Ans: A

Exp: 

As per the World Bank’s ‘World Development Report 2024: The Middle Income Trap’ report, India faces a ‘middle income trap’, which may take over 75 years to reach one-quarter of US income per capita.

World Development Report 2024:

• • Released by the World Bank.

• Key highlights:

• • As countries become wealthier, they often encounter a growth plateau at around 10% of the annual U.S. GDP per person (approximately $8,000), beyond which rapid growth becomes challenging.
  • Statement I is Correct: Middle-income countries often struggle to transition to high-income status. Since 1990, only 34 Middle-Income Countries (MICs) have successfully transitioned to high-income status.
    • By the end of 2023, 108 countries were classified as MICs, collectively housing 75% of the global population and contributing over 40% of the world’s GDP.
    • Key obstacles for MICs in overcoming the middle-income trap include:
      • Rapidly aging populations, Increasing protectionism in advanced economies, The urgent need to accelerate the energy transition.

• Middle Income Trap: 

• • Statement II is correct and explains statement I: Middle-Income Trap is a situation in which a Middle-Income Country (annual GDP per capita in the range of $1,136 to $13,845) experiences systematic growth slowdowns as it is unable to take on new economic structures needed to sustain high-income levels.
  • India joined the ranks of Lower MICs in 2007 and has remained there, with its current Gross National Income (GNI) per capita at $2,540.
  • At the current growth rate, it is projected to take India 75 years to reach just one-quarter of the U.S. income per capita.

Ans: B

Exp: 

Atmospheric rivers are invisible to the naked eye but are growing in intensity over India and can be linked with high rainfall, devastating floods, and heat stress in India.

About Atmospheric Rivers (ARs):

• An atmospheric river is a plume of moisture, or water vapour, that moves from the tropics and is dumped over a region as heavy rain or snow. 
• Atmospheric rivers are narrow bands that tend to occur on the eastern side of strong mid-latitude storms.
• Statement 1 is incorrect: These are pole-bound (from tropics towards pole) streams of water vapour fed by the warming oceans in the tropics. 
• Statement 2 is correct: As they travel north, they are propelled by strong winds and bring heavy rainfall to areas in their path. 
• Statement 3 is correct: ARs can sometimes carry many times the volume of moisture and flow at a higher speed than some of the world’s major rivers.
• They hover much closer to land than the dry jet streams and pick up moisture moving over the vast, warm oceans, which they shed while traversing over land.

They can significantly alter the microclimate of places it moves through, stuffing the air with water vapour, increasing wind speeds and causing violent showers.

Ans: A

Exp: 

Indian scientists have discovered significant natural variations in rice nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) along with associated traits and genes.  

About Nitrogen-Use Efficiency (NUE): 

• Nitrogen-Use Efficiency (NUE) is calculated as the ratio between nitrogen used and the harvest, with a higher number indicating lower wastage.
• Declining NUE leads farmers to use more fertiliser in hopes of increasing yield, which paradoxically worsens NUE.
• Typically, crops absorb only 30% of the nitrogen fertiliser applied; the remaining 70% seeps into the environment, causing health issues and contributing to climate change.
• Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I: Rice accounts for 37 percent of the nitrogen fertiliser used for cereals in India and this high consumption is partly due to rice’s relatively low NUE, requiring more fertiliser for optimal yield.
  • In India, cereals account for over 69% of nitrogen fertiliser consumption, with rice using 37% and wheat 24%.

Ans: A

Exp:

The World Craft Council’s (WCC) has included Srinagar in the World Craft Cities list, opening up a window to trace the region’s craft influences that date back centuries.

About World Craft City (WCC): 

• • Statement 1 is correct: Establishment: In 2014 by World Crafts Council International (WCCI) 
  • Country of Establishment: Kuwait
  • Objective: It aims to recognize the efforts of local governments, artisans, and communities in enhancing culture, economy, and society.
    • WCC wants to create a worldwide network of craft cities.
    • It promotes the ideas of the creative economy and protects traditional crafts.
  • Legal Status: WCC is registered in Belgium as an international association without lucrative purposes (AISBL).
    • This registration status signifies its non-profit nature and international scope of operations.
    • It is Affiliated to the UNESCO under Consultative Status

• World Crafts Council (WCC) Regions

• • • WCC is divided into five regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America.
    • These regions help organise and manage WCC activities worldwide.

• Criteria to grant cities WCC Status:

• • Statement 2 is correct: Cities are granted the prestigious WCC status based on their commitment to craftsmanship, cultural heritage, and sustainable practices.
  • Parameters: It includes 
    • How well crafts have been preserved 
    • Initiatives for artisans
    • Adherence to age-old practices.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: Srinagar has become the fourth Indian city to be recognised as a ‘World Crafts City’ by the World Craft Council (WCC).
  • Jaipur, Malappuram and Mysore are the other three Indian cities that have earlier been recognised as World Craft Cities.

Ans: C

Exp: 

India Meteorological Department has analysed trends for precipitation and drought like conditions over India using ‘Standardised Precipitation Index’ (SPI). As per the analysis, extremely dry and severely dry conditions over parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sub Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir were observed in 2021.

About Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI):

• Statement 1 is correct: The Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) is used to estimate wet or dry conditions based on precipitation data.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The index is negative during drought conditions and positive during wet conditions. The severity of these conditions is reflected by how negative or positive the index becomes.
• Statement 3 is correct: SPI calculations rely on long-term precipitation records for a specific location, ideally spanning over 30 years.
• The SPI can be calculated over various timescales, including 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 months.