DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 9th December 2023

Syllabus

• Prelims –GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

Context: Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the 2nd Edition of the flagship Financial Technology event – Infinity Forum 2.0.

Background:-

• Distinguished speakers from the Central and State Governments include Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, and Minister for Railways, Communications and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw will witness the event.

About Infinity Forum 2.0:-

• Hosted by: International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, GIFT City.
• Theme ‘GIFT-IFSC: Nerve Centre for New Age Global Financial Services.
• It is Organized as a pre-cursor event to the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024.
• The 2nd edition of the Infinity Forum 2.0, will be held in hybrid mode, with an invite-only in-person event scheduled in GIFT City and for virtual participation from participants across the globe.
• The Infinity Forum is a global thought leadership platform on financial services, where progressive ideas, pressing problems, and innovative technologies from across the world get Discovered, Discussed and Developed into solutions and opportunities.
• The 1st edition of the Forum was organized in December 2021.
• It will also witness participation and insightful discussions by several luminaries from the financial sector in India and across the globe.
• The event will be preceded by an Investors Meet for FinTech entities which are authorized by IFSCA or recommended by institutions having MoU with IFSCA or accelerators which are authorized by IFSCA.
• The theme of the 2nd edition of Infinity Forum is ‘GIFT-IFSC: Nerve Centre for New Age Global Financial Services’, which will be dovetailed through the following three tracks:
  • Plenary Track: Making of a New Age International Financial Centre
  • Green Track: Making a case for a “Green Stack”
  • Silver Track: Longevity Finance Hub at GIFT IFSC
• Each track will comprise an Infinity Talk by a senior industry leader and a discussion by a panel of industry experts and practitioners from the financial sector in India and across the globe, providing practical insights and implementable solutions.
• The Forum will witness the participation of 300+ CXOs with strong online participation from India and a global audience across 20+ countries including the USA, UK, Singapore, South Africa, UAE, Australia and Germany.
• The event will also be attended by Vice-Chancellors from foreign universities and representatives of foreign embassies.

MUST READ: National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

SOURCE: AIR

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) ‘Rapid Financing Instrument” and “Rapid Credit Facility” are related to the provisions of lending by which of the following:  (2022)

1. Asian Development Bank
2. International Monetary Fund
3. United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative
4. World Bank

Q.2) In India, the Central Bank’s function as the “lender of last resort” usually refers to which of the following? (2021)

1. Lending to trade and industry bodies when they fail to borrow from other sources
2. Providing liquidity to the banks having a temporary crisis
3. Lending to governments to finance budgetary deficits

Select the correct answer using the code given below

1. 1 and 2
2. 2 only
3. 2 and 3
4. 3 only

Syllabus

• Prelims –HISTORY

Context: The mystery origin of Egypt’s mummified baboons has been finally cracked recently.

Background:-

• The scientists have recently retrieved ancient mitochondrial DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) from a mummified baboon found at the Gabbanat el-Qurud site in Egypt, which will help discover its origin.

About Egypt’s mummified baboons:-

• The Egyptian god Thoth was represented by a baboon — which is odd because baboons aren’t native to Egypt.
• In 1905, Egyptologists Louis Lortet and Claude Gaillard discovered mummified baboons in Gabbanat el-Qurud.
• Gabbanat el-Qurud is also known as the ‘Valley of the Monkeys’.
• The baboons belonged to the ancient city of Adulis in present-day coastal Eritrea, a trade centre between the 1st and 7th centuries AD.
• The lost city of Punt can be one of the potential locations of its origin.
• The city of Punt was mentioned in accounts of Greco-Roman historians and was associated with the trade of leopard skin, gold, and live exotic animals.

Significance of discovery:-

• The study aligns with historical accounts, drawing attention to the significance of the Red Sea in trade relationships between India, Egypt, and Europe.

 About Baboons:-

• Baboons are some of the world’s largest monkeys.
• All baboons have a strong torso, a snoutlike face, the same dentition with long, sharp canine teeth, and powerful jaws.
• Distribution: Africa & Arabia.
• Habitat: prefer savanna and other semi-arid habitats, though a few live in tropical forests.
• Baboon social behaviour is matrilineal, in which a network of social relationships is sustained over three generations by the female members of the species.

