 Welcome to the target 2020 prelim series of Shankarai's Academy. In this video, we will be discussing and solving a set of 50 important topics. These topics have been sourced from the Hindu newspaper, business standard, live-ment and the information for these topics have been sourced from authentic and government sources like Press Information Bureau, Nithya Ayog, reports of various ministries, e-guesset of the government, etc. These are the list of topics that we have selected to represent the current affairs of the month of August 2019. All these 50 topics will be discussed in MCQ format for better understanding of the viewers and also in the perspective of civil services preliminary examination. The PDF link of this August 2019 session has been given in the description box and also in the comment section. We advise the viewers to better utilize this resource for their preparation. Now let's move on to the session. This question is with reference to the scheme for protection and preservation of endangered languages. In this context, we have to know whose initiative is this, what does the scheme seeks to achieve, then what are the languages that are to be benefited by the scheme. See, this is an initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development of Government of India. This ministry has instituted this scheme in the year 2013. The only objective of this scheme is to document and archive countries' languages one which have become endangered, two which are likely to be endangered in the near future. So right now what they are doing is that languages which are spoken by less than 10,000 speakers are those languages which are not linguistically studied earlier. These two segments of languages are mainly or chiefly considered to be documented in this scheme. So far they have listed around some 117 languages for documentation purpose on the scheme. See, this scheme is monitored by an institute that comes under Ministry of Human Resource Development. This institute is called as the Central Institute of Indian Languages which is located in Mysuru in Karnataka. This institute comes under the Language Bureau of Department of Higher Education of Ministry of Human Resource Development. In this context, it is also important for us to know when a language becomes extinct and what is the status of Indian languages on the basis of endangered men according to UNESCO. See, according to the criteria adopted by UNESCO, a language becomes extinct when nobody speaks the language or when nobody remembers the language. And UNESCO has categorized languages on the basis of endangered men in four categories. This is kind of similar to how we see in the red data list of IUCN. Here coming to UNESCO for languages, there are four categories. One is vulnerable, then definitely endangered, thirdly, severely endangered, and finally critically endangered. Here with reference to India, the important point is that UNESCO has declared 42 languages spoken in various places in India in the category critically endangered. And one specific point here, more than 20 languages of these 42 languages are from two regions, one northeastern region, then Andaman and Nicobar Islands. So, with these things happening around, this scheme for protection and preservation of endangered languages is expected to prevent Indian languages from becoming extinct and it is expected that the program will also help Indian languages to improve their position with reference to endangered men. Now let's come to this question. Consider the following statements about the scheme for protection and preservation of endangered languages. They have given three statements asking which of the statement or statements given above are correct. First statement, the objective of the scheme is to document and archive the country's languages that have become endangered or likely to be endangered in the near future. This statement is correct. You can eliminate option B, as it does not say statement one is correct. Now the second statement, the languages with less than one lakh speakers are mainly considered under the scheme. Third statement, the scheme was instituted by Union Ministry of Culture. Now the second statement, you can find that the number has been altered to one lakh to confuse the aspirants. You may expect such type of questions, even earlier in 2017 problems with respect to a question on national investment and infrastructure fund while the proposed corpus for the fund was Rs. 40,000 crore, in the question paper they added a zero to the number to confuse the aspirants. They gave that the corpus of the fund was 4 lakh crore and that became an incorrect statement. Last year, in Prilim, while there were around 75 tribal communities designated by Ministry of Home Affairs as particularly vulnerable tribal groups, the question gave an incorrect statement by mentioning around 95 tribes where officially notified as PVTG so far. It was an incorrect statement and the point here is if you can just find that this statement is incorrect in that question, you can directly arrive at the correct answer by eliminating the unsuitable options. And you can also expect a statement like the third statement as well. Earlier in 2017, a question was asked about national career service. They gave an incorrect statement. They gave the statement as national career service is an initiative of Department of Personal and Training of Government of India. That was a wrong statement given. And with respect to NCS, we know that it is a Mission-Mod project and a Ministry of Labour and Employment. So now coming to this question, so here the point I would like to make here is such statements we can definitely expect. The correct answer for this question is option A, one only because only the first statement is correct. This question is with reference to Angikar campaign. They have given two statements and are asking which of the statements given above are correct. First statement, the objective is to promote social behaviour change by abandoning discriminative practices against women which are prevalent in the society. And the second statement is the campaign was launched by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. So in this context, it is important for us to know about this campaign, which Ministry launched this campaign and the objectives of this campaign. See, we know that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, there is a flagship mission called as Prathana Mantri, Avas Yojana Urban. And under this scheme, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, it provides central assistance to states and union territories to address the housing requirement of eligible beneficiaries in urban areas. Even this includes slum dwellers as well. This flagship mission by August 2019 moved beyond providing houses to address issues that arise from life transformation. It felt that the beneficiaries of Prathana Mantri, Avas Yojana Urban, they should learn and adopt cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation. Therefore, Prathana Mantri, Avas Yojana Urban Mission of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched this campaign called as Campaign AnkiKar on 29th August 2019. It was thought that this campaign will help the beneficiaries to maintain the infrastructure and amenities and also other basic civic services. So in a simple way, we can say that Campaign AnkiKar is a campaign for social behavior change management. And this is to be done among the beneficiaries of Prathana Mantri, Avas Yojana Urban. And it is to be achieved through three C's, Convergence, Community Engagement and Communications. What are the objectives of this campaign? One is to create awareness on water conservation, energy conservation, waste management, health and sanitation. Then to help in convergence with missions of central ministries so as to create an enabling environment. And then to enable families in adapting to newly constructed homes through social behavior change. And also to build capacities for rainwater harvesting, tree plantation, waste management, etc. So these are the four objectives of this campaign. To fulfill these objectives and to specifically achieve the second objective, the campaign seeks to converge relevant schemes of other central ministries. Convergence under this campaign and various activities of the campaign has been given here for your reference. Through the convergence of these schemes, the Prathana Mantri, Avas Yojana Urban beneficiaries are to be brought under the fold of these welfare programs of other ministries as well. And in the activities, you can find the door-to-door awareness campaigns and various activities at the level of wards. So this is about this campaign Ankikar. Now if you see the statements of the question, you can easily say that both the given statements are wrong. So therefore the correct answer for this question is option D, neither one nor two. This question is with reference to Samudrayan project. See this question, which among the following statements is correct about the proposed Samudrayan project. It is a proposed project to link the Gulf of Mannar and Bay of Bengal by dredging of a shipping canal through Park Strait and Parkway. It plans for the comprehensive development of India's coastline and maritime sector. It aims to promote portlet direct and indirect development and to provide infrastructure to transport goods to and from ports quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. It envisages deep ocean mining for ocean resources. Here the first option corresponds to Seidu Samudram shipping canal project. The second and third options correspond to Sagar Mala project. The correct answer here is option D. See by the end of July 2019 and early August 2019 there were official reports from government of India about a mission called as deep ocean mission for sustainable use of ocean resources. The news was that the central government has given in principle approval for 8000 crore mission to explore the deepest region of ocean surrounding our country. This mission is considered as a part of an exercise to promote sustainable use of vast untapped living and non-living ocean resources. And this mission is to be an integrated program where several scientific departments like the Department of Science and Technology, ISRO, Department of Biotechnology, DRDO, Indian Council of Agriculture Research and few other agencies, they all will come and work together. And the most important trust or focus of this mission is to look for metals and minerals in deep ocean. And we already know that international seabed authority has allotted India around 75,000 square kilometre in central Indian ocean basin. And this site is allotted for the exploitation of polymetallic nodules. And this deep ocean exploration project, as stated by the principal scientific advisor to government of India, has been highlighted here for your reference. And you can observe that this includes exploitation of resources and development of underwater vehicles. Resources here mainly correspond to polymetallic nodules. And when we come to polymetallic nodules, note that they have economically valuable metals such as copper, cobalt, nickel and manganese. That's why they're called polymetallic, right? And they are viewed as potential resources so as to take care of depleting land resources and to take care of increasing demand of these metals, what metals, copper, cobalt, nickel and manganese. So, how to explore deep oceans and particularly seabeds? For this, we need some kind of exploratory underwater vehicle. The term vehicle, in Hindi it is called as yam. If it is vehicle for space, then it should be space vehicle in Hindi, the aganya. The vehicle is for exploration of seabeds or deep ocean. It is called as samudrayam. The word samutra here takes the meaning of ocean or deep ocean in this context. So the project samutrayam is the project that envisages sending aquanauts to ocean depths with their manned submersible vehicle. So this is the project. And this project is led by National Institute of Ocean Technology which is located in Chennai. It comes under Ministry of Earth Sciences. So the correct answer for this question is option D. It envisages deep ocean mining for ocean resources. This question is with reference to Convention on Biological Diversity. In this context, it is important for us to know about important contributions made by United Nations in the field of environment. Then we will see about this convention and its protocols. Then we will attempt this question. See, one of the important deliberations of Convention on Biological Diversity is series of conferences that were held in Trondheim in Norway. Last year, in July 2019, CBD was in news as ninth of this series of conferences was held in Trondheim in Norway. So now let's see the UN activity in the field of environment which have been so far driven by seven major conferences. The first of the conference is the UN conference on Human Environment which was held in the year 1972 in June in Stockholm. The outcome of this conference is that it led to the establishment of United Nations Environment Program. Then the next major conference is World Commission on Environment and Development held in the year 1987. It released Bruntland Report and it developed the theme of sustainable development. Then comes the Earth Summit called as United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in the year 1992. It is this conference which led to the establishment of Commission on Sustainable Development. In this conference, three major agreements were adopted. One is Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Then Agenda 21 or we can call it as Agenda for the 21st century which is a global plan of action to promote sustainable development. Then another agreement is Statement of Forest Principles for the sustainable management of forests across the world. Then two multilateral treaties were opened for signature. One is United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the other is Convention on Biological Diversity. It is here CBD comes into play. Then we have Earth Summit plus file which is a UN General Assembly special session on environment in the year 1997. This conference reviewed the implementation of Agenda 21. Then in 2002 in Johannesburg in South Africa there was World Summit on Sustainable Development. The outcome is Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development. Ten years later in 2012, UN Conference on Sustainable Development was held again in Rio in Brazil. The outcome document of this conference is titled as The Future We Want and as we know already in the year 2015 it was called as United Nations Sustainable Development Summit. A resolution titled as Transforming Our World in 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly. So overall we can group the efforts taken by UN in environment through these seven major conferences or events. Now the question is about one of the multilateral treaties that was opened for signature in the year 1992 in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. This convention we are referring to Convention on Biological Diversity. It entered into force in 1993 and it has now around 196 parties and India is also a party. See India has ratified the convention way back in 1994 itself. Whenever we study CBD you should focus on its three main objectives or goals. One is to conserve biological diversity then sustainable use of components of biological diversity. Then thirdly fair and equitable sharing of benefits that arise because of utilization of genetic resources. The third goal refers to say for example some genetic resources is taken from a particular source country or from a particular farmer. This farmer has to be given a fair and equitable share of benefits that arise because of utilization of genetic resources obtained from a particular country or a farmer. Now that the secretariat of Convention on Biological Diversity is located in Canada in Montreal City. There are two important protocols for this convention. One is Cartagena Protocol on Bio-Safety. This protocol is about living modified organisms that resulted from modern biotechnology. This protocol aims to ensure safe handling, transport and use of these organisms. It was adopted in 2000 and entered into force in the year 2003. The second protocol is Nagaya Protocol. This protocol aims at sharing the benefits arising from utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable manner. Adopted in 2010, entered into force in 2014. Note that convention and its two protocols are legally binding on the parties. And India's position with respect to the convention and the protocols is that we are party to convention and also to both the protocols. Now let's come to this question. With reference to Convention on Biological Diversity, consider the following statements. Three statements are given. They are asking which of the statements given above are correct. First statement, its main objectives are conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of utilization of genetic resources. First statement is correct. You can eliminate option C. Second statement, the convention was opened for signature during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. This statement is also correct. So you can eliminate option E. Now we have to just to find out whether statement 3 is correct or not. So as to arrive at our correct option either B or D. Third statement states International Union for Conservation of Nature, Red List of Threatened Species So let's see a brief about this IUCN. See IUCN was established way back in 1948. It was established in France as a non-governmental organization and IUCN is headquartered in Switzerland. It is an official observer at the UN General Assembly as well. India became a member of IUCN in the year 1969. Whenever we see about IUCN, we always hear more about the Red List of Threatened Species. See this Red List of Threatened Species was established in the year 1964 by IUCN. And this Red List gives world's most comprehensive information about global conservation status of animals, fungi and also plant species. Therefore this IUCN provides critical information about the health of world's biodiversity. And IUCN has also played very important role in creation of very important international conventions. One among them is Convention on Biological Diversity. Other conventions are say Ramsar Convention on Wetlands 1971, World Heritage Convention of 1972, Sites Convention of 1974 and as we have already informed about CBD in 1992. So here we can clearly say that IUCN is an organization or IUCN Red List of Threatened Species was in existence even before 1992. So IUCN Red List is not an outcome of Convention on Biological Diversity. So statement three is wrong. So the correct answer for this question is option B, one and two only. This question is with reference to Otter Species. In August 2019, 18th Conference of Parties of Sites Convention took place in Geneva, Switzerland. In that COP, India proposed to strengthen the protection of two Otter species and both the proposals of India were accepted. Also know that India's proposal on star tortoise, toque gecko and wedge fish were also accepted. However, India's proposal to delete Indian rosewood from Appendix II was rejected. Generally, COP for this Convention provides a platform for the parties mainly to review progress in the conservation of species listed under Sites. Then it also acts as a platform to consider, what proposals to amend the list of species under Sites Convention and also acts as a platform to recommend various measures to improve the effectiveness of the Convention as well. Before taking this question, let us discuss in brief about these Otters. See, Otters are mammal species. There are around some 13 species of Otters in the world. Know that Otters are found all over the world but there are exceptions as they are not found in Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar and other oceanic islands as well. So, coming to India, India is home to three species of the 13 species of Otters that are found in the world and these are Eurasian Otter, smooth-coated Otter, small-clod Otter and Eurasian Otter is also called as Common Otter. Of these three species, smooth-coated Otter is distributed throughout the country but Eurasian and small-clod Otter, they are restricted to the Himalayas, to the north of the Ganges and also to southern India. And the occurrence of all three species have been reported in two regions in India. They are northeast India and also the western Ghats. And in India, if you take the protection status, small-clod Otter is given the highest legal protection under Schedule 1 of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Other two Otter species, they are protected under Schedule 2 of Wildlife Protection Act and with respect to sites, all these three species that are found in India, they are protected under Appendix 1 of Sites Convention. Now, coming to the threats faced by Otter species in general, they face threats because of human activities, say like aquaculture, swamp reclamation, siltation arising because of deforestation, pollution by pesticides, mining, quarrying and also slash and burn agriculture or zoom cultivation. Due to conversion of land for agricultural use, this also have to found an impact in reducing the habitat of Otter species. Another common threat to Otter species is reduced prey base because of overfishing. And reports say that all Otter species are semi-aquatic carnivores that require aquatic habitats for binding food and sheltered terrestrial regions for resting and dinning. However, some research reports also say that few species like African clawless Otters, they are an exception to this fact as they loosely adapt to aquatic environment. Then poaching is also a significant threat for Otters. See, Otters are used in traditional medicines in Southeast Asia, particularly in Laos and in China. And it is also found that international criminal networks, they traffic Otter skin or Otter pills. So, these are some of the threats faced by Otter species. Now, let's come to this question. Consider the following statements about Otter species. Whose statements are given? They are asking which of the statements given above are correct. India has home to Eurasian Otter, smooth coated Otter and small cloud Otter. Here, you need not eliminate Eurasian Otter by logical conclusion because it does not say European Otter. It is Eurasian. It is found in India. India's home to Eurasian Otter. So, first statement is correct. So, you can eliminate option B and option D. Second statement, the above mentioned three Otter species are included in Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species and are protected under Schedule 1 of Wildlife Protection Act of 1970. The first half of this statement is correct as these three Otter species are included in Appendix 1 of sites. However, only small cloud Otter is protected under Schedule 1 of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Remaining two species are protected under Schedule 2. So, the second statement is incorrect. So, the correct answer is option A, one only. This question is with reference to SARAL index. In this context, it is important for us to know about the purpose of this index, who has released this index and some important points like indicators, which status ranked first. These points we have to take note of. The SARAL index for the financial year 2018-19 was in news in the month of August 2019 as it was released in August 2019. See, SARAL stands for State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index. The speciality is it is the first of its kind index that provides a comprehensive overview of state-level measures that were adopted to facilitate rooftop solar deployment. The aim of this index is to evaluate Indian states based on their preparedness or attractiveness to support specifically rooftop solar deployment. The index aims to objectively assess the states based on several parameters which belong to five broad categories. These parameters were taken for assessment because they were considered very important and critical for establishing a strong solar rooftop markets. These five categories we have to take note of say robustness of policy framework, effectiveness of policy support or effectiveness of policy implementation environment then consumer experience, investment climate for rooftop solar sector and also the business ecosystem. Now let us see who designed this index and who released this index. See, this index has been designed collaboratively by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, Associated Chambers of Commerce in Industry of India, Ernst and Young and the index was released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of Government of India and based on the performance in these parameters in these five categories, the scores of the states were also computed and based on the state score any one of the six grades will be assigned to a particular state and the top performing state has been assigned A++ category or A++ rank and the other states were assigned other five grades. Finally here one takeaway is that four Indian states were found to be in the best performing category in this rooftop solar deployment. First position is given to Karnataka with the top score of 78.8 in the Saral score and this is followed by Telangana, then Gujarat and then Andhra Pradesh. These are the four states that have performed very well when it comes to rooftop solar sector. Now you should know why this rooftop sector is given this importance. One of the reasons why the assessment is given this importance is because out of 100 gigawatt solar power which is to be operational by March 2022 40 gigawatt is planned to come from grid connected solar rooftops. This is the main reason why they have specifically targeted rooftop solar sector and we also know that out of the target of 175 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022 100 gigawatt is from solar energy, 60 gigawatt is from wind energy and this is followed with 10 gigawatt from bio power and 5 gigawatt from small hydropower. So with these information in mind now let's take this question. With reference to Saral index consider the following statements. Three statements are there. They are asking which of the statement or statements given above are correct. First statement the index evaluates Indian states based on their preparedness to support rooftop solar deployment. This statement is correct even without reading the statement we can find from the options the first statement is correct. Second statement it is released by ministry of power and Nithya Yog. This is a wrong statement because it was released by ministry of new and renewable energy. The moment you find second statement is wrong you can eliminate option B and option D. As they say second statement is correct. Third statement state of Andhra Pradesh topped the list due to robust solar energy policy framework. We know that state of Karnataka topped the list in Saral score not state of Andhra Pradesh. So third statement is also incorrect so you can eliminate option C as well. Now one of the main reasons that propelled the image of Karnataka with respect to rooftop solar segment is the category of robustness of policy framework. To the surprise and shock of many states Karnataka has got a score of 99.54 in the category of robustness of policy framework. So the correct answer for this question is option A as only the first statement is correct. This question is about Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Uthan Mahabhiyan scheme. Kisan means farmers, Urja means energy, Suraksha means security, Uthan means upliftment and Mahabhiyan means major campaign. So it is a major campaign or a scheme for the upliftment of farmers by ensuring energy security. See this scheme was launched by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The scheme aims to promote use of solar energy among the farmers. See it has three components, component A, component B and component C. In component A the scheme aims for renewable power plants of capacity 10,000 megawatt and these are renewable power plants decentralized, ground-mounted and grid-connected. Under this component renewable energy plants of 500 kilowatt capacity to 2 megawatt capacity will be set up either by individual farmers or by farmer cooperatives or by panzayats or by farmer producer organizations. These plants will be set up on their barren lands or even cultivable lands. And the power generated from these renewable power plants will be purchased by power distribution companies. The component B of the scheme it aims to install solar powered agriculture pumps to the tune of around 17.5 lakh. Here individual farmers will be supported to install such standalone solar pumps and this support will prevent the use of diesel based pumps. So we are moving from fossil fuel based pumps to non-fossil fuel or renewable energy based pumps. The last component it aims for solarization of grid-connected agriculture pumps to the tune of around 10 lakh such pumps are to be solarized. Under the scheme farmers will be supported to solarize their pumps. Even here also the excess available energy could be sold to distributing companies. And once these grid-connected pumps are able to generate power with the help of solar energy, thereafter they need not depend on the grid-connected power. So with all these components combined the scheme aims to add a solar capacity of around 25,750 megawatt by the 75th year of Indian independence that is by the year of 2022. We saw that the scheme promotes the use of solar energy among farmers. See for components B and component C there is central financial assistance of 30% of the benchmark or tender cost whichever is lower and the state governments will also provide a subsidy of 30%. The remaining 40% is to be provided by the farmer. And for north-eastern states Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Lakshwadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands the central assistance is 50%. So by promoting use of solar energy among farmers this scheme is to have substantial environmental impact in terms of saving of carbon dioxide emissions. This is because addition of solar power capacity means minimizing the use of coal to meet energy needs. So all the three components combined together is expected to result in saving around 27 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year. So these are some of the information with reference to this Kisan-Urjah Suraksha-Evam-Uthan-Mahabiyam. Now see the question which of the following statement is correct regarding this Kisan-Urjah Suraksha-Evam-Uthan-Mahabiyam scheme. It aims at promoting organic agriculture among farmers especially in the north-east India. It focuses on using surplus food grains for production of ethanol for blending with petrol. Its core objective is to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022 by promoting use of solar energy among the farmers. Its objective is to enhance crop per drop by implementing water saving technologies and precision irrigation. Correct answer is option C. Now let's move on to next question. This question is with reference to Global Carbon Project. This project was in news with reference to release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It was in news in August 2019 and also it comes in newspaper frequently. In this context it is important for us to see when it was established by which agencies or programs and why it was established and what is it trying to achieve. See this project was established in 2001 by a shared partnership and what do we refer here as shared partnership. This partnership was built by four global environmental change programs. These are programs such as International Geosphere-Biosphere Program, International Human Dimensions Program on Global Environmental Change, Diversitas and the World Climate Research Program. Over a period of time except World Climate Research Program, other three programs they transformed into a new initiative called as Future Earth. So at present if you ask who is behind this Global Carbon Project, it is a global research project carried out by Future Earth Initiative and World Climate Research Program. To be specific mainly carried out by Future Earth and World Climate Research Program is a research partner in this project. So how do they contribute to Earth? See they were thinking how to support policy debate about increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. And they were also thinking something should be done to slow down and also to ultimately stop the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. So they understood that there is a need for a common and mutually agreed knowledge base so as to guide decision making and developing policy measures. So this project addresses this need and therefore it aims to establish a common and mutually agreed knowledge base to achieve objectives such as supporting policy debate on greenhouse gases and to slow down and to ultimately stop the greenhouse gases increase in the atmosphere. Here they will bring knowledge about rising atmospheric concentrations of three dominant greenhouse gases which are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. This project focuses comprehensively on global biogeochemical cycles of these three greenhouse gases and they also focus on opportunities for low carbon development or low carbon growth. And under this global carbon project they release global carbon budget, global carbon atlas, methane budget and nitrous oxide budget. So these are some of the important information with reference to the global carbon project. Now we will take the question. They have given two statements and they are asking which of the statements given above are correct. First statement, it is a global research project of United Nations Environment Program. This statement is incorrect. It is a global research project of Future Earth Initiative and World Climate Research Program. Once the first statement is incorrect, you can eliminate option A and option C. Come to second statement, it works to establish a common and mutually agreed knowledge base to support policy debate and action to slow down and ultimately stop the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This is the mission of this project and the statement is correct. So only the second statement is correct. Therefore the correct answer is option B. This question is with reference to United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements resulting from mediation. This convention was in news in August 2019 because on 7th August 2019 this UN Convention was open for signature in Singapore and on the same day India has signed this UN Convention. But know that India has not yet ratified this convention. Ratification or acceptance or approval or accession according to the text of this convention will make this convention to have a binding effect on India. Since India is as of now just a signatory, it is not binding as of now. Know that this convention is also called as Singapore Convention on Mediation. So first let's see this convention in brief. See this convention applies to international trade settlement agreements or international commercial settlement agreements that result from the process of mediation. And when we say mediation, it refers to a procedure of settling disputes without litigation, preferably through arbitration, mediation or negotiation. And this convention establishes a uniform legal framework for the right to invoke and right to enforce settlement agreements resulting from mediation. In this context, this convention acts as an instrument to facilitate international trade and also to promote mediation as an alternative and mediation as an effective method