Ans: B

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti is the coordinating department for implementing schemes for setting up Biogas plants under the Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBARdhan) scheme.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The GOBARdhan scheme was launched by the Government of India in April 2018 as a part of the Biodegradable Waste Management component under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) (SMB-G) to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste. Main focus of the GOBARdhan scheme is:

• To keep villages clean.
• Increase the income of rural households.
• Generate energy and organic manure from cattle waste.

 GOBARdhan is not a part of the PM-KUSUM Scheme (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyaan). 

Statement 3 is correct: The GOBARdhan scheme is a multi-ministerial initiative of GoI aimed at converting biodegradable/ organic waste, including cattle dung and agricultural residues and other biomass, into valuable resources such as biogas, compressed biogas (CBG), and organic manure and to promote circular economy through a novel ‘Whole of Government’ approach.

Ans: A

Exp:

Sweden’s attempt to join NATO cleared a major hurdle Tuesday (January 23) after Turkey’s parliament supported its membership.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a political and military alliance between the United States, Canada, and numerous European countries which was established in 1949 as a defence against the Soviet Union by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty)

Statement 1 is correct: The North Atlantic Council is the principal political decision-making body within NATO. 

It oversees the political and military process relating to security issues affecting the whole Alliance. It brings together representatives of each member country to discuss policy or operational questions requiring collective decisions, providing a forum for wide-ranging consultation between members on all issues affecting their peace and security.

Statement 2 is correct: For a new country to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), all the existing members have to approve its membership.

Once a country is a NATO member, an attack on its territory is considered an attack on the US-led alliance, and all 31 members are obliged to defend each other.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Turkey gained membership in NATO in 1952, and Finland was inducted as a member in 2023. At present, NATO has 31 member countries. 

Ans: D

Exp:

Kaziranga National Park- Assam (UNESCO World Heritage Site), is battling the highly invasive Mimosa species. A brief outline of some of the Invasive plant species:

• Siam weed, also known as Chromolaena odorata, is a flowering shrub native to the Americas that was introduced as an ornamental plant in Dhaka, Bangladesh and escaped a herbarium before spreading throughout South Asia. The weed rapidly spread in the plains of northeastern India, especially protected areas of Assam. The invasive plant saw a 28 per cent increase in Golaghat district between 2013 and 2023 ( according to a study by the Assam Agricultural University). 
• Water hyacinth is an invasive aquatic plant.
• Touch-Me-Not/Mimosa is called Nilaji Bon or Lajuki Lata in Assamese because of its sensitive compound leaves that fold inward and droop on being touched or shaken. It was introduced by the tea industry in Assam as the plant is good for nitrogen fixation to enrich soils. However, a host of climatic as well as geographical factors contributed to its spread, which choked the grasslands of Kaziranga within a few decades. Researchers have identified two varieties (Mimosa invisa and Mimosa invisainermis) spreading through Kaziranga, of which one is a thorny variety (Mimosa invisa). 
• Rivers, streams and wetlands in Assam are also facing threats from new alien species, such as Ludwigia peruviana (Peruvian water primrose).

Ans: C

Exp:

The Government of India has launched a new fellowship programme (VAIBHAV Fellowship Programme) to connect the Indian STEM diaspora with Indian academic and R&D institutions for collaborative research.

Statement 1 is correct: The Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) fellowship [implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology] would be awarded to outstanding scientists/technologists of Indian origin (NRI/OCI/PIO) who are engaged in research activities in their respective countries. The 75 selected fellows would be invited to work in 18 identified knowledge verticals, including quantum technology, health, pharma, electronics, agriculture, energy, computer sciences, and material sciences, amongst others.

Statement 2 is correct: The aim of the programme is to connect the Indian STEM diaspora with Indian academic and R&D institutions for collaborative research work leading to the sharing of knowledge, wisdom, and best practices in the frontier areas of science & technology.

The VAIBHAV Fellow would identify an Indian Institution for collaboration (may spend up to two months in a year for a maximum of 3 years), and his/her remuneration would include a fellowship grant (INR 4,00,000 per month), international and domestic travel, accommodation and other contingencies.

Ans: A

Exp:

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (founded by Albert Einstein and students from the University of Chicago in 1945) created the ‘Doomsday Clock’ as a symbol to represent how close the world is to a possible apocalypse. It is set annually by a panel of scientists, including 13 Nobel laureates, based on the threats (old and new) that the world faced in that year. The hands of the ‘Doomsday Clock’, a visual depiction of how vulnerable the world is to a climate or nuclear and other catastrophe, remained at ‘100 seconds to midnight’ in the year 2021 (closest to Doomsday then).

When the Doomsday Clock was first created in 1947, the hands of the clock were placed based on the threat posed by nuclear weapons. The reason the scientists selected a clock to convey the metaphor is twofold- they wanted to use the imagery of an apocalypse (midnight) as well as the ‘contemporary idiom of a nuclear explosion’ (countdown to zero) to illustrate the threats to humanity. Over the years, it has included other existential threats, such as climate change and disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence.