[Mission 2023] QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 31 August 2022

Solution: c)

Volcanic eruptions emit water vapour and toxic gases into the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, hydrochloric acid and carbon monoxide

Breathing (or respiration, or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and out of the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly by bringing in oxygen and flushing out carbon dioxide.

Photosynthesis takes in the carbon dioxide produced by all breathing organisms and reintroduces oxygen into the atmosphere. Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that can later be released to fuel the organisms’ activities.

Decay of organic matter or putrefaction, process whereby heterotrophic organisms, including some bacteria, fungi, saprophytic plants, and lower animals, utilize the remains of once-living tissue as a source of nutrition. In the decomposition process, different products are released: carbon dioxide (CO₂), energy, water, plant nutrients and re-synthesized organic carbon compounds.

Solution: d)

The Ninth Schedule was added to the Constitution by the First Amendment in 1951.

In IR Coelho versus State of Tamil Nadu, various laws placed in the Ninth Schedule were challenged on the ground that any law violating fundamental rights should be struck down as “unconstitutional” and that the court’s power of judicial review cannot be taken away. A nine-judge constitution bench delivered its verdict on the issue in January 2007.

What did the SC constitution bench say?

The SC upheld the Parliament’s power to place a particular law in the Ninth Schedule. But it said laws placed in the Ninth Schedule are open to judicial scrutiny and that such laws do not enjoy a blanket protection.

Laws placed in the Ninth Schedule after the Kesavananda Bhartai Judgment on April 24, 1973, when it propounded the “basic structure” doctrine, were open to challenge.

It laid down dual test to examine the validity of a law placed in the Ninth Schedule. Whether it violates any fundamental right and if yes whether the violation also damages or destroys the basic structure. If the answer to both the questions is in the affirmative, then only a law placed in the Ninth Schedule can be declared unconstitutional.

Solution:  a)

The profundal zone is a very cold zone, such as an ocean or a lake, located below the range of effective light penetration. This is typically below the thermocline, the vertical zone in the water through which temperature drops rapidly. The lack of light in the profundal zone determines the type of biological community that can live in this region, which is distinctly different from the community in the overlying waters. The profundal zone is part of the aphotic zone.

Solution: a)

The current account deficit is a measurement of a country’s trade where the value of the goods and services it imports exceeds the value of the products it exports. A current account deficit indicates that a country is importing more than it is exporting. A current account deficit is not always detrimental to a nation’s economy—external debt may be used to finance lucrative investments. Both government and private payments are included in the calculation of CAD.

Solution: d)

“Movements in the FCA occur mainly on account of purchases and sales of foreign exchange by the RBI, income arising out of the deployment of the foreign exchange reserves, external aid receipts of the Central Government and the effects of revaluation of the assets,”