CLAT Practice Test- 39 - CLAT

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

I was eleven when the Taliban started bombing girls' schools throughout the Swat Valley. The attacks happened at night, so at least no one was hurt, but imagine arriving at school in the morning to find it a pile of rubble. It felt beyond cruel. They had begun cutting our electricity and targeting local politicians. They even banned children's games. We had been told stories of Taliban fighters who heard children laughing in their homes and burst in to destroy the game. They also bombed police stations and attacked individuals.

If the Taliban heard that someone had spoken out against them, they would announce those names on their radio station. And then the next morning, those people might be found dead in Green Square, our city centre, often with notes pinned to the bodies explaining their so-called sins. It got so bad that each morning, several bodies would be lined up in the town centre, which people started calling Bloody Square.

This was all part of their extremist propaganda. It was working: they were asserting control over the Swat Valley.

My father had been cautioned to stop speaking out on behalf of girls' education and peace. He didn't. But he did start varying his routes home in case he was being followed. And I started a new habit: I would check the locks on the doors and windows before I went to sleep each night.

We felt hopeful when the army sent troops to Swat to protect us. But it meant the fighting had come closer. They had a base in Mingora near our home, so I would hear the whirring of helicopter blades cutting the thick air and then look up to see metal hunks filled with soldiers in uniform. Those images, just like Taliban fighters holding machine guns in the streets, became such a big part of our daily lives that my brothers and their friends started playing Taliban versus army instead of hide-and-seek. They would make guns from paper and stage battles and 'shoot' at one another. Rather than share idle gossip and talk about our favourite movie stars, my friends and I shared information about death threats and wondered if we'd ever feel safe again.

This was our life now. It was nothing any of us could have ever imagined.

Scary things became normal. We'd hear the big, booming sounds of bombs and feel the ground tremble. The stronger the tremor, the closer the bomb. If we didn't hear a bomb blast for an entire day, we'd say, 'Today was a good day.' If we didn't hear firearms being shot at night, like firecrackers, then we might even get a good night's sleep.

Q. What, according to the author, would the Taliban do if they heard someone had spoken against them?

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

I was eleven when the Taliban started bombing girls' schools throughout the Swat Valley. The attacks happened at night, so at least no one was hurt, but imagine arriving at school in the morning to find it a pile of rubble. It felt beyond cruel. They had begun cutting our electricity and targeting local politicians. They even banned children's games. We had been told stories of Taliban fighters who heard children laughing in their homes and burst in to destroy the game. They also bombed police stations and attacked individuals.

If the Taliban heard that someone had spoken out against them, they would announce those names on their radio station. And then the next morning, those people might be found dead in Green Square, our city centre, often with notes pinned to the bodies explaining their so-called sins. It got so bad that each morning, several bodies would be lined up in the town centre, which people started calling Bloody Square.

This was all part of their extremist propaganda. It was working: they were asserting control over the Swat Valley.

My father had been cautioned to stop speaking out on behalf of girls' education and peace. He didn't. But he did start varying his routes home in case he was being followed. And I started a new habit: I would check the locks on the doors and windows before I went to sleep each night.

We felt hopeful when the army sent troops to Swat to protect us. But it meant the fighting had come closer. They had a base in Mingora near our home, so I would hear the whirring of helicopter blades cutting the thick air and then look up to see metal hunks filled with soldiers in uniform. Those images, just like Taliban fighters holding machine guns in the streets, became such a big part of our daily lives that my brothers and their friends started playing Taliban versus army instead of hide-and-seek. They would make guns from paper and stage battles and 'shoot' at one another. Rather than share idle gossip and talk about our favourite movie stars, my friends and I shared information about death threats and wondered if we'd ever feel safe again.

This was our life now. It was nothing any of us could have ever imagined.

Scary things became normal. We'd hear the big, booming sounds of bombs and feel the ground tremble. The stronger the tremor, the closer the bomb. If we didn't hear a bomb blast for an entire day, we'd say, 'Today was a good day.' If we didn't hear firearms being shot at night, like firecrackers, then we might even get a good night's sleep.

Q. What, according to the passage, is suggested by the author's statement that children "started playing Taliban versus army instead of hide-and-seek"?

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

When her grandmother learned of Ashima's pregnancy, she was particularly thrilled at the prospect of naming the family's first sahib. And so Ashima and Ashoke have agreed to put off the decision of what to name the baby until a letter comes, ignoring the forms from the hospital about filing for a birth certificate. Ashima's grandmother has mailed the letter herself, walking with her cane to the post office, her first trip out of the house in a decade. The letter contains one name for a girl, one for a boy. Ashima's grandmother has revealed them to no one.

Though the letter was sent a month ago, in July, it has yet to arrive. Ashima and Ashoke are not terribly concerned. After all, they both know, an infant doesn't really need a name. He needs to be fed and blessed, to be given some gold and silver, to be patted on the back after feedings and held carefully behind the neck. Names can wait. In India parents take their time. It wasn't unusual for years to pass before the right name, the best possible name, was determined. Ashima and Ashoke can both cite examples of cousins who were not officially named until they were registered, at six or seven, in school. The Nandis and Dr. Gupta understand perfectly. Of course you must wait, they agree, wait for the name in his great-grandmother's letter.

Besides, there are always pet names to tide one over: a practice of Bengali nomenclature grants, to every single person, two names. In Bengali the word for pet name is daknam, meaning, literally, the name by which one is called, by friends, family, and other intimates, at home and in other private, unguarded moments. Pet names are a persistent remnant of childhood, a reminder that life is not always so serious, so formal, so complicated. They are a reminder, too, that one is not all things to all people. They all have pet names. Ashima's pet name is Monu, Ashoke's is Mithu, and even as adults, these are the names by which they are known in their respective families, the names by which they are adored and scolded and missed and loved.

Every pet name is paired with a good name, a bhalonam, for identification in the outside world. Consequently, good names appear on envelopes, on diplomas, in telephone directories, and in all other public places. (For this reason, letters from Ashima's mother say "Ashima" on the outside, "Monu" on the inside.) Good names tend to represent dignified and enlightened qualities. Ashima means "she who is limitless, without borders." Ashoke, the name of an emperor, means "he who transcends grief." Pet names have no such aspirations. Pet names are never recorded officially, only uttered and remembered. Unlike good names, pet names are frequently meaningless, deliberately silly, ironic, even onomatopoetic. Often in one's infancy, one answers unwittingly to dozens of pet names, until one eventually sticks.

Q. Why, according the passage, does Ashima's grandmother leave the house after 10 years?

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

When her grandmother learned of Ashima's pregnancy, she was particularly thrilled at the prospect of naming the family's first sahib. And so Ashima and Ashoke have agreed to put off the decision of what to name the baby until a letter comes, ignoring the forms from the hospital about filing for a birth certificate. Ashima's grandmother has mailed the letter herself, walking with her cane to the post office, her first trip out of the house in a decade. The letter contains one name for a girl, one for a boy. Ashima's grandmother has revealed them to no one.

Though the letter was sent a month ago, in July, it has yet to arrive. Ashima and Ashoke are not terribly concerned. After all, they both know, an infant doesn't really need a name. He needs to be fed and blessed, to be given some gold and silver, to be patted on the back after feedings and held carefully behind the neck. Names can wait. In India parents take their time. It wasn't unusual for years to pass before the right name, the best possible name, was determined. Ashima and Ashoke can both cite examples of cousins who were not officially named until they were registered, at six or seven, in school. The Nandis and Dr. Gupta understand perfectly. Of course you must wait, they agree, wait for the name in his great-grandmother's letter.

Besides, there are always pet names to tide one over: a practice of Bengali nomenclature grants, to every single person, two names. In Bengali the word for pet name is daknam, meaning, literally, the name by which one is called, by friends, family, and other intimates, at home and in other private, unguarded moments. Pet names are a persistent remnant of childhood, a reminder that life is not always so serious, so formal, so complicated. They are a reminder, too, that one is not all things to all people. They all have pet names. Ashima's pet name is Monu, Ashoke's is Mithu, and even as adults, these are the names by which they are known in their respective families, the names by which they are adored and scolded and missed and loved.

Every pet name is paired with a good name, a bhalonam, for identification in the outside world. Consequently, good names appear on envelopes, on diplomas, in telephone directories, and in all other public places. (For this reason, letters from Ashima's mother say "Ashima" on the outside, "Monu" on the inside.) Good names tend to represent dignified and enlightened qualities. Ashima means "she who is limitless, without borders." Ashoke, the name of an emperor, means "he who transcends grief." Pet names have no such aspirations. Pet names are never recorded officially, only uttered and remembered. Unlike good names, pet names are frequently meaningless, deliberately silly, ironic, even onomatopoetic. Often in one's infancy, one answers unwittingly to dozens of pet names, until one eventually sticks.

Q. Which of the following is not a reason for the significance of a pet name that the author states in the passage?

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

When her grandmother learned of Ashima's pregnancy, she was particularly thrilled at the prospect of naming the family's first sahib. And so Ashima and Ashoke have agreed to put off the decision of what to name the baby until a letter comes, ignoring the forms from the hospital about filing for a birth certificate. Ashima's grandmother has mailed the letter herself, walking with her cane to the post office, her first trip out of the house in a decade. The letter contains one name for a girl, one for a boy. Ashima's grandmother has revealed them to no one.

Though the letter was sent a month ago, in July, it has yet to arrive. Ashima and Ashoke are not terribly concerned. After all, they both know, an infant doesn't really need a name. He needs to be fed and blessed, to be given some gold and silver, to be patted on the back after feedings and held carefully behind the neck. Names can wait. In India parents take their time. It wasn't unusual for years to pass before the right name, the best possible name, was determined. Ashima and Ashoke can both cite examples of cousins who were not officially named until they were registered, at six or seven, in school. The Nandis and Dr. Gupta understand perfectly. Of course you must wait, they agree, wait for the name in his great-grandmother's letter.

