Ans: A

Exp:

India’s first centre for research on conserving the endangered Gangetic river dolphin, National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC) was inaugurated in Patna recently. 

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Gangetic river dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal. 

• • It is a Schedule I animal under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. 

• It has been declared an endangered species (not critically endangered) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Statement 2 is correct: It is blind and finds its way and prey in river waters through echolocation. 

• Echolocation is the strategy of using sound waves and echoes to navigate, hunt or forage in the ocean or in the dark. Example- Bats, Dolphins, Whales etc.
• These reflections allow the animal to get information regarding each object’s size, shape, distance, texture, and other important variables. 

Statement 3 is incorrect: The Gangetic river dolphin is one of four freshwater dolphin species in the world. They can survive in freshwater only.

• The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China (now extinct), the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river in South America.
• Gangetic dolphins live in a zone where there is little or no current, helping them save energy. If they sense danger, they can dive into deep waters. The dolphins swim from the no-current zone to the edges to hunt for fish and return.
• Bihar is home to around half of the estimated 3,000 Gangetic dolphins in India.

Ans: D

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: Chakshu facilitates citizens to report the suspected fraud communications with the intention of defrauding telecom service users for cyber-crime, financial frauds, non-bonafide purposes like impersonation or any other misuse through Call, SMS or WhatsApp.

• It  is currently not accessible to individuals and will act as an information exchange and coordination agency among telecom companies, law enforcement agencies, banks etc.

Statement 2 is correct: Chakshu will function as a backend repository for citizen-initiated requests on the Sanchar Saathi platform for action by the various stakeholders. 

• Sanchar Saathi portal is a citizen centric initiative of the Department of Telecommunications to empower mobile subscribers, strengthen their security and increase awareness about citizen centric initiatives of the Government. 
• It  empowers citizens by allowing them to know the mobile connections issued in their name, get disconnected the connections not required by them, block/trace lost mobile phones and check genuineness of devices while buying a new/old mobile phone.

Ans: C

Exp:

Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect.

Statement-I is correct: Dry ice is widely used as a cooling agent in various food products such as ice cream and frozen desserts due to its sublimation property, which enables it to transition straight from a solid to a gas without going through a liquid phase.

• It is frequently used for food items that are needed to be cold or frozen, without the use of mechanical cooling.
• However, improper handling can pose a risk to human health, as it undergoes sublimation, releasing significant amounts of carbon dioxide gas. 
• This could potentially lead to respiratory issues and danger of asphyxiation if used in closed environments.

Statement-II is incorrect: Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide at extremely low temperatures.

• Liquid nitrogen is the liquefied form of nitrogen (N2) in the gaseous state.
• Both Dry ice and liquid nitrogen are cooling agents used pretty extensively and commercially.

Ans: B

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect: Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced from water electrolysis i.e splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen by using renewable energy-powered electrolysers. 

• • It is considered a virtually emission-free pathway for hydrogen production. 

• Grey hydrogen is produced from natural gas through energy-intensive processes and has high carbon emissions. 

Statement 2 is correct: The Indian government has launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an aim to produce 5 million metric tonne (MMT) green hydrogen per annum with an associated renewable energy capacity of about 125 Giga watt (GW) by 2030.

• The mission has an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore up to 2029-30.

Ans: C

Exp:

The Indian Defence Minister inaugurated a number of infrastructure projects at the Indian Navy’s strategically located base in Karnataka’s Karwar

• Project Seabird is a naval infrastructure project for the creation and development of a naval base at Karwar (Karnataka) on the west coast of India.

• These projects, developed under Project ‘Seabird,’ aim to enhance India’s long-term security interests in the Indian Ocean region.
• The first phase of Project Seabird was designed to accommodate 10 ships and was successfully concluded in 2011. The Cabinet Committee on Security has approved Phase-IIA of the project recently.