UPSC Editorials Quiz : 9 June 2026

Solution: B

• Although El Niño generally suppresses southwest monsoon rainfall, its late development and peak between November and January primarily threaten the Rabi (winter-spring) season. During this winter phase, El Niño is known to not only suppress winter precipitation but also lead to warmer and shorter winters in India, directly harming critical winter crops like wheat.
• In contrast, the kharif crop season is often insulated initially due to reservoir water reserves built up during preceding good monsoon years. To mitigate this impact, agricultural experts advocate for a policy shift encouraging farmers to transition to water-efficient crops such as millets, pulses, and oilseeds, which require significantly less irrigation and nitrogenous chemical fertilizers compared to water-intensive rabi crops.

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Solution: B

• The Union Cabinet approved the Mission for Cotton Productivity in April 2026 with an outlay of Rs 5,659 crore, running from 2026-27 to 2030-31. The mission’s primary objective is to address stagnant yields and raise India’s lint productivity from 441 kg per hectare to 755 kg/ha by 2031.
• While India already holds the largest cotton-growing area in the world (11 million hectares), its average yield is low at 441 kg/ha compared to competitors like Australia and China.
• The mission is jointly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of Textiles, not solely by Science and Technology. It does not introduce Bollgard III, as advanced seed innovations have been halted due to price controls that compressed trait fees to zero.

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Solution: B

• LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is an active remote-sensing technology that operates by emitting thousands to millions of laser pulses toward a target surface. The sensor then measures the time of flight taken by each pulse to return after striking an object. Since the speed of light is known, this time measurement is converted into highly accurate distance information, enabling the creation of detailed three-dimensional maps.
• LiDAR has become an important tool in archaeology because laser pulses can penetrate gaps in dense vegetation and generate precise models of the ground surface. This capability has helped researchers discover ancient settlements, roads, terraces, and ceremonial structures hidden beneath forest canopies, including in regions such as Mesoamerica and Southeast Asia.

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Solution: A

• Statement I is correct because the latest demographic indicators reveal that India’s national Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has officially collapsed to 9, which is firmly below the traditional replacement-level fertility of 2.1 needed to sustain a population across generations without migration.
• Statement II is also correct as the data indicates a clear delay in the effective age at marriage for Indian females, which has risen to a national mean of 1 years, exhibiting a distinct rural-urban divergence where the mean age in urban blocks (24.4 years) is higher than in rural sectors (22.6 years).
• Statement II serves as a direct behavioral and demographic explanation for Statement I. An increase in the mean age at effective marriage shortens the total reproductive lifespan or exposure to childbearing years for women within formal unions, directly contributing to a decline in the average number of children born per woman, thereby driving the national TFR down below the replacement threshold.

Solution: D

• Statement 1 is incorrect because, while the power under Article 142 is wide and inherent, it is not entirely absolute or unregulatable. The text of Article 142 itself states that the power is exercisable “subject to the provisions of any law made in this behalf by Parliament.”
• Statement 2 is incorrect because the power to issue orders for “complete justice” is uniquely reserved for the Supreme Court. High Courts possess inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), but these are statutory procedural provisions, which are structurally distinct and far more circumscribed than the overarching constitutional power of Article 142.
• Statement 3 is incorrect because the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that Article 142 cannot be used to built an altogether new system of substantive law or to completely supplant or ignore clear, express provisions of substantive statutory laws passed by the legislature; it is meant to supplement, not subvert, statutory frameworks.