Question 9: Report titled ‘International Migration Outlook 2022’, released by:

1. IMF
2. OECD
3. World Bank 
4. WTO

Correct Answer: B

Explanation

• Report titled ‘International Migration Outlook 2022’, released by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, found that: Students from China (22 per cent) and India (10 per cent) account for the largest share of foreign students in OECD countries.

Question 10: Consider the following statements with respect to PIN code:

1. The PIN was first introduced in India on August 15, 1952.
2. In India, there are 10 PIN regions, out of which first 9 stands for geographical location and 10 is especially used for the army postal service.

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: D

Explanation

The PIN was first introduced in India on August 15, 1972. It is a 6 digits long code with each of the digits denoting a particular meaning.

• The first digit of the PIN reflects the region. In India, there are 9 PIN regions, out of which first 8 stands for geographical location and 9 is especially used for the army postal service.

Northern region – 1,2

Western region – 3,4

Southern region – 5,6

Eastern region – 7,8

Army postal service – 9

• The second digit in the PIN code indicates the sub region. Thus, the first two digits of the PIN identifies a particular the list goes like this

11 – Delhi

12 and 13 – Haryana.

• The third digit in the PIN code indicates the sorting district within the region.
• The last 3 digits designates the specific post office within the district.

Question 11: Which state has notified India’s first sanctuary for the endangered Slender Loris:

1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Tamil Nadu
3. Telangana
4. Odisha

Correct Answer: B

Explanation

• The Tamil Nadu Government has notified India’s first sanctuary for the endangered Slender Loris. Slender Loris is a small, nocturnal primate, commonly found in the tropical scrub and deciduous forests of Southern India and Sri Lanka.
• Earlier, the Tamil Nadu government had notified India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay, Kazhuveli bird sanctuary in Villupuram and Nanjarayan Tank birds’ sanctuary in Tiruppur.
• The sanctuary, ‘Kadavu Slender Loris Sanctuary’ will come up in Karur and Dindi Gul districts under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The sanctuary will cover Vedasandur, Dindi Gul East and Natham taluks in these districts. According to CMO Tamil Nadu, the sanctuary will cover an area of 11,806 hectares.
• Slender Loris or Loris tardigrades are tree animals, spending most of their life on They prefer to inhabit thick, thorny bushes and bamboo clumps. Their diet includes insects, leaves, flowers, slugs and sometimes eggs of birds. Since Slender Loris acts as a biological predator of pests, they benefit the farmers in protecting agricultural crops from pests.
• IUCN has listed them as ‘Endangered’. Meanwhile, Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972, accords them the highest level of legal protection.

Question 12: Consider the following statements with respect to Global Ecosystem Typology:

1. It is developed by UNEP.
2. The Global Ecosystem Typology comprises six hierarchical levels.
3. It classifies ecosystems based on their functional characteristics such as structural roles of foundation species, water regime, climatic regime or food web structure.

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: B

Explanation

The IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology

• The IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology comprises six hierarchical levels, with the three upper levels developed on this website, allowing navigation from global to local the three upper levels – realms, functional biomes and ecosystem functional groups – classify ecosystems based on their functional characteristics (such as structural roles of foundation species, water regime, climatic regime or food web structure), rather than based on which species live in them.
• The three lower levels of classification – biogeographic ecotypes, global ecosystem types and sub global ecosystem types – are often already in use and incorporated into policy infrastructure at national levels and can be linked to these upper levels. This is crucial, as important conservation action occurs at local levels, where most ecosystem-specific knowledge and data reside.