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PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS (DATE: 04-01-2024)

ENVIRONMENT
1 SNOW LEOPARD

❖ The Snow Leopard has now been declared the national symbol of Kyrgyzstan.

ABOUT SNOW LEOPARD

❖ Scientific Name- Panthera uncia
❖ Habitat
✓ Global- mountainous regions of central and
The Hemis National Park in Ladakh is
southern Asia.
called Snow Leopard capital of the
✓ India- Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal
world.
Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim and Arunachal
Pradesh.
❖ They play a key role as a top predator, an indicator of the health of their high-altitude habitat, and,
increasingly, an important indicator of the impacts of climate change on mountain environments.
❖ Threats include poaching, habitat loss and declining prey, human-wildlife conflict and warming in the
higher reaches.
❖ Protection status
✓ IUCN Red List – Vulnerable
✓ CITES- Appendix I
✓ WPA 1972- Schedule-I

OTHER FACTS
❖ Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme (GSLEP) is an alliance of 12 snow leopard
range countries, multi-lateral institutions, NGOs, scientists and local communities, working to save the
specie.
❖ The 12 countries are -Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal,
Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

SOCIAL- HEALTH
2 BUBBLE BABY SYNDROME
❖ A two-month-old girl has become the youngest to receive bone marrow transplant from an unrelated
donor.
❖ The baby was diagnosed with 'bubble baby syndrome'.

ABOUT BUBBLE BABY SYNDROME

❖ It is also known medically as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).
❖ It’s a very rare genetic disorder that causes life-threatening problems with the immune system.
❖ Babies with SCID are born without an immune system, making them vulnerable to life-threatening
infections.
❖ The genetic defect linked to SCID leads to a deficiency in Lymphocytes (type of White blood cells), which
are a crucial component of our immune system.
✓ Two main types of Lymphocytes -
✓ T cells identify, attack, and kill "invaders."
✓ B cells make antibodies that "remember" an infection for future protection against
infections.
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✓ Without a bone marrow transplant, most children with SCID succumb to infections before reaching
their first birthday.
❖ The only cure for a bubble baby syndrome is a bone marrow transplant from a healthy donor. The
transplant replaces the child’s faulty immune system with a healthy one.

ABOUT BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT

❖ A bone marrow transplant is also called a stem cell transplant or, more specifically, a hematopoietic stem
cell transplant.
❖ It can be used to treat certain types of cancer, such as leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma, and other blood
and immune system diseases.
❖ Bone marrow transplants may use cells from the same person (autologous transplant) or from a donor
(allogeneic transplant).

SPACE
3 SQUARE KILOMETER ARRAY PROJECT
❖ The Union Cabinet recently approved India's participation in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project,
along with a financial commitment of Rs 1,250 crore.

ABOUT SKA PROJECT

❖ SKA will be a group of radio telescopes operating out of South Africa and Australia in two different ranges
of radio frequency.
✓ The South-African array will scan for mid-frequency signals, between 350 MHz and 15.4 GHz, while
the Australian telescope will work in the low-frequency range of 50-350 MHz.
❖ Its headquarters are at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in the UK.
❖ Once constructed, the SKA will be the most powerful telescope ever built.
❖ Scientific Objectives
✓ SKA will observe and map galaxies at the edge of the observable universe, going back in time.
✓ The telescope will study magnetism and radiation from distant galaxies and map them as well.
✓ SKA will also aim to detect and understand the role of dark matter and dark energy in the universe.
✓ It will aid in the search for life beyond the Earth by looking for planets that orbit stars in habitable
zones.
❖ Founded in 2019, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) has 16 consortium members — Australia,
South Africa, Canada, China, India, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, France,
Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Italy.
❖ The Indian Pathfinder research partner for the SKA project is Pune’s Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope,
operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(TIFR).

