Daily Current Affairs Quiz: August 27-28, 2023

Ans 1 Option B is correct Explanation
• Asian Development Bank (ADB), founded in 1966, is an international development finance institution.
• Objective: To help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people.
• It aims to promote social and economic development in Asia and the Pacific.
• It is owned and financed by its 68 members, of which 49 are from the region and 19 are from other parts of the globe.
• Voting rights in ADB are distributed in proportion with members’ capital subscriptions.
• It is also an official United Nations Observer.
• Headquarters: Manila

Ans 2 Option A is correct
Explanation
• The Tele-Law Programme was launched by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in 2017.
• Objective: To address cases at the pre– litigation stage.
• Legal advice is made available to everyone under the Tele-Law service.
• Advice is free of Cost to those who are eligible for free legal aid under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987.
• It connects needy and marginalised people in need of legal aid with the Panel Lawyers via video conferencing or telephonic facilities available at Common Service Centres (CSCs) situated at the panchayat level.
• Legal matters in which advice can be taken through Tele-Law service include
o Dowry, family dispute, divorce, protection from domestic violence
o Sexual harassment, sexual abuse, eve teasing at the workplace
o Maintenance of women, children and senior citizens
o Rights regarding property and land
o Equal wages for males and females
o Maternity benefits and prevention of foeticide

Ans 3  Option C is correct Explanation
• Greece is bordered by Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey and the Republic of Macedonia.
• It shares maritime borders with Cyprus, Egypt, Italy, and Libya.

Ans 4 Option B is correct Explanation
• Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security.
• It is a decentralized currency i.e. it is not controlled by any government or institution.
• Some examples of cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
• Users can acquire cryptocurrency through a process called “mining”.
• It involves using computer power to solve complex mathematical equations in return for a certain amount of cryptocurrency.
• Most cryptocurrencies have a predetermined maximum supply, which means they are not continuously created.
• Transactions with cryptocurrency are recorded on a public digital ledger called blockchain.
• Each new transaction is verified and added to the blockchain by these computers.
• This decentralisation and use of cryptography make it difficult for anyone to manipulate the currency or the transactions recorded on the
blockchain.
• Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, meaning once confirmed, they cannot be undone.
• This is a feature that adds security to the system but also means there’s no inherent consumer protection in case of errors.

Ans 5 Option D is correct Explanation
• Recently, the Prime Minister announced that the point where the Moon lander of Chandrayaan-3 touched down will now be known as Shiv Shakti.
• The point where the Chandrayaan-2 left its footprints will now be called Tiranga.
• He also announced that August 23, the day on which the Chandrayaan-3’s lander made a historic soft-landing on the Moon will be commemorated as National Space Day.

Ans 6 Option B is correct Explanation
• International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft in low Earth orbit largely by the United States and Russia, with assistance and components from a multinational consortium.
• The ISS is built with the cooperation of five international space agencies — NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, Canada space agency and the European Space Agency.
• The space station flies at an average altitude of 400 kilometres above Earth.
• It serves as a unique and collaborative space laboratory, research facility and living space for astronauts and cosmonauts from various countries.
• It is a laboratory for new technologies and an observation platform for astronomical, environmental and
geological research.
• It orbits Earth at an average altitude of approximately 420 kilometres.
• It circles the globe every 90 minutes at a speed of about 28,000 kph.
• Missions typically last six months, although some crew members may stay for shorter or longer durations.
• The ISS is continuously inhabited by a rotating crew of astronauts and cosmonauts from different nations.

Ans 7 Option D is correct Explanation
• According to The State of India’s Birds, 2023 report, there is a general decline in numbers in most bird species in the country.
• Several bird species such as the Indian Peafowl, Rock Pigeon, Asian Koel and House Crow are healthy in both abundance and distribution and are showing an “increasing trend”.
• Raptors, migratory shorebirds and ducks have declined the most.
• Bird species which are “specialists’’ i.e. restricted to narrow habitats like wetlands, rainforests and grasslands are rapidly declining.
• The “generalist’’ birds that can live in multiple habitat types are doing well as a group.
• Birds that are endemic to the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot have rapidly declined in India over the past few decades.
• State of India’s Birds (SoIB) 2023 Report is published by the State of India’s Birds Partnership, a group of 13 governments
(including WII, ZSI) and non- governmental organisations.
• Objective: To assess the conservation status of the majority of species that regularly occur in the country.
• The assessments rely on three indices namely
o Change in abundance, long-term trend (change over 30 years)
o Change in abundance, current annual trend (change over past seven years)
o Distribution range size in India
• Using these measures and information from the IUCN Red List of global threat status, this report places Indian species into Low, Moderate and High categories of Conservation Priority for India.

Ans 8 Option A is correct Explanation
• Recently, scientists from the Inter- University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) and Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) have investigated the inflow of matter onto neutron stars.
• Neutron stars are the remains of the cores of massive stars that have reached the end of their lives.
• Neutron stars can harbour extreme magnetic fields, and this work, for the first time, found a methodology to obtain unique solutions for accretion onto a neutron star.
• It could help in understanding the underlying physical processes around Neutron stars (NS). 

Ans 9 Option B is correct Explanation
• The Y chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes in humans (the other is the X chromosome).
• The sex chromosomes form one of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes in each cell.
• The Y chromosome is present in males, who have one X and one Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes.
• Because only males have the Y chromosome, the genes on this chromosome tend to be involved in male sex determination and development.
• The Y chromosome is relatively small and contains fewer genes compared to the X chromosome.
• This has led to its characterization as the “male-determining” chromosome, as its primary role is to initiate and control male development.
• While the X chromosome contains genes related to various functions throughout the body, the Y chromosome focuses on male-specific traits.

Ans 10 Option B is correct Explanation
• Recently, the leaders of the BRICS decided to expand the grouping and admit six new members.
• Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia and Argentina will become part of BRICS with effect from January 1, 2024.
• The decision on the new members was agreed upon after firming up the guiding principles, criteria and procedure for the expansion process.