Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 20 December 2022

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC 2022

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

1. The light emitted upon the merger of a neutron star with a white dwarf star.
2. The effect of a Balance of Payments crisis in one nation upon the other nations.
3. The creation of new minerals with the help of carbon capture and storage techniques.
4. The combined effect of several small-scale human actions that lead to a specific outcome.

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC – 19 December 2022

Explanation:

• Option (4) is correct: Lollapalooza effect, a term coined by Charlie Munger in 1995, is a concept that several smaller scale factors of human biases, tendencies and/or actions, when acting together, can lead towards a certain (and often very significant) outcome. It basically means that a confluence of factors acting together can be especially powerful drivers of human behaviour and this can lead to both positive and negative results. Key is that when forces combine, they don’t just add up; each force builds off and strengthens the other, creating an explosive effect with huge results. The value of Meta has fallen by 70-75% (close to $700-billion decline) in a matter of 15 months. This fall has been termed as ‘Lollapalooza Effect’ on Meta stock. Meta is a tech company which has a proven business model in digital advertising. It has brands like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, which are used by about 3.7 billion people on a monthly basis. Within financial markets, Munger believes the ’lollapalooza effect’ can result in herd mentality. As investor behaviour and thinking compounds upon other investors’ behaviour and thinking, extremes in market volatility can occur.

Q) With reference to Kakori Train Action, consider the following statements:

1. The important documents associated with the British government were looted.
2. Roshan Singh and Rajendra Nath Lahiri received a death sentence from the British government in this case.

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

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The Number 8 Down Train ran between Shahjahanpur and Lucknow which carried treasury bags meant to be deposited in the British treasury in Lucknow. The revolutionaries planned to rob the British treasury money, which they believed legitimately belonged to Indians anyway. Their objective was both to fund the HRA and garner public attention for their work and mission.
• Statement 2 is correct: After the Kakori train incident, the British authorities were enraged, undertaking a violent crackdown and soon arresting many members of the HRA. Out of the forty men arrested by the British, four were handed death sentences namely-Bismil, Ashfaqullah, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri, while others received lengthy prison terms. The only major leader of HRA at this time who evaded arrest was Chandra Shekhar Azad. The British response to Kakori was to set an example for future revolutionaries and restore British authority in the minds of the people.

Q) Consider the following statements, with respect to ‘mRNA Vaccine’:

1. The mRNA vaccines alter the DNA of the infectious cell by entering its nucleus.
2. The mRNA’s basic function is the synthesis of proteins for cell replication.
3. The mRNA vaccines can be used to treat various cancers.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Messenger RNAor mRNA vaccines work by introducing a piece of mRNA that corresponds to a viral protein, usually a small piece of a protein found on the virus’s outer membrane. mRNA from vaccines does not enter the nucleus and does not alter DNA. Individuals who get an mRNA vaccine are not exposed to the virus, nor can they become infected with the virus by the vaccine.
• Statement 2 is correct: Messenger RNAis a type of RNA that is necessary for protein production for cell replication.  Once cells finish making a protein, they quickly break down the mRNA. The role of mRNA is to carry protein information from the DNA in a cell’s nucleus to the cell’s cytoplasm (watery interior), where the protein-making machinery reads the mRNA sequence and translates it into its corresponding amino acid in a growing protein chain for cell replication.
• Statement 3 is correct: The mRNA vaccines have the potential to solve many of the challenges in vaccine development for both infectious diseases and cancer. Recently an experimental vaccine to treat cancer was built on the mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) platform. The vaccine uses the same messenger-RNA technology that was used to produce the COVID vaccine. It instructs the body’s immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells. The mRNA molecules are delivered to the body, which then instructs cells that take up the vaccine to produce proteins that may stimulate an immune response. The immune response is directed against those produced proteins when they are present in intact viruses or tumour cells.

Q) Consider the following statements about the ‘Group of Friends’:

1. India is one of the founding members of the group.
2. It aims to replace the UN Peacekeeping Forces working under the UN Security Council.

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

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

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: India has launched an initiative called ‘Group of Friends’ to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers. India, Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Morocco and Nepal are co-chairs of the grouping, which was launched during India’s Presidency of UNSC. Thus India is a founding member of the group. The UN Peacekeeping Forces are employed to maintain or re-establish peace in an area of armed conflict. They act as impartial third party to ensure return of peace.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The Group of Friends represents the “political will” of member states, especially of the troop and police contributing countries, to champion the implementation of the provisions of U.N. Security Council resolution 2589, which called upon member states, hosting or having hosted UN peacekeeping operations, to take all suitable measures to bring to justice perpetrators of the killing or acts of violence against UN personnel. The group will extend capacity building and technical assistance to the host state authorities. India will facilitate the launch of a database that will record all crimes committed against UN peacekeepers. The group will serve as an informal platform at the United Nations to exchange information, share best practices and mobilise resources for demanding accountability for crimes committed against peacekeepers. Therefore it would not replace the UN Peacekeeping Forces in any sense.

Q) With reference to ‘Methane Emissions’, which of the following statements are correct?

1. It is produced during the process of enteric fermentation in ruminants.
2. Methane is as much as 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
3. Under the Global Methane Pledge, various countries will take voluntary steps to reduce global methane emissions by 50 percent by the end of 2050.

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

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Ruminants are hoofed herbivorous grazing or browsing mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. During the process of enteric fermentation in the ruminants, archaea microbe combines CO2 and hydrogen made by the cellulose-digesting microbes to create methane. This means the archaeal population and a diet rich in roughages dictate the amount of methane released by a ruminant. Recently researchers at the Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes in Haryana have prepared a feed supplement that can reduce a methane gas belched out by stock animals like cattle, goat and sheep.
• Statement 2 is correct: Methane is a colourless and odourless gas that occurs abundantly in nature and as a product of certain human activities. According to US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, human activity alone emitted 640 million tonnes of methane in 2021. Methane is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide, however, it stays in the atmosphere for only ten years. This makes it a critical target for reducing global warming more quickly while simultaneously working to reduce other greenhouse gases. This indicates that a significant decrease in methane emissions might sharply reduce anticipated global warming by the middle of the century.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: Under the Global Methane Pledge, countries agreed to take voluntary steps to reduce global methane emissions by 30 per cent from 2020 levels by the end of the decade, that is, 2030.It could eliminate over 0.2˚C warming by 2050.

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