MUST READ: India-Egypt relations

SOURCE: THE HINDU

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) In the context of hereditary diseases, consider the following statements: (2021)

1. Passing on mitochondrial diseases from parent to child can be prevented by mitochondrial replacement therapy either before or after in vitro fertilization of the egg.
2. A child inherits mitochondrial diseases entirely from the mother and not from the father.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.2) Who among the following was associated as Secretary with Hindu Female School which later came to be known as Bethune Female School? (2021)

1. Annie Besant
2. Debandranath Tagore
3. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
4. Sarojini Naidu

Syllabus

• Prelims –ART AND CULTURE

Context: Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has rrecently, replied to a social media post by Hollywood actor Michael Douglas on his visit to Thanjavur.

Background:-

• Via a post on X, the Prime Minister said:
• “Thanjavur is beautiful indeed! And, there is a lot more to see in India which will leave tourists from across the world spellbound.”

About Thanjavur:-

• Thanjavur (Tanjavur or Tanjore) is a temple site in the Tamil Nadu region of southern India.
• Thanjavur was the capital of the great Chola (Cola) king Rajaraja I.
• It was he who commissioned the site’s magnificent temple, the Brihadishvara, in the early 11th century CE.
• Many other temples and shrines were added over the centuries making Thanjavur one of the most important and most visited historical sites in India today.
• Thanjavur is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

About Brihadishvara temple:-

• Brihadishvara (or Brhadisvara) temple was constructed between c. 995 and 1025 CE using Chola war booty and tribute from Sri Lanka.
• The temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
• The entire rectangular complex measures approximately 140 x 75 metres and is surrounded by a wall with regular interior niches.
• Inside the compound are various secondary shrines and a monumental double gateway entrance (gopuras).
• The two-storey Brihadishvara temple is built on a high dadoed-base platform.
• The granite tower (vimana), rises in thirteen diminishing levels above the sacred garbhagriha (inner shrine).
• It is topped by a dome structure which rests on a single 7.7 m square granite block weighing around 80 tons.
• The temple was laid out on a precise plan of 16 x 16 squares, a design known as padmagarbhamandala in the Dravida architecture of southern India.
• The garbhagriha contains a 4-metre tall Shiva linga (phallus).
• Murals decorate the interior walls, and, once hidden by later Nayaka period paintings, these include fine images of Rajaraja I, his spiritual advisor or guru, and his three queens.
• Other subjects include a Nataraja (Shiva as Lord of the Dance) who was the clan deity of the Cholas (kuladevata).

MUST READ: Hoysala temples

SOURCE: PIB

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) The Prime Minister recently inaugurated the new Circuit House near Somnath Temple Veraval. Which of the following statements are correct regarding Somnath Temple? (2022)

1. Somnath Temple is one of the Jyotirlinga shrines.
2. A description of the Somnath Temple was given by Al-Biruni.
3. Pran Pratishtha of Somnath Temple (installation of the present-day temple) was done by President S. Radhakrishnan.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1,2 and 3

Q.2) With reference  to Chausath Yogini Temple situated near Morena, consider the following statements: (2021)

1. It is a circular temple built during the reign of the Kachchhapaghata Dynasty.
2. It is the only circular temple built in India.
3. It was meant to promote the Vaishnava cult in the region.
4. Its design has given rise to a popular belief that it was the inspiration behind the Indian Parliament building.

Which of the statements given above is correct?

1. 1 and 2
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 4
4. 2, 3 and 4

Syllabus

• Prelims –ECONOMY

Context: Recently, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in their latest report assessed the risks associated with multi-function crypto-asset intermediaries (MCIs)

Background:-

• The Financial Stability Board (FSB)’s latest report on crypto-asset intermediaries sought measures to enhance cross-border cooperation and information sharing among local authorities

About Financial Stability Board (FSB):-

• Establishment: 2009.
• HQ: Basel, Switzerland.
• It was established in April 2009 after the G20 Summit in London as the successor to the Financial Stability Forum.
• The board includes all G20 major economies.
• The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system.
• Members: The FSB consists of 68 member institutions.
  • It comprises several central banks, ministries of finance, and supervisory and regulatory authorities from 25 jurisdictions, as well as 10 international organizations and six Regional Consultative Groups (RCGs).
  • India is an active Member of the FSB, having three seats in its Plenary represented by the Secretary (Dept of Economic Affairs), Deputy Governor-RBI, and Chairman-SEBI.
  • The FSB’s decisions are not legally binding on its members.

