Weekly Current Affairs: Quizzes, 29 Jan to 03 Feb, 2024

EXPLANATION:

• Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace(ABCP) was founded in 1970 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as a Voluntary movement of followers of Buddhism with both monastic(monks) and lay members striving to disseminate and implement the teachings of the enlightened one on peace and harmony, compassion and loving-kindness for all sentient beings on Earth. The headquarters of the ABCP is situated at the Ganden Tegchenling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Thus, statement 1 is incorrect.
• The Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP), a voluntary mass movement of Buddhists in Asia, was poised to convene its 12th General Assembly in New Delhi. This assembly embodies the profound aspirations of Asian Buddhists to nurture peace, social and economic progress, justice, and human dignity. The theme of the 12th Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace was "The Buddhist Voice Of Global South", which symbolizes India's commitment, as evidenced by its G20 leadership and the Voice of Global South Summit. Thus, statements 2 and 3 are correct.
• The aims of ABCP are to bring together efforts of Buddhists in support of consolidating universal peace, harmony and cooperation among people of Asia, furthering their economic and social advancement, promoting respect for justice and human dignity and disseminating the Buddhist culture, tradition, and heritage. The 'Gabji Demberel Choijamts' is the Current President of the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace(ABCP). Thus, statement 4 is incorrect.

EXPLANATION:

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance. It was formed in 4yh April 1949 by 12 founding countries, including the US, UK, Canada and France. The NATO agreement was popularly known as the Washington Agreement or the Washington Treaty. Thus, statement 1 is correct.
• The aim of NATO was to block the expansions of the Soviet Union - a group of states that included Russia. The Organization establishes a system of collective defence in which its member nations agree to mutual defence. The Organization was established to protect Western Europe's common security. The headquarters of NATO are located in Brussels, Belgium. Thus, statement 2 is incorrect.
• NATO allows the members to promote Democratic values and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems and prevent Conflicts.
• NATO does not have an army of its own, but member countries can take collective military action in response to the conflicts. They also Coordinate military plans and carry out joint military action.
• Article 5 of the NATO treaty says that any attack on any NATO member shall be considered an attack against all members. Once a member invokes the principle of collective self-defence under the treaty, NATO can come to its defence with "such action as it armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic areas".Thus, statement 3 is incorrect.
•  Recently, Sweden's attempt to join NATO cleared after Turkey's Parliament supported its membership. For a new country to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO), all the existing members have to approve it. Turkey and Hungary had been opposing Sweden's entry for almost the past two years. Finland became the 31st member of the NATO Alliance. Thus, statement 4 is incorrect.

EXPLANATION:

• The Bharat Ratna award is the highest civilian award in India, and it was first started in 1954. The Bharat Ratna award recognizes exceptional public service and performance of the highest order in any field of human activity like literature, science and art. A maximum of 3 people can be awarded Bharat Ratna in a Year. Thus, statement 1 is incorrect.
• The first woman to be awarded the Bharat Ratna was Indira Gandhi. She was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1971 for her exceptional contributions to India's advancement and well-being. Thus, statement 2 is correct.
• The first two non-Indians who received the Bharat Ratna were Khan Abdul Ghaffar and Nelson Mandela. Bharat Ratna can be awarded to both citizens and non-citizens. Thus, statement 3 is incorrect.
• Recently, The Union Government declared that Bharat Ratna 2024 to Karpori Thakur. Karpori Thakur, a renowned socialist leader and former Chief Minister of Bihar, is set to be posthumously conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. The announcement of this prestigious honour coincides with the eve of his 100th birth anniversary. Thus, statement 4 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Punganur is a dwarf dual-purpose cattle breed found in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. The Punganur is an indigenous breed native to the Andhra Pradesh. This breed was developed by the Rajas of Punganur and was used for milking and other light agricultural operations. The Punganur cow is considered to be one of the most miniature breeds of cattle. Thus, statement B is correct.
• They are generally white, grey, light brown, or dark brown in colour. White mixed with red or black colours are also available. Moreover, they have black, small and crescent-shaped horns, slightly mobile and almost flat along the back, which are normally at different heights from each other. The average height is about cm,-90 cm, and weight is around 115-200 kg.
• Recently, The Prime Minister of India fed cows at his residence, and the officials in the government confirmed that all the cattle seen in the pictures from the Prime Minister’s residence are of the Punganur breed of Andhra Pradesh. However, in the recent year their population slightly increased.

