Solution: D

• Adivasi Grants Management System (ADIGRAMS) Portal will provide a central database for Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the State Tribal Development/ Welfare Department to access, interact and analyse up-to-date scheme wise Physical and financial information and progress.

ADIVASI GRANTS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (ADIGRAMS)

ADIVASI GRANTS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (ADIGRAMS) Portal will provide a central database for Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the State Tribal Development/ Welfare Department to access, interact and analyse up-to-date scheme wise Physical and financial information and progress. The portal will enable the officials/stakeholders at Central, State, District, Block and village level to access, monitor and measure performance in a real-time basis and take decisions accordingly. The portal will also completely digitize the process of proposal submission and approval under various scheme of MoTA.

This portal covers the following schemes of MoTA:

• Grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution of India
• Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Tribal Sub-Scheme (TSS)
• Scheme for development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

Solution: D

The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) aims to showcase the unique capabilities of optical communications. Currently, most NASA missions use radio frequency communications to send data to and from spacecraft. Radio waves have been used in space communications since the beginning of space exploration and have a proven track record of success. However, as space missions generate and collect more data, the need for enhanced communications capabilities becomes paramount.

Optical communications is one of these enhancements and will provide significant benefits for missions, including bandwidth increases of 10 to 100 times more than radio frequency systems. Additionally, optical communications provides decreased size, weight, and power requirements. A smaller size means more room for science instruments. Less weight means a less expensive launch. Less power means less drain on the spacecraft’s batteries. With optical communications supplementing radio, missions will have unparalleled communications capabilities.

Unlike radio frequency communications, optical signals cannot penetrate cloud coverage, so NASA must build a system flexible enough to avoid interruptions due to weather. LCRD will transmit data received from missions to two ground stations, located in Table Mountain, California, and Haleakalā, Hawaii. These locations were chosen for their minimal cloud coverage. LCRD will test different cloud coverage scenarios, gathering valuable information about the flexibility of optical communications.

Solution: B

History of sedition

In the original act of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, sedition was not present as an offence. It was the amendment of the year 1870 that introduced sedition to the Indian Penal Code. Sedition was a gag on the voices of freedom and independence in India. It was a weapon of law against Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru, and many others.

What are the origins of the sedition law?

Although Thomas Macaulay, who drafted the Indian Penal Code, had included the law on sedition, it was not added in the code enacted in 1860. Legal experts believe this omission was accidental. In 1890, sedition was included as an offence under section 124A IPC through the Special Act XVII.

The punishment prescribed then, transportation “beyond the seas for the term of his or her natural life”, was amended to life imprisonment in 1955.

The provision was extensively used to curb political dissent during the Independence movement. Several pre-independence cases involving Section 124A of the IPC are against celebrated freedom fighters, including Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, Shaukat and Mohammad Ali, Maulana Azad and Mahatma Gandhi. It is during this time that the most notable trial on sedition — Queen Empress v. Bal Gangadhar Tilak — took place in 1898.

Courts largely followed a literal interpretation of the provision holding that “… the disapprobation must be ‘compatible’ with a disposition to render obedience to the lawful authority of the Government and to support the lawful authority of the Government against unlawful attempts to subvert or resist that authority.”

Solution: B

Global Security Initiative is an initiative proposed by China. It was first proposed by Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping during the annual Boao Forum on 21 April 2022. Officially, the initiative is meant to “uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the building of national security on the basis of insecurity in other countries.” Critics have described the GSI as a way of increasing China’s global influence.

China issued a further statement of the initiative, outlining principles, priorities and platforms, in a concept paper on 21 February 2023.

Solution: A

What’s the origin of AFSPA?

The Act came into force in the context of increasing violence in the Northeastern States decades ago, which the State governments found difficult to control. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament and it was approved by the President on September 11, 1958. It became known as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) received the sanction of the Parliament on 11th September 1958. Item 2A of List I to the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution empowers the Union to deploy the armed forces for aiding the State’s civil powers.

General overview of the AFSPA Act

The Act provides special powers to the armed forces to maintain law and order in disturbed areas. The armed forces are conferred with wide powers under Sections 4 and 5. It includes the power of arrest, carrying out search and seizure operations, destroying camps used for attacks or shelters used for training by armed rebels. The armed forces are empowered to use force to the extent of causing death. The Act also vests legal immunity on the members of the armed forces acting or purporting to act under this Act. The provisions of the Act appear to coexist with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure as the provisions of the Code are followed in carrying out search and seizure and other operations under the Act.

