QUESTION 1

With reference to the Emissions Trading System (ETS), consider the following statements:

1. It is an initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme and International Union for Conservation of Nature to discourage carbon dioxide emissions in the industrial sector.

2. This system does not apply to the aviation sector.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

QUESTION 2

Consider the following statements about the National Quantum Mission of India:

1. It is based on the principles of Quantum mechanics to describe nature at the scale of atoms and elementary particles.

2. The mission will be implemented for the period of 2023 to 2033.

3. The mission will entail the development of satellite-based secure communications.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 2 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

QUESTION 3

With reference to the TeLEOS-2, consider the following statements:

1. It is a dedicated commercial mission through New Space India Limited.

2. It aims to augment Singapore’s e-navigation maritime safety and benefit the global shipping community.

3. It will be used to support the satellite imagery requirements of various agencies within the Government of Singapore.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

QUESTION 4

He was born into an aristocratic family in the 19th century in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. He was a master painter at handling the oil medium and achieved magical ease with European naturalism. He represented the Hindu mythological stories so loved by the Indian imagination, with an illusionistic flair that mirrored the society of his time. His paintings influenced the pioneers of Indian cinema like Dadasaheb Phadke.

The above lines refer to:

(a) Pestonji Bomanji

(b) Jyotirindranath Tagore

(c) Raja Ravi Varma

(d) Mangala Bayi

QUESTION 5

Which of the following statement is not correct about the water bodies census of India?

(a) The Ministry of Jal Shakti has released the report of India’s first water bodies census, a comprehensive database of ponds, tanks, lakes, and reservoirs in the country

(b) Maximum water bodies have been enumerated from the rural areas.

(c) Maharashtra has topped the list having the maximum number of water bodies.

(d) Karnataka has the highest number of lakes

QUESTION 6

Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) were recently in the news. They are defined as:

(a) They are tarnish-resistant and have low rates of corrosion in atmospheric conditions.

(b) They are components of fly ash that are by-products of industrial high-temperature combustion of fuel oil and coal-series fuels.

(c) They are the most common naturally occurring crystalline form of calcium oxide.

(d) They are released during the production of Compressed Natural Gas.

QUESTION 7

With reference to the water metro in India, consider the following statements:

1. It has been implemented in Kochi with the help of German funding agency, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau.

2. It includes only motor-powered boats.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

QUESTION 8

Which of the following States was involved in the border dispute of 123 villages along with Assam?

(a) Meghalaya

(b) West Bengal

(c) Nagaland

(d) Arunachal Pradesh

QUESTION 9

With reference to Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act of 1992, consider the following statements:

1. Before the act, India’s Constitution only mentioned a two-tier form of government and local institutions found a mention only in Directive Principles of State Policy.

2. It said the state government may devolve powers for such bodies to implement schemes for economic development and social justice, authorise a Panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, and tolls and provide for making such grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State – a major move to help fund them.

3. It mandated women’s representation in one-third of the seats.

4. It noted that the State Legislature would constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Panchayats and then recommend to her what their requirements are, how they can be met, etc.

Which of the above statements are correct?

(a) 1, 2 and 3

(b) 1, 2 and 4

(c) 2,3 and 4

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

QUESTION 10

With reference to National Health Account Estimates 2019-20, consider the following statements:

1. There has been a consistent increase in government spending, coupled with increasing out-of-pocket expenditure by people on their healthcare needs.

2. A major chunk of the government’s health spend was in the primary sector.

3. The health account estimates describe the country’s total expenditure on healthcare by the government only and not private sector, NGO or individuals.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 2 only

(b) 3 only

(c) 1 and 2 only

(d) 1 and 3 only

ANSWERS TO MCQs

1. (d)

FYI:

— The Emission Trading System is a cornerstone of the EU’s policy to combat climate change and its key tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions cost-effectively. It is the world’s first major carbon market and remains the biggest one. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

— It is also known as the bloc’s carbon market. The 27 member states in the European Union approved a revamp to the carbon market.

Carbon Market

— Since 2005, European factories and power plants have had to purchase permits to cover their CO2 emissions, with the prices becoming more prohibitive as their usage increases against norms for their sectors.

— The idea is to create financial incentives for keeping emissions in check, and penalties for failing to — and to generate funds for climate-related projects.

— It applies to power-generation industries, energy-intensive industries and the aviation sector. Eventually, it will be expanded to cover greenhouse gases other than CO2, such as methane and nitrogen oxides.  Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— The new rules increase the overall ambition of emissions reductions by 2030 in the sectors covered by the EU ETS to 62% compared to 2005 levels.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

Other Source: (climate.ec.europa.eu)

2. (b)

FYI:

— The Union Cabinet approved the National Quantum Mission (NQM) which will be implemented for the period of 2023 to 2031. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— The mission is worth Rs. 6,003.65 crore and will mainly work towards strengthening India’s research and development in the quantum arena alongside indigenously building quantum-based (physical qubit) computers which are far more powerful to perform the most complex problems in a highly secure manner.

