Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 19 December 2022

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC 2022

Q) Recently seen in news, the term ‘doxxing’ is best related to which one of the following?

1. A malware attack that blocks access to important documents.
2. An act of revealing someone’s personal information with the intent to harass.
3. A cybercrime involving the transfer of critical information of one country to another.
4. Hacking a server to increase traffic on it in order to deny access to the users.

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 17 December 2022

Explanation:

• Option (2) is correct: Doxxing pertains to revealing someone’s intimate information, where harassment is the intent. It is a contraction of the phrase, “dropping documents”.It is a popular and controversial tactic used against individuals with opposing political views. Doxxing usually included revealing private information such as address, phone number, financial information, ID document, biometric data, medical data etc. Twitter has suspended accounts of several journalists for violating the social media platform’s new anti-doxxing policy. New policy now includes sharing the live location of any individual as a possible “doxxing,” and this is not allowed. Personal information is circulated in the public sphere without the knowledge of the victim, and in some cases, causing real-life consequences to both the victim and their families. Violation of any of the rules can result in the account getting locked and continued violations can result in a permanent suspension. However, sharing anyone’s live location without express permission will lead to an automatic suspension of account. The account becomes accessible after 7 days.

Q) With reference to Namami Gange initiative, consider the following statements:

1. It aims to revive key wildlife associated with the Ganges.
2. It has been recognised as one of the world’s flagship restoration programmes by the United Nations.
3. It is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

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

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: National Mission for Clean Ganga initiative also called as Namami Gange initiative  is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga. It works toward rejuvenating, protecting and conserving the Ganges and its tributaries, reforesting parts of the Ganges basin and promoting sustainable farming. It aims to revive key wildlife species associated with River Ganges, including river dolphins, softshell turtles, otters, and the hilsa shad fish. One of NMCG’s long-term visions for Ganga rejuvenation is to restore viable populations of all endemic and endangered biodiversity of the river, so that they occupy their full historical range and fulfil their role in maintaining the integrity of the Ganga river ecosystems.
• Statement 2 is correct: Namami Gange initiative has been recognised by the United Nations (UN) as one of the Top 10 World Restoration Flagships programmes aimed at reviving the natural world. The winning initiatives were unveiled at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal. Initiatives declared World Restoration Flagships are eligible to receive UN-backed promotion, advice or funding.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: Namami Gange initiative is a flagship initiative of the Union Government and is implemented by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) which was registered as a society on 12th August 2011 under the Societies Registration Act 1860. NMCG releases funds to State Governments /State Missions for Clean Ganga/CPSUSs/ Other Executing Agencies. The main pillars of the initiative are treating sewerage infrastructure, achieving biodiversity, developing riverfronts, cleaning river surfaces, enabling afforestation, monitoring industrial effluents and increasing awareness among the public.

Q) Consider the following statements about the ‘DNA fingerprinting’:

1. It can be conducted by using the bone fragments of a person.
2. The nucleotide sequences of DNA are used to identify a person.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

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

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: DNA fingerprinting is method used to determine the probable identity of an individual based on the DNA material obtained from any bodily sample such as blood, skin, hair, saliva, bones etc. DNA fingerprinting conducted on the bone fragments obtained in the Shraddha Walkar murder case. Although 99.9% of human DNA sequences are the same in every individual, enough of the DNA is different that can distinguish one person from another.
• Statement 2 is correct: DNA fingerprinting identifies an individual based on the nucleotide sequences of certain regions of human DNA that is unique to individuals. DNA fingerprinting can be used to establish relation between a parent and offspring. It can also establish familial ties. The technique can identify genetic disorders by analysing DNA samples. DNA samples can be analysed using DNA fingerprinting to establish identity of unknown person.

Q) With reference to ‘Ashtadhyayi’, consider the following statements:

1. It provides linguistic standards for writing the Sanskrit language.
2. Panini composed the Ashtadhyayi during the Gupta era.
3. The Kashika Vritti of Jayaditya is a commentary on Ashtadhyayi.

Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?

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

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: ‘Ashtadhyayi’, or ‘Eight Chapters’ is an ancient linguistic text that sets the linguistic standards for writing and speaking the Sanskrit language. It is one of the greatest intellectual achievements of any ancient civilization, and the most detailed and scientific grammar composed before the 19th century in any part of the world. It delves deep into the language’s phonetics, syntax and grammar, and also offers a ‘language machine’, where you can feed in the root and suffix of any Sanskrit word, and get grammatically correct words and sentences in return.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: Ashtadhyayi was written by the scholar Panini towards the end of the 4th century BC, that is, the age of the conquests of Alexander and the founding of the Mauryan Empire (not Gupta period which started aroung 4^th century A.D). Ashtadhyayi was built on the work of many earlier grammarians and it laid down more than 4,000 grammatical rules, effectively stabilized the Sanskrit language
• Statement 3 is correct: Important commentaries on Ashtadhyayi are the Mahabhasya of Patanjali (2nd century BC) and the Kashika Vritti of Jayaditya and Vamana (7th century AD). Recently an Indian student from Cambridge University claims to have solved Sanskrit’s biggest puzzle, a grammar problem found in the literary work ‘Ashtadhyayi’.

Q) Consider the following statements:

1. It lies on the northern edge of the Satpura mountain ranges.
2. The main type of vegetation here is tropical moist deciduous which is dominated by Sal and Bamboo.
3. Four-horned antelope, tiger and dholes are famous wildlife species found here.
4. Ancient inscriptions and shrines are discovered from here.

Which one of the following National Park/ Tiger Reserve is best described in the statements

given above?

1. Panna Tiger Reserve
2. Pench National Park
3. Bandhavgarh National Park
4. Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve

Explanation:

• Option (3) is correct: Bandhavgarh National Park resides on the extreme north eastern border of Madhya Pradesh and the northern edges of the Satpura mountain ranges. The whole park is filled with more than 20 streams out of which some of the most important streams are Johilla, Janadh, Charanganga, Damnar, Banbei, Ambanala and Andhiyari Jhiria. These streams then merge into the Son River (an important southern tributary to the river Ganga). The forest in Bandhavgarh National Park falls within the tropical moist deciduous belt dominated by Sal and Bamboo. Tiger, chital, sambar, chinkara, chowsingha (four-horned antelope), wild boar, leopard and dhole are found here. In 1968, it was notified as a national park and in 1993 was declared a tiger reserve- under the Project Tiger Network at the neighbouring Panpatha Sanctuary. Researchers have discovered several ancient shelters, inscriptions and shrines within the forests from Bandhavgarh to the Aravallis.

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