Ans: C

Exp:

Israel recently approved a potential attack on the Gaza city of Rafah in addition to maintaining hopes for a ceasefire by preparing to send a second delegation to Qatar for negotiations on a prospective hostage agreement with the Islamist militant group Hamas.

Statement 1 is NOT correct: It’s the southernmost post of exit from Gaza and borders Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.

Statement 2 is NOT correct: There are two other border crossings from and into the Gaza Strip – Erez, a crossing into Israel in northern Gaza, which is for people, and Kerem Shalom, a solely commercial goods junction with Israel in southern Gaza. Both are shut amid conflict.

Ans: A

Exp:

The European Union has unveiled its comprehensive rulebook for governing the use of AI technologies.

Statement 1 is correct: All remote biometric identification systems are considered high-risk and subject to strict requirements. 

Statement 2 is NOT correct: The use of remote biometric identification in publicly accessible spaces for law enforcement purposes is, in principle, prohibited.

• Narrow exceptions are strictly defined and regulated, such as when necessary to search for a missing child, to prevent a specific and imminent terrorist threat or to detect, locate, identify or prosecute a perpetrator or suspect of a serious criminal offence.

Statement 3 is NOT correct: The Regulatory Framework defines 4 levels of risk for AI systems:

Ans: B

Exp:

Recently, Shri Gyanesh Kumar and Shri Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed charge as the Election Commissioners.

Statement 1 is NOT correct: The Election Commission of India consists of chief election commissioners and such number of other election commissioners as the president may determine.

Statement 2 is correct: The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners shall

be appointed from amongst persons who are holding or have held a post equivalent

to the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

• They shall be persons of integrity, who have knowledge of and experience in management and conduct of elections.

Statement 3 is NOT correct: The Election Commission of India is responsible for conducting elections to parliament, state assemblies, the office of the President of India, and the office of the vice president of India.

Statement 4 is NOT correct: The election commission notifies the date of elections and also scrutinises the nomination papers of contestants.

Ans: C

Exp:

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently released the  report ‘Breaking the gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarised world’.

• Statement 1 is NOT correct: India has moved up a rank on the global Human Development Index (HDI), according to the report.
  •  While India ranked 135 in 2021, it had moved up to 134 in 2022.
• Statement 2 is correct: India’s southern neighbour Sri Lanka has been ranked much ahead at 78, while China is ranked 75, both categorised under the High Human Development category. 
  • India also ranks below Bhutan that stands at 125 and Bangladesh, which is in the 129th position. 
  • India, Bhutan and Bangladesh are all in the Medium Human Development category. 
  • Switzerland has been ranked number one.
  • Nepal (146) and Pakistan (164) have been ranked lower than India.
• Statement 3 is correct: India’s life expectancy at birth has slightly improved from 67.2 years in 2021 to 67.7 years in 2022.
• Statement 4 is correct: There is an overall increase (5.88%) in expected years of schooling (EYS) from 11.9 years to 12.6 years, leading to an improvement of 18 places when the EYS aspect was considered.

Ans: B

Exp:

According to a white paper, paddy cultivation by large-scale adoption of the direct seeded rice (DSR) technique in India will critically depend on a concerted effort from all stakeholders, including agri-input and farm mechanisation companies, crop management advisories, and the government.

• The paper was released by the Federation of Seed Industries of India (FSII) and Sathguru Consultants after gathering information from various sources and discussions.

Statement 1 is NOT correct: Direct seeding is a crop establishment system wherein rice seeds are sown directly into the field, as opposed to the traditional method of growing seedlings in a nursery, then transplanting into flooded fields.

Statement 2 is correct: Weed growth becomes a challenge as seeds are sown directly into the fields.

Statement 3 is correct: It requires much less water than the conventional way of first growing the plant in nurseries and then transplanting them into the fields (TPR), which are done in water-rich conditions. 

Statement 4  is NOT correct: The current focus of the seed industry is on paddy varieties used for transplanted puddled rice (TPR) under the DSR system, supported by a package of practices to help the rice crop adapt to dry and adverse environmental conditions at various stages of growth.

•  However, the modern high-yielding rice varieties have been bred for TPR systems, which do not fit completely when grown under DSR and show 10-30 per cent yield reductions.