Ans: B

Exp:

As per the recently released ‘Status of Leopards in India, 2022’ report, by the Union Environment Ministry, there are an estimated 13,874 leopards in India, up from 12,852 in 2018.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Indian leopard is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. 

• A leopard does not have any stripes.

• It has spots peppered on its body. 

Statement 2 is correct: Indian leopards (Panthera pardus fusca) are distributed across a variety of forested habitats in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of Pakistan. 

• Like lions (Panthera leo), leopards came to India from the west, most likely Ethiopia.

Statement 3 is correct: Being apex predators, they sit at the top of the food chain, and thus play a crucial role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem. 

An apex predator is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. 

They hold the top rank in a plant-herbivore-carnivore food chain and the uppermost position of an ecosystem’s trophic (or energy) pyramid, making them the final destination of energy flow in a given biological community.

Ans: C

Exp:

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India,is organising a Two-Day Regional Conference on the Strengthening of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act at Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Statement 1 is correct: The provisions of Part IX of the constitution relating to the Panchayats are not applicable to the Fifth Schedule areas. 

• • However, the Parliament may extend these provisions to such areas, subject to such exceptions and modifications as it may specify. 

• Under this provision, the Parliament has enacted the “Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act”, 1996, popularly known as the PESA Act or the Extension Act. 

• The Act extended the provisions of Panchayats to the tribal areas of Fifth Schedule states. 

Statement 2 is correct: PESA empowers gram sabhas to play a key role in approving development plans and controlling all social sectors.

• PESA rules enable the residents of scheduled areas to strengthen their village-level bodies by transferring power from the government to the gram sabha, a body of all the registered voters of the village. 
• The powers of gram sabhas include maintenance of cultural identity and tradition, control over schemes affecting the tribals, and control over natural resources within the area of a village.

Ans: D

Exp:

Recently, Cuttack Rupa Tarakasi, Banglar muslin, Narsapur crochet lace products and Kutch rogan craft are among those given the Geographical Indication tag.

Statement 1 is incorrect: A geographical indication right enables those who have the right to use the indication to prevent its use by a third party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards. 

• • For example, in the jurisdictions in which the Darjeeling geographical indication is protected, producers of Darjeeling tea can exclude use of the term “Darjeeling” for tea not grown in their tea gardens or not produced according to the standards set out in the code of practice for the geographical indication.

• However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication. 

Statement 2 is incorrect: Geographical indications are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts, and industrial products.

Ans: A

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect: NUCFDC has received the RBI approval to function as a non-banking finance company and a self-regulatory organisation for the urban cooperative banking sector.

• NBFCs are doing functions similar to banks. However there are a few differences:

• NBFC cannot accept demand deposits;
• NBFCs do not form part of the payment and settlement system and cannot issue cheques drawn on itself;
• deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available to depositors of NBFCs, unlike in case of banks.

Statement 2 is correct: The main objective of NUCFDC would be to help urban cooperative banks adhere to the Banking Regulations Act and bring professionalism in their work

Statement 3 is correct:  It is allowed to operate as a Self-Regulatory Organisation for the sector.

• NUCFDC aims to provide specialised functions and services to cooperative banks, facilitate communication between banks and regulators, and address challenges faced by Urban Cooperative Banks.

Ans: C

Exp:

Pakistan has decided to hold its National Day celebrations in New Delhi again this year, after a four-year gap caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the deteriorating ties between the two countries.

• Pakistan National Day is observed on March 23, the day the Lahore Resolution was adopted in 1940 by the Muslim League.
• In 1956, on the same day, the country officially adopted its first Constitution, which transformed the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
• The Lahore Resolution of 1940 , adopted by the All-India Muslim League, formally called for an independent state for India’s Muslims.