Besides, there are always pet names to tide one over: a practice of Bengali nomenclature grants, to every single person, two names. In Bengali the word for pet name is daknam, meaning, literally, the name by which one is called, by friends, family, and other intimates, at home and in other private, unguarded moments. Pet names are a persistent remnant of childhood, a reminder that life is not always so serious, so formal, so complicated. They are a reminder, too, that one is not all things to all people. They all have pet names. Ashima's pet name is Monu, Ashoke's is Mithu, and even as adults, these are the names by which they are known in their respective families, the names by which they are adored and scolded and missed and loved.

Every pet name is paired with a good name, a bhalonam, for identification in the outside world. Consequently, good names appear on envelopes, on diplomas, in telephone directories, and in all other public places. (For this reason, letters from Ashima's mother say "Ashima" on the outside, "Monu" on the inside.) Good names tend to represent dignified and enlightened qualities. Ashima means "she who is limitless, without borders." Ashoke, the name of an emperor, means "he who transcends grief." Pet names have no such aspirations. Pet names are never recorded officially, only uttered and remembered. Unlike good names, pet names are frequently meaningless, deliberately silly, ironic, even onomatopoetic. Often in one's infancy, one answers unwittingly to dozens of pet names, until one eventually sticks.

Q. Which of the following statements is the author most likely to agree with?

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

When her grandmother learned of Ashima's pregnancy, she was particularly thrilled at the prospect of naming the family's first sahib. And so Ashima and Ashoke have agreed to put off the decision of what to name the baby until a letter comes, ignoring the forms from the hospital about filing for a birth certificate. Ashima's grandmother has mailed the letter herself, walking with her cane to the post office, her first trip out of the house in a decade. The letter contains one name for a girl, one for a boy. Ashima's grandmother has revealed them to no one.

Though the letter was sent a month ago, in July, it has yet to arrive. Ashima and Ashoke are not terribly concerned. After all, they both know, an infant doesn't really need a name. He needs to be fed and blessed, to be given some gold and silver, to be patted on the back after feedings and held carefully behind the neck. Names can wait. In India parents take their time. It wasn't unusual for years to pass before the right name, the best possible name, was determined. Ashima and Ashoke can both cite examples of cousins who were not officially named until they were registered, at six or seven, in school. The Nandis and Dr. Gupta understand perfectly. Of course you must wait, they agree, wait for the name in his great-grandmother's letter.

Besides, there are always pet names to tide one over: a practice of Bengali nomenclature grants, to every single person, two names. In Bengali the word for pet name is daknam, meaning, literally, the name by which one is called, by friends, family, and other intimates, at home and in other private, unguarded moments. Pet names are a persistent remnant of childhood, a reminder that life is not always so serious, so formal, so complicated. They are a reminder, too, that one is not all things to all people. They all have pet names. Ashima's pet name is Monu, Ashoke's is Mithu, and even as adults, these are the names by which they are known in their respective families, the names by which they are adored and scolded and missed and loved.

Every pet name is paired with a good name, a bhalonam, for identification in the outside world. Consequently, good names appear on envelopes, on diplomas, in telephone directories, and in all other public places. (For this reason, letters from Ashima's mother say "Ashima" on the outside, "Monu" on the inside.) Good names tend to represent dignified and enlightened qualities. Ashima means "she who is limitless, without borders." Ashoke, the name of an emperor, means "he who transcends grief." Pet names have no such aspirations. Pet names are never recorded officially, only uttered and remembered. Unlike good names, pet names are frequently meaningless, deliberately silly, ironic, even onomatopoetic. Often in one's infancy, one answers unwittingly to dozens of pet names, until one eventually sticks.

Q. Why, according to the passage, does Ashima and Ashoke believe an infant doesn't need a name immediately?

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

When her grandmother learned of Ashima's pregnancy, she was particularly thrilled at the prospect of naming the family's first sahib. And so Ashima and Ashoke have agreed to put off the decision of what to name the baby until a letter comes, ignoring the forms from the hospital about filing for a birth certificate. Ashima's grandmother has mailed the letter herself, walking with her cane to the post office, her first trip out of the house in a decade. The letter contains one name for a girl, one for a boy. Ashima's grandmother has revealed them to no one.

Though the letter was sent a month ago, in July, it has yet to arrive. Ashima and Ashoke are not terribly concerned. After all, they both know, an infant doesn't really need a name. He needs to be fed and blessed, to be given some gold and silver, to be patted on the back after feedings and held carefully behind the neck. Names can wait. In India parents take their time. It wasn't unusual for years to pass before the right name, the best possible name, was determined. Ashima and Ashoke can both cite examples of cousins who were not officially named until they were registered, at six or seven, in school. The Nandis and Dr. Gupta understand perfectly. Of course you must wait, they agree, wait for the name in his great-grandmother's letter.

Besides, there are always pet names to tide one over: a practice of Bengali nomenclature grants, to every single person, two names. In Bengali the word for pet name is daknam, meaning, literally, the name by which one is called, by friends, family, and other intimates, at home and in other private, unguarded moments. Pet names are a persistent remnant of childhood, a reminder that life is not always so serious, so formal, so complicated. They are a reminder, too, that one is not all things to all people. They all have pet names. Ashima's pet name is Monu, Ashoke's is Mithu, and even as adults, these are the names by which they are known in their respective families, the names by which they are adored and scolded and missed and loved.

Every pet name is paired with a good name, a bhalonam, for identification in the outside world. Consequently, good names appear on envelopes, on diplomas, in telephone directories, and in all other public places. (For this reason, letters from Ashima's mother say "Ashima" on the outside, "Monu" on the inside.) Good names tend to represent dignified and enlightened qualities. Ashima means "she who is limitless, without borders." Ashoke, the name of an emperor, means "he who transcends grief." Pet names have no such aspirations. Pet names are never recorded officially, only uttered and remembered. Unlike good names, pet names are frequently meaningless, deliberately silly, ironic, even onomatopoetic. Often in one's infancy, one answers unwittingly to dozens of pet names, until one eventually sticks.

Q. What does the phrase 'unguarded moments' as used in the passage mean?

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

While packing my luggage for the boarding school at Sophia, Mum had slipped in a bag of the dry powder I was supposed to mix with milk or water and use during my bath. Before leaving me at the dormitory, she also left unnecessarily detailed instructions on how that was to be done with the seventeen-year-old caretaker who managed the "junior girls" in that wing. I knew the caretaker did not appreciate Mum's directive because she repeatedly reminded me of it for the two years I lived there, often humiliating me in front of my hostel mates. During the common bath time, she would loudly enquire about that powder my mum left for me to become fair. Of all the times my ubtan embarrassed me, those were the worst.

My seven years so far had taught me nothing about standing up for myself, or defending what I thought was right. I also lacked the entitlement that a combination of wealth and caste pride allow many, even at that young age, to take on much older, more influential bullies with fortitude. I was poor and pretending to be upper caste in a hostel filled with mostly older girls; I had to fit in.

So I joined the raucous laughter in the room or smiled like I was in on the joke she was making at my expense and about Mum, even as a part of me cringed. The caretaker must have sensed that I was hiding something, for she soon added a new element to her weekly routine: asking me if I thought my mother was a bad person. She wasn't content with just mocking me, she also needed me to assure her that she was right.

I didn't tell Mum about this. I knew she would want to intervene or report it to the administration. And I thought that would only make things worse for me. The caretaker might be reprimanded. But after that, living at the hostel could get a lot worse. Pretending to dislike my own mother while blaming myself for not defending her didn't take long to turn into deep self-disgust. That plastic bag of ubtan became its centre and source. I would shove it deep into the belly of my locker so no one, not even I, could see it.

The bag would sit there unopened during the semester and I would bring it home with me during the break. Even though Mum had half-expected that I wouldn't actually use it, she would still be disappointed. During the weeks I spent at home, she would go through old magazines looking for the least messy ubtan recipes. She'd spend hours searching for the ingredients, and painstakingly blend them either by hand or in an old mixer.

Q. Which of the following can be rightly inferred about the author?

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

While packing my luggage for the boarding school at Sophia, Mum had slipped in a bag of the dry powder I was supposed to mix with milk or water and use during my bath. Before leaving me at the dormitory, she also left unnecessarily detailed instructions on how that was to be done with the seventeen-year-old caretaker who managed the "junior girls" in that wing. I knew the caretaker did not appreciate Mum's directive because she repeatedly reminded me of it for the two years I lived there, often humiliating me in front of my hostel mates. During the common bath time, she would loudly enquire about that powder my mum left for me to become fair. Of all the times my ubtan embarrassed me, those were the worst.

My seven years so far had taught me nothing about standing up for myself, or defending what I thought was right. I also lacked the entitlement that a combination of wealth and caste pride allow many, even at that young age, to take on much older, more influential bullies with fortitude. I was poor and pretending to be upper caste in a hostel filled with mostly older girls; I had to fit in.

So I joined the raucous laughter in the room or smiled like I was in on the joke she was making at my expense and about Mum, even as a part of me cringed. The caretaker must have sensed that I was hiding something, for she soon added a new element to her weekly routine: asking me if I thought my mother was a bad person. She wasn't content with just mocking me, she also needed me to assure her that she was right.

I didn't tell Mum about this. I knew she would want to intervene or report it to the administration. And I thought that would only make things worse for me. The caretaker might be reprimanded. But after that, living at the hostel could get a lot worse. Pretending to dislike my own mother while blaming myself for not defending her didn't take long to turn into deep self-disgust. That plastic bag of ubtan became its centre and source. I would shove it deep into the belly of my locker so no one, not even I, could see it.

The bag would sit there unopened during the semester and I would bring it home with me during the break. Even though Mum had half-expected that I wouldn't actually use it, she would still be disappointed. During the weeks I spent at home, she would go through old magazines looking for the least messy ubtan recipes. She'd spend hours searching for the ingredients, and painstakingly blend them either by hand or in an old mixer.

