UPSC Editorials Quiz : 8 June 2026

Solution: A

• A Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) is designed to assess the aggregate environmental effects of multiple existing, proposed, and foreseeable projects within a larger ecological unit such as a river basin, watershed, or mountain ecosystem. It goes beyond the project-specific Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by examining how several interventions together influence biodiversity, river flows, sediment transport, disaster vulnerability, and ecosystem services. Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
• Statement 2 is incorrect because the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) does not impose a blanket ban on infrastructure development in Seismic Zone V, which is India’s highest earthquake-risk zone. Instead, NDMA guidelines emphasize hazard mapping, risk assessment, land-use planning, earthquake-resistant design, adherence to building codes, and disaster-resilient construction practices. Major infrastructure projects can still be undertaken in such regions provided appropriate safety and engineering standards are followed.

Source

Solution: A

• The Teesta River originates in the eastern Himalayas of Sikkim. Its source is generally associated with the Tso Lhamo Lake and the nearby Pahunri (Pauhunri) Glacier system in North Sikkim. Therefore, Statement 1 is correct.
• After flowing through Sikkim, the river enters West Bengal, where it traverses the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri regions before crossing into Bangladesh. Hence, Statement 2 is correct.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. Historically, the Teesta was believed to have been connected to the Ganga system, but at present it does not flow directly into the Ganga as a right-bank tributary. In Bangladesh, the Teesta joins the Brahmaputra system (known locally as the Jamuna River). Thus, it is a tributary of the Brahmaputra, not the Ganga.

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Solution: B

• The process of Environmental Clearance (EC) for major projects in India is governed primarily by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. For sectors such as hydropower projects, highways, transmission lines, and other large infrastructure projects, proposals are appraised by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• The EAC evaluates Environmental Impact Assessment reports, public hearing outcomes, environmental management plans, and project-specific risks before making recommendations regarding the grant or rejection of Environmental Clearance. The final clearance is issued by the MoEFCC or the competent regulatory authority based on the EAC’s appraisal.

Source

Solution: B

• The Sample Registration System (SRS) is a large-scale, continuous, panel household demographic survey, but it is conducted under the administrative control of the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, which falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs, not the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). Therefore, Statement 1 is incorrect.
• Statement 2 is also incorrect because the SRS sampling frame is anchored directly to the Decennial Census data frames (such as the Census 2011 sampling frame for recent reports), rather than being updated dynamically based on the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) rounds, which are independent sample surveys conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS).

Statement 3 is correct as the SRS is recognized as India’s primary macro-source for reliable annual estimates of crucial demographic indicators—including the Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Crude Birth Rate (CBR), Crude Death Rate (CDR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), and Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR)—at both national and sub-national (state and union territory) levels.

Solution: B

• Statement 1 is incorrect because the power to pass any decree or order for achieving “complete justice” is an exclusive, extraordinary, and residuary jurisdiction granted solely to the Supreme Court of India under Article 142. While High Courts possess wide writ jurisdictions under Article 226 to enforce fundamental rights, their authority is structurally circumscribed by statutory and territorial limits, and they do not possess the unique complete justice powers of Article 142.
• Statement 2 is correct because Article 141 mandates that the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India. Consequently, any guidelines or legal frameworks carved out by the Apex Court to deliver complete justice assume the character of binding law.

Statement 3 is correct because the judiciary frequently utilizes Article 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty) as the bedrock of substantive justice. The Supreme Court has expanded its horizons to read various socio-economic rights into it, including the recently articulated fundamental right to safe travel on National Highways.