UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 10th December 2021

Solution (b)

The Annamayya project on Cheyyeru River has turned out to be the sorrow of many a village in Rajampet Assembly constituency in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.

Annamayya is a medium irrigation project with a gross capacity of only 2.24 tmc ft on Cheyyeru, a tributary of Penna River, in Rajampet constituency. It caters to an ayacut of 22,500 acres, besides fulfilling the drinking water needs of 140 habitations.

Cheyyeru River is a river in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh that is a tributary of the Pennar river.

Article Link:

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/hyderabad/andhra-pradesh-deluge-annamayya-dam-cheyyeru-river-7634151/

Solution (c)

Cyclonic Storm Jawad was a weak tropical cyclone that caused major disruptions over Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal in India while bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds over these states as a weakened system

Saudi Arabia has given the cyclone its name ‘Jawad’. The meaning ‘Jawad’ is liberal or merciful. The carries significance as this cyclonic storm will not be as severe as the previous ones.

It is interesting to know that the naming of cyclones was started with a treaty in 1953 in the Atlantic region. In the Indian Ocean region, the name of cyclone system started from 2004. To name the cyclones, the member countries give a list of names on their behalf. After this, the alphabetical listing is done. In the way, storm cyclones are named after the suggested name.

Article Link:

https://www.india.com/news/india/cyclone-jawad-what-it-means-and-how-did-it-get-its-name-all-you-need-to-know-5122711/

Solution (d)

Invasive species are among the leading threats to native wildlife. Approximately 42 percent of threatened or endangered species are at risk due to invasive species.

Many of our commercial, agricultural and recreational activities depend on healthy native ecosystems.

An invasive species can be any kind of living organism—an amphibian (like the cane toad), plant, insect, fish, fungus, bacteria, or even an organism’s seeds or eggs—that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm. They can harm the environment, the economy, or even human health. Species that grow and reproduce quickly, and spread aggressively, with potential to cause harm, are given the label “invasive.”

An invasive species does not have to come from another country. 

Invasive species are primarily spread by human activities, often unintentionally.

The direct threats of invasive species include preying on native species, outcompeting native species for food or other resources, causing or carrying disease, and preventing native species from reproducing or killing a native species’ young.

There are indirect threats of invasive species as well. Invasive species can change the food web in an ecosystem by destroying or replacing native food sources. The invasive species may provide little to no food value for wildlife. Invasive species can also alter the abundance or diversity of species that are important habitat for native wildlife. Additionally, some invasive species are capable of changing the conditions in an ecosystem, such as changing soil chemistry or the intensity of wildfires.

Article Link:

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Threats-to-Wildlife/Invasive-Species

Solution (d)

Why was lawyer and activist Sudha Bharadwaj given bail, but the co-accused denied the same relief?

What is default bail?

Also known as statutory bail, this is a right to bail that accrues when the police fail to complete investigation within a specified period in respect of a person in judicial custody. This is enshrined in Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure where it is not possible for the police to complete an investigation in 24 hours, the police produce the suspect in court and seek orders for either police or judicial custody. This section concerns the total period up to which a person may be remanded in custody prior to filing of charge sheet.

For most offences, the police have 60 days to complete the investigation and file a final report before the court. However, where the offence attracts death sentence or life imprisonment, or a jail term of not less than 10 years, the period available is 90 days. In other words, a magistrate cannot authorize a person’s judicial remand beyond the 60-or 90-day limit.

At the end of this period, if the investigation is not complete, the court shall release the person “if he is prepared to and does furnish bail”.

Default or statutory bail is a right, regardless of the nature of the crime. The stipulated period within which the charge sheet has to be filed begins from the day the accused is remanded for the first time. It includes days undergone in both police and judicial custody, but not days spent in house-arrest. A requirement for the grant of statutory bail is that the right should be claimed by the person in custody. If the charge sheet is not filed within the stipulated period, but there is no application for bail under Section 167(2), there is no automatic bail. In general, the right to bail on the investigation agency’s default is considered an ‘indefeasible right’, but it should be availed of at the appropriate time.

Article Link:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/explained-when-can-an-individual-get-statutory-bail/article37846868.ece

Solution (d)

They are manoeuvrable weapons that can fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, five times the speed of sound. The speed of sound is Mach 1, and speeds upto Mach 5 are supersonic and speeds above Mach 5 are hypersonic. Ballistic missiles, though much faster, follow a fixed trajectory and travel outside the atmosphere to re-enter only near impact. On the contrary, hypersonic weapons travel within the atmosphere and can manoeuvre midway which combined with their high speeds makes their detection and interception extremely difficult. This means that radars and air defences cannot detect them till they are very close and little time to react.

According to the latest memo of the Congressional Research Service (CRS), ‘Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress’ of October 2021, there are two classes of hypersonic weapons, hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV) and hypersonic cruise missiles (HCM). HGVs are launched from a rocket before gliding to a target while HCMs are powered by high-speed, air-breathing engines, or scramjets, after acquiring their target.

Hypersonic missiles are a new class of threat because they are capable both of manoeuvring and of flying faster than 5,000 kms per hour, which would enable such missiles to penetrate most missile defences and to further compress the timelines for response by a nation under attack

Article Link:

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/explained-the-arms-race-towards-hypersonic-weapons/article37874968.ece