Solution: A

What is the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)?

The AMOC is a system of ocean currents that circulates water within the Atlantic Ocean, bringing warm water north and cold water south.

AMOC stands for Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The AMOC circulates water from north to south and back in a long cycle within the Atlantic Ocean. This circulation brings warmth to various parts of the globe and also carries nutrients necessary to sustain ocean life.

The circulation process begins as warm water near the surface moves toward the poles (such as the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic), where it cools and forms sea ice. As this ice forms, salt is left behind in the ocean water. Due to the large amount of salt in the water, it becomes denser, sinks down, and is carried southwards in the depths below. Eventually, the water gets pulled back up towards the surface and warms up in a process called upwelling, completing the cycle.

The entire circulation cycle of the AMOC, and the global conveyor belt, is quite slow. It takes an estimated 1,000 years for a parcel (any given cubic meter) of water to complete its journey along the belt. Even though the whole process is slow on its own, there is some evidence that the AMOC is slowing down further.

Solution: D

Where does methane come from?

Agriculture is the predominant source.

Livestock emissions – from manure and gastroenteric releases – account for roughly 32 per cent of human-caused methane emissions.

What’s the big deal about methane?

Methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas, exposure to which causes 1 million premature deaths every year. Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 20-year period, it is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.

Methane has accounted for roughly 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times and is proliferating faster than at any other time since record keeping began in the 1980s.

India is currently the world’s third-largest methane emitter.

Solution: C

Just Energy Transition Partnerships aim to bridge the gap between developed and developing nations in moving towards clean energy.

South Africa, Indonesia, and Vietnam are the first three countries to receive funding.

Just Energy Transition Partnerships

Essentially, JETP is a financing mechanism. In a Partnership, wealthier nations fund a coal-dependent developing nation to support the country’s own path to phase-out coal and transition towards clean energy while addressing the social consequences. 

The social aspect is important here. Robust protection and proactive measures are crucial in JETP plans because a significant portion of the population will be affected. Reskilling, upskilling, and creating new jobs are among the ways to ensure a just energy transition for workers and communities.

JETP funding can go through grants, loans, or investments. As of March 2023, the donor pool includes the International Partners Group (IPG) and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) Working Group. The IPG consists of Japan, the USA, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the EU, and the UK. The GFANZ Working Group comprises multilateral and national development banks and finance agencies such as HSBC and Citi Bank.

The first Just Energy Transition Partnership was with South Africa and was announced at COP 26 Glasgow in November 2021.

Solution: C

What is a ‘whip’ in the House?

• In parliamentary parlance, a whip may refer to both a written order to members of a party in the House to abide by a certain direction and to a designated official of the party who is authorized to issue such a direction.
• The term is derived from the old British practice of “whipping in” lawmakers to follow the party line.

In parliamentary parlance, a whip is a written order that party members be present for an important vote, or that they vote only in a particular way. It can also refer to a designated official authorised by a party to issue a whip.

Members of a House are bound by the ‘whip’, and if any section of MLAs within a political party that is part of a ruling coalition says it does not want to go with the alliance, the MLAs will attract disqualification.

Solution: B

The Election Commissioner of India and the Election Commissioners till date were appointed by the Ruling party at the Centre, however, the Supreme Court’s decision taken away the solo decision making right and vests the right to appoint among the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India till the parliament passes a law.

How are CEC and ECs currently appointed?

The Constitution does not lay down a specific legislative process for the appointment of the CEC and ECs. The President makes the appointment on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of ECs and Transaction of Business) Act 1991:

• An amendment to the above act (in 1993) made the CEC and the ECs equal by giving all three the status of an SC judge, retiring at the age of 65 years/after 6 years (whichever is earlier).
• This means, all three Commissioners now had equal decision-making powers, as both would act unanimously and in case of difference of opinion, the majority view would prevail.

  They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

  They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India.

  The CEC can be removed from office except in same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.

  The Constitution has not debarred the retiring Election Commissioners from any further appointment by the Government.