of resolving trade disputes. Because in many cases what was observed is when there is litigation, after the litigation there is end of commercial relations which is not in the best interest for both parties. So when there is mediation, there is no culmination or end of such relations. India signing this convention is expected to provide a positive signal to foreign investors when it comes to India's commitment to adhere to international practice on mediation or alternative dispute resolution mechanism. See with respect to the status of this convention so far, by 12th March 2020, this convention is ratified by three countries. Fiji, Qatar and Singapore that is the status even now, mere signing of this convention do not mean that this is binding on the signatory. And the text of the treaty mentions that it will come into force only after six months after the ratification or acceptance or approval or accession of three countries. With Qatar becoming the third country to ratify on 12th March 2020, this convention comes into force after six months that is on 12th September 2020. So these are the recent developments that happened with respect to this convention after it was opened for signature in August 2019. Now with reference to international arbitration, know that Indian parliament has passed a legislation and the same has already been also assented by president and also has been notified in July 29 itself. This law is called as New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Act of 2019. This act provides for the establishment and incorporation of New Delhi International Arbitration Centre. This centre is for the purpose of creating an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalised arbitration in our country. This step taken by India is considered as a significant step to encourage international commercial arbitration in India and also to evolve a comprehensive ecosystem for arbitration. And this law has also declared this arbitration centre, New Delhi International Arbitration Centre as institution of national importance. So these are some of the important points that we have to know with reference to this human convention and some of the important steps taken recently by India with reference to international arbitration. Now we come to this question, with reference to United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements resulting from mediation, consider the following statements. Two statements are there, which of the statements given above ISAR are correct. Now come to the first statement, it establishes a harmonised legal framework for the right to invoke settlement agreements in trade or commercial relations resulting from mediation as well as for their enforcement. This statement is correct. The second statement, India is a signatory to this convention. This statement is also correct. So both the statements are correct, therefore the correct answer is option C, both 1 and 2. This question is about alternative investment fund. In this context it is important for us to know about the definition of the fund, what are not included in this fund, then about the categories of this fund and also about some information on limit of number of investors. So what is this alternative investment fund? See first of all it is any fund that is established in India or incorporated in India. It can be in the form of a trust or a company or a limited liability partnership or a body corporate. What is this fund? It is a privately pooled investment vehicle that collects funds from investors. These investors can be Indian investors or foreign investors. The money that is pooled here is invested in accordance with a defined investment policy for the benefit of investors of the fund. Now why we are saying defined investment policy? This is because if you see SEBI alternative investment fund regulations 2012, regulation number 16, 17 and 18 clearly prescribe or define this investment policy for each categories of AAF. Why are we saying it as a privately pooled investment vehicle? This is because this fund cannot make invitation to the public to subscribe its units. Rather it can raise funds from sophisticated investors only through private placement. That is why we are calling it as privately pooled investment vehicle. And in the language of SEBI's regulations, the term private placement is also called as preferential allotment. Now that alternative investment fund is not covered under SEBI mutual fund regulations, SEBI collective investment schemes regulations. So what is the regulation that governs this fund? It is SEBI alternative investment fund regulations of 2012. Now we saw that this alternative investment fund can be a trust. Note that family trusts that are set up for the benefit of relatives are not included in its definition. Then employees stock option plan trusts, employee welfare trusts, gratuity trusts that are set up for the benefit of employees holding companies coming under section 4 of Companies Act of 1956. Then it also does not include funds that are managed by Securitization Company or Reconstruction Company registered with RBI under section 3 of Surface Act of 2002. Then it also does not include any pool of funds which is directly regulated by regulators other than SEBI. Now there is a question. Can this fund launch a fund or scheme of any size? For this the answer is no. This is because each scheme of AIF shall have a corpus of at least 20 crore rupees. In case of angel alternative investment fund, it shall have a corpus of at least 10 crore rupees. So these are the two limits. So because of the limits, it is obviously understood high net worth individuals and institutions will be those who are investing in these funds because it requires a high investment amount in crores. Therefore this fund is different from mutual funds because in mutual funds investment options are available at low price as well. With rupees 100 you can invest in mutual funds but in AIF we need crores of money. And it also differs from conventional investment avenues like stocks, debt securities and therefore it is called as alternative investment funds. There are three categories. Category 1, Category 2, Category 3. We have given the categories here for your reference. You can find terms such as venture capital funds, angel funds, SME funds or small and medium enterprises funds, social venture funds, infrastructure funds, private equity funds, real estate funds, funds for distressed assets, hedge funds etc. Also know that there are certain limits on the number of investors in this fund. Sebi says that an AIF scheme shall not have more than 1000 investors and when it is angel AIF a scheme shall not have more than 49 angel investors. Now come to this question. They have given two statements. We are asked which of the statements given above are correct. First statement mentions that it is a privately pooled investment fund that includes venture capital funds, angel funds, hedge funds. This statement is correct so you can eliminate options B and D immediately. Now come to the second statement. It states that there is no limitation on the number of investors and AIF can invite the public at large to subscribe its units. Both parts of the statement are incorrect. There is limitation on investors and this fund cannot make invitation to the public to subscribe its units. We saw that it can use funds from sophisticated investors only through private placement. So only the first statement is correct. Therefore the correct answer for this question is option A one only. Now let's move on to next question. This question is about green gold revolution. The term green gold revolution sometimes seen in the news refers to. See the term green gold it refers to bamboo. So green gold revolution is related to bamboo production. Therefore among the given options the correct answer is promotion and trade of bamboo. See the ministry of development of northeastern region has called for a green gold revolution through the promotion and trade of bamboo. And in India we can find 60% of India's bamboo reserves in the northeastern region. And coming to the uses of bamboo it is mainly used in manufacture of furniture, paper and handicraft. They are also used in building construction particularly in earthquake seismic zones like northeastern region. And here we have given you some of the terms that are used at the official level by the government of India and the area in which it is related. Say for example green revolution is with reference to wheat and rice production. Golden revolution is connected with horticulture crops production. Though horticulture crops generally give an understanding of garden cultivation. In India horticulture crops include fruits, vegetables, plantation crops, aromatics and medicinal plants, flowers, spices and honey. And blue revolution is associated with fish production, white revolution with milk production, yellow revolution with oil seeds production. And recently in 2019 prime minister has also called for sweet revolution which relates to honey production. Now let's move on to next question. This question is with reference to manufactured sand or m sand. This topic was in news in August 2019 as it was reported in that month that the state government of Tamil Nadu is expected to put in place an m sand policy to promote m sand as an alternative building material in some time. First we have to know that right now there are large deficits in demand and supply of natural sand. We would like to mean that we are unable to meet the demand of natural sand. And also the dredging of riverbeds to get river sand is reported to cause environmental impacts say for example groundwater depletion and other impacts. And therefore it is important to promote alternate options. Two recommended options are manufactured sand and import of sand. So in this context let us see in brief about manufactured sand. See m sand is produced by crushing of quarry stones to a stipulated size of 150 microns that is around 15% of a millimeter. So to arrive at the required grain size what they do is they crush the existing coarse hard rock deposits. Here firstly they will blast rocks or quarry stones and then these coarse stones will be subjected to series of crushing cycles to reduce the particles to the size of naturally occurring sand. The crushed material is then segregated in different fractions so as to suit various construction activities. The sand that is obtained through this process is further refined by removing fine particles and impurities through the processes like sieving and washing. For Indian standards the chemical characteristics and the strength of m sand are similar to the river sand. And according to ministry of mines concrete that is made using m sand has marginally higher bond strength than river sand. And the mortar that is made using m sand has higher compressive strength and modulus for masonry work than the river sand. In addition to these benefits there are also few more benefits for example say better abrasion resistance. So because of these advantages manufactured sand is being used on a large scale by the construction sector when the demand for river sand is not met. So as a result manufactured sand has become the most common alternate of river sand in terms of construction activities. And at present with respect to states we can say that policies and incentives for m sand are given by Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka. And over a due course of time many states will also have such policies for m sand. Now let's take this question which of the following statements with reference to m sand are correct. Three statements are given they are asking which of the statement or statements given are correct. First statement manufactured sand is produced by crushing rocks quarry stones or larger aggregates pieces into sand sized particles. First statement is correct you can eliminate option C. Manufactured sand is the most common alternate of river sand in construction activities. Second statement is also correct so you can eliminate option A. M sand concrete has a marginally higher bond strength, mortar made of m sand shows higher compressive strength and modulus for masonry over those of river sand. Third statement is also correct. So the correct answer for this question is option D as all the three statements given here are correct. Now let's move on to next question. This question is with reference to Codex Alimentarius Commission. In this context it is important for us to know what is this commission? What do we mean by Codex Alimentarius? What agencies are involved in this commission? Is India a member of this commission? And also the specialty of this commission and the code. See the term Codex Alimentarius in Latin refers to a code for food. Here it takes the meaning a code for food safety. So therefore Codex Alimentarius is a collection of international food safety standards that are adopted by this Codex Alimentarius Commission. This commission was established in May 1963 jointly by Food and Agricultural Organization and World Health Organization. Know that both FAO and WHO are United Nations specialized agencies. They are presently two of the 17 specialized agencies of UN. This commission and the code aims to protect consumer health and also aims to promote fair practices in food trade. And know that there is a joint food standards program of FAO and WHO. And this commission is designated as the body which is responsible for all matters regarding the implementation of this joint food standards program. See this commission is a science-based organization. Therefore it acts as an important center for three things. One for food-related scientific research. Then for food-related scientific investigation. Then also for exchange of scientific information about food safety. Since May 1963 this Codex Commission has developed more than around 200 standards. And these standards cover processed foods, semi-processed foods and even unprocessed foods that are intended for sale for the consumer and also for intermediate processing. The Codex Alimentarius Commission is based in Rome the capital of Italy. And this is jointly funded by FAO and WHO. The commission meets in regular session every year. However the venue alternates between Geneva and Switzerland and Rome in Italy. And coming to the membership at present the commission has around 189 Codex members. It includes 188 member countries and one member organization that is European Union. See the membership of this commission is open to all member nations and associate members of FAO and WHO. And coming to the position of India. India is a member of this commission since 1964. And coming to the specialty of this commission. See this commission and the codes adopted by it acts as an important reference point whenever it comes to dispute settlement mechanism of World Trade Organization. And yes it is an international standard whether these texts or code have any binding effect on countries the answer is no. This is because the Codex Alimentarius are voluntary and they do not have any binding effect on national food legislation. However since it is an international standard nation states can voluntarily adhere the standards suggested by this Codex Commission. In the month of July this commission was in news because it adopted three codex standards for black pepper, white pepper, green pepper, cumin and thyme. Now let's come to the question. They have given three statements and they are asking which of the statements given about ISAR are correct. First statement it is an intergovernmental body of more than 180 member countries established jointly by FAO and the WHO. We know that this statement is correct so therefore you can eliminate option B because option B does not say first statement is correct. Now come to second statement. It states that the codex standards on food safety are binding on the member countries. This is a wrong statement so you can eliminate option A also. Now we have to just find whether the third statement is correct or not to arrive at the correct answer. What is the third statement states India is not a member of this commission. This is a wrong statement. India is a member of this Codex Elementary Commission since 1964. So in this question second and third statements are incorrect. So the correct answer for this question is option C one only. This question is with reference to inner line permit system. In this context it is important for us to know what is this permit, who issues this permit, what is the basis upon which this ILP system rests and whether all states and UTs in the country presently command such a system. See the ILP or the inner line permit is based on Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873. This system mandates special permission for entry of Indians from other states into the ILP states. Therefore we can say that this ILP permit system regulates visit of Indians states where ILP regime is prevalent under Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873. In other words we can say that to include a state into this ILP system an amendment is required in Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873. So who are issuing such permits? See as per section 2 of 1873 regulation state governments notify inner line in the official gazette and state governments can prohibit all citizens of India or any class of Indian citizens from visiting ILP protected areas if they do not possess an official travel pass. This official travel pass or the permit is issued by the state government. So what is the objective behind this system? The main aim of this ILP regime is to prevent settlement of other Indian nationals in the ILP protected states. Such a system is required to protect the indigenous and tribal population in these ILP protected states. So now let us see what are the states where such a permit system exists in India. See as per Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 this inner line permit system was prevalent in three northeastern states only. They were Arunachal Pradesh, Nizoram and Nagaland and this was the case until 11th December 2019. So what happened on 11th December 2019? See the president of India in exercise of his powers conferred by class 2 of article 372 of Indian constitution he has amended the 1873 regulations through adaptation of laws amendment order of 2019. This amendment added the state of Manipur into the existing ILP permit system. So therefore as of now this inner line permit system exists in four states. All of them are northeastern states Arunachal Pradesh, Nizoram, districts of Nagaland as notified from time to time and recently included Manipur. So these are the four states where this system operates. So what this means is that citizens of other states require inner line permit for visiting these four states. While this is with respect to Indian citizens what about the permit system for foreigners when it comes to notified protected areas or restricted areas? Here when we say protected areas or restricted areas these are protected areas or restricted areas for entry and stay of foreigners. When we say protected areas here it refers to areas declared as protected areas under foreigners protected areas order 1958 and restricted areas refer to restricted areas under foreigners restricted areas order of 1963. For protected areas the permit is protected areas permit and restricted areas the permit is restricted areas permit. If these areas fall on states then appropriate authorities from either central government or even state government may issue the permits. So these powers have been so delegated to such authorities of center and the state governments by the government of India already. So note that such powers are delegated to state authorities as well. The state authorities can be a resident commissioner of a particular state government or chief secretary of a state etc. Now with respect to entry and stay of foreigners there is one another category of area called as prohibited areas. Now these are areas that are declared as prohibited areas under the provisions of official secrets act of 1923. So no foreigner can visit or reside in any prohibited area without the permission of civil authority having jurisdiction over that particular area. So this is as per official secrets act of 1923. Now we have come to this question with reference to inner line permit system consider the following statements. Two statements are given which of the statements given above is or are incorrect. So the first statement inner line permit regulates visit of Indians to states where ILP regime is prevalent under Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873. This statement is correct. So you can eliminate option A and option C. Now second statement the main aim of ILP system is to prevent settlement of other Indian nationals in the states where ILP regime is prevalent in order to protect indigenous or tribal population. This statement is also correct. Both the statements are correct. Question asked for incorrect statements. Neither of the statements are incorrect. Therefore the correct answer is option D neither one nor two. Now let's move on to next question. This question is with reference to motor vehicles amendment act 2019. Three statements have been given which of the statements given above are correct. When an offense has been committed by a juvenile such juvenile shall not be eligible to be granted a driving license until attaining the age of 25. A juvenile refers to a child below the age of 18 years who contravenes the provisions of the motor vehicle act of 1988. The second statement if a road contractor fails to comply with prescribed standards where such failure results into death or disability then the road contractor will be liable for punishment. The central government shall make a scheme for cashless treatment of victims of the accident during the golden hour. Here golden hour refers to a time period of one hour after an accident or traumatic injury and this is the time period called as golden hour because there is highest likelihood of preventing death of the victim by giving prompt medical care. See all the given statements are correct and these provisions have been inserted into the motor vehicles act of 1988 by the recent 2019 amendment. Now in addition to these provisions the amendment act has also inserted section 164 capital B which states that the central government shall constitute motor vehicle accident fund. And section 134 capital A wherein a good Samaritan shall not be liable for any civil or criminal action. And the amendment act has also provisions with respect to national transportation policy and national road safety board. Section 66 capital A of motor vehicles act 1988 states that the central government may develop a national transportation policy. And section 215 capital B states that the central government shall constitute a national road safety board which shall render advice to central government or state government on all aspects pertaining to road safety and traffic management. So the correct answer for this question is option D 1 2 and 3. Now let's move on to next question. This question is with reference to defence planning committee. So in this context it is important for us to know when was it constituted, who is the chairman, important members and some duties of this committee. See this is a recent initiative taken by the government of India in the year 2018. It was constituted in 2018 as a formal response to ensure efficient defence planning and preparedness. It is a permanent body. The chairman is the national security advisor. The aspirants could be confused in this present year if the CDS is given as the chairman of this body. Now while the national security advisor is the chairman, members include CDS, three service chiefs, defence secretary, foreign secretary, etc. Now coming to the duties, this defence planning committee is tasked to analyze and to evaluate all relevant inputs that are relating to defence planning. These inputs could be in the areas of national defence priorities, national security priorities, foreign policy essentials, then strategic and security related doctrines. It will also focus on analyzing and evaluating defence acquisition plans, defence infrastructure development plans. Then it also analyze and evaluates 15 year long term integrated perspective plan, then defence technology. And it also evaluates the development of Indian defence industry. While it analyses and evaluates 15 year long term integrated perspective plan, the defence acquisition council. It gives in principle approval for capital acquisitions in the long term perspective plan covering 15 year time span. Secondly, this defence planning committee is asked to prepare at least five different sets of drafts in these areas that are given here for your reference. Now this DPC should not be confused with DAC, that is the defence acquisition council. Defence acquisition council is a comprehensive structure for giving overall guidance in terms of defence procurement planning process. While defence planning committee is chaired by national security advisor, defence acquisition council is chaired by the Minister of Defence. Defence planning committee formed in 2018, DAC was formed in 2001 based on the recommendations by group of ministers on reforming national security system. So the objective of DAC is to ensure expeditious procurement or swift procurement of approved requirements of armed forces. So DAC has to speed up the procurement process and complete it within a prescribed time limit with optimum utilization of resources and might. So these are few information with respect to DPC and defence acquisition council. Now we come to the question. With reference to DPC, consider the following statements. Two statements are there. We are asked to select the correct statements. They are asking which of the statements given above are correct. First statement, it was constituted in 2001. By reading the first part of the statement itself, you can eliminate option A and option C because both these options say the first statement is correct. DPC was constituted in 2018 whereas DAC was constituted in 2001 in the aftermath of car wheel conflict. Now the second statement, it is headed by chief of defence staff. This statement is also wrong because DPC is headed by or chaired by national security advisor. Therefore none of the statements are correct. Therefore the correct answer is option D, neither one nor two. This question is with reference to the first molecule that was formed in this universe. This molecule is in news since April 2019. Recently, first type of molecule that ever formed in the universe has been detected in space. For the first time, using the world's largest airborne observatory, NASA's stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy shortly called as SOFIA. Which of the following is that molecule? Helium hydrate, dihydrogen oxide, in other words water, carbon dioxide and methane. See NASA in April 2019 reported that SOFIA has detected the first molecule that has formed after the Big Bang. We have been studying that this Big Bang happened some 13.7 or 13.8 billion years ago. And this SOFIA is the world's largest airborne observatory. It stands for Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. And SOFIA is actually a partnership between the United States and Germany through the partnership between NASA and Aerospace Center of Germany. And scientists believe that around one lakh years after the Big Bang, helium atom and hydrogen atom, they combined to form a molecule called helium hydrate for the first time. This discovery also serving as a proof that helium hydrate could exist in space. This is because helium hydrate was detected by SOFIA in a planetary nabula which is present some 3,000 light years away from Earth. This planetary nabula was once a star like our sun. And scientists report that after the Big Bang, some 13.8 billion years ago, the early universe was hot. And all that existed were a few types of atoms, mostly helium and hydrogen. And after one lakh years after the Big Bang, helium hydrate was formed by the combination of hydrogen and helium atoms. And what happened after the formation of helium hydrate molecule? After this formation, hydrogen atoms interacted with helium hydrate and this has led to the creation of molecular hydrogen. And we know that molecular hydrogen is the molecule that is primarily responsible for the formation of first stars of this universe. So as per this recent discovery, helium hydrogen molecule has become the root cause or the reason for the formation of hydrogen molecule in this universe. So the correct answer for this question is option A, helium hydrate as this is the first molecule that has ever formed in this universe. Now let's move on to next question. The term NAP-RT1, which was in news, is related to a biosensor used in the accurate detection of pathogens in patients. A virus related to the family of newly discovered coronavirus disease. A gene identified as novel susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. A molecular scissor used in targeted gene editing. Here the virus related to the new coronavirus disease is SARS coronavirus 2. And the molecular scissor used in targeted gene editing is Cas9 protein. Cas9 protein was earlier in previous year question, 2019 problems. Here the correct answer is option C, a gene identified as novel susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. See, schizophrenia comes under the classification of psychotic disorders. Persons affected by psychotic disorders, they lose their touch with reality or they are detached from reality as they are characterized by severe disturbances in thinking, cognition and perception. Core symptoms of schizophrenia are persistent delusions, persistent hallucinations and thought disorders. And according to WHO, more than 2 crore individuals are said to be affected by this mental illness. And there are also other set of disorders in psychology grouped under neurotic disorders. Say for example, anxiety disorder, antisocial personality disorder. The distinction here is, though these disorders have certain behavioral issues, these individuals, they never lose their touch with reality and life. And coming to schizophrenia, scientists have been saying that there are genetic and environmental factors associated with it. Schizophrenia is also noted among persons when there is no genetic factor or when schizophrenia does not run and families also. Here environmental factors come into play, say for example, exposure to viruses, malnutrition before birth, problems during birth, psychosocial factors. These factors are said to have involved among these individuals affected by schizophrenia when there is no genetic factor involved. So what about genetic factors? What is the susceptible gene for schizophrenia? This was the question of researchers and medical professionals for a long period of time. So to identify such a gene, a long-term research study was launched some 18 or 19 years ago. This study is the collaboration of researchers from University of Queensland in Australia and Schizophrenia Research Foundation in Chennai. And after a period of 18 years of research, they have found out the susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. This finding was in news in July and August of 2019. This team has analysed the genomes of two categories of samples. One set of samples are persons who are affected by schizophrenia and the other set of samples are those who are not affected by schizophrenia. And finally it was observed that those individuals with schizophrenia are more likely to have a certain genetic variation in one particular gene. And this gene is NAP-RT1 or Nicotinate Phosphorebosyltransferase gene. What is this genetic variation? See in our body there is vitamin B3. This vitamin is also called as niacin or nicotinic acid. Among other functions it also boosts brain function. So it is important for brain function. This niacin or vitamin B3 has to function properly. For this we require an enzyme. The normal function of this enzyme is based on this NAP-RT1 gene. If this gene does not function properly or if there is partial loss of function of this gene, say because of genetic variation, then this leads to abnormal brain development and this genetic variation is also affecting the required metabolism of vitamin B3 or niacin or nicotinic acid. And as said already the researchers found out that there is genetic variation in this gene among many patients suffering from schizophrenia. And finally they have concluded that this NAP-RT1 is the novel susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. The understanding is that so in the early years if we study about this gene among the persons, if there is genetic variation, we can try various methods to save the individual from getting suffering to schizophrenia or from getting affected by schizophrenia. So this finding is expected to increase identification of genetic variation in this gene in the early years or at the appropriate age of an individual. So as to suggest and carry out gene editing or other preventive or curative treatments, so as to escape or to fight schizophrenia. So these are some of the important information with reference to this susceptibility gene and schizophrenia. So the correct answer for this question is option C. Now let us move on to next question. This question is with reference to hope spots. In this context we need to know what are these spots? Who declare these spots? Then are there any spots from India that are declared as hope spots? See, hope spots refer to two areas. One, new areas in a notion that require protection. Or it refers to existing marine protected areas which are designated as hope spots. Such a designation is given based on the understanding that it will lead to enhanced conservation action that is required in these areas. Now this special protection is because of their wildlife and significant underwater habitats. If you see the terrestrial regions at present around 15% of these areas are in some kind of protection like national parks, zoological areas, etc. But less than around 4% of the ocean is protected. So as a result, oceanic areas become vulnerable to overfishing or pollution or over-exploitation. So to scale up the marine protection that is required for sustainable development of ocean. Two agencies have started declaring parts of oceanic areas as hope spots. One of the agencies IUCN, then the other is an organization that is involved in study of oceans called as Mission Blue. So it is IUCN along with Mission Blue who declare hope spots. Now why they are named as hope spots? Because these are areas that provide real hope to restore the health of the oceans. And these parts are also referred to as earth's blue heart. So what is the significance? Now the significance of these parts are given here for your reference. One of the important parameters is that these are sites that have potential to reverse the damages caused by negative human impacts. Now let us come to India. In September 2019, Andaman and Nicobar islands and Lakshadweep islands have been designated as new hope spots by IUCN and Mission Blue. By August 2019, these agencies were preparing to make this announcement. That's why it was a news in August. And these areas have become the first places in India to be added in the list of 50 global hope spots. As we already know, these two areas are extremely rich in marine diversity as well. Now in the exam, they may confuse you by giving another organization as declaring these parts. They may give international seabed authority or they may give UNESCO. See, both these organizations are recognized by Constitution of the Seas or in other words, the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea. If you take UNESCO, it is the recognized competent international organization in the fields of marine scientific research and in transfer of marine technology. This recognition is from United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea. This function, it executes through its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. Now coming to international seabed authority, it is an autonomous international organization which is established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea. But know that both these organizations are not designating hope spots. Now you come to the question, they have given three statements. Which of the statements given above are correct? The first statement, hope spots are the oceanic areas that need protection because of their wildlife and significant underwater habitats. Now this statement is correct, you can eliminate option C. Now second statement, they are designated by international seabed authority. This statement is incorrect because they are designated by Mission Blue and IUCM. So you can eliminate option A and option B. So obviously you have arrived at the correct answer, which is option B, 1 and 3 only. And as we know, come to statement 3. Recently, Andaman and Nicaragua Islands and Laxative Islands were declared as first hope spots in India. The statement is correct. So the correct answer is option B, 1 and 3 only because first and third statements are correct. Now let us move on to next question. This question is with reference to Makeda-2 balancing reservoir. Makeda-2 is a place in Karnataka and this project aims to construct a balancing reservoir across river Kavadi. It has few important objectives so as to provide drinking water facility to Bengaluru metropolitan region. Then to harness around 400 megawatt of renewable energy every year. And this project is to be built by Kaveri-Niravari-Nigam Limited which is completely owned by the state government of Karnataka. Now this reservoir project is a contentious or disputed project between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. As it is being constructed across an interstate river which is Kaveri. Coming to Kaveri it originates in Thala Kaveri in Kodagu district of Karnataka. Then it flows through Tamil Nadu and finally drains into Bay of Bengal. So it finally travels to Bay of Bengal. So it is a east flowing river and some of the important tributaries of Kaveri has been given here for your reference. And coming to the basin of river Kaveri it is spread across three states and a union territory. As already known Karnataka Tamil Nadu, then Kerala and UT of Kuduchiri. Important waterfalls we can see Siva Samudram waterfalls, Hokenekal waterfalls in Kaveri. Then important dams we can see Krishnaraja Sagar dam, Mehtur dam, Grand Aniket or Kalanai dam which is built by great Chola emperor Karigala Cholan in 2nd century AD. So these are some of the waterfalls and dams and the concern from the state of Tamil Nadu is that if the reservoir is constructed it will affect the flow of Kaveri and therefore Tamil Nadu will be receiving less water as a result of this project. Now see this question they have given two statements asking which of the statements given above are correct. First statement it is a multi-purpose project across Kaveri river. This statement is correct therefore you can eliminate options B and D. Second statement it is a disputed project between Karnataka, Goa and Tamil Nadu. This is a wrong statement because it is a disputed or a contentious project between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Goa is not involved. So two is incorrect. So only the first statement is correct therefore the correct answer is option A, one only. This question is with reference to colistin. Colistin recently seen in news is a fungal toxin infesting cereals such as wheat, maize and barley an antibiotic whose misuse in food producing animals is associated with antimicrobial resistance a human enzyme which is suspected to be the cause of harm and imbalance among reproductive age women a naturally occurring hormone that causes uterine contractions during labour and helps new mothers lactate. See option A corresponds to seral nun which is a fungal toxin. Option D corresponds to oxytocin. See there is also synthetic oxytocin which are also used to speed up labour process in pregnant women but there have been series of news reports which say that child trafficking criminals they inject this synthetic hormone to children who are less than 10 years of age to speed up puberty and to force them into prostitution. The correct answer for this question is option B, an antibiotic whose misuse in food producing animals is associated with antimicrobial resistance. Colistin is misused to fatten broiler poultry in less time and with less feed and this along with other misuse is found to be associated with antimicrobial resistance. So through antibacterial resistance it causes risks to human beings and therefore by the powers under section 26 capital A of Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 the central government has prohibited the manufacture sale and distribution of colistin and its formulations for use in food producing animals poultry aqua forming and also in animal feed supplements. While this was the development in July 2019 on October 1, 2019 World Health Organization released an online tool called AWARE it is a useful tool to reduce antimicrobial resistance and to ensure access of antibiotics WHO classifies antibiotics into three groups access group, watch group and reserve group and those antibiotics that face lower antibiotic resistance they come under access group these antibiotics should be available at all times affordable and with assured quality those antibiotics in watch group and reserve group they face higher resistance and in case of watch group it includes most of the highest priority antibiotics and also critically important antibiotics for human medicine and also for veterinary use the third category is called as reserve group these antibiotics they have to be used only as a lost resort only when all other antibiotics have faint so using the antibiotics from reserve list it means that the pathogen in the infected person is a multi drug resistance organism that is why it did not respond to any treatment from all other available medically suitable antibiotics so why we are discussing about this AWARE tool and this reserve category see this is because World Health Organization has notified colistin as an antibiotic in the reserve group to be used only as a last resort and to be used only to treat life threatening infections due to multi drug resistant bacteria and WHO aims to achieve one target that is by the year 2023 among all the antibiotics which are consumed 60% must come from the access group this is because as this group has lower resistance and for your reference we have given you the points related to antimicrobial resistance from national health policy daily deterioration of 2017 and also from national action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance 2017 to 2021 so the correct answer for this question is option B now let's move on to next question this question is with reference to Barasheet mission which of the following statements about Barasheet mission recently seen in news is correct it is a mission of China to explore water in the moon it is the first for a privately funded entity to successfully enter the lunar orbit and the first by such entity to attempt landing on moon it is India's anti-satellite mission it is a mission of NASA to study beyond heliosphere here option D corresponds to Voyager interstellar mission of NASA and option C corresponds to India's anti-satellite mission mission Sakti coming to this mission see Barasheet mission is the first lunar mission of Israel and it is the first attempt by a private company to land on moon and Barasheet means the Genesis or in the beginning in Fuguru language and this mission was actually in news in July to September with reference to India's Chandrayaan 2 mission so this Barasheet spacecraft was developed or created by a private company called as Space IL it is an Israeli non-profit organization it was established in 2010 level it was actually established to win the Lunar Express which was launched by Express Foundation this Lunar Express was sponsored by Google and it challenged private companies to attempt landing a spacecraft on the moon the price money of this price was 30 million US dollars and a team from a private company has to successfully carry out four tasks one is soft landing spacecraft on moon then moving 500 meters along deliberate path on or above the lunar surface then transmitting two mooncasts and completing a data uplink exercise as said by this foundation now coming to this Barasheet mission this non-profit organization Space IL it created this spacecraft in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries and also with the contribution from Israel State Space Agency and NOSA is also a partner in this Barasheet mission this mission aimed to attempt soft landing on the moon to touch down in the sea of tranquility in moon on April 11, 2019 that was the target date the mission achieved lunar orbit but it failed to soft land on the moon so last year Chandrayaan 2 and also this Barasheet mission both crash landed on the moon surface the express foundation has recognized the efforts taken by this privately funded entity by giving 1 million US dollar moon shot award for two reasons one for successful entry into lunar orbit which is the first by a privately funded entity and for its attempt to land on the lunar surface which is also the first for a private company so the correct answer here is option B now let's move on to next question this question is with reference to Tarthi Grades they have given two statements asking which of the above statements are correct see Tarthi Grades are animals to be specific near microscopic small animals they have long plumb bodies with crushed heads or scrunched up heads the largest of the Tarthi Grades species are just over 1 mm in length and because of their appearance they are called as water bears they are also called as moss piglets and the meaning of the term Tarthi Grades is slow stepper and we can find Tarthi Grades in terrestrial environment marine environment, freshwater environment Antarctic, Arctic, and Debs in Mariana Trench in altitudes and they can live decades without food or water and they can survive temperatures from absolute zero to even well above boiling point of water and they can even withstand dangerous radiations as well so therefore these animals are called as toughest animals on earth one of the specialties of these animals is that they can turn into tons, a ball-like structure by undergoing a process called as cryptobiosis what happens in this process is the Tarthi Grades they release all the water in their bodies and they turn into a ball and it is in this tons state or in this ball-like state they can survive for decades and they can survive the harsh conditions actually they were in news in August in connection with the Barasheet mission as some tons of Tarthi Grades they were taken to space by this mission research reports were saying these tons could be surviving in moon after the crash landing of Barasheet spacecraft now come to the question they are near microscopic animals the statement is correct they are highly sensitive organisms and cannot sustain even in slightly modified environment conditions the statement is wrong they are toughest animals they can withstand extreme environment conditions so only the first statement is correct therefore the correct answer is option A one only see this question the term Oumuamua sometime seen in news is related to the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system a rocky asteroid formed in the Kuiper Belt first human-made object to venture into interstellar space first spacecraft to cross the Heliosphere see Oumuamua is the first confirmed object from another star system to visit our solar system and it is also the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system see when we say interstellar object it comes from interstellar space and interstellar space begins where Heliopause begins Heliopause begins where Heliosphere comes to an end so what is this Heliosphere Heliosphere is a region that is created by sun and this is the region where constant flow of material of sun and sun's magnetic field affect the surroundings of the sun and how sun creates this Heliosphere by sending a constant flow of particles and magnetic field at over 10 lakh km per hour this stream of particles and the magnetic field together is called as the solar wind this is about Heliosphere and the Heliopause can be understood as the boundary where the influences outside our solar system are stronger than the influences of sun now come to this first known interstellar object to visit our solar system it was discovered on October 1970 by Penn Stars Telescope of University of Hawaii this is funded by NASA's Near Earth Object Observations Program and this program of NASA it finds and tracks asteroids and comets in the neighborhood of Earth and it was officially named as One Eye 2017 U1 by the International Astronomical Union now this International Astronomical Union is responsible for giving official names to bodies in the solar system and also bodies beyond the solar system this IAU it was founded in 1990 and this is the technical name given by International Astronomical Union and the Penn Stars team of University of Hawaii through a Hawaiian navigator and Hawaiian linguist gave the name Oumuamua the meaning of the term is a messenger from afar arriving first while this object is a development of the year 2017 recently in August to December 2019 second interstellar object visited our solar system this was initially spotted in August 2019 that is why it was a news in August it was spotted by an amateur astronomer in August and finally captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and this object is named as Two Eye Boriso it has become the first identified comet to arrive the solar system from another star system or from interstellar space therefore it is called as first interstellar comet to visit our solar system and second interstellar object after Oumuamua to have passed our solar system so the correct answer here is option A and option C and D they correspond to NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft this Voyager 1 spacecraft has earned both these reputations it was launched by NASA in the year 1977 the purpose was to fly by Jupiter and Saturn and this Voyager 1 has crossed into interstellar space in August 2012 and it is still continuing to collect data so these are some of the important information with reference to this question the correct answer is option A now let's move on to next question consider the following statements Gir National Park is the only place where Asiatic Lion is found in its natural habitat recently infection and deaths of lions due to canine distemper virus were reported from the above mentioned National Park which of the above statements are correct see the statement 1 is correct and statement 2 is also correct so the correct answer for this question is option C both 1 and 2 see Gir National Park of Gujarat was in news in August 2019 as in that month it was reported that more than 20 lions have died because of canine distemper virus now this disease it is an acute highly infectious viral disease it's a contagious disease this disease is found among carnivorous animals found frequently in dogs, foxes, wolves, lions big cats and even primates researchers say that it is possible even for human beings to contract this infection however asymptomatic we cannot see symptoms of this infection but a human being can contract this infection are human beings safe to this infection? the answer is yes when a human being is immunized against measles this is because anyone who is immunized against measles is protected against CDV as well as both CDV and measles they are closely related viruses and they belong to same family of viruses paramaxoviridate see this canine distemper virus it affects respiratory systems gastrointestinal systems nervous systems of the infected animals it's an airborne disease viruses are shed through bodily secretions and excretions of the animals and when animals inhale the viral droplet or viral aerosol the animal gets affected and when an animal consumes contaminated food or water again it gets infected so this is about this virus coming to Gir National Park there is one special information about a pastoral community who live there called as Maldaris the fact about this community is that they are said to have a symbiotic relationship with lands for generations so these are some of the information pertaining with the statements of this question the correct answer is option C now let's move on to next question this question is with reference to neglected tropical diseases this topic was in news in August as researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad they have almost arrived in preparing a drug to treat visceral leishmaniasis see visceral leishmaniasis is also called as Kala Asar and leishmaniasis is one of the neglected tropical diseases according to WHO the neglected tropical diseases are a diverse group of diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions the problem here is these diseases affect world's poorest people and these diseases are common in places where people have little access to clean water or in places where people have little access to proper ways to dispose human waste the biggest threat of neglected tropical diseases are faced by women and children who live in unsanitary environments the set of diseases that have been categorized under the neglected tropical diseases by WHO has been given here for a reference you can find diseases such as dengue, chikungunia