Day-400 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS

Answer: C
Context: India launched ‘Operation Dost’ to extend assistance to Turkey as well as Syria following the devastating quake that killed nearly 12,000 people in the two countries.
Explanation:
● Turkey is bounded by the Aegean Sea in the west, the Mediterranean Sea in the south, and the Black Sea in the north. Turkey borders (8 countries) Armenia, Iran, and Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) in the east, Georgia in the northeast, Bulgaria and Greece in the northwest, and Iraq and Syria in the southeast.
● Turkey shares maritime borders with Cyprus, Egypt, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.
● There are two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosporus, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, which connect the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea with the Sea of Marmara.
● The highest mountain in Turkey is AğrıDağı or Mount Ararat, at 5,137 m (16,854 ft).

Answer: D
Context: The government has found lithium and gold deposits in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) for the first time. The Mines Ministry has found lithium reserves of around 5.9 million tonnes in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district.
Explanation:
● Statement A is incorrect: The world’s top 5 biggest importers of gold are Switzerland, India, United Kingdom, China and Hong Kong.
● Statement B is incorrect:Resources in terms of the metal ore (primary) are located in:
1. Bihar (45 per cent)
2. Rajasthan (23 per cent)
3. Karnataka (22 per cent)
4. West Bengal (3 per cent)
5. Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (2 per cent each)
● Statement C is incorrect: At present, the Hatti gold mine in Karnataka is the largest gold mine in India. Gold in Kolar Gold Fields is almost exhausted.
● Statement D is correct: AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng gold mine, located south-west of Johannesburg in South Africa, is currently the deepest mine in the world. The operating depth at Mponeng mine ranged from between 3.16km to 3.84km below the surface by the end of 2018. Ongoing expansions are expected to extend the operating depth further to 4.27km.

Answer: C
Context: Assam Chief Minister and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart recently signed an agreement to end the decades-old border dispute between the two states. The two leaders agreed to restrict the number of contested villages to 86 instead of 123.
Explanation:
About Namsai declaration?
● The Namsai Declaration, which aims to reduce the inter-State border dispute affecting 123 villages, was recently signed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu.
● On December 26, 2007, Arunachal Pradesh presented a local commission with a list of these villages.
● The proclamation states that the only border disputes between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will be those brought up before the regional commission in 2007.
● The Assam and Arunachal Pradesh interstate boundary will be realigned as the two states strive to resolve their long-standing border issues. The boundary realignment will be based on a line drawn by a committee in 1960.
● The Namsai district in southern Arunachal Pradesh is headquartered in Namsai.

Answer: C
Context: In February 2023, the Legal Metrology Department conducted surprise inspections at several hospitals in Andhra Pradesh and booked 131 cases against hospital managements for violation of the Legal Metrology Act and Rules.
Explanation:
OBJECTIVE
● To regulate trade and commerce in weights and measures
● To set and enforce the standards of weight and measure
● To regulate the manufacture, sale and use of goods by weights, measures or numbers
● To rationalize the Metric system (meter, kilogram etc.) to be used in India.
Statement 1 is correct: With respect to providing uniform standards of weights and measures, the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 was enforced in India. The Act was implemented with effect from 1st April 2011.
● Enforcement of Weights and Measures and Standards is entrusted with the Directorate of Legal Metrology in each state in India, and almost every business is impacted by the Laws of Legal Metrology being involved in sale, distribution or any transaction of goods by weight, measure or number.
Statement 2 is correct: The Act is regulated and administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
● The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities), Rules 2011 are primarily intended to ensure that the consumers are able to make informed choices by being informed of essential declarations on the pre-packed commodities.

Answer: A
Context: Recently, the Haryana government chose to release Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim on furlough instead of parole due to some specific reasons related to these provisions.
Explanation:
● Option A is correct: Parole is not a right and is given to a prisoner for a specific reason, such as a death in the family or a wedding of a blood relative. While Furlough is seen as a matter of right for a prisoner, to be granted periodically irrespective of any reason, and merely to enable the prisoner to retain family and social ties, and to counter the ill-effects of long time imprisonment.
● Option B is incorrect: In the case of short-term confinement, parole may be granted, while in the case of long-term confinement, Furlough may be granted.
● Option C is incorrect: Parole lasts for one month and it can be granted a number of times. On the other hand, Furlough lasts for fourteen days maximum and there is a limitation to grant furlough.
● Option D is incorrect: It should be noted that Prisons, Reformatories, and other associated institutions fall in the State list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.