Q. What does the word 'raucous' as used in the passage mean?

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

While packing my luggage for the boarding school at Sophia, Mum had slipped in a bag of the dry powder I was supposed to mix with milk or water and use during my bath. Before leaving me at the dormitory, she also left unnecessarily detailed instructions on how that was to be done with the seventeen-year-old caretaker who managed the "junior girls" in that wing. I knew the caretaker did not appreciate Mum's directive because she repeatedly reminded me of it for the two years I lived there, often humiliating me in front of my hostel mates. During the common bath time, she would loudly enquire about that powder my mum left for me to become fair. Of all the times my ubtan embarrassed me, those were the worst.

My seven years so far had taught me nothing about standing up for myself, or defending what I thought was right. I also lacked the entitlement that a combination of wealth and caste pride allow many, even at that young age, to take on much older, more influential bullies with fortitude. I was poor and pretending to be upper caste in a hostel filled with mostly older girls; I had to fit in.

So I joined the raucous laughter in the room or smiled like I was in on the joke she was making at my expense and about Mum, even as a part of me cringed. The caretaker must have sensed that I was hiding something, for she soon added a new element to her weekly routine: asking me if I thought my mother was a bad person. She wasn't content with just mocking me, she also needed me to assure her that she was right.

I didn't tell Mum about this. I knew she would want to intervene or report it to the administration. And I thought that would only make things worse for me. The caretaker might be reprimanded. But after that, living at the hostel could get a lot worse. Pretending to dislike my own mother while blaming myself for not defending her didn't take long to turn into deep self-disgust. That plastic bag of ubtan became its centre and source. I would shove it deep into the belly of my locker so no one, not even I, could see it.

The bag would sit there unopened during the semester and I would bring it home with me during the break. Even though Mum had half-expected that I wouldn't actually use it, she would still be disappointed. During the weeks I spent at home, she would go through old magazines looking for the least messy ubtan recipes. She'd spend hours searching for the ingredients, and painstakingly blend them either by hand or in an old mixer.

Q. From the given passage, which of the following can be rightly inferred about the author's mother?

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

While packing my luggage for the boarding school at Sophia, Mum had slipped in a bag of the dry powder I was supposed to mix with milk or water and use during my bath. Before leaving me at the dormitory, she also left unnecessarily detailed instructions on how that was to be done with the seventeen-year-old caretaker who managed the "junior girls" in that wing. I knew the caretaker did not appreciate Mum's directive because she repeatedly reminded me of it for the two years I lived there, often humiliating me in front of my hostel mates. During the common bath time, she would loudly enquire about that powder my mum left for me to become fair. Of all the times my ubtan embarrassed me, those were the worst.

My seven years so far had taught me nothing about standing up for myself, or defending what I thought was right. I also lacked the entitlement that a combination of wealth and caste pride allow many, even at that young age, to take on much older, more influential bullies with fortitude. I was poor and pretending to be upper caste in a hostel filled with mostly older girls; I had to fit in.

So I joined the raucous laughter in the room or smiled like I was in on the joke she was making at my expense and about Mum, even as a part of me cringed. The caretaker must have sensed that I was hiding something, for she soon added a new element to her weekly routine: asking me if I thought my mother was a bad person. She wasn't content with just mocking me, she also needed me to assure her that she was right.

I didn't tell Mum about this. I knew she would want to intervene or report it to the administration. And I thought that would only make things worse for me. The caretaker might be reprimanded. But after that, living at the hostel could get a lot worse. Pretending to dislike my own mother while blaming myself for not defending her didn't take long to turn into deep self-disgust. That plastic bag of ubtan became its centre and source. I would shove it deep into the belly of my locker so no one, not even I, could see it.

The bag would sit there unopened during the semester and I would bring it home with me during the break. Even though Mum had half-expected that I wouldn't actually use it, she would still be disappointed. During the weeks I spent at home, she would go through old magazines looking for the least messy ubtan recipes. She'd spend hours searching for the ingredients, and painstakingly blend them either by hand or in an old mixer.

Q. What, according to the passage, is the reason why the author's mother asked her to use ubtan?

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

While packing my luggage for the boarding school at Sophia, Mum had slipped in a bag of the dry powder I was supposed to mix with milk or water and use during my bath. Before leaving me at the dormitory, she also left unnecessarily detailed instructions on how that was to be done with the seventeen-year-old caretaker who managed the "junior girls" in that wing. I knew the caretaker did not appreciate Mum's directive because she repeatedly reminded me of it for the two years I lived there, often humiliating me in front of my hostel mates. During the common bath time, she would loudly enquire about that powder my mum left for me to become fair. Of all the times my ubtan embarrassed me, those were the worst.

My seven years so far had taught me nothing about standing up for myself, or defending what I thought was right. I also lacked the entitlement that a combination of wealth and caste pride allow many, even at that young age, to take on much older, more influential bullies with fortitude. I was poor and pretending to be upper caste in a hostel filled with mostly older girls; I had to fit in.

So I joined the raucous laughter in the room or smiled like I was in on the joke she was making at my expense and about Mum, even as a part of me cringed. The caretaker must have sensed that I was hiding something, for she soon added a new element to her weekly routine: asking me if I thought my mother was a bad person. She wasn't content with just mocking me, she also needed me to assure her that she was right.

I didn't tell Mum about this. I knew she would want to intervene or report it to the administration. And I thought that would only make things worse for me. The caretaker might be reprimanded. But after that, living at the hostel could get a lot worse. Pretending to dislike my own mother while blaming myself for not defending her didn't take long to turn into deep self-disgust. That plastic bag of ubtan became its centre and source. I would shove it deep into the belly of my locker so no one, not even I, could see it.

The bag would sit there unopened during the semester and I would bring it home with me during the break. Even though Mum had half-expected that I wouldn't actually use it, she would still be disappointed. During the weeks I spent at home, she would go through old magazines looking for the least messy ubtan recipes. She'd spend hours searching for the ingredients, and painstakingly blend them either by hand or in an old mixer.

Q. What, according to the author, does the bag of ubtan represent?

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

In our current age, finding an accurate map of the Ganga River system in India is almost as difficult as in Columbus's time. In 2017, the Survey of India started operating according to a new law. Any maps of India published in India must first be sent there. Often, the maps languish in their office for several months. Nine out of ten times, they send the map back with corrections and changes.

Often, they look like the kind of simplistic maps used when we were schoolchildren. Showing Tibet is a no-no, as is showing the borders. Violators risk forty-five days in jail and a fine. Children are growing up with distorted maps of the country. This is an incredible paradox at a time when Google Maps offers such exquisite detail.

Traditionally, Gangaji was the one who did not honour boundaries – she was the place where bodies disappeared, the place where a rigidly bound society slipped off its boundaries. Today we violate her boundaries, half-disappeared and sewage-choked, strapped up with barrages and dams. In the old days, sages would learn how Gangaji changed during the monsoon season. Now, the river's personality is determined more by the opening and shutting of the barrage gates.

Time and water are both flowing faster. For millennia, most of the rain in the subcontinent has fallen within one hundred stormy hours during the three-month monsoon season in northern India. With each passing year, more rain falls within a shorter time span. According to the World Economic Forum, out of sixty-seven surveyed countries, India is the most vulnerable to climate change.

As peak rainfall becomes more intense, landslides – already an existential threat to thousands of mountain villages – will become more common. The monsoon crops, chief among them rice, will be alternately drowned and starved, and the summer crops will die if more irrigation cannot be drawn from the limited water table. But a lot of solutions exist.

Through this troubled landscape winds the mighty river, now glimmering, now dull, now out of sight. Each day, with our excreta, our disavowal of balance and responsibility and our acceptance of the legacy of industrialisation, we are writing a dark chapter in the biography of this ancient goddess, the eternal life force, the Ganga River.

Q. Which of the following is most similar to the 'incredible paradox' that the author discusses in the given passage?

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

In our current age, finding an accurate map of the Ganga River system in India is almost as difficult as in Columbus's time. In 2017, the Survey of India started operating according to a new law. Any maps of India published in India must first be sent there. Often, the maps languish in their office for several months. Nine out of ten times, they send the map back with corrections and changes.

Often, they look like the kind of simplistic maps used when we were schoolchildren. Showing Tibet is a no-no, as is showing the borders. Violators risk forty-five days in jail and a fine. Children are growing up with distorted maps of the country. This is an incredible paradox at a time when Google Maps offers such exquisite detail.

Traditionally, Gangaji was the one who did not honour boundaries – she was the place where bodies disappeared, the place where a rigidly bound society slipped off its boundaries. Today we violate her boundaries, half-disappeared and sewage-choked, strapped up with barrages and dams. In the old days, sages would learn how Gangaji changed during the monsoon season. Now, the river's personality is determined more by the opening and shutting of the barrage gates.

Time and water are both flowing faster. For millennia, most of the rain in the subcontinent has fallen within one hundred stormy hours during the three-month monsoon season in northern India. With each passing year, more rain falls within a shorter time span. According to the World Economic Forum, out of sixty-seven surveyed countries, India is the most vulnerable to climate change.

As peak rainfall becomes more intense, landslides – already an existential threat to thousands of mountain villages – will become more common. The monsoon crops, chief among them rice, will be alternately drowned and starved, and the summer crops will die if more irrigation cannot be drawn from the limited water table. But a lot of solutions exist.

Through this troubled landscape winds the mighty river, now glimmering, now dull, now out of sight. Each day, with our excreta, our disavowal of balance and responsibility and our acceptance of the legacy of industrialisation, we are writing a dark chapter in the biography of this ancient goddess, the eternal life force, the Ganga River.

Q. What does the phrase 'strapped up' as used in the passage mean?

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

In our current age, finding an accurate map of the Ganga River system in India is almost as difficult as in Columbus's time. In 2017, the Survey of India started operating according to a new law. Any maps of India published in India must first be sent there. Often, the maps languish in their office for several months. Nine out of ten times, they send the map back with corrections and changes.

Often, they look like the kind of simplistic maps used when we were schoolchildren. Showing Tibet is a no-no, as is showing the borders. Violators risk forty-five days in jail and a fine. Children are growing up with distorted maps of the country. This is an incredible paradox at a time when Google Maps offers such exquisite detail.