Objectives:-

• Assess vulnerabilities affecting the global financial system as well as identify and review, on a timely and ongoing basis within a macroprudential perspective, the regulatory, supervisory and related actions needed to address these vulnerabilities and their outcomes.
• Promote coordination and information exchange among authorities responsible for financial stability
• Monitor and advise on market developments and their implications for regulatory policy.
• Monitor and advise on best practices in meeting regulatory standards.
• Undertake joint strategic reviews of the international standard-setting bodies and coordinate their respective policy development work to ensure this work is timely, coordinated, focused on priorities and addresses gaps.
• Set guidelines for establishing and supporting supervisory college

Functions:-

• It promotes international financial stability by coordinating national financial authorities and international standard-setting bodies as they work toward developing strong regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies.
• It fosters a level playing field by encouraging coherent implementation of these policies across sectors and jurisdictions.
• The FSB, working through its members, seeks to strengthen the financial system of the world.

About Multifunction crypto-asset intermediaries (MCIs):-

• Multifunction crypto-asset intermediaries (MCIs) are individual firms, or groups of affiliated firms, that combine a broad range of crypto-asset services, products, and functions typically centred around the operation of a trading platform. (Cryptocurrency)
• MCIs typically combine many services, which may include exchange, brokerage, dealing, market-making, custody, clearing and asset management activities; issuing, promoting and distributing crypto-assets, including so-called stablecoins
• Additionally, some MCIs have substantial proprietary trading and investment functions, some of which are conducted in the course of offering some of the aforementioned services and others which are solely for the MCI’s own account.  

Structure:-

• MCIs typically operate their platforms using a global website that serves as a primary entry point for services. Some MCIs have chosen, in some jurisdictions, to create country-specific local versions of their platforms with legal structures purportedly separate from their main operations.
• Additionally, some MCIs also establish local subsidiaries (sometimes by buying a local licensed firm) that may receive some level of regulatory permission to provide crypto-asset services to domestic residents, while still connecting to the global platform.

Governance:-

• MCIs do not generally disclose their internal governance, but there are strong indications that independent and robust risk management functions are lacking.

Vulnerabilities of MCIs:-

• Leverage: MCIs engaging in proprietary trading or market-making on their own trading platforms could exacerbate the build-up of leverage.
• Liquidity mismatch: MCI investment programmes, including staking-as-a-service and yield/earn programmes, create liquidity mismatch.
• Technological and operational vulnerabilities: MCIs are susceptible to several technological and operational vulnerabilities. MCIs have been a target of cyber-attacks and a number of them have had funds stolen by hackers in the past.

MUST READ: Crypto Asset Regulation

SOURCE: THE HINDU

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) With reference to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), consider the following statements: (2022)

1. They enable the digital representation of physical assets.
2. They are unique cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain.
3. They can be traded or exchanged at equivalency and therefore can be used as a medium of commercial transactions.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Q.2) With reference to ‘Bitcoins’, sometimes seen in the news which of the following statements is/are correct (2016)

1. Bitcoins are tracked by the Central Banks of the countries.
2. Anyone with a Bitcoin address can send and receive Bitcoins from anyone else with a Bitcoin address.
3. Online payments can be sent without either side knowing the identity of the other.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Syllabus

• Prelims –SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Context: Recently, the payload onboard Aditya-L1 captured full-disk images of the Sun.

Background:-

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) instrument on board the Aditya-L1 spacecraft has successfully captured the first full-disk images of the Sun.

About Aditya-L1:-

• Aditya L1 shall be the first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun.
• Launched by: ISRO.
• Launch Vehicle: PSLV-XL. (PSLV-C54 launch)
• Destination site: The spacecraft shall be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth.
  • Lagrange points: specific locations in space where the gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as a planet and its moon or a planet and the Sun, produce enhanced regions of gravitational equilibrium.
  • There are five primary Lagrangian points, labeled L1 through L5, in a Sun-Earth system.
  • L1 (Lagrange Point 1):-
  • Founded by: Joseph Louis Lagrange.
  • Location: about 1.5 million kilometres inside Earth’s orbit, between the Sun and the Earth.
  • The L1 point of the Earth-Sun system gives a clear view of the sun all the time, without any occultation/ eclipses.
• Significance of Aditya L1: It will provide a greater advantage in observing solar activities and their effect on space weather in real-time.

