Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct:  The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has found a Lithium reserve of the crucial mineral in Degana in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district.
• Statement 2 is correct: 50 percent of global lithium resources are located in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, which form the Lithium Triangle in South America. 
• Lithium is said to be the softest and lightest metal in the world making it usable for manufacturing chargeable electronic and battery-powered goods.
• Currently, India is import-dependent for several minerals like lithium, nickel and cobalt.
• Due to its utility in diverse applications, it is also referred to as ‘White Gold’.

Option (b) is correct

• India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection rose 13 per cent to over ₹1.60 lakh crore in March, according to a statement by the Ministry of Finance.
• GST is a value-added tax (VAT) levied on most goods and services sold for domestic consumption.
• Statement 1 is correct: The Goods and Services Tax regime came into force after the Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament in 2016. More than 15 Indian states then ratified it in their state Assemblies, after which the President gave his assent.
• Statement 2 is not correct: The GST Council – a joint forum of the Centre and the states — was set up by the President as per Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution.
• The members of the  GST Council include the Union Finance Minister (chairperson), the Union Minister of State (Finance) from the Centre. Each state can nominate a minister in-charge of finance or taxation or any other minister as a member.

Option (a) is correct

• Recently, the Home Minister warned groups that any violation of the SoO pact will be dealt with harshly.
• The Centre and state government signed the SoO pact to reach an agreement with 25 Kuki insurgent groups in Manipur in 2008. 
• According to the pact, the Centre and state governments agreed that the security forces would not launch any operations against these groups. In return, the insurgent groups will also not launch any such operation.
• The pact also requires these groups to abide by the Constitution of India, the laws of the land and the territorial integrity of Manipur.

Option (c) is correct

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has conceptualised a lightweight payment and settlements system, which it is calling a “bunker” equivalent of digital payments. 

• Statement 1 is correct: It can be operated from anywhere by a bare minimum staff in exigencies such as natural calamities or war.
• Statement 2 is correct: The infrastructure for this system will be independent of the technologies that underlie the existing systems of payments such as UPI, NEFT, and RTGS.
  • Need of Lightweight Payments System: 
    • To ensure near zero downtime of the payment and settlement system in the country. 
    • To keep the liquidity pipeline of the economy alive and intact by facilitating uninterrupted functioning of essential payment services like bulk payments, interbank payments and provision of cash to participant institutions.
    • To process transactions that are critical to ensure the stability of the economy, including government and market related transactions.
    • To operate on minimalistic hardware and software, and to be made active only on a need basis.
    • To act as a bunker equivalent in payment systems and thereby enhance public confidence in digital payments and financial market infrastructure even during extreme conditions.

Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked banks and other regulated entities to take steps to ensure a complete transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).
• Statement 1 is correct: It is a benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another in the international interbank market for short-term loans.
• Statement 2 is correct: Each business day, a total of 35 different LIBOR rates are calculated and reported based on five currencies (U.S. dollar, euro, British pound, Japanese yen, and Swiss franc) and seven different maturities.
• Statement 3 is not correct: LIBOR is a daily rate. The most commonly quoted rate is the three-month U.S. dollar rate, usually referred to as the current LIBOR rate.

Option (a) is correct

• Recently, a Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) was captured by the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Department in the North Kashmir district of Handwara.
• It is one of the largest carnivores in the highlands of the Himalayas.

• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN: Critically Endangered
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I