Traditionally, Gangaji was the one who did not honour boundaries – she was the place where bodies disappeared, the place where a rigidly bound society slipped off its boundaries. Today we violate her boundaries, half-disappeared and sewage-choked, strapped up with barrages and dams. In the old days, sages would learn how Gangaji changed during the monsoon season. Now, the river's personality is determined more by the opening and shutting of the barrage gates.

Time and water are both flowing faster. For millennia, most of the rain in the subcontinent has fallen within one hundred stormy hours during the three-month monsoon season in northern India. With each passing year, more rain falls within a shorter time span. According to the World Economic Forum, out of sixty-seven surveyed countries, India is the most vulnerable to climate change.

As peak rainfall becomes more intense, landslides – already an existential threat to thousands of mountain villages – will become more common. The monsoon crops, chief among them rice, will be alternately drowned and starved, and the summer crops will die if more irrigation cannot be drawn from the limited water table. But a lot of solutions exist.

Through this troubled landscape winds the mighty river, now glimmering, now dull, now out of sight. Each day, with our excreta, our disavowal of balance and responsibility and our acceptance of the legacy of industrialisation, we are writing a dark chapter in the biography of this ancient goddess, the eternal life force, the Ganga River.

Q. Which of the following sums up the author's main point in the given passage?

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

In our current age, finding an accurate map of the Ganga River system in India is almost as difficult as in Columbus's time. In 2017, the Survey of India started operating according to a new law. Any maps of India published in India must first be sent there. Often, the maps languish in their office for several months. Nine out of ten times, they send the map back with corrections and changes.

Often, they look like the kind of simplistic maps used when we were schoolchildren. Showing Tibet is a no-no, as is showing the borders. Violators risk forty-five days in jail and a fine. Children are growing up with distorted maps of the country. This is an incredible paradox at a time when Google Maps offers such exquisite detail.

Traditionally, Gangaji was the one who did not honour boundaries – she was the place where bodies disappeared, the place where a rigidly bound society slipped off its boundaries. Today we violate her boundaries, half-disappeared and sewage-choked, strapped up with barrages and dams. In the old days, sages would learn how Gangaji changed during the monsoon season. Now, the river's personality is determined more by the opening and shutting of the barrage gates.

Time and water are both flowing faster. For millennia, most of the rain in the subcontinent has fallen within one hundred stormy hours during the three-month monsoon season in northern India. With each passing year, more rain falls within a shorter time span. According to the World Economic Forum, out of sixty-seven surveyed countries, India is the most vulnerable to climate change.

As peak rainfall becomes more intense, landslides – already an existential threat to thousands of mountain villages – will become more common. The monsoon crops, chief among them rice, will be alternately drowned and starved, and the summer crops will die if more irrigation cannot be drawn from the limited water table. But a lot of solutions exist.

Through this troubled landscape winds the mighty river, now glimmering, now dull, now out of sight. Each day, with our excreta, our disavowal of balance and responsibility and our acceptance of the legacy of industrialisation, we are writing a dark chapter in the biography of this ancient goddess, the eternal life force, the Ganga River.

Q. Based on the information in the given passage, which of the following can we ascribe to the river Ganga?

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

In our current age, finding an accurate map of the Ganga River system in India is almost as difficult as in Columbus's time. In 2017, the Survey of India started operating according to a new law. Any maps of India published in India must first be sent there. Often, the maps languish in their office for several months. Nine out of ten times, they send the map back with corrections and changes.

Often, they look like the kind of simplistic maps used when we were schoolchildren. Showing Tibet is a no-no, as is showing the borders. Violators risk forty-five days in jail and a fine. Children are growing up with distorted maps of the country. This is an incredible paradox at a time when Google Maps offers such exquisite detail.

Traditionally, Gangaji was the one who did not honour boundaries – she was the place where bodies disappeared, the place where a rigidly bound society slipped off its boundaries. Today we violate her boundaries, half-disappeared and sewage-choked, strapped up with barrages and dams. In the old days, sages would learn how Gangaji changed during the monsoon season. Now, the river's personality is determined more by the opening and shutting of the barrage gates.

Time and water are both flowing faster. For millennia, most of the rain in the subcontinent has fallen within one hundred stormy hours during the three-month monsoon season in northern India. With each passing year, more rain falls within a shorter time span. According to the World Economic Forum, out of sixty-seven surveyed countries, India is the most vulnerable to climate change.

As peak rainfall becomes more intense, landslides – already an existential threat to thousands of mountain villages – will become more common. The monsoon crops, chief among them rice, will be alternately drowned and starved, and the summer crops will die if more irrigation cannot be drawn from the limited water table. But a lot of solutions exist.

Through this troubled landscape winds the mighty river, now glimmering, now dull, now out of sight. Each day, with our excreta, our disavowal of balance and responsibility and our acceptance of the legacy of industrialisation, we are writing a dark chapter in the biography of this ancient goddess, the eternal life force, the Ganga River.

Q. Based on the information in the given passage, which of the following is the author most likely to agree with?

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

Five years older than Free India, the India of Quit India was geopolitically undivided, emotionally self-confident, and capable of sacrifice, of suffering in its very confidence. But that India of Quit India was about more than a challenge to the British raj, more than a proclamation of India's readiness and ability to participate in the war effort as an equal partner of the Allies, something which neither London nor Delhi was willing to recognise. That India was about a unifying wholeness. It was about a unity of resolves and, therefore, of action in and for that unity, that wholeness.

In his iconic address at the 'monster' meeting at Gowalia Tank in Bombay on August 8, 1942 at which the Quit India resolution was passed, Gandhi spoke of "the coming revolution" that would throw colonialism and imperialism off the nation's back. But he devoted as much if not more time in his address to 'India' than to Britain's rule over India. The Hindu-Muslim impasse and the call for Partition were on his mind. Gandhi had in mind a clear concept — a united India — but he also had in mind clear examples of those who strove and died in the striving for a non-sectarian, non-communal, non-distrusting India.

On this double anniversary — the 80th of Quit India and the 75th of Free India — those who believe that the different communities who make up the peoplehood of India are equal and equally bound by duties and empowered by rights must celebrate the bravehearts who died for that unity, for that equality. The Greats of the struggle for freedom are being commemorated. But the no-less Greats of the struggle for harmony deserve no less. Their names bear wounds and their memories scars. These demand our attention. But more, our solidarity. Gujarat gave an immortal example of what may be termed heroic deaths for harmony. On July 1, 1946, an annual rath yatra was to take place. Tension rose around the procession and violence followed between the two communities. Two friends, Vasantrao Hegishte and Rajab Ali Lakhani, "staved off... rioters, the former protecting Muslims and the latter saving Hindus, and both losing their lives".

On this double anniversary, seventy-five salutes and eighty genuflections to these heroes and — not to forget — to the heroic women in their bereaved families. Thinking of them how small our pre-occupations seem and how blind to the lethal dangers that incubate in disharmony. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had observed and applauded Quit India in August 1942. He was not there to see Free India in 1947. But his beckoning hand points to the motto he gave to his Indian National Army: Etihaad (unity), Etmad (faith) and Kurbani (sacrifice) — for the greatness of a Hindustan which is now our India that is Bharat.

Q. Which of the following is the most prominent theme/idea of the passage?

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

Five years older than Free India, the India of Quit India was geopolitically undivided, emotionally self-confident, and capable of sacrifice, of suffering in its very confidence. But that India of Quit India was about more than a challenge to the British raj, more than a proclamation of India's readiness and ability to participate in the war effort as an equal partner of the Allies, something which neither London nor Delhi was willing to recognise. That India was about a unifying wholeness. It was about a unity of resolves and, therefore, of action in and for that unity, that wholeness.

In his iconic address at the 'monster' meeting at Gowalia Tank in Bombay on August 8, 1942 at which the Quit India resolution was passed, Gandhi spoke of "the coming revolution" that would throw colonialism and imperialism off the nation's back. But he devoted as much if not more time in his address to 'India' than to Britain's rule over India. The Hindu-Muslim impasse and the call for Partition were on his mind. Gandhi had in mind a clear concept — a united India — but he also had in mind clear examples of those who strove and died in the striving for a non-sectarian, non-communal, non-distrusting India.

On this double anniversary — the 80th of Quit India and the 75th of Free India — those who believe that the different communities who make up the peoplehood of India are equal and equally bound by duties and empowered by rights must celebrate the bravehearts who died for that unity, for that equality. The Greats of the struggle for freedom are being commemorated. But the no-less Greats of the struggle for harmony deserve no less. Their names bear wounds and their memories scars. These demand our attention. But more, our solidarity. Gujarat gave an immortal example of what may be termed heroic deaths for harmony. On July 1, 1946, an annual rath yatra was to take place. Tension rose around the procession and violence followed between the two communities. Two friends, Vasantrao Hegishte and Rajab Ali Lakhani, "staved off... rioters, the former protecting Muslims and the latter saving Hindus, and both losing their lives".

On this double anniversary, seventy-five salutes and eighty genuflections to these heroes and — not to forget — to the heroic women in their bereaved families. Thinking of them how small our pre-occupations seem and how blind to the lethal dangers that incubate in disharmony. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had observed and applauded Quit India in August 1942. He was not there to see Free India in 1947. But his beckoning hand points to the motto he gave to his Indian National Army: Etihaad (unity), Etmad (faith) and Kurbani (sacrifice) — for the greatness of a Hindustan which is now our India that is Bharat.

Q. Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?

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

Five years older than Free India, the India of Quit India was geopolitically undivided, emotionally self-confident, and capable of sacrifice, of suffering in its very confidence. But that India of Quit India was about more than a challenge to the British raj, more than a proclamation of India's readiness and ability to participate in the war effort as an equal partner of the Allies, something which neither London nor Delhi was willing to recognise. That India was about a unifying wholeness. It was about a unity of resolves and, therefore, of action in and for that unity, that wholeness.

