Daily Current Affairs Quiz: May 03, 2023

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: B

• The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) above Mount Saraswati captured a rare phenomenon as a geomagnetic storm struck Earth’s magnetic field, creating unique auroras.
  • This was the first time that the aurora was captured on camera in India by the Indian Astronomical Observatory.
• The 360-degree camera atop the IAO in Hanle ,Ladakh captured the mysterious phenomenon, which is triggered by an interaction between the plasma particles hurled by the Sun and Earth’s magnetic field.
• The auroras are normally seen at higher latitudes in parts of Alaska, Norway, and other countries.

About Auroras

• Charged particles ejected from Sun’s corona create solar wind.
  • When that wind slams into Earth’s ionosphere, the aurora is born.
• In the Northern Hemisphere, the phenomenon is called the northern lights (aurora borealis), while in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s called the southern lights (aurora australis).
• The hemispheric asymmetry of the aurora is due in part to the sun’s magnetic field interfering with Earth’s magnetic field.

ANSWER: A

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru recently revealed that the Dengue virus in India has evolved dramatically.
• Study found that the cases of mosquito-borne viral disease have steadily increased in the last 50 years, predominantly in South-East Asian counties.\

About Dengue Fever

• The dengue virus belongs to the family Flaviviridae and has four serotypes: DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4.
• It is an illness spread by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitos which also carry viruses like Zika and chikungunya.
• The virus is most commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions, including Central and South America, Africa, parts of Asia and the Pacific Islands.
• Mild dengue fever causes a high fever and flu-like symptoms.
• The severe form of dengue fever, also called dengue hemorrhagic fever, can cause serious bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure (shock) and death.
• It isn’t contagious from person to person except when passed from a pregnant person to their child.
• There is no specific treatment for dengue. The focus is on treating pain symptoms.

Dengue vaccine

• Dengvaxia or CYD-TDV has been approved by the US Food & Drug Administration, the first dengue vaccine to get the regulatory nod in the US.
  • Dengvaxia is basically a live, attenuated dengue virus.

ANSWER: D

• It has crossed over 1 lakh beneficiary registrations.

About National SC-ST Hub

• It is set up to provide professional support to SC and ST Entrepreneurs to fulfill the obligations under the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises Order 2012.
• Launched in 2016.
• Implementing Body- National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a public sector undertaking under the administrative control of the Ministry of MSME.
• Several special subsidy schemes/programmes have been approved under National SC/ST including Single Point Registration Scheme, Special Marketing Assistance Scheme etc.

ANSWER: C

• Maria Stepanova, a renowned Russian writer currently residing in Berlin, has been awarded the Leipzig Book Prize for European Understanding in 2023.
• It was her volume of poetry, Girls Without Clothes, that earned her the prestigious Leipzig Book Prize.
• Stepanova, a Russian-Jewish poet, novelist, and journalist born in Moscow in 1972, has been a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin’s administration.

About the Leipzig Book Prize

• The Leipzig Book Prize for European Understanding is a prestigious literary award that has been awarded annually since 1994.
• The prize aims to promote a greater understanding between European cultures by recognizing outstanding works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry that contribute to this goal.
• The prize is awarded as part of the Leipzig Book Fair in Germany and is presented in three categories: fiction, non-fiction, and translation.
• The winner in each category receives a cash prize and a bronze sculpture.

ANSWER: D

• Centre recently slashed windfall tax on crude oil to ₹4,100 per tonne from ₹6,400 per tonne.

About Windfall Tax

• A windfall is defined as an “unearned, unanticipated gain in income through no additional effort or expense”.
• It is a higher tax levied by the government on specific industries when they experience unexpected and above-average profits.
• It is imposed when the government notices a sudden increase in an industry’s revenue.
  • However, these revenues cannot be linked to anything the company actively pursued, such as its business strategy or expansion.
• Therefore, Windfall Tax is imposed on an industry’s profits when it experiences a sharp increase in revenue due to unrelated external events.
• There have been varying rationales for governments worldwide to introduce windfall taxes- from redistribution of unexpected gains when high prices benefit producers at the expense of consumers, to funding social welfare schemes, and as a supplementary revenue stream for the government.

ANSWER: C

• European Commission has adopted a set of proposals termed Fit for 55.
• Fit for 55 refers to the EU’s target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
• It is a set of proposals to revise and update EU legislation and to put in place new initiatives to ensure that EU policies are into line with the agreed climate goals.
• This includes extension to emissions from maritime transport, reduction of emissions allowances, implementation of the global carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation etc.

ANSWER: B

• A report by Finland based group cited that India is leader of five countries named as the “Laundromat” countries.
• The so-called “laundromat” countries are countries that buy Russian oil and sell processed products to European countries, thus sidestepping European sanctions against Russian Oil.
• The five countries (India, China, Turkey, UAE and Singapore) are identified as ‘laundromats’ for Western countries by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
• The five countries are responsible for 70 percent of Russia’s crude oil exports, the study highlighted.

ANSWER: D

• Noted historian Ranajit Guha has passed away.
  • He was 100 years old, died at his residence in Austria.
• Born on May 23, 1923 at Barisal in present-day Bangladesh, Guha’s family later shifted to Kolkata.
• He had studied in a school in the city and completed his post-graduation in History from Calcutta University.
• One of his well-known books is ‘Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India’

ANSWER: B

• Solan has failed to find central grant under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) even as eight other urban local bodies (ULBs) have received Rs 154.07 crore for augmenting water supply works.
  • These towns are Mandi, Theog, Rajgarh, Chamba, Hamirpur, Sunni, Rampur and Dalhousie.
• While tendering process was underway in the eight civic bodies for executing the water supply projects, Solan was struggling to secure funds to augment its water supply as well as its sewage management scheme.