Good evening aspirants. I welcome you all to another video of the series Shankar summary But before getting into the discussion, I have two important announcements to make one is regarding our Hindu Daily News Analysis the series will commence from 15th of May 2023 stay tuned and keep supporting us as always the second thing that I wanted to share is about the free all India mock test of Shankar AIS academy. There are three tests and these tests will be conducted on three dates that is 7th of May 14th of May and 21st of May. So these tests will be simulated based on UPSC standards and answer keys will be provided at the end of each of these tests. So the registration link is given below. Click the link and register for the test. Dear aspirants, gear up and get ready for your D day. So with this note, now we will begin the discussion. So these are the list of topics that I have taken from the December 2022 current affairs. Now we will take up the first question for our discussion. Look at this question this question is about the vice president of India. Here four options are given and we have to find which one of these options is incorrect about the vice president of India. Let us take option A. It says that as per article 64 of the Indian constitution, the vice president of India acts as the ex official chairman of Rajasheba. This option is correct. First of all, know that article 63 of the Indian constitution provides for the office of vice president of India. Then the article 64 provides that the vice president of India shall be the ex official chairman of the council of states that is the Rajasheba. See in the constitutional setup, the vice president is part of the union executive. But as the chairman of the Rajasheba, the vice president of India also forms part of the parliament. So we can say that the vice president of India has a dual capacity and holds two distinct and separate offices. So option A is correct. Option B says that the vice president of India is not bound to give reasons for his or her decisions while functioning as the chairman of Rajasheba. This option is also correct. See as the chairman of Rajasheba, the vice president performs various functions. The functions are presiding over the meetings of Rajasheba, then acting as the principal spokesman of the house, then ensuring that the proceedings of the house are conducted in accordance with the relevant constitutional provisions, rules, practices and conventions. Then he also ensures that the decorum is maintained in the house and so on. See during the exercise of his functions, the chairman may take some decisions or he may give some rulings. The rulings of the chairman are of binding nature and he is not bound to give reasons for his decisions. Also note that the chairman's rulings cannot be questioned or criticized. And note that the act of protest against the ruling of the chairman is regarded as a contempt of the house. From this information, we can say that option B is correct. Now look at option C. It says that the chairman of Rajasheba is not entitled to vote in the Rajasheba under any circumstance. This option is incorrect. See the vice president while acting as the chairman of the Rajasheba shall not be entitled to vote in the first instance. But when there is a tie, the chairman gets the power of voting and this is in accordance with article 100 of the Indian constitution. And this voting is called a casting vote. So the option C is incorrect. The vice president is entitled to vote when there is a tie in the Rajasheba. So now itself we have arrived at the answer but we have to verify whether option D is correct or not. See option D says that the process of removal of the vice president of India can be initiated in the Rajasheba only. This option is correct. The process of removal of vice president of India can be initiated only in the Rajasheba. The Rajasheba has the power to investigate the charges against the vice president. So after investigation, if the vice president is found guilty, the removal motion has to be passed with the effective majority in the Rajasheba. After that it would be sent to the Lokshaba and the Lokshaba has to pass the removal motion with the simple majority. If the Lokshaba passes the removal motion, the vice president of India stands removed from his office. See the Lokshaba is having some powers in the removal of vice president but the process has to be initiated only in the Rajasheba. So here option D is correct. Now let us move on to the next question. See this question is about the members of SARC. See in UPSC many times questions about members of international organizations were asked. The recent example is the 2020 prelims. In 2020 prelims membership of G20 was asked. Now I have framed this question about SARC. This is because 8th December 2022 marked the 38th SARC chatter day. Since it was in news, UPSC might ask questions about SARC. Now let's solve this question. But before that we will see few facts about SARC. See SARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. SARC as a regional organization came into existence in the year 1985. It was established after the signing of SARC chatter by the member countries in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1985. The secret rate of the association is located at Kathmandu, Nepal. The objectives of SARC include promoting the welfare of peoples of South Asia and improving their quality of life. Then accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region.  Then SARC also aims at contributing to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problem. Finally promoting active collaboration and mutual assistance in economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields. So these are some of the objectives of SARC. Now we will take up the question. See members of SARC are Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. So Myanmar is not a member and Thailand is also not a member. So if we eliminate one and five we get the option B2, 3, 4 and 6 only. Among the members Afghanistan is the newest member of SARC which was added at the 13th annual summit in 2005. So with this information now we will move on to the next question. Look at this question here. This is a three statement question about purchasing managers index. We have to find the correct statement. Let's take the statement number one. See this statement says that the purchasing managers index is published monthly by the US based private company named SNP Global. This statement is correct. Purchasing manager index is compiled and published globally by a US based private company called SNP Global. Know that PMI is produced for more than 40 economies worldwide and the index is released every month. So statement one is correct. Statement two says that it provides information about the business conditions and health of the global economy. This statement is also correct. PMI is a survey based economic indicator. It is designed to provide a timely insight into the business conditions and health of the global economy. See PMI is widely used to anticipate changing economic trends in official data such as GDP. It is also used as an alternative to know about economic performance and business conditions. Thus PMI data are used by financial and corporate professionals to better understand where economies and markets are headed and it helps them to uncover opportunities. Therefore statement two is also correct. Now statement three says that PMI provides data about manufacturing sector only and it does not include the service sector. See initially PMI was compiled for the manufacturing sector only but later it was extended to include other sectors such as services construction and retail. So this statement is incorrect. The services PMI was introduced in 1996. It was introduced to accompany the existing manufacturing PMI. This is because the business analysts wanted a better understanding of the changing business conditions in the wider economy. So basically the service sectors covered under PMI include consumer transport information communication finance insurance real estate and business services. From this information we can say that the third statement is incorrect. This is because PMI provides data about both manufacturing and service sector. So the answer for this question is option A one and two only. Now we will take up the next question. Now this question here is about ramjet and scramjet engines. I have framed this question because in December ISRO has conducted the hot test of scramjet engine. Also UPSC has already asked questions about the latest happenings in ISRO. This question in 2018 prelims is an example for this. It is about PSLV and GSLV. So there is a possibility of UPSC asking question about ramjet and scramjet engines also. Now let's solve this question. First statement says that unlike ramjet engines scramjet engines do not rely on the aircraft's forward motion to compress the incoming air. See this statement is incorrect because ramjet is a type of air breathing jet engine that relies on aircraft's forward motion to compress the incoming air for the combustion purpose. Likewise scramjet engine also relies on the aircraft's forward motion to compress the incoming air for the combustion process. So which means both the engines do not have rotating compressor. Then second statement says that both ramjet and scramjet engines have the capacity of operating at hypersonic speeds. See this statement is also incorrect because the average speed of ramjet is 3 to 6 Mach. See the efficiency of the ramjet engine starts to drop when the vehicle reaches hypersonic speeds that is typically 6 Mach. For this reason only scramjet engine was developed. See the scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine. It efficiently operates at hypersonic speeds. It even allows supersonic combustion meaning speed more than 6 Mach. So both engines do not operate at hypersonic speeds. Mainly remember scramjets have supersonic air flow in their combustion chambers whereas ramjets have subsonic air flow. One of their primary advantages is that scramjet and ramjet engines have no rotating or moving parts. So the correct answer for this question is option D neither one nor two. Now we will take up the next question. See this question talks about asteroids and meteoroids. First let's discuss about these terms and then we will solve this question. Let's begin with asteroids. See asteroids are small rocky bodies that orbit the sun. While they are smaller than planets they are larger than meteoroids. Most asteroids reside in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter although some can be found in other locations throughout the solar system. Some asteroids may even orbit the sun in a path that takes them close to Earth. Then when asteroids collide and break apart it results in small pieces that are called meteoroids. See these meteoroids can also originate from comets. Meteors occur when meteoroids come close enough to Earth and enter the atmosphere creating a streak of light in the sky that is commonly referred to as the shooting star. Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through the debris trial left by a comet resulting in a higher frequency of meteors in the sky. So know that a meteors can be a small piece of asteroid or a comet. Now coming to comets. They are made of ice and dust and orbit the sun like asteroids. As the comet's orbit takes it closer to the sun the ice and dust vaporize resulting in a visible tail. Finally meteorites are meteoroids that survive their trip through Earth's atmosphere and land on the planet's surface. Now read the question here statement one is correct. Asteroids are made of rocks and metal while comets are made of ice and dust. Here statement two is also correct. Meteoroids can come from both asteroids and comets. So the correct answer for this question is option C both 1 and 2. Now let's move on to the next question. See this question talks about the famous Kohino diamond. So first let's see about Kohino diamond and then we'll get back to this question. Here Kohino means mountain of light. This priceless diamond now forms part of the British crown jewels displayed in the Tower of London. See the Kohino is a large colorless diamond that was found close to Guntur in the 13th century. It weighed 793 carats uncut and it was initially owned by the Kakathia dynasty. Yes the Kakathia kings with a capital at Varangal ruled over most parts of Andhra during 1083 to 1323 AD. In the early 14th century allowed in Khilji second ruler of the Khilji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate and his army began to rob the kingdoms of southern India. Malik Kapoor who was Khilji's general created a victorious ride on Varangal in 1310 when he probably acquired the diamond. So this diamond remained within the Khilji family line and it was later passed to the succeeding dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate and later it came into the possession of Babur in the 16th century AD. Then in the 17th century Sajahan who is the fifth Mohul ruler had the stone placed in his ornate peacock throne. In the 17th century following the 1739 invasion of Delhi by Nadir Shah the treasury of the Mohul empire was plundered. Besides a bunch of valuable things together with Daryai Noor as well as the peacock throne and the Kohinoor diamond was also carried away. In the 18th century after the assassination of Nadir Shah in 1747 and also the collapse of his empire the stone came into the hands of one of his generals Ahmad Shah Durrani who later became the Amir of Islamic state of Afghanistan. In the 19th century after Ahmad Shah the diamond came into possession of Ahmad Shah Durrani's descendant Souja Shah Durrani. So he brought the Kohinoor back to India in 1813 and gave it to Ranjit Singh who was the founding father of the Sikh empire. In exchange Ranjit Singh helped Shah Suja retreat to the throne of Islamic state of Afghanistan. On 29 March 1849 following the conclusion of the second Anglo-Sigwar the dominion of Punjab was formally annexed to British India and also the last treaty of Lahore was signed. The Kohinoor was given to the emperors and the Maharaja's other assets were formally given to the company. So now coming back to the question here statement number one that is Kakathya dynasty was the first owner of Kohinoor diamond this statement is correct we saw this in the discussion itself and here statement number two is incorrect we saw that the diamond is a colorless one and it is not pale pink in color and finally statement number three is also incorrect the Kohinoor diamond is not the largest in the world it is actually not even in the top 50 list of the largest diamonds so this statement is also incorrect here answer is option A1 normally now we will move on to the next question see here a syndrome is described it says that it is a genetic disorder that results in developmental delays it is also known as trisomy 21 it occurs when a person has an extra copy of chromosome 21 individuals with this syndrome may have difficulty with speech and language as well as fine motor skills which of the following best matches the description given here the answer is option D down syndrome so now we will see in brief about down syndrome see down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder in which a person is born with an extra chromosome as we all know the chromosomes are small packages of genes present in the cells of our body see these chromosomes only shape and function a baby's body usually a baby is born with 46 chromosomes in which 23 are inherited from the mother and 23 from the father but know that a person with down syndrome may contain 47 chromosome as there is an extra copy of chromosome 21 so this additional genetic material causes physical and developmental characteristics associated with down syndrome so this is in brief about down syndrome now talking about its types there are basically three types of down syndrome firstly trisomy 21 see it is the most common type and it affects approximately 95 percentage of people with down syndrome in this type of down syndrome each cell in the body has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the usual two copies of chromosome 21 then the second type is translocation down syndrome it is caused when a part or a whole extra chromosome 21 is attached or translocated to another chromosome know that here the chromosome 21 is attached to another chromosome rather than being a separate chromosome and finally mosaic down syndrome see it is the least common type here only some of the cells have an extra copy of chromosome 21 and not every cells and know that the effects of each of these types are usually similar now talking about the symptoms babies with down syndrome have specific traits and development issues there are a few abnormalities and the most common one is that the person is having abnormal facial features which is popularly known as dysmorphic features then the down syndrome patients usually have up slanted eyes that is the eyes are slanted upwards then they also have flat nose then unusually formed ears and short height neck and hands then the muscle tone of down syndrome patients is weak which results in sitting difficulties then the IQ of down syndrome patients is borderline which is between 50 to 70 know that normal babies have an IQ of about 75 to 80 also know that about 40 to 45 percent down syndrome patients have congenital heart disease and they also face eyesight problems and hearing losses with this information now we will move on to the next question look at this question here which of the following articles of the Indian constitution guarantees the right to freedom of consents profess practice and propagation of religion the correct answer is option b article 25 now let us learn some points about article 25 first of all know that article 25 falls under the fundamental rights of right to freedom of religion there are basically four articles that comes under the right to freedom of religion they are article 25 26 27 and 28 now we will learn about article 25 see article 25 guarantees the right to freedom of consents profession practice and propagation of religion to put it simply article 25 guarantees people's right to believe in a religion right to express the religious belief right to take part in religious rituals and ceremonies and finally to propagate the religion of their choice and important thing that you have to remember is that the right provided under article 25 is available to both citizens and non-citizens and know that the freedom guaranteed under article 25 has some restrictions the first major restriction is that while people practice their freedom of religion under article 25 they must not violate public order morality health and other provisions relating to fundamental rights this restriction is placed because without this restriction people will practice social evils like sati untouchability which also come under the aspect of freedom of religion so while practicing the right to freedom of religion people should not violate public order morality and health and other provisions relating to fundamental rights and the second restriction is that the state can make laws to regulate any economic financial political or other secular activity associated with religious practice this allows the state to interfere in some of the activities of religious practice so this is all about article 25 now we will move on to the next question look at this question here it is about the anti-drone system in India see drones are gaining significance in recent days this is because of their applications drones have a wide variety of applications ranging from research agriculture to more complex pying operations see I have framed this particular question based on anti-drone system because last year in December 16 drones were shot down along Pakistan India border by the border security force so UPSC might ask a question about this so we'll take up this question for discussion now here the first statement says that anti-drone system in India is capable of deterring the small medium and large drones only this is incorrect because Indian anti-drone system can detect identify and neutralize different types of drones including small hybrid UAVs micro UAV multi rotor and nano UAVs second statement says that anti-drone system in India is capable of doing both soft kill and hard kill see this statement is true actually counter drone system can detect track and identify airborne drones using multiple sensors the system can also enable counter techniques to deny them the intended operation which is soft kill and destroy them that is hard kill so here soft kill refers to the jamming of communication channels and the electronic instruments of the drone whereas hard kill refers to the laser enabled counter measure which destroys the drone itself know that the detection of drone is done with the help of radars and RF based direction system the identification is done with the help of electro optic sensor and comment the soft kill is carried out with RF jamming and anti-gns technologies and hard kill with the help of laser directed energy weapon the correct answer for this question is option b2 only apart from this also know that the drone detect data and destroy system that d4es is the first indigenously developed anti-drone system to be injected into the indian armed forces it is developed by drdo and manufactured by barrett electronics limited so with this understanding now we will take up the next question see this question reads which of the following agents is responsible for turning the tash mahal elu the correct answer for this question is option c sulfur dioxide typically sulfur dioxide is emitted when fuels or other materials containing sulfur are combusted or oxidized so it is a pollutant that contributes to acid deposition which in turn can lead to changes in soil and water quality the subsequent impacts of acid deposition can be significant including adverse effects on aquatic systems in river and lakes and damage to forest crops and other vegetations sulfur dioxide emissions also aggravate asthma conditions and can reduce lung function and inflame the respiratory tract they also contribute as a secondary particulate pollutant to the formation of particulate matter in the atmosphere particulate matter is also an important air pollutant in terms of its adverse impact on human health furthermore the formation of sulfate particles in the atmosphere following the release of sulfur dioxide results in reflection of solar radiation which leads to net cooling of the atmosphere so the correct answer for this question is option c sulfur dioxide now we will take up the next question for a discussion see this question reads if i intend to access any biological resource in india for research or for commercial utilisation i have to seek the prayer approval of this body this body forms the first tire of a three tire structure and it has the same power as a vested in a civil court the monetary benefits arising as a result of approval of this body will be deposited in the national biodiversity fund which one of the following is that body see this question is a bit tricky here the question did not mention whether the person is an indian or a foreigner in such cases it can be both that is an indian or a foreigner here the correct answer for the question is option d nba that is national biodiversity authority now let us see few facts about nba see national biodiversity authority that is nba was established under india's biological diversity act of 2002 it was established by the central government in the year 2003 so nba is a statutory body see the main intent of this legislation is to protect india's rich biodiversity and associated knowledge against their use by foreign individuals and organisations without sharing the benefits arising out of such use and to check biopiracy to put it in simple words the legislation is an attempt to enforce access and benefit sharing abs mechanism as enshrined in the united nations convention on biological diversity 1992 to enable abs mechanism the act provides for setting up of a national biodiversity authority state biodiversity boards and biodiversity management committees in local bodies while nba and sbb are required to consult bmcs in decisions relating to use of biological resources within their jurisdiction bmcs promote conservation sustainable use and documentation of biodiversity at the local level remember all foreign nationals or organizations require prior approval of nba for obtaining biological resources and associated knowledge for any use indian individuals or entities need prior approval of sbs for such purposes in case indian individuals or entities wanted to transfer results of research with respect to any biological resources to foreign nationals or organizations then they need the approval of nba the monetary benefits fees royalties as a result of approvals by nba will be deposited in national biodiversity fund in case the fund has to be shared with the specific individual or group of individuals it will be shared directly to the local biodiversity funds maintained by the bmcs the respective individuals will be found using the people biodiversity register maintained by the bmcs people biodiversity register is a legal document that contains details of biological resources occurring within a bmc and contains associated knowledge as well the people biodiversity acts as a source of inventory