snakebite, envenoming, rabies, leprosy etc see snakebite envenoming was re-added to this list in the year 2017 after its removal in the year 2013 it is considered as a neglected tropical disease because most snakebite victims they go to traditional healers rather than to health centers to receive the treatment and there is also lack of epidemiological data to study about snakebite envenoming it amounts to neglect mostly in such cases poorest of the poor in rural areas are affected because of this disease and here you can observe that some of the diseases in the list are caused by viruses, some by bacteria some by fungi, protozoa and helmets one of the reasons why these diseases are called as neglected is because these diseases are neglected when we compare with diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS which are called as big 3 diseases and WHO is committed to eliminate at least 10 of the neglected tropical diseases by this year and in line with this India has already committed to provide necessary resources to remove the primary risk factors for these diseases what are the primary risk factors poverty, lack of sanitation, lack of hygiene lack of access to clean water and basic sanitation and lack of integrated vector control so these risk factors have to be removed so that people will not be contracted by these diseases now let's come to the question which of the statements given above are correct neglected tropical diseases encompass set of diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions the second statement is correct they are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and helmets second statement is also correct therefore the correct answer is option C both 1 and 2 this question is with reference to classical language status in India two statements are given which of the statements given above are not correct high antiquity of early texts recorded history of over 1500 to 2000 years is one such criterion what are the status Tamil was the first language in India to be accorded the classical language status see the classical language status is given by union government there are four basic criteria set by the government one is that there should be high antiquity of early texts of the language or there has to be high antiquity of recorded history in the language and this antiquity should be for over a period of 1500 to 2000 years secondly there has to be a collection of ancient literature or texts and these literature or texts have to be considered as valuable heritage by generations of speakers of a particular language and thirdly the language should have literary tradition which has to be original and it should not have been borrowed from another speech community and fourthly the classical language and its classical literature shall be distinct or different from modern forms and there may also be a discontinuity between classical language and its later forms are its options so these are the four criteria based on which a language is assessed for granting the status of classical language now let's see some of the benefits that are associated with declaration of the status see there is a provision for award of two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence in a particular classical language second benefit is that centers of excellence for studies in a particular classical language can be set up this will be helpful for understanding and exploring more about a particular classical language and thirdly we can request university grants commission to create a number of professional chairs for classical languages at least in central universities for the functioning of all these benefits sufficient funds will be allocated by the central government so these are some of the benefits with reference to classical language status now let's come to this question the first statement here is correct the second statement is also correct Tamil was the first language in India to be accorded the classical language status and so far only six languages have been given the status and Hindi is not one among them while Hindi comes under a scheduled language in 8th schedule of Indian constitution it is not a classical language here they are asking for incorrect statements neither of the statements are incorrect so the correct answer is option D neither one nor two which among the following best describes Bharati script the script of Hindi language to be the official language of the union the script had perhaps originated as far back as in the 8th century BC it was used primarily for the prakrit dialect of Gandhari it is being proposed as a common script for India see option A corresponds to Devanagari script of Hindi language and Devanagari script is the official script of Hindi which is one of the official languages as per article 343 of Indian constitution the option B corresponds to Brahmi script as per Ministry of Human Resource and Development this script had perhaps originated as far back as in the 8th century BC and option C corresponds to Karoshti script which was primarily used for the prakrit dialect of Gandhari the correct answer for this question is option D the script is being proposed as a common script for India see this script is an initiative taken by a professor and his team from IIT Madras so as to implement the idea of one nation one script right now if you see the script for major Indian languages are unique meaning that there is no common script to be very simple we are unable to write say for example Hindi, Tamil and Odia in a common script when we say that there are different script it means that we cannot right now write vowel sounds in same letters but this team the process of devising a common script or one script for major languages in India as of now they have developed a common script for 9 different scripts and this Bharati script is also said to be an ideal script for languages that don't have their own script so this is seen as an attempt to have a common script how they have in Europe a common script for some of the European languages in Europe we can see that roman script is the common script for languages like English French, German, Talian and others similarly this Bharati script is also proposed to be a common script for major Indian languages they are also planning to inculcate other scripts and scripts of other languages as well say for example English Urdu and this suffered is expected to break the barriers to communication in our society which is multi-lingual and letters in the script are of 3 tyre structure in English we can see a single tyre structure one of the challenges faced in major Indian languages is that the sound modifiers of a core letter is attached to the particular letter but in Bharati script the sound modifiers are not attached to the core part of a letter rather they are stacked vertically upward or downward this measure is said to improve efficiency when it comes to optical character recognition which is a feature by which we can convert written scripts in an image or a photo into letters in a document this project is presently at a development stage they are still fine tuning various requirements to suit feasibility and others and these are various benefits mentioned by the proponents of the script and it is given here for your reference so the correct answer here is option D now let's move on to next question this question is with reference to happy sealer technology the happy sealer technology is mainly used in India for which purpose to ease the process of CD and alternative to stubble burning a solution to medium crops a kind of rain water harvesting technology the correct answer for this question is option B an alternative to stubble burning in the sense there is no need to burn the crop receivers happy sealer technology is actually a solution to stubble burning and also a solution to problems caused by stubble burning say air pollution degradation of soil quality etc usually what happens by the end of October farmers harvest paddy and they actually have very less time for sowing of wheat as a result to save the cost of manual labor and also to save time and removing the crop residues what farmers do is that farmers resort to burning the crop residue which are usually or most of the case paddy stock and paddy strong the smoke that comes because of this burning causes air pollution in northern India particularly in New Delhi Uttar Pradesh the smoke adds up with suspended particulate matter and contribute to the air pollution leading to severe damage to human health and also to and as an alternative this happy sealer technology machine is suggested this machine is actually an example for straw management system for rice and also for wheat forming this device is a tractor mounted device the specialty here is that it has the capability to cut and lift the crop residue it also shows a new crop in its place usually wheat crop and the harvest paddy crop the crop residue will be of paddy and the sowing will be for wheat and it also deposits crop residue in the sown area as a mulch so here the correct answer for this question is option B now let's move on to next question this question is with reference to Indian council for cultural relations previously there have been questions on financial stability and development council then on quality council of India so we may expect a question on Indian council for cultural relations as well here they have given two statements and are asking which of the statements given above are correct first statement its objective is to strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries it was founded in 1950 by Jawaharlal Nehru see this council was founded in 1950 but not by then prime minister prime minister Nehru but by Maulana Abul Kalam Asad who was the first education minister of independent India see it is an autonomous body coming under the administrative control of not under ministry of culture but under ministry of external affairs it has four main objectives one to formulate and implement policies and programs pertaining to India's external cultural relations then to foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries then to promote cultural exchanges with other countries and people then to establish and develop relations with national and international organizations in the field of culture so here in this question only the first statement is correct therefore the correct answer is option A one only to which of the following international conventions India is a signatory convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women refugee convention of 1951 convention against torture and other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination here for this question if you know that India is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention of 1951 you can arrive at the correct answer by eliminating options B, C and D because they say India is a signatory to refugee convention of 1951 so the correct answer for this question is option A one, three and four only now we have given you the status of India with respect to five important international instruments here for your reference now coming to refugee convention of 1951 it was a news in the month of August with reference to India's commitment towards the refugees coming as a result of persecution in Myanmar one of the very important aspect of this international convention is the principle of non-reformant or in other words simply principle of not returning or expelling a refugee to the place where his or her life or freedom would be threatened on various reasons because of race religion nationality membership of a particular social group or political opinion and with respect to convention against torture and other truly inhuman degrading treatment or punishment while India has signed the convention India has not yet ratified it and this convention always comes into play whenever India applies for extradition of various offenders particularly fugitive offenders since India has not ratified this convention Indian requests are frequently turned down correct answer for this question is option A one, three and four only this question is with reference to green rating project this project was in news in the last week of july and also in august 2019 this is because on 29 july 2019 the union environment minister he released a report on fertilizer sector which was rated by the green rating project this report was titled as grain by grain it's the complete assessment of environmental performance of fertilizer industry in our country and this is the seventh rating project taken by this green rating project now come to the question consider the following statements about green rating project two statements are given select the correct statement using the given code below first statement it is an effort to rate industrial units on the basis of their environment friendliness it is an initiative of center for science and environment and on governmental independent policy research institution see both the statements are correct therefore the correct answer is option C both one and two now before seeing this green rating project let us see in brief about this non-governmental organization called us center for science and environment see this NGO was started in the year 1980 by an eminent personality in India's environment movement Mr. Anil Agarwal who is no more this center it works as a think tank on environment development issues in our country and also on similar other areas as well it uses knowledge based activism to create awareness problems and also it proposes sustainable solutions and it is this NGO it supports down to earth and also the Indian environment portal both are part of its knowledge based activism earlier government of India has also designated this center as the center of excellence when it comes to sustainable water management it was done under the scheme called as capacity building of urban local bodies now let's come to the green rating project see this project was initiated by center for science and environment in the year 1997 with the support of united nations environment program and also with the support of union ministry of environment and forest what it does is it monitors environmental performance of companies and prepares an inventory by systematically collecting information on environmental performance of various companies and it also develops a market based incentive mechanism so as to encourage industries that voluntarily improve their environmental performance we can go through other objectives so overall we can say that it is a unique program that rates Indian industry across various sectors for its environmental performance or environmental friendliness so far green rating project of center for science and environment it has rated 7 major industrial sectors paper industry automobile industry chloralkali industry cement industry iron steel industry thermal power industry and recently it has rated fertilizer industry whose report titled as grain by grain was released in July 2019 and it is said that this rating project is India's only independent and rigorous environmental rating project and it is one of very few public disclosure projects where a non-governmental organization rates the environmental performance of industries and also makes the results available to public so here the correct answer for this question is you can see both one and two this question is with reference to e-green watch which among the following is correct about e-green watch which was recently news it is an international non-governmental organization related to conservation of forest it is a portal related to compensatory of forestation fund management and planning authority it is a united nations initiative to promote electronic mobility it is a high resolution camera invented to survey the forest cover survey of India we know that we have compensatory of forestation fund at the national level and also at the level of states and union territories this is as per the provisions of compensatory of forestation fund act of 2016 and there is also compensatory of forestation fund management and planning authority at the national level and also at the level of states and union territories and this is also as per the 2016 act and based on campus we also had a question in last year prelims this compensatory of forestation fund Kampa and also the e-green watch were in news in august 2019 because in the last week of august the union minister of environment handed crores of Kampa money or crores of Kampa fund to various states and this dispersal of money to states is reportedly in exercise of legal provisions on disbursement and utilization of national fund as mentioned in the 2016 legislation now how to monitor and track how will these funds are used for this we need an information system and that information system is nothing but e-green watch so it is an information system that collects and presents information pertaining to these funds and also presents data in real time so that the data is accessible to all stakeholders and also the public so this online portal e-green watch is a web based user friendly system that allows monitoring evaluation, social audit, ecological audit to be performed by public and also by independent organizations and researchers and generally this portal is called an integrated e-governance portal for automation, streamlining and effective management of processes related to plantation and other forestry works so here the correct answer for this question is option B it's a portal related to compensatory of forestation fund management and planning authority now let's move on to next question this question is with reference to biosphere reserves which among the following biosphere reserves is not a part of UNESCO's world network of biosphere reserves Gulf of Mannar, Nanda Devi, Manas Similipal see Indian Government implements a program called biosphere reserve program since the year 1986 under