Option (a) is correct.

Explanation: 

The recent attacks by Hamas on Israel and the ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of over a thousand individuals on both sides. Israel’s air defence system, known as Iron Dome system failed to handle the rocket barrage during the surprise attack by Hamas. 

• Pair 1 is correctly matched: The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) is a highly effective, combat-proven air defence against short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats. THAAD is the U.S. system designed to intercept targets outside and inside the atmosphere.
• Pair 2 is correctly matched: The S-400 Triumf, created by Russia, is a mobile surface-to-air missile system (SAM) with the capability to target aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and possesses terminal ballistic missile defence capabilities. It signifies the advancement to the fourth generation of Russian long-range SAMs, succeeding the S-200 and S-300 systems.
• Pair 3 is correctly matched: The Iron Dome is an Israeli defence system that detects an incoming rocket, determines its path, and intercepts it. The system was developed by an Israeli defence technology company. The United States backed the project with a grant. Israel claims that the Iron Dome is 90 percent effective.
• Pair 4 is not correctly matched: Designed to replace the ageing Rapier FSC, the Sky Sabre entered operational capability in 2020 emerging as the premier air defence solution for the United Kingdom. Also known as the Land Ceptor, the air defense system provides short to medium range aircraft and missile defense against saturation attacks. 

Option (b) is correct.

Explanation:

• NASA finds proof of carbon, water from material collected from the asteroid Bennu. 
• Bennu is a small near-Earth asteroid that passes close to Earth every six years. 
• It is a 4.5 billion-year-old relic of our solar system’s early days. 
• According to scientists, Bennu’s current composition was established within 10 million years of the formation of our solar system.
• The material collected from the asteroid acts as a time capsule from the earliest days of our solar system and can help us answer big questions about the origins of life and the nature of asteroids.

Option (d) is correct.

Explanation: India’s retail inflation dropped to 5.02% in September compared to 6.83% in August, according to data from the Ministry of Statistics.

• Statement 1 is not correct: Central Bank (Reserve Bank of India) is an apex bank in an economy which is entrusted with the task to control, regulate and supervise the entire banking operations of all the commercial banks including formulation and implementation of monetary policy in the economy. 
  • RBI acts to control inflation through its monetary policies while the government does that by using fiscal policy instruments like regulating its expenditure through governance, infrastructure development etc,
• Statement 2 is not correct: It is projected that the headline CPI inflation will ease from 6.6 per cent in the September quarter to 5.5 per cent in the December quarter.
  • Headline inflation usually includes commodities like energy (including oil and gas prices), food, and beverages. The food and energy prices make this inflation more volatile and can easily influence it.
  • Core inflation is the change in the costs of goods and services, but it does not include those from the food and energy sectors. 

Option (a) is correct.

Explanation:

The European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite made the recordings of ozone hole. The large ozone hole over Antarctica is one of the biggest on record, roughly three times the size of Brazil.

• Statement I is correct: Most of the ozone depletion happens over Antarctica, in the south polar stratosphere, the conditions become most favourable for ozone destruction. The primary chemicals involved in ozone depletion are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, and carbon tetrachloride.
• Statement II is correct: The size of the ozone hole over Antarctica fluctuates each year, opening each year in August and closing again in November or December. The key factor leading to ozone hole formation is the presence of stratospheric clouds and the lack of atmospheric mixing between the south polar latitudes and air from elsewhere during this period.
• Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I: The ozone hole opens up because of the rotation of the Earth causing special winds over the closed landmass of Antarctica. The winds create a mini climate, creating a shield over Antarctica preventing it from mixing with surrounding air. When the winds die down, the hole closes,

Option (c) is correct.

Explanation: 

Recently, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023 was released with India ranking 111 out of a total of 125 countries, with its progress against hunger nearly halted since 2015.

• Statement 1 is correct: The Global Hunger Report 2023 is released by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, Non-Government Organisations from Ireland and Germany respectively. 
  • The index suffers from methodological issues as three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to the health of children and cannot be representative of the entire population.
• Statement 2 is correct: Each country’s GHI score is calculated based on a formula that combines four indicators that together capture the multidimensional nature of hunger:
  • Undernourishment: The share of the population whose caloric intake is insufficient.
  • Child Stunting: The share of children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition.
  • Child Wasting: The share of children under the age of five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition.
  • Child Mortality: The share of children who die before their fifth birthday, reflecting in part the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments.