Ans: C

Exp: 

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials believe that the risk of stagflation- a situation of economic stagnation with high inflation- has lowered further to 1% compared to 3% in August based on available data.

Statement 1 is correct: Identifying two significant risk factors for stagflation in India, namely financial conditions and depreciation of the rupee against the U.S. dollar, the RBI officials said these factors prominently influenced the likelihood of stagflation. 

The officials opined that the stagflation risk arising post-COVID-19 had subsided, reflecting easing of financial conditions, contained depreciation of the INR/USD exchange rate and stable domestic petrol and diesel prices. 

Statement 2 is correct: The elevated risks of stagflation were experienced during specific episodes like the Asian Crisis, the Global Financial Crisis, the taper tantrum, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

India witnessed an economic slowdown in several phases; however, it witnessed inflationary pressures for a prolonged period during the Global Financial Crisis (2007-08). A tight domestic monetary policy and sluggish global growth might have led to the economic slowdown in 2011. The uncertainty and capital outflows resulting from the taper tantrum in 2013 also impacted India’s economic growth momentum. 

Ans: A

Exp:

India and ASEAN will begin negotiations in February to modernise their decade-and-a-half-old free trade agreement (FTA). The talks aim to modernise the agreement, introducing product-specific rules and trade remedies while excluding new areas like labour and environment.

Statement 1 is incorrect: The ten-member ASEAN, which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, accounted for 11.3 per cent of India’s global trade in 2022-23.

Statement 2 is incorrect: India has a Trade deficit (not trade surplus) with ASEAN. India’s trade deficit with the region, which was $7.5 billion per annum when the pact was implemented, has since ballooned to $43.57 billion. In 2022-23, India’s exports to the region were valued at $44 billion, while its imports were valued at $ 87.57 billion.

India seeks to narrow the trade deficit, currently standing at $43.57 billion, by revamping the ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITGA) by 2025.

Statement 3 is correct: Modernising the ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITGA) will include incorporating changes in the Rules of Origin (ROO), which can work in favour of India by increasing market access for some items as well as blocking possible re-routing of goods by China through the ASEAN countries.

ROO are the criteria to determine the origin of a product and establish whether it qualifies for duty cuts under the FTA or not.

Ans: D

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: The Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTPs) can be either mechanical or gravity-based. Mechanised systems rely on equipment such as screw presses or centrifuges for dewatering; gravity-based systems use sand drying beds and sunlight.

Statement 2 is correct: The process of containing, conveying and treating faecal sludge is also called faecal sludge management (FSM).

The treated solids can be reused in agriculture when composted with organic municipal solid waste. Treated water is often reused in landscaping within the FSTP facilities. In many small and medium towns or villages, OSS-FSM (On-site sanitation systems- Faecal Sludge Management)  is the predominant form of the sanitation system.

Ans: A

Exp: 

The newly constructed Sanjauli-Dhalli tunnel, built at a cost of Rs 47.36 crore, was inaugurated by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in Shimla.

About Sanjauli-Dhalli tunnel:

The existing Dhalli tunnel, which was constructed in 1852, served as a single-lane passage and had surpassed its design life, causing persistent traffic congestion. The newly built tunnel, strategically positioned on the route to popular tourist destinations such as Kufri, Naldehra, Tattapani, Narkanda and Chail, will ease the movement of tourists and contribute to the region’s economic growth. The paintings in the tunnel on the theme of the Jatar procession of Shimla were conceptualised by Professor Him Chatterjee, who had earlier designed the murals (wall paintings) on the 28,991-square metre Integrated Transit Corridor in and around the Pragati Maidan in Delhi.

Ans: C

Exp:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a programme to pay homage to the courage and martyrdom of the sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and last Sikh ‘Guru’.

Statement 1 is correct: Guru Gobind Singh was the 10th and last of the personal Sikh Gurus known chiefly for his creation of the Khalsa (Punjabi: “the Pure”), the military brotherhood of the Sikhs. He was the son of the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, who suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

Statement 2 is correct: Guru Gobind Singh proclaimed that he was the last of the personal Gurus.  Guru Arjan Das, the fifth Guru, first compiled the ‘Adi Granth’ by the year 1604. It was installed at Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. In 1705, the 10th Guru Gobind Singh gave it a final shape by including hymns composed by the later Gurus and himself. He renamed it Sri Guru Granth Sahib and, one day before his death, proclaimed it as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs.

Statement 3 is correct: Guru Gobind Singh was a man of great intellectual attainments. He was a linguist familiar with Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit, as well as his native Punjabi. He further codified Sikh law, wrote martial poetry and music, and was the reputed author of the Sikh work called the Dasam Granth (“Tenth Volume”).