In his iconic address at the 'monster' meeting at Gowalia Tank in Bombay on August 8, 1942 at which the Quit India resolution was passed, Gandhi spoke of "the coming revolution" that would throw colonialism and imperialism off the nation's back. But he devoted as much if not more time in his address to 'India' than to Britain's rule over India. The Hindu-Muslim impasse and the call for Partition were on his mind. Gandhi had in mind a clear concept — a united India — but he also had in mind clear examples of those who strove and died in the striving for a non-sectarian, non-communal, non-distrusting India.

On this double anniversary — the 80th of Quit India and the 75th of Free India — those who believe that the different communities who make up the peoplehood of India are equal and equally bound by duties and empowered by rights must celebrate the bravehearts who died for that unity, for that equality. The Greats of the struggle for freedom are being commemorated. But the no-less Greats of the struggle for harmony deserve no less. Their names bear wounds and their memories scars. These demand our attention. But more, our solidarity. Gujarat gave an immortal example of what may be termed heroic deaths for harmony. On July 1, 1946, an annual rath yatra was to take place. Tension rose around the procession and violence followed between the two communities. Two friends, Vasantrao Hegishte and Rajab Ali Lakhani, "staved off... rioters, the former protecting Muslims and the latter saving Hindus, and both losing their lives".

On this double anniversary, seventy-five salutes and eighty genuflections to these heroes and — not to forget — to the heroic women in their bereaved families. Thinking of them how small our pre-occupations seem and how blind to the lethal dangers that incubate in disharmony. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had observed and applauded Quit India in August 1942. He was not there to see Free India in 1947. But his beckoning hand points to the motto he gave to his Indian National Army: Etihaad (unity), Etmad (faith) and Kurbani (sacrifice) — for the greatness of a Hindustan which is now our India that is Bharat.

Q. The phrase 'staved off', in context of the passage, means:

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

Five years older than Free India, the India of Quit India was geopolitically undivided, emotionally self-confident, and capable of sacrifice, of suffering in its very confidence. But that India of Quit India was about more than a challenge to the British raj, more than a proclamation of India's readiness and ability to participate in the war effort as an equal partner of the Allies, something which neither London nor Delhi was willing to recognise. That India was about a unifying wholeness. It was about a unity of resolves and, therefore, of action in and for that unity, that wholeness.

In his iconic address at the 'monster' meeting at Gowalia Tank in Bombay on August 8, 1942 at which the Quit India resolution was passed, Gandhi spoke of "the coming revolution" that would throw colonialism and imperialism off the nation's back. But he devoted as much if not more time in his address to 'India' than to Britain's rule over India. The Hindu-Muslim impasse and the call for Partition were on his mind. Gandhi had in mind a clear concept — a united India — but he also had in mind clear examples of those who strove and died in the striving for a non-sectarian, non-communal, non-distrusting India.

On this double anniversary — the 80th of Quit India and the 75th of Free India — those who believe that the different communities who make up the peoplehood of India are equal and equally bound by duties and empowered by rights must celebrate the bravehearts who died for that unity, for that equality. The Greats of the struggle for freedom are being commemorated. But the no-less Greats of the struggle for harmony deserve no less. Their names bear wounds and their memories scars. These demand our attention. But more, our solidarity. Gujarat gave an immortal example of what may be termed heroic deaths for harmony. On July 1, 1946, an annual rath yatra was to take place. Tension rose around the procession and violence followed between the two communities. Two friends, Vasantrao Hegishte and Rajab Ali Lakhani, "staved off... rioters, the former protecting Muslims and the latter saving Hindus, and both losing their lives".

On this double anniversary, seventy-five salutes and eighty genuflections to these heroes and — not to forget — to the heroic women in their bereaved families. Thinking of them how small our pre-occupations seem and how blind to the lethal dangers that incubate in disharmony. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had observed and applauded Quit India in August 1942. He was not there to see Free India in 1947. But his beckoning hand points to the motto he gave to his Indian National Army: Etihaad (unity), Etmad (faith) and Kurbani (sacrifice) — for the greatness of a Hindustan which is now our India that is Bharat.

Q. It can be said that India

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

Five years older than Free India, the India of Quit India was geopolitically undivided, emotionally self-confident, and capable of sacrifice, of suffering in its very confidence. But that India of Quit India was about more than a challenge to the British raj, more than a proclamation of India's readiness and ability to participate in the war effort as an equal partner of the Allies, something which neither London nor Delhi was willing to recognise. That India was about a unifying wholeness. It was about a unity of resolves and, therefore, of action in and for that unity, that wholeness.

In his iconic address at the 'monster' meeting at Gowalia Tank in Bombay on August 8, 1942 at which the Quit India resolution was passed, Gandhi spoke of "the coming revolution" that would throw colonialism and imperialism off the nation's back. But he devoted as much if not more time in his address to 'India' than to Britain's rule over India. The Hindu-Muslim impasse and the call for Partition were on his mind. Gandhi had in mind a clear concept — a united India — but he also had in mind clear examples of those who strove and died in the striving for a non-sectarian, non-communal, non-distrusting India.

On this double anniversary — the 80th of Quit India and the 75th of Free India — those who believe that the different communities who make up the peoplehood of India are equal and equally bound by duties and empowered by rights must celebrate the bravehearts who died for that unity, for that equality. The Greats of the struggle for freedom are being commemorated. But the no-less Greats of the struggle for harmony deserve no less. Their names bear wounds and their memories scars. These demand our attention. But more, our solidarity. Gujarat gave an immortal example of what may be termed heroic deaths for harmony. On July 1, 1946, an annual rath yatra was to take place. Tension rose around the procession and violence followed between the two communities. Two friends, Vasantrao Hegishte and Rajab Ali Lakhani, "staved off... rioters, the former protecting Muslims and the latter saving Hindus, and both losing their lives".

On this double anniversary, seventy-five salutes and eighty genuflections to these heroes and — not to forget — to the heroic women in their bereaved families. Thinking of them how small our pre-occupations seem and how blind to the lethal dangers that incubate in disharmony. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had observed and applauded Quit India in August 1942. He was not there to see Free India in 1947. But his beckoning hand points to the motto he gave to his Indian National Army: Etihaad (unity), Etmad (faith) and Kurbani (sacrifice) — for the greatness of a Hindustan which is now our India that is Bharat.

Q. The author is of the opinion that:

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

Climate change is a global concern and requires a well-coordinated global approach to address it. In simple terms, what needs to be done is to assess and monitor the net stock of GHG (greenhouse gases) present in the atmosphere at any given time, and work out ways to contain/reduce it.

Unlike many pollutant gases that have a relatively shorter life span once emitted, GHG can remain in the atmosphere for a fairly long time. For instance, carbon dioxide, the major constituent of GHG, can remain in the atmosphere for as long as a thousand years.

The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and industrialisation in the world added to great volumes of GHG in the atmosphere over time. Unfortunately, the realisation of their adverse impact on climate came quite late.

To address this, substantial financial resources and the latest technologies are required. Developed countries, which are responsible for creating this mess in the first place and have the better financial capacity and technological capability, have to bear the major burden for this. They need to provide funds to the developing countries and facilitate technology transfers. This is the basic philosophy behind the "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" principle.

Unfortunately, despite all the talk, this is not happening. In the COP (Conference of the Parties) meeting in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries pledged to channel $100 billion a year to developing countries by 2020 to help them adapt to and mitigate climate change. This pledge is nowhere near being honoured. Developed countries have tried to further confuse the matter with accounting issues. Many have come out with various win-win solutions trying to obfuscate the need for financial transfers.

Excessive hot weather, untimely and excessive rains, flooding and extreme climatic conditions this year have affected people across the world. It is, however, the poor and developing countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America which suffer the most due to a lack of resources to deal with the problem. Even if these countries were to follow the emissions discipline strictly individually, they might still suffer the climate change consequences.

India has shown leadership in declaring voluntary, ambitious NDCs (Nationally Determined Contribution) in Paris, followed by bold commitments in COPs thereafter. This is likely to motivate others, especially developing countries, to follow. But this is certainly not enough and may only serve a limited purpose.

India should use its global stature, lobbying power and leadership to take the bull by its horns – make developed countries do what they should rightly be doing, be it during the COP meetings on climate change or in other forums like G-20. As India takes over the G-20 presidency, this should be our main agenda. The developed country members of G-20 routinely corner developing countries over the subsidy issue in these meetings. It is time now to show them the mirror.

Q. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

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

Climate change is a global concern and requires a well-coordinated global approach to address it. In simple terms, what needs to be done is to assess and monitor the net stock of GHG (greenhouse gases) present in the atmosphere at any given time, and work out ways to contain/reduce it.

Unlike many pollutant gases that have a relatively shorter life span once emitted, GHG can remain in the atmosphere for a fairly long time. For instance, carbon dioxide, the major constituent of GHG, can remain in the atmosphere for as long as a thousand years.

The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and industrialisation in the world added to great volumes of GHG in the atmosphere over time. Unfortunately, the realisation of their adverse impact on climate came quite late.

To address this, substantial financial resources and the latest technologies are required. Developed countries, which are responsible for creating this mess in the first place and have the better financial capacity and technological capability, have to bear the major burden for this. They need to provide funds to the developing countries and facilitate technology transfers. This is the basic philosophy behind the "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" principle.

Unfortunately, despite all the talk, this is not happening. In the COP (Conference of the Parties) meeting in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries pledged to channel $100 billion a year to developing countries by 2020 to help them adapt to and mitigate climate change. This pledge is nowhere near being honoured. Developed countries have tried to further confuse the matter with accounting issues. Many have come out with various win-win solutions trying to obfuscate the need for financial transfers.

Excessive hot weather, untimely and excessive rains, flooding and extreme climatic conditions this year have affected people across the world. It is, however, the poor and developing countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America which suffer the most due to a lack of resources to deal with the problem. Even if these countries were to follow the emissions discipline strictly individually, they might still suffer the climate change consequences.

India has shown leadership in declaring voluntary, ambitious NDCs (Nationally Determined Contribution) in Paris, followed by bold commitments in COPs thereafter. This is likely to motivate others, especially developing countries, to follow. But this is certainly not enough and may only serve a limited purpose.

