Padmini shah

Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below.

On July 5, the Delhi High Court held that there was “no merit” in the appeal filed by PepsiCo over the patent rights for its ‘unique potato’ variety. The appeal was against an order passed by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights’ Authority (PPVFRA), revoking PepsiCo’s registration vis-a-vis the unique potato variety developed by it. The Act provides an effective framework to conserve and encourage the development of various plant varieties. It established an effective system to safeguard and recognise the rights of breeders, researchers and farmers to promote agricultural development in the country. Additionally, it also facilitates the mushrooming of the Indian seed industry to ensure the availability of high-quality seeds and planting materials to farmers.

According to Section 34 of the PPV&FR Act, the protection granted to a breeder may be revoked by the authority on the following grounds — that the grant of a registration certificate is based on incorrect information furnished by the applicant; that the registration certificate was granted to an ineligible person; when the breeder does not provide the registrar with the required documents; a failure to provide an alternative denomination for variety registration in case the earlier variety provided is not permissible for registration; a failure of the breeder to provide the required seeds for compulsory licence; failure to comply with the acts, rules, regulations and directions issued by the Authority; and if the grant of the registration certificate is against public interest.

In relation to Section 34(a) (incorrect information furnished), it was discovered that PepsiCo had sought the registration of FL 2027 variety as a “new variant” instead of an “extant variant” in its application dated February 16, 2012, despite furnishing the date of its commercialisation in India to be December 17, 2009. However, to be registered as a “new variant” an additional requirement of ‘novelty’ in addition to ‘distinctiveness’, ‘uniformity’ and ‘stability’ must be satisfied one year before the date of filing of the application for registration. The court held that FL 2027 could not fulfil the criteria of novelty and was only eligible for registration under “extant variety”.

India is an agri-based economy with the agriculture sector having the highest workforce, nearly 152 million as of FY2021 as per Statista. Multinational food processing companies and investors must prioritise the well-being of farmers and their rights by developing a comprehensive understanding of India’s local laws, particularly the PPV&FR Act 2001, and recognise the safeguards and protections it provides to farmers.

Q. Which of the following CANNOT be inferred from the passage?

Directions: Read the given passage and answer the question that follows.

I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin. How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony, that faintly reminds me of the anguish of the recognition. The trial, the presence of the magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor'' - The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions.

A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval. Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented; and, at others, I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck, and screamed aloud with agony and terror.

Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understood me; but my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses.

Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents: how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope, and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture.

Directions: Read the given passage and answer the question that follows.

I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin. How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony, that faintly reminds me of the anguish of the recognition. The trial, the presence of the magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor'' - The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions.

A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval. Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented; and, at others, I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck, and screamed aloud with agony and terror.

Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understood me; but my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses.

Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents: how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope, and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture.

I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin. How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony, that faintly reminds me of the anguish of the recognition. The trial, the presence of the Magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, "Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor -" The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions. A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death; my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William,of Justine, and of Clerval.Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented;and, at others,I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck,and screamed aloud with agony and terror. Fortunately, as I spoke my native language, Mr. Kirwin alone understand me;but my gestures and bitter cries were sufficient to affright the other witnesses. Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest? Death snatches away many blooming children, the only hopes of their doting parents; how many brides and youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

The narrator's ravings could have been taken as an admission of guilt of being responsible for the death Henry Clerval, but for the fact that

Direction: Study the following paragraphs and answer the question that follows:

This widespread problem of water pollution is jeopardizing our health. Unsafe water kills more people each year than war and all other forms of violence combined. Meanwhile, our drinkable water sources are finite: Less than 1 percent of the earth’s freshwater is actually accessible to us. Without action, the challenges will only increase by 2050, when global demand for freshwater is expected to be one-third greater than it is now.

While most Americans have access to safe drinking water, potentially harmful contaminants have been found in the tap water of every single state in the nation. Still, we’re not hopeless against the threat to clean water. Water pollution occurs when harmful substances often chemicals or microorganisms contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment. Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution. Known as a “universal solvent,” water is able to dissolve more substances than any other liquid on earth. It’s also why water is so easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms and factories readily dissolve into and mix with it, causing water pollution. Pollution can enter water directly, through both legal and illegal discharges from factories or imperfect water treatment plants. Spills and leaks from oil pipelines or hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations can degrade water supplies. Wind, storms, and littering especially of plastic waste can also send debris into waterways. Water pollution can result in human health problems, poisoned wildlife, and long-term ecosystem damage. When agricultural and industrial runoff floods waterways with excess nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, these nutrients often fuel algae blooms that then create dead zones, or low-oxygen areas where fish and other aquatic life can no longer thrive.

What is the meaning of ‘jeopardizing’?