Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, the government has instituted the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (RVP) — 56 prizes to felicitate scientists, technologists and innovators.
• The new system, called the ‘Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar’ (RVP), includes a bouquet of awards: Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, Vigyan Team, and Vigyan Ratna. 
• In a welcome step to move beyond recognitions largely restricted to scientists with regular positions in academia, the new awards are also open to innovators and technologists, including those in industry, and with diverse, non-regular affiliations.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: With the exception of the Vigyan Yuva-SSB award – for scientists up to the age of 45 years – the other RVP awards don’t have an age limit.
• Statement 1 is correct: The RVP awards will also be open to Persons of Indian Origin abroad.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: The new award system has eliminated cash prizes, and will instead include certificates and medals.

Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, the Home Minister highlighted the Vibrant Village Programme (VVP) as instrumental in delivering essential facilities and infrastructure to these area
• The Vibrant Village Programme (VVP) was announced in the Finance Minister’s Budget Speech 2022.
• Aim: To enhance the infrastructure in the villages near the northern border (Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Ladakh) of India.
• Under this centrally sponsored scheme, 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts have been identified for comprehensive development. 

Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• The Border Roads Organisation’s Project Beacon is enhancing the road to the Amarnath cave shrine in Kashmir’s Lidder Valley.
• Launched in the 1960s, Project Beacon is the Border Roads Organisation‘s oldest initiative, overseeing the development and maintenance of vital road infrastructure in key Kashmir regions.
• BRO: The BRO was formed in 1960 to secure India’s borders and develop infrastructure in remote areas of the north and north-east states of the country.
  • BRO has been entirely brought under the Ministry of Defence in 2015.
  • Motto: Shramena Sarvam Sadhyam (everything is achievable through hardwork.

Option (c) is correct

Explanation:

• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed the installation of an inbuilt ‘moving off information system’ (MOIS) in certain categories of four-wheeler passenger and commercial vehicles to reduce the possibility of collision with pedestrians and cyclists in close proximity.
• ‘Moving Off Information System’ (MOIS) proposes the integration of a ‘Moving Off Information System’ (MOIS) in specific categories of vehicles to address collisions with pedestrians and cyclists in close proximity.
• MOIS is designed to detect and alert drivers about the presence of pedestrians and cyclists nearby. It issues a warning to the driver if a potential collision is imminent, based on the manufacturer’s strategy.

Option (c) is correct 

Explanation: 

• The Forest Conservation Amendment Act of 2023 has received limited attention and little discussion about its impact on forests and its inhabitants.
• Statement 1 is correct: As per the amendment, the forest law will now apply exclusively to areas categorised under the 1927 Forest Act and those designated as such on or after October 25, 1980. 
• Statement 2 is correct: The Act will not be applicable to forests that were converted for non-forest use on or after December 12, 1996 and land which falls under 100 kilometres from the China and Pakistan border where the central government can build linear projects.
• To establish security infrastructure and facilities for surveillance, the central government is authorised to construct security measures in areas up to ten hectares. 
• Statement 3 is correct: It exempts zoos from requiring prior approval under the 1980 Act.