Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• Japan has expressed its dissatisfaction with South Korea’s military exercises on the contested Takeshima islands, lodging a formal protest.

Option (c) is correct

Explanation: 

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a cautionary statement regarding the increasing occurrence of enterovirus infections in several European countries.
• Enteroviruses are a group of viruses that primarily affect the gastrointestinal system and can cause a range of illnesses, including mild respiratory infections, hand, foot, and mouth disease, and more severe conditions such as meningitis and encephalitis.
• They are more likely to cause illnesses in people with weak immune systems.
• Statement 1 is correct: Coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, polioviruses belong to the category  of  Enteroviruses.
• Statement 2 is correct:There is no specific treatment for enterovirus infection.
• There are multiple transmission routes, particularly in the neonatal period, including intrapartum by exposure to maternal blood or postnatally from close contacts with infected caregivers.

Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently resolved a total of 3,079 complaints against companies and market intermediaries using the SCORES platform.
• SCORES is a web based centralised grievance redress system of SEBI.
• It enables investors to lodge and follow up their complaints and track the status of redressal of such complaints online from the above website from anywhere.
• Complaints which cannot be registered in the SCORES Portal:
  • Bank deposits and banking; fixed deposits with NBFCs 
  • Fixed deposits with manufacturing companies; unlisted companies
  • Commodities – Forward Markets Commission
  • Pension fund – Pension Fund Regulatory And Development Authority 
  • Housing finance companies – National Housing Bank

Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, India was in negotiations with Russia to reactivate the rupee-rouble trade arrangement.
• The Rupee-Rouble trade arrangement is an alternative payment mechanism to settle dues in rupees instead of Dollars or Euros. The idea was first conceived in 1953 under the Indo-Soviet trade agreement.
• The payments which are covered under Rupee-Rouble trade arrangement includes:
  • Commercial transactions and covering insurance, freight, port charges, storage and forwarding expenses and bunkering
  • Distribution of films
  • Technical assistance
  • Tours of commercial or cultural nature
  • Maintenance of the Embassy of India in the USSR and of the Embassy and the Trade Representation of the U.S.S.R. in India.

Option (c) is correct

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: The Ministry of Education released the Performance Grading Index 2.0 for Districts (PGI-D) combined report for 2020-21 and 2021-22. 
• The report assesses the performance of the school education system at the District level by creating an index for comprehensive analysis.
• Statement 2 is correct: No State or Union Territory figures in the top five grades—Daksh, Utkarsh (881-940), Atti-Uttam (821-880), Uttam (761-820), and Prachesta -1 (701-760) of index.
• Statement 3 is correct: The top performers Chandigarh and Punjab have scored 659 and 647.4, respectively.
• PGI 2.0 is aligned with new initiatives of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, to monitor indicators relating to Goal 4 of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

Naegleria fowleri:

• Recently, a 15-year-old boy in Kerala’s Alappuzha district died due to a rare infection caused by Naegleria fowleri or “brain-eating amoeba”.
• Statement 1 is correct: Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as “brain-eating amoeba,” is a single-cell organism.
• Statement 2 is correct: It is found in warm freshwater environments such as lakes, hot springs and swimming pools.
• It is so small that it can only be seen with a microscope. 
• Only one species of Naegleria, Naegleria fowleri, infects people.
• Spread: 
  • The amoeba enters the body through the nose and travels to the brain, leading to a severe and usually fatal brain infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).
  • It does not spread from person to person.
• Symptoms: Severe headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, confusion, seizures, hallucinations