the scheme the government will notify certain area as a biosphere reserve and financial assistance will be given to states for the maintenance improvement and development of these biosphere reserves if you see the fund sharing ratio it will be 90 to 10 for northeastern region states and Himalayan states virus for other states it is 60 to 40 though the scheme is being implemented in India since 1986 a program was launched by UNESCO in the year 1971 itself and this program is called as man and biosphere program MAB program and some of the domestically notified biosphere reserves they will be nominated by the national governments for the international recognition under this UNESCO's MAB program so what do we mean when we say international network of biosphere reserves of UNESCO see these are biosphere reserves that are selected by UNESCO to be admitted into the world network of biosphere reserves for various reasons like conservation of biodiversity and also for sustainable use if you see at present India has 18 domestic biosphere reserves and out of these 18 biosphere reserves 11 biosphere reserves are recognized under the world network of biosphere reserves of UNESCO and one of the recent inclusion in this list of MAB biosphere reserves was the kanjan zonga biosphere reserve in the state of sikkim which was added in august 2018 now if you see this question the correct answer for this question is option c manas because while manas is a domestically notified biosphere reserve it is still not recognized under UNESCO's program now let's move on to next question this question is with reference to bioplastics consider the following statements about bioplastics all bioplastics are biodegradable all bioplastics are made from renewable sources which of the statements given above are correct see this topic was in news in august 2019 because it was reported that a researcher from Mexico has discovered a method to use cactus leaves as a bioplastic to be specific as a biodegradable plastic see this term bioplastic is a loosely used term it is used to describe both biodegradable plastics and biobased plastics as well and note that when we say biobased plastics some of them are not biodegradable also and some bioplastics are made from renewable sources like biomass whereas some bioplastics are fossil fuel based or petro based bioplastics so we cannot clearly say that these bioplastics are made only from renewable sources so in this question both the statements are wrong so the correct answer is neither one nor two now there are few concerns with respect to bioplastics that it could cause eutrophication in aquatic environments and therefore it can lead to death of lot of fishes in other aquatic life so it is one of the concerns when disposed in aquatic environments and there are also concerns on acidification as well because of bioplastics we have given you the UNEP definitions for biodegradation and biodegradable plastics for your reference even if you see the plastic waste management rules 2016 while it has defined compostable plastics it has not defined what is a bioplastic so the correct answer here is option D now let's move on to next question this question is about Okejo Kutts glacier that is the pronunciation of this term they have given two statements and they are asking which of the statements given above are correct it is the first glacier to lose its glacier status due to climate change in Iceland it is a part of Vatna Jokuts glacier group see this Okejo Kutts was a glacier in Iceland in Iceland Jokuts means glacier and Iceland has eight regional groupings of glaciers and Okejo Kutts was part of one of the groups called as Lang Jokuts group and in Iceland it has become the first glacier to lose the status of glacier it was declared dead in the year 2014 because of climate change so to highlight the problems of climate change Iceland has set up a bronze plaque on the site of former glacier and establishing a monument for a glacier which is lost to climate change is first time here in the world so the idea of having a bronze plaque here is to raise awareness about the origin of glaciers and climate change it is also labeled as 415 ppm carbon dioxide it refers to record level of carbon dioxide measured in atmosphere in the month of May 2019 meteorologists are saying that this is the first time in human history earth's atmosphere has had more than 415 ppm carbon dioxide now coming to the largest glacier group in Iceland it is Vatna Jokuts and this is followed by Lan Jokuts and recently the national park in the name of largest glacier group in Iceland has been added to UNESCO's world heritage list here the first statement is correct second statement is incorrect because it is part of second largest glacier group in Iceland called as Lan Jokuts glacier group so the correct answer here is option A one only this question is with reference to sankalp and strive schemes of India they are asking these schemes are initiatives of which of the given ministries of government of India see both these schemes have been launched by government of India to boost skill India measure and both the schemes are the initiatives of ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship and both are carried out with loan assistance or loan support from world bank and both are outcome focused schemes first let us see in brief about sankalp scheme see sankalp stands for skills acquisition and knowledge awareness for livelihood promotion it is a centrally sponsored scheme supported by world bank the aim is to implement the mandate of national skill development mission the objectives of the scheme has been given here for your reference we can see important objectives as strengthening institutional mechanisms at central and state level then it seeks to give improved access and completion of skills training for female trainees and other private partnership etc the project aims to achieve these objectives through two components national component and state component say for example through the national component of institutional development and strengthening it aims to achieve the objective of strengthening institutional mechanisms at national level now let us come to strive scheme strive stands for skills strengthening for industrial value enhancement while sankalp was centrally sponsored scheme strive is a central sector scheme meaning the states need not give financial support for the scheme when it is centrally sponsored scheme the funding support or the financial requirement will be shared between center and the states now here we can see that the objective of strives include creating awareness through industry clusters or geographical chambers to address the challenges of MSME sector then integrating and enhancing delivery quality of industrial training institutes incentivizing these institutes to improve performance even including apprenticeship by involving small and medium enterprises business association and industry clusters the four result areas of this strive scheme has been given here for a reference note that this strive scheme also seeks to improve the capacities of state governments to support industrial training institutes and apprenticeship training so these are some of the information with reference to sankalp scheme and strive scheme the schemes to boost skill indianism the correct answer here is option c ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship this question is with reference to prime minister van den yojana one means forest then means wealth so this is a program of government of india to promote tribal enterprise through value addition branding and marketing of forest producers these forest producers are related to the wealth of forests or van den and this scheme comes under ministry of tribal affairs see the scheme aims to support market development of minor forest produce and it aims to ensure fair returns to tribal gatherers those who gather minor forest produce therefore the scheme targets livelihood generation for tribal gatherers and it also aims to tap the knowledge and skill set of these gatherers by adding technology and IT and thereby it aims to convert the tribal wisdom into a viable economic activity see the scheme was launched in April 2018 and one of the main objectives or essential features of this scheme is to set up van den vikas kindras and these are kindras that are to be set up in predominantly tribal districts these kindras are to be tribal community owned and they are minor forest produce centric multi-purpose kindras in a span of about 2 years 6,000 van den kindras were proposed to be set up and in August 2019 around 676 van den vikas kindras were launched in 24 states by tribal cooperative marketing development federation of India shortly called as trifed that is why it was in news in August see this trifed which comes under the administrative control of ministry of tribal affairs it provides training and technical support for the beneficiaries under this van den yojana now these van den vikas kindras they are for 3 purposes mainly one is to provide skill upgradation for tribal gatherers then to provide capacity building training to these gatherers and thirdly set up primary processing and value addition facility for the forest produce gathered by the tribal gatherers and because of this yojana it is reported that it is to enhance livelihood of about 45 lakh tribal gatherers every year now coming to this van den vikas kindra usually it will have 15 tribal self-help groups each of the group will have around 20 minor forest produce gatherers so for one kindra there will be around 300 beneficiaries however these numbers may vary as per the local requirement to these beneficiaries they will be given working capital for value addition of the products they gather from the jungle and these gatherers work under the leadership of collector and after carrying out the value addition they can market their products not only within their own states but also outside their states therefore the scheme is called as a market linked tribal entrepreneurship development program for forming individuals of tribal self-help groups and strengthening them into tribal producer companies now come to this question consider the following statements with reference to pradhan mantri van den yojana two statements are there which of the statements given above are correct it's a market linked tribal entrepreneurship development program first statement is correct second statement it focuses on value addition on minor forest produce the statement is also correct even if they say processing it is also correct so both the statements are correct correct this question is with reference to gel jivan mission this mission was in news in august 2019 because of the reference to this mission in the prime minister's independence day address on august 15 2019 in this context let us see about this mission how this mission is to be implemented and important objectives of this mission whenever we read a newspaper with reference to this mission it is mainly with reference to one objective which is to provide functional household tap connection for every rural household by the year 2024 the support of central government to states with reference to rural water supply began way back in the year 1972 at that time they have launched accelerated rural water supply program this program in the year 2009 it was renamed as national rural drinking water program as a centrally sponsored scheme when we say centrally sponsored scheme there will be fund sharing between central government and the state governments and under this national rural drinking water program it sought to achieve giving all rural households access to safe and adequate drinking water by the year 2030 however with gel jivan mission the timeline to achieve the goal was preponed from 2030 to 2024 this gel jivan mission is a centrally sponsored mission the fund sharing pattern has been given here for a reference as already mentioned the main goal is to provide functional household tap connection to every rural household one of the policy papers of this mission mentions that it will provide the tap connection to every household with service level at the rate of 55 litres per person per day and with respect to implementation there is a four tire structure at the national level there is national gel jivan mission at ministry of gel shruti and there will be state water and sanitation mission and there are also district water and sanitation mission to gram panchayat there will be water and sanitation committee and in the broad objectives we can see that in addition to giving tap connection to every rural household it also provides tap connection to schools, unganwadi centers, gram panchayat buildings, health centers, wellness centers and also community buildings and it also includes to bring awareness on various aspects and significance of safe drinking water now come to this question with reference to gel jivan mission consider the following statements two statements are there which of the statements given above are correct it aims to provide functional household tap connection for every rural household by 2022 the 75th year of Indian independence the statement is wrong because of the year as it aims to achieve this by the year 2024 so it can eliminate option A and option C second statement it is a centrally sponsored scheme with focus on creation of local infrastructure for sustainability like rainwater harvesting groundwater recharge and management of household wastewater for reuse this statement is correct only the second statement is correct therefore the correct answer is option B two only this question is with reference to gel mark vikas project three statements have been given which of the statements given above are correct see gel means water mark means away and vikas refers development so gel mark vikas project can be translated as waterways development project to be specific national waterways development project this project is for capacity augmentation of navigation on national waterway one this national waterway one stretches from Allahabad or prayagraj in notarpadesh via Bihar jarkind and concludes at a distance of 1620 kilometers in haldia in west bengal this project is being implemented at a cost of more than Rs 5000 crore it receives technical assistance and investment support from world bank the main component of this project is developing a fairway in this national waterway one here the term fairway refers to a navigable channel in the river so here a fairway of depth three meters at a total distance of 1380 kilometer will be developed so it's actually a project of waterway development on river ganga four states are covered under this project which are the four states involved in national waterway one with the place Bihar jarkind and west Bengal along with fairway development there will be also construction of three multi model terminals two intermodal terminals and you can go through other components here because of the infrastructure components other than the fairway development associated with this project this project is also called as a project of mammoth infrastructure development pertaining to waterways development the project is expected to be completed by March 2023 see this target date of March 2023 is actually only for the fairway development for other components there are different target dates that range from 2018 to 2020 this project was initially announced by finance minister during the budget speech of 2014 in July to enable commercial navigation of at least 1500 tons vessels in river ganga once developed this fairway is expected to serve as an alternative mode of transport that will be cost effective and also environment friendly the project is also expected to bring down the logistics cost in such transport as well and the development and operations associated with the project will also result into direct and indirect employment generation indirect employment here refers to employment particularly in vessel construction industry vessels means vessels that will navigate in the navigable channel of airway so now come to the question first statement it was aimed at the capacity augmentation of navigation on national waterway one this statement is correct eliminate option C now second statement it is being implemented by inland waterways authority of India under the ministry of shipping with the support from World Bank the statement is also correct so eliminate option A now come to statement 3 the states that are being covered under this project are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and this statement is incorrect this is because Rajasthan has no role to play in this Jhelumar Vikas project because national waterway one starts from Prayagraja or Allahabad to a total distance of 1620 kilometer via Bihar Jharkhand and concludes at Haldia and West Bengal so Rajasthan should not come here so the correct answer for this question is option B as the third statement is incorrect now let's move on to next question this question is based on project sure this project was launched by union minister of textiles in August 2019 assure stands for sustainable resolution this project is pertaining to Indian apparel industry to be very specific it is a commitment by India's apparel industry to set a sustainable way for Indian fashion industry to contribute to a clean environment how they will contribute to a clean environment this is to be achieved by reducing carbon emissions increasing resource efficiency and also by managing waste and also by water management and since it amounts to consumption and production within the apparel sector this project aims to contribute to sustainable development goal number 12 which aims to ensure responsible consumption and responsible production and here we have given a brief of three government schemes in textile sector for a reference now coming to the question project sure recently seen in news is