Ans: A

Exp:

Recently, a landslide damaged six houses and a building of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) at the site of its Teesta-V hydropower station in Sikkim’s Gangtok district.

About Landslide:

• A landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. 
• Landslides are a type of “mass wasting,” which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity. 
• Statement 1 is Correct: Landslides can be initiated in slopes already on the verge of movement by rainfall, snowmelt, changes in water level, stream erosion, changes in ground water, earthquakes, volcanic activity, disturbance by human activities, or any combination of these factors. 
  • Earthquake shaking and other factors can also induce landslides underwater. These landslides are called submarine landslides. Submarine landslides sometimes cause tsunamis that damage coastal areas. 
• Statement 2 is Correct: Human activities like deforestation, construction, and mining can exacerbate landslide risks.
• Statement 3 is Incorrect: Landslides can occur anywhere, regardless of the terrain. While landslides are more common in hilly regions, they can occur in any area with unstable slopes, including coastal and riverine areas.

Ans: B

Exp: 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denied that floods in eastern districts of Bangladesh were caused due to the opening of the Dumbur dam in Tripura. 

About Gumti River:

• Statement 1 is Incorrect: Gumti River originating from the Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary in Tripura.
• Statement 2 is Correct: Gumti River is a river flowing through the north-eastern Indian state of Tripura and the district of Comilla in Bangladesh. 
• Statement 3 is Correct: The Dumbur dam is built upon the Gumti river that has formed a 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi) lake.

Ans: B

Exp:

Astronomers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have found a new way to probe deeper into the sun’s secrets by studying the magnetic field at different layers of the solar atmosphere. 

About Layers of Sun:

• Pair 1 is Correctly Matched: The outermost layer of the solar atmosphere is the corona
• Pair 2 is Incorrectly Matched: The surface of the Sun is called the photosphere, a term which means “sphere of light.” The sun’s core is the hottest part, with temperatures reaching up to 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius). 

This is due to nuclear fusion reactions that occur in the core. In comparison, the sun’s surface, or photosphere, is relatively cool at 10,000° F (5,500°C).

• Pair 3 is Correctly Matched: The chromosphere is the second layer of the sun’s atmosphere, located between the photosphere and the corona. 
  • It’s a thin layer of plasma that’s about 2,000 km thick and sits at altitudes of 400–2,100 km above the sun’s surface. 
  • The chromosphere is usually hidden from view, but can be observed during a solar eclipse or with special telescopes on satellites. 
  • The chromosphere appears transiently under these conditions as a thin, bright red ribbon that encircles the silhouette of the moon.

Ans: D

Exp:

Recently, the Shiveluch volcano in Russia erupted following a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that occurred off the country’s eastern coast.

About Shiveluch Volcano:

• Statement 1 is Correct: Location: It is the northernmost active volcano in Kamchatka Krai, Russia.
  • Shiveluch is one of Kamchatka’s most active volcanic structures, with at least 60 significant eruptions recorded during the Holocene period.
• Statement 2 is Incorrect: Kamchatka Peninsula is situated in the far eastern part of Russia.  
  • Statement 3 is Correct: Kamchatka Peninsula is bounded by the Sea of Okhotsk to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east.

Ans: A

Exp:

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das has been ranked as the top central banker globally for the second consecutive year by US-based Global Finance magazine.

About  Global Finance Central Banker Report Cards

• The Central Banker Report Cards are published annually by Global Finance, a magazine that has been grading central bank governors since 1994. Hence, option (a) is correct.

• • An ‘A’ represents excellent performance, while an ‘F’ for outright failure.

• Denmark’s Christian Kettel Thomsen, India’s Shaktikanta Das and Switzerland’s Thomas Jordan have been ranked under the ‘A+’ category of central bankers.