This Act is generally invoked to counter insurgency groups that challenge the integrity of the nation. The government states that this Act is essential to enable the armed forces to effectively tackle the insurgent groups. On the other hand, critics accuse the Act of conferring absolute powers on the forces.

Section 5 of the Act provides a safeguard to the person arrested under the AFSPA. It provides that a person arrested under the Act needs to be taken over, at the earliest, to the nearest police station. Furthermore, a report of the circumstances of the arrest must also be made over to the police station. 

Solution: C

What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis refers to an inflammatory condition of the liver. It is commonly the result of a viral infection, but there are other possible causes of hepatitis.

These include autoimmune hepatitis and hepatitis that occurs as a secondary result of medications, drugs, toxins, and alcohol. Autoimmune hepatitis is a disease that occurs when your body makes antibodies against your liver tissue.

The five main viral classifications of hepatitis are hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. A different virus is responsible for each type of viral hepatitis.

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is the result of an infection with the hepatitis A virus (HAV). This type of hepatitis is an acute, short-term disease.

Hepatitis B

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes hepatitis B. This is often an ongoing, chronic condition.

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C comes from the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Hepatitis C is spread when blood from a person infected with the hepatitis C virus – even in microscopic amounts – enters the body of someone who is not infected.

Hepatitis D

This is a rare form of hepatitis that only occurs in conjunction with hepatitis B infection. The hepatitis D virus (HDV) causes liver inflammation like other strains, but a person cannot contract HDV without an existing hepatitis B infection.

Solution: D

What Is the International Finance Corporation (IFC)?

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) provides financing of private-enterprise investment in developing countries around the world, through both loans and direct investments. Affiliated with the World Bank, it also provides advisory services to encourage the development of private enterprise in nations that might be lacking the necessary infrastructure or liquidity for businesses to secure financing.

Key Takeaways

• A member of the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) provides financing for private enterprise investments in developing countries.
• The IFC says its focus is eliminating poverty through economic development, but critics claim it is more focused on profits than people.

How the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Works

The IFC was established in 1956 as a member of the World Bank Group, focused on investing in economic development. It claims to be the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. The IFC says it also seeks to ensure that private enterprises in developing nations have access to markets and financing.1

The IFC’s most recent stated goals include the development of sustainable agriculture, expanding small businesses’ access to microfinance, supporting infrastructure improvements, as well as promoting climate, health, and education policies. The IFC is governed by its 184 member countries and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

IFC Global Financing

To raise money, the IFC issues bonds in markets around the world.

Solution: B

Inactivated vaccines

Inactivated vaccines use the killed version of the germ that causes a disease.

Inactivated vaccines usually don’t provide immunity (protection) that’s as strong as live vaccines. So you may need several doses over time (booster shots) in order to get ongoing immunity against diseases.

Live-attenuated vaccines

Live vaccines use a weakened (or attenuated) form of the germ that causes a disease.

Because these vaccines are so similar to the natural infection that they help prevent, they create a strong and long-lasting immune response. Just 1 or 2 doses of most live vaccines can give you a lifetime of protection against a germ and the disease it causes.

Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines

Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines use specific pieces of the germ—like its protein, sugar, or capsid (a casing around the germ).

Because these vaccines use only specific pieces of the germ, they give a very strong immune response that’s targeted to key parts of the germ. They can also be used on almost everyone who needs them, including people with weakened immune systems and long-term health problems.

Toxoid vaccines

Toxoid vaccines use a toxin (harmful product) made by the germ that causes a disease. They create immunity to the parts of the germ that cause a disease instead of the germ itself. That means the immune response is targeted to the toxin instead of the whole germ.

Viral vector vaccines

For decades, scientists studied viral vector vaccines. Some vaccines recently used for Ebola outbreaks have used viral vector technology, and a number of studies have focused on viral vector vaccines against other infectious diseases such as Zika, flu, and HIV. Scientists used this technology to make COVID-19 vaccines as well.

Viral vector vaccines use a modified version of a different virus as a vector to deliver protection. Several different viruses have been used as vectors, including influenza, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), measles virus, and adenovirus, which causes the common cold. Adenovirus is one of the viral vectors used in some COVID-19 vaccines being studied in clinical trials.

Solution: B

Kuril Islands:

Japan’s Diplomatic Bluebook for 2022 has described the Kuril Islands (which Japan calls the Northern Territories and Russia as the South Kurils) as being under Russia’s “illegal occupation”.

• This is the first time in about two decades that Japan has used this phrase to describe the dispute over the Kuril Islands.

