Ans: C

Exp:

 The statue of Sant Ravidas was unveiled in Varanasi on his 647th birth anniversary by the Prime Minister of India.

Statement 1 is correct: The compositions of Guru Ravidasji were  included in Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

• He is popularly known by different names like Raidas, Rohidas, and Ruhidas. 
• Since his birth, Guru Ravidas devoted his life to advocating for human rights and equality. 
• Guru Ravidas Jayanti is a revered festival in North India that celebrates the birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas, a renowned saint and poet.

Statement 2 is correct: He was the champion of Nirguna sampradaya of Sant Parampara. It is a tradition of formless god.

• Sant Ravidas played a pivotal role in imparting meaning to independence within society and bridging social divides.
•  He raised his voice against untouchability, classism, and discrimination. 

Ans: A

Exp:

The Union Health Ministry amended the earlier rules that stated that couples undergoing surrogacy must have both gametes from the intending couple.

Statement 1 is correct: Surrogacy is the practice wherein a woman agrees to carry a foetus and give birth to a baby for someone else without having any parental rights on the child.

• A surrogate/gestational carrier, is a woman who conceives, carries and gives birth to a child for another person or couple (intended parent/s).

Statement 2 is incorrect: The Central government has modified the Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules, 2022 and notified that both gametes need not come from a married couple in case they are certified as suffering from a medical condition. 

• • This implies that a couple cannot opt for surrogacy if both the partners have medical problems or are unable to have their own gametes. 
• As per the latest amendment, the couple can have a child born through surrogacy but must have at least one gamete from the intending couple.

Ans: B

Exp:

Chief of Defence Staff says Grey-zone warfare latest entry in lexicon of warfare.

• Grey zone warfare can be broadly defined as the exploitation of operational space between peace and war to change the status quo through the use of coercive actions which remain below a threshold that, in most cases, would prompt a conventional military response. 
• The activities characterised as grey zone warfare methods includes: cyberattacks, economic coercion, disinformation campaign, election meddling, and more recently, weaponisation of migrants.

Ans: D

Exp:

The Climate and Clean Air Conference 2024 began with a call for international collaboration to phase-out short-lived Super pollutants.

Super pollutants are also known as Short-lived climate pollutants (SCLPs). These derive their name from their relatively short life in the atmosphere as compared to carbon dioxide. 

Some common types of super pollutants

• Methane from sources such as fossil fuels, agriculture, and waste

• Black carbon from sources such as diesel engines and coal-fired power plants

• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC’s) from sources such as refrigerants and aerosol propellants
• Tropospheric Ozone/ Ground-level ozone, an irritating gas that forms above the Earth’s surface.

Ans: B

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct:  Similar to NATO, the treaty of CSTO establishes that an aggression against one signatory would be perceived as an aggression against all. 

Statement 2 is incorrect: it is a Russia led security bloc.

• Recently, Armenia has suspended its participation in a Russia-led security bloc,relations soured last year when Russian peacekeepers did not intervene to stop Azerbaijan taking control of Nagorno-Karabakh from the Armenian separatists who ran the enclave.

Statement 3 is correct: The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia comprising several former Soviet republics like Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.