Solution (b)

Note:

• The global MPI was developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for inclusion in the UNDP’s flagship Human Development Report (HDR) in 2010.
• It has been published annually by the OPHI and in the HDRs ever since.

Solution (b)

Head Count Ratio:

• The Head Count Ratio, used in the National Statistical Organization (NSO) report, is related to the estimation of the population that exists below the poverty line.
• The Head Count Ratio (HCR) is the population proportion that exists, or lives, below the poverty threshold.
• One of the undesirable features of the Head Count Ratio (HCR) is that it ignores the depth of poverty; if the poor become poorer, the Head Count Index does not change.

Solution (d)

Note:

• The Alagh Committee, the Lakdawala Committee, the Rangarajan Committee and the Tendulkar Committee were involved in the Poverty Line Estimation in India.
• The Narasimham Committee:

From the 1991 India economic crisis to its status of the third largest economy in the world by 2011, India has grown significantly in terms of economic development. So has its banking sector. During this period, recognising the evolving needs of the sector, the Finance Ministry of the Government of India set up various Committees with the task of analysing India’s banking sector, and recommending legislation and regulations to make it more effective, competitive and efficient.

• • Two such expert Committees were set up under the chairmanship of M. Narasimham.
  • The Committees submitted their recommendations in the 1990s in their reports, widely known as the Narasimham Committee-I (1991) report and the Narasimham Committee-II (1998) Report.

• These recommendations not only helped unleash the potential of banking in India, they are also recognised as a factor towards minimizing the impact of global financial crisis.
• Starting in 2007 universities will be given special dispensation regarding regulatory, governance and content norms on par with other autonomous institutions of India.
• All educational institutions will be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure as a ‘not for profit entity’.
• Surpluses, if any, will be reinvested in the educational sector.

Solution (c)

Note:

Poverty Gap Index:

• The poverty gap index is a measure of the intensity of poverty.
• It is defined as the average poverty gap in the population as a proportion of the poverty line.
• The poverty gap index is an improvement over the poverty measure head count ratio which simply counts all the people below a poverty line, in a given population, and considers them equally poor.
• Poverty gap index estimates the depth of poverty by considering how far, on the average, the poor are from that poverty line.
• Poverty gap index provides a clearer perspective on the depth of poverty.
• It enables poverty comparisons.
• It also helps provide an overall assessment of a region’s progress in poverty reduction and the evaluation of specific public policies or private initiatives.

Solution (b)

Solution (c)

Solution (c)

Solution (b)

The World Development Report is an annual report published since 1978 by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or World Bank. Each WDR provides in-depth analysis of a specific aspect of economic development.

Solution (a)

Solution (b)

Solution (c)

Solution (a)

The Sen Index or Sen poverty index is a composite poverty measure, which combines incidence and intensity of poverty risk with the distribution of income among those at risk of poverty. Amartya Sen, noted Nobel Laureate, has developed an index known as Sen Index. There are other tools such as Poverty Gap Index and Squared Poverty Gap.

Solution (c)

Solution (a)

Solution (d)

Macroeconomics, as a separate branch of economics, emerged after the British economist John Maynard Keynes published his celebrated book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money in 1936. His ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments.

Solution (d)

Solution (b)

When we produce a good by exploiting natural resources, it is an activity of the primary sector. This is because it forms the base for all other products that we subsequently make. Since most of the natural products are from agriculture, dairy, fishing, and forestry, this sector is also called agriculture and related sector.

Solution (c)

Solution (b)

Solution (b)

Solution (b)

• Smishing is a social engineering attack that uses fake mobile text messages to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information, or sending money to cybercriminals. Phishing attacks typically occur through email. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• It is a type of phishing attack that is a combination of “SMS” (Short Message Service) and “phishing.”
• It involves tricking individuals into divulging sensitive personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or other confidential data. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• It often involves messages that appear to be from legitimate sources, such as banks, government agencies, or well-known companies. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Solution (a)

• Chokuwa rice is a part of Assam’s culinary heritage. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• It is also known as Magic Rice.
• It has been a staple of the troops of the mighty Ahom dynasty. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• It is cultivated around the Brahmaputra River area. Hence statement 3 is incorrect.
• It is a semi-glutinous winter rice, known as Sali rice.
• The sticky and glutinous variety is categorized as Bora and Chokuwa based on their amylose concentration.
• The low amylose Chokuwa rice variants are used to make soft rice, which is known as Komal Chaul or soft rice.
• This rice variety is widely consumed for its convenience of preparation and nutritional value.

Solution (d)

• Band-e-Amir National Park was declared Afghanistan’s firstnational park in 2009.
• It features a chain of six lakesset in the Hindu Kush Mountains.
• The lakes are famous for their intense and varying colors, ranging from faint turquoise to deep blue.
• The colour is a result of the minerals that fill the water and create the lake beds.
• It’s been called Afghanistan’s Grand Canyon.

Solution (a)

As per recent reports, thirty-four countries including India will participate in the joint military exercise, BRIGHT STAR-23.

About BRIGHT STAR-23:-

• Date: 31 August to 14 October 2023.
• Venue: Mohammed Naguib Military Base,
• Indian Army contingent comprising 137 personnel will participate in a military exercise.
• It is a multinational tri-services joint military exercise.
• It will be led by US CENTCOM and the Egyptian Army.
• This year 34 countries will participate in the Exercise.
• It will be the largest-ever joint military exercise in West Asia and North Africa region.
• This is the first time that the Indian Armed Force with 549 personnel participated in the exercise.
• During the exercise participating countries will share the best practices to combat emerging unconventional threats and enhance regional partnerships.
• Significance: The exercise will provide a unique opportunity for the Indian Army to share best practices and experiences with other armies aimed at enhancing defense cooperation.