of biological resources and knowledge and for benefit sharing purposes under the abs component remember the nba will enjoy the power of a civil court any grievances related to the determination of benefit sharing or order of nba or sbb under the act shall be taken to the national green tribunal we already have a previous year question about nba you can have a look at it that's all now we will move on to the next question discussion see this question reads salal haimana area recently seen in news is located in which of the following region the correct answer for this question is option a on the banks of chenna river around 90 kilometer from the winter capital of jammu see the salal haimana area is located in the risi district of jammu recently it was in news because of the discovery of lithium inferred resolution now let us quickly revise some of the basic points about lithium ion batteries see lithium ion battery is an advanced battery technology that uses lithium ions as a key component of its electrochemistry you can find these batteries in laptops pda cell phones and iPods they are some of the most energetic rechargeable batteries available remember the electrodes of a lithium ion battery are made of lightweight lithium and carbon the most common combination is lithium cobalt oxide cathode and graphite has anode other cathode materials include lithium manganese oxide and lithium ion phosphate see lithium ion batteries typically use ether which is a class of organic compounds as an electrolyte know that both the anode and cathode store the lithium the electrolyte carries positively charged lithium ions from the anode to the cathode and vice versa through the separator the movement of the lithium ions creates free electrons in the anode which creates a charge at the positive current collector the electrical current then flows from the current collector to the devices like cell phone computer etc now with this information let us see some of the advantages of lithium ion batteries firstly they are generally much lighter than other types of rechargeable batteries of the same size secondly lithium ion batteries are capable of having a very high voltage and charge storage per unit mass and unit volume a typical lithium ion battery can store 150 watt hours of electricity in just one kilogram of battery but a nickel metal hydrate battery can store only 60 to 70 watt hours in one kilogram of battery a lead acid battery can store only 25 watt hours per kilogram so what does this mean this means that it takes six kilograms of lead acid battery to store the same amount of energy that a one kilogram lithium ion battery can handle and this is the reason why lithium ion batteries are famous thirdly a lithium ion battery pack loses only about five percentage of its charge per month this is less when compared to a 20 percent loss per month for nickel metal hydrate batteries fourthly they have no memory effect which means that you do not have to completely discharge them before recharging finally lithium ion batteries can handle hundreds of charge or discharge cycles because of these advantages only its discovery is most significant in India with this understanding now we will move on to the next question discussion look at this question here this is a three statement question about the wildlife protection amendment act of 2022 from these statements we have to find the correct statement now before answering the question let us learn some important points about wildlife protection amendment act of 2022 see in December 2021 the union minister of environment forest and climate change introduced the wildlife amendment bill 2021 in the Lok Sabha this bill sought to amend the wildlife protection act of 1972 so this bill was passed by both the Lok Sabha and Rajesh Sabha in august 2022 and december 2022 respectively finally the wildlife protection amendment bill 2021 received the ascent of the president on 19th december 2022 so the bill became an act and it came to be known as the wildlife protection amendment act of 2022 now let us see the key features of wildlife amendment act of 2022 firstly the 2022 amendment act inserted a new schedule for specimens listed in the appendices and the sites see the sites is expanded as convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora know that sites is a global agreement among governments to regulate or ban international trade in species that are under threat and the sites plant and animal specimens are classified into basically three categories that is into three appendices which is based on the level of threats they face see the sites requires the member countries to regulate the trade of all listed specimens through permits and it also seeks to regulate the possession of live animal specimens know that india is a sanitary to the sites so in order to implement the obligations of the sites india inserted a new schedule for specimens listed in the appendixes at the sites then the second important feature is that the 2022 amendment act rationalized the schedules of the wildlife protection act earlier we know that there were six schedules that is one was specifically for protected plants then four for specially protected animals and one for the vermin species now the 2022 amendment act has reduced the total number of schedules from six to four it reduced the number of schedules for specially protected animals from four to two then the amendment act had removed the schedule for vermin species and the act inserted a new schedule for specimens listed in the appendix and the sites so as of now there are only four schedules in the wildlife protection at 1972 then the third feature of the 2022 amendment act is that it empowers the central government to regulate or prohibit the import trade possession or proliferation of invasive alien species so now the central government may authorize an officer to cease and dispose of the invasive species then the fourth important feature is that the 2022 amendment act interests the chief wildlife warden of the state to control manage and maintain all sanctuaries in a state the act specifies that the action of the chief warden must be in accordance with the management plans for the sanctuary and these plans will be prepared as per the guidelines of the central government then the fifth important feature is that the amendment act empowers the central government to notify the areas as a conservation reserve earlier the power to notify a particular area as a conservation reserve was totally vested with the state government but now the central government may also notify a conservation reserve know that the conservation reserves are basically the areas that are adjacent to national parks and sanctuaries and finally the amendment act increased the fine amount for violation of the provisions of the act see i have discussed only some important provisions kindly go through the other provisions of the wildlife amendment act 2022 it would be very helpful for both your prelims and mains now let's take the question here statement one says that the act inserted a new schedule in the wildlife act 1972 for specimens listed in the appendix under sites this statement is true as we saw in the discussion and here statement two says that it empowers the central government to notify a particular area as a conservation reserve we know that earlier only state governments were authorized to do this but now this amendment empowers the central government also to notify a particular area as a conservation reserve so this statement is also correct third statement tells that this act interests the chief wildlife warden of a state to control manage and maintain all sanctuaries in a state this statement is also correct so the correct answer here is option d 1 2 and 3 now we will take up the next question look at this question here it reads he was an indian philosopher and nationalist he was born on 15th august 1872 in Kolkata he went to england for pursuing higher studies he functioned as a editor of the english daily bandai madram he was arrested under charges of involvement in alipur bomb case who among the following is such a person the correct answer for this question is option b shri aura binda goes now let us learn some points about aura bindo shri aura bindo goes was born on 15th of august 1872 in Kolkata he was an indian philosopher poet and nationalist in 1879 aura bindo along with his brothers were sent to england for higher studies and aura bindo completed his schoolings from the saint paul's in london then in the year 1890 aura bindo got admission into the university of cambridge see to comply with the wish of his father aura bindo applied for the ics while at cambridge and so he passed the indian civil service examination in 1890 however he failed in the horse man ship test and he was not allowed to enter the civil service of the indian government then in 1893 aura bindo goes returned to india after returning to india he became the vice principal of the state college in baroda then in 1906 aura bindo resigned his job in the wake of partition of bengal and he joined as professor in the bengal national college from there he involved in the revolutionary movement against the british then from 1908 aura bindo goes played a leading role in india's freedom struggle he was one of the pioneers of political awakening in india also know that aura bindo function as an editor of the english daily pande madram in that he openly advocated the boycott of british goods and british codes he also asked the people to prepare themselves for passive resistance against the british now we will see about the famous alipur bomb case that is related to aura bindo's life see in 1908 the british judge kingsford had imposed severe sentences against the indian nationalist this made the indian revolutionaries angry some revolutionaries including kudiram and prafula chakit tried to kill the judge they threw bombs at judge kingsford's horse carriage but the bomb lasted started and instead landed in another carriage and that bomb blast killed two british women see in that case aura bindo was also arrested on the charges of plotting and overseeing the attack then he was jailed in alipur jail see the trial of the alipur bomb case lasted for a year and aura bindo was even shilly acquitted on 6th may 1909 know that the defense council of aura bindo was chitra ranjan das during the jail term aura bindo's path of life was radically modified he was influenced by spiritual experiences and realizations then aura bindo's aim went so far and he devoted himself for service and liberation of the country so with these points in mind now we will move on to the next question see this question here is about sixth schedule i have framed this question because after the bifurcation of jamu and keshmir political groups in ladakh are demanding to include ladakh in the sixth schedule so this aspect is very important for the upc examination now here the first statement of the question says sixth schedule pertains to the administration of tribal areas in the states of asam mehalaya tirupura only this statement is incorrect because the sixth schedule consists of provisions related to the administration of tribal areas in the states of asam mehalaya tirupura and misoram so in this particular statement misoram is missing that's why it is incorrect also know that provisions related to the sixth schedule are provided under articles 244 2 and 275 one of the indian constitution here the second statement says that out in the district councils formed for the administration of the tribal areas consists of both nominated and elected members this is correct see the sixth schedule provides for the administration of certain tribal areas in the four states as autonomous districts and autonomous regions governors of the state is empowered to determine the area or areas as administrative units of the autonomous districts and autonomous regions under the sixth schedule governor has the power to create a new autonomous district or region then the governor also has the power to alter the territorial jurisdiction or even to alter the name of any autonomous district or autonomous region and the sixth schedule also has the provisions for the creation of autonomous district councils and regional councils know that councils are endowed with certain legislative, judicial and even financial powers according to sixth schedule each autonomous district shall have a district council and the council shall consist of not more than 30 members know that among 30 members four are nominated by the governor while the rest are elected on the basis of adult franchise note one point here there is one exception that is borderland territorial council in Assam can have up to 46 members in the council so the correct