Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• The International Monetary Fund has raised its forecast for global growth this year in the July update of its World Economic Outlook.
• It is an international financial institution established in 1944 to promote global economic stability and cooperation. 
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C. 
• It ensures the stability of the international monetary system and facilitates international trade. 
• 190 member countries, each of which contributes funds to the IMF based on its economic size and needs. 
• Statement 1 is Correct: Key Publications:
  • World Economic Outlook (WEO)
  • Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR)
• Statement 2 is Correct:The IMF’s decision-making power is determined by the size of a country’s financial contribution, with larger economies having more influence. 
• Statement 3 is not Correct: India is a founder member of the IMF.

Option (d) is correct

Explanation

• Recently, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a series of petitions seeking to criminalise marital rape.
• Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one’s spouse without their consent. 
• According to Amnesty International data, 77 out of 185 (42%) countries criminalise marital rape through legislation. 
• Ten countries namely Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lesotho, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Tanzania expressly allow marital rape of a woman or a girl by her husband.
• The first country to criminalise marital rape was the Soviet Union (1922) and the UK (1991) and the US (1993).

Option (c) is correct

Explanation:

• The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has initiated discussions on the potential imposition of countervailing duty (CVD) on stainless steel.
• Statement 1 is Correct: Countervailing duties  are tariffs levied on imported goods to offset subsidies made to producers of these goods in the exporting country.
  • CVDs are meant to level the playing field between domestic producers of a product and foreign producers of the same product who can afford to sell it at a lower price because of the subsidy they receive from their government.
• Statement 2 is Correct:The World Trade Organization (WTO) permits the imposition of countervailing duty by its member countries.
• CVD is imposed as an additional duty besides customs on imported products when such products are given tax concession in the country of their origin.
• CVDs are meant to level the playing field between domestic producers of a product and foreign producers of the same product who can afford to sell it at a lower price because of the subsidy they receive from their government.

Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was passed by the Lok Sabha.
• The Bill allows state co-operative societies to merge into an existing multi-state co-operative society, subject to the respective state laws.
• Multi-State cooperatives are societies that have operations in more than one state- for instance, a farmer-producers organisation which procures grains from farmers from multiple States. 
• The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 added a new Part IXB regarding the cooperatives working in India.
• The word “cooperatives” was added after “unions and associations” in Article 19(1)(c) under Part III of the Constitution.

Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

• Seagrasses are marine flowering plants that are found in shallow waters in many parts of the world, from the tropics to the Arctic circle.
• Statement 2 is Correct: Seagrasses occur all along the coastal areas of India. They are abundant in the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu.
• Statement 1 is Correct:They are found on all continents except Antarctica.
• Like terrestrial plants, seagrass also photosynthesise and manufacture their own food and release oxygen.
• Seagrasses reproduce through both sexual and asexual methods. The pollen from the flower of the male plant is transferred to the ovary of the female flower through the sexual reproduction method.

Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, Niger soldiers claimed to have overthrown the President in a coup.
• Niger is West Africa’s largest country. It is a landlocked nation located in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres of the Earth. 
• Seven countries border Niger which include- Libya, Chad, Nigeria to Algeria, Mali, Benin and Burkina Faso.