Kuril Islands/ Northern Territories:

• These are a set of four islands situated between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean near the north of Japan’s northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido.
• Both Moscow and Tokyo claim sovereignty over them though the islands have been under Russian control since the end of World War II.

Solution: B

An invasive species is an organism that is not indigenous, or native, to a particular area. Invasive species can cause great economic and environmental harm to the new area.

Not all non-native species are invasive. For example, most of the food crops grown in the United States, including popular varieties of wheat, tomatoes, and rice, are not native to the region.

To be invasive, a species must adapt to the new area easily. It must reproduce quickly. It must harm property, the economy, or the native plants and animals of the region.

Many invasive species are introduced into a new region accidentally.

Invasive Species and the Local Environment

• Many invasive species thrive because they outcompete native species for food.
• Invasive species sometimes thrive because there are no predators that hunt them in the new location.
• Many invasive species destroy habitat, the places where other plants and animals naturally live.
• Some invasive species do great harm to the economy. Water hyacinth is a plant native to South America that has become an invasive species in many parts of the world.

Solution: A

• India has established Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs)/Too-Big-To-Fail banks to protect itself from 2008/SVB-like episodes.

What are D-SIBs?

• A bank that might substantially disrupt the financial system (because of its size, lack of substitutability, and interconnectedness) in the event of its failure.
• In 2010, the Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board (FSB) recommended that all member countries should put in place a framework to reduce risks attributable to Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs) in their jurisdictions.
• The D-SIB framework was announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2014.
• RBI has classified SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as D-SIBs.
• These banks have to earmark additional capital and provisions to safeguard their operations.
• This avoids moral hazard due to the perception that government support at times of distress encourages risk-taking, reduces market discipline, etc.

Solution: A

WTO’s Appellate Body:

• The Appellate Body, set up in 1995, is a standing committee of seven members that presides over appeals against judgments passed in trade-related disputes brought by WTO members.
• Countries involved in a dispute over measures purported to break a WTO agreement or obligation can approach the Appellate Body if they feel the report of the panel set up to examine the issue needs to be reviewed on points of law.
• However, existing evidence is not re-examined but legal interpretations are reviewed.
• The Appellate Body can uphold, modify, or reverse the legal findings of the panel that heard the dispute. Countries on either or both sides of the dispute can appeal.

The Appellate Body

Appeals are handled by the permanent seven-member Appellate Body which is set up by the Dispute Settlement Body and broadly represents the range of WTO membership.

Solution: B

Solution: D

Upanishads

They are philosophical texts dealing with topics like the Universal Soul, the Absolute, the individual self, the origin of the world, the mysteries of nature, and so on. They mark the culmination of Indian thought in the Vedic period. They criticise the rituals and lay stress on the value of right belief and knowledge. Of the several Upanishads, only 12 are very important. They are: (1) Aitareya, (2) Kausitaki, (3) Chandogya, (4) Kena, (5) Taittiriya, (6) Katha, (7) Svetasvatara, (8) Brihadaranyaka, (9) Isa, (10) Mundaka, (11) Prasna and (12) Mandukya. (1 and 2 belong to the Rig Veda, 3 and 4 to the Sama Veda, 5 to 9 to the Yajur Veda and finally 10 to 12 to the Atharva Veda.)

According to the Upanishads, there are two kinds of knowledge: the higher and the lower. The higher knowledge helps us to know the imperishable Brahman, while the lower can be gathered from the four Vedas as well as the six Vedangas (Limbs of Vedas). The Mundaka Upanishad is chiefly notable for the clear distinction it makes between the higher knowledge of the supreme Brahman and the lower knowledge of the empirical world.

Solution: D

Mesopotamian texts mention contact with regions named Dilmun (probably the island of Bahrain), Magan and Meluhha, possibly the Harappan region. They mention the products from Meluhha: carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold, and varieties of wood. A Mesopotamian myth says of Meluhha: “May your bird be the haja-bird, may its call be heard in the royal palace.” Some archaeologists think the haja-bird was the peacock. Did it get this name from its call? It is likely that communication with Oman, Bahrain or Mesopotamia was by sea. Mesopotamian texts refer to Meluhha as a land of seafarers. Besides, we find depictions of ships and boats on seals.

Solution: A

Buddhist Sangha

The Buddha had two kinds of disciples–monks (bhikshus) and lay worshippers (upasikas), the former were organised into the Sangha or congregation, the number of which swelled with the spread of Buddhism. The membership of the Sangha or the Religious Order was open to all persons, male or female, above fifteen years of age, and who were free from leprosy, consumption and other infectious diseases. Persons who were in the service of the king or an individual, or who were in debt or had been branded as robbers or criminals were refused admission into the Sangha. But exceptions were made in the case of convicts, slaves or persons with bodily deformities.

