Ans: D

Exp:

Santa Ana’ winds and climate change are fueling wildfires in Malibu. Santa Ana-driven wildfires are a natural part of California’s landscape. However, experts say the wildfire season in California has lengthened in recent years.

Following are examples of Local winds: 

• Pair 1 is Correctly matched: Santa Ana (Hot and dry – California, USA):
  1. These winds originate when high-pressure builds over the Great Basin and low pressure develops along California’s coast.
  2. They move from inland deserts, over the mountains, and toward the Pacific Ocean.
  3. As they descend, they compress and heat up, reducing humidity, sometimes to below 10%.
  4. The resulting dry conditions make vegetation highly flammable, exacerbating wildfires.

Some Other examples of Local winds: 

• Pair 2 is Correctly matched: Chinook (Warm and moist – Rockies, North America): These winds blow down the eastern slopes of the Rockies, melting snow and raising temperatures.
• Pair 3 is Correctly matched: Harmattan (Cold and dry – West Africa): These winds originate in the Sahara Desert and bring dry, dusty conditions to West Africa.

• Pair 4 is Correctly matched: Bora (Cold and dry – Adriatic Sea region): These are katabatic winds flowing from the northeastern mountains toward the Adriatic Sea, often causing a drop in temperature.

Ans: C

Exp: 

‘1 Kerala Naval Unit NCC (1K NU NCC)’ launched the Miyawaki urban forest project on its premises as part of the One Tree, One Cadet campaign to foster environmental awareness.

About Miyawaki Plantation: 

• Miyawaki is a technique developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the 1980s.
• Aim: To make more green areas in a small space by growing a dense forest in just ten years, which usually takes a hundred years. Hence Statement 1 is Correct

Statement 2 is Correct: The Miyawaki method emphasizes the planting of native species to create self-sustaining, biodiverse forests. After the initial planting phase, these forests grow with minimal human intervention, relying on natural processes to thrive.

Statement 3 is Incorrect: The Miyawaki method is focused on ecological restoration and biodiversity enhancement, not on timber production or commercial use.

Statement 4 is  Correct: This method was developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki and has gained global recognition for its role in environmental conservation.

Ans: B

Exp:

Recently,  an international group of scientists,from the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, published a technical report and a commentary in the journal Science warning against efforts to build mirror life.

• • Chiral molecules that are mirror images of each other are called enantiomers.

• Examples in Nature:

• • • Amino acids in human proteins are exclusively left-handed.
    • DNA in all organisms is right-handed.

• Historical Case Study: 

• Thalidomide, a chiral molecule, demonstrated that enantiomers can have drastically different effects:

• • • Right-handed: sedative effects.
    • Left-handed: caused severe birth defects.
• Scientists have been making and studying enantiomers in the lab for a long time, but recently a few of them have started on the road to creating ‘mirror microbes’.

About Mirror Microbes:

• Statement 1 is  Correct: Mirror microbes are synthetic bacteria created using enantiomers, which are mirror-image forms of natural biomolecules, such as left-handed amino acids and right-handed sugars.
• Statement 2 is Correct: Mirror bacteria could evade immune responses and predators due to their chirality, as natural immune mechanisms and predators rely on the chirality of natural biomolecules.
• Statement 3 is  Incorrect:  While the researchers warn about the risks, they acknowledge that mirror microbes could have beneficial applications in industrial processes like decomposition, fermentation, or catalyzing chemical reactions.

Ans: A

Exp:

• Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister launches Credit Guarantee Scheme for e-NWR based pledge Financing (CGS-NPF).

• This scheme provides a corpus of Rs 1,000-crore for post-harvest finance 
• The scheme aims to minimize distress selling by providing a credit guarantee for loans availed by farmers against electronic negotiable warehouse receipts (e-NWRs) after depositing commodities in Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) accredited warehouses. Hence Statement 1 is Correct.

Salient features of Credit Guarantee Scheme for e-NWR based pledge Finance (CGS-NPF) is as follows:

Ans: D

Exp:

In a recent case, the Supreme Court explained Henderson doctrine, a natural corollary of the Indian doctrine of constructive Res-judicata codified in Explanation IV of Section 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC).

• Propounded in the English case of Henderson versus Henderson, 1843,

• The doctrine suggests that all issues arising from the same subject matter must be addressed in a single proceeding and bars re-litigation of issues that could have been raised earlier. Hence option d is correct.

• The Doctrine of Judicial Review enables courts to examine the constitutionality of legislative or executive actions. It focuses on the validity of laws rather than procedural consolidation of litigation. Option a is Incorrect: 

• The Doctrine of Prospective Overruling allows courts to overrule their past decisions but ensures that such rulings apply only to future cases, protecting past actions or judgments from being invalidated. Option b is Incorrect.

• The Doctrine of Precedent ensures consistency in the judicial system by binding lower courts to follow the decisions of higher courts. While it promotes uniformity, it does not pertain to addressing all issues in a single proceeding. Option c is Incorrect.