Option (d) is correct.

Explanation:

• According to the Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India remained the world’s largest arms importer for the five-year period between 2018 and 2022 even though its arms imports dropped by 11% between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022.
• The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
• Established in 1966 at Stockholm, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public.

Option (b) is correct.

Explanation:

• CPCB is a statutory organisation which was constituted in September, 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
• It was entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
• It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Option (a) is correct.

Explanation:

• India is home to 9 species of Vulture namely the Oriental white-backed, Long-billed, Slender-billed, Himalayan, Red-headed, Egyptian, Bearded, Cinereous and the Eurasian Griffon.
• Bearded, Long-billed, Slender-billed, Oriental white-backed are protected in the Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Rest are protected under Schedule IV.

Option (d) is correct.

Explanation:

• A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court consists of five or more judges. These benches are not a routine phenomenon.
• Constitution Benches are set up on an ad hoc basis (particular purpose) as and when the need arises.
• A vast majority of cases before the Supreme Court are heard and decided by a bench of two judges (called a Division Bench), and sometimes of three.

Option (c) is correct.

Explanation:

• Cyclone Freddy originated off the northern coast of Australia and became a named storm on February 6, 2022.
• It crossed the entire South Indian Ocean and affected Mauritius and La Réunion, Madagascar and Mozambique.
• Freddy was the first tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere to undergo six separate rounds of rapid intensification.

• It also holds the record for all-time accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) (storm strength during its lifetime) for the Southern Hemisphere.

• Freddy is fuelled by the energy provided by the warm ocean surface, consistently sourcing heat and moisture throughout its lifetime.

Option (a) is correct.

Explanation:

• Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia.
• It is one of the largest religious monuments in the world.
• It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire.
• It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire.
• It was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century.