1.Consider the following statements regarding International Solar Alliance
- It is a coalition of solar resource rich countries only lying fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn
- It is an initiativeled by India to promote sustainable energy
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are incorrect?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (a) 1 only
Explanation:
In NEWS:Nicaragua latest country to sign International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement
- Nicaragua has become the latest country to join the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement
- Nicaragua recognises the ISA as a key initiative for promoting sustainable energy
About International Solar Alliance
- It is an initiative led by India to promote sustainable energy. Hence statement 2 is correct
- The ISA is an alliance of 121 countries, most of them being sunshine countries which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn later it is expanded to all. Hence statement 1 is incorrect
- The International Solar Alliance was jointly launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former French President Francois Hollande at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015.
- It is a major global initiative for the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, envisioning rapid deployment of solar energy units.
- The ISA Framework Agreement was opened for signature during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Morocco in November 2016 and the ISA became a treaty-based intergovernmental body in December 2017.
- Its objective is to meet the twin goals of “adaptation” as well as “integration” of energy resources along with climate change.
- Its aim is to address large-scale environmental problems which are associated with conventional sources of energy.
2.Consider the following statements regarding Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
- It is a flagship national programme of the Ministry of Rural Development
- It envisions the transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (b) 2 only
Explanation:
In NEWS:TRIFED signs MoU with IIT Delhi under govt’s ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’
- TRIFED has entered into a partnership with IIT Delhi for the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), a flagship national programme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.
- The UBA connects higher education institutions with villages for the economic and social betterment of rural communities.
- Tribal entrepreneurs under TRIFED’s Van Dhan programme will now be able to get access to the expertise of the entire network of academic and research institutions under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA).
About the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA):
- It is a flagship national programme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India. Hence statement 1 is incorrect
- IIT Delhi is the National Coordinating Institute on behalf of the UBA.
- It envisions the transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India. Hence statement 2 is correct
- The Centre for Rural Development Technology (CRDT) as well as the RuTAG group of IIT Delhi are fully participating in the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan activities.
- It has also identified a few rural clusters for direct intervention and is in the process of networking with various participating institutions and voluntary organizations.
3.The Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) road has often appeared in news, is situated in:
- UT of Ladakh
- UT of Jammu and Kashmir
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Uttarakhand
Answer: (a) UT of Ladakh
Explanation:
In NEWS:
With the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) deploying close to 50,000 troops in Aksai Chin, the Indian Army for the first time has deployed a squadron (12) T-90 missile firing tanks, armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and a full troop brigade (4,000 men) at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) to prevent any Chinese aggression from the Shaksgam-Karakoram pass axis
Daulat Beg Oldie
- India’s last outpost at Daulet Beg Oldi DBO lies at a height of 16,000 feet just south of Karakoram pass and on banks of Chip-Chap river, north of the Galwan-Shyok confluence.Hence option (a) is correct
- DBO has the world’s highest airstrip, originally built during the 1962 war but abandoned until 2008 when the Indian Air Force (IAF) revived it as one of its many Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) along the LAC.
DSDBO Road
- DSDBO is an all-weather 255-km long road built by India over nearly 20 years.
- The DSDBO highway provides the Indian military access to the section of the Tibet-Xinjaing highway that passes through Aksai Chin
- Running almost parallel to the LAC, the DSDBO road, meandering through elevations ranging between 13,000 ft and 16,000 ft, took India’s Border Roads Organisation (BRO) almost two decades to construct.
- Its strategic importance is that it connects Leh to DBO, virtually at the base of the Karakoram Pass that separates China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region from Ladakh.
- DBO itself is less than 10 km west of the LAC at Aksai Chin. A military outpost was created in DBO in reaction to China’s occupation of Aksai Chin.
- It is at present manned by a combination of the Army’s Ladakh Scouts and the paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
4.Consider the following statements regarding Tuting-Tidding Suture Zone (TTSZ)
- It is a major part of the Eastern Himalaya
- It locates where the Himalaya takes a sharp southward bend and connects with the Indo-Burma Range
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Explanation:
In NEWS: Seismicity study of Arunachal Himalaya reveals low to moderate earthquakes at 2 crustal depths
- A study by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, exploring the elastic properties of rocks and seismicity in this easternmost part of India revealed that the area is generating moderate earthquakes at two different depths.
The findings of the study:
- Low magnitude earthquakes are concentrated at 1-15 km depth, and slightly higher than 4.0 magnitude earthquakes are mostly generated from 25-35 km depth.
- The intermediate-depth is devoid of seismicity and coincides with the zone of fluid/partial melts.
Why this study required:
- The exhumation and growth of the Himalayas is a continuous process that results predominantly from reverse faults in which the rocks on the lower surface of a fault plane move under relatively static rocks on the upper surface, a process called underthrusting of the Indian plate beneath its Eurasian counterpart.
- This process keeps modifying the drainage patterns and landforms and is the pivotal reason for causing an immense seismic hazard in the Himalayan mountain belt and adjoining regions.
- This has necessitated assessment and characterization of earthquakes in terms of cause, depth and intensity before construction activities are initiated.
- About the Tuting-Tidding Suture Zone (TTSZ)
- The Tuting-Tidding Suture Zone (TTSZ) is a major part of the Eastern Himalaya, where the Himalaya takes a sharp southward bend and connects with the Indo-Burma Range. Hence statement 1 is correct and statement 2 is correct
- This part of the Arunachal Himalaya has gained significant importance in recent times due to the growing need of constructing roads and hydropower projects, making the need for understanding the pattern of seismicity in this region critical.
Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1641185
5.‘Moho discontinuity’ in the earth’s interior is found between which layers?
1.Between mantle and core.
2.Between upper and lower crust.
3.Between upper mantle and lower mantle.
4.Between crust and upper mantle.
Answer: (d) Between crust and upper mantle
Explanation:
In NEWS: Seismicity study of Arunachal Himalaya reveals low to moderate earthquakes at 2 crustal depths
- The study aims to explore the elastic properties of rocks and seismicity in this easternmost part of India.
- The crustal thickness in this area varies from 46.7 km beneath the Brahmaputra Valley to about 55 km in the higher elevations of Arunachal, with a marginal uplift of the contact that defines the boundary between the crust and the mantle (technically called the Moho discontinuity).
About Seismic discontinuities
- Seismic discontinuities are the regions in the earth where seismic waves behave a lot different compared to the surrounding regions due to a marked change in physical or chemical properties.
- Seismic discontinuities aid in distinguishing divisions of the Earth into the inner core, outer core, lower mantle, upper mantle, and the crust
- Conorad discontinuity it refers to the zone between upper crust and lower crust.
- Mohorivicdiscontinuity also called as moho discontinuity is the zone that separates the Earth s crust from the upper mantle. It can be detected by a sharp increase downward in the speed of earthquake waves there.Hence option (d) is correct
- Repiti discontinuity it refers to the zone between upper mantle and lower mantle.
- Gutenberg discontinuity It refers to the zone separating the lower mantle from the core. It is located at a depth of about 2,900 km.
- Lehmann discontinuity it refers to the zone separating solid inner core from the liquid outer core.
Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1641185
6.Consider the following statements regarding Missile Technology Control Regime
- It is an informal non-treaty association of international governments to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology.
- The weapons under this regime does not include the biological weapons
- It has 35 members and India is not a member of this regime
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 3 only
- 1,2 and 3
Answer: (a) 1 only
Explanation:
In NEWS:US eases export rules on drone sales to allies
- The US relaxed norms to allow American defence companies to sell more drones to allies by changing the decades-old Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an agreement involving 35 countries to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
- Under the new policy, drones that fly at speeds below 800 km per hour are no longer subject to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
About the Missile Technology Control Regime:
- The MTCR is not a treaty and does not impose any legally binding obligations on Partners (members). Rather, it is an informal political understanding among states that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology. Hence statement 1 is correct
- The regime was formed in 1987 by the G-7 industrialized countries.
- There are currently 35 countries that are members (Partners) of the MTCR.India has officially joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) as a full member and became the 35th member of the MTCR in July, 2018.Hence statement 3 is incorrect
- The MTCR was initiated by like-minded countries to address the increasing proliferation of nuclear weapons by addressing the most destabilizing delivery system for such weapons.
- In 1992, the MTCR’s original focus on missiles for nuclear weapons delivery was extended to a focus on the proliferation of missiles for the delivery of all types of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), i.e., nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Such proliferation has been identified as a threat to international peace and security.Hence statement 2 is incorrect
- MTCR urges to restrict their exports of missiles and related technologies capable of carrying a 500-kilogram payload at least 300 kilometres or delivering any type of weapon of mass destruction.
7.Consider the following statements
- Article 174 mentions that the Governor shall from time to time summon and prorogue the House and dissolve the Legislative Assembly.
