Option (d) is correct.

Explanation:

Recently, the central government has approved the terms of reference for the 16th Finance Commission.

The Finance Commission is a constitutional body formed by the President of India to give suggestions on centre-state financial relations.  The chairman of the 15th Finance Commission is Mr. N. K. Singh.

Table below shows the criteria used by the Commission to determine each state’s share in central taxes, and the weight assigned to each criterion.  

Option (c) is correct.

Explanation:

• Recently, the Union Cabinet extended by three years the continuation of the special fast-track courts that seek to deliver swift justice in cases involving sexual offences.
• Statement 1 is not correct: 
  • The Fast Track Special Court (FTSC), a centrally sponsored scheme which was launched in 2019, would now be extended up to March 31, 2026.
• Statement 2 is not correct:
  • The Scheme is implemented by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice to ensure the swift disposal of cases related to rape and those coming under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Option (b) is correct.

Explanation:

• Recently, the Supreme Court directed the Survey of India to examine whether a mega car park project envisaged by Kerala near the Mullaperiyar dam area enters the property covered by the Periyar Lake Lease Agreement of October 1886.
• Mullaperiyar Dam: It is located after the confluence of the Mullayar and Periyar rivers in Kerala. The dam’s purpose was to divert the waters of the west-flowing River Periyar eastward to the arid rain shadow regions of a few districts of Tamil Nadu.
• Mettur Dam: It is located in the Salem District in Tamil Nadu across the Cauvery River. 
• Nagarjuna Sagar Dam: It is one of the tallest masonry dams in the world built across River Krishna located on the border between Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh and Nalgonda district in Telangana.
• Hirakud Dam: Located around 15 kms north of Sambalpur in Odisha, it is one of the longest earthen dams of the world built across the great river Mahanadi.

Option (d) is correct.

Explanation:

• Recently, a study named “Gender-related killings of women and girls (femicide/feminicide)” has been released. 
• Statement 1 is not correct: 
  • The study is released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women. 
  • As per the Study, globally, nearly 89,000 women and girls were killed intentionally in 2022, the highest yearly number recorded in the past two decades. The data suggest that while the overall number of homicides globally has begun to fall in 2022 after a spike in 2021, the number of female homicides are not decreasing.
• Statement 2 is not correct: 
  • In 2022, Africa was the region with the highest number of killings, and also with the highest level of violence relative to the size of its female population.
• Statement 3 is not correct: 
  • In India, violent deaths related to dowry payments, accusations of witchcraft and other gender-related factors have been slowly declining over the past decade.

Option (d) is correct.

Explanation:

• On 29th November, 2023, Nepal formally registered the first case of same-sex marriage, five months after the Supreme Court issued an interim order clearing the way for such marriages in the largely conservative country. 
• Statement 1 is not correct: 
  • With this historic move, Nepal has become the first South Asian nation to officially register same-sex marriage.
• Statement 2 is not correct: 
  • In the Supriya Chakraborty vs Union of India case, the Court favoured the refusal of legal recognition to unions other than heteronormative ones. The bench asserted that there is no fundamental right to marriage under the Indian Constitution.