answer for this question is option b 2 only now we will move on to the next question see this question is about great indian hornbills four statements are given and we have to find the incorrect statements here statement one is correct the great indian hornbills are indeed called the farmers of the forest but why are they called farmers of forest hornbills are large frugivore birds here frugivore means a species that feeds mainly on fruits being a frugivore the great indian hornbills are efficient seed disperses this is because they cover a large area in a day after feeding hornbills usually rigor gate or excrete the seeds the hornbills home range usually extends to at least 10 kilometer which means that it can be much more efficient than other small frugivores in dispersing seeds at a wider range of territory the presence of hornbills indicates that the forest is not only prosperous but also balanced so this is why hornbills are considered as indicator species the bird plays a vital role in maintaining the health of forests now moving on to statement two it says that only the male great indian hornbills have casks or horns see this statement is incorrect both male and female hornbills have casks or horns the cask is hollow and serves no known purpose although it is thought to be the result of sexual selection male hornbills indulge in aerial cask butting which is nothing but birds striking each other in flight now look at statement three great indian hornbills is the only species of hornbills that is found in india and it is the largest hornbills species in the world this statement is incorrect india has nine of the 54 species of hornbills that are found in the world also the great indian hornbills is the largest hornbills species in india but not in the world the largest hornbills species in the world is the southern ground hornbills the last statement reads that it is the state bird of naga land and kerala this statement is incorrect great indian hornbills is the state bird of arnachal pradesh and kerala the state bird of naga land is plitz tracobon since the questions asking for incorrect statements here the correct option is option b 2 3 and 4 only before concluding this discussion let us see a few facts about great indian hornbills see as i already told the great indian hornbills is the largest hornbills species found in the indian subcontinent the bright yellow horn on its top is called cask which is a unique morphological feature of great indian hornbills the beak is curved downwards and besides eating it also helps while climbing the tree the beak and feathers on the neck breast wings and tail appears yellow they have a wingspan of five feet now moving on to its habitat mature broadleaf forest with fruiting trees is the major habitat of great hornbills it mainly favors unlocked old growth forest with large trees it occurs from an elevation of 100 to 500 meter above sea level now moving on to its feeding behavior they feed on huge varieties of fruits berries and figs it flies great distances and disperse the seeds through pellets which help to regenerate the forest it maintains a healthy ecosystem by consuming large number of test insects and small animals like lizards rats and shrews this is also one of the reason as to why they are called the farmer of the forest now take a note of its conservation status it is listed in sites appendix one it has been listed as vulnerable on the iocn red list so these are some of the points that you have to know about the great indian hornbill now we will take up the next question for a discussion see this question is about the sarcaria commission four statements are given and we have to find which of the following are the suggestions or recommendations made by the commission see the office of governor has always been a controversial post in indian federal setup the sarcaria commission made some recommendations that could be adopted during the appointment of governor to prevent the frequent flat ups between the union and state government the commission recommended that the governor should be eminent in some walks of life and from outside the state he should be a detached figure without intense political links or should not have taken part in politics in the recent past besides he should not be a member of the ruling party so the statements one two and three given here are correct what about the last statement it was the punshi commission that gave this recommendation the punshi commission suggested the formation of a committee consisting of prime minister the home minister the lokshaba speaker and the concerned chief minister of the state and this committee must make the appointment of governor since only one two and three are correct the correct answer here is option e now as a part of this discussion let us see some recommendations made by sarcaria commission regarding the removal of governor firstly the commission stated that as far as possible the governor should enjoy the term of five years secondly the governor should be removed before his tenure only on grounds as mentioned in the constitution very rarely when there are apprehensions about the governor's morality and dignity he can be removed lastly when the governor is to be removed the state government may be informed and consulted so these are some recommendations of the sarcaria commission regarding the removal of the governor now with these points in mind now we will move on to the next question see this question here is about ga tag we all know ga tags will be given to products recently also in newspaper the version article about products ever given ga tags and some other products which were seeking ga tags so this year you might expect a question regarding ga tag based on this only i have framed this question here the first statement says that geographical indication tag is a form of intellectual property this is true this is the reason why geographical indications are covered as an element of intellectual property rights under the paris convention for the protection of industrial property they are also covered under drips agreement that is trade related aspects of intellectual property rights this was part of the agreements concluding the uruguay round of gaic negotiations that is general agreement on tariffs and trade thus geographical indications of goods are defined as that aspect of industrial property second statement says that geographical indication tag is given for both indian and foreign products this is also true we know ga tags are given for indian products but know that foreign products can also be given ga tag in india already many foreign products were granted ga tags some of the examples include brandy d geres of spain manchin air and bares's bear of germany irish ice cream or irish cream liqueur of ireland provolone valpadana of italy and so on third statement says that in india ga tag was first given to kashmiri pashmina see this statement is incorrect actually the first product to get ga tag was west bangal's darjeeling tea just go through some of the products that have ga tags particularly the recent ones it will be useful for your problems so the correct answer for this question is option a one and two only now we will take up the next question look at this question it is a three statement question about the scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers act 2006 here we have to find the incorrect statements first of all know that the scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers act of 2006 is commonly called as forest rights act of 2006 this act recognizes the rights of the forest dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers by ensuring their rights on forest resources see the forest dwelling communities are dependent on forest resources for a variety of their needs like livelihood habitation and other social cultural needs so in order to address their needs the forest rights act of 2006 allows the ownership of minor forest produced to the forest dwellers apart from this the FRA also recognizes the symbiotic relationship of the scheduled tribes with the forest this means that the act recognizes the traditional practice of forest dwellers regarding the conservation of forests note one important fact here the ministry of tribal affairs is the nodal agency at the national level to ensure effective implementation of the estes and other traditional forest dwellers act 2006 now what are all the rights encompassed by this act firstly this act provides individual rights such as self cultivation and habitation secondly the act encompasses the community rights such as grazing fishing and access to water bodies in forest apart from this the act also provides the habited rights for PVTG's thirdly the act ensures the community's rights to intellectual property and traditional knowledge and most importantly the act also recognizes the traditional customary rights and finally the act provides more power to the gram sabas see the responsibility of conservation and protection of biodiversity wildlife forests adjoining catchment areas water resources and other ecologically sensitive areas are vested with gram sabas apart from this the FRA 2006 also provides gram saba a responsibility to stop any destructive practices affecting these resources or cultural and natural heritage of the tribals and know that the gram saba is also vested with the authority to initiate the process for determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights so we can say that the gram saba is a highly empowered body under FRA with this information now let's approach the question statement one says the act allows for the ownership of minor forest produced to the forest wellers this statement is correct we saw this in the discussion this again statement says that the ministry of environment forest and climate change is the nodal agency at the national level to ensure effective implementation of the act this statement is actually incorrect we saw in the discussion that it is ministry of tribal affairs here statement three says that this act does not recognize the traditional customary rights of the forest willing communities this statement is incorrect the FRA 2006 recognizes the traditional customary rights here the question asks for incorrect statement so the correct answer is option b 2 and 3 only now let's take up the next question for a discussion see this question is about anemia four statements are given we have to find which of the statements are correct before we approach the question let us first see some points about anemia firstly what is anemia anemia can be defined as a condition where the number of RBCs and consequently their oxygen carrying capacity is insufficient to meet the body's physiological now why do RBCs decrease or what causes anemia the answer to both is the same there are so many reasons for this and they can be categorized as nutritional and non-nutritional causes first let's see the nutritional causes for anemia the first and major one is iron deficiency see among all causes it is the most important cause iron is necessary for synthesis of hemoglobin so when the iron is deficient hemoglobin does not synthesize thereby impiring its function iron deficiency is the most important cause of anemia worldwide so it is even referred to as iron deficiency anemia also note that the other nutritional deficiencies can also cause anemia this includes deficiency in vitamins such as vitamin b 9 vitamin b 12 and vitamin a vitamin b 9 is also known by the name folate now we will see about the non-nutritional causes of anemia this includes defective red cell production for example a plastic anemia is a condition which can prevent the body from making enough red blood cells second is increased red cell destruction for example enlarged or disease discipline can cause increased red cell destruction then increased blood loss is also a reason also acute and chronic inflammation and parasitic infections also cause anemia and sometimes inherited or acute disorders that affect hemoglobin synthesis rbc production or survival can also cause anemia this includes disorders like sickle cell disease and thalsemia so these are some of the causes of anemia now we will see what will happen if someone gets anemia see if a child has iron deficiency anemia it results in impaired cognitive and motor development and in adults the same causes decreased work capacity anemia might also lead to impaired sexual and reproductive development like perinatal loss prematurity and low birth weight babies prematurity means a premature birth of baby where birth takes place more than three weeks before the estimated due date generally iron deficiency anemia also adversely affects the body's immune response some of the programs launched