1. Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), that was recently in news, was established by which of these two organizations?
A. FAO and UNICEF
B. FAO and WHO 🗹
C. UNICEF and UNESCO
D. World Bank and IMF
- Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body that develops food standards, guidelines, and codes of practice. The CAC was established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The CAC’s headquarters are in Rome.
- Recently, India’s proposal at Codex Alimentarious Commission (CAC) meet for standards for millets. The standards cover 15 varieties and will aid the promotion of millets in global trade and food markets. The CAC praised India’s specifications. The decision comes as 2023 was declared the International Year of Millets to boost production and consumption.
2. What was the theme of World AIDS Day 2023?
A. Bridges of Understanding
B. Harmony in Healing
C. Let Communities Lead 🗹
D. Community for Healing
- World AIDS Day is observed on December 1st every year. The theme for 2023 is “Let Communities Lead”. This theme highlights the importance of communities in the HIV response and the goal of ending AIDS by 2030. World AIDS Day is an international day that raises awareness of the AIDS pandemic and mourns those who have died from the disease.
3. Which of the following is not a correct statement about Iyothee Thass Pandithar, whose statue was unveiled recently in Chennai?
A. He founded Dravida Mahajana Sabha in 1891
B. He launched a magazine Dravida Pandian
C. He was a Vaidya/ Ayurvedic practitioner 🗹
D. All the above are correct statements
- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin unveiled a statue of pioneering anti-caste activist Iyothee Thass Pandithar in Chennai in December 2023. Stalin hailed Iyothee Thass as the forerunner to Periyar in politically popularizing ‘Tamizhan’ and ‘dravidan’ identity terms.
- Born in 1845 in Madras, Iyothee Thass promoted Dravidian ideology through the Dravida Mahajana Sabha he founded in 1891 with Rettamalai Srinivasan. In 1876, Thass had set up the Advaidananda Sabha and launched the magazine ‘Dravida Pandian’ alongside Rev. John Rathina. After a life dedicated to social justice, Iyothee Thass passed away on May 5, 1914.
4. R. Vaishali, who was in news recently, plays which sports / game?
A. Athletics
B. Carrom
C. Table Tennis
D. Chess 🗹
- On December 1, 2023, R. Vaishali became India’s third female chess Grandmaster. She is also India’s 84th Grandmaster. Vaishali, 22, joined Koneru Humpy and D Harika as India’s female Grandmasters. Humpy was the first Indian woman to become a Grandmaster in 2002 at the age of 15. Harika received the title 12 years ago.
5. What name has been given to the moon of asteroid named Dinkinesh discovered recently by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft?
A. Amani
B. Mwanga
C. Kesho
D. Selam 🗹
- NASA’s Lucy spacecraft recently discovered that an asteroid named Dinkinesh, which it flew past last month, has a tiny “contact binary” moon – two space rocks gently rested against each other. The International Astronomical Union approved the name “Selam” for this moon, meaning “peace” in Ethiopia’s language. The names Dinkinesh and Selam refer to two famous hominid fossils discovered in Ethiopia.
6. “Panchamrit” pledge is related to ___:
A. Poverty Eradication
B. Infrastructure Development
C. Combating Climate Change 🗹
D. Regional Defence & Security
- India aims to reach 500GW non-fossil energy capacity by 2030 under “Panchamrit” pledge made at COP26 to combat climate change. Half of India’s energy requirement will come from renewables while reducing carbon emission intensity of GDP by 45% over 2005 levels.
7. Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) has been extended till which year recently?
A. 2025
B. 2028 🗹
C. 2030
D. 2032
- The government has approved a five-year extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), its flagship free foodgrain scheme for the poor, beyond December 2023. Launched in 2020 to provide relief during the COVID-19 crisis, the PMGKAY supplies 5 kgs of free ration monthly to over 800 million beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act. The scheme will now continue till 2028 at an estimated expenditure of Rs 1.18 lakh crore annually.
8. At present (2023), Hydropower makes up around what fraction of India’s energy mix?
A. 50%
B. 11% 🗹
C. 17%
D. 25%
- Hydropower currently makes up around 11% of India’s energy mix, as per government data. However, experts estimate the country has a total hydroelectric potential of 145 gigawatts (GW), of which only 29% has been utilized so far. Unlike coal power, hydropower offers flexible generation as the units can rapidly adjust output to match demand fluctuations.
9. Why did India not sign the global renewable energy pledge at the COP28 summit recently?
A. Development concerns 🗹
B. Lack of resources
C. Political disagreement
D. Technological limitations
- India has declined to sign on to a global renewable energy pledge launched at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. The pledge commits 118 nations to tripling installed renewable energy capacity globally by 2030. However, India opted out, along with China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran. India remains committed to its own national renewable energy targets but could not agree to the terms of this specific pledge which could potentially hurt development priorities. India aims to have 50% non-fossil fuel installed electric capacity by 2030.
10. SWIS and STEPS instruments are related to which mission of ISRO?
A. Aditya L1 🗹
B. Chandrayaan
C. Gaganyaan
D. Mangalyaan
- India’s Aditya L1 satellite has begun unravelling solar wind enigmas as two cutting-edge particle spectrometers commenced data gathering in recent months. The SWIS and STEPS instruments on the Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment payload have detected protons, Helium ions and energy histograms exhibiting solar wind behavior fluctuations near Sun-Earth Lagrange Point L1.