Solution: D

ILO–UNICEF joint report on social protection for children

 Context: Only 26.4 per cent (just 1 in 4 children) of children aged 0-15 years are shielded by social protection, leaving the remaining 73.6 per cent exposed to poverty, exclusion and multidimensional deprivations, noted a new United Nations (UN) report titled – More than a billion reasons: The urgent need to build universal social protection for children. 

Key findings of the report:

• 2.4 billion Children in this world need adequate social protection.
• Nearly 1.77 billion children aged 0-18 years lack access to a child or family cash benefit, a fundamental pillar of a social protection system
• Regional disparities
• One billion children live in multidimensional poverty without access to education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation or water.
• Gender disparity
• Children with disabilities or living in a household with a family member with a disability are more vulnerable to poverty

Solution: D

Clearing Corporation of India Limited

Clearing Corporation of India was first introduced in April 2001. The main objective of this corporation is to provide clearing and settlement for transactions in government securities, foreign exchange and money markets in the economy. The introduction of clearing Corporation came with a lot of benefits like there was a reduction in settlement and operational risk, there were savings on settlement cost. It also introduced various platforms for the electronic execution of deals in various market segments. It is also a trade repository for all over the counter transaction in the forex, Interest rate and credit derivative transaction.

The Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIL) was set up in April, 2001 to provide guaranteed clearing and settlement functions for transactions in Money, G-Secs, Foreign Exchange and Derivative markets. The introduction of guaranteed clearing and settlement led to significant improvement in the market efficiency, transparency, liquidity and risk management/measurement practices in this market along with added benefits like reduced settlement and operational risk, savings on settlement costs, etc. CCIL also provides non-guaranteed settlement for Rupee interest rate derivatives and cross currency transactions through the CLS Bank. CCIL’s adherence to the stringent principles governing its operations as a Financial Market Infrastructure has resulted in its recognition as a Qualified Central Counterparty (QCCP) by the Reserve Bank of India in 2014. It has also set up a Trade Repository to enable financial institutions to report their transactions in OTC derivatives.

Functions of Clearing Corporation of India Limited

1. They act as guarantors in clearing and settlement functions to various parties and they also ensure that transactions occur smoothly.
2. It also acts as an agent to Financial Benchmark India Private Limited. The main role of the FBI is administering government securities.
3. They also ensure all the parties who are involved in the successful completion of transactions follow the due procedures.
4. By ensuring that goods are delivered to the buyer properly it avoids the needs for any post-settlement arbitrations.
5. They also play an active role in settlement of complex transactions at predetermined future price and date.
6. The pivotal functions are improving market efficiency, ensuring transparency, liquidity and risk management.
7. It also helps in trade settlement for wholesale markets entities like banks, insurance companies and mutual funds.

Solution: C

What are salt flats?

• A salt flat is a natural landscape in which a large area of flat land is covered by salt.
• World’s most well-known salt flat is the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia contains more than half of the planet’s lithium reserves.
• A salt flat forms from a natural water body whose recharge rate is lower than the evaporation rate. The underlying soil is highly saline: even if the water table is shallow, the groundwater is too salty for humans to drink.

How are the shapes form?

• The researchers began with the hypothesis that the salt on the surface is influenced by the salt flowing through the soil below. They found that the salt penetrated deeper into the soil exactly below the ridges, and remained shallow under the flat areas.

In salt flats across the world, the salt on the surface forms ridges that join together in a patchwork of pentagons and hexagons. These captivating patterns have been photographed as far apart as Bolivia, Chile, China, India (in the Rann of Kutch), Iran, Tunisia, and the U.S. These shapes are also invariably a metre or two across.

Solution: B

What are Lokpal and Lokayuktas?

The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 mandated for the establishment of Lokpal at the Union level and Lokayukta at the State level. Lokpal and Lokayuktas are statutory bodies and these do not have any constitutional status. These institutions perform the function and role of an “Ombudsman” (an official appointed to investigate individuals’ complaints against a company or organization, especially a public authority). They inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public bodies/organizations and for other related matters.

