Ans: B

Exp:

The Ministry of Culture implements the “Global Engagement Scheme” to promote India’s rich cultural heritage and enhance India’s image in the global arena in a concerted manner. 

• • Under the Scheme, the Festival of India (FoI) is organized abroad to promote people to people connect and bilateral cultural contacts.
  • Statement 1 is correct: The Global Engagement Scheme aims to promote India’s rich cultural heritage and enhance the country’s image globally.
  • Statement 2 is incorrect:  The scheme is not limited to contemporary art but encompasses a wide range of traditional and folk art forms.

• More about Global Engagement Scheme:

• • Formerly, it was known as the “Scheme for Promotion of International Cultural Relations”.

• It has three key components: 
  • Festival of India (FoI): Organized abroad to promote people-to-people connections and bilateral cultural contacts.
  • Grant-in-aid to Indo-Foreign Friendship Cultural Societies: Supports Indian foreign cultural societies in organizing cultural events.
  • Contribution Grant: Facilitates India’s membership and participation in international organizations like ICROM, UNESCO, and the World Heritage Fund, as well as hosting international meetings.

Ans: A

Exp:

Recently, the chief of the Indian Army launched an online learning platform for the Indian Army nicknamed as “Eklavya”. The platform aligns with the Indian Army’s “Year of Technology Absorption” and the “Decade of Transformation.”

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The platform was developed under the Headquarters Army Training Command with support from Bhaskaracharya National Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N).
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The platform offers both online and offline course options. This platform enables Headquarters Army Training Command to seamlessly integrate any number of training establishments of the Indian Army (not all defence personnel), each capable of hosting an extensive range of courses.
• Statement 3 is correct: The platform allows officers to register for multiple courses simultaneously.

Ans: D

Exp:

Recently, India has been re-elected to the UN Peacebuilding Commission for 2025–2026. India’s current term on the Commission was expiring on December 31.

• The Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) is an intergovernmental advisory body that supports peace efforts in conflict-affected countries and is a key addition to the capacity of the International Community in the broad peace agenda
• Statement 1 is incorrect: The PBC is composed of 31 Member States, elected (not nominated) from the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council. 
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The PBC’s focus is on advising and coordinating post-conflict recovery efforts, not on providing military assistance.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: India is among the largest contributors (not the largest contributor) of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping.
  • Nearly 180 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, the highest number by far from any troop-contributing country.
  • It currently deploys about 6,000 military and police personnel to UN operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East, Somalia, South Sudan, and Western Sahara.

Ans: D

Exp:

A recent Nature study found that moiré materials made from semiconductors can also be superconducting, a property previously thought to be exclusive to graphene.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Moiré materials are formed by stacking two layers of a two-dimensional material and twisting one layer, leading to new electronic behaviors due to the moiré pattern.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The twist between the layers causes the electronic energy bands to flatten, not widen, which reduces the variation in energy among electrons and slows electron movement.

About Graphene Moiré Material: 

• When two layers of graphene are stacked and twisting one layer at a small angle, create a moiré pattern, which changes the electronic behavior of the material.
• In graphene, this twist creates “flat bands” in the material’s electronic structure, where electrons move slowly and can form Cooper pairs. Pairs of electrons that move together without scattering leading to superconductivity, which is the ability of a material to conduct electricity without resistance.
• Energy bands → Way to visualise the energy the electrons possess and how fast they move within the material. “Band structure” refers to the range of energy levels that electrons can occupy
• Flat Bands → Situation where the energy of electrons does not change with their momentum. It means, electrons have the same energy regardless of their movement in the material.

Ans: C

Exp:

In an unusual occurrence, five bar-tailed godwits were spotted by a naturalist at Pulicat lake recently.

• • Statement 1 is correct: The Bar-tailed Godwit holds the world record for the longest non-stop flight, covering 13,500 km from Alaska to Tasmania in just 11 days.
  • Statement 2 is incorrect: The Bar-tailed Godwit is distributed across northern Europe, Asia, Alaska, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, China, and Australia, but not in South America. 
    • Breed in → Arctic Region
    • In India → Wintering bar-tailed godwit species are distributed in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Tripura, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  • Statement 3 is correct: The Bar-tailed Godwit is listed as “Near Threatened” on the IUCN Red List.

• Characteristic Features: 

• • They are quite large waders, with females being bigger than males. 
  • It is mainly mottled brown above and lighter and more uniform buff below.
  • It has dull white underwings and a long, slightly upturned bill.
  • As the name suggests, the white tail is barred with brown.