Option (d) is correct.

Explanation:

On World Cities Day (October 31) designated by the United Nation, 55 cities joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).

• With the latest additions, the Network now has 350 cities in more than one hundred countries, representing seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music.
• From India, Gwalior was recognized in the ‘Music’ category, while Kozhikode in the ‘Literature’ category.
• The 55 creative cities also include Bukhara (Crafts and Folk Art), Casablanca (Media Arts), Chongqing (Design), Kathmandu (Film), Rio de Janeiro (Literature), and Ulaanbaatar (Crafts and Folk Art).
• Indian cities included in UCCN:
  • Jaipur:- Crafts and Folk Arts (2015).
  • Varanasi:- Creative City of Music (2015).
  • Chennai:– Creative City of Music (2017).
  • Mumbai:– Film (2019).
  • Hyderabad:- Gastronomy (2019).
  • Srinagar:- Crafts and Folk Arts (2021).
  • Gwalior:- Sangeet (2023).
  • Kozhikode:– Creative in Literature (2023).

Option (a) is correct.

Explanation:

Recently, Britain published a “Bletchley Declaration”, agreed with the European Union and 28 countries including India, United States and China. 

About Bletchley Declaration:

• Summit: The 2-day summit opened at Britain’s World War II code-breaking centre in Bletchley Park, United Kingdom.
• Aim: Boosting global efforts to cooperate on artificial intelligence (AI) safety. 
• Agenda: Focused on identifying risks of shared concern and building the scientific understanding of them, and also building cross-country policies to mitigate them. 
• Nations: To have stated a shared responsibility to address AI risks and take forward vital international collaboration on frontier AI safety and research.

Option (a) is correct

Explanation: 

• 19 out of 20 large states recorded a drop in their 2023 scores from 2019 in the state-wise food safety index(SFSI) published by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
• FSSAI, which works under the MInistry of Health and Family Welfare has developed the State Food Safety Index(SFSI) to measure the performance of states on various parameters of Food Safety.  
• The index is based on performance of State/ UT on six significant parameters, namely, Human Resources and Institutional Data, Compliance, Food Testing – Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training & Capacity Building, Consumer Empowerment and Improvement in SFSI Rank. 

Option (c) is correct 

Explanation: 

• After experiencing sluggish growth, the smart meter network is set to grow significantly this year, with around 150 million meters in various stages of the bidding process.
• The Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) aims to improve the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of state-owned distribution companies (discoms)/power departments by providing conditional financial assistance. 
• The scheme allocates Rs 10,000 crore for smart prepaid metering infrastructure across the country.  
• Statement 1 is correct: It aims to reduce the AT&C losses to pan-India levels of 12-15% by 2024-25.
• Statement 2 is correct: RDSS envisions smart metering in operational expenditure mode and provides financial support to discoms opting for prepaid smart metering.  
• Statement 3 is not correct: The scheme would be optional to DISCOMs and will be implemented in urban and rural areas of all States/UTs except private DISCOMS.
• Statement 4 is correct:  All State-owned Distribution companies and State /UT Power Departments (referred to as DISCOMS collectively) excluding private Sector power companies will be eligible for financial assistance under the revamped scheme. 

Option (a) is correct.

Explanation:

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud will hear petitions challenging the constitutional validity of electoral bonds scheme.

• Statement 1 is correct: First announced during the Union Budget session in 2017, “electoral bonds” are interest-free bearer instruments, which means that they are payable to the bearer on demand, similar to a promissory note. 
  • They allow Indian citizens or a body incorporated in India to purchase bonds, enabling anonymous donations to political parties. 
  • Usually sold in denominations ranging from Rs1,000 to Rs1 crore, these bonds can be bought from authorised SBI branches through accounts complying with KYC norms. 
• Statement 2 is not correct: Electoral bonds aren’t available for purchase throughout the year and can only be purchased between 10-day windows falling in the months of January, April, July, and October. 
  • They can only be used to donate to political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951, securing at least 1% of the votes polled in the last election to the House of the People or a Legislative Assembly. 
  • Section 29A of the RPA deals with the registration of associations and bodies as political parties with the Election Commission.