Ans: B

Exp:

Members of the Toda tribe in the Nilgiris gather around a ‘moonbo’ (head) temple in the Muthanad ‘mund’ (hamlet) in Udhagamandalam (Tamil Nadu) to celebrate the Modwerth festival and discuss plans for the year ahead.

About Toda People:

• Pair 1 is not correctly matched: Toda people are a Dravidian ethnic group who live in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.  
• Pair 2 is not correctly matched:The Lepcha are among the indigenous peoples of the Indian state of Sikkim and Nepal, and number around 80,000
• Pair 3 is correctly matched: Birhor people (Birhul) are a tribal/Adivasi forest people, traditionally nomadic, living primarily in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
• Pair 4 is correctly matched: The Garo people are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group inhabiting predominantly Northeast Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura and Nagaland.

Hence, the correct option choice is (b).

Ans: B

Exp:

Recently, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, announced a $1-million prize for experts or organisations that succeeded in deciphering the scripts of the Indus Valley Civilisation for everyone to understand.

About the Indus Script

• Statement 1 is correct: The Indus Script employs the boustrophedon style, where the direction of writing alternates between right-to-left in one line and left-to-right in the next. This characteristic is an important feature of the script.

• Statement 2 is incorrect: One of the significant challenges in deciphering the Indus Script is the absence of bilingual inscriptions, like the Rosetta Stone for Egyptian hieroglyphs. Without such inscriptions, it has been difficult to link the script to any known language.

• Statement 3 is correct: The Indus Script includes a numerical system based on the decimal system, where single downward strokes represent units, and semicircles represent tens.

Ans: A

Exp: 

A rare Golden Langur was killed in a road accident, following which local residents in Kadamtola, Bongaigaon, protested and blocked National Highway 117 on 3rd January.

About Golden Langur: 

• Statement 1 is correct: Golden Langurs are named after their golden-colored fur, which changes based on the season and region they inhabit.
• Statement 2 is correct: Golden Langurs prefer the upper canopy of sub-tropical forests in the southern part of their range and temperate forests in the northern areas.
• Statement is 3 incorrect: Golden Langurs are classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Ans: A

Exp:

An international cruise terminal to facilitate a “global” port-led city, “high-end” tourism, and a ship-breaking yard are among the new additions to the 72,000 crore mega-infrastructure project in Great Nicobar Island proposed by the Union Shipping Ministry over the last eight months.

• Statement 1 is Correct. Great Nicobar Island is the southernmost island of the Andaman and Nicobar group and is home to Indira Point, the southernmost point of India.
• Statement 2 is Incorrect. Port Blair is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and is located on South Andaman Island.
• Statement 3 is Incorrect. Galathea National Park is located on Great Nicobar Island, not Car Nicobar Island. It is part of the larger Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve.

Ans: A

Exp:

An annual assessment by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) on the state of groundwater, and its quality, has raised concerns with excess nitrate content which causes  methemoglobinemia, or a reduced ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen. 

• Pair 1 is Incorrect: Nitrate contamination is associated with Blue Baby Syndrome (methemoglobinemia) in infants, not asbestosis.
  • Asbestosis is a lung disease caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers.

• Pair 2 is Correct: Fluoride contamination in groundwater leads to Skeletal Fluorosis, a condition that causes bone deformities and brittleness due to prolonged exposure to high fluoride levels.

• Pair 3 is Incorrect: Arsenic contamination is associated with skin lesions, cancers, and other health issues.
  • Blue Baby Syndrome is caused by nitrate contamination, which affects the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood in infants.