Origin and History

The story of the Lokpal and the Lokayukta has a long story. Lokpal and Lokayukta is not Indian origin concept. The concept of ombudsman originated in 1809 with the official inauguration of the institution of Ombudsman in Sweden.

In India, the former law minister Ashok Kumar Sen became the first Indian to propose the concept of constitutional Ombudsman in Parliament in the early 1960s. Further, Dr. L. M. Singhvi coined the term Lokpal and Lokayukta.

Lokpal and Lokayukta Amendment Act, 2016

The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act states that all public officials need to furnish their assets and liabilities as well as their respective dependents. The Lokpal also possesses the powers to superintendence over the CBI. It also has the authority to give direction to CBI. If a case is referred to CBI by the Lokpal, then the investigating officer in such a case cannot be transferred without the prior approval of the Lokpal. The powers of a civil court have been vested with the Inquiry Wing of the Lokpal.

Solution: C

About Bio computers:

• Bio computers are computing devices that use biological components such as DNA, proteins, and cells to perform computational tasks. Biocomputers use the properties of biological systems to perform computations, such as molecular recognition, self-assembly, and amplification.
• Researchers coupled the organoids with machine learning by growing the organoids inside flexible structures affixed with multiple electrodes (similar to the ones used to take EEG readings from the brain).
• These structures will be able to record the firing patterns of the neurons and also deliver electrical stimuli, to mimic sensory stimuli. The response pattern of the neurons and their effect on human behaviour or biology will then be analyzed by machine-learning techniques.
• Recently, scientists were able to grow human neurons on top of a microelectrode array that could both record and stimulate these neurons.

Opportunities for ‘bio-computers’

• They could also help decode the pathology of drug development for devastating neurodevelopmental and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and microcephaly.
• Their ability to perform massively parallel computations, operate at the molecular level and potentially be more energy-efficient.

Solution: C

Key highlights of the Economic Survey 2023:

Solution: C

International Seabed Authority:

ISA (HQ: Jamaica, est. 1994) is an intergovernmental body of 167 member states and the European Union established under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and its 1994 Agreement on Implementation

• It comes under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)for monitoring all activities related to mineral resources in the deep sea.
• The international seabed is the area that lies beyond the limits of national jurisdiction and represents around 50% of the total area of the world’s oceans.

Solution: B

Large Exposure Framework (LEF) guidelines of RBI

Context: Reserve Bank of India has dismissed concerns about the “exposure” of Indian banks to the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate.

RBI’s observations:

• The RBI has a Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) database system where the banks report their exposure of ₹5 crores and above which is used for monitoring purposes.
• The banking sector remains resilient and stable: Various parameters relating to capital adequacy, asset quality, liquidity, provision coverage and profitability are healthy.
• Banks are also in compliance with the Large Exposure Framework (LEF) guidelines issued by the RBI

What are the Large Exposure Framework (LEF) guidelines?

LEF are guidelines aimed to monitor and limit losses of a bank from a client or corporation. It is based on the 2014 Basel guidelines.

• An exception to LEF: Banks need not report exposure if the loans are taken from RBI, is guaranteed by the Government of India or have Intra-day interbank exposures or deposits are maintained by NABARD (due to shortfall in target for Priority sector Lending)

Solution: D

To support and expand its green industry, the European Union revealed the “Green Deal Industrial Plan” that aims to cut red tape and provide massive subsidies.

What is the ‘Green Deal Industrial Plan’?

The proposal involves building a simpler regulatory framework, providing faster access to funds, enhancing skills, and improving the EU’s trade network. 