by a government to counter the prevalence of anemia in our country are anemia mukt Bharat national iron plus initiator scheme for adolescent girls and weakly iron and folic acid supplementation program for adolescent girls and boys these are some points about anemia that you have to know in the prelims perspective now coming to the question here statement one says that deficiency of iron or vitamin b9 might lead to anemia this statement is correct this we saw in the discussion itself along with deficiency of iron and vitamin b9 deficiency in vitamin a and b12 might also lead to anemia statement two says that inherited diseases like sickle cell and thalsemia might lead to anemia this statement is also correct sickle cell and thalsemia will lead to anemia statement three says that between nfhs4 and nfhs5 the prevalence of anemia among women declined while for men it increased this statement is incorrect between nfhs4 and nfhs5 the prevalence of anemia increased in both men and women in India statement four says that according to nfhs5 the states with the lowest prevalence of anemia among children where kerala naga land and manipur this statement is correct the three states with the lowest prevalence of anemia in India are kerala naga land and manipur so the correct answer here is option c12 and 4 only now we will move on to the next question see this question talks about the types of coal first we will see some information about coal and then we will get back to this question see coal forms through a process called carbonization so what is carbonization the process of conversion of decomposed carbon based deposits of plant material into coal due to tremendous heat and pressure deep below the surface of earth is called carbonization remember the quality of coal depends upon its carbon content the carbon content in turn depends upon how long the particular material has undergone carbonization so basically the older the coal the higher the carbon content in it and higher will be the quality of coal now let us see the types of coal see coal is classified based on the amount of carbon content in it first one is anthracite coal it is the best quality coal with carbon content up to 80 to 95 percent they are also called carboniferous coal as this coal was formed during the carboniferous period the carboniferous period occurred some 300 to 350 million years ago in India we have only very limited anthracite coal deposits this mainly found in the jamu and cashmere region moving on we'll see about the bituminous coal see the carbon content in this coal varies from 40 to 80 percent it is also called gondwana coal as this coal formed mainly during the gondwana period the gondwana period occurred some 250 million years ago so bituminous is younger than the anthracite which is the reason for its lower quality about 80 percentage of the coal deposits in India is of bituminous type and is of non-cooking gray the first commercial coal mine in India was rani ganj in west bangal the major coal producing states in india are jharkhand odisha west bangal madhya pradesh andhra pradesh and maharashtra important coal fields that produce gondwana or the bituminous coal includes jarya bakaro girdi and karan pura in jharkhand talsher and rampur coal fields in odisha chingrauli coal field in matya pradesh singharini and kothagudam coal fields in andhra pradesh and kamti coal fields in maharashtra this is about the second type of coal that is bituminous coal now we'll see about the third type which is lignite this is also called tertiary coal as this coal belongs to the tertiary period the tertiary period occurred some 50 million years ago so lignite is the youngest coal the carbon content in this coal is very low and the moisture content is very high lignite is also called brown coal due to its color in india tertiary coal is found mainly in asam arnachal pradesh mehalaya and nagaland it is extracted from darangiri cherapunji melong and langarin which is located in mehalaya in asam it is mined in makum jaypur and nazira in arnachal pradesh it is found in namchik nambook in jamu and kashmir it is found in kalakot in tamil nadu it is found in nayveli it is also found in pondicherry and gujarat the last one is beet coal it is lowest grade coal it has a lot of moisture and impurities so when we burn peat it leaves a lot of ash behind in india peat is found in neil grease hills and the jeelam valley in jamu and kashmir so this is all regarding the types of coal and its distribution in india now we will see the question the correct answer here is option b peat lignite pituminous and hamthrasite this is because the question asks for increasing order of carbon content so now we will take up the next question for a discussion this question talks about asian first we will revise few points about asian and then we will get back to the question see the association of southeast asian nations which is shortly known as asian is our regional intergovernmental organization it was established on 8 august 1967 in bank of thailand see the asian was established with the signing of the asian declaration which is popularly known as the bankong declaration know that the secretariat of the asian is situated in jakarta indonesia now talking about its member the founding members of asian include indonesia malaysia philippines singapore and thailand and later brunei vietnam laos meanna and cambodia were joined as full-time members therefore at present there are totally 10 full-time members in the asian again note here that india is not a member of asian but it is a dialogue partner of the asian now talking about the chairmanship of asian the chairmanship of the asian rotates annually according to the alphabetical order of the english names of the member countries and know that cambodia currently holds the asian chairmanship that is for 2022 now talking about the asian summit the summit is held twice annually know that asian summit is the highest policy-making body in asian and it comprises the head of states or government of the member states remember the summit is hosted by the member state holding the asian chairmanship this is about asian now let's see some important aims and purposes of asian one by one firstly the main purpose of asian is to promote economic and security cooperation among its members secondly it aims to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and rule of law then thirdly asian aims to accelerate the economic growth social progress and cultural development in the southeast asian region and this is done through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership then fourthly it aims to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic social cultural technical scientific and administrative fields and finally it aims to provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational professional technical and administrative spheres we already have a previous year prelims question on asian you can have a look at it now we'll take up the question the correct answer for the question is option c even though india began formal engagement with asian in 1992 as a sectoral dialogue partner it subsequently became a dialogue partner in 1996 so option c is incorrect now we will take up the next question for our discussion see this question is about atomis one but before answering this question let us quickly go through some important facts about atomis one see atomis one is a mission of nasa it is the first mission in a series of increasingly complex mission that will enable human exploration to the moon and mars atomis one basically aims to build a long term human presence on the moon but how it will be possible how can long term human presence be ensured it can be done by demonstrating the systems that will be involved in the mission this is what is done by atomis one it will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for a human deep space exploration it is carrying several payloads in the form of small satellites called cube sats each of which is equipped with instruments meant for specific investigations and experiments one of these cube sats will search for water in all its forms nasa hopes to establish a base on the moon and to send astronauts to mars by the late 2030s or early 2040s so atomis one will be the first integrated test of nasa's deep space exploration systems the deep space exploration systems include firstly the orient spacecraft which is a next generation spacecraft designed for the demands of human missions to deep space second is the space launch system is a less rocket which is termed the most powerful rocket in the world that is designed to send humans to deep space and finally the ground systems at kennedy space center in florida atomis one will be demonstrating all these capabilities prior to the first flight with the crew on atomis two under this its primary goal was to demonstrate orient system in a space flight environment so orient was to stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and then return home faster than ever before so through this it was to ensure a safe re-entry descent splashdown and recovery of the spacecraft here splashdown means touchdown of a returning spacecraft on the sea with the assistance of parachutes recently orient has safely splashed down that is why it was in news it has traveled more than 1.4 million miles on a path around the moon and has returned safely to earth after this successful mission in the future the second flight will take a crew on a different trajectory and test orient's critical systems with humans aboard so now let's take up the question it reads that atomis one is the first in a series of increasingly complex mission that will enable human exploration to the moon and mars statement two says that it is carrying several payloads in the form of small satellites called cube sets here both the statements are correct the correct answer for the question is option c both one and two now let's take up the next question for a discussion see this is a pair-based question about the scheduled tribes of india i have framed this question because in december 2022 then nary kurawar and hattie tribes were added to the scheduled tribes list here all the four pairs are correctly matched so the correct answer is option d all four pairs now we will discuss some basic information about nary kurawar and hattie tribes in prilliam's perspective nary kurawar literally translates to nary jackal and kurawar men they are called nary kurawar because men of this community were skilled in trapping the jackals they are also known by another name kurvi karen kurvi means paro karen man again this term denotes their skillful hunting methods they are a semi-nomadic tribe presently majority of the nary kurawar tribe reside in tamil nadu their language is known as vagriboli which is a mixture of marathi telugu and tamil know that it doesn't have a script it is classified as indo arian language historically these tribes were involved in fox hunting as their name signifies however since hunting was outlawed in india the group's main occupation became selling homemade beader jewelry and traditional toys now let's see about hattie tribes the word hattie comes from hatt which means a shop the community got their name from their tradition of selling homegrown vegetables crops meat and wool in the huts the hatties mainly dwell in Himachal utrakan border in the basin of giri and tans river giri and tans are tributaries of river yamuna there is a fairly rigid caste system among the hatties among the hatties the butts and kash are considered the upper caste while the badois are considered lower caste intercaste marriage is not allowed kumblies are the traditional council of hatties and they are similar to the cups of hariyana budi diyaali is a three day long festival celebrated by the hatties people dance and sing with fire lit torches in their hands dancers would take cover under a large cloth canopy designed to look like an elephant and dance in unison imitating a warrior sitting on the elephant this is about budi diyaali with this information now let's move on to the next question see this is also a pair based question about the temples and dynasty and we have to choose the correctly matched pairs here the first two pairs are correctly matched but mahabodi temple is built by mauryan dynasty and the konak san temple is built by the eastern ganga dynasty the correct answer for this question is option b only two pairs see i have framed this question because in december president of india visited the ramapa temple at talangana now we will discuss about the ramapa temple from prillam's perspective see the ramapa temple also known as rudrishwara temple was situated in the state of talangana it was constructed in the year 1213 ad