This is the current affairs of 5 & 6 April 2024. Here are questions and answers of daily current affairs for better preparation of competitive exams for government jobs.
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1. Scientists have discovered the largest ocean how many kilometers below the Earth’s surface?
a. 1000 KM
b. 900 KM
c. 700 KM
d. 500 KM
Answer: c. 700 KM
– According to scientists, the largest ocean is said to be 700 km below the Earth’s surface.
– According to some news reports, information about this was obtained at the beginning of April 2024.
Which country’s scientists made the discovery?
– Researchers from the state of Illinois in the United States made the discovery of this vast ocean.
– The scientists are from Northwestern University in the state of Illinois.
Illinois is a state in the United States. Its capital is Springfield.
How much water is there in this ocean?
– While searching for the source of water on Earth, scientists discovered information about the vast ocean.
– According to scientists, this ocean has three times more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined.
What waves were studied before the discovery of the ocean?
– After studying more than 500 earthquakes using seismometers (seismic measuring devices), researchers discovered the vast ocean.
– When waves traveling beneath the Earth encounter wet rocks, their speed decreases.
– This helps scientists estimate the presence of a massive ocean (vast water reservoir).
– Following the study of these waves using seismometers, the discovery of the vast ocean was made.
Is the ocean hidden in a blue rock?
– According to scientists, the ocean is hidden in blue rocks of ringwoodite, located 700 kilometers below the Earth’s surface.
– This rock acts like a sponge, continuously absorbing water. It can hold more than 20 times its weight in water.
Ringwoodite
– Ringwoodite is a high-pressure phase of Mg2SiO4 (magnesium silicate) formed between the depths of 525 and 660 kilometers under the Earth’s mantle at high temperature and pressure.
Is it necessary for water to remain underground?
– According to scientists, it is essential for this ocean or water to remain beneath the Earth’s surface because if it emerges, Earth would only have water on its surface.
Only the peaks of high mountains would be visible on land.
Did the water come from beneath the ground?
– Several reports claim that water was generated due to the impact of a comet colliding with Earth.
– It is likely that some seawater emerged from beneath the Earth’s surface over time.
– Initial information about this discovery was obtained in the year 2014.
How many layers does Earth have?
– Our Earth has four layers.
– Crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core.
– The innermost core is made up of 98% iron.
– The temperature of this core is 6000 degrees Celsius, which is higher than the temperature at the surface of the Sun.
Water (H₂O)
– H₂O / water is formed by the combination of three atoms.
– It consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen.
That’s why its name is H₂O (chemical name).
– It is the foundation of life for all organisms.
– The term water is commonly used for the liquid state, but it is also found in solid state (ice) and gaseous state (steam or water vapor).
About Oceans
– Oceans contain 97% of Earth’s water and are the primary component of Earth’s hydrosphere, making them essential for life on Earth.
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2. Which institutions developed India’s first indigenous ‘Nex CAR T-cell’ therapy for cancer treatment, which was launched by the President?
a. IIT Bombay and Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute
b. IIT Madras and CSIR
c. IIT Kanpur and Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai
d. IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai
Answer: d. IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai
– During the program organized at IIT Bombay on April 4, 2024, President Draupadi Murmu launched this therapy.
– It is essential because millions of cancer cases occur in India every year. In 2022, there were 1,461,427 cases of cancer. After China and America, India has the highest number of cancer patients in the world.
CAR T-cell Therapy
– When it comes to treating cancer, three common things are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.
– Due to new research and advanced technology, a fourth name is added to cancer treatment, which is targeted therapy or immune-related therapy (CAR T-cell therapy).
– When we say CAR T-cell, CAR stands for ‘Chimeric Antigen Receptors’.
– Whereas T-cells are a type of lymphocyte. Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell. They are part of the immune system. T-cells help the body fight diseases or harmful substances like bacteria or viruses.
– These T-cells kill abnormal or infection-spreading cells in the body.
#Stage 1 – White blood cells are taken from the patient’s body and sent to the lab.