There were no caste restrictions, on membership. Monasteries were constructed to give suitable accommodation to the monks and the nuns for carrying on their studies and meditation. Gradually, monasteries developed into academic centres for producing the right type of men, well-grounded in religion and philosophy, to propagate the teachings of Buddhism.

Solution: A

Sthaviravadins The earliest and, at the same time, a vivid and simple picture of the personality of the Buddha and his teachings is found in the Pali literature of the Theravadins or Sthaviravadins, founded by Mahakachchayana who hailed from Avanti. This literature also describes Buddha as god of gods (devatideva), or as a superhuman being possessing and exhibiting miraculous powers and capable of being a world-teacher; but the more common description in it is that of a human being with concomitant disabilities and frailties. The Buddha’s philosophy, too, was very simple, and it may be summed up in three words: anatman, anitya, and duhkha.

Mahasanghikas: They believed in the transcendent nature of the Buddhas and therefore all sorts of superhuman powers were attributed to them. Greater importance was attached to the Bodhisattvas than to the Arhats, as they were considered to possess paranormal powers and to have been more helpful to the world than the latter.

According to the Kathavatthu, this school believed that the Arhats are subject to retrogression, while the Srotapannas are not. The mahasanghika philosophy is opposed to the fundamental three-fold division of the dharmas, into good, evil, and indeterminate (avyakrita), made by the Sthaviravadins. Instead, there are nine asamskrita dharmas. The dharmas in the past and the future do not exist. There is no antarabhava, an intermediate existence between death in this world and birth in the next.

Solution: D

Edicts of Asoka

The inscriptions of Asoka were first deciphered by James Princep in 1837. They are written in Pali language and in some places Prakrit was used. The Brahmi script was employed for writing.

In the northwestern India Asokan inscriptions were found in Karoshti script. There are fourteen Major Rock Edicts. The two Kalinga Edicts are found in the newly conquered territory. The major pillar Edicts were erected in important cities. There are minor Rock Edicts and minor pillar Edicts. These Edicts of Asoka deal with Asoka’s Dhamma and also instructions given to his officials. The XIII Rock Edict gives details about his war with Kalinga. The Pillar Edict VII gives a summary of his efforts to promote the Dhamma within his kingdom. Thus the Asokan inscriptions remain valuable sources for the study of Asoka and the Mauryan Empire.

Solution: A

Sakas

The Sakas or the Scythians attacked Bactria and Parthia and captured them from the Greek rulers. Following the footsteps of the Greeks, the Sakas gradually extended their rule over northwestern India. There were two different groups of Sakas – the Northern Satraps ruling from Taxila and the Western satraps ruling over Maharashtra.

The founder the Saka rule in India in the first century B.C. was Maues. His son and successor was Azes I, who was considered to be the founder of the Vikrama era.

Kanishka (78 – 120 A.D.)

Kanishka was the most important ruler of the Kushana dynasty. He was the founder of the Saka era which starts from 78 A.D.

Solution: C

Social Life during Gupta period

The pre-Gupta period in India witnessed a series of foreign invasions. Indian society had given way to those foreigners who had become permanent residents here. But during the Gupta period, the caste system became rigid. The Brahmins occupied the top ladder of the society. They were given enormous gifts by the rulers as well as other wealthy people. The practice of untouchability had slowly begun during this period. Fahien mentions that Chandalas were segregated from the society. Their miserable condition was elaborated by the Chinese traveler.

The position of women had also become miserable during the Gupta period. They were prohibited from studying the religious texts like the Puranas. The subjection of women to men was thoroughly regularized. But it was insisted that they should be protected and generously treated by men. The practice of Swyamvara was given up and the Manusmriti suggested the early marriage for girls.

The great Jain Council was held at Valabhi during this period and the Jain Canon of the Swetambras was written.

Solution: A

Indus civilisation

• Indus civilisation belongs to the bronze age.
  • Hence, it is older but surprisingly more developed than the Chalcolithic cultures in the subcontinent.
• It was the largest cultural zone of the period—the area covered by it (nearly half a million square miles or about 1.3 million sq. km.) being much greater than that of either the Mesopotamian or the Egyptian civilisation.
• The first estimate of the duration of the occupation at Mohenjodaro was made by Sir John Marshall in 1931.
  • His estimate, based upon general concordances with Mesopotamia, was from 3250 to 2750 BC.

