Daily Current Affairs Quiz: November 01, 2023

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: B

• Suspected Maoists reportedly opened fire at Forest department watchers at the Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary in Kannur in Kerala recently.

ABOUT ARALAM WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

• It is spread over a 55 sq. km area of forests on the Western Ghats in Kannur district.
• It is the northernmost wildlife sanctuary of Kerala.
• It was established in 1984.
• The great Katti Betta, is the tallest peak in the area, which is 1145m high.
• The river Cheenkani flows through this wildlife sanctuary.
• The entire area is covered in tropical and semi-evergreen forests.
• Fauna- elephants, gaur, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, Nilgiri Langur, Hanuman Langur and the Malabar Giant Squirrel.
• It is also famous for the vast amount of butterfly species found here.
• Most of these are endemic to the Western Ghats.
• Aralam village itself houses the famous Central State Farm, a government of India initiative built in 1971.
  • This is one of the main production centres of hybrid coconut seeds in the country.

ANSWER: A

• sites have been recorded at Great Vedaranyam Swamp near Point Calimere, Tamil Nadu.
• The presence of five burrow nests of the crab-loving shore bird recorded at an islet near Siruthalaikkadu of Great Vedaranyam Swamp in August gained significance as the species was initially believed to only breed in the islands of the African east coast, the Persian Gulf, and the southern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula from June to August.
  • Great Vedaranyam Swamp is abundant with mudskippers and crabs, the favourite prey species of crab-plovers.

ABOUT CRAB-PLOVER

• Scientific name-Dromas ardeola
• It is considered a winter visitor to Pakistan, peninsular India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, northern Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, and a vagrant to Bangladesh.
• It is the only shore bird that lays eggs in self-excavated burrows on sandbanks.
• The bird lays white eggs and chicks remain inside the burrows until the fledging stage.
• Parents take care of the young ones for five to six months.
• IUCN red list – Least concerned
• It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

ANSWER: C

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Tel Aviv University have developed an aerogel adsorbent that can remove trace pollutants from wastewater.
• Aerogels comprise mostly of air and can be used to remove contaminants.
• The highly porous, low-density materials with adjustable chemistry are referred to as solid air or frozen smoke and can be easily fabricated.
• A method called ‘supercritical fluid deposition’ was employed to prepare these modified aerogels and studied their effectiveness.
• The Graphene-doped modified silica aerogels (GO-SA) were found to exhibit efficiency in purifying water, attracting and removing contaminants due to graphene’s unique molecular structure.
• Under real-life conditions mimicked in their experiments, the material removed over 85% of pollutants in controlled settings and more than 76% in continuous flow conditions
• Aerogels could be customised to target specific contaminants by modifying their surface chemistry, making them versatile.
• They can be generated and reused multiple times, reducing waste and operational costs, making them a sustainable solution for water purification.

ANSWER: A

• UNESCO published the list of 55 new creative cities recently on World Cities Day (October 31^st), in which Kozhikode has been given the tag of City of Literature, the first to hold the title in the country.
• Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh is the other creative city on the list, having bagged the City of Music tag.
• The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is a flagship city programme of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which have recognized culture and creativity as strategic drivers of sustainable urban development.
• With the latest additions, there are 350 creative cities in the network, in more than 100 countries, representing seven creative fields; Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music.
• Other creative cities from India are-
  • Jaipur – Crafts and Folk Arts (2015).
  • Varanasi – Music (2015).
  • Chennai – Music (2017).
  • Mumbai – Film (2019).
  • Hyderabad – Gastronomy (2019).
  • Srinagar – Crafts and Folk Arts (2021).

ANSWER: C

• World Vegan Day is celebrated every year on November 1^st.
• On this day, vegan organizations promote the environmental and health impacts of the vegan diet.
• A vegan diet consists of eliminating all animal products, including meat, eggs, poultry, and other items derived from animals.
• World Vegan Day began on November 1, 1994, when ‘The Vegan Society’ was founded to encourage veganism and a plant-based diet by a vegan animal rights activist Louise Wallis.

ANSWER: B

• Chintpurni shrine in Una district will soon be connected with a Rs 76.50-crore ropeway which will ferry devotees to the ancient temple.
• It would facilitate 700 pilgrims per hour in each direction, significantly enhancing the overall pilgrim experience.
• The Chintpurni temple is recognised as one of the Shakti Peeths and the most sacred shrine in the state.
• The ropeway with a span of 1 km will give impetus to religious tourism in the state.