Question 31: Consider the following statements:

1. Electricity and industry sectors together account for over three-fourths of India’s CO2 emissions.
2. India’s per capita energy consumption is barely a tenth of that of the USA.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 2 only
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

• Sectoral transformations are key – India has prioritized six strategic sectors — electricity, transport, urban, industry, carbon dioxide removal and forests. Of these, electricity and industry sectors together account for over three-fourths of India’s CO2 emissions, while rapid changes are happening in the transport and urban systems.
• India’s per capita energy consumption is barely a tenth of that of the USA 

Question 32: The South China Sea is bordered by which of the following countries:

1. Brunei
2. Indonesia
3. Malaysia
4. Philippines
5. Vietnam

Which of the following statements is/are true?

1. 2, 3, 4 and 5
2. 1, 3, 4 and 5
3. 1, 4 and 5
4. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Correct Answer: D

Explanation

• The South China Sea lies just south of the Chinese mainland and is bordered by the countries of Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
• In 1995, China illegally occupied the Mischief Reef, just 210 km from the Philippine Island of Palawan. After years of painful negotiation between ASEAN and China, a non-binding, aspirational Declaration of Conduct (DOC) in the South China Sea was arrived at in 2002.

Question 33: Consider the following statements:

1. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are separated by the 150-km wide Ten Degree Channel.
2. Indira Point lies on the southern tip of Great Nicobar Island, is India’s southernmost point.
3. The Andaman Islands is home to the Shompen and Nicobarese tribal peoples.
4. Great Nicobar is equidistant from Colombo to the southwest and Port Klang and Singapore to the southeast.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

1. 1, 2 and 3
2. 2, 3 and 4
3. 1, 2 and 4
4. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

• Great Nicobar, the southernmost of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has an area of 910 sq km. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a cluster of about 836 islands in the eastern Bay of Bengal, the two groups of which are separated by the 150-km wide Ten Degree Channel.
• The Andaman Islands lie to the north of the channel, and the Nicobar Islands to the south.
• Indira Point on the southern tip of Great Nicobar Island is India’s southernmost point, less than 150 km from the northernmost island of the Indonesian archipelago.
• Great Nicobar is home to two national parks, a biosphere reserve, and the Shompen and Nicobarese tribal peoples, along with ex-servicemen from Punjab, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh who were settled on the island in the 1970s.
• Great Nicobar is equidistant from Colombo to the southwest and Port Klang and Singapore to the southeast and positioned close to the East-West international shipping corridor, through which a very large part of the world’s shipping trade passes.

Question 34: Consider the following statements:

1. Writing off a loan essentially means it will no longer be counted as an asset.
2. By writing off loans, a bank can reduce the level of non-performing assets (NPAs) on its books.
3. The amount so written off also reduces the bank’s tax liability.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

1. 1 and 2
2. 2 and 3
3. 1 and 3
4. 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: D

Explanation

• Writing off a loan essentially means it will no longer be counted as an asset.
• By writing off loans, a bank can reduce the level of non-performing assets (NPAs) on its books. An additional benefit is that the amount so written off reduces the bank’s tax liability.
• The bank writes off a loan after the borrower has defaulted on the loan repayment and there is a very low chance of recovery.
• The lender then moves the defaulted loan, or NPA, out of the assets side and reports the amount as a loss.
• After the write-off, banks are supposed to continue their efforts to recover the loan using various They have to make provisioning as well.
• The tax liability will also come down as the written-off amount is reduced from the profit.

Question 35: Consider the following statements:

1. The Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour.
2. Indian wildlife biologist Dr Purnima Devi Barman was awarded with it for efforts in conservation of the Hargila.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 2 only
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

• Indian wildlife biologist Dr Purnima Devi Barman was recently awarded with Champions of the Earth award in the Entrepreneurial vision category, UN’s highest environmental honour.
• She is the founder of the Hargila Army and senior project manager of the Avifauna Research and Conservation Division, Aaranyak.
• The Champions of the Earth is an appreciation for innovative ways implemented by the awardees across the world to support nature’s extraordinary capacity for renewal.

How is Barman saving the storks?

• Barman had to change perceptions of the bird as a bad omen, bad luck or a disease carrier among people in Assam. She assembled a group of village women to help her and named the group as the ‘Hargila Army’ after the stork, known as ‘hargila‘ in Assamese (meaning ‘bone swallower’).
• The Hargila Army has helped communities’ plant 45,000 saplings near stork-nesting trees and wetland areas to support future stork populations and they are planning to plant 60,000 saplings next year.

Question 36: Consider the following statements:

1. The ivory trade was globally banned in 1989 when all African elephant populations were put in CITES Appendix I.
2. India designed the iconic CITES logo.
3. No trade is allowed in species listed in CITES Appendix I while trade is strictly regulated in those under Appendix II.

Which of the following statements is/are true?

1. 1 and 2
2. 2 and 3
3. 1 and 3
4. 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: D

Explanation

• The first time since joining the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) in 1976, India did not vote against a proposal seeking to re-open the ivory trade.
• For over three decades, India has opposed the international ivory trade. In fact, India designed the iconic CITES logo in the form of an elephant way back in 1981.
• The ivory trade was globally banned in 1989 when all African elephant populations were put in CITES Appendix I.
• The populations of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe were transferred to Appendix II in 1997 and South Africa’s in 2000. No trade is allowed in species listed in CITES Appendix I while trade is strictly regulated in those under Appendix II.