• Mohenjodaro (Sind) is situated on the right bank of the Indus. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• Harappa (Punjab, Pakistan) is located on the left bank of the Ravi.

Solution: B

Kosala

This kingdom, by and large, corresponded to modem Oudh and its capital was Ayodhya. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.

• Its other prominent towns were Saketa and Sravasti.
• King Prasenjit of Kosala was Buddha’s contemporary.
  • He was highly educated and received education in Taxila.
  • Prasenjit further elevated his status and position by a matrimonial alliance with Magadha.
  • Though Prasenjit did not embrace Buddhism, he was a great admirer of the Buddha and his gospels.
  • One of the Bharhut sculptures highlights cordiality between Prasenjit and the Buddha. After Prasenjit, his son Vidudabha succeeded him. Kosala finally became a part of the Magadhan kingdom.

Solution: C

Buddha’s Teachings

• Nirvana literally means ‘blowing out’ or extinction of desire (trishna) for existence in all its forms and the consequent cessation of suffering.
  • It is not a mere disappearance or extinction, but a tranquil state to be realised by a person who ‘from all craving or want is free’. It is deliverance or freedom from rebirth.
• Another doctrine on which Buddha laid great emphasis is the law of karma, its working and the transmigration of soul. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
  • The condition of man in this life and the next, he argued, depends upon his own deeds.
  • We are born again and again to reap the fruits of our karma. This is the law of karma.
• The Buddha may be called an agnostic, because he neither accepts nor rejects the existence of god.

He refused to be drawn into any theoretical discussion about god or nature of the soul.

Solution: D

HATHIGUMPHA INSCRIPTION

• Kalinga at the time of Kharavela included the districts of Puri and Cuttack and possibly a portion of the Visakhapatnam district, besides Ganjam.
• The Hathigumpha inscription in the Udayagiri hill, three miles from Bhuvanesvar in the Puri district, describes the achievements of Kharavela, a descendent of the Mahameghavahana, the latter being the founder of the royal house of Cheti or Chedi.
• It is difficult to unravel the exact relationship between Kharavela and Mahameghavahana nor is it possible to determine the number of kings intervening between them.
• The Hathigumpha inscription, being undated and badly mutilated has been the source of much speculation.
  • The inscription of 17 lines of which only four are legible records the first 13 years of the reign of Kharavela.

Solution: A

Chola Administration

• The most striking feature of the administrative system of the Cholas was their autonomous village and town administration, there being no significant difference between the central and provincial administration of the Cholas and that of any other dynasty of early medieval India.
  • But the administration of Cholas was more centralized than that of the Rashtrakutas or the Chalukyas.

Military Administration

• The soldiers of the Cholas generally consisted of two types—
  • the kaikkolar who were royal troops receiving regular pay from the treasury; and
  • the nattuppadai who were the militia men employed only for local defence. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

Temple Architecture

• The best example is, however, the Siva (or the Brihadeesvara or the Rajarajesvara) temple, built in 1009 by Rajaraja I, at Tanjore. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• The temple of Gangaikonda Cholapuram (also dedicated to Siva or Brihadesvara), the creation of Rajendra I, was meant to excel its predecessor in every conceivable way.

Ans. C.

The focus of the passage is on recognising the physical destruction of undersea cables, which does not come under the traditional way of cyber warfare. Hence C is the focus area.

Ans. B.

The passage talks about the heterogeneity of development experience of several countries. The second paragraph explains the two theories of development which doesn’t explain the experience of these countries. Hence B

Answer: (a)

Justification:

Correct Option: D

From the statement I : we can conclude, the radius of the circle = 14 cm therefore the diameter of the circle = 28 cm.

From the statement II : we can conclude that the largest side of the triangle = 28 cm and it is circumscribed by a circle therefore it will be a right – angled triangle because diameter make 90 degree at any point on the circumference.

From the statement III : we can conclude that it is an isosceles triangle.

If we combine all the statements then we can conclude that we need to find the perimeter of an isosceles right – angle triangle the hypotenuse of which is 28 cm (the diameter of the circle).

By the Pythagorean theorem, we can get our unique answer.

Hence, option D is correct.

Correct Option: A

From the question, the length of train A = 150 meters and let the speed = x m/sec

And the length of train B = 175 meters and the speed = y m per sec

From the statement I, distance = speed × time

325 = (x + y) × 5

x + y = 65 —— (i)

From the statement II, x – y = 5 ——- (ii)

If we combine the statement I , and II and solve the equation then we can get our answer.

From the statement III, x + y = 65 ——- (iii)

If we combine statement II, and III then we can get our answer.

Hence, option A is correct.