India should use its global stature, lobbying power and leadership to take the bull by its horns – make developed countries do what they should rightly be doing, be it during the COP meetings on climate change or in other forums like G-20. As India takes over the G-20 presidency, this should be our main agenda. The developed country members of G-20 routinely corner developing countries over the subsidy issue in these meetings. It is time now to show them the mirror.

Q. The tone of the passage is:

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

Climate change is a global concern and requires a well-coordinated global approach to address it. In simple terms, what needs to be done is to assess and monitor the net stock of GHG (greenhouse gases) present in the atmosphere at any given time, and work out ways to contain/reduce it.

Unlike many pollutant gases that have a relatively shorter life span once emitted, GHG can remain in the atmosphere for a fairly long time. For instance, carbon dioxide, the major constituent of GHG, can remain in the atmosphere for as long as a thousand years.

The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and industrialisation in the world added to great volumes of GHG in the atmosphere over time. Unfortunately, the realisation of their adverse impact on climate came quite late.

To address this, substantial financial resources and the latest technologies are required. Developed countries, which are responsible for creating this mess in the first place and have the better financial capacity and technological capability, have to bear the major burden for this. They need to provide funds to the developing countries and facilitate technology transfers. This is the basic philosophy behind the "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" principle.

Unfortunately, despite all the talk, this is not happening. In the COP (Conference of the Parties) meeting in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries pledged to channel $100 billion a year to developing countries by 2020 to help them adapt to and mitigate climate change. This pledge is nowhere near being honoured. Developed countries have tried to further confuse the matter with accounting issues. Many have come out with various win-win solutions trying to obfuscate the need for financial transfers.

Excessive hot weather, untimely and excessive rains, flooding and extreme climatic conditions this year have affected people across the world. It is, however, the poor and developing countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America which suffer the most due to a lack of resources to deal with the problem. Even if these countries were to follow the emissions discipline strictly individually, they might still suffer the climate change consequences.

India has shown leadership in declaring voluntary, ambitious NDCs (Nationally Determined Contribution) in Paris, followed by bold commitments in COPs thereafter. This is likely to motivate others, especially developing countries, to follow. But this is certainly not enough and may only serve a limited purpose.

India should use its global stature, lobbying power and leadership to take the bull by its horns – make developed countries do what they should rightly be doing, be it during the COP meetings on climate change or in other forums like G-20. As India takes over the G-20 presidency, this should be our main agenda. The developed country members of G-20 routinely corner developing countries over the subsidy issue in these meetings. It is time now to show them the mirror.

Q. Which of the following can most likely be used as an antonym for the word 'obfuscate'?

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

Climate change is a global concern and requires a well-coordinated global approach to address it. In simple terms, what needs to be done is to assess and monitor the net stock of GHG (greenhouse gases) present in the atmosphere at any given time, and work out ways to contain/reduce it.

Unlike many pollutant gases that have a relatively shorter life span once emitted, GHG can remain in the atmosphere for a fairly long time. For instance, carbon dioxide, the major constituent of GHG, can remain in the atmosphere for as long as a thousand years.

The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and industrialisation in the world added to great volumes of GHG in the atmosphere over time. Unfortunately, the realisation of their adverse impact on climate came quite late.

To address this, substantial financial resources and the latest technologies are required. Developed countries, which are responsible for creating this mess in the first place and have the better financial capacity and technological capability, have to bear the major burden for this. They need to provide funds to the developing countries and facilitate technology transfers. This is the basic philosophy behind the "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" principle.

Unfortunately, despite all the talk, this is not happening. In the COP (Conference of the Parties) meeting in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries pledged to channel $100 billion a year to developing countries by 2020 to help them adapt to and mitigate climate change. This pledge is nowhere near being honoured. Developed countries have tried to further confuse the matter with accounting issues. Many have come out with various win-win solutions trying to obfuscate the need for financial transfers.

Excessive hot weather, untimely and excessive rains, flooding and extreme climatic conditions this year have affected people across the world. It is, however, the poor and developing countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America which suffer the most due to a lack of resources to deal with the problem. Even if these countries were to follow the emissions discipline strictly individually, they might still suffer the climate change consequences.

India has shown leadership in declaring voluntary, ambitious NDCs (Nationally Determined Contribution) in Paris, followed by bold commitments in COPs thereafter. This is likely to motivate others, especially developing countries, to follow. But this is certainly not enough and may only serve a limited purpose.

India should use its global stature, lobbying power and leadership to take the bull by its horns – make developed countries do what they should rightly be doing, be it during the COP meetings on climate change or in other forums like G-20. As India takes over the G-20 presidency, this should be our main agenda. The developed country members of G-20 routinely corner developing countries over the subsidy issue in these meetings. It is time now to show them the mirror.

Q. The author is trying to ______ that India must use its ______ to make developed countries follow the right path.

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

Climate change is a global concern and requires a well-coordinated global approach to address it. In simple terms, what needs to be done is to assess and monitor the net stock of GHG (greenhouse gases) present in the atmosphere at any given time, and work out ways to contain/reduce it.

Unlike many pollutant gases that have a relatively shorter life span once emitted, GHG can remain in the atmosphere for a fairly long time. For instance, carbon dioxide, the major constituent of GHG, can remain in the atmosphere for as long as a thousand years.

The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and industrialisation in the world added to great volumes of GHG in the atmosphere over time. Unfortunately, the realisation of their adverse impact on climate came quite late.

To address this, substantial financial resources and the latest technologies are required. Developed countries, which are responsible for creating this mess in the first place and have the better financial capacity and technological capability, have to bear the major burden for this. They need to provide funds to the developing countries and facilitate technology transfers. This is the basic philosophy behind the "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" principle.

Unfortunately, despite all the talk, this is not happening. In the COP (Conference of the Parties) meeting in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries pledged to channel $100 billion a year to developing countries by 2020 to help them adapt to and mitigate climate change. This pledge is nowhere near being honoured. Developed countries have tried to further confuse the matter with accounting issues. Many have come out with various win-win solutions trying to obfuscate the need for financial transfers.

Excessive hot weather, untimely and excessive rains, flooding and extreme climatic conditions this year have affected people across the world. It is, however, the poor and developing countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America which suffer the most due to a lack of resources to deal with the problem. Even if these countries were to follow the emissions discipline strictly individually, they might still suffer the climate change consequences.

India has shown leadership in declaring voluntary, ambitious NDCs (Nationally Determined Contribution) in Paris, followed by bold commitments in COPs thereafter. This is likely to motivate others, especially developing countries, to follow. But this is certainly not enough and may only serve a limited purpose.

India should use its global stature, lobbying power and leadership to take the bull by its horns – make developed countries do what they should rightly be doing, be it during the COP meetings on climate change or in other forums like G-20. As India takes over the G-20 presidency, this should be our main agenda. The developed country members of G-20 routinely corner developing countries over the subsidy issue in these meetings. It is time now to show them the mirror.

Q. Which of the following is the main conclusion evident from the passage?

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

A study shows that corals are under siege from global warming. Fourteen percent of the world's corals were lost between 2009 and 2018. Global warming has killed 14% of the world's coral reefs in a decade and more will be wiped out if oceans keep rising in temperature, a study released has revealed. According to a report, coral reefs equalling about 11,700 square kilometres - which is 2.5 times the size of Grand Canyon National Park - were lost between 2009 and 2018.

Climate change is the biggest threat to the world's reefs, co-author Paul Hardisty, CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said in a statement shared by the UN. There are clearly unsettling trends toward coral loss, and we can expect these to continue as warming persists, he added. The report by the United Nations-supported global data network is the largest ever survey of coral health and covers data for 40 years, among 73 countries and 12,000 locations.

[Extracted with edits and revisions from, 'Climate Change Killed 14% of World's Coral Reefs in 10 Years: Study', Outlook India]

Q. Which organisation releases the report on the condition of coral reefs?

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

A study shows that corals are under siege from global warming. Fourteen percent of the world's corals were lost between 2009 and 2018. Global warming has killed 14% of the world's coral reefs in a decade and more will be wiped out if oceans keep rising in temperature, a study released has revealed. According to a report, coral reefs equalling about 11,700 square kilometres - which is 2.5 times the size of Grand Canyon National Park - were lost between 2009 and 2018.

Climate change is the biggest threat to the world's reefs, co-author Paul Hardisty, CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said in a statement shared by the UN. There are clearly unsettling trends toward coral loss, and we can expect these to continue as warming persists, he added. The report by the United Nations-supported global data network is the largest ever survey of coral health and covers data for 40 years, among 73 countries and 12,000 locations.

[Extracted with edits and revisions from, 'Climate Change Killed 14% of World's Coral Reefs in 10 Years: Study', Outlook India]

Q. Identify the correct statement(s) related to coral reefs.

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

A study shows that corals are under siege from global warming. Fourteen percent of the world's corals were lost between 2009 and 2018. Global warming has killed 14% of the world's coral reefs in a decade and more will be wiped out if oceans keep rising in temperature, a study released has revealed. According to a report, coral reefs equalling about 11,700 square kilometres - which is 2.5 times the size of Grand Canyon National Park - were lost between 2009 and 2018.

Climate change is the biggest threat to the world's reefs, co-author Paul Hardisty, CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said in a statement shared by the UN. There are clearly unsettling trends toward coral loss, and we can expect these to continue as warming persists, he added. The report by the United Nations-supported global data network is the largest ever survey of coral health and covers data for 40 years, among 73 countries and 12,000 locations.

[Extracted with edits and revisions from, 'Climate Change Killed 14% of World's Coral Reefs in 10 Years: Study', Outlook India]

Q. What provides corals with their lively colours?

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

A study shows that corals are under siege from global warming. Fourteen percent of the world's corals were lost between 2009 and 2018. Global warming has killed 14% of the world's coral reefs in a decade and more will be wiped out if oceans keep rising in temperature, a study released has revealed. According to a report, coral reefs equalling about 11,700 square kilometres - which is 2.5 times the size of Grand Canyon National Park - were lost between 2009 and 2018.