Objectives of Aditya L1:-

• Study of Solar upper atmospheric
• Study of chromospheric and coronal heating, physics of the partially ionized plasma, initiation of the coronal mass ejections, and flares.
  • Sun’s corona: the outermost layer of its atmosphere
• Study of the Physics of the solar corona and its heating mechanism.
• Study of Diagnostics of the coronal and coronal loops plasma: Temperature, velocity, and density.
• Study of Magnetic field topology and magnetic field measurements in the solar corona.

Paylaods in Aditya L1:-

• There are a total of seven payloads on board. (IN-SPACe)
• Four of them carry out remote sensing of the Sun.
• Three of them carrying in-situ observation.

Remote Sensing Payloads:-

• Visible Emission Line Coronagraph(VELC)
• Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)
• Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS)
• High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer(HEL1OS)

In-situ Payloads:-

• Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment(ASPEX)
• Plasma Analyzer Package For Aditya (PAPA)
• Advanced Tri-axial High-Resolution Digital Magnetometers

MUST READ: Shukrayaan

SOURCE: THE HINDU

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) Consider the following statements: (2023)

1. Ballistic missiles are jet-propelled at subsonic speeds throughout their flights, while cruise missiles are rocket-powered only in the initial phase of flight.
2. Agni-V is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile, while BrahMos is a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.2) Which one of the following countries has its own Satellite Navigation System? (2023)

1. Australia
2. Canada
3. Israel
4. Japan

Syllabus

• Prelims –ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

Context: Recently, the Koya tribe rode the eco-friendly wave to help conserve the Indian Bison of Eastern Ghats.

Background:-

• In a move to conserve the Indian Bison in their forests, the indigenous Koya tribe inhabiting the Papikonda hill range in Andhra Pradesh have made an exemplary transition by shedding the use of bison horns to make their traditional flute, Permakore, and replacing it with an instrument made of eco-friendly palm leaf.

About Indian Bison:-

• Indian Bison are one of the largest extant bovines. (Wildlife Institute of India (WII))
• It is one of the largest species among the wild cattle, reaching a shoulder height of up to 220 cm.
• The Indian gaur, a reclusive beast that lives in the wild.
• They are found on the forested hills and grassy areas of south to southeast Asia.
• In India, they are found in Nagarhole, Bandipur, Masinagudi National Parks and BR Hills.

Threats:-

• Food Scarcity
• Poaching
• Habitat Loss due to deforestation and commercial plantations.
• Human-Animal Conflict

Conservation status:-

• Wild Life Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I.
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List: Vulnerable.

About Koya tribe:-

• The Koya population is primarily found in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.
• They speak the Koya language, which belongs to the Dravidian language family.
• They practice Podu form of shifting cultivation, as practiced by various tribal groups in forest areas has for long been an economic survival versus environmental sustenance issue.
• The held ST status in Chattisgarh but they were not granted ST status in their migrated states such as Telangana.
• Koyas popularly call themselves as Dorala Sattam (Lords group) and Putta Dora (original lords).
• The Godavari and Sabari rivers which flow through their area of habitation exercise profound influence on Koyas’ economic, social and cultural life.

MUST READ: New Breeds of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR)

SOURCE: THE HINDU

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS

Q.1) Which of the following organisms ·perform the waggle dance for others of their kin to indicate the direction and the

distance to a source of their food? (2023)

1. Butterflies
2. Dragonflies
3. Honeybees
4. Wasps

Q.2) Consider the following fauna : (2023)

1. Lion-tailed Macaque
2. Malabar Civet
3. Sambar Deer

How many of the above are generally nocturnal or most active after sunset?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Q1) Consider the following pairs:

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Q2) Consider the following statements

Statement-I :

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) was established in 2005.

Statement-II :

The board includes all G20 major economies.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
2. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
3. Statement-I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
4. Statement-I is incorrect but Statement II is correct

Q3) With reference to the Infinity Forum 2.0, consider the following statements:

1. The theme is Nerve Centre for New Age Global Financial Services.
2. It is Organized as a pre-cursor event to the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024.
3. The 1st edition of the Forum was organized in December 2020.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 2 only
2. 1, 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 2 only
4. 1 only

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’  9th December 2023 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.st

Q.1) – a

Q.2) – d

Q.3) – a