Solution (b)

• ASTRA Missile is an indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Beyond Visual Range (BVR) is a class of missiles that can target and eliminate aerial threats beyond the reach of direct visual observation, enhancing the aircraft’s combat range and effectiveness.
• It is an air-to-air missile. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.
• It can engage and destroy highly manoeuvring supersonic aerial targets. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• The missile is intended for use by both the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy.
• It boasts advanced air combat capabilities. It can engage multiple high-performance targets.

Solution (c)

• Side Channel Attacks(SCAs) are a method of hacking a cryptographic algorithm based on the analysis of auxiliary systems used in the encryption method. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• These can be performed using a collection of signals emitted by devices including electromagnetic waves, power consumption, mobile sensors as well as sound from keyboards and printers to target devices.
• Acoustic Side Channel Attacks(ASCA) use the sound of clicks generated by a keyboard to analyze keystrokes and interpret what is being typed to leak sensitive information. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• These attacks are particularly dangerous as the acoustic sounds from a keyboard are not only readily available but also because their misuse is underestimated by users.

Solution (b)

• Hangul is the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• In Kashmir, it is found primarily in the Dachigam National Park.
• It is a subspecies of Central Asian red deer endemic to Kashmir and surrounding areas.
• It is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• It is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Hence statement 3 is incorrect.

Solution (b)

According to the recent study released by the Reserve Bank of India on investments:

• Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Karnataka accounted for more than half of the total bank-assisted investment proposals made during the year 2022-23. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• Kerala, Goa, and Assam were at the bottom of the table in getting the lowest number of new investments.
• The investment in green field projects accounted for the largest share of 93.1% in the total cost of projects financed by banks and Financial institutions(FIs) during 2022-23. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Overall investment plans shot up by 79.50% with a capital outlay of around 3.5 lakh- the highest since 2014-15.

Solution (b)

About the 10th plenary of IPBES:-

• Dates: 28 August – 2 September 2023.
• Location: Bonn, Germany.
• Agenda: the scientific assessment report on “Invasive Alien Species and their Control”.
• The focus of IPBES 10 was the thematic assessment of invasive alien species and their control, whose preparation was approved at IPBES 8.
• IPBES10 is the first meeting of this global body since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

IPBES

• Established: 2012.
• HQ: Bonn, Germany.
• IPBES Member States: 143.
• It is an independent intergovernmental body.
• It provides evidence-based and policy-relevant information on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Observer states and stakeholders also participate in Plenary sessions.
• IPBES assesses the state of biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides to society, in response to requests from decision-makers.
• It is not a United Nations body. (UN Biodiversity Summit)
• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides secretariat services to IPBES.

Solution (d)

The Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of the ESO 300-16. The ESO 300-16 is an irregular galaxy. It is located at a distance of 28.7 million lightyears in the southern constellation of Eridanus. It is made of many tiny stars all clumped together, surrounded by a diffuse light. In the central, brightest part there is a bubble of blue gas. The galaxy is surrounded by mostly very small and faint objects, though there are bright stars above and to the left of it, and a string of galaxies nearby. Hence option d is correct.

Note:

An irregular galaxy is a galaxy that does not have a distinct regular shape, unlike a spiral or an elliptical galaxy. They have unusual shapes, like toothpicks, rings, or even little groupings of stars.

Solution (a)

Assume that the box had X chocolates and each of the 403 students got ‘A’ chocolates.

X = 124 + 403 × A

Now, 403 = 13 × 31 & 124 = 4 × 31

Clearly, X is divisible by 31. So no chocolates would remain when distributing those among 31 students.

Solution (d)

Let x (Rs) be the fixed cost and y (Rs/guest), the variable cost.

Then,

x + 50y = 50000 ……………(І) and

x + 100y = 80000 ……………(ІІ).

From (І) and (ІІ), we get,

y = 600 and x = 20000.

Now let the average expense of 200 guests be Rs ‘z’,

Since the variable cost of the guest house is linearly related to the number of guests

Therefore, 200 × z = x + 200y = 20000 + 600×200

or z = Rs 700

Solution (b)

Total number of students in the class = 31

Rank of Mahesh from top = 7^th

Number of students behind Mahesh = 31 – 7 = 24

Rank of Mahesh from bottom = 25^th

Rank of Suresh = 11^th

Number of students behind Suresh = 31 – 11 = 20

Rank of Suresh from the bottom = 21^st

Sum of ranks of Mahesh and Suresh from the bottom = 25 + 21 = 46

Solution (c)

Given fractions –

1/2, 2/3, 3/4 and 4/5

Considering statement -1,

(1+1)/(2+2), (2+1)/(3+2), (3+1)/(4+2) and (4+1)/(5+2)`

Or 2/4, 3/5, 4/6 and 5/7

Or 1/2, 3/5, 2/3 and 5/7

Clearly, we can see that the value of only one fraction (i.e. 1/2) remained unchanged.

Considering statement -2,

1/(2 – 1), 2/(3 – 1), 3/(4 – 1) and 4/(5 –1)

Or 1/1, 2/2, 3/3 and 4/4

Or 1, 1, 1 and 1

Clearly, we can see that the value of each fraction is the same now.

Hence, both S1 and S2 are correct.

Solution (c)

The number of bacteria increases as per the series: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 ….

Clearly, this is a geometric progression with the common ratio, r = 2.

The number of bacteria at the end of twenty minutes will be given by the eleventh term of the GP.

[Because, the number of bacteria doubles every two minutes and initially there was already one bacterium].

Eleventh Term, T_n = a × r^(n-1) = 1 × 2^(n-1) = 2¹⁰ = 1024

Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.