UPSC Quiz – 2024 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 27th July 2024

·      Mercosur (MERCOSUR for its Spanish initials) or the Southern Common Market is an economic and political bloc of Latin America.

·      Members: It originally comprised Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay as its members. Bolivia and Venezuela joined it later. (Venezuela has been suspended since December 1, 2016).

·      It was created in 1991 by signing the Treaty of Asunción, an accord calling for the “free movement of goods, services, and factors of production between countries.”

·      The aim of MERCOSUR is to promote economic integration, free trade, and the movement of goods, services, and people among member countries.

·      Governance: The bloc’s highest decision-making body, the Common Market Council, provides a high-level forum for coordinating foreign and economic policy.

·      Its official working languages are Spanish and Portuguese.

·      India and MERCOSUR signed the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in 2004, which allowed New Delhi to forge closer economic ties with one of the world’s largest trade blocs.

·      Headquarter: Montevideo, Uruguay.

·      Oxygen that is being produced in complete darkness thousands of feet below the ocean surface is termed dark oxygen.

Why is the discovery important?

·      Until now, it was thought that oxygen was created only through photosynthesis, a process that requires sunlight.

·      Oceanic plankton, drifting plants, algae, and some bacteria are the primary elements attributed to the production of oxygen in the ocean. All these organisms are capable of photosynthesis.

·      The production of oxygen at such depths is thought to be impossible because there isn’t enough sunlight for plants to do photosynthesis.

·      However, in this case, oxygen is not being produced by plants.

·      The oxygen comes out of Polymetallic nodules that are similar in resemblance to lumps of coal.

·      These nodules, made up of metals like manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, and lithium, can generate oxygen through electrochemical activity even in the absence of light.

·      They are splitting H2O molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.

Key Facts about Polymetallic Nodules:

·      Polymetallic nodules, also known as manganese nodules, are small, rounded accretions found on the seabed of the deep ocean floor.

·      These nodules are composed of a mixture of metals and minerals, including manganese, iron, nickel, copper, cobalt, and traces of other valuable elements such as platinum, rare earth elements, and lithium.

·      Polymetallic nodules form through a slow and gradual process over millions of years.

·      They develop as concentric layers around a central nucleus, which can be a shell fragment, a shark tooth, or a piece of basaltic rock.

·      The layers are primarily composed of manganese and iron oxides, with other metals being deposited along with them.

·      It is published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

·      It provides a comprehensive analysis of forest conditions and trends.

Highlights of the Report:

·      It highlighted a decline in deforestation rates compared to previous decades, with several countries showing significant improvements.

·      The data also reveals a disturbing picture of the challenges forests face due toclimate change.

·      In 2020, the global forest covered approximately 4.1 billion hectares (ha), or 31 percent of the land area.

·      Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States of America, and China account for 54 percent of the global forest area, in descending order.

·      Another 10 countries, including Australia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Peru, and India, contribute about two-thirds of the global forest area.

·      The report estimated that between 1990 and 2020, approximately 420 million ha of forest were converted to land use.

·      However, deforestation rates fell from 15.8 million ha per year between 1990 and 2002 to 10.2 million ha between 2015 and 2020.

·      Deforestation rates in Africa were 4.41 million ha, 2.95 million in South America, and 2.24 million in Asia.

·      It also noted 10 countries recording annual gains in forest area in 2020, which include China, Australia, India, Chile, Viet Nam, Turkey, the United States of America, France, Italy, and Romania.

·      India gained 2,66,000 hectares of forest annually from 2010-2020, ranking third globally in forest area gains.

·      The global mangrove area was recorded to be 14.8 million ha, out of which South and Southeast Asia contributed almost 44 percent of the total global area.

·      The rate of gross global mangrove loss decreased by 23 percent between the two recent decades (2000-2010 and 2010-2020), and the rate of gain in mangrove area also decreased slightly.

·      Asia was the major contributor to mangrove loss and gains.

·      It is estimated that about 340-370 million ha (equivalent to less than half the land area of Australia) of the earth’s land area is impacted by annual fire.

·      Satellite data revealed that total fires in 2023 emitted 6,687 megatons of carbon dioxide globally, more than double the emissions contributed by the European Union by burning fossil fuels.

·      It is a multinational military exercise which will bring together military forces from around the world to collaborate and enhance their peacekeeping capabilities.

·      Last edition of Exercise KHAAN QUEST was conducted in Mongolia from 19th June to 2nd July 2023.

Background

·      The exercise first started as a bilateral event between USA and Mongolian Armed Forces in the year 2003.

·      Subsequently, from the year 2006 onwards the exercise graduated to a Multinational Peacekeeping Exercise with current year being the 21st iteration.

·      The Indian Army contingent comprising 40 personnel is being represented mainly by troops from a Battalion of the MADRAS REGIMENT along with personnel from other Arms and Services. One Woman Officer and two Women Soldiers will also form part of the contingent.

·      Aim of Exercise KHAAN QUEST is to prepare Indian Armed Forces for peacekeeping missions while operating in a multinational environment, thereby increasing interoperability and military readiness in peace support operations under Chapter VII of United Nations Charter.

·      Tactical drills to be practiced during the exercise will include establishment of Static and Mobile Check Points, Cordon and Search Operations etc.

·      The exercise will facilitate developing inter-operability, bonhomie and camaraderie between soldiers of the participating countries.

·      State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report, 2024 aids to provide a comprehensive global assessment of food security and nutrition.

·      It monitors the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Zero Hunger (SDG 2) and related targets.

·      It serves as a tool for policymakers, researchers, and development practitioners in their efforts to combat hunger and malnutrition.

It was jointly prepared by:

·      Agri-food Economics and Policy Division of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

·      International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

·      United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

·      World Food Programme (WFP)

·      World Health Organization (WHO)

Key highlights of the report

·      Foreign Direct Investments appear to be more clearly associated with increases in overweight, obesity and non-communicable disease prevalence than with changes in undernutrition.

·      63% of low, middle-income countries cannot finance their food security.

·      Africa is the region with the largest percentage of the population facing hunger.

·      Asia had the highest wasting levels among children under five.

·      India – 55.6% of Indians unable to afford a healthy diet.

·      In 2017, the proportion of the population not being able to afford a healthy diet in India was 69.5%.