related to the correct answer here is option B a firm commitment of apparel industry to set a sustainable pathway for Indian fashion industry this question is with reference to coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure in this context it is important for us to know whose initiative is this what are its objectives and essential features see this coalition was launched at United Nations climate action summit which took place in September 2019 in New York the specialty is that it was launched by Indian Prime Minister it was a news in August 2019 because the approval for establishing this coalition was given by union cabinet in August 2019 the approval included two things one to establish this coalition and secondly to establish also a secretariat office for this coalition in New Delhi now what is this coalition see it is a coalition of five set of institutions to promote resilience of infrastructure to climate risk and disaster risks these include national governments when we say national governments there is no distinction whether it is developed nation or developing nation or least developed nation and it includes UN agencies and programs multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms private sector even academic institutions or knowledge based institutions while it promotes the resilience of infrastructure systems we should know that it promotes the resilience of both new infrastructure to be built and also the existing systems to climate and disaster risks in this context it ensures sustainable development and this coalition it supports achieving goals and targets that are enshrined in sustainable development goals Paris climate agreement and also in the Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction so what will this coalition do see this coalition will support countries to upgrade their existing infrastructure and also the future infrastructure to be resilient to disaster and climate risks it also aims to achieve measurable reduction in infrastructure losses because of disasters and these disasters also include extreme climate events the plan of action and the programs through which the coalition will perform has been given here for your reference see here in addition to functioning in the field of knowledge advocacy and research this coalition also provides technical support and technical capacity to the countries and CDRA secretariat which is located in New Delhi it will anchor and coordinate the functions of this coalition I will come to this question consider the following statements about international coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure it aims to bring developed and developing countries together to build synergies to reach the goal of disaster resilience in both new and existing infrastructure systems the statement is correct you can eliminate option C it was launched by India at the UN climate action summit in 2019 held in New York USA this statement was also correct you can eliminate option A now we have two options option B and option D we have to confirm whether the third statement is correct or not it is an international coalition of countries united nation agencies multilateral development banks private sector and academic institutions third statement is correct so the correct answer for this question is option D one two one three the Shillong declaration sometimes mentioned in media is in reference to achieving land degradation neutrality e-governance banking reforms India-Africa defence relations the first option corresponds to Delhi declaration recently adopted in September 2019 in the 14th conference of parties of united nations convention to combat desertification the fourth option corresponds to Lucknow declaration which was adopted at the first India-Africa defence ministers conclave in this year and this first ever India-Africa defence ministers conclave was held during 11th edition of biennial defence exhibition which was held in Lucknow on 6th February 2020 and the correct answer for this question is option B e-governance see this Shillong declaration was in news in August 2019 because 22nd national conference on e-governance was held in Shillong in the state of Meghalaya at 10 point declaration was adopted in this conference and this declaration is called Shillong declaration the theme was digital India success to excellence this conference was jointly organized by two union ministries and the state government of Meghalaya I know that whenever it is e-governance the union ministry of electronics information technology always comes to play the 10 point declaration has been highlighted here for your reference some important points see it asks the central government and state governments to improve citizens experience with government services by promoting primarily implementation of India enterprise architecture and we can also see that the declaration calls to improve connectivity in north eastern states by addressing issues and challenges of telecommunications connectivity and to implement a comprehensive telecom development plan in these north eastern states and to develop India as a global cloud hub and to facilitate development of government applications and databases on cloud in this context let us see in brief about this India enterprise architecture see it's a holistic framework to address the interoperability and integration in the field of e-governance this is to be achieved by streamlining standardizing and optimizing the e-governance efforts through this India enterprise architecture and this framework will facilitate the delivery of integrated services to the stakeholders and who is interested with the mandate to form this division called as India enterprise architecture this is the national e-governance division under the union ministry of electronics and information technology so the correct answer for this question is option B e-governance this question is about Jammu and Kashmir reorganization act 2019 three statements are given which of the statements given above are correct it provides for the reorganization of the state of Jammu-Kashmir into the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the union territory of Ladakh the statement is correct the JNK has been reorganized into two union territories JNK Ladakh this was with effect from 31st October 2019 the appointed day as per the JNK reorganization act of 2019 the new union territory of Ladakh it has two districts Kargil and Ley district and Jammu and Kashmir is to have a legislative assembly whereas Ladakh is not to have a legislative assembly the second statement it provides for a legislative assembly with five year tenure and a legislative council with six year tenure for the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir this statement is incorrect because as per the act the union territory of JNK will have legislative assembly with five year tenure and there will also be a chief minister whereas when we come to union territory of Ladakh it will be controlled directly by the lieutenant governor and there will not be a legislative assembly here and note that JNK reorganization act of 2019 has actually abolished the first 12 state of JNK and there is no provision of legislative council for both the union territories so the second statement here is incorrect third statement the high court of Jammu and Kashmir will be the common high court for the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh this statement is correct this is as per section 75 of JNK reorganization act 2019 so here first and third statements are correct so the correct answer for this question is option 1 and 3 only this question is with reference to mission reach out of Indian army so it is important for us to know about this mission see this mission was launched in August 2019 we know that August 2019 is known for the reorganization of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir with the abrogation of temporary provisions in article 370 and the special status in article 35 capital A and after this abrogation of article 370 and removal of article 35 capital A Indian army launched mission reach out to reach out to the people of JNK so as a part of this mission Indian army sought to address the problems faced by the local population after the abrogation so it has been conducting people friendly campaigns community empowerment drives medical aid camps and also workshop on communal harmony among the local population in Jammu and Kashmir even they have also distributed portable solar lights to poor families in JNK and they have also given some of the basic necessities and essential services to the local population in JNK so here the correct answer for this question is option B ensuring basic necessities in JNK region there is also one more operation of Indian army operating in Jammu and Kashmir this operation is called as operation Sathbhavana this operation focuses on quality education women and youth improvement infrastructure development health and veterinary care the option C corresponds to mission Sakthi the option D corresponds to mission or operation in Sanyath which was an operation that was launched in 2017 where an Indian high commission in Bangladesh handed over humanitarian relief to Bangladesh with reference to Bangladesh receiving Rohingyas because of persecution in Myanmar now let's move on to next question this question is with reference to geographical indications this topic was the news in August because a prasadam or sacred food called as panchamirdham of palani has been granted geographical indication tag three statements have been given they are asking which of the statements given above are correct first statement a GA product is recognized as goods originating from a locality where a given quality reputation or other characteristic of such goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin they are issued or recognized by the office of controller general of patterns designs and trademarks recently Thaulokhwan from Mizoram has been recognized under GA which of the statements given above are correct see if you see the definition of geographical indication as given by geographical indication of goods act of 1999 the first statement is correct as it means an indication that identifies goods that may be agricultural goods or natural goods or manufactured goods even for that matter it can include handicrafts or foodstuff which are manufactured or originating from a particular place and the quality or reputation of the goods is essentially attributable to the geography of the particular place and the term geographical indications was first used in trips agreement and this tag is issued by controller general of patterns designs and trademarks and this controller general is called as register of geographical indication this is as per section three of this act and geographical indications registry is located at Chennai now once a product has been given GA tag it acts as a legal protection under this act and it prevents unauthorized use of GA tag by others and it also helps to boost exports of a particular product and thereby leading to economic prosperity of producers of goods in a particular geographical territory and the registration of geographical indication is actually valid for a period of 10 years and then it has to be renewed. We have given here a list of products or goods for which GA tag has been issued in last one year for your reference. Now in this question first statement is correct, second statement is correct, third statement is also correct, recently from Nizoram two goods have been given GA tag and Thaulopon is one among them correct answer here is option D one, two and three see this question is with reference to Caribbean community organization in September 2019 India Caricom leaders meeting took place in New York which among the following are members of Caribbean community Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago see this organization came into existence on 4th July 1973 by signing of a treaty called as Treaty of Chagwaramas. At that time this treaty was signed by Barbados Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Right now if you see this organization has 15 members and 5 associate members. All members have an equal say regardless of their geographical size or economic status and all the communities in this organization they are classified as developing countries and of the 15 members Montserrat is a British overseas territory whereas all others are individual nations the members and associate members have been given here for your reference. Now in this question the key is eliminating Brazil. So once we are confirmed that Brazil is not a member of this community then we can arrive at the correct answer option be 1, 2 and 4 only. A map highlighting the member states of this community has been given here. You can utilize this map also for geographical purposes as well. Now let's move on to next question This question is with reference to these two indices. Here the Water Stress Index was in news in August as it was released in the first week of August 2019. The Water Stress Index and Climate Change Vulnerability Index are released by Nithya Yog, Verisk Maplcroft, Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Environment Program. See some of the indices released by Nithya Yog are Composite Water Management Index then India Innovation Index SDG India Index, School Education Quality Index, Coming to Health Index, District Hospital Index and presently Nithya Yog is also in the process of developing an index in the field of energy as well. Once released it will be called as State Energy Index and recently in January 2020 an index has been developed by Bureau of Energy Efficiency in association with Alliance Foreign Energy Efficient Economy. This index is called as State Energy Efficiency Index 2019 it was released in January 2020. Now coming to the question here the correct answer is Verisk Maplcroft. It has released a Subnational Water Stress Index and India stands at 46th position when it comes to water stress and therefore it is listed as 46th highest stress country in the world the most worrying fact here is 11 out of India's 20 largest cities they face extreme risk of water stress this water stress index it measures water consumption rates of households, industries and farm sectors and then it also takes into consideration the available water resources in river, lakes and streams and the same Verisk Maplcroft it also releases another index called as climate change vulnerability index where India was rated as a high risk country. Now with respect to climate change there are two more indices one is global climate risk index then climate change performance index both these indices are released by an international think tank called as German watch so here option B is the right answer now let's move on to next question this question is with reference to the report on state of food security and nutrition in the world 2019. Two statements were given which of the above statements are correct it was published by wealth hunger health and concern worldwide this statement is incorrect because wealth hunger health and concern worldwide they publish global hunger index they do not publish state of food security and nutrition in the world and second statement Africa is the region with the greatest prevalence of hunger in the world this statement is correct so the correct answer for this question is option B two only state of food security and nutrition in the world is a flagship publication of food and agriculture organization of united nations FIO is a specialized agency of UN and it releases the state of the world series in which this report is a part and this report is actually a joint effort of five agencies FIO world health organization international fund for agricultural development world food program and UNICEF two key takeaways from this report one is that Africa is the region with greatest prevalence of hunger in the world and there were 82 crore chronically undernourished people in the world in the year 2018. Now let's move on to next question this question is about the trend in the sector wise consumption of electricity consider the following sectors industry domestic commercial agriculture which among the following is the correct order of the above sectors in terms of increasing order of their electricity consumption so where can we get sector wise electricity consumption data see this data will be available in an annual publication released by ministry of statistics and program implementation this publication is called as energy statistics that present we have energy statistics 2019 which gives electricity consumption data sector wise for the financial year 2017 2018 the energy statistics they give consumption of electricity across six sectors and of these six sectors we can take four major sectors industry agriculture domestic and commercial if you see the trend within these four major sectors for the financial years from 2013 14 to 2017 2018 the highest share of consumption of electricity goes to industry and this is followed by domestic sector then goes to agriculture which is followed by commercial sector in the question they are asking for increasing order so we have to arrange the sectors from least consumption to most consumption sectors so of these four sectors the option should begin with commercial sector so directly we can arrive at the correct answer option 8 so the correct answer is 3421 in the increasing order commercial then the higher share goes to agriculture then the higher share goes to domestic sector and the largest share is with industry sector with this we come to the end of this session on target realm series for 2020 with reference to the month of august 2019 if you like the video click the like button comment share it with your friends and subscribe to the Shankara academy youtube channel for more updates and content on civil service example preparation