16 MARCH CURRENT AFFAIRS (MCQ)

Q1. Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty, all the waters of the eastern rivers are allocated to India for unrestricted use.
2. The treaty allocates 80% of the water from the six-river Indus water system to Pakistan.
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) None of the above

Solution: c) Explanation:
Indus water treaty
• Indus Water Treaty (IWT) signed on September 19, 1960, between India and Pakistan and brokered by the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) which fixed and delimited the rights and obligations of both countries concerning the use of the waters of the Indus River system.
• Geographical location: The origination of the Indus River from southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region of China and flows through the disputed Kashmir region and then into Pakistan to drain into the Arabian Sea.
• Distribution: IWT deals with river Indus and its five tributaries. Eastern following rivers like Sutlej, Beas and Ravi were given to India whereas Pakistan got control over Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum.
• Under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty, all the waters of the eastern rivers — the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi is allocated to India for unrestricted use.
• The waters of western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab is largely for Pakistan.
• Permanent Indus Commission: This unique treaty led down the formation of PIC which was set up as a bilateral commission to implement and manage the Treaty.
• Significance: The treaty administers how river Indus and its tributaries that flow in both countries will be utilized.
o The treaty allocates 80% of the water from the six-river Indus water system to Pakistan and India is allowed to use 20 percent of its water for irrigation, power generation, and transport purposes.

Q2. Which of the following countries is not a regular participant in Malabar Exercises? a) USA
b) Australia
c) Japan
d) India

Solution: b)
Explanation:
Exercise Malabar is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners. Originally begun in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States, Japan became a permanent partner in 2015. [1] Past non-permanent participants include Singapore and Australia.

Q3. Consider the following statements:

1. Sub-nationalism is the policy of asserting the interest of one’s own state/region/province, as separate from the interest of the nation.
2. Sub-nationalism always impedes social development.
   Which of the above statements is/are correct? a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) None of the above

Solution: a) Explanation:
Sub nationalism is the policy of asserting the interest of one’s own state/region/province, as separate from the interest of the nation and the common interest of all other states/regions/provinces. Sub nationalism is positively linked to social development. Greater the level of subnational solidarity, higher will be the State’s commitment to social welfare. Kerala’s success is the most striking example.

Q4. The Zo people are an ethnic group of which of the following country?

1. India
2. Bangladesh
3. Myanmar
   Select the correct answer using the code given below:
   a) 1 only
   b) 1 and 2 only
   c) 2 and 3 only
   d) 1, 2 and 3

Solution: d) Explanation:
A Mizoram-based group representing the Zo indigenous people of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar has petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impose sanctions on military-ruled Myanmar.
• The Zo Reunification Organisation (ZORO) comprising the Chin-Kuki-MizoZomi group of people has also asked the Centre not to turn away the Myanmar nationals who crossed over to escape the military regime and provide them shelter on humanitarian grounds.
• These four States – Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram – share a 1,643 km border with Myanmar and people on either side are ethnically related.
• The Mizo people of Mizoram and the Kuki-Zomi communities in Manipur have a strong kinship with the Chins across the border.
• The Zo people are an ethnic group of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
• Various names have been used for the Zo peoples, but the individual groups generally acknowledge descent from ancestral Zo. Among the more prominent names given to this group are “Chin” and “Zomi”generally in Myanmar, and “Mizo”,”Zomi”and “Kuki”, generally in India.
• In north-eastern India, they are present in: Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Assam.
Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Q5. With reference to the Martian ‘blueberries’, consider the following statements:

1. In 2004, NASA’s Mars exploration rover ‘Opportunity’ found several small spheres on the planet, informally named Martian blueberries.
2. Opportunity’s spectrometers studied the mineralogy and noted they were made of iron oxide compounds called haematites. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) None of the above

Solution: c) Explanation:
According to a recent research paper, Martian ‘blueberries’ find a parallel on Earth.
• In 2004, NASA’s Mars exploration rover ‘Opportunity’ found several small spheres on the planet, informally named Martian blueberries.
• Opportunity’s spectrometers studied the mineralogy and noted they were made of iron oxide compounds called haematites.
• This caused excitement, as the presence of haematites suggests that there was water present on Mars. Haematite is known to form in oxidising environments.
• A recent paper by a scientist from the Planetary Sciences Division of Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad which studied haematite concretions in Kutch notes that the ‘blueberries’ in India and Mars share similar characteristics.
• The team has been studying the Jhuran formation in Gujarat which is between 145 and 201 million years old. Detailed investigations of the haematite concretions in this area revealed that they resemble the ones on Mars.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Q6. With reference to the Seabuckthorn, consider the following statements:

1. It is a shrub which produces an orange-yellow coloured edible berry.
2. It has been widely used for treating stomach, heart and skin problems.
   Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
   a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) None of the above