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

4 DIRECT TO MOBILE (D2M) TECHNOLOGY
❖ Indian telecom operators have asked the government to auction the spectrum that will be used for direct-
to-mobile (D2M) services.
❖ The government is also considering to reserve 526-582 MHz spectrum for D2M services.
❖ Telecom operators consider this spectrum to be "precious" as they are already being identified by the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for mobility services.
❖ The science behind D2M is similar to that of an FM radio, where a receiver within the device can tap into
different radio frequencies.
❖ This new-age technology is a combination of broadband and broadcast that uses mobile phones to capture
territorial digital TV signals.
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❖ Using D2M, multimedia content, including live TV matches, can be streamed to phones directly without
using the internet.
❖ Other advantages
✓ Emergency Alerts are delivered directly, reliably and without dependence on internet/cellular
networks.
✓ Targeted Disaster Management audio content

INTERNATIONAL
5 UN STATISTICAL COMMISSION

❖ India started its four-year term as a member of the United Nations Statistical Commission recently.
ABOUT UN STATISTICAL COMMISSION
❖ Established in 1947
❖ It is the highest decision making body for international statistical activities, responsible for setting of
statistical standards and the development of concepts and methods, including their implementation at
the national and international level.
❖ Headquarters- New York, USA
❖ The Commission consists of 24 member countries of the United Nations elected by the United Nations
Economic and Social Council on the basis of an equitable geographical distribution. These include-
✓ Five members are from African States,
✓ four from Asia-Pacific States,
✓ four from Eastern European States,
✓ four from Latin American and Caribbean States and
✓ seven members from Western European and other States.

ENVIRONMENT
6 RIVER DEVIKA PROJECT
❖ North India’s first river rejuvenation project ‘Devika’ is in the final stages and it will be soon dedicated to
the nation.
❖ Built on the lines of ‘Namami Ganga’, the project was launched by the Prime Minister in February 2019.
❖ Besides a Liquid Waste Management Project, a Solid Waste Management (SWM) project will also be
constructed under Devika Rejuvenation Project.

ABOUT DEVIKA RIVER

❖ Devika river is considered the sister of the sacred river Ganga, and it has a great religious significance.
❖ It originates from the hilly Suddha Mahadev temple in the Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir and
flows down westward towards Pakistan, where it merges with the Ravi River.
❖ In the Nilmat Puran that was written in the 7th century by Nela Muni, it is mentioned that the Devika River
is a manifestation of the mother Goddess Parwati herself to benefit the people of Mader Desha that covers
areas between river Ravi and Chenab.

PERSON IN NEWS
7 FIRST WOMAN WITH $100 BILLION FORTUNE
❖ Francoise Bettencourt Meyers has made history by becoming the first woman to amass a staggering $100
billion fortune.
❖ L'Oréal- The French beauty empire was founded by her grandfather and is on track for its best stock market
performance in decades.
❖ Ms Bettencourt Meyers is the vice-chairperson of the company's board.
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❖ She and her family are the single biggest shareholders of L'Oréal with a stake of around 35%.

DAYS TO REMEMBER
8 WORLD BRAILLE DAY- JANUARY 4TH
❖ January 4 is celebrated as World Braille Day annually as a tribute to Louis Braille, the visionary behind the
braille system.
❖ He was born on this day in 1809 in France and became blind after birth due to an accident in childhood.
❖ This day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 and celebrated since 2019.
❖ Braille is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots to represent each letter and
number and even musical, mathematical and scientific symbols.

ECONOMY
9 REVERSE FLIPPING
❖ Startups like Pine Labs and Udaan have been planning for Reverse Flipping.

WHAT IS REVERSE FLIPPING?

❖ It is a term used to describe the trend of overseas start-ups shifting their domicile to India and listing on
Indian stock exchanges.
❖ Here, start-ups that once relocated their holding companies outside India are now considering a strategic
move back to India.
❖ Reasons for Reverse Flipping-
✓ to capitalise on India’s large and growing economy,
✓ access to deeper pools of venture capital,
✓ favourable tax regimes,
✓ better intellectual property protection,
✓ young and educated population, and
✓ favourable government policies.

