Answer: A

Exp: 

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu emerged as a key player in national politics after his party won 16 seats in the Lok Sabha election. It made him in the bargaining position for Special Category Status (SCS) for Andhra Pradesh.

About Special Category Status (SCS):

• • Statement 1 is correct: Aim of SCS: To assist certain states in their development and fast-tracking growth if they faced historical economic or geographical disadvantages.

• Statement 2 is incorrect: Introduction of SCS: The Fifth Finance Commission of India introduced the mechanism of SCS in 1969 

• Criteria for SCS: Factors such as difficult and hilly terrain, low population density and/ or a sizable tribal population, strategic location along borders, economic and infrastructural backwardness, and non-viable nature of state finances were typically considered to accord SCS.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: Funding: In SCS states, the Centre funds central schemes up to 90%.
• Scrapping of SCS: The system was scrapped on the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission, which suggested that the resource gap of the states should be filled by increasing the devolution of tax to 42% from the existing 32%.
• States with SCS: SCS was accorded to 11 states, including the entire Northeast, and the border hill states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Ans: B

Exp: 

The inaugural United Nations Global Supply Chain Forum, organized by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Government of Barbados, concluded successfully recently.

About United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):

• • Statement 1 is correct: It is a permanent intergovernmental body and the leading institution of UN dealing with trade and development,
  • Statement 2 is incorrect: Established: By the United Nations General Assembly in 1964 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Objective: It aims to maximize the benefits of globalization and liberalization while reducing the costs to the weaker economies.
    • UNCTAD’s work focuses on four main areas: trade and development, investment and enterprise, technology and innovation, and macroeconomics and development policies.
    • It supports vulnerable economies by helping them integrate beneficially into the global economy.
    • UNCTAD also focuses on improving the competitiveness and economic diversification of these economies.
  • Reports published by the UN Trade and Development

• Trade and Development Report

• World Investment Report

• The Least Developed Countries Report

• Statement 3 is correct: The inaugural edition of the forum was held from May 21 to 24, 2024, in Barbados. It was hosted by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in collaboration with the Government of Barbados.

Ans: C

Exp:

MOND is quite successful at predicting galaxy rotation without any dark matter, and it has a few other successes. 

About Milgromian dynamics or MOND:

• Proposed by Mordehai Milgrom in 1982 as an alternative to dark matter.
• Suggests Newton’s laws break down at very low accelerations, such as the edges of galaxies.
• According to MOND, the discrepancies in galactic rotation speeds can be explained by altering the gravitational force laws when accelerations are very small.
• Successfully predicts galaxy rotation curves without dark matter.

Challenges to MOND:

• Cassini Mission Data: No anomalies in Saturn’s orbit as MOND would predict, supporting Newton’s laws.
• Wide Binary Stars: Observations contradict MOND’s prediction of 20% faster orbital speeds.
• Outer Solar System Bodies: Comets’ energy distribution and orbital inclinations do not align with MOND predictions.

Ans: C

Exp: 

ICAR’s herbicide-tolerant rice is not farmer-friendly and is a threat to national food security.

About herbicide-tolerant (Ht) basmati rice:

• The herbicide-tolerant basmati rice varieties commercialized by ICAR are non-genetically modified (non-GM). They contain a mutated ALS gene that allows them to tolerate herbicides.
• Statement 1 is correct: They allow the direct application of the herbicide Imazethapyr to eradicate weeds in the DSR system. These new non-GM varieties allow for the direct application of the herbicide Imazethapyr to control weeds in the direct seeded rice (DSR) system.
• Statement 2 is correct: They are specifically designed to promote water-saving direct seeded rice (DSR).

Ans: B

Exp:

In the latest edition of the QS World University Ranking released, the University of Delhi has made the biggest jump of 79 ranks — from 407 last year to 328 in 2024.

About QS World University Ranking 2025:

• Statement 1 is correct: Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a London-based global higher education analyst.
• Statement 2 is correct: QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings.
• The rankings compare universities in four major areas:

• Research,

• Teaching,

• Employability, and

• International outlook

• Statement 3 is incorrect: No University/institutes are in 100 from India.
• The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) has climbed from 149 in 2024 to 118 in the 2025 rankings, i.e. a climb of 31 ranks. It is followed by IIT Delhi and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) this year too, as the two institutes ranked second and third in India respectively.