Ans: A

Exp:

Recently, The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister approved continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme till 2025-26.

• •  Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was launched in 2016, A large-scale crop subsidy insurance scheme that was aimed to safeguard farmers.
  • Statement 1 is incorrect: Farmers have to pay a maximum of 2 per cent of the total premium of the insured amount for kharif crops, 1.5 per cent for rabi food crops and oilseeds as well as 5 per cent for commercial / horticultural crops.
  • Statement 2 is correct: The balance premium is shared by the Union and state governments on a 50:50 basis and on a 90:10 basis in the case of northeastern states.
  • Objectives:
    • To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases.
    • To stabilise the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
    • To encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
    • To ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector.

• Coverage:

• • Risks covered under the scheme: Risk of sowing, planting and germination failure, Risk of standing crop failure, Risk of post-harvest losses, Protection against calamities.
  • Exclusions: Loss or damage to notified insured crops due to war, nuclear risks, malicious damage and other preventable risks is excluded from the scope of coverage.
  • Coverage of Crops: Food crops (Cereals, Millets and Pulses), Oilseeds, Annual Commercial / Annual Horticultural crops.

Ans: B

Exp:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Scientists are deploying two telescopes to detect high-energy neutrinos, also known as ghost particles, under the Mediterranean Sea. 
  • The two telescopes are part of the Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope or KM3NeT. 
• Statement 2 is correct: Neutrinos are tiny particles, very similar to electrons, but without any electric charge. They are one of the fundamental particles the universe is built of, and are the second most abundant subatomic particles after photons. 
  • Neutrinos are so numerous that about a billion of them pass through a cubic centimetre of space every second.
• Statement 3 is correct: Studying high-energy neutrinos can help astrophysicists investigate those space mechanisms and regions like the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy which are shrouded in dust. Dust absorbs and scatters the visible light from objects, making them difficult or impossible to observe with optical telescopes.
• To detect high-energy neutrinos, there is a need for a large volume of optically transparent material in a place where it is extremely dark which helps scientists trace the path of that neutrino, giving them details about its source, the amount of energy it contains, and its origins.

Ans: D

Exp:

• Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) and the Bose Institute, Kolkata have developed an advanced injectable hydrogel for localised cancer treatment.
• Statement 1 is correct: Hydrogels are water-based, three-dimensional polymer networks capable of absorbing and retaining fluids. Their unique structure mimics living tissues, making them suitable for biomedical applications.
• The hydrogel, composed of ultra-short peptides — biocompatible and biodegradable building blocks of proteins — is designed to remain insoluble in biological fluids, ensuring it stays localised at the injection site. 
  • It responds to elevated glutathione (GSH) levels, a molecule abundant in tumour cells.
• Upon encountering high GSH levels, the hydrogel triggers a controlled drug release directly into the tumour, minimising its interaction with healthy tissues and reducing systemic side effects.
• Statement 2 is correct: They serve as a stable reservoir for anti-cancer drugs, releasing it in a controlled manner while sparing healthy cells from harm.
• Statement 3  is correct: The hydrogel remained localised at the tumour site, steadily releasing the drug over time without causing detectable side effects on other organs.

Ans: B

Exp:

In a case that could significantly impact corruption cases lodged before 2018, the Supreme Court is set to decide whether offering a bribe is punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PCA), even if the public official refuses the offer. 

• A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Prashant Kumar Mishra is tentatively set to hear the case on January 21.

• • Pair 1 is Correct: Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, clearly made it a crime to offer a bribe Bribe-giving as an offence.
    • Through this act, Bribe-giving was made an offence with punishment of 7 years except when people are forced to give bribes.
  • Pair 2 is Correct: Section 6 in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 deals with the Unauthorised use of uniforms, falsification of reports, forgery, personation and false documents.
    • If any person for the purpose of gaining admission or of assisting any other person to gain admission to a prohibited place or for any other purpose prejudicial to the safety of the State uses or wears, without lawful authority, any naval, military, air force, police or other official uniform, or any uniform so nearly resembling the same as to be calculated to deceive, or falsely represents himself to be a person who is or has been entitled to use or wear any such uniform.
  • Pair 3 is Incorrect: The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deals with the rules of evidence in courts of law and does not cover offenses related to misleading or interfering with police or military officers. 

• Such offenses are actually covered under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (erstwhile Indian Penal Code, 1860).

Ans: C

Exp:

Recently, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change has amended the rules governing the selection of experts to the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the apex technical body regulating genetically modified (GM) seeds in India.

• Under the new rules, an “expert member” ought to disclose their “interest” that could conflict with their duties. The expert is also expected to take all steps necessary to ensure that any conflict of interest does not affect any decision of the GEAC.

• Statement-1 is correct: The Government has approved the environmental release of Genetically Modified (GM) Mustard hybrid DMH-11 and its parental lines during 147th meeting of Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) on 18 October, 2022 for its seed production and testing as per existing ICAR guidelines, conditions imposed by the GEAC while recommending the environmental release of GM mustard hybrid DMH-11 and its parental lines; and other extant rules/regulations prior to commercial release.
  • The hybrid DMH-11 has been tested against the check varieties Varuna and RL-1359 during Biosafety Research Level Trials (BRL) I and II.

• Statement-2 is incorrect: GM Mustard does not have genes from a soil bacterium that provide pest resistance. This is characteristic of crops like Bt Cotton and Bt Brinjal, which are genetically engineered to express Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) genes, giving them pest resistance by producing proteins toxic to specific insects.
  • GM Mustard (specifically DMH-11) has been modified to increase its hybridization potential and enhance yield. The primary modification involves the use of the barnase and barstar genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, which help control the self-pollination process and enable the production of hybrid seeds. This leads to increased productivity by ensuring higher-quality hybrids.