PERSON IN NEWS
10 QUEEN MARGRETHE II ABDICATES THRONE
❖ Queen Margrethe of Denmark has announced her abdication after 52 years, leaving her son, Crown Prince
Frederik, as the successor.
❖ She will formally step down on 14 January 2024, 52 years to the day since she became queen.
❖ The 83-year-old is the longest-serving living monarch in Europe, having taken the throne after the death
of her father King Frederik IX in 1972.
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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Consider the following statements:
1. The Snow Leopard has now been declared the national symbol of Kazakhstan.
2. IUCN Red List of Snow Leopard is ‘Endangered’.
3. The Hemis National Park in Ladakh is called Snow Leopard capital of the world.
4. Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme (GSLEP) is an alliance of 12 snow leopard range countries,
multi-lateral institutions, NGOs etc.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

A. 1 & 2 only
B. 1 & 3 only
C. 3 & 4 only
D. 2 & 4 only

ANSWER: C

2. Consider the following statements:

1. Bubble Baby Syndrome is a very rare genetic disorder.
2. Bubble Baby Syndrome is also called severe combined immunodeficiency.
3. Without a bone marrow transplant, most children with SCID succumb to infections before reaching their first birthday.
4. Bone marrow transplants from the same person are called allogeneic transplant and from a donor are called
autologous transplant.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

A. 1 & 2 only
B. 1, 2 & 3 only
C. 3 & 4 only
D. 1, 2 & 4 only

ANSWER: B

3. Consider the following statements:

1. India has declared financial commitment of Rs 1,250 crore for Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project.
2. Direct to Mobile (D2M) Technology is a combination of broadband and broadcast that uses mobile phones to capture
territorial digital TV signals.
3. India started its five-year term as a member of the United Nations Statistical Commission recently.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

A. 1 & 2 only
B. 2 & 3 only
C. 1 & 3 only
D. 1, 2 & 3

ANSWER: A

4. Consider the following statements:

1. SKA Project will include a group of radio telescopes operating out of South America and Australia.
2. Using D2M, multimedia content, including live TV matches, can be streamed to phones directly using the internet.
3. UN Statistical Commission headquarters are located in Montreal, Canada.

Which of the following statements is/are incorrect?

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A. 1 & 2 only
B. 2 & 3 only
C. 1 & 3 only
D. 1, 2 & 3

ANSWER: D

5. Consider the following statements:

1. Once constructed, the SKA will be the most powerful telescope ever built.
2. D2M technology can be used for disaster management and emergency alerts.
3. UN Statistical Commission consists of 24 member countries of the United Nations elected by the UNECOSOC.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

A. 1 & 2 only
B. 2 & 3 only
C. 1 & 3 only
D. 1, 2 & 3

ANSWER: D

6. Consider the following statements:

1. ‘Devika’ river rejuvenation project is North India’s first river rejuvenation project.
2. Devika river is considered the sister of the sacred river Ganga and originates in Udhampur district.

Which of the following statements is/ are correct?

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER: C

7. Consider the following statements:

1. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers has become first woman to amass a $100 billion fortune.
2. She along with her family is the largest shareholder of Zara fashion brand.

Which of the following statements is/ are incorrect?

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER: B

8. Consider the following statements:

1. World Braille Day is annually celebrated on January 4th.
2. Braille language uses seven dots to represent letters, numbers and even musical, mathematical and scientific symbols.

Which of the following statements is/ are correct?

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
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ANSWER: A

9. The term ‘reverse flipping’, seen in news recently, is associated with-

A. Bringing extinct species back to life
B. Startups relocating back to origin countries
C. Decreasing temperature due to greenhouse effect
D. None of the above

ANSWER: B

10. Queen Margrethe of ___________has recently announced her abdication from the throne after 52 years.
A. Denmark
B. Lichtenstein
C. Norway
D. Finland

ANSWER: A