Ans: C

Exp:

Recently, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has earmarked funds to construct canopy bridges for India’s only ape- hoolock gibbon to move across a railway track bifurcating its prime habitat in Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Jorhat district, Assam.

• Pair 1 is correctly matched: Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa is the 2nd largest Mangrove ecosystems of India. It is the breeding place for the endangered saltwater crocodiles which are the prime attractions of the sanctuary. 
  • The Gahirmatha Beach which forms the boundary of the sanctuary in the east is the largest colony of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtles.
• Pair 2 is correctly matched: The Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary has the largest concentration of the hoolock gibbon, one of 20 species of apes on earth.
• Pair 3 is correctly matched: Desert National Park, Rajasthan though one of the smallest deserts in the world it harbors a wide array of flora and faunal species. It is the only place where Rajasthan State Bird (Great Indian Bustard), State animal (Chinkara) and State tree (Khejri) and State flower (Rohida) are found naturally.

Ans: A

Exp:

Monsoon Croaks Bioblitz 2024 is scheduled to be held from June 1 to September 30 in the year 2024. People of all ages can participate in this project by uploading photographs of frogs and their sounds through the iNaturalist app. 

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Centre for Citizen Science and Biodiversity Informatics under the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) will organize “Monsoon Croaks Bioblitz 2024”.

• All scientific observations made available during BioBlitz will become part of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), a biodiversity open-source database. 

Statement 2 is incorrect: Monsoon Croaks Bioblitz 2024 is a citizen science programme aimed at documenting the frogs of Kerala during the monsoon (from June 1 to September 30).

• Monsoon is the breeding season of frogs, but many factors like changing rainfall patterns, climate change, habitat loss, water pollution, vehicular traffic and related road kills are affecting their survival. As a result, 41% of the world’s frogs are on the Red List of IUCN Endangered species.

Statement 3 is correct: A bioblitz is an intensive survey conducted over a period of time to identify as many species as possible within a designated area. Monsoon Croaks Bioblitz is a four-month public participation science project (from June 1 to September 30, 2024).

Ans: D

Exp:

Recently, the Indian Prime Minister has embarked on a spiritually enriching meditation journey at Kanyakumari’s revered Vivekananda Rock Memorial.

Statement 1 is correct: The Vivekananda Rock is a tiny rocky islet located some 500 metres from Kanyakumari’s Vavathurai beach, the southern tip of mainland India, at the confluence of the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

• In 1892, however, Swami Vivekananda, the revered Hindu philosopher-saint, swam from the shores of Kanyakumari to the rocky islet to meditate.

Statement 2 is correct: On the eve of Swami Vivekananda’s birth centenary in 1963, the Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee made efforts to commemorate the site of his enlightenment. The memorial on the rock was formally inaugurated by the President V V Giri in 1970.

Ans: B

Exp:

Recently, researchers at the Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, have developed a novel method for the production of recombinant proteins.

Statement 1 is correct: Recombinant proteins, such as vaccine antigens, insulin and monoclonal antibodies, are mass-produced by growing modified bacterial, viral or mammalian cells in large bioreactors. 

• The most widely used organism is the yeast Pichia pastoris (now called Komagataella phaffii).

Statement 2 is incorrect: The new, novel and safer method to mass produce recombinant proteins is by using the common food additive mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) instead of the hazardous methanol. 

• Researchers hope that this novel and indigenous expression system can be used in biotech industries to mass-produce valuable proteins including milk and egg proteins, baby food supplements and nutraceuticals, apart from therapeutic molecules.
• The conventional method to manufacture recombinant proteins involves using the yeast Pichia pastoris (now called Komagataella phaffii) activated by methanol. However, methanol is highly flammable and hazardous, requiring stringent safety precautions.

Ans: B

Exp:

Recently, the variable rate repo (VRR) auction by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) witnessed an overwhelming response from banks, highlighting the growing demand for liquidity in the banking sector. 

• Monetary Policy is a macroeconomic policy tool used by the Central Bank to influence the money supply in the economy to achieve certain macroeconomic goals. 
• A contractionary monetary policy is focused on contracting or decreasing the money supply in an economy.
• Actions taken by the Reserve Bank of India to adopt a contractionary monetary policy:
  • Increase in policy rates like repo, reverse repo, etc.
  • Auction of the Variable Rate Reverse Repo
  • Increase the Marginal Standing Facility Rate
• An expansionary monetary policy is focused on expanding or increasing the money supply in an economy.
• Actions taken by the Reserve Bank of India to adopt a expansionary monetary policy:
  • Decrease in policy rates like repo, reverse repo, etc.
  • Cut and optimize the Statutory Liquidity Ratio
  • Cut the Bank Rate and Repo Rate
  • Auction of the Variable Rate Repo