#Stage 2 – Scientists work on T-cells in the lab. Within 9 days, T-cells are re-engineered.
#Stage 3 – Millions of CAR T-cells are prepared. After preserving them, they undergo various tests.
#Stage 4 – The designed CAR T-cells are placed in infusion bags and sent to the hospital.
#Stage 5 – CAR T-cells enter the patient’s body through intravenous infusion (IV). These cells surround cancer cells and kill them.
Cost of this Therapy
– In India, this therapy was initiated by ImmunoACT, which is a startup. It was started by Professor Rahul Purwar of IIT Bombay.
– Rahul Purwar and doctors at Tata Memorial Hospital are credited with developing NEXCAR 19 therapy. Millions of rupees are spent on any cancer treatment in India. Chemotherapy sessions cost millions of rupees.
– NEXCAR 19 cancer therapy is also expensive. In America, where this therapy costs between three to five crores for cancer treatment, in India, it costs 40-45 lakh rupees. NEXCAR 19 therapy has been provided to patients since November 2023.
First Patient Cured by this Therapy in India
– Twenty-year-old Kamal Pundir (cancer patient) became cancer-free after the test of CAR T-cell therapy.
– Kamal Pundir became cancer-free after clinical tests at PGIMER Chandigarh.
– He is from Saharanpur.
– He is graduating in life sciences.
– This test was conducted in February/March 2024.
Countries with this Technology
– The first attempt of CAR T-cell therapy was made by America between 2009 and 2010. However, government permission was granted in 2018.
– During the same period, India started its studies.
– Now, besides America and India, this technology is also available in Spain, Germany, and China.
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3. Name the President of Egypt, who took oath for the third term in April 2024?
a. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
b. Mohamed Morsi
c. Hosni Mubarak
d. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Answer: a. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
– Abdel Fattah al-Sisi became the President for the first time in 2014 and for the second time in 2018. He won the election for the third time in December 2023.
– A few months after the election, in April 2024, he took the oath of the President’s office.
– His term as President will now be six years. For this, a constitutional amendment was made in 2019.
– Before becoming President, al-Sisi served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Egypt.
– In 2013, while serving as the Chief of Staff, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overturned the democratically elected President of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi’s regime.
– At that time, there was an elected government of the Muslim Brotherhood. The military arrested Morsi and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hundreds of people were killed then.
Egypt
– Capital: Cairo
– Currency: Egyptian Pound
– Official Language: Arabic
– President: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
– Prime Minister: Mostafa Madbouly
– Continent: Africa and Asia
– Neighboring Countries: Libya, Sudan, Israel (it has a maritime border with Saudi Arabia)
– Seas: Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea
– The Suez Canal is located in this country.
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4. Nearly 36% of students from the latest batch of which IIT failed to get jobs, further increasing unemployment concerns in India?
a. IIT Bombay
b. IIT Kanpur
c. IIT Delhi
d. IIT Guwahati
Answer: a. IIT Bombay
This year, how many students did not get jobs?
– In 2024, out of approximately 2000 students, 712 had registered for placements, of which around 36% have not yet found employment.
– This is approximately 2.8% higher compared to the previous academic year.
How many didn’t get jobs in the previous academic year?
– In the year 2023, out of 2,209 registered students at IIT Bombay, 1,485 secured jobs, while 32.8% remained unemployed.
Note – These reports highlight the serious situation of unemployment in India.
– People can estimate from this that if this is the situation of premier technical institutions, then what would be the condition of smaller institutions.
Until when is the placement process ongoing?
– The placement process at IIT Bombay is currently ongoing and will continue until May 2024.
Why is placement decreasing?
– Officers of IIT Bombay’s placement cell explained that due to the global economic slowdown, it has become difficult to call companies for the placement season.
– Therefore, students are unable to get placements.
– Officials mentioned that for the first time, students from the Computer Science and Engineering branches, which usually have 100% placements, have also not achieved their targets this time.
According to the ILO, educated youth are more in unemployment.