EXPLANATION:

• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Amendment Bill 2021 amends the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 to increase the minimum age of marriage for females to 21 years. The bill also overrides any other law, custom, or practice. The purpose of this bill is to equalize the age of marriage for women and men. According to the statement of objects and reasons (SOR) of the Bill, increasing the age of marriage will help in achieving various goals, including improvement of maternal and infant mortality rates (IMR and MMR), nutrition levels, sex ratio at birth (SRB), female labour force participation, and gender equality, and will lead to empowerment of women. Thus, statement 1 is correct.
• The Union Government set up a committee to examine matters pertaining to the age of motherhood, the imperatives of lowering the Maternal Mortality Ratio and the improvement of nutritional levels among women. Jaya Jaitly chaired the committee. The committee also examined critical parameters like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and the possibility of increasing the age of marriage for women from the present 18 years to 21 years. The committee recommended that the marriage age of women should be 21. Thus, statement 2 is correct.
• Child marriage usually refers to a social phenomenon practised in some societies in India. In recent data, four states in India (Bihar [16·7%], West Bengal [15·2%], Uttar Pradesh [12·5%], and Maharashtra [8·2%]) accounted for more than half of the total headcount burden of child marriages in girls. The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021 seeks to increase the minimum age of marriage for females to 21 years. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is the nodal agency to implement the policy regarding the bill. Thus, statement 3 is correct, and 4 is incorrect.

EXPLANATION:

• The relationship between India and the Maldives has recently hit a new low after Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu formally requested New Delhi to remove its military personnel from the island nation by March 15, 2024. The move comes a day after the Maldives Presidents returned from China. However,  Maldives is an island nation in the Indian Ocean-Arabian sea area. It is the smallest Asian country in terms of both population and area. Thus, statement 1 is correct.
• The Maldives is a series of tiny coral atolls located southwest of the southern tip of India and west of Sri Lanka. It stretches 510 miles north to south, crossing the equator and 80 miles east to west. More than 99 per cent of the country is the sea. About 200 islands are inhabited, with a further 100 islands having resorts exclusively on them. Gan Island is the southernmost island of the Maldives. Gan is the largest island in the Maldives. Thus, statements 2 and 3 are correct.
• The Maldives is one of the world's most geographically dispersed sovereign states and the smallest Islamic country. The Maldives became the 54th member of the Commonwealth after Maldives' application for re-admission was approved in Commonwealth-nations. Maldives is also a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Thus, statement 4 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• Vaping products (electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes) are devices that heat a liquid into an aerosol that is inhaled (breathed in) into the lungs. Vaping is when you use a small, handheld device (like e-cigarettes, vape pens or mods) to inhale a mist of Nicotine and flavouring (e-liquid). It's similar to smoking a cigarette, but vaping heats tiny particles out of a liquid rather than burning tobacco. Vaping and smoking both involve inhaling Nicotine and other substances into your lungs. E-cigarettes heat the liquid to make an aerosol like cigarettes burn tobacco, which creates smoke. Thus, option A is correct.
• Recently, The U.K. government announced to ban on the sale of disposable vapes to prevent their use by children and the government's intention to introduce the law  to prevent the young generation from buying tobacco.

EXPLANATION:

• In 1947, the China government issued a map called the nine-dash line. The nine-dash line ( also known as the eleven-dash line, U-shaped line or dotted line) is a visual representation of China's claims that 90% of the South China Sea. It runs three million square kilometres from the South China Sea. Thus, statement C is correct.
• Recently, China released the results of a new geological survey of the South China Sea and claims to have named nearly 400 subsurface features throughout the water body. Beijing claims sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, including large swathes of its neighbour’s exclusive economic zones The survey process found 36 new seabed features that were previously unmapped.

EXPLANATION:

• The Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) is a Western Africa regional group with 15 members. The state's goal of ECOWAS is to achieve collective self-sufficiency for large trading blocs by building a full economic and trading union.
• The ECOWAS operational tool for promoting the West Africa region as a free trade area. This line is in tandem with one of the objectives of the community, which is the establishment of a common market through “ the liberalisation of trade by the abolition, among Member States, of customs duties levied on imports and exports, and the abolition among member states of non-tariff barriers. Moreover, the ECOWAS was established through the Treaty of Lagos in 1975. The headquarters of ECOWAS is situated in Abuja, Nigeria.  Thus, statements 1 and 2 are correct.
• Recently, the three West African nations( Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso) have announced their immediate withdrawal from ECOWAS, accusing the body of becoming a threat to its members. Thus, statement 3 is correct.

EXPLANATION:

• The idea of simultaneous election was discussed in the early years of the Indian Republic. Moreover, due to the practical challenges and constitutional difficulties, it was not implemented. The simultaneous election in India was held until 1967. The simultaneous elections were conducted in 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967. However, due to the Premature dissolution of some state legislative assemblies, the process was broken. The idea of a One Nation One Election means holding the simultaneous election of Lok Sabha and all the state legislative assembly. Thus, statement 1 is correct, and 2 is not correct.
• In the current context, the Union Government constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of former President of India Ram Nath Kovind and seven other members, which included Home Minister Amit Saha, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Gulam Nabi Azad, NK Singh, Subhas C. Kashyap, Harish Salva, and Sanjay Kothari. Thus, statement 3 is correct.
• The committee will examine and recommend the specific amendments in the Indian Constitution, changes in the People's Representation Act and other laws and regulations required. Moreover, The committee also analyse and recommends solutions like a hung house, adoption of a no-confidence motion or any problematic situation that occurs. 
• The Articles 324 to 329, Part XV of the Indian constitution, deals with elections in India. The Election Commission of India is the constitutional body responsible for conducting free and fair elections. However, Part XV of the constitution did not mention the One Nation One Election in India. Thus, statement 4 is incorrect.