— Quantum Technology is based on the principles of Quantum mechanics to describe nature at the scale of atoms and elementary particles. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— NQM will entail the development of satellite-based secure communications between a ground station and a receiver located at 3,000 km during the first three years.  Hence, statement 3 is correct.

— The mission will focus on developing quantum computers (qubit) with physical qubit capacities ranging between 50 – 1000 qubits developed over the next eight years. Computers up to 50 physical qubits will be developed over three years, 50 – 100 physical qubits in five years and computers up to 1000 physical qubits in eight years.

Under NQM, there will be four broad themes — Quantum Computing, Quantum Communication — Quantum Sensing and Metrology and Quantum Material and Devices. A thematic hub for each will be established at research institutes and R&D centres that are already working in this field of research.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

3. (a)

FYI:

— PSLV-C55/TeLEOS-2 was launched successfully on April 22, 2023, from SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota. This is a dedicated commercial mission through NSIL with TeLEOS-2 as the primary satellite and Lumelite-4 as a co-passenger satellite. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

TeLEOS-2

—The TeLEOS-2 satellite is developed under a partnership between DSTA (representing the Government of Singapore) and ST Engineering.

— It will be used to support the satellite imagery requirements of various agencies within the Government of Singapore. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

— TeLEOS-2 carries a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload. It will be able to provide all-weather day and night coverage, and capable of imaging at 1m full-polarimetric resolution.

LUMILITE-4

— The LUMELITE-4 satellite is co-developed by the Institute for Infocomm Research (I 2 R) of A*STAR and the Satellite Technology and Research Centre (STAR) of the National University of Singapore.

— It is an advanced 12U satellite developed for the technology demonstration of the High-Performance Space-borne VHF Data Exchange System (VDES).

— It aims to augment Singapore’s e-navigation maritime safety and benefit the global shipping community. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

POEM-2

— The mission has the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM), where the spent PS4 stage of the launch vehicle would be utilized as an orbital platform to carry out scientific experiments through non-separating payloads.

— The payloads belong to ISRO/Department of Space, Bellatrix, Dhruva Space, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

Other Source: (http://www.isro.gov.in)

4. (c)

FYI:

— Raja Ravi Varma was born into an aristocratic family in Kerala. Raja Ravi Varma was largely a self-taught artist as European techniques go. 

— He was a master at handling the oil medium and achieved magical ease with European naturalism. 

— He stood at the transitional stage between Indian painting tradition and the emergence of the Salon artist well versed in European academic naturalism he reconciled the aesthetic principles of both in his style.

— He represented the Hindu mythological stories so loved by the Indian imagination, with an illusionistic flair that mirrored the society of his time.

— According to art historians, Raja Ravi Varma’s dramatic history paintings influenced the pioneers of Indian cinema like Dadasaheb Phadke and Baburao Painter.

— Raja Ravi Varma excelled as a portrait painter as well as a painter of various other genres like history painting, painting of female figures and so on.

— This series of ten paintings in oil colors by Ravi Varma, court painter to several presidencies of India, is of much ethnological value; not only do the faces of the high caste ladies which are portrayed give the various types of localities, but the artist’s careful attention to the details of the costume and articles used in the social and ceremonial life he has depicted render the paintings worthy of special commendation.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

Other Source: (ngmaindia.gov.in)

5. (d)

FYI:

— The Ministry of Jal Shakti has released the report of India’s first water bodies census, a comprehensive database of ponds, tanks, lakes, and reservoirs in the country.

— All natural or man-made units bounded on all sides with some or no masonry work used for storing water for irrigation or other purposes (e.g. industrial, pisciculture, domestic/drinking, recreation, religious, groundwater recharge, etc.) will be treated as water bodies in this Census.

— These are usually of various types known by different names like tanks, reservoirs, ponds, etc.

— A structure where water from ice melt, streams, springs, rain or drainage of water from residential or other areas is accumulated or water is stored by diversion from a stream, Nala or river will also be treated as a water body.

— The objective of the Census of Water Bodies is to develop a national database for all water bodies by collecting information on all important aspects of the subject including their size, condition, status of encroachments, use, storage capacity, status of filling up of storage etc.

— As per the report, 24,24,540 water bodies have been enumerated in the country, out of which 97.1 per cent (23,55,055) are in rural areas and only 2.9 per cent (69,485) are in urban areas.

— In 1st census of water bodies, 97,062 water bodies have been enumerated in the State of Maharashtra, out of which 99.3 per cent (96,343) are in rural areas and the remaining 0.7 per cent (719) are in urban areas.

— West Bengal has the highest number of ponds and reservoirs, whereas Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of tanks, and Tamil Nadu has the highest number of lakes.

Therefore, option (d)  is the correct answer.

Source: (pib.gov.in)

6. (b)

FYI:

— Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) are a component of fly ash that has been identified in an Antarctic ice core.

— They have no natural sources, and unlike other combustion-derived components of black carbon are not produced by any other anthropogenic sources.