during the reign of kakathian empire it was built by recharla rudra a general of the famous kakathian king ganapati deva the temple is dedicated to lord shiva now let's see about the architectural features of this temple the temple complexes of kakathias have a distinct style technology and decoration exhibiting the influence of the sculptor you can see from the image given here that ramapa temple stands on a raised platform see the star-shaped platform is nearly six feet high with walls pillars and ceilings about it the hall in front of the sanctum has numerous carved pillars that have been positioned to create an effect that combines light and space wonderfully the temple is named after the sculptor ramapa who built it making it the only temple in india to be named after its craftsman ramapa temple has a special technological feature called sandbox foundation so this helped the temples can't tall all these years now let's briefly see about this sandbox technique see the sandbox technique is a type of foundation involving digging of the earth at least three meters deep and later getting it filled with sand it is reinforced by gravel and other material later huge structures are built on the sand foundation the utility of sand filled foundation is that it acts as a cushion or shock absorber when earth quag occurs thus it prevents vibrations in the main structure and protects it from falling that's all for this question now we'll move on to the next question discussion see this is a two statement question and we have to choose the correct statements i have framed this question because in december 2022 indian government was on plan to invite bits to extract gold from old mines before solving this question let us discuss some basic information about gold reserves and gold mines in india see the total reserves or resources of gold ore in the country have been estimated at 501.83 million tons this is as per national mineral inventory or nmi data of 2015 now we'll look about the gold reserves in india see the largest reserves of gold ores are located in bihar which has 44 percent followed by rajasthan with 25 percent karnataka with 21 percent west bangal with 3 percent andhra pradesh with 3 percent and jargant with 2 percent and also finally the remaining 2 percent reserves in chattisgarh madhya pradesh kerala maharashtra and tamil nadu now let's see some of the important gold mines in india firstly take the hatti gold mines it is located in raichur district of karnataka and it is the only public sector company producing gold in the country now we will look about the barat gold mines limited it is an erstwhile public sector undertaking and it was incorporated in april 1972 under the administrative control of department of mines its office is at kholar gold fields the bgml operations became unviable so the operations of bgml were closed from first march 2001 finally we will look about the ram giri gold field in anantpur district of andhra pradesh this gold field consists of yappamana and gantlappa mines the powerhouse mine and the south jiputil mine the extraction in these areas is done by the dekan gold mines limited with this information now let's solve our question here statement one says that bigar has the largest reserve of gold ore in india statement two says that hatti gold mine company limited is the only public sector company producing gold in the country both these statements are correct so the answer for this question is option c both one and two now we will move on to the next question see this question here is about interstate water dispute tribunal i have framed this question because recently supreme court gave center three months to constitute and interstate river water dispute tribunal this is to resolve the dispute between tamil nadu and karnataka so there is a chance of asking about the tribunal in this year problems now with this understanding let us solve the question first statement says that interstate water dispute tribunal is a constitutional body which provides for the adjudication of disputes relating to waters of interstate rivers and river valleys this statement is incorrect just now i said that supreme court gave notice to center for forming interstate river water dispute tribunal so it is not a constitutional body it is formed on a neat basis article 262 one of the indian constitution says that parliament may pass laws to resolve disputes or complaints the disputes mainly rise because of the usage distribution or control of trans boundary waters in the river or river valley statement 2 says that interstate water disputes tribunal are formed by central government based on the request of state governments this is correct just now we saw article 261 impoverished parliament to pass laws to resolve disputes relating to water accordingly parliament has enacted the interstate water dispute act 1956 under this act the states can approach the center to constitute a tribunal it is for solving interstate water disputes through consultations to say in simple words the interstate water disputes tribunal is established to settle the disputes on water resources between the states like i already said interstate water disputes arise when two or more states disagree about the usage distribution and management of rivers flowing through two or more states know that currently five tribunals are active in india they include ravi and bias water tribunal krishna water dispute tribunal onesadara water dispute tribunal mahadai water dispute tribunal mahanadi water dispute tribunal so the correct answer to the question is option b 2 only with this information now we will move on to the next question see this question talks about goa baranto to answer this question you should first know about ritz so first we will discuss about ritz and then we'll get back to the question see ritz are a written order from the supreme court or high court that commands constitutional remedies for indian citizens against the violation of their fundamental rights article 32 of the indian constitution deals with constitutional remedies that an indian citizen can seek from the supreme court of india and high courts against the violation of his or her fundamental rights the same article gives the supreme court power to issue ritz for the enforcement of rights whereas the high court has the same power under article 226 these are the five types of ritz which includes hebes carpes mandamus prohibition certiori and coa varanto further the parliament can empower any other court to issue these ritz in this discussion let us restrict ourselves to coa varanto see the literal meaning of the ritz coa varanto is by what authority or variant supreme court or high court issue this ritz to prevent illegal usurpation of public office by a person so through this ritz the court inquires into the legality of a climb of a person to a public office remember this ritz gives the right to seek red result to any individual other than the aggrieved person but coa varanto can be issued only when the substantive public office of a permanent character created by a statute or by the constitution is involved it cannot be issued against a private person or ministerial office let's just understand the concept with an example for example a person of 62 years has been appointed to fill a public office whereas the retirement age is 60 years such appointments are unlawful right now even though your fundamental rights are not affected here directly you can file a coa varanto ritz petition because the position is created by a statute and does not come under the private or ministerial office so here both the statements are correct correct answer for this question is option c both one and two now we will move on to the next question see this question talks about rice cultivation in india before answering this question let us quickly go through some important facts about rice cultivation see rice is the staple food crop of a majority of people in our country it is a cariff crop which requires high temperature generally about 25 degree celsius and high humidity with annual rainfall about 100 centimeter here cariff crop means the crops which are grown between june to november maximum temperature which the crop can tolerate is between 40 degree celsius to 42 degree celsius now coming to the regions of rice cultivation in india rice is grown under widely varying conditions of altitude and climate in our country rice cultivation in india extends from 8 degree to 35 degree north latitude and from sea levels to as high as 3000 meters rice is grown in the plains of north and northeast in india coastal areas and also in the deltaic regions development of a dense network of canal irrigation and tube wells have made it possible to grow rice in areas of less rainfall such as panjab and western utha pradesh and parts of rajasthan so from this we can see rice is grown all around our country now coming to the leading rice producing states of india as of 2020 to 2021 the top three rice producing states of india are west bangal utha pradesh and panjab around 36 percentage of india's total rice production is from these three states west bangal contributed 13.62 percentage of the total rice produced in india then utha pradesh contributed around 12.81 percentage while panjab accounted for 9.96 percentage to the total production last year we had a question regarding system of rice intensification even in 2020 we had a question so this is an important topic now you can pause the video and try to answer the question statement one says that rice is cultivated only in deltaic regions of india this statement is incorrect because we saw that rice is grown in the plains of north and northeast in india coastal areas and also deltaic regions here statement number two says that rice is predominantly grown as kairif crop in india this statement is correct so the correct answer for this question is option b2 only now we will move on to the next question see this question talks about wheat cultivation so first we will see about wheat and then we will get back to the question see wheat is the second important cereal crop it is the main food crop in north and northwestern part of the country there are two important wheat growing zones in the country one is the ganga set lush plains in the northwest and other is the black soil region of the decon the major wheat producing states are panjab, hariyana, utha pradesh, bihar, rajasthan and parts of mati pradesh you can see them in the image given here you can go through it now talking about the ideal condition for its cultivation wheat requires a cool growing season and at the time of ripening it needs bright sunshine this rabi crop requires 50 to 75 centimeter of annual rainfall which is evenly distributed over the growing season and annual rainfall of about 100 centimeter is the upper limit for its cultivation the idle temperature at the time of sowing is between 10 degree Celsius to 15 degree Celsius and at the type of ripening and harvesting it is 21 degree Celsius to 26 degree Celsius a frost free period of about 100 days is required for its cultivation wheat grows best in a well-drained loamy soil particle size distribution of the soil and the relative quantities of the sand, silt and clay determines the loamy soil so now read the question first statement says that the optimum temperature during the growing period is around 30 degree Celsius this statement is incorrect statement 2 says that a frost free period of about 100 days is required this statement is correct and finally third statement says that wheat needs light clay or heavy loam soil this statement is also correct so the correct answer for this question is option C 2 and 3 only now we will move on to the next question see this question is about Agni 5 missile three statements are given and we have to find the correct statement before we approach this question let us see some points about Agni 5 missile Agni 5 is an indigenously built advanced three-stage solid fueled surface to surface ballistic missile it was developed under the integrated guided missile development program it is a land-based ballistic missile that is launched from a canister but what is a ballistic missile see ballistic missiles work on the same principle as throwing a stone at a target what happens when we throw a stone we exert some force on the stone the stone continues to rise against gravity until it has some residual force in it once the force is exhausted it falls down due to gravity oscillating along the way the same thing happens in ballistic missiles take Agni 5 missile for example Agni 5 has a three-stage solid fuel engine when Agni is launched from a canister the engine ignites within a few minutes all the three stages of Agni 5 will burn up and in that process