Climate change is the biggest threat to the world's reefs, co-author Paul Hardisty, CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said in a statement shared by the UN. There are clearly unsettling trends toward coral loss, and we can expect these to continue as warming persists, he added. The report by the United Nations-supported global data network is the largest ever survey of coral health and covers data for 40 years, among 73 countries and 12,000 locations.

[Extracted with edits and revisions from, 'Climate Change Killed 14% of World's Coral Reefs in 10 Years: Study', Outlook India]

Q. Identify the place(s) in India where coral reefs are present.

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

A study shows that corals are under siege from global warming. Fourteen percent of the world's corals were lost between 2009 and 2018. Global warming has killed 14% of the world's coral reefs in a decade and more will be wiped out if oceans keep rising in temperature, a study released has revealed. According to a report, coral reefs equalling about 11,700 square kilometres - which is 2.5 times the size of Grand Canyon National Park - were lost between 2009 and 2018.

Climate change is the biggest threat to the world's reefs, co-author Paul Hardisty, CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said in a statement shared by the UN. There are clearly unsettling trends toward coral loss, and we can expect these to continue as warming persists, he added. The report by the United Nations-supported global data network is the largest ever survey of coral health and covers data for 40 years, among 73 countries and 12,000 locations.

[Extracted with edits and revisions from, 'Climate Change Killed 14% of World's Coral Reefs in 10 Years: Study', Outlook India]

Q. The coral species that build reefs extract what from seawater?

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

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 October declared Modhera in Gujarat's Mehsana district as India's first 24x7 solar-powered village. Addressing a rally, PM said, 'Today, a new energy of development has been infused for Modhera, Mehsana & the whole of North Gujarat. From electricity, water to road & rail. Many projects related to dairy, skill development & healthcare have been inaugurated & foundation stones have been laid today.' He added that Modhera was known for the Sun temple, now it will also be known as solar-powered village. Making Modhera the country's first round-the-clock solar-powered village involved developing a ground-mounted solar power plant and more than 1,300 rooftop solar systems on residential and government buildings, a government release said. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone and dedicated multiple projects worth over Rs. 3,900 crore in Modhera, Mehsana in Gujarat. He also visited Modheshwari Mata Temple in Modhera, performed darshan and pooja. Assembly elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat are scheduled to be held by the end of this year.

Q. Consider the following statements and mark the correct option.

Statement I: All solar systems in Modhera village are connected to the battery energy storage system (BESS).

Statement II: Only the central government has invested in this project.

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

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 October declared Modhera in Gujarat's Mehsana district as India's first 24x7 solar-powered village. Addressing a rally, PM said, 'Today, a new energy of development has been infused for Modhera, Mehsana & the whole of North Gujarat. From electricity, water to road & rail. Many projects related to dairy, skill development & healthcare have been inaugurated & foundation stones have been laid today.' He added that Modhera was known for the Sun temple, now it will also be known as solar-powered village. Making Modhera the country's first round-the-clock solar-powered village involved developing a ground-mounted solar power plant and more than 1,300 rooftop solar systems on residential and government buildings, a government release said. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone and dedicated multiple projects worth over Rs. 3,900 crores in Modhera, Mehsana in Gujarat. He also visited Modheshwari Mata Temple in Modhera, performed darshan and pooja. Assembly elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat are scheduled to be held by the end of this year.

Q. Which of the following maintains the Sun Temple of Modhera?

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

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 October declared Modhera in Gujarat's Mehsana district as India's first 24x7 solar-powered village. Addressing a rally, PM said, 'Today, a new energy of development has been infused for Modhera, Mehsana & the whole of North Gujarat. From electricity, water to road & rail. Many projects related to dairy, skill development & healthcare have been inaugurated & foundation stones have been laid today.' He added that Modhera was known for the Sun temple, now it will also be known as solar-powered village. Making Modhera the country's first round-the-clock solar-powered village involved developing a ground-mounted solar power plant and more than 1,300 rooftop solar systems on residential and government buildings, a government release said. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone and dedicated multiple projects worth over Rs. 3,900 crore in Modhera, Mehsana in Gujarat. He also visited Modheshwari Mata Temple in Modhera, performed darshan and pooja. Assembly elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat are scheduled to be held by the end of this year.

Q. Mark the incorrect statement.

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

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 October declared Modhera in Gujarat's Mehsana district as India's first 24x7 solar-powered village. Addressing a rally, PM said, 'Today, a new energy of development has been infused for Modhera, Mehsana & the whole of North Gujarat. From electricity, water to road & rail. Many projects related to dairy, skill development & healthcare have been inaugurated & foundation stones have been laid today.' He added that Modhera was known for the Sun temple, now it will also be known as solar-powered village. Making Modhera the country's first round-the-clock solar-powered village involved developing a ground-mounted solar power plant and more than 1,300 rooftop solar systems on residential and government buildings, a government release said. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone and dedicated multiple projects worth over Rs. 3,900 crores in Modhera, Mehsana in Gujarat. He also visited Modheshwari Mata Temple in Modhera, performed darshan and pooja. Assembly elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat are scheduled to be held by the end of this year.

Q. The famous Sun Temple of Modhera was built by the ruler of the

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

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 October declared Modhera in Gujarat's Mehsana district as India's first 24x7 solar-powered village. Addressing a rally, PM said, 'Today, a new energy of development has been infused for Modhera, Mehsana & the whole of North Gujarat. From electricity, water to road & rail. Many projects related to dairy, skill development & healthcare have been inaugurated & foundation stones have been laid today.' He added that Modhera was known for the Sun temple, now it will also be known as solar-powered village. Making Modhera the country's first round-the-clock solar-powered village involved developing a ground-mounted solar power plant and more than 1,300 rooftop solar systems on residential and government buildings, a government release said. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone and dedicated multiple projects worth over Rs. 3,900 crores in Modhera, Mehsana in Gujarat. He also visited Modheshwari Mata Temple in Modhera, performed darshan and pooja. Assembly elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat are scheduled to be held by the end of this year.

Q. In which year was the International Solar Alliance launched by Narendra Modi?

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

Indian Naval Warship INS Tarkash participated in the joint multinational maritime exercise IBSAMAR from October 10 to 12. IBSAMAR is a series of naval exercises between the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa. The harbour phase of IBSAMAR VII includes professional exchanges such as damage control and fire-fighting drills alongside VBSS/cross-boarding lectures and interaction among special forces. Notably, the joint Maritime Exercise will strengthen maritime security, joint operational training, sharing of best practices and building interoperability to address common maritime threats, the Union Ministry of Defence said in a press release. The previous edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted off Simons Town, South Africa from October 1 to 13 in 2018. The Indian Navy is represented by the Teg class guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and the personnel from the Marine Commando Force (MARCOS). Earlier in August, INS Tarkash participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise which included operations such as cross-deck landing, replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches and other tactical manoeuvres. The warship also hoisted the Indian Tricolour on August 15, 2022, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

Q. Where was the seventh edition of the IBSAMAR held in 2022?

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

Indian Naval Warship INS Tarkash participated in the joint multinational maritime exercise IBSAMAR from October 10 to 12. IBSAMAR is a series of naval exercises between the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa. The harbour phase of IBSAMAR VII includes professional exchanges such as damage control and fire-fighting drills alongside VBSS/cross-boarding lectures and interaction among special forces. Notably, the joint Maritime Exercise will strengthen maritime security, joint operational training, sharing of best practices and building interoperability to address common maritime threats, the Union Ministry of Defence said in a press release. The previous edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted off Simons Town, South Africa from October 1 to 13 in 2018. The Indian Navy is represented by the Teg class guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and the personnel from the Marine Commando Force (MARCOS). Earlier in August, INS Tarkash participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise which included operations such as cross-deck landing, replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches and other tactical manoeuvres. The warship also hoisted the Indian Tricolour on August 15, 2022, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

Q. IBSA Fund is a unique fund through which development projects are executed in fellow developing countries. Which among the following manages the fund?

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

Indian Naval Warship INS Tarkash participated in the joint multinational maritime exercise IBSAMAR from October 10 to 12. IBSAMAR is a series of naval exercises between the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa. The harbour phase of IBSAMAR VII includes professional exchanges such as damage control and fire-fighting drills alongside VBSS/cross-boarding lectures and interaction among special forces. Notably, the joint Maritime Exercise will strengthen maritime security, joint operational training, sharing of best practices and building interoperability to address common maritime threats, the Union Ministry of Defence said in a press release. The previous edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted off Simons Town, South Africa from October 1 to 13 in 2018. The Indian Navy is represented by the Teg class guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and the personnel from the Marine Commando Force (MARCOS). Earlier in August, INS Tarkash participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise which included operations such as cross-deck landing, replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches and other tactical manoeuvres. The warship also hoisted the Indian Tricolour on August 15, 2022, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

Q. Which country called off the CSTO's military drills called Indestructible Brotherhood-2022?

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

Indian Naval Warship INS Tarkash participated in the joint multinational maritime exercise IBSAMAR from October 10 to 12. IBSAMAR is a series of naval exercises between the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa. The harbour phase of IBSAMAR VII includes professional exchanges such as damage control and fire-fighting drills alongside VBSS/cross-boarding lectures and interaction among special forces. Notably, the joint Maritime Exercise will strengthen maritime security, joint operational training, sharing of best practices and building interoperability to address common maritime threats, the Union Ministry of Defence said in a press release. The previous edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted off Simons Town, South Africa from October 1 to 13 in 2018. The Indian Navy is represented by the Teg class guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and the personnel from the Marine Commando Force (MARCOS). Earlier in August, INS Tarkash participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise which included operations such as cross-deck landing, replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches and other tactical manoeuvres. The warship also hoisted the Indian Tricolour on August 15, 2022, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

