Option (c) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, the DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu announced that it has withdrawn the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, allowing the agency to investigate cases without its permission in the State. 
• Statement 1 is not correct. The CBI is not a statutory body. It derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. 
• The CBI is the main investigating agency of the Central Government.
• Statement 2 is not correct. As per Section 6 of the DSPE Act, 1946, the CBI needs consent from the respective State governments for conducting investigation in their jurisdiction. A general consent to CBI granted by State governments enables the central agency to carry out investigations without such hindrances.

Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

• The 22nd Law Commission of India  sought fresh suggestions from various stakeholders, including public and religious organisations, on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
• Article 44 of the Constitution, which is one of the Directive Principles of State Policy, lays down that the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India. However, directive principles, as Article 37 clarifies, are not enforceable by courts.
• In the famous Shah Bano Case of 1985 that dealt with maintenance for Muslim women, the Supreme Court called it a “matter of regret that Article 44 has remained a dead letter”, adding common civil code will help the cause of national integration by removing desperate loyalties to laws that have conflicting ideologies.
• Again, in the Sarla Mudgal Case (1995), which dealt with issues of bigamy and conflict between personal laws in matters of marriage, the court highlighted the need for UCC again. It also requested the Prime Minister of India to have a fresh look at Article 44 and endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India and wanted the Court to be informed about the steps taken.
• However, the Supreme Court’s subsequent orders in Ahmedabad Women Action Group Case (1997) and Lily Thomas Case (2000) clarified that no direction was issued to the government for enactment of a uniform civil code in the Sarla Mudgal case.

Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), wrote a letter to Haryana Chief Minister, demanding that the permission given by his government for testing and cultivation of Genetically Modified (GM) crops be withdrawn immediately.
• Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana have rebuffed a proposal, approved by Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), to test a new kind of transgenic cotton seed. The seed in question was developed by Hyderabad-based Bioseed Research India and contains a gene, cry2Ai, that purportedly makes cotton resistant to pink bollworm. 

Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

• The government will appoint a Finance Commission in the next few months to determine how much of the Centre’s tax revenue should be given away to States (the vertical share) and how to distribute that among States (the horizontal sharing formula).
• Statement 1 is correct: The Finance Commission is a constitutional body, which was established under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution by the Indian President.
• It was created to define the financial relations between the Centre and the states. It was formed in 1951.
• Statement 2 is correct: Every 5 years, the President of India has to constitute a Finance Commission of India.
• Statement 3 is correct: The recommendations made by the Finance Commission are only advisory and therefore, not binding upon the Union Government.

Option (d) is correct 

Explanation:

• The Indian government plans to develop a human development index (HDI) for 75 particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) to measure the impact of economic activities and initiatives on their development. This move will impact approximately 28 lakh PVTGs and will form part of the three-year, INR 15,000 crore PVTG Mission proposal outlined in the 2023-24 budget.
• The Human Development Index was created to emphasise that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone.
• Statement 1 is not correct: It is published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 
• Statement 2 is not correct: HDI is a composite index that measures average achievement in human development taking into account four indicators:
  • Life expectancy at birth
  • Expected years of schooling upon entering the education system
  • Mean years of schooling completed 
  • Gross national income (GNI)

Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• The Sun has been extremely active of late as it peaks towards the maxima as part of its current cycle and a new list of significant events released by US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has revealed how a mega-bubble blew into the Sun’s atmosphere.
• Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun’s corona.
• Statement 1 is correct: They cause radio and magnetic disturbances on the Earth.
• They can drive the Space Weather in near-Earth space.
• Statement 2 is correct: The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) onboard, India’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1 will perform both spectroscopy and imaging of CMEs in the inner corona and provide new insights into the evolution of CME thermodynamic properties in the inner corona.