Ans: D

Exp:

In the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament, the Union Environment Ministry presented data that highlighted the issue of coastal erosion in India.

• • Nationally, 33.6 per cent of India’s coastline is eroding, with 26.9 per cent growing (accretion) and 39.6 per cent remaining stable. 
  • The erosion of coastal lands is attributed to a combination of natural and human-induced factors.
    • Rising Sea Levels: Driven by climate change, higher sea levels amplify storm surges and coastal flooding.
    • Sand Mining and Infrastructure Projects: Unregulated sand extraction and construction of ports, seawalls, and breakwaters disrupt sediment flow, accelerating erosion in vulnerable areas.
    • Mangrove Depletion: The loss of natural barriers like mangroves leaves the coastline exposed to wave action.
    • Cyclonic Activity: The region has seen an increase in cyclonic events, further destabilising coastal systems.
    • Economic and Social Fallout: The erosion poses severe threats to livelihoods, particularly for fishing communities dependent on coastal stability. Infrastructure such as roads, housing and ports faces significant damage, while biodiversity hotspots, including estuaries and mangroves, are at risk of collapse.

• Hence, option D is correct.

• India has a total of 7516.6 km of Coastline. The Indian Coastline stretches across nine states and four union territories, and it is bordered to the west by the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean and to the East by the Bay of Bengal.
  • States: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal 
  • Union Territories: Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Ans: B

Exp:

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) launched an air quality dashboard to track and forecast pollution across the Indo-Gangetic plain.

• Millions of people in the Indo-Gangetic plain and Himalayan foothills face persistent exposure to hazardous air, with recent levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) reported as high as 20 times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) daily recommended limit.
• Statement 1 is incorrect: To address this public health crisis, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has unveiled an Air Quality Dashboard, a public platform offering real-time and forecasted data on air pollution.
• Statement 2 is correct: The dashboard combines ground sensor data with satellite imagery to provide a comprehensive view of air pollution across local, sub-regional and regional scales. 
  • Among its tools is a dynamic timelapse powered by the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem). This model reveals the alarming spread of PM2.5 plumes across the region, including hotspots like Lahore, New Delhi and Kolkata.

Ans: A

Exp:

Recently, three papers were published in the journal Nature by a team called eDyNAmiC. The studies explore how ecDNA is formed and contributes to the progression of cancer and drug resistance.

• Statement 1 is correct: ecDNA forms when small fragments of DNA break away from the main chromosome and form a circular structure that floats freely inside the nucleus.
• Statement 2 is correct: The study identifies smoking, exposure to certain substances, and genetic mutations as triggers for the formation of ecDNA.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: In the same study, the researchers attempted a comprehensive analysis of samples from nearly 15,000 cancer patients from U.K.’s 100,000 Genomes Project, covering 39 tumour types. They validated their findings using a method called fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (or FISH), which specifically looks for certain cancer-related genes in tissue samples.
  • Fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (FISH) is the method used in the study to validate the presence of ecDNA in tumour samples. 
  • The study does not mention Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing, or Microscopy as techniques for validating ecDNA presence.

Ans: D

Exp:

Recently, a Bill that seeks to promote coastal trade and encourage the participation of Indian-flagged vessels owned and operated by Indian citizens for national security and commercial needs was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: A Bill pending in Parliament shall not lapse by reason of the prorogation of the Houses. 
  • Prorogation does not affect the bills or any other business pending before the House.
  • A Bill pending in the Council of States which the House of the People has not passed shall not lapse on a dissolution of the House of the People.
  • A Bill which is pending in the House of the People, or which having been passed by the House of the People is pending in the Council of States, shall, subject to the provisions of article 108, lapse on a dissolution of the House of the People. 
• Statement 2 is incorrect: A private member bill is introduced by any member of parliament other than ministers. 
  • A member of parliament who is not a minister is a private member and the Bills introduced by them are referred to as Private Member’s Bills. 
  • The private member bill reflects the stand of the opposition party on public matters. 
• Statement 3 is incorrect: In Article 107 of the Constitution of India, there is a provision as to introduction and passing of Bills.
  • Article 108 of the Constitution of India deals with the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament in certain cases.
  • Subject to the provisions of articles 109 and 117 with respect to Money Bills and other financial Bills, a Bill may originate in either House of Parliament.

Ans: A

Exp:

The UN Secretary-General has called the summit – the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) – a “moonshot moment” to accelerate action on land and drought resilience as some estimates predicted trillions of dollars would be needed to tackle the problem.

• As the talks kicked off, a new report showed global losses from drought cost $307 billion a year.

• • According to UNCCD, land degradation is “the reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands resulting from a combination of pressures, including land use and management practices”.

• Impacts of Land degradation: 

• • • Raises the Risk of malnutrition by reducing the quality and quantity of food production.
    • Contributes to the spread of water and food-borne diseases that result from poor hygiene and scarcity of clean water and can cause respiratory diseases due to soil erosion.
    • Marine and freshwater systems→ Eroded soil carrying fertilisers and pesticides washes into water bodies, harming both the fauna living there and local communities which depend on them.
    • Statement 1 is correct: Climate change→ The world’s soil is the largest terrestrial carbon sink. When land is degraded → Soil carbon can be released into the atmosphere, along with nitrous oxide.

• Factors causing land degradation:

• • Unsustainable agricultural practices → Such as the heavy use of chemical inputs, pesticides, and water diversion 
  • Statement 2 is correct: Global warming → Worsened land degradation by increasing frequency, intensity and/ or amount of heavy precipitation, and increased heat stress.
  • Rapid urbanisation → Intensified land degradation by contributing to habitat destruction, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
• Statement 2 is the correct explanation for Statement 1: Soil is the largest terrestrial carbon sink, meaning it stores large amounts of carbon. When land is degraded, particularly through deforestation or poor agricultural practices, the carbon stored in the soil is released into the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect and climate change.