• Simpler regulatory framework: The plan seeks to formulate a “Net-Zero Industry Act”, which will not only simplify rules but also speed up the issuance of permits for green projects, such as renewable energy generation arrays, carbon capture, and renewable hydrogen production facilities.
  • It also includes a “Critical Raw Materials Act”, which will provide access to materials like rare earth that are crucial for developing net-zero
• Providing faster access to funds: According to the proposal, state aid rules will be loosened in order to help the EU’s 27 governments with investing in clean energy projects.
  • There is also a provision for setting up a “European Sovereignty Fund” in the future to “give a structural answer to the investment needs”.
• Enhancing skills: The plan aims to establish “Net-Zero Industry Academies” that will provide up-skilling and re-skilling programmes in strategic industries.
• Improving the trade network: The plan underlines the importance of open trade and seeks to further “develop the EU’s network of Free Trade Agreements and other forms of cooperation with partners to support the green transition.”

Solution: D

‘Victory City’: A brief history of the kingdom of Vijayanagara

 Context: Salman Rushdie released a new novel “Victory City” – a fictionalized story of the Vijayanagara Kingdom.

About Vijaynagara Kingdom: 1336 AD – 1646 AD

• Founded by Harihara I of the Sangama dynasty, Vijayanagara expanded from a strategic position on the banks of the Tungabhadra river with Hampi as its capital.
• The kingdom reached its peak under Krishna Deva Raya (reign 1509-1529), a period in which it enjoyed military superiority to its rival kingdoms such as the Bahmani Sultanate, the Golconda Sultanate, and the Gajapatis of Odisha. 

Economy:

• Largely dependent on agriculture, trade thrived in its many ports on either coast.
• Traveller Abd al-Razzaq Samarqandi chronicled how “the ports of Mangalore, Honavar, Bhatkal, Barkur, Cochin, Cannanore, Machilipatnam, and Dharmadam saw traders from Africa, Arabia, Aden, the Red sea, China and Bengal and also served as shipbuilding centres”.
• The empire’s principal exports were pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, myrobalan, tamarind, timber, anafistula, precious and semi-precious stones, pearls, musk, ambergris, rhubarb, aloe, cotton cloth, and porcelain.
• Coins were minted by the state as well as by merchant guilds using gold, silver, copper, and brass, and their value depended on material weight.

Architecture and Literature:

• Literature in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, as well as Sanskrit, was produced in the kingdom, with new writing styles and methods emerging.
• Vijayanagara architecture is “a vibrant combination and blossoming of the Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya and Chola styles,”
• The Prasanna Virupaksha temple of Bukka I and the Hazara Rama temple of Krishna Deva Raya are striking examples of Vijayanagara’s characteristic style and intricate artistry.

Solution: b)

Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneswar was created in 11th AD. Rock-cut Monuments at Mahabalipuram are 7th century AD creation. At Udayagiri, it is 5th century AD creation.

Rock-cut Elephant at Dhauli was created during Ashoka’s reign (272-231 BC). This is the oldest among the four.

Sources:

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/s/019pho000001003u0330b000.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udayagiri_Caves

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2015/08/27/answer-key-upsc-civil-services-preliminary-exam-2015-general-studies-paper-1/

Solution: c)

Saltpetre (Potassium nitrate) is not used in the production of steel. It is instead used in fertilizers, tree stump removal, rocket propellants and fireworks. It is one of the major constituents of gunpowder (blackpowder) and has been used since the Middle Ages as a food preservative.

India definitely imports coking coal. So, the answer has to be C.
It requires 0.8 tonnes coking coal to produce one tonne of steel. The government had recently imposed a 2.5 per cent duty on coking coal import.

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2015/08/27/answer-key-upsc-civil-services-preliminary-exam-2015-general-studies-paper-1/

Solution: a)

Option C is incorrect because it excludes the fifth and sixth schedule areas from the application of the Panchayati Raj system. This is to ensure that the local tribal practices, customs, religious laws, social and political institutions are not tampered with.

Instead, the act known as PESA, 1996 extends the panchayati raj system to the tribal areas.

