Daily Current Affairs Quiz: August 01, 2023

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: A

• An alloy of Cobalt and Platinum when doped with Manganese has been found to be an effective catalyst for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) that takes place at the anode of the direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs).
• DMFC is an electrochemical energy conversion device that converts chemical energy of liquid methanol into electrical energy directly.
• They have high energy density, high efficiency and low operating temperature.
• DMFCs are also much safer to operate because they deal with liquid fuel (methanol).
• These are considered an attractive alternate power source for small vehicles such as forklifts and as battery chargers for mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops, and other small electronic gadgets.

ANSWER: B

• PM highlighted that the business of ‘bhojpatra calligraphy’ by the women of Mana village near Badrinath, has taken off, helping them improve the economy of the region.
  • Mana Village is regarded as the last village before the India-China border in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand.
• Found at a height of 3,000m or above, bhojpatra (Himalayan Birch) is a tree whose bark acts as paper on which text can be written.
• Since ancient times, our scriptures and books have been preserved on these bhojpatras.
  • Mahabharata was also written on the bhojpatra.

ANSWER: C

• A microscopic worm survived in the Siberian permafrost for a record-breaking 46,000 years, scientists have discovered — tens of thousands of years longer than previously resurrected worms.
• The ancient roundworm, or nematode, belongs to the newly described species Panagrolaimus kolymaensis.
• Researchers discovered it nestled inside a fossilized squirrel burrow that was extracted from permafrost near the Kolyma River, in the northeastern Arctic, in 2002.

ABOUT CRYPTOBIOSIS

• Many animals like nematodes, and more famously, tardigrades, can survive extreme conditions by entering a dormant state called “cryptobiosis.”
• Cryptobiosis is the state of an organism when it shows no visible signs of life and when its metabolic activity becomes hardly measurable, or comes reversibly to a standstill.
• In this state organisms can survive complete absence of water and oxygen and withstand other extreme conditions.
• Since metabolism is a defining characteristic of life, cryptobiosis can be termed as a temporary death of an organism.

ANSWER: B

• PM recently released the first instalment of funds under the PM SHRI Scheme.

ABOUT PRADHAN MANTRI SCHOOLS FOR RISING INDIA (PM-SHRI) SCHEME

• It is a centrally sponsored scheme by Government of India.
• This initiative is intended to develop more than 14500 PM SHRI Schools managed by Central government/State/UT Government/local bodies including KVS and NVS.
• It envisages a school in which every student feels welcomed and cared for, where a safe and stimulating learning environment exists, where a wide range of learning experiences are offered, and where good physical infrastructure and appropriate resources conducive to learning are available to all students.
• More than 20 lakh students are expected to be the direct beneficiaries of the scheme.
• The scheme will also promote understanding of various dimensions of Quality of school education and inform Policy, Practice and Implementation.
• The Scheme is proposed to be implemented over a period of 5 years w.e.f. 2022-23 to 2026-27.
• The learning from these schools will be scaled up to other schools in the country.
• It will nurture students in a way that they become engaged, productive, and contributing citizens for building an equitable, inclusive, and plural society as envisaged by the National Education Policy 2020.

ANSWER: A

• Over 1,200 biogas plants, including 320 compressed biogas (CBG) units and 892 conventional plants across 450 districts, have registered on the Gobardhan portal since it was launched in June.
• The Gobardhan initiative is aimed at creating a conducive environment for the biogas and CBG sector.
• The portal was initiated to streamline the registration process for operational, under-construction, and planned biogas or CBG plants across the country.
• It allows any government, cooperative or private entity operating or intending to set up a Biogas/CBG/Bio-CNG plant in India to obtain a registration number by enrolling in the portal.
• The portal has been developed by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• It serves as a centralized repository for assessing investment and participation in the Biogas/CBG (Compressed Biogas) sector at a pan-India level.

ABOUT GOBARDHAN SCHEME

• Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan is a crucial umbrella initiative launched in 2018 as a national priority project under the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen-Phase II program.
• It aims to generate wealth and energy by converting cattle dung, agricultural residue, and other organic waste into Biogas, CBG and bio-fertilizers.
• It adopts a whole-of-government approach and aims to convert waste into wealth, thereby promoting a circular economy.
• The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Ministry of Jal Shakti is the nodal office.

ANSWER: D

• Scientists from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) Prayagraj Centre have discovered a new hemiparasitic (partially parasitic) plant species, Pedicularis Revealiana, in the state of
• Along with making its own food, it has the ability to gather nutrients from the roots of trees and plants located nearby.

ANSWER: D

• Over 85% cure rate has been seen in modified BPaL regimen trial for Tuberculosis.
• The BPaL regimen is an all oral, short treatment course which uses only three drugs — bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid — and the treatment lasts only for 26 weeks.
  • In contrast, conventional treatment for (Drug resistant)DR-TB, requires 8-9 tablets to be taken each day for 18 months
• The shorter duration of the BPaL regimen also means that people undergoing the treatment cannot miss even one dose. In short, treatment adherence should be very good.
• India is targeting to reduce TB incidence by 80% and TB deaths by 90% by 2025.

ANSWER: A

• Two Indian military aircrafts recently visited Australia’s strategic Cocos (Keeling) Islands (CKI).
• CKI is an Australian external territory located in the Indian Ocean, approximately 3,000 km north-west of Perth in western Australia, and comprises two coral atolls made up of 27 smaller islands.

Note

• Not to be confused with Coco islands (under Myanmar) and Coco channel near Andaman Islands.