Question 25: Consider the following statements:

1. The triple test conditions were outlined by the Supreme Court in the case of Vikas Kishanrao Gawali vs. State of Maharashtra and others.
2. The triple test requires the government to complete three tasks for finalization of reservation to OBCs in the local bodies.

Which of the following statements is/are true?
A) 1 only

B) 2 only

C) 1 and 2 only

D) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

After the Allahabad High Court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to hold urban local body elections without reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) because the ‘triple test’ requirement for the quota had not been fulfilled.

What is triple test?

The triple test requires the government to complete three tasks for finalization of reservation to OBCs in the local bodies. These include:

• To set up a dedicated commission to conduct a rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness in local bodies;
• To specify the proportion of reservation required in local bodies in light of recommendations of the commission, so as not to fall foul of overbreadth;
• To ensure reservation for SCs/STs/OBCs taken together does not exceed an aggregate of 50 per cent of the total seats.

 These triple test/conditions were outlined by the Supreme Court in the case of Vikas Kishanrao Gawali vs. State of Maharashtra and others, decided on March 4, 2021.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-politics/what-is-triple-test-survey-uttar-pradesh-obc-quota-in-urban-local-bodies-8351608/

Question 26: Consider the following statements:

1. The Keki Mistry-headed committee, set up by Sebi to review the buyback regulations.
2. Under the stock exchange route, a company can buy back shares only on the stock exchanges having nationwide trading terminals.
3. In the buyback via tender offer, the buyback is done on a proportionate basis as per the buyback ratio.

Which of the following statements is/are true?
A) 1 and 2

B) 2 and 3

C) 1 and 3

D) 1, 2, and 3

Correct Answer: D

Explanation

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has decided to phase out the buyback of shares of listed companies through the exchange route.

Why is Sebi against the exchange route?

• As per the recommendations of the Keki Mistry-headed committee, set up by Sebi to review the buyback regulations, under the stock exchange route, there is a possibility of one shareholder’s entire trade getting matched with the purchase order placed by the company, thus depriving other shareholders of availing the benefit of buyback. This runs contrary to the principle of equitable treatment, which forms the basis of all corporate actions.
• According to the Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, the tender route is the more equitable route for buybacks. “The other routes are vulnerable to favoritisms because nobody really knows that in the exchange mechanism when the company is going to come in order to buy back shares and only a few people may be aware of it, and benefits may flow to those few people. So, it (buyback through exchange) is not an equitable mechanism,” Buch said after the Sebi board meeting.

What is the stock exchange route?

• Under the stock exchange route, a company can buy back shares only on the stock exchanges having nationwide trading terminals. The buyback of shares is made only through the order-matching mechanism. In this method, the promoters, or persons in control of a company are not allowed to participate.

What is buyback via tender offer?

• A tender offer means an offer by a company to buy back its own shares or other specified securities through a letter of offer from the holders of the shares or other specified securities of the company.
• The buyback is done on a proportionate basis as per the buyback ratio, and the additional shares tendered over and above the prescribed buyback ratio get accepted if there are any unaccepted shares. It is a fixed-price buyback offer.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-economics/buybacks-why-sebi-is-phasing-out-the-stock-exchange-route-and-how-it-impacts-shareholders-8338614/

Question 27: Consider the following statements:

1. The Arctic Sea ice is crucial to polar bears’ survival.
2. Polar bears are one of the most significant predators in the Arctic region.
3. If polar bears aren’t able to hunt animals like seals, it can severely impact the food chain.

Which of the following statements is/are true?
A) 1 and 2

B) 2 and 3

C) 1 and 3

D) 1, 2, and 3

Correct Answer: D

Explanation

• The Arctic Sea ice is crucial to polar bears’ survival as they use it not only to hunt seals — their chief food — but also for travelling, mating and resting. However, with rising global temperatures, the sea ice is breaking earlier in summer and refreezing later in winter, due to which polar bears get less time to hunt and have to stay hungry for longer and travel greater distances.
• This extra need for energy coupled with a lack of food can result in body deterioration and a drop in the average weight of adult bears.

 Importance of polar bears

• Polar bears are one of the most significant predators in the Arctic region and they keep biological populations in balance. The big kills made by them serve as a food resource for scavengers like Arctic foxes and Arctic birds. If polar bears aren’t able to hunt animals like seals, it can severely impact the food chain and health of the ecosystem.
• Researchers have also found that once polar bears can’t find seals to eat, they would quickly move to kill and survive on other creatures in the Arctic region. This would threaten the existence of species like the Arctic fox or the walrus. Moreover, it might also cause the overpopulation of seals, which could endanger the existence of crustaceans and fish that are an important food source for local human populations as well as other Arctic wildlife.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/polar-bears-in-key-canada-region-dying-causes-effects-8342642/#:~:text=Impact%20of%20climate%20change%20on%20polar%20bears&text=The%20report%20also%20found%20that,mortality%20rate%20of%20bear%20cubs.&text=Another%20study%20that%20came%20out,to%20smaller%20litters%20of%20bears.

Question 28: Consider the following statements:

1. The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species.
2. The emperor penguin is endemic to Arctic.
3. The emperor penguin relies on ice for breeding.

Which of the following statements is/are true?
A) 1 and 2

B) 2 and 3

C) 1 and 3

D) 1, 2, and 3

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

• The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica.
• The emperor penguin relies on ice for breeding and is the most vulnerable of Antarctica’s species.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/antarctica-emperor-penguins-extinct-2100-8343481/

Question 29: Consider the following statements:

1. Geoglyphs are a form of prehistoric rock art, created on the surface of laterite plateaus.
2. Clusters of geoglyphs are spread across the Konkan coastline in Maharashtra and Goa.

Which of the following statements is/are true?
A) 1 only

B) 2 only

C) 1 and 2 only

D) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

• Experts and conservationists have raised concerns over the proposed location for a mega oil refinery in Barsu village of Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district. They claim that the refinery might damage prehistoric geoglyphs found in the area.
• Geoglyphs are a form of prehistoric rock art, created on the surface of laterite plateaus (Sada in Marathi). They are made by removing a part of the rock surface through an incision, picking, carving or abrading.
• As per the UNESCO listing, petroglyphs and geoglyphs share similarities as both require the skills of removing parts or engraving a symbol on the rock surface.
• Clusters of geoglyphs are spread across the Konkan coastline in Maharashtra and Goa, spanning around 900 km. porous laterite rock, which lends itself to such carving, is found on a large scale across the entire region.
• Ratnagiri’s rock art is evidence of the continued existence of human settlements from the Mesolithic (middle stone age) to the early historic era. The geoglyphs also show the existence of certain types of fauna that are no longer present in the region today.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/ratnagiri-geoglyphs-8344954/

Question 30: Consider the following statements:

1. Chat GPT (Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer) is a software tool that can answer questions on almost any topic.
2. Google’s product LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) is similar to Chat GPT.

Which of the following statements is/are true?
A) 1 only

B) 2 only

C) 1 and 2 only

D) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: C

Explanation

• The recent buzz around Chat GPT (Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer), a software tool that can answer questions on almost any topic, carry on conversations with humans, write poems, computer programs and perform many more complex tasks that require intelligence, is testimony that artificial intelligence can “create”.
• One can also mention here Google’s product LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) that is similar to Chat GPT and other sophisticated products (Dall E) that can create image from verbal descriptions.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-invincible-originality-of-srinivasa-ramanujan/article66289747.ece