UPSC Quiz – 2024 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 15th June 2024

·       Any deprivation of this right must follow the procedure established by law.

·       Article 72 and Article 161 provide the President and Governors with the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites, or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit, or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.

·       Rarest of the Rare Doctrine: Established in the landmark case of Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980), the Supreme Court of India held that the death penalty should only be awarded in the “rarest of the rare” cases, where the alternative option is unquestionably foreclosed.

·       Proportionality and Balancing Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances: Courts must weigh aggravating circumstances (such as the nature and gravity of the crime) against mitigating circumstances (such as the socio-economic background, age, or mental condition of the offender) before deciding on the death penalty.

·       Further, the Supreme Court can review the case, and there are provisions for mercy petitions to the President and Governors.

Statutory Provisions:

·       Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860: Specifies offences that are punishable by death, including murder (Section 302), treason (Section 121), terrorism-related offences (Section 121A), and others.

·       Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973: Provides procedural safeguards for the accused in death penalty cases, such as the requirement for the sentence to be confirmed by a higher court (Section 366) and the right to appeal (Section 374).

·       It is a shield volcano located in Mars’ western hemisphere.

·       It is the highest point on Mars and the largest known volcano in the solar system.

·       It is 16 miles (24 kilometers) high, which makes it about three times higher than Mt. Everest.

·       It is also very wide (340 miles or 550 kilometers) and covers an area larger than the entire chain of Hawaiian Islands.

·       In contrast, the largest volcano on Earth, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, is 120 kilometers across and 9 kilometers high.

·       It is some 3.5 billion years old, which means the volcano formed early on in Mars’ history.

·       It is a very flat mountain which slopes by only 2 to 5 degrees.

·       Its summit is marked by a caldera, a large depression formed by volcanic activity, spanning 50 miles (80 kilometers) wide.

·       The summit caldera consists of several overlapping pits. These pits were created by different eruptive phases.

·       In contrast, many Earth-based volcanoes typically feature a single, less complex caldera.

·       Hawkish economic policy refers to a stance taken by central banks or other economic policymakers that emphasizes the importance of controlling inflation, often at the expense of other economic goals like full employment or economic growth.

·       Policymakers who are “hawkish” tend to favor higher interest rates to keep inflation in check and maintain price stability.

·       This approach is often contrasted with “dovish” economic policy, which prioritizes stimulating economic growth and reducing unemployment, even if it means tolerating higher inflation.

Key characteristics of hawkish economic policy:

·       Higher interest rates: Raising interest rates to make borrowing more expensive, which can reduce spending and investment, thereby cooling off an overheating economy.

·       Tightening monetary policy: Implementing measures to reduce the money supply or slow its growth, which can help control inflation.

·       Inflation targeting: Prioritizing low inflation as a primary goal, often setting explicit inflation targets and taking actions to ensure they are met.

·       Reducing economic stimulus: Cutting back on fiscal or monetary stimulus measures that could spur inflation, such as reducing government spending or unwinding quantitative easing programs.

·       It is a noninvasive imaging test.

·       It uses high-frequency sound waves to create real-time pictures or videos of internal organs or other soft tissues, such as blood vessels.

·       It is also called ultrasonography or sonography. Ultrasound images may be called sonograms.

·       Ultrasound enables healthcare providers to see the details of soft tissues inside your body without making any incisions (cuts).

·       Unlike other imaging techniques, ultrasound uses no radiation.

·       Healthcare providers use ultrasound exams for several purposes, including during pregnancy, for diagnosing conditions, and for image guidance during certain procedures.

How does an ultrasound work?

·       During an ultrasound, a healthcare provider passes a device called a transducer or probe over an area of your body or inside a body opening.

·       The provider applies a thin layer of gel to your skin so that the ultrasound wavesare transmitted from the transducer through the gel and into your body.

·       The probe converts electrical current into high-frequency sound waves and sends the waves into your body’s tissue.

·       Sound waves bounce off structures inside your body and back to the probe, which converts the waves into electrical signals.

·       The denser the object the ultrasound hits, the more of the ultrasound bounces back.

·       A computer then converts the pattern of electrical signals into real-time images or videos, which are displayed on a computer screen.

Limitations:

·       Sound waves don’t travel well through air or bone. This means ultrasound isn’t effective at imaging body parts that have gas in them or are hidden by bone, such as the lungs or head.

·       Ultrasound may also not be able to see objects that are located very deep in the human body.

·       It slows down cognitive decline in early Alzheimer’s patients by 35.1% at 76 weeks.

·       Benefits – Donanemab showed significant slowing of cognitive decline by 35.1% at 76 weeks in early Alzheimer’s patients in a phase 3 trial.

·       It is meant for those in early stages of Alzheimer’s-mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia.

·       By slowing decline, it allows patients to retain their functions for longer.

·       Risks – Main side effects are brain swelling (24% patients) and brain bleeds (19.7% patients), though mostly asymptomatic.

·       3 treatment-related deaths were reported in the trial.

·       Significance – This breakthrough treatment is important as Alzheimer’s prevalence is rising globally, including in India where cases may reach 14 million by 2050.

·       Lecanemab is also a drug developed for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.