- Governor has a discretionary power in summoning a session of the Assembly
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (a) 1 only
Explanation:
In NEWS:A Governor’s test: On convening Rajasthan Assembly
- Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra could have sought a floor test in the State Assembly to ensure that the government of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has a majority, as soon as a rebellion in the ruling Congress cast a shadow on it.
- Far from that, Mr. Mishra now appears to be bending over backwards to delay a trust vote. The Governor has cited six reasons for his procrastination in calling an Assembly session. But the Supreme Court has settled that the Governor has no discretionary powers in summoning a session of the Assembly, and he or she is bound to act according to the aid and advice of the CM and the Council of Ministers. Hence statement 2 is incorrect
Nabam Rebia Judgment (Arunachal Pradesh) (2016)
- The five-judge Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court in Nabam Rebia versus Deputy Speaker on July 13, 2016 held that a Governor cannot employ his ‘discretion’, and should strictly abide by the “aid and advice” of the Cabinet to summon the House.
- The judgment is significant in the present deadlock between Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over the summoning of an Assembly session for a floor test.
- The Governor can summon, prorogue and dissolve the House only on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister as the head.
- Article 174 mentions that the Governor shall from time to time summon and prorogue the House and dissolve the Legislative Assembly. Hence statement 1 is correct
- According to article 163, There shall be a council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions except in so far as he is by or under the Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.
8.Consider the following statements regarding ASTHROS Mission
- It is to be launched in December 2023 from Antarctica by the NASA
- It will observe far-infrared light, or light with wavelengths much longer than what is visible to the human eye at an altitude of about 130,000 feet
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Explanation:
In NEWS: ASTHROS Mission: NASA to use football stadium-sized balloon to study Cosmos
- NASA has started work on a new mission to send a telescope, on a football stadium-sized balloon, high into the stratosphere to observe wavelengths of light invisible from the Earth.
- The telescope mission called Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations at Submillimeter-wavelengths (ASTHROS) is likely to be launched in December 2023 from Antarctica.Hence statement 1 is correct
- The mission will try to find answers about formation of giant stars in the galaxy.
- It will spend about three weeks drifting on air currents above the icy southern continent
- Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ASTHROS will observe far-infrared light, or light with wavelengths much longer than what is visible to the human eye at an altitude of about 130,000 feet (40 km) roughly four times higher than commercial airliners fly.Hence statement 2 is correct
- The balloon included a telescope, science instruments, and subsystems such as the cooling and electronic systems.
9.Consider the following statements regarding Polar bears
- They are classified as marine mammals
- It has been listed as a critically endangered species under the IUCN red list of threatened species
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (a) 1 only
Explanation:
In NEWS:Polar bears could become extinct by 2100, says study
- Most polar bears will become extinct by the end of this century if global warming continues, a study published on July 20, 2020
- Polar bears hunt seals on sea ice. But as temperatures rise, hunting opportunities will decline for the animals. If they are unable to hunt and eat, they won’t be able to reproduce as a result.
- If greenhouse gases are emitted at their current rate, only polar bears living in the Queen Elizabeth Islands in Canada’s Arctic Archipelago will remain by the end of the century.
- But even if emissions are curbed, sea ice will continue to melt, leading to a decline in the polar bear population, the study said.
About Polar bears
- Polar bears are restricted to icy Arctic region where temperature falls as low as -50°C.
- Polar bears are classified as marine mammals because they spend most of their lives on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean.Hence statement 1 is correct
- They have a thick layer of body fat and a water-repellant coat that insulates them from the cold air and water.
- Fifty percent of body weight is due to fat and blubber that makes 10 cm thick layer under their blackish skin.
- Polar bears hunt their favourite prey, the seals while they are basking in the sun or through the breathing holes made by them in the ice sheet. They also eat plants and berries and also hunt fish and other animals.
- For more than 30 years the Polar Bear has been listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in the “vulnerable” category (superseded only by Critically Endangered and Endangered categories).Hence statement 2 is incorrect
- The current Polar Bear population is estimated at around 26,000.
10.The staple commodities of export by the English East Indian Company from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century were
- Raw cotton, oil-seeds and opium
- Sugar, salt, zinc and lead
- Copper, silver, gold, spices and tea
- Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium
Answer: (d) Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium
Explanation:
Cotton, raw silk, saltpetre, opium were the major commodities exported from Bengal by the English East India Company.Hence option (d) is correct