– According to the ‘India Employment Report-2024’ released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Human Development Institute (HDI), 82.9% of the unemployed in the country are youth.
– According to this report, the share of educated youth in the unemployed has increased.
– Which increased from 54.2% in the year 2000 to 65.7% in 2022.
– Among educated (secondary level or higher) unemployed youth, the participation of women (76.7%) is higher compared to men (62.2%).
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5. Who was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Myanmar?
a. Sudarshan Das
b. Rakesh Asthana
c. Chirag Awasthi
d. Abhay Thakur
Answer: d. Abhay Thakur
– Abhay Thakur is an officer of the 1992 batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
– He has served as the Sous-Sherpa for the G20 process.
– Since the military coup on February 1, 2021, in Myanmar, demanding the restoration of democracy, violent protests have been taking place.
Myanmar
Capital – Naypyidaw
Acting President – Myint Swe
Prime Minister – Min Aung Hlaing (Senior General)
Currency – Kyat
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6. Who is the world number one player according to the International Chess Federation (FIDE) rankings (April 2024)?
a. Arjun Erigaceae
b. Magnus Carlsen
c. Viswanathan Anand
d. Hikaru Nakamura
Answer: b. Magnus Carlsen
– Magnus Carlsen is a chess player from Norway. He is a five-time World Chess Champion and a five-time World Rapid Chess Champion.
Note – The current world champion is Ding Liren, who defeated his rival Ian Nepomniachtchi in the 2023 World Chess Championship.
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7. Who is India’s number one player according to the International Chess Federation (FIDE) rankings (April 2024)?
a. Arjun Erigaisi
b. Vidit Santosh
c. Viswanathan Anand
d. R Praggnanandhaa
Answer: a. Arjun Erigaisi
For the FIDE ranking list of April 2024, the top chess players from India are as follows:
India Rank, Global Rank, Player, Standard Rating
1, 9, Arjun Erigaisi, 2756
2, 11, Viswanathan Anand, 2751
3, 14, R. Praggnanandhaa, 2747
4, 16, D. Gukesh, 2743
5, 25, Vidit Santosh Gujarati, 2727
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8. Who represented India in the 19th annual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Security Councils?
a. Narendra Modi
b. Ajit Doval
c. Rajnath Singh
d. Amit Shah
Answer: b. Ajit Doval
– The 19th Annual Meeting of the Heads of State Councils of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) was held in Astana, Kazakhstan in April 2024.
– The Indian delegation was led by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.
– He also met with the current President of Kazakhstan and Chairman of the SCO, Kasym-Jomart Tokayev.
– The meeting shed light on concerns regarding cross-border terrorism, mentioning outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
– Establishment – June 15, 2001
– Headquarters – Beijing, China
Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
– China
– Russia
– Kazakhstan
– Kyrgyzstan
– Tajikistan
– Uzbekistan
– India
– Pakistan
– Iran (joined in 2022 and became a full member in 2023)
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9. Swami Smaranand passed away on 26 March 2024. He was the President of which mission?
a. Brahmo Samaj
b. Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham
c. Ramakrishna Mission
d. Arya Samaj
Answer: c. Ramakrishna Mission
– The President of the Ramakrishna Mission, 95-year-old Swami Smaranananda, had been unwell for a long time.
– Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on the social media platform, Twitter.
– Swami Smaranananda was the 16th President of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission.
– He assumed the presidency on July 17, 2017, after the demise of Swami Atmasthananda.
– He was born in 1929 in the village of Andami in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.
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10. Who was awarded the Abel Prize 2024?
a. Taylor Swift
b. Michel Talagrand
c. Miraj Mathew
d. Lisa Mona
Answer: b. Michel Talagrand
– The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters honored Michel Talagrand.
Talagrand received this award for his outstanding contributions to mathematical physics and statistics, particularly in the field of probability theory.
– Talagrand is affiliated with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, France.
About the award:
– The Abel Prize is a Norwegian award given annually by the King of Norway to one or more exceptional mathematicians.
– It is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829) and was established after the Nobel Prizes.
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