Ans: B

Exp:

In his Christmas greetings, US President-elect Donald Trump repeated his call to acquire the Panama Canal and Greenland and annex Canada.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Greenland is the world’s largest island which is a part of the North American continent.
  • Greenland was once a Danish colony and is now an autonomous province of Denmark.
  • Climate: Greenland is in the polar zone, where winter temperatures reach as low as -50°C and summer temperatures rarely exceed 10–15°C. 
  • Highest Point: Gunnbjorn’s Fjeld 

• Statement 2 is correct: Greenland is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north; by the Greenland Sea to the east; by the North Atlantic Ocean to the southeast; Davis Strait to the southwest and Baffin Bay to the west.
• Statement 3 is correct: Panama Canal is an artificial 82 kilometers waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.
  • It cuts across the Isthmus of Panama.

Ans: A

Exp:

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, proposed a new draft notification for Solid Waste Management Rules, 2024.

• These rules are aimed at addressing the adverse effects of unmanaged solid waste, promoting the principles of a circular economy, strengthening monitoring, reporting and enforcement frameworks along with expanding the scope of the rules to cover both urban and rural areas for improved environmental quality.
• Earlier, it introduced the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, replacing the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. 
• Option (a) is correct: According to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2024, every waste generator must store construction and demolition (C&D) waste separately and dispose of it as per the guidelines set out by the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016. 
  • This ensures proper management of C&D waste and prevents its uncontrolled disposal in landfills.
• Option (b) is incorrect: The SWM Rules, 2024, state that non-recyclable waste with a calorific value of 1500 Kcal/kg or more should not be disposed of in landfills. 
  • This is to promote the recycling or energy recovery of such waste, rather than sending it directly to landfills.
• Option (c) is incorrect: The requirement for Extended Bulk Waste Generator Responsibility Certificates applies not just to industrial townships, but to bulk waste generators in general, which include entities like large institutions, municipalities, and large-scale industries. 
  • The purpose of this certificate is to ensure the environmentally sound collection and transportation of waste.
• Option (d) is incorrect: Local bodies are responsible for preventing the open burning of agricultural and horticultural waste. 
  • They are also empowered to levy heavy penalties on individuals or entities found involved in such activities, to curb air pollution and encourage better waste management practices.

Ans: C

Exp:

Months after announcing that the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Myanmar border has been entirely suspended, the Union Home Ministry has brought in fresh protocol to regulate the movement of people living within 10 kilometres on either side of the largely unfenced international border

• Statement 1 is incorrect: India and Myanmar share a long 1,643 km geographical land border and maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Myanmar is India’s gateway to South-East Asia. 
  • Myanmar shares borders with 4 Indian states – Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. 
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The Department of Border Management is under the Ministry of Home Affairs in India. 
  • The Department of Border Management is responsible for managing the country’s internal and coastal borders.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: The Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar was established in 2018 as part of India’s Act East Policy, not the Treaty of Friendship of 1951.

Ans: B

Exp:

Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, began erupting again in December 2024.

About Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano:

• Location → Situated on the southeastern shore of Hawaii’s Big Island, within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
• Type of Volcano → Active shield volcano, characterized by its broad, sloping profile and fluid lava flows.
• Summit Caldera → Kilauea’s summit caldera → A large depression formed by the partial collapse of the volcano after releasing most of its magma chamber

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Most known volcanic activity and earthquakes occur along converging plate margins and mid-oceanic ridges. It is said that nearly 70 per cent of earthquakes occur in the Circum-Pacific belt. However, there are no volcanoes located in the Himalayas because these mountains were formed when two continental tectonic plates, the Eurasian plate and the Indian plate, smashed into one another.
• Statement 2 is correct: Barren Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the only active volcano in India.

About Volcano:

• Opening in the earth’s crust through which gases, molten rock materials (lava), ash, steam etc. are emitted outward in the course of an eruption. 
• Such vents or openings occur in those parts of the earth’s crust where the rock strata are relatively weak
  • 3 reasons why magma might rise and cause eruptions:
  • Tectonic plates slowly move away from each other → Magma rises up to fill in the space.
  • Tectonic plates move toward each other → When this happens, part of Earth’s crust can be forced deep into its interior → High heat and pressure cause the crust to melt and rise as magma.
  • Hot spots → Hot areas inside of Earth → These areas heat up magma → Magma becomes less dense → When it is less dense it rises. 
  • Other Volcanoes in India:
    • Narcondam, Andaman Islands
    • Baratang, Andaman Islands
    • Deccan Traps, Maharashtra
    • Dhinodhar Hills, Gujarat
    • Dhosi Hill, Haryana

Ans: C

Exp:

Recently, the Indian Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the Ken-Betwa river-linking project in Madhya Pradesh’s Khajuraho, aimed at solving the water woes of the Bundelkhand region, spread across parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The project is estimated to cost around ₹45,000 crore.  

• Statement 1 is correct: Ken-Betwa Link project is the first interlinking of rivers project under the National Perspective Plan.
• Statement 2 is correct: Both Ken River and Betwa River are tributaries of the Yamuna River.

About Ken-Betwa Link:

• • River interlinking project that aims to → Transfer surplus water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh (MP) to Betwa in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to irrigate the drought-prone Bundelkhand region.
  • To provide irrigation to the Bundelkhand region, which is one of the worst drought-affected areas in India. 
  • Implementing Agency → A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called Ken-Betwa Link Project Authority (KBLPA) will be set up to implement the project. 

• Implementation of the ILR projects depend on → Consensus of the concerned States. 

National Perspective Plan (NPP):

• The Government of India formulated a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for interlinking of rivers (ILR) in 1980.

• National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has been entrusted with the work of Interlinking of Rivers under the NPP
• NPP has two components → Himalayan Rivers Development Component and Peninsular Rivers Development Component. 
• 30 link projects have been identified under the NPP.