Option (a) is correct 

Explanation: 

• Recently, the Bihar Chief Minister said that he would launch a movement across the State if the Union government did not grant Bihar special category status(SCS).
• Statement 1 is not correct: SCS is a classification given by the Centre to assist development of states that face geographical and socio-economic disadvantages. (The Constitution does not make a provision for SCS).
• Statement 2 is correct: Indicator for Special Category Status:
  • International border proximity, 
  • Hilly terrain, 
  • Economic disparities.
  • Sizable tribal population and 
  • Infrastructural backwardness.
• Statement 3 is not correct: States with special status receive an increased share of Central funding. The government pays 90 percent of the funds in schemes that the Centre sponsors.

Option (c) is correct 

Explanation: 

• Haryana High Court Friday recently quashed Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 that provided 75 per cent reservation in private sector jobs.
• The court contended that the state did not have legislative competence under Article 35 for enacting the law.
• Article 35 lays down that the power to make laws, to give effect to certain specified fundamental rights, shall vest only in the Parliament and not in the state legislatures. 
• This provision ensures that there is uniformity throughout India with regard to the nature of those fundamental rights and punishment for their infringement.
• In this direction, Article 35 contains the following provisions:
• Only the Parliament shall have (and the legislature of a state shall not have) power to make laws with respect to the following matters:
  • Prescribing residence as a condition for certain employment or appointments in a state or union territory or local authority or other authority (Article 16).
  • Empowering courts other than the Supreme Court and the high courts to issue directions, orders and writs of all kinds for the enforcement of fundamental rights (Article 32).
  • Restricting or abrogating the application of Fundamental Rights to members of armed forces, police forces, etc. (Article 33).
  • Indemnifying any government servant or any other person for any act done during the operation of martial law in any area (Article 34).
• Parliament shall have (and the legislature of a state shall not have) powers to make laws for prescribing punishment for those acts that are declared to be offences under the fundamental rights.  

Option (d) is correct.

Explanation:

The number of measles deaths worldwide increased by 43% from 2021-2022 according to a new assessment by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• Statement 1 is not correct: Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. It spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can cause severe disease, complications, and even death. 
  • Affects: Anyone but is most common in children and infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body. 
  • Symptoms: Include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body.
• Statement 2 is not correct: Safe and cost-effective vaccines are available and measles vaccination averted 56 million deaths between 2000 and 2021. The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps, and rubella.
  • Measles can be avoided with two vaccination doses. However, despite a little rise in vaccination coverage worldwide from 2021 to 2022, 33 million children were still not vaccinated against measles. 
  • India’s Strategy: To eradicate measles by 2023, India has plans to vaccinate 95 per cent of the population with two doses of the measles vaccine under the Intensified Mission Indradhanush.

Option (b) is correct.

Explanation:

Over 59 million hospital admissions have been undertaken at a cost of more than Rs 74,000 crore under the Centre’s flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) since its launch five years ago, according to the National Health Authority (NHA).

• Statement 1 is correct: AB-PMJAY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme having central sector component under Ayushman Bharat Mission anchored in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). 
  • It is an umbrella of two major health initiatives, namely Health and wellness Centres and National  Health Protection Scheme.

Benefits Provided Under AB-PMJAY:

• Statement 2 is not correct: AB-PMJAY provides a defined benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year. This cover will take care of almost all secondary care and most of tertiary care procedures.
• Statement 3 is correct: The beneficiaries can avail benefits in both public and empanelled private facilities. All public hospitals in the States implementing AB-PMJAY, will be deemed empanelled for the Scheme. 
• Other Benefits: 
  • Include pre and post-hospitalisation expenses. 
  • All pre-existing conditions will be covered from day one of the policy. 
  • Beneficiaries will be allowed to take cashless benefits across the country.

Option (b) is correct.

Explanation:

According to the State of the Cryosphere 2023 report, nearly all tropical glaciers, most mid-latitude glaciers and polar regions will disappear even if the world manages to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, above the preindustrial era.

• Statement I is correct: The cryosphere is the name given to Earth’s snow and ice regions and ranges from ice sheets, glaciers, snow and permafrost to sea ice and the polar oceans. 
  • According to the report, a combination of melting polar ice sheets, vanishing glaciers, and thawing permafrost will have rapid, irreversible, and disastrous impacts worldwide.
• Statement II is correct: Permafrost is ground below the Earth’s surface that has been continuously frozen for at least two consecutive years and in most cases, for hundreds or thousands of years. It consists of soil, gravel, and sand, usually bound together by ice. When permafrost thaws, it releases CO2 and methane emissions. This will cause a spike in temperatures even if human emissions reach zero. 
• However, statement-II is not the correct explanation for statement-I.