Solution: c)

The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the apex body constituted in the Ministry of Environment and Forests under ‘Rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells 1989’, under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

It is the apex body to accord notified under Rules 1989, for approval of activities involving large scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recom¬binants in research and industrial production from the environ¬mental angle.

The GEAC is also responsible for ap¬proval of proposals relating to release of genetically engineered organisms and products into the environment, including experimen¬tal field trials (Biosafety Research Level trial-I and II known as BRL-I and BRL-II).

Source: http://envfor.nic.in/major-initiatives/geac-clearances

Solution: c)

The Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000 at Vientiane at the First MGC Ministerial Meeting. It comprises six member countries, namely India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. They emphasised four areas of cooperation, which are tourism, culture, education, and transportation linkage in order to be solid foundation for future trade and investment cooperation in the region.

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong%E2%80%93Ganga_Cooperation

Solution: A

Alaska current and Agulhas current are warm current.

Solution: B

Debsa Pass is a 5,360-metre-high mountain pass in the Himalaya mountains between the Kullu and Spiti Districts of Himachal Pradesh, India.

Chaukan pass is located in Arunachal Pradesh and it connects with Myanmar.

Goecha – La Pass is located in Sikkim.

Solution: B

The Spratly Islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets and cays and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls,  the archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam.

Named after the 19th-century British whaling captain Richard Spratly who sighted Spratly Island in 1843, the islands contain less than 2 km2 (490 acres) of naturally occurring land area spread over an area of more than 425,000 km2 (164,000 sq mi).

The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman.

It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points

Socotra also called Soqotra, located between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, is the largest of four islands in the Socotra archipelago. The territory is located near major shipping routes and is officially part of Yemen, and had long been a subdivision of the Aden Governorate.

Solution: D

The Gulf of Martaban or the Gulf of Mottama is an arm of the Andaman Sea in the southern part of Myanmar. The gulf is named after the port city of Mottama. The Sittaung, Salween and Yangon rivers empty into it. A characteristic feature of the Gulf of Martaban is that it has a tide-dominated coastline.

The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main connection between the gulf and the Baltic Sea is the Irbe Strait.

Bohai Gulf, Bo Gulf or Pohai Bay, is a marginal sea approximately 78,000 km² in area on the east coast of mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects to the east via the Bohai Strait.

Solution: D

Answer: B

A is wrong because passage is not against closure bit against unwise closure. B is most suitable passage tells not all old plants are inefficient and its not that they can be never made sustainable.

Correct Answer: D) 150cm

Explanation:
l * b = 22/7 * 21 * 21 = 1386
l = 14x, b = 11x
so, 14x * 11x = 1386
solve, we get x = 3
therefore, l = 14*3 = 42, b = 11*3 = 33
perimeter = 2(42+33)

=2(75)

=150

Solution: D) 175%

From the given data, the total population of city E is 15% of 8.5 lakh, of which 70 % is adult population.

Therefore, adult population of city E = (15 /100) * (70/100) * 8.5 lakh =89,250.

From the given data, the total population of city F is 10% of 8.5 lakh, of which 60 % is adult population.

Therefore, adult population of city F = (10 /100) * (60/100) * 8.5 lakh = 51000.

The adult population of City E in relation to adult population of city F is

• (89250/51000) * 100 = 175 %

Hence, option (d) is correct.

Solution: A) 13600

By the given data, adult population of city B = (24/100) * (65/100) * 8.5 lakh

= 1,32,600.

By the given data, total population of city D = (14/100) * 8.5 lakh = 1,19,000.

Therefore, the difference between the total adult population of City B and the total population of City D = 1,32,000 – 1,19, 000 = 13,600.

Hence, option (a) is correct.

Solution: C) 20400

By the given data, adult population of city C = (16/100 ) * (75/100) * 8.5 lakh.

= 1,02,000

It is given that ratio of male to female is 3:2.

Therefore the difference between the adult male population and the adult female population of City C is (1/5) * 1,02,000 = 20,400.

Hence, option (c) is correct.