Day-649 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | CURRENT AFFAIRS

Answer: C
Context: The treatment of malaria in eastern Africa is encountering a significant challenge as the parasites have started developing resistance to artemisinin, the core component used for treating the disease, according to a new study.
Explanation:
● Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been a highly effective treatment for non-severe cases since the early 2000s.
● While the clinical effectiveness of ACT remains generally robust in the African continent, the recent emergence of partial artemisinin resistance in the eastern African countries of Rwanda, Uganda and Eritrea has raised significant concerns.
● Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for malaria’s most dangerous form, is transmitted to humans via female Anopheles mosquitoes. The treatment of this parasite primarily relies on the administration of artemisinin-based medications in combination with a complementary anti-malarial drug.
● ACT reduces the number of parasites during the first three days of treatment, while the role of the partner drug is to eliminate the remaining parasites and cure the infection.

Answer: B
Explanation:
Scientists in China are building the world’s largest “ghost particle” detector 11,500 feet (3,500 meters) beneath the surface of the ocean. Statement 2 is correct.
Statement 1 is incorrect: The Tropical Deep-sea Neutrino Telescope (TRIDENT) is a next-generation neutrino telescope under construction in the South China Sea. It will be the world’s largest and most advanced neutrino telescope, with a volume of about 7.5 cubic kilometers, which is about 10 times the volume of the current largest neutrino telescope, IceCube.
TRIDENT will help us to understand the origin and evolution of the universe.

Answer: B
Context: After Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023 Sabbath attack on Israel, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, Israel has launched a devastating bombing campaign on Gaza, leaving over 9,000 Palestinians dead in 27 days, most of them women and children. Israel’s narrative is that it has the right to respond to Hamas’s terror attack.
Option A is incorrect: India has a war doctrine known as “Cold Start” and its military has conducted exercises several times since then based on this doctrine. “Cold Start” involves joint operations between India’s three services and integrated battle groups for offensive operations. The doctrine is intended to allow India’s conventional forces to perform holding attacks to prevent a nuclear retaliation from Pakistan in case of a conflict.
Option B is correct: A central tenet of Israeli military policy is “deterrence.” This is embodied in the so-called “Dahiya Doctrine,” which dictates the use of overwhelming and disproportionate force – a war crime – and the targeting of government and civilian infrastructure during military operations. It received its name from the Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, which Israel destroyed almost completely during its assault on Lebanon in the summer of 2006.
Option C is incorrect: Waging covert war against an enemy country using insurgents at multiple locations is “bleed with thousand cuts’ generally followed by the neighboring country against India.
Option D is incorrect: Modern peacekeeping operations, which involve both civilian and military operations, more comprehensive (not just military) doctrines are now emerging such as the 2008 United Nations peacekeeping operations’ “Capstone Doctrine” which speaks to integrated civilian and military operations.

Answer: C
Context- Bletchley declaration on AI Safety has been concluded recently at the AI Safety Summit 2023 convened by the UK.
Explanation-
28 countries including the United States, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and India, plus the European Union, have concluded the Bletchley Declaration concerning AI Safety.
Noteworthy endorsements have been secured from nations like Brazil, France, India, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates.The Bletchley Declaration stresses on the need to collectively manage potential risks from Artificial Intelligence. The declaration incorporates an acknowledgment of the substantial risks from potential intentional misuse or unintended issues of control of frontier AI—especially cybersecurity, biotechnology, and disinformation risks. These risks demand international cooperation to address them.
Frontier AI is defined as highly capable foundation generative AI models that could pose severe risks to public safety.

Answer: B
Explanation:
Term Hakku Patra is a type of title deed to prove land ownership. In India, land ownership is defined through a legal document known as the title deed. It is a crucial document that states the property’s ownership, rights, and privileges. While most of the urban population is aware of the process of obtaining this document, the underprivileged population often struggles with it. To simplify things, the state Government of Karnataka issued Hakku Patra, stating their ownership title. Hakku Patra in Kannada means “Claim Letter”. The word ‘Hakku’ means “the right”, and ‘Patra’ means a “paper” or “document”. Hakku Patra is a legal document that states an individual’s rightful inheritance of a property. It is issued to the nation’s underprivileged section, including scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, urban slum dwellers, handicapped, and other disadvantaged populations.