Day-557 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS

Answer: A
Context: In August 2023, a total of 48 African countries have now agreed to adopt the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (KDMECC) to address the nexus of human mobility and climate change in the continent.
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: It is a pioneering framework adopted by 48 African nations to manage climate-induced migration.
Statement 2 is incorrect: It was co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Uganda with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Additional information:
● KDMECC was originally signed and agreed upon by 15 African states in Kampala, Uganda in July 2022.
● The Declaration is the first comprehensive, action-oriented framework led by Member States to address climate-induced mobility in a practical and effective manner.
The KDMECC aims to address the challenges associated with climate-induced migration through several key objectives:
● Comprehensive Framework: Providing member states with a comprehensive framework to develop and implement policies and strategies addressing climate-induced migration.
● Leveraging Migration for Development: Encouraging the integration of migration into sustainable development strategies, ensuring it benefits both migrants and host communities.
● Inclusivity: Prioritizing the voices of vulnerable groups, including youth, women, and those in disadvantaged situations, to ensure their needs and concerns are central to the response.

Answer: B
Context: The flash flood that has killed thousands of people in Libya in September 2023 followed a “medicane”, a rare but destructive weather phenomenon that scientists believe will intensify in a warming world.
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: Medicanes are tropical cyclones originating in the Mediterranean region.
Mediterranean cyclone or hurricane which is so-called Medicane are not rare phenomenon. Such large storms happen in the Mediterranean region every few years.
Statement 2 is correct: Like tropical cyclones, medicanes form in hot conditions at the end of summer.
Statement 3 is correct: Medicanes used to occur only in the Mediterranean Sea, but in the last two decades they have been formed over the Black Sea too.
Additional information:
● Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones are commonly known as ‘Medicanes’ while a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure centre, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation with strong winds and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms are called ‘Hurricanes’.
● Medicanes are not formally classified as cyclones and are not monitored by any agency.
● National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Hellenic National Meteorological Service are the governing agencies for Medicanes.
● The cyclones in the Mediterranean Sea do not form easily because it is dry but due to SST (sea surface temperature), it has caused floods in Italy, Spain and France.

Answer: C
Context: The United Kingdom and the United States (US) President signed “The Atlantic Declaration: A Framework for a Twenty-First Century US-UK Economic Partnership” during the latter’s visit to Washington in June 2023.
Explanation:
● Declared as the first of its kind, the declaration and its action plans are expected to promote a “new type of innovative partnership” to cover all areas of cooperation including technology, economy and trade.
● While deepening the trade and investment relations, the declaration is also expected to strengthen the UK-US cooperation in sectors like defence, health, space, and science.
● The new declaration highlights that the nature of national security is changing with economics, and it is becoming more intertwined.
● The US and the UK are facing new international challenges including from “authoritarian states” such as China and Russia, along with disruptive technologies, non-state actions and transnational issues like climate change.
● To deal with the emerging challenges, both countries have worked together to strengthen their resilience in trade and technology; and cooperated to expand the scope of their defence, security, and intelligence relations.

Answer: C
Context: CAG of India inaugurated the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions’s (INTOSAI) 15th Knowledge Sharing Committee meeting at Abu Dhabi.
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: It has special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.
Statement 2 is correct: The INTOSAI Governing Board meets annually to provide strategic leadership, stewardship, and continuity of INTOSAI activities.
Statement 3 is correct: The CAG of India is a member of the Governing Board of the INTOSAI.
Additional information:
● The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) is an intergovernmental organization whose members are supreme audit institutions.
● Nearly every supreme audit institution in the world is a member of INTOSAI. Depending on the type of system used in their home country, the members of INTOSAI may be variously titled the Chief Financial Controller, the Office of the Comptroller General, the Office of the Auditor General, the Court of Accounts, or the Board of Audit.
● INTOSAI holds a triennial conference entitled the International Congress of Supreme Audit Institutions (INCOSAI).
● It publishes the quarterly International Journal of Government Auditing and publishes guidelines and international standards on auditing.

Answer: D
Context: The Indian government recently listed 30 minerals, including nickel, titanium, vanadium and tungsten as critical to drive its clean energy push.
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: India has notified 30 critical minerals. The US has declared 50 minerals critical in light of their role in national security or economic development. Japan has identified a set of 31 minerals as critical for their economy. The UK considers 18 minerals critical, EU (34) and Canada (31).
Statement 2 is incorrect: Creation of Centre of Excellence for Critical Minerals (CECM) in the Ministry of Mines is recommended by the Expert Committee of Ministry of Mines. CECM has the responsibility to periodically update the list of critical minerals for India and notify the critical mineral strategy from time to time.
Statement 3 is correct:
Additional information:
● Expert Committe under Ministry of Mines has identified a set of 30 critical minerals for India.
● These are Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, Phosphorous, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium and Cadmium.
● Top Producers: Chile, Indonesia, Congo, China, Australia and South Africa.