April 19, 2023

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: A

• Nearly 105 kilograms of sea cucumber was seized by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) near Attangarai in Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu recently.

About Sea Cucumber:

• These are part of a larger animal group called echinoderms and are invertebrates that live on the seafloor (benthic).
• Their body shape is similar to a cucumber, but they have small tentacle-like tube feet that are used for locomotion and feeding.
• There are about 1,250 species of sea cucumber, all of which belong to the taxonomic class Holothuroidea.
• They are found in all marine environments throughout the world, from shallow to deep-sea environments.
• They excrete inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus, enhancing the productivity of benthic biota.
• Sea cucumbers exhibit sexual and asexual reproduction.
• Unlike most terrestrial animals, sea cucumber eggs undergo external fertilization—females release eggs into the water that are fertilized when they come into contact with sperm that males have released.
• Protection status
  • Wildlife Protection Act of 1972: Schedule I
  • CITES: Appendix II
• In 2020, the Lakshadweep administration created the world’s first conservation area for sea cucumbers.

ANSWER: A

• Utsa Patnaik, a renowned economist, has been selected for the Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2023.

About Malcolm Adiseshiah Award

• It is one of the most prestigious national awards in India that recognizes and honours the outstanding contributions of social scientists to the field of development studies.
• It was instituted in 2000 by the Malcolm and Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust.
• The award is given annually to an outstanding social scientist selected from nominations received by a specially constituted national jury.
• The award includes a citation and prize money of Rs 2 lakh.
• The Malcolm Adiseshiah award for distinguished contributions to Development Studies carries a cash award of 1 lakh and a citation.
• Malcolm Sathiyanathan Adiseshiah (1910 – 1994), was an Indian development economist and educator.
  • he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1976.

ANSWER: B

• Blastomycosis is a rare fungal infection caused by the Blastomyces fungus that is found in the midwestern, south-central, and southeastern states of the US.
• The fungus is endemic to Michigan state, US.
• The fungus is typically present in moist soil and decomposing wood and leaves.
• The disease is contracted by inhaling the spores of the fungus, which can be dispersed in the air if the soil is disturbed.
• Symptoms: Fever, Cough, Breathing difficulty and muscle aches etc.
• Itraconazole is a type of antifungal medication that is typically used to treat mild to moderate blastomycosis.

ANSWER: C

• The United States Congress recently made an attempt to create a legislative framework for the increasingly popular stablecoins.

About Stablecoins

• They are cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged, or tied, to that of another currency, commodity, or financial instrument.
  • The first stablecoin, created in 2014, was Tether.
• Stablecoins aim to provide an alternative to the high volatility of the most popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC).
• Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, stablecoins’ prices remain steady, in accordance with whichever fiat currency backs them. Eg: USDC stablecoin is backed by dollar-denominated assets.
• Advantages :
  • They are open, global, and accessible to anyone on the internet.
  • They’re fast, cheap and secure to transmit.

About Cryptocurrency

• Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of their units and verify the transfer of funds.
• These currencies operate independently of a central bank.
• The economic transactions underlying cryptocurrency are decentralized, distributed and disbursed.
• The first and most famous cryptocurrency, bitcoin was introduced in 2009.
• Most cryptocurrencies are built on blockchain technology.

ANSWER: A

• It is a World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative to improve the disease pandemic preparedness.
• PRET focuses on improving pandemic preparedness for groups of pathogens based on their modes of transmission.
• PRET operates under the aegis of the International Health Regulations (IHR), which is a critical international legal instrument for managing public health emergencies.
• PRET recognizes three tiers of systems and capacities relevant for pandemic preparedness:
  • those that are cross-cutting for all or multi-hazard,
  • those that are relevant for groups of pathogens, and
  • those that are specific to a pathogen.

ANSWER: C

• April 18th is observed as World Heritage Day, also referred to as International Day for Monuments and Sites.
• The primary objective of this day is to raise awareness of the significance of safeguarding cultural heritage, including historical structures, landmarks, and archaeological locations, and to celebrate the variety of global heritage.
• The theme for World Heritage Day 2023 is “Heritage Changes.”
• The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), headquartered in Paris, proposed the notion of observing World Heritage Day in 1982, and it was subsequently endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1983.

ANSWER: B

• Raj Subramaniam, the CEO of FedEx, a renowned global transportation company, and an Indian-American, was recently honored with the distinguished Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award.
• This award is the highest civilian recognition bestowed by India upon individuals of Indian descent and Indian diaspora.

ANSWER: B

• Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan, the senior-most judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, has been appointed Acting Chief Justice with effect from April 20, consequent upon the retirement of Justice Sabina.
• Justice Chauhan was born at Rohru in Shimla district on January 9, 1964.
• He did his schooling from Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, and graduated from DAV College, Chandigarh.
• He obtained a degree in law from Panjab University, Chandigarh.
• He enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh in 1989.

ANSWER: C

• Solan-based mountaineer Baljeet Kaur (27) was found on Mt Annapurna in Nepal today, a day after she reportedly went missing near Camp IV while descending from the peak.
  • Annapurna is the tenth-highest mountain in the world, standing at 8,091 metres above sea level.
• Baljeet successfully scaled Mt Everest (8,848.46 m) with her guide Mingma Sherpa in May 2022. This was her third feat in the last spring season. The duo scaled Mt Annapurna (8,091 m) on April 28 and Mt Kanchenjunga (8,586 m) on May 12.
• A resident of the non-descript Panjrol village in Solan, Baljeet has become the first Indian woman mountaineer to successfully scale 7,161-m Pumori peak in Nepal.
  • She was part of a 12-member delegation that achieved that feat under the Government of India-sponsored “Mt Everest Masiff Expedition-2021”.