Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

• The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has gone to scientists Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, whose work enabled the development of mRNA vaccines against Covid-19.
• Messenger RNA-based vaccine technology uses modified mRNA to tell the body’s cells to produce proteins that train the immune system to defend the body against a particular disease.
• The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be awarded on December 10. 
• The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895. 

Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will meet from October 4 to 6, is expected to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent.
• Statement 2 is not correct: Section 45ZB of the RBI Act provides for the constitution of a six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
• Statement 1 is correct: The objective of MPC is to decide the RBI’s benchmark interest rates to achieve the inflation target.
• The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 was amended by Finance Act (India), 2016 to constitute MPC.
• Quorum: The quorum for a meeting shall be four Members, at least one of whom shall be the Governor and, in his absence, the Deputy Governor, who is the Member of the MPC.
• Decision Making: The MPC takes decisions based on a majority vote. In case of a tie, the RBI Governor will have the second or casting vote.
  • The decision of the MPC would be binding on the RBI
• Functions: The MPC is entrusted with the responsibility of deciding the different policy rates including MSF, Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate, and Liquidity Adjustment Facility.
• Composition of MPC:
  • Section 45ZB says the MPC shall consist of:
    • the RBI Governor as its ex officio chairperson, (Statement 3 is not correct)
    • the Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy, 
    • an officer of the Bank to be nominated by the Central Board
    • three persons to be appointed by the central government.

Option (d) is correct 

Explanation: 

• According to the annual report for financial year 2022-23 (FY23), Nabard’s balance sheet size has almost doubled from Rs 4.1 trillion to Rs 8 trillion during the past five years.
• Nabard will have the opportunity to increase its balance sheet by twofold starting in April 2024, coinciding with the implementation of Basel III norms, as opposed to its Rs 8 trillion balance sheet at the close of the fiscal year in March 2023.
• Statement 1 is not correct: The Basel Framework is the full set of standards of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), which is the primary global standard setter for the prudential regulation of banks.
• Statement 2 is not correct: As per the Basel III norms, capital to risk weighted assets(CAR) of 8% is to be maintained. 
• Statement 3 is not correct: As per RBI norms, Indian scheduled commercial banks have to maintain a CAR of 9% while Indian public sector banks have to maintain a CAR of 12%.

Option (b) is correct.

Explanation: 

• Statement 1 is not correct: Delegates at a United Nations (UN) Conference adopted a new global framework on Chemicals to reduce environmental risks from chemicals and waste during the fifth International Conference on Chemicals Management or ICCM5.
• The Framework sets concrete targets and guidelines across the lifecycle of chemicals.
• Statement 2 is correct: The International Conference on Chemicals Management was recently organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Statement 3 is not correct: The International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) is responsible for guiding and monitoring the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) process.
• SAICM is a policy framework to foster the sound management of chemicals ensuring that, by the year 2020, chemicals are produced and used in ways that minimise significant adverse impacts on the environment and human health. 
• It was adopted by the First International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM1) in 2006 as a policy framework to promote chemical safety around the world. 
• Statement 4 is not correct: SAICM is a global multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder, and voluntary policy framework. It offers a forum to discuss and address many challenges related to the adoption and implementation of national policies to safely manage chemicals.

Option (b) is correct.

Explanation: 

• Statement 1 is correct: Turmeric is a product of Curcuma longa, a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the ginger family Zingiberaceae, which is native to tropical South Asia.
• India being one of the major producers of turmeric, contributes 80% to global production.
• Statement 2 is not correct: Maharashtra, with over 278 thousand metric tons, was the leading producer of turmeric in India during fiscal year 2023. Telangana and Karnataka were second and third in the ranking during that year.
• Statement 3 is correct: The government recently announced the setting up of a National Turmeric Board in Telangana.