Option (c) is correct

Explanation:

• The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill-2023 was passed by Lok Sabha to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
• Statement 1 is Correct: It exempts land within 100 km of the country’s borders from the purview of the forest conservation laws and permits setting up of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism facilities in forest areas.
• Statement 2 is Correct: The bill covers only land that has been declared or notified as forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, or under any other law. It says prior clearance is not needed for the construction of any strategic linear project of national importance.
  • Almost all of the ecologically-fragile northeast fall under this category.
• It requires entities to seek prior permission of the union government for de-reservation of forest land and for use of forest land for other purposes. 
• The Government’s permission is also needed to lease forest land to private entities

Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is Correct:The National Coal Index (NCI) has shown a significant decline of 33.8% in May 2023 at 157.7 points compared to May 2022, where it was at 238.3 points. 
• Statement 2 is Correct:The declining trend indicates a strong supply of coal in the market, with sufficient availability to meet the growing demands.
• The National Coal Index (NCI) is a price index that combines coal prices from all sales channels, including notified prices, auction prices and import prices. 
• Established with the base year as fiscal year 2017-18, it serves as a reliable indicator of market dynamics, providing valuable insights into coal price fluctuations.

Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• A no-confidence motion is a formal process in which a legislature expresses lack of confidence in government.
• As per, Article 75 of the Constitution, the council of ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. 
• It means that the ministry stays in office so long as it enjoys the confidence of the majority of the members of the Lok Sabha. In other words, the Lok Sabha can remove the ministry from office by passing a no-confidence motion. 
• The motion needs the support of 50 members to be admitted.
• Statement 1 is not Correct: A no confidence motion can only be moved in the Lok Sabha.
• Statement 2 is Correct: When the Lok Sabha passes a no-confidence motion against the council of ministers, all the ministers have to resign including those ministers who are from the Rajya Sabha.

Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

• Tropical Rain Forests:
  • Tropical Rain Forests occur in the areas which receive heavy rainfall. They are so dense that sunlight doesn’t reach the ground. 
  • Many species of trees are found in these forests, which shed their leaves at different times of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, parts of North-Eastern states and a narrow strip of the Western slope of the Western Ghats are home of these forests.
• Mangrove Forests:
  • These forests can survive in saline water. They are found mainly in Sunderbans in West Bengal and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 
• Thorny Bushes:
  • This type of vegetation is found in dry areas of the country. The leaves are in the form of spines to reduce the loss of water. Cactus, khair, babool, keekar are important and are found in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Eastern slopes of Western Ghats and Gujarat.

Option (b) is correct

Explanation: 

• A landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district has once again brought attention to the Dr. Madhav Gadgil report on conserving the Western Ghats.
• A sudden movement of rock, boulders, earth or debris down a slope is termed as a landslide. 
• The Western Ghats is a 1,600-km-long mountain chain running along India’s western coast.
• UNESCO has accorded the Western Ghats World Heritage status.
• It spans six Indian states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala.
• The Ghats are home to 325 globally threatened species of flora, fauna, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish.
• Karnataka contains about 60 percent of the entire Western Ghats.

Option (d) is correct

Explanation: 

• The SEBI recently shortened the settlement cycle to trade-plus-one (T+1) from T+2.
• The current cycle of ‘T+1 Trade settlement’ in India means trade-related settlements happen within a day, or within 24 hours of the actual transaction. 
• Statement 2  is Correct:Under the current T+1 settlement cycle, if an investor sells securities, the money gets credited into her account the following day.
• Statement 1 is Correct:Under the T+0 settlement cycle, if investors sell shares, they will get the money in their account instantaneously, and the buyers will get the shares in their demat accounts the same day.