UPSC Editorials Quiz : 11 June 2026

Solution: D

• Statement 1 is incorrect because the national Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has actually shown a consistent improvement, dropping down to 24 deaths per 1,000 live births from the previous level of 30 deaths per 1,000 live births recorded in 2019. This marks a positive public health trajectory rather than an increase.
• Statement 2 is correct because the Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) declined to 28 deaths per 1,000 live births from 29 in the preceding year. This value (28) is naturally higher than the corresponding IMR (24), as the under-five metric encompasses all child deaths occurring between birth and age five, including the infant period.
• Statement 3 is correct because institutional delivery coverage has expanded massively across India, with 4% of all live births occurring within institutional frameworks (government or private hospitals), ensuring professional obstetric and neonatal care for mothers and newborns.

Solution: B

• The semiconductor industry has traditionally progressed by following Moore’s Law, which observes that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles roughly every two years, driving down costs and scaling down physical dimensions. However, as physical limits are approached, this traditional scaling faces severe thermal and economic bottlenecks.
• The More-than-Moore strategy represents a paradigm shift. Instead of pursuing the hyper-expensive and unsustainable global race to continuously shrink logic gates (digital scaling), it focuses on functional diversification. This involves integrating diverse non-digital functionalities—such as radio-frequency (RF) components, power management systems, sensors, and specialized wide-bandgap compound materials (e.g., Gallium Nitride)—into integrated circuits or advanced packaging architectures like Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT).
• By adopting this approach, NITI Aayog’s roadmap aims to secure deep manufacturing dominance in mature logic nodes and advanced packaging, building a USD 120–150 billion domestic value chain by 2035 without getting trapped in an imitative catch-up model for sub-2nm fabrication.

Solution: C

• Statement 1 is correct: The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) is designed as a comprehensive, multi-round nationwide survey. Its core strength lies in providing high-quality, district-level indicators across a wide spectrum of parameters, including population dynamics, health, nutrition, and family welfare.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, serves as the designated nodal agency responsible for coordinating and implementing the survey. While the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provides overall guidance and funding, the technical operational execution rests with IIPS, not the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
• Statement 3 is correct: NFHS-6 is India’s premier data-driven framework. The granular information it captures serves as an empirical foundation for evidence-based policymaking and allows ministries to evaluate and monitor achievements against various global commitments, specifically the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Solution: B

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) declares a Heat Wave based on a combination of actual maximum temperature, departure from normal temperature, and in some cases absolute temperature thresholds. The criteria vary for plains, coastal regions, and hilly areas.
• Statement 1 is incorrect. IMD does not require hilly regions to attain a maximum temperature of 40°C for a heat wave declaration. For hilly regions, the minimum temperature threshold is 30°C. Once this threshold is crossed, the heat wave is assessed based on how much the temperature departs from the normal climatological value. Therefore, the statement wrongly applies the plains criterion to hilly areas.
• Statement 2 is correct. In coastal regions, a heat wave may be declared when the maximum temperature reaches at least 37°C, provided the prescribed departure-from-normal conditions are also satisfied. Coastal areas generally experience a moderating influence from the sea, so their threshold is lower than that of the plains.
• Statement 3 is correct. IMD also follows an absolute temperature criterion. In the plains, if the maximum temperature reaches 45°C or more, a heat wave can be declared irrespective of the normal temperature for that station. This provision recognizes that extremely high temperatures themselves pose serious health and environmental risks, even without an unusually large departure from normal conditions.

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Solution: A

• The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect refers to the phenomenon where urban areas experience higher temperatures than their surrounding rural regions due to human activities, built infrastructure, and altered land surfaces.
• Statement 1 is incorrect. The UHI effect is generally more pronounced during the night rather than the day. Urban materials such as concrete, asphalt, and buildings absorb large amounts of heat during the day and release it slowly at night. As a result, urban areas often remain significantly warmer than nearby rural areas during nighttime. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that nighttime temperatures remain identical.
• Statement 2 is correct. Urban surfaces such as dark asphalt roads and concrete structures have a low albedo, meaning they absorb a large proportion of incoming solar radiation instead of reflecting it. The absorbed energy is stored as heat and later released, raising local temperatures and contributing significantly to the Urban Heat Island effect.
• Statement 3 is correct. Urban areas often contain higher concentrations of pollutants and aerosols from vehicles, industries, and energy use. These pollutants can absorb and re-radiate heat, reducing the escape of longwave radiation to the atmosphere. This process enhances heat retention within cities and can intensify the Urban Heat Island effect.
• The UHI effect is further strengthened by reduced vegetation, limited evapotranspiration, waste heat from vehicles and buildings, and dense urban geometry that restricts airflow.

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