it will take the missile to a height of around 250 kilometers this phase is the booster phase at the end of the booster phase all the fuel in the missiles engine will be exhausted and the missile will be placed at a height of 250 kilometer after this the ballistic phase begins in this phase the nuclear warhead continues to move up due to the momentum and will follow a parabolic path after reaching a height of around 600 kilometers the momentum will be exhausted and the nuclear warhead will start moving towards earth due to the influence of gravity during this time course corrections are made to increase the accuracy of the warhead finally the warhead will reach the designated area and cause maximum impact so this is about the working of ballistic missile now coming back to Agni 5 it is capable of striking targets at a range from 5000 kilometers to 8000 kilometers with a very high degree of accuracy the missile is nuclear capable and carries a nuclear warhead of about 1.5 tons look at this map depicting the range of Agni 5 missiles its range covers almost all of china so we have a nuclear capable missile that covers entire china and this is along India's policy of nuclear deterrence also if you notice the range carefully you can see that some parts of Africa and Europe can be targeted using this missile so by using this missile we can target areas from other continents this is why Agni 5 is called as Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Russia US China North Korea and India are the only countries currently known to possess land-based ICBMs Israel has also tested ICBMs but is currently not open about actual deployment in addition to this China France India Russia the UK and the US possess submarine launched ICBMs now coming back to this question from the discussion we had we know that statement one and two are correct but statement three is incorrect so the correct answer for this question is option a one and two only now we will move on to the next question see our next question is about airship the correct answer for this question is option c it is a common geographic area where pollutants get trapped creating similar air quality i framed this question because in a recently published report of the world bank titled striving for clean air air pollution and public health in south asia it was mentioned that india has six large airships between which air pollutants move so this year we can expect the question from airships so as a part of this question discussion let us revise about airships as per the world bank definition an airship is a common geographic area where pollutants get trapped creating similar air quality for everyone as we already saw airship indicates a region having a common flow of air so if one place emits greenhouse gas then the air quality of other places will also be affected there are six airships in south asian region as per the report i have displayed the six airships here you can go through it moving forward we will see the relationship between airship and air pollution in south asia air pollutants travel long distances within south asia this means that the air pollutants will cross municipal state and even national boundaries this is because of the existence of a common flow of air or airships in the region so because of this airships only pollutants travel to other regions the report says that in many cities such as Dhaka, Kathmandu and Colombo only one third of the air pollution originates within the city so the remaining air pollution comes from the neighboring places and this is about the role of airship in air pollution with this brief understanding about airships now let's move on to the next question look at this question here this question is about the battle of vandy wash or vandavasi now before answering the question let us learn some points about the battle of vandy wash first of all know that the battle of vandy wash was part of the third karnatic war see there were three karnatic wars fought between the colonial powers of french and british the first karnatic war was fought between 1740 to 1748 while the second karnatic war was fought between 1749 to 1754 and the third karnatic war was fought between 1758 and 1763 let's not get deep into three karnatic wars we will focus our discussion on the battle of vandy wash as i said earlier the battle of vandy wash was part of the third karnatic war the battle of vandy wash was fought in the year 1760 and it was fought between the french and the british the british army was led by comte d lally and the british army was led by sir irie good now what was the cause of the battle see in 1758 the french army under comte d lally captured the english forts of saint david and brilliant agarham this made the british angry then in the year 1760 the french army tried to acquire the fort of vandavasi this eventually triggered the british to heavily fight with the french so the battle happened at vandavasi or vandy wash know that vandy wash is located in present day thiruvannamalai district of tamil nadu see in the battle the french forces were badly defeated by the british forces and the french lost all their possessions in india after the war the treaty of paris was signed between the french and the british as per the treaty pointy cherry caracal and mahe were restored to the french under the protection of the british although the treaty restored their factories the political influence of the french disappeared in india after the battle of vandy wash and this paved the way for the british to establish its strength throughout india now let us approach this question here the statement one says that it was fought between the colonial powers of british and the french this statement is correct statement number two says that the outcome of the battle was the treaty of pondicherry which restored some territories to the french this statement is incorrect it is the treaty of paris and not pondicherry so the correct answer for this question is option a one only now we will move on to the next question look at this question here a paragraph is given about a particular plant disease you have a couple of name trees in your back garden one fine rainy morning you notice a strange infection or blight in the tips of the twigs and branches upon inspection you notice that it is a fungal infection later the blight spreads to the inflorescence you contact your local krishi vignan kenra and ask for expert opinion people at the krishi vignan kenra inform you that there is no cure your only option is to prune and stop further spread what is the plant disease that is mentioned in this paragraph the disease that is described in this particular paragraph is dieback disease so the correct answer is option b i framed this question because last year there was news about twig blight or dieback disease affecting name trees in telangana now as a part of this discussion let us see some points about the dieback disease see dieback refers to the progressive death of twigs and branches it can be seen in many trees and plants one of the characteristics of dieback disease is that the infection generally starts at the tips it is a fungal infection this infection is caused by the pathogen called pombopsis acidirachite the disease mainly affects the name trees the occurrence of dieback of name was first reported from new forests of deharadun in 1980s now coming to the symptoms the symptoms of the disease include first is twig blight but what is a blight when a plant or part of the plant rapidly collapses and dies it is called blight commonly blight means spotting discoloration wilting or destruction of leaves flowers stems fruits or entire plant you can look at these image for reference the next one is inflorescence blight here inflorescence is a cluster of flowers on a branch so the inflorescence blight means infection in flowers and branches that have flowers and finally fruit rot it is said that the disease results in almost 100% loss of fruit production the disease is more prominent during august to december the appearance of symptoms starts with the onset of the rainy season it becomes severe in the later part of the rainy season and early winter these are some of the symptoms of the disease now how to manage this infection see according to experts management operation should start from the nursery rising itself it is because the pathogen that is responsible for the infection is both seed born and seed transmitted so during sowing seed treatment with fungi sites or bio control agents will reduce the infection these measures help to impart resistance against diseases these measures come under prevention measures but after infection pruning operations should be done this is to remove the deceased twigs and it should be burnt this is done to stop the further spread during the next season these are some points that you should know about the dieback disease now we will move on to the next question look at this question here this question is about the GST council we have to find the correct statements now before answering the question let us learn some points about the GST council see first of all know that GST was introduced in India by the one not first constitutional amendment act of 2016 and it came into effect from 1st of July 2017 the GST replaced existing multiple taxes levied by the central and state governments know that the tax rates rules and regulations under the GST are governed by the GST council see the GST council is a constitutional body as it was created under article 279 a of Indian constitution now talking about the composition the GST council is chaired by the union finance minister then the members of the council include the union state minister of revenue or finance and ministers in charge of finance or taxation of all the states know that the union territories with legislatures like Delhi Puzhicherry and Jammu and Kashmir are also represented in the GST council as members of the council now we will see the quorum of the GST council see the quorum is the minimum number of members who must be present at the meetings of the council to make the proceedings of that meeting valid the quorum of the GST council shall be one half of the total number of members that is 50 percentage and know that every decision of the GST council is taken by a majority of not less than three fourth of the weighted votes of the members present and voting here the central government has the weightage of one third of the total value and the state governments would have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes casted now talking about the functions of the GST council as per article 279 a4 the GST council makes recommendations to the union and the states on important issues related to GST apart from this the council also decides on the various slab rates on the GST and it also governs the place of supply and threshold limits additionally the council recommends special rates for rising additional resources during natural calamities or disasters then the council also recommends special provisions for certain states note one important point here as per the supreme court's ruling the recommendations of the GST council are not binding on either the union government or the state governments now let's approach the question here first statement says that it is a statutory body constituted under the central goods and service tax act 2017 this statement is incorrect it is a constitutional body statement two says that it makes decision about various rates labs of the goods and service taxes this statement is correct statement three states that the recommendations of the GST council are binding on the central government and the state governments this statement is incorrect as we saw just now the recommendations are not binding on the government the correct answer for this question is option b 2 only now we will move on to the next question see this question reads ins vishak bhatnam ins mormogao ins impal and ins surat are related to which of the following naval defense vessels of india option a stealth guided missile frigates option b advanced missile corvettes option c next generation stealth guided missile destroyers option d amphibious assault vessels the correct answer for this question is option c next generation stealth guided missile destroyers now let us see some important points about destroyers of the indian navy basically a destroyer is a type of warship see there are many types of warships present in our country like aircraft carriers frigates corvettes etc so similar to that the destroyer is also a type of warship see the destroyer is quite large and fast moving know that if the destroyers have anti-missile capabilities then we call them as missile destroyers now coming to the destroyers of indian