Option (a) is correct.

Explanation: 

• Israel declared a state of war after Palestinian terrorist militant organisation Hamas launched an attack on it.
• Some observers have referred to the latest escalation between Israel-Palestine as the beginning of the “Third Intifada”. 
• The First Intifada lasted from 1987 to 1993, and the Second Intifada from 2000-2005.
• Intifada is an Arabic word that means to ‘shake off’. It came into popular usage in December 1987, with Palestinians using it to describe their uprising against the Israeli presence in the West Bank and Gaza.

Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• The Supreme Court outlined that it will hear petitions challenging the electoral bonds scheme on October 31,2023.
• The electoral bonds were introduced with the Finance Bill (2017). 
• An electoral bond is like a promissory note that can be used to donate money anonymously to political parties
• It can be bought digitally or through cheque by any Indian citizen or company incorporated in India from select branches of State Bank of India. 
• Statement 3 is correctThe bonds are similar to bank notes that are payable to the bearer on demand and are free of interest. 
• The bonds will be issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 100,000 and Rs 1 crore.
• Statement 1 is correct: There is no limit on the number of bonds an individual or company can purchase.
• The bonds go for sale in 10-day windows in the beginning of every quarter — in January, April, July and October.
• Statement 2 is not correct:Any party that is registered under section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 and has secured at least one percent of the votes polled in the most recent General elections or Assembly elections is eligible to receive electoral bonds. 
• • The party will be allotted a verified account by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the electoral bond transactions can be made only through this account.

Option (c)

Explanation:

• Reserve Bank of India  extends the prompt corrective action framework to government Non-banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) with effect from October 1, 2024.
• Prompt Corrective Action is a system that the RBI imposes on banks showing signs of financial stress.
• RBI takes into account four factors while invoking the PCA framework which include:
  • profitability, asset quality, capital ratios and debt level.
• PCA Framework:
  • Statement 1 is correct: It  allows the RBI to place certain restrictions such as halting branch expansion and stopping dividend payment. 
  • Statement 2 is correct: It can cap a bank’s lending limit to one entity or sector. 
  • Other corrective actions that can be imposed on banks include special audit, restructuring operations and activation of recovery plans.
  • Banks’ promoters can be asked to bring in new management. 
  • Statement 3 is correct: The RBI can also supersede the bank’s board, under PCA.

Option (d) is correct.

Explanation: 

• India’s 705 Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities – making up 8.6% of the country’s population – live in 26 States and six Union Territories.
• Article 244: Administration of Scheduled and Tribal Areas. 
  • Articles 244(1) provides for the application of Fifth Schedule provisions to Scheduled Areas notified in any State other than the Sixth Schedule states viz. Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. 
  • At present there are 10 States in the 5th Schedule namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana.
• The President of India notifies India’s Scheduled Areas. 
• The Governor can also make regulations for a Scheduled Area and regulate the allotment of land to STs and money-lending to STs.
  • The Governor will then submit a report every year to the President regarding the administration of Scheduled Areas.

Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• Professor Claudia Goldin has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics 2023, for her comprehensive research on women’s contribution to the labour market.
• Her research reveals:
  • the causes of change and the main sources of the remaining gender gap.
  • The participation of married women decreased with the transition from an agrarian to an industrial society in the early nineteenth century, but then began to increase with the growth of the service sector in the early twentieth century. 
  • Female participation in the labour market did not exhibit an upward trend over the entire period, but rather a U-shaped curve which means economic growth ensuing in varied periods did not translate to reducing gender differences in the labour market.
• She has written several books on the women participation in economy, such as Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women (Oxford, 1990), and Career & Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity (Princeton University Press, 2021)