Ans: C

Exp:

 In a recent visit to India, the  Belarus Foreign Minister stated that India is considering signing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Eurasian Economic Union.

• • The Member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.

• Ukraine is not a part of the EAEU.

• The Eurasian Economic Union is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia that came into existence on 1st January 2015.
• The EAEU has an integrated single market.
• EAEU provides for free movement of goods, services, capital, and labour within its borders.
• Each year, a Member State is elected chairman to head the Union. 
• Chairmanship is passed from country to country in alphabetical order in the Russian language.
• Armenia currently holds the chairmanship.

Ans: D

Exp:

Recently, The High-level Committee (HLC) on One Nation, One Election submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu. The comprehensive 21-volume, 18,626-page report contains 11 chapters plus Annexures.

Statement 1 is correct: Simultaneous elections, popularly referred to as “One Nation, One Election”, means holding elections to Lok Sabha, all state Legislative Assemblies, and urban and rural local bodies (municipalities and panchayats) at the same time.

• Currently, all these elections are held independently of one another, following timelines dictated by the terms of every individual elected body.

Statement 2 is correct:  The first general elections to Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies were held together in 1951-52. 

• The concept of simultaneous elections is in-fact not new to the country. Post adoption of the Constitution, the elections to Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies were held simultaneously between 1951 till 1967 when the cycle of synchronised elections got disrupted.

Ans: A

Exp:

Recently, the Maharashtra cabinet decided to ask the Ministry of Railways to rename Mumbai Central station after Nana Jagannath Shankarseth. Mumbai Central.

Statement 1 is incorrect: The social reformer, educationist, and philanthropist Nana Jagannath Shankarseth (February 10, 1803-July 31, 1865) is often described as the “architect” of Mumbai (then Bombay)

• • He founded the Native School of Bombay, which was renamed first as the Bombay Native Institution, and then as the Board of Education. Finally, this institution evolved into the prestigious Elphinstone College.
  • The Bombay Association was the first political organisation in Mumbai founded by Jagannath Shankarsheth on 26 August 1852.

• The Bombay Presidency Association was established in January 1885 by three prominent leaders in Bombay: Pherozeshah Mehta, K.T. Telang, and Badurddin Tyabji.

Statement 2 is correct: As a social reformer and community leader, Shankarseth earned the goodwill of both Indians and the British.

•  He became the first Indian to be nominated to the Legislative Council of Bombay.

Ans: B

Exp:

Recently, Militants in eastern Congo kill villagers as the country’s leader rules out talks with Rwanda.

• • The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is located in Central Africa. 
  • It  is located on the Equator, therefore it falls in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. 
  • It is located to the east of the Prime Meridian in the Eastern Hemisphere. 
  • Nine countries border the DRC: Central African Republic, Zambia, Angola, Burundi, The Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania.

• Egypt and Libya do not share borders with the DRC.

Ans: D

Exp:

The Karnataka government recently banned the use of harmful colouring agents in gobi manchurian and cotton candy, with a violation attracting imprisonment of up to 7 years and fine of up to Rs 10 lakhs.

• Rhodamine B is not one of the permitted food colouring agents under the country’s food safety regulation. 
• It is a chemical colour used in dyeing clothes, paper, leather, printing, and plastics. 
• It is used to give red and pink colours.
• The dye is not fit for consumption and may lead to acute toxicity.
•  Exposure to the chemical may also damage the eye and cause irritation in the respiratory tract.