Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT, flagged off the first batch of Namda Art products for export to the United Kingdom (UK).

Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• NITI Aayog is releasing the third edition of Export Preparedness Index (EPI) for States/UTs of India for the year 2022 on July 17, 2023.
• EPI is a comprehensive tool which measures the export preparedness of the States and UTs in India. 
• EPI assess the performance of the States and UTs across four pillars – 
  • Policy Pillar evaluates states and UTs’ performance based on its adoption of the export-related policy ecosystem at a state and district level as well as the institutional framework surrounding the ecosystem.
  • Business Ecosystem assesses the prevailing business environment in a state/UT, along with the extent of business-supportive infrastructure, and a state/UTs’ transport connectivity.
  • Export Ecosystem focuses on the export-related infrastructure in a state/UT along with the trade support provided to the exporters, and the prevalence of Research and Development in the state/UT to foster innovation.
  • Export Performance is an output-based indicator which gauges the growth of a state’s export over the previous year and analyzes its export concentration and footprint on the global markets.

Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• The underwhelming subscription to State Bank of India (SBI)’s additional tier-1 (AT-1) bond issue has dampened market sentiment and is expected to make fund-raising harder for other PSU banks, even leading to delays in certain cases.
• Statement 1 is correct:Additional Tier-1 bonds are a type of unsecured bonds that banks issue to shore up their core capital base to meet the Basel-III norms.
• Statement 2 is correct:AT-1 bonds carry a face value of ₹10 lakh per bond.
• AT-1 bonds are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). 
• These bonds are perpetual in nature — they do not carry any maturity date. 
• They offer higher returns to investors but compared with other vanilla debt products, these instruments carry a higher risk as well.
• These bonds were introduced by the Basel accord after the global financial crisis to protect depositors.

Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, India’s Foreign Minister  attended the 13th EAS Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Indonesia.
• East Asia Summit was established in 2005 as a forum of 18 regional leaders for strategic dialogue and cooperation with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region.
• Statement 1 is correct: The concept of an East Asia Grouping was first mooted in 1991 by Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad.
• Priority areas: Environment and Energy, Education, Finance, Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases, Natural Disaster Management, and ASEAN Connectivity.
• It comprises the ten member states of the ASEAN along with Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the USA.
• Statement 2 is correct: India is one of the founding members of the East Asia Summit.

Option (c) is correct

Explanation:

• Of late, Jharkhand has seen tensions escalate between the Raj Bhawan and the Hemant Soren-led State government over the TAC.
• The Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) is constituted under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes.
• Each State having Scheduled Areas has a Tribes Advisory Council consisting of not more than twenty members, three-fourths of whom are to be the representatives of the Scheduled Tribes in the State Legislative Assembly.

Option (c) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, the Prime Minister visited the UAE to review the bilateral ties between the two countries.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) lies in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula.
• It shares its borders with Saudi Arabia to the west and south, Oman to the east and southeast, and maritime boundaries with Iran across the Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf) to the north.

Image Credits: BBC