Daily Quiz 17 January 2025

Answer: B

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is not correct: Vembanad-Kol Wetland is the largest brackish, humid tropical wetland ecosystem on the southwest coast of India in Kerala. It is fed by 10 rivers. Pamba, Achankovil , Manimala, Meenachil and Muvattupuzha rivers discharge into this lake.
• Statement 2 is correct: The Vembanadu – Kol wetlands has been identified as a Ramsar site as per the guidelines of the Ramsar Convention of 1971. It was declared as a Ramsar site of international importance in 2002.
• Statement 3 is correct: Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the banks of Vembanad Lake in the Kottayam district of Kerala.

Answer: A

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is not correct: The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bangla by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on January 24, 1950.
• Statement 2 is correct: Section 51(A)(a) of the Constitution of India, dealing with Fundamental Duties, says: It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag and the national anthem.
• Statement 3 is not correct: The Supreme Court pointed out that there is no mandate for national anthem being sung, as a thumb rule, but only a customary practice, mandamus sought for against the respondents, cannot be issued.

Answer: B

Explanation:

• Point 1 is correct: Sagar Island, also known as Ganga Sagar or Sagardwip is located in the Ganges delta, lying on the continental shelf of Bay of Bengal. It consists of 43 villages. It is part of West Bengal State.
  • Sagar and Mahisani Islands are separated by River Muriganga Batala. This island along with the Mahisani and Ghoramara islands are classified under the sand group category.
• Point 2 is correct: Ghoramara island is situated in the Sundarban Delta, Bay of Bengal. It is part of the State of West Bengal. Due to severe cyclones between 1902 and 1914, the northern part of Sagar Island split to form the Ghoramara Island.
  • Recently, Ghoramara Island in the Sunderbans has become the country’s first solar island with a 170 KWH solar and wind power plant that has started functioning at full capacity
• Point 3 is not correct: Elephanta Island / Gharapuri islands are located in the Arabian Sea and are part of the State of Maharashtra. The climate of Navi Mumbai, is categorised as ‘Am’ i.e., tropical monsoon according to the Köppen-Geiger system of climate classification.
  • Recently, a boat carrying 80 passengers from Gateway of India to Gharapuri island capsized in the Arabian Sea.
• Point 4 is not correct: Chowra is a small inhabited island belongs to the township of Nancowry of Teressa Taluk in Nicobar district in the Andaman and Nicobar Group of Islands. It is located to the north of Teressa island and to the south of Battimalv Island in the Andman Sea. The island is also known as Choura, Tatat or Sanenyo.

Andaman & Nicobar Administration had assigned the task of preparing the Integrated Island Management Plans (IIMPs) for Chowra, Curlew, East, Nancowry, Narcondom, North Passage, Pilowmillow, Stewart, Strait, and Tillangchong Islands to the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) in Chennai.

Answer: C

Explanation:

• Option C is the correct answer: Recently, a fresh analysis using Twigstats has determined more precisely than ever individual-level ancestry at a very high resolution. An international collaboration was even able to revisit the ancestry of population groups in the far-flung western frontiers of the Roman Empire in the first millennium AD.
• Twigstats incorporates time-stratified ancestry analysis to provide high-resolution genealogy by combining haplotype-sharing and rare variant analysis. It improves statistical power, reduces errors, and offers insights into complex genetic histories, as demonstrated in studies on ancient and medieval populations.
• Option A is not correct: Twigstats is not limited to modern genetic data; it works with ancient and modern genomes.
• Option B is not correct: It does not rely exclusively on SNP analysis but integrates other genetic markers.

Option D is not correct: It complements, rather than eliminates, the importance of archaeological evidence in genetic studies.

Answer: C

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is not correct: Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis), originated from West Africa, is comparatively a new crop in India. Oil palm trees are native to Africa but were brought to South-East Asia just over 100 years ago as an ornamental tree crop. Now, Indonesia and Malaysia make up over 85% of global supply but there are 42 other countries that also produce palm oil. It is not indigenous to the Asian continent.
• Statement 2 is correct: Palm oil produces more oil per hectare than any other major vegetable oil crop, at 3 metric tons per hectare.
• Statement 3 is correct: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala are major Oil palm growing States and account 98% of total production. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat and Mizoram have also sizable area under Oil palm cultivation. Recently Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland have also initiated Oil palm plantation program on large scale.

Statement 4 is correct: National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) serves as a cornerstone of India’s vision to achieve self-sufficiency in edible oil production, reduce dependence on imports and enhance farmer incomes. Launched to promote domestic oil palm cultivation, the mission aims to bring 6.5 lakh hectares under oil palm plantations by 2025-26. Special emphasis is being placed on leveraging the agro-climatic potential of the North-eastern region and other oil palm-growing states.