Ans: B

Exp:

• The Supreme Court rebuked central and state authorities for inaction on Delhi air pollution caused by stubble burning, emphasising the citizens’ right to a pollution-free environment under Article 21. Option (b) is correct.
• The court criticised nominal fines for violators and directed the Centre to amend laws for stricter penalties.
• Article 21 guarantees fundamental right to life. Right to an environment free of danger of disease and infection is inherent in it.
• The right to live in a healthy environment as part of Article 21 of the Constitution was first recognized in the case of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra vs. State, AIR 1988 SC 2187 (Popularly known as Dehradun Quarrying Case).

Ans: C

Exp:

• A Constitution Bench of nine judges, in an 8:1 majority judgement, upheld the State legislatures’ right to regulate industrial alcohol.
• Industrial Alcohol (Denatured Alcohol) serves as a raw material for various products and is not intended for human consumption. It plays a crucial role in the manufacturing process but it is distinct from the alcohol meant for drinking.
• Statement 2 is correct: Union list (Entry 52) empowers the central government to regulate industries that Parliament finds to be of “public interest.”
• Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 (IDRA) entrusted with the power to regulate specific products related to scheduled industries to the Union government
  • Due to prevailing Central law in this subject, Centre argued that it “occupied the field” when it comes to industrial alcohol, and that states could not regulate the subject.
• Statement 1 is correct: Entry 8 gives States the power to regulate the production, manufacture, possession, transport, purchase and sale of “intoxicating liquor”.

Ans: C

Exp:

• Statement 1 is correct: Ultramafic rocks are dark-coloured igneous and meta-igneous rocks that are rich in minerals containing magnesium and iron (“mafic” minerals) and have a relatively low content of silica.
  • Peridotites, lamprophyres, and komatiites are ultramafic rocks.
• Statement 2 is correct: Ultramafic rocks occur in the Earth’s upper mantle.They are generally composed of more than 90 percent mafic minerals—that is, they have a high content of magnesium oxide (more than 18 percent MgO) and iron oxide (FeO). Their silica content is less than 45 percent, and their potassium content is low. 
• Statement 3 is correct: Most of the exposed ultramafic rocks have been found in orogenic (mountain-forming) belts.

Ans: C

Exp:

Geoengineering, often referred to as climate engineering, encapsulates a set of deliberate, large-scale interventions in the Earth’s climatic system, aimed at counteracting climate change.

Geoengineering Techniques:

• Solar Radiation Management (SRM):

• • Statement 1 is correct: SRM seeks to reflect a small portion of the sun’s light and heat back into space to decrease global temperatures.
    • For example, stratospheric aerosol injection (releasing reflective particles in the upper atmosphere) and cloud brightening (increasing the reflectivity of clouds).
• Statement 2 is correct: Ocean Fertilisation Involves adding nutrients, primarily iron, to the ocean to stimulate phytoplankton growth, which absorbs CO2 during photosynthesis.
  • Benefits: Enhances natural carbon sinks; potential boost to marine ecosystems.

Ans: B

Exp:

• Recently, there was an E.Coli Infection outbreak in the US. E.coli is the most common bacteria isolated from patient samples, according to the latest report of ICMR’s Antimicrobial Surveillance Network.
• Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a group of bacteria that normally lives in the gut (gastrointestinal/GI tract) of healthy people and animals.
• Statement 1 is not correct: It is a rod-shaped bacterium of the Enterobacteriaceae family.
• Most strains of E. coli are harmless and even beneficial
• Statement 3 is not correct: E. coli can be contagious (spread from person to person).
• Statement 2  is  correct:It  produces a toxin known as Shiga that damages the lining of small intestine causing diarrhoea
  • These strains of E. coli are also called Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).