Ans: A

Exp:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of Navy Day (December 4), paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and unveiled a grand statue of the 17th-century Maratha king at the coastal fort of Sindhugarh, Maharashtra.

In light of the importance of Shivaji’s contributions to the development of a modern Navy, the following decisions have been taken by the Indian Government to honour him:

• Epaulettes (ornamental shoulder pieces denoting rank) adorned by naval officers will soon carry Shivaji’s emblem.
• Last year, the Indian Navy’s new Ensign (flag) based on the seal of Shivaji was unveiled.
• Indian Navy acknowledging the sea-faring prowess of the Marathas, has named its training establishment in Lonavla as INS Shivaji and the shore-based logistics and administrative hub of the Western Naval Command, Mumbai, as INS Angre — after Kanhoji Angre (1669-1729), the celebrated Maratha naval commander.

Maratha Navy:

Shivaji decided to establish the Navy after 1656-57 in order to protect his territory from the Siddis and secure ports and merchant ships. His belief in ‘Jalameva yasya, balameva tasya’ (‘He who rules the seas is all powerful’) guided his vision of establishing a Maratha Navy.

At its peak, the Maratha Navy included 400-odd ships of various kinds and sizes (including large battleships) known variously as the gurab, tarande, galbat, shibad, and pal. Multiple naval forts were constructed by the Marathas, including:

• The Vijaydurg (the first such Maratha Fort) established by Shivaji in 1653
• Sindhudurg
• Kolaba
• Ratnagiri

Another Maratha Leader of note, Kanhoji Angre, took over as the ‘Sarkhel’ (Meaning: Admiral of the Navy) of the Maratha fleet in 1699. He turned the Maratha fleet into a sizeable Naval force and used it effectively to:

• Recapture all the forts that had been lost by the Maratha Navy to the Siddis. 
• Defeated the Portuguese, forcing them to sign a treaty with the Marathas
• The British Governor Charles Boone and the legendary Sarkhel Kanohoji fought many battles over a decade, resulting in an informal peace between the British and the Marathas for several decades.

However, the Marathas never really challenged European naval power in the high seas. While they could hold their own in littoral waters, Maratha merchant vessels heading towards West Asia, just like any other merchant ship at the time, paid a special tax to the Portuguese, the preeminent maritime power of Shivaji’s time.

Ans: B

Exp:

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released its annual report on crime in India for the year 2022. The report is a compilation of data on reported crime from across the country and provides the big picture of broad trends in crime registration. Reports by the NCRB, which functions under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, include statistics on offences ranging from crimes against women to economic and financial crimes. Some of the findings of the report are:

• According to the report, the cases of crime against women in 2022 saw an increase of four percent over the 2021 numbers. The largest share of crimes against women was registered under ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’ (31.4%),  followed by ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’ (19.2%), and ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (18.7%). Hence, Statement 1  is correct.
• The reporting of cybercrime increased significantly by 24.4 percentage points compared to 2021, to 65,893 cases. Around 64.8% of registered cases were of fraud, followed by extortion (5.5%) and sexual exploitation (5.2%). Hence, Statement 2 is correct.
• An increase of 4.2% was observed in suicides reported.
• The states/ UTs reporting the highest chargesheeting rate under IPC crimes are Kerala (96.0%), Puducherry (91.3%), and West Bengal (90.6%).  Hence, Statement 3 is incorrect.

About National Crime Records Bureau:

• The NCRB was established in January 1986 as a body mandated to compile and keep records of data on crime. 
• It also acts as a “national warehouse” for the fingerprint records of Indian and foreign criminals and assists in locating interstate criminals through fingerprint searches.
• The NCRB follows the ‘Principal Offence Rule’. This means that among the many offences registered in a single FIR, the crime that attracts the most severe punishment is considered as the counting unit. Thus, ‘Murder with Rape’ would be counted as ‘Murder’, not rape — which would result in an undercounting of the crime of rape.

Ans: C

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) is an international partnership of countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet. The Forum serves as a South-South cooperation platform for participating governments to act together to deal with global climate change. Its purpose is to define and articulate the commonly held priorities of climate-vulnerable countries.

Statement 2 is correct: The CVF is the international forum for countries most threatened by climate change. Composed of 58 members from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific, it represents some 1.4 billion people worldwide. It was founded in November 2009 by the Maldives at Male, together with 10 other countries. The Forum is led by a rotating chair for an ordinary period of two years, with Ghana currently chairing for the period 2022-2024. Ghana is the second African nation to lead the CVF after Ethiopia.

At the CVF High-level meeting held during the UNFCCC Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP 21) following were adopted:

• The Manila-Paris Declaration- It articulates the common concerns and commitments of vulnerable countries and urges the strengthening of the UNFCCC goal of limiting warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
• The 2016-18 Roadmap of the CVF.

Ans: C

Exp:

CRISIL is Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited. It is regarded as the global analytics business which services the financial markets and helps them function most transparently and efficiently. 

According to the recent report of CRISIL: The corporate bond market growth is expected to gather pace in the coming years, and its overall size is likely to more than double to over ₹100 lakh crore by March 2030. The push to capital expenditure, the attractiveness of the infrastructure sector and the financialisation of savings would be key drivers of growth of the Corporate Bond Market.

• The growth in capex will be driven by high capacity utilisation, healthy corporate sector balance sheets and a strong economic outlook.
• The credit risk profile for infrastructure assets is getting stronger with better recovery prospects and the ability to lend long-term. 
• The Demand for corporate bonds will also be driven by non-bank lenders looking to serve credit demand from the retail segment.

Ans: A

Exp:

The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) notified governments of 127 plumes spanning four continents and identified 1,500 plumes in its pilot stage, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released at the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Methane is the second-biggest cause of global warming caused by anthropogenic activity after carbon dioxide and is 80 times more powerful. Energy, agriculture and waste sectors are the primary emitters of methane, responsible for 30 per cent of the earth’s warning.

Statement 1 is correct: The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) is the first-ever global system that uses satellite data to monitor major emission events and notify governments and companies who can address them.

Statement 2 is incorrect: MARS was launched by the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) at COP27 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in 2022.

The IMEO launched at the G20 Leaders Summit in 2021, gathers methane emissions-related data from satellites through MARS and from industries through the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0. It also relies on scientific measurement studies.

The Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0) is UNEP’s flagship programme that includes a partnership of companies to improve the accuracy and transparency of methane emissions data from the oil and gas sector through a committed framework.