navy currently the indian navy operates more than thin guided missile destroyers from four classes namely vishag bhatnam class kolkata class delhi class and rashput class see last december the second destroyer under vishag bhatnam class that is ins mormogao was commissioned into the indian navy so now we will focus our discussion on vishag bhatnam class alone see the destroyers under the vishag bhatnam class are being built under project 15b know that project 15b was launched for constructing next generation stealth guided missile destroyers for the indian navy the destroyers under project 15b are designed in house by the directorate of naval design and they are built at the masagon dock ship builders limited in mumbai so we can say that the destroyers built under project 15b are indigenous see under project 15b four destroyers were planned and they are named after major cities such as vishag bhatnam mormogao impal and surat see ins vishag bhatnam is the first destroyer developed under project 15b and that's why we call the entire warships under project 15b as vishag bhatnam class destroyers know that ins vishag bhatnam was commissioned already in 2021 and in december 2022 ins mormogao was commissioned into the indian navy the ins impal is now undergoing sea trials and ins surat is under construction now talking about the specifications the vishag bhatnam class destroyers are propelled by four powerful gas turbines so this helps the destroyer to achieve a speed in excess of 13 knots apart from this the destroyers have enhanced stealth features see being stealth means low observability by enemies because of this feature only we call vishag bhatnam class destroyers as stealth guided missile destroyers additionally the destroyers are equipped with brahmus cruzy missiles and long range surface to air missiles it is also said that the destroyers are equipped to fight under nuclear biological and chemical warfare condition that's all now we will move on to the next question see this question talks about the exchange rate systems so first we will revise few facts about the exchange rate system and then we will get back to this question see the exchange rate of a currency is determined by the supply and demand for the country's currency in the international foreign exchange market for example if the demand for dollar increases then its value increases and the dollar appreciate while Indian rupee depreciates with respect to the dollar because earlier you were buying one dollar for 65 rupees and now you're buying the same for 70 rupees but how did the dollar suddenly cost higher because dollar is used by many countries for import export purpose and if there is sudden increase in imports and the country has to pay for written dollars then it will buy dollars in the market and the demand for dollar increases so this is how exchange rate works see different governments use different ways to manage their exchange rates we'll see what are they first is a fixed or pegged exchange rate system here the central bank has complete intervention in the determination of the exchange rate this is done by linking the domestic currency to the value of gold or with other major currencies such as US dollar for instance the central bank itself decides the exchange rate of local currency example one dollar is equal to 50 rupees then second is the floating or flexible exchange rate system here the exchange rate is determined by the market forces of demand and supply the central bank does not intervene so if there are more number of Indian people who wants to import goods from us compared to the number of Americans who are interested to buy Indian goods then demand for dollars will be more than that of rupees so now from one dollar is equal to 50 rupees it goes up to 70 rupees third system is the managed floating rate system this is now adopted by most countries including India it is the middle path between the fixed exchange rate regime and the floating exchange rate regime in the system the exchange rate of rupee is allowed to move freely based on the market forces however during difficult circumstances the central bank intervenes to stabilize the exchange rate by selling or buying the reserves so if there is more demand for dollars during an exceptional situation then the RBI will sell its reserve of dollars in the market thereby pulling down the demand for dollars now we will take up the question here first statement says that in fixed exchange rate system there is less interference by the central bank whereas in the floating exchange rate system there is more interference this statement is incorrect in the fixed exchange rate system the central bank interferes and in the floating system it is basically market based and there is less interference statement two says that increased demand for rupee with respect to dollar in international market will cause depreciation of the currency value this statement is incorrect because here when the demand for rupee increases in the market it means there is appreciation in its value and not depreciation the question asks for incorrect statement so the correct answer for this question is option c both 1 and 2 now we will move on to the next question look at this question here it talks about the nilgiri tar before solving the question let's learn about nilgiri tar and then we'll take up the question see this animal is considered as a pride of western guards the nilgiri tar is the only mountain hoofed mammal in southern india amongst the 12 species present in india it is basically the sole caipirini species found in the tropical mountains of southern india note that this endemic species of the western guards is listed as endangered in the iocn red list of 300 species and is protected under schedule one of the wildlife protection act of india 1972 now coming to its habitat it is found in the open montane grassland habitats at elevations from 1200 to 2600 meter of the south western guards currently the nilgiri tar distribution is along a narrow stretch of 400 kilometer in the western guards between nilgiri in the north and kanya kumari hills in the south of the region here you should know that the erewikulam national park in anemali hills of kerala is the home to the largest population of the nilgiri tar see the animal faces multiple threats from both natural and man-made factors as we know habitat loss due to deforestation is shrinking their area of habitation then there is competition with domestic livestock hydroelectric projects in nilgiri tar habitat and monoculture plantations the animal is occasionally hunted for its meat and skin now we will take up the question statement one says that the nilgiri tar comes under endangered category of the iocn red list this statement is correct statement two says that it comes under schedule two of the wildlife protection act 1972 this statement is incorrect we saw that it comes under schedule one of the wildlife protection act statement three says that it is a state animal of kerala no it is a state animal of Tamil Nadu so the right answer for this question is option a one only now we'll move on to the next question see this question talks about the Sikh gurus in this discussion we'll learn about Guru Gobind Singh and then we will try to solve this question see Guru Gobind Singh was the 10th and last Sikh guru when his father and the ninth Sikh guru Tegh Bhagadur was executed by Auranga Sibh Guru Gobind Singh was formally instilled as the leader of the Sikhs at the age of nine becoming the 10th and final human Sikh guru his four biological sons died during his lifetime two in battle and two executed by the Mughal governor Vazir Khan the two sons namely Babasura Singh and Baba Fateh Singh were forced to convert to Islam by Auranga Sibh's men when the young children declined they were executed to commemorate the valour of these young children only Virbal Divas was celebrated and that's why this made to the news now coming to the contribution of Guru Gobind to the Sikh religion he was the guru who organized the Sikh community into a warrior class called the Kalsa Guru Gobind Singh created and initiated the Kalsa as a warrior community with a duty to protect the innocent from religious persecution the founding of the Kalsa started a new phase in the Sikh tradition it formally formulated an initiation ceremony and rules of conduct for the Kalsa warriors additionally the Kalsa provided political and religious vision for the Sikh community and also know that the concept of Phi Kase was introduced by him he commanded the Kalsa Sikhs to wear Phi Kase they are Kesh which is unshown hair and beard kanga comb for the Kesh usually it is wooden kirpan small curved sword of any size shape or metal then kachera which means short breaches then kara a bracelet usually made of iron or steel worn on the wrist see these Phi Kase need to be worn by a practicing Sikh all the time this concept was introduced by Guru Gobind Singh to distinguish Sikhs from the other people and also to instill a sense of brotherhood among Sikhs themselves now we will take up the question see the question asks us to arrange the Sikh gurus chronologically if you had paid attention to the discussion you would have got that Guru Deik Bahadur was the father of Guru Gobind Singh who was the ninth guru so two must be at the last in this way you can eliminate option C and D then to come to the correct answer you need to know that Guru Arjan Dev was before Guru Hargobind yes Guru Arjan Dev was the fifth Sikh guru while Guru Hargobind was the sixth as you all already know the first Sikh guru was Guru Nanak so the correct answer for this question is option B now we will take up the next question this question is about the tribal groups in northeastern India we have taken up this question because in December there was a news article about the land deeds that were handed over to the heads of Bodo families in the Chathuar reserve forest so in this context we'll first learn about Bodo tribes and then we'll come back to this question see Bodo's are an indigenous tribe that inhabits Assam they are also called as Boro the Bodo Kachari is an umbrella term for all the tribal communities Bodo Kacharis is a name used by anthropologists and linguists to define a collection of ethnic groups living predominantly in the northeastern states of Assam, Tirupura and Mehalaya and this Bodo tribe is one among them they are mostly located in and around the Brahmabudra river valley Bodo's were one of the earliest settlers of Assam and today they are one of the largest ethnic groups in the state now coming to their different characteristics firstly the language of Bodo's they speak the Bodo language they are different from the Azamis language it is a language of the Tiburto-Burman origin it is one of the official languages of Assam and it is also one of the language in the 8th schedule secondly the religion of Bodo's they practice Bataoism it is the traditional religion of Bodo's this involves worshipping of Batao-Burwai and a Sijau tree the Sijau is a kind of succulent that grows really tall thirdly the food habits of Bodo's rice is the stable food for the Bodo's along with that they also consume variety of vegetables meat or fish curry fourthly the family system of Bodo's the Bodo society follows patriarchal system the father is head of the family and is the sole authority and complete owner of the household property according to the traditional customs only sons are entitled to inherit the paternal property in the absence of son daughters inherit the property finally about the marriage system the principal form of marriage in the Bodo society is monogamy with some exceptional cases of polygamy polyandry is absent in the Bodo society polyandry is nothing but marriage of women to two or more men at the same time the dowry system is not known among the Bodo society but some bride family give gifts as a token of love to their daughter know that premarital sexual relationship is strictly prohibited adultery is considered serious sin and offense in the society then the practice of child marriage is also not prevalent in the Bodo society apart from this marriage within their relatives is also not allowed now we will take up the question which among the following are the particularly vulnerable tribal groups of the northeast india see maram nagas and riang's are the only tribes listed as particularly vulnerable tribal groups from northeast india this is because in the northeast region entire population is tribal population one of the important criteria for identification of pvtgs is declining or stagnant population so only many pvtgs are not from northeast so the correct answer for this question is option a one and two only with 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