Solution: c) Explanation:
The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to start planting seabuckthorn in the cold desert areas of the state this year.
• Seabuckthorn is a shrub which produces an orange-yellow coloured edible berry.
• In India, it is found above the tree line in the Himalayan region, generally in dry areas such as the cold deserts of Ladakh and Spiti.
• In Himachal Pradesh, it is locally called chharma and grows in the wild in Lahaul and Spiti and parts of Kinnaur. Around 15,000 hectares in Himachal, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are covered by this plant.
• Seabuckthorn has been widely used for treating stomach, heart and skin problems. Its fruit and leaves are rich in vitamins, carotenoids and omega fatty acids, among other substances, and it can help troops in acclimatising to high-altitude.
• Besides being an important source of fuelwood and fodder, seabuckthorn is a soil-binding plant which prevents soil-erosion, checks siltation in rivers and helps preserve floral biodiversity.
• Seabuckthorn also has commercial value, as it is used in making juices, jams, nutritional capsules etc.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Q7. With reference to the AT1 Bonds, consider the following statements:

1. AT1 Bonds stand for additional tier-1 bonds.
2. These are secured bonds which have a maturity date. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) None of the above

Solution: a) Explanation:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has slapped restrictions on mutual fund (MF) investments in additional tier-1 (AT1) bonds.
• AT1 Bonds stand for additional tier-1 bonds.
• These are unsecured bonds which have perpetual tenure. In other words, the bonds have no maturity date.
• They have call option, which can be used by the banks to buy these bonds back from investors.
• These bonds are typically used by banks to bolster their core or tier-1 capital.
• AT1 bonds are subordinate to all other debt and only senior to common equity.
• Mutual funds (MFs) are among the largest investors in perpetual debt instruments, and hold over Rs 35,000 crore of the outstanding additional tierI bond issuances of Rs 90,000 crore.
• In a recent circular, the Sebi told mutual funds to value these perpetual bonds as a 100-year instrument. This essentially means MFs have to make the assumption that these bonds would be redeemed in 100 years.
• The regulator also asked MFs to limit the ownership of the bonds at 10 per cent of the assets of a scheme. Reason for SEBI action
• According to the Sebi, these instruments could be riskier than other debt instruments.
• The Sebi has probably made this decision after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed a write-off of Rs 8,400 crore on AT1 bonds issued by Yes Bank Ltd after it was rescued by State Bank of India (SBI).
Hence only statement 1 is correct.

Q8. With reference to the River Sarasvati, consider the following statements:

1. The Central government has reconstituted an advisory committee to chalk out a plan for studying the mythical Sarasvati river for the next two years.
2. The committee would continue to be chaired by the Culture Minister. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? a) 1 only
   b) 2 only
   c) Both 1 and 2
   d) None of the above

Solution: c) Explanation:
The Centre has reconstituted an advisory committee to chalk out a plan for studying the mythical Sarasvati river for the next two years, after the earlier panel’s term ended in 2019.
• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on March 10 issued a notification for “reconstitution of the Advisory Committee for the Multidisciplinary Study of the River Sarasvati”.
• The ASI had first set up the committee on December 28, 2017 for a period of two years.
• The committee would continue to be chaired by the Culture Minister.
• It would include officials from the Culture, Tourism, Water Resources, Environment and Forest, Housing and Urban Affairs Ministries; representatives of the Indian Space Research Organisation; officials from the governments of Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan; and an ASI official.
• The committee would review the work done by the previous panel and then formulate a plan. The committee would advise the Government Departments conducting research.
• Hence both statements are correct.

Q9. What is AEG12, recently seen in news?
a) A mosquito protein
b) Exoplanet
c) Mini satellite
d) None of the above

Solution: a) Explanation:
A mosquito protein, called AEG12, strongly inhibits the family of viruses that cause yellow fever, dengue, West Nile, and Zika, and also weakly inhibits coronaviruses, according to scientists at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their collaborators.
• The researchers found that AEG12 works by destabilising the viral envelope, breaking its protective covering. The protein does not affect viruses that do not have an envelope.
• At the molecular level, AEG12 rips out the lipids (the fat-like portions of the membrane that hold the virus together).
• The findings, however, could lead to therapeutics against viruses that affect millions of people around the world.
• While the researchers demonstrated that AEG12 was most effective against flaviviruses — the family of viruses to which Zika, West Nile, and others belong — they felt it is possible AEG12 could be effective against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
• But, it will take years of bioengineering to make AEG12 a viable therapy for Covid-19.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Q10. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is an informal strategic forum between which of the following countries?

1. U.S.A
2. India
3. China
4. Australia
   Select the correct answer using the code given below: a) 1 and 2 only
   b) 1, 2 and 3 only
   c) 2, 3 and 4 only
   d) 1, 2 and 4 only

Solution: d)
Explanation:
PM Modi will attend the first Quad Summit on March 12, 2021.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join U.S. President Joseph Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga for a virtual summit of the Quadrilateral Framework (Quad)— the first time leaders of the Indo-Pacific grouping are meeting.
• Access to COVID-19 vaccines, cooperation on technology, and climate change are on the top of the agenda in the summit.
• The Quad meeting, that China has referred to as an “Indo-Pacific NATO”, will be watched most closely for signals on how the grouping will deal with the challenge from Beijing’s recent moves in the Pacific as well as at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
• India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines, that has already shipped out more than 48 million doses worldwide, is expected to request Quad investment to scale up its outreach further.
• Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.