Ans: A

Exp:

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) launched a revamped version of the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ programme apart from an Indian Heritage app and an e-permission portal.

Statement 1 is correct:  The programme encourages corporate stakeholders to utilise their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to enhance facilities at historically-important monuments.

• More freedom has been given to companies such as the option to either adopt a monument in whole and develop its tourism infrastructure, or provide a particular amenity such as drinking water facility or cleaning services for one or several sites.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Adopt a Heritage 2.0  is a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, Archaeological Survey of India.

• The Indian Heritage App provides a comprehensive guide to monuments under ASI’s ambit. It lists historical structures along with pictures, public facilities available on site and geo-tagged locations.
• The e-permission portal has been designed to simplify and speed up the process for acquiring approvals for photography, filming, and developmental initiatives concerning heritage monuments, with the goal of expediting the permission-granting process.

Ans: B

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: Kochrab Ashram was the first Ashram established by Mahatma Gandhi after coming to India from South Africa in 1915.

• It is still preserved as a memorial and tourist space by Gujarat Vidyapeeth. The Prime Minister also launched the Master Plan of the Gandhi Ashram Memorial.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The Kochrab Ashram was established in Sabarmati, Gujarat.

• Sevagram Ashram is located in the town of Sevagram in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was the place of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram and his residence from 1936 to his death in 1948. 

Ans: D

Exp:

The central government has implemented a new uniform code for pharmaceutical marketing practices to curb unethical behaviour. While pharmaceutical companies have adhered to a voluntary marketing practices code since 2015, the new code is quasi-statutory.

Statement 1 is correct: The Uniform Code for Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices (UCPMP) 2024 bans supply of free samples to those who are not qualified to prescribe such a product.

Statement 2 is correct: The UCPMP mandates medical representatives to refrain from paying, under any guise, to get access to healthcare professionals.

• It also holds companies responsible for the actions of the medical representatives.

Statement 3 is correct: It also regulates events, seminars and workshops involving the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare professionals, permitting them to hold such events only under well-defined and transparent circumstances. 

• Besides, it requires all pharma companies to disclose details of such events, including expenditure.

Ans: A

Exp:

 Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct

explanation for Statement-I

Nuclear waste is highly radioactive and needs to be stored in facilities reinforced to prevent leakage into and/or contamination of the local environment.

• Handling the spent fuel is the main challenge: it is hot and radioactive, and needs to be kept underwater for up to a few decades. 
• Once it has cooled, it can be transferred to dry casks for longer-term storage. 
• All countries with longstanding nuclear power programmes have accumulated a considerable inventory of spent fuel. For example, the U.S. had 69,682 tonnes (as of 2015), Canada 54,000 tonnes (2016), and Russia 21,362 tonnes (2014).

Ans: A

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect: SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.

•  Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public.
•  Based in Stockholm, the Institute also cooperates closely with several intergovernmental organisations, notably the United Nations and the European Union, and regularly receives parliamentary, scientific and government delegations as well as visiting researchers.

Statement 2 is correct: India was the world’s top arms importer for the period 2019-23 with imports having gone up by 4.7% compared to the period 2014-18, according to the Swedish think tank, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).