Ans: C

Exp: 

The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 provided for constitution of an investigation agency at the national level to investigate and prosecute offences affecting the sovereignty, security and integrity of India, security of State, friendly relations with foreign States and offences under Acts enacted to implement international treaties, agreements, conventions and resolutions of the United Nations, its agencies and other international organisations and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. 

The Schedule of the Act specifies a list of offences which lie within the jurisdiction of the National Investigation Agency. The offences mentioned in the Schedule include:

• Human trafficking- Sections 370 and 370A of Chapter XVI of the Indian Penal Code.
• Counterfeiting of currency notes- Sections 489-A to 489-E of the Indian Penal Code 
• Manufacture or sale of prohibited arms- Sub-section (1AA) of section 25 of Chapter V of the Arms Act, 1959.
• Cyber-terrorism- Section 66F of Chapter XI of the Information Technology Act, 2000 
• Offences against the state- Sections 121 to 130 of the Indian Penal Code   

Apart from the above, the Schedule also includes offences under Acts such as the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 etc.   The officers of the NIA have the same powers as other police officers while investigating such offences across India.  

Ans: B

Exp: 

“Sparking Disability Inclusive Rural Transformation” – SPARK project is implemented in four countries – India, Malawi, Burkina Faso and Mozambique. While ILO is supporting the project implementation in India and Malawi, the Light for the World is responsible for project implementation in Mozambique and Burkina Faso.

The SPARK project uses a systemic action learning approach to impact the lives of persons with disabilities. This approach will enable Persons with Disabilities to:

• become fully engaged in the economic activities of selected agricultural and pastoral value chains. 
• increase their incomes, thus tackling poverty. 

Therefore adding to the commitments under Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 

Statement 1 is incorrect: The  International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in collaboration with Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal (MAVIM), a corporation of the Women and Child Development Department, Government of Maharashtra, are implementing the SPARK project.

Statement 2 is correct: Objectives of the Sparking Disability Inclusive Rural Transformation (SPARK) project include:

1. Putting persons with disabilities in the lead by building a sustainable network of Disability Inclusion Facilitators (DIFs), who will support awareness raising of disability within implementing partners and stakeholders, and support persons with disabilities in accessing services.
2. Promoting disability inclusion as an integral part of the project design and implementation. SPARK Project will support building understanding and capacities of MAVIM and stakeholders on including persons with disabilities in the Nav Tejaswini Yojana of the Government of Maharashtra.
3. Creating an enabling environment for the social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. 

Ans: A

Exp:

Pair 1 is incorrect:  Whitsun Reef is located in the South China Sea, and it comes under the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). However, China also claims the reef under the nine-dash line. 

China stakes claim to 90% of the South China Sea, and this claim is based on the U-shaped nine-dash line etched on the map in the 1940s by a Chinese geographer.

Pair 2 is correct: The 2,891m high Mount Marapi is located on Indonesia’s westernmost Sumatra island.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

Pair 3 is incorrect:  Donetsk is a  city located in southeastern Ukraine, on the headwaters of the Kalmius River. It is the capital of Donetsk oblast (province) and the most prominent city in the Donets Basin (Donbas) industrial region. 

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Donetsk became a major industrial engine of the economy of independent Ukraine. 

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of Donetsk in Ukraine.

Ans: B

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: At COP28, countries will examine how much progress they have made in curbing global warming — a process called the Global Stocktake, which is happening for the first time — since the Paris Agreement in 2015. The results will determine what actions must be taken in future in terms of making more stringent national policies, setting more ambitious goals, or financially enabling poorer countries to transition to clean, green energy. 

• COP28 UAE will take place at Expo City Dubai from November 30-December 12, 2023.
• The Conference is expected to convene over 70,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth, and non-state actors.

Statement 2 is incorrect:  COP28 will host the first-ever Health Day and climate-health ministerial at a COP, which will be co-hosted by the WHO (not UNESCO)  and several countries.

Climate health is a key part of the COP28 Presidency’s Action Agenda, under the pillar of focusing on lives and livelihoods. 

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told delegates at COP28 that it was long overdue for talks around environmental health, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers to include the direct impacts of such climate shocks on human health.

Ans: C

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: The Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) is the first Nano-Science Institute in the country set up to undertake research and generate products/devices and technology in the area of Nanoscience and Technology for the benefit of the country. INST is carrying out research with a special focus on areas like Agricultural Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine, Energy and Environmental Science, Quantum Materials and Device Physics, Nano Electronics, Microfluidics Based Technologies etc.. The INST is located in Mohali, Chandigarh.

Statement 2 is correct: The Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) is an autonomous research institution of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, under the Society Registration Act, 1960, under the umbrella of the national mission on Nano Science and Technology (NANO MISSION)”. 

It aims to promote the growth and outreach of nanoscience and technology. Some of the core objectives of the INST are 

• to advance knowledge and educate young minds in nanoscience and technology that will best serve the nation
• to impart advanced training courses and laboratory techniques of nanotechnology at the highest level, to encourage innovative and challenging technology/product-based scientific projects.