— They are primarily composed of elemental carbon making them resistant to chemical attack and are morphologically distinct under light and scanning electron microscopy.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

(Source: europepmc.org)

7. (a)

FYI:

— The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Kochi Water Metro — a first-of-its-kind public boat service in India integrated with a metro rail network.

— The Kochi Water Metro is a project being implemented by Kochi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRL) with the assistance of a German funding agency, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— It includes hybrid, battery-powered, air-conditioned, and disabled-friendly boats. The water metro will operate on water bodies like any other ferry or traditional boat service, but with modern facilities, and enhanced safety and security measures. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— Kochi Water Metro has been envisaged as a feeder service of the metro rail, operational since 2017. While boats have been designed as coaches of Kochi Metro, boat terminals, passenger entry and exit gates, ticket counters, and safety measures mirror the features of the metro rail service.

— The water metro boat service will operate in the backwaters of Kochi, connecting 10 nearby islands with the mainland of Kochi, the commercial hub of Kerala.

— The project is envisaged with 38 jetties, and 78 boats, covering a distance of 76 km. Unlike traditional ferries, non-polluting, battery-powered boats are noise-free and produce low waves.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

8. (d)

FYI:

— Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) over the long-standing border dispute between the two states.

—The two states share a roughly 800-kilometer-long border and the disputed areas the MoU deals with are 123 border villages, spanning 12 districts of Arunachal Pradesh and 8 districts of Assam.

— Before North East Frontier Agency or NEFA (former name of what is now Arunachal Pradesh) was carved out of Assam in 1954, a sub-committee headed by then Assam Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi had made a set of recommendations in relation to the administration of NEFA and submitted a report in 1951.

— When Arunachal was made a Union Territory in 1972, it contended that several forested tracts in the plains traditionally belonging to hill tribal chiefs and communities were unilaterally transferred to Assam.

— Assam CM Sarma and Arunachal CM Khandu in their second meeting on April 20, 2022, made some key decisions:

(1) The border issues between both the states would be confined to a list of 123 villages that Arunachal Pradesh had claimed before the Local Commission in 2007.

(2) A boundary line delineated by the high-powered tripartite committee in 1980 would be taken as the notified boundary and all realignment would be done in relation to it.

(3) It was decided that both states would set up 12 regional committees covering the 12 districts of Arunachal Pradesh and the 8 counterpart districts of Assam for joint verification of the 123 villages.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

9 (a)

FYI:

What was the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act of 1992?

— Before the act, India’s Constitution only mentioned a two-tier form of government and local institutions found a mention only in Directive Principles of State Policy – which is not enforceable by courts or bound to be followed, only meant as a guiding document for governments. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— With a lack of focus here, absence of regular elections, insufficient representation of marginalised sections like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women, inadequate devolution of powers (transfer from a higher level of government to the lower levels) and lack of financial resources from the state and the Centre were some issues plaguing village-level governance.

— Several committees were constituted for studying these issues, such as the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee and the Ashok Mehta Committee, which gave important recommendations. In the late 1980s, then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi prioritised the issue and after cross-party support, the measure was finally passed. Being enshrined in law and an amendment to the Constitution meant these provisions could no longer be easily ignored. The 74th Amendment Act, passed in the same year, sought to look at local governance in urban areas and constituting municipal bodies.

What did the Act change?

— As The Indian Express noted in its 2018 editorial on 25 years of the act, “The Panchayati Raj Act not only institutionalised PRIs [Panchayati Raj Institutions] as the mandatory third tier of governance, it transformed the dynamics of rural development by giving a say to a large section of the people — significantly, women — in the administration of their localities.”

— Here are some other key changes it brought:

*It said the state government may devolve powers for such bodies to implement schemes for economic development and social justice, authorise a Panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, and tolls and provide for making such grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State – a major move to help fund them. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

*It mandated women’s representation in one-third of the seats. Women now constitute more than 45 per cent of the nearly three million panchayat and gram sabha representatives in the country, standing in contrast to their representation in the current Lok Sabha, at 14 per cent. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe groups were also mandated to be assigned seats in proportion to their presence in the population. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

*A five-year term was fixed for representatives, with a procedure given for conducting timely elections.

*It also noted that the Governor of a State would constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Panchayats and then recommend to her what their requirements are, how they can be met, etc. Hence, statement 4 is not correct.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

10 (a)

FYI:

— There has been a consistent increase in government spending, coupled with declining out-of-pocket expenditure by people on their healthcare needs, shows the National Health Account Estimates 2019-20, which was released earlier this week. The government spent 1.35% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (total value of the final goods and services in a year indicative of a country’s economy) on healthcare during the year, bouncing back from a slight drop seen in 2018-19 as per the report.

— The health account estimates describe the country’s total expenditure on healthcare – whether by the government, private sector, NGOs, or individuals – and the flow of these funds. It answers questions such as what are the sources of healthcare expenditures, who manages the expenditures, who provides health care services, and which services are utilised. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

What were the main findings of the report?

— There are four main findings of the report:

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