Q. The IBSA is a trilateral and developmental initiative to promote __________.

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

Indian Naval Warship INS Tarkash participated in the joint multinational maritime exercise IBSAMAR from October 10 to 12. IBSAMAR is a series of naval exercises between the navies of India, Brazil and South Africa. The harbour phase of IBSAMAR VII includes professional exchanges such as damage control and fire-fighting drills alongside VBSS/cross-boarding lectures and interaction among special forces. Notably, the joint Maritime Exercise will strengthen maritime security, joint operational training, sharing of best practices and building interoperability to address common maritime threats, the Union Ministry of Defence said in a press release. The previous edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted off Simons Town, South Africa from October 1 to 13 in 2018. The Indian Navy is represented by the Teg class guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and the personnel from the Marine Commando Force (MARCOS). Earlier in August, INS Tarkash participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise which included operations such as cross-deck landing, replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches and other tactical manoeuvres. The warship also hoisted the Indian Tricolour on August 15, 2022, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

Q. Malabar is the most complex naval exercise. Which of the following countries is not a part of the naval exercise?

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

The Cheetah Reintroduction Project, which aims to restore the population of cheetahs in the country, will formally take off on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 72nd birthday. The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh's Koriya district. Starting in the 1970s, the efforts of the Indian government to re-establish the species in its historical ranges in the country led to the signing of a pact with Namibia, which donated the first eight individuals to launch the Cheetah reintroduction programme on July 20 this year. Eight cheetahs, five female and three male, will be brought to Jaipur in Rajasthan. A specially customised B747 jumbo jet is going to bring the cheetahs as part of an inter-continental translocation project. Cheetahs will have to spend their entire air transit period empty stomach, a senior Indian forest department official said. This is done because long journeys can create nausea-like feelings in animals leading to other health complications. The aircraft bringing the cheetahs to India has been modified to allow cages to be secured in the main cabin but will still allow vets to have full access to the cats during the flight.

Q. Which of the following statements is/are true with reference to the cheetah reintroduction plan in India?

Statement I: 'Cheetahmitras' have been trained to create awareness about cheetahs.

Statement II: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) as well as the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has been spearheading the project on behalf of the Indian government.

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

The Cheetah Reintroduction Project, which aims to restore the population of cheetahs in the country, will formally take off on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 72nd birthday. The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh's Koriya district. Starting in the 1970s, the efforts of the Indian government to re-establish the species in its historical ranges in the country led to the signing of a pact with Namibia, which donated the first eight individuals to launch the Cheetah reintroduction programme on July 20 this year. Eight cheetahs, five female and three male, will be brought to Jaipur in Rajasthan. A specially customised B747 jumbo jet is going to bring the cheetahs as part of an inter-continental translocation project. Cheetahs will have to spend their entire air transit period empty stomach, a senior Indian forest department official said. This is done because long journeys can create nausea-like feelings in animals leading to other health complications. The aircraft bringing the cheetahs to India has been modified to allow cages to be secured in the main cabin but will still allow vets to have full access to the cats during the flight.

Q. In which year was the cheetah declared extinct in India?

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

The Cheetah Reintroduction Project, which aims to restore the population of cheetahs in the country, will formally take off on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 72nd birthday. The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh's Koriya district. Starting in the 1970s, the efforts of the Indian government to re-establish the species in its historical ranges in the country led to the signing of a pact with Namibia, which donated the first eight individuals to launch the Cheetah reintroduction programme on July 20 this year. Eight cheetahs, five female and three male, will be brought to Jaipur in Rajasthan. A specially customised B747 jumbo jet is going to bring the cheetahs as part of an inter-continental translocation project. Cheetahs will have to spend their entire air transit period empty stomach, a senior Indian forest department official said. This is done because long journeys can create nausea-like feelings in animals leading to other health complications. The aircraft bringing the cheetahs to India has been modified to allow cages to be secured in the main cabin but will still allow vets to have full access to the cats during the flight.

Q. Who holds the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as in 2022?

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

The Cheetah Reintroduction Project, which aims to restore the population of cheetahs in the country, will formally take off on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 72nd birthday. The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh's Koriya district. Starting in the 1970s, the efforts of the Indian government to re-establish the species in its historical ranges in the country led to the signing of a pact with Namibia, which donated the first eight individuals to launch the Cheetah reintroduction programme on July 20 this year. Eight cheetahs, five female and three male, will be brought to Jaipur in Rajasthan. A specially customised B747 jumbo jet is going to bring the cheetahs as part of an inter-continental translocation project. Cheetahs will have to spend their entire air transit period empty stomach, a senior Indian forest department official said. This is done because long journeys can create nausea-like feelings in animals leading to other health complications. The aircraft bringing the cheetahs to India has been modified to allow cages to be secured in the main cabin but will still allow vets to have full access to the cats during the flight.

Q. In which of the following national parks were the cheetahs, which were flown in from Namibia, released?

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

The Cheetah Reintroduction Project, which aims to restore the population of cheetahs in the country, will formally take off on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 72nd birthday. The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh's Koriya district. Starting in the 1970s, the efforts of the Indian government to re-establish the species in its historical ranges in the country led to the signing of a pact with Namibia, which donated the first eight individuals to launch the Cheetah reintroduction programme on July 20 this year. Eight cheetahs, five female and three male, will be brought to Jaipur in Rajasthan. A specially customised B747 jumbo jet is going to bring the cheetahs as part of an inter-continental translocation project. Cheetahs will have to spend their entire air transit period empty stomach, a senior Indian forest department official said. This is done because long journeys can create nausea-like feelings in animals leading to other health complications. The aircraft bringing the cheetahs to India has been modified to allow cages to be secured in the main cabin but will still allow vets to have full access to the cats during the flight.

Q. Consider the following statements and mark the correct option.

Statement I: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species assesses the conservation status of species worldwide.

Statement II: IUCN's headquarters is in Gland, Switzerland.

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

The University Grants Commission has drafted guidelines for Professor of Practice positions in universities and colleges. The Commission's secretary, Rajnish Jain, has written to industry bodies, including FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM and NASSCOM regarding the rules for engagement. He has pointed out that the National Education Policy 2020 recommends transformative reforms in the higher education sector. The main thrust of the policy is the promotion of holistic and multidisciplinary education. Integration of academic scholarship with practical experience is an important step in the context of holistic and multidisciplinary education. Towards this, the UGC has taken a new initiative of engaging Professor of Practice in Higher Educational Institutions (HEls). The document states that experts with remarkable contributions in their professions from various fields, with proven expertise in their specific professions are eligible to be Professor of Practice. A formal academic qualification is not essential if they have exemplary professional practice in lieu and nor will they be required to have authored publications. Such faculty may be involved in developing and designing courses and curriculum; deliver lectures; mentor students; improve industry-academia collaboration; conduct with regular faculty members workshops, seminars and training programmes besides research projects.

[Extracted with edits and revisions from The Hindu, October 1, 2022]

Q. Consider the following statements and mark the correct option.

Statement I: Any expert having 10 years or more experience in a particular field is eligible to become the Professor of Practice.

Statement II: The posts of Professors of Practice must not surpass 10 per cent of the sanctioned faculty number in an institute.

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

The University Grants Commission has drafted guidelines for Professor of Practice positions in universities and colleges. The Commission's secretary, Rajnish Jain, has written to industry bodies, including FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM and NASSCOM regarding the rules for engagement. He has pointed out that the National Education Policy 2020 recommends transformative reforms in the higher education sector. The main thrust of the policy is the promotion of holistic and multidisciplinary education. Integration of academic scholarship with practical experience is an important step in the context of holistic and multidisciplinary education. Towards this, the UGC has taken a new initiative of engaging Professor of Practice in Higher Educational Institutions (HEls). The document states that experts with remarkable contributions in their professions from various fields, with proven expertise in their specific professions are eligible to be Professor of Practice. A formal academic qualification is not essential if they have exemplary professional practice in lieu and nor will they be required to have authored publications. Such faculty may be involved in developing and designing courses and curriculum; deliver lectures; mentor students; improve industry-academia collaboration; conduct with regular faculty members workshops, seminars and training programmes besides research projects.

[Extracted with edits and revisions from The Hindu, October 1, 2022]

Q. The University Grants Commission (UGC) is a statutory body set up by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India, in accordance with the

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

The University Grants Commission has drafted guidelines for Professor of Practice positions in universities and colleges. The Commission's secretary, Rajnish Jain, has written to industry bodies, including FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM and NASSCOM regarding the rules for engagement. He has pointed out that the National Education Policy 2020 recommends transformative reforms in the higher education sector. The main thrust of the policy is the promotion of holistic and multidisciplinary education. Integration of academic scholarship with practical experience is an important step in the context of holistic and multidisciplinary education. Towards this, the UGC has taken a new initiative of engaging Professor of Practice in Higher Educational Institutions (HEls). The document states that experts with remarkable contributions in their professions from various fields, with proven expertise in their specific professions are eligible to be Professor of Practice. A formal academic qualification is not essential if they have exemplary professional practice in lieu and nor will they be required to have authored publications. Such faculty may be involved in developing and designing courses and curriculum; deliver lectures; mentor students; improve industry-academia collaboration; conduct with regular faculty members workshops, seminars and training programmes besides research projects.

[Extracted with edits and revisions from The Hindu, October 1, 2022]

Q. Which Article in the Constitution of India provides for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right?

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

The University Grants Commission has drafted guidelines for Professor of Practice positions in universities and colleges. The Commission's secretary, Rajnish Jain, has written to industry bodies, including FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM and NASSCOM regarding the rules for engagement. He has pointed out that the National Education Policy 2020 recommends transformative reforms in the higher education sector. The main thrust of the policy is the promotion of holistic and multidisciplinary education. Integration of academic scholarship with practical experience is an important step in the context of holistic and multidisciplinary education. Towards this, the UGC has taken a new initiative of engaging Professor of Practice in Higher Educational Institutions (HEls). The document states that experts with remarkable contributions in their professions from various fields, with proven expertise in their specific professions are eligible to be Professor of Practice. A formal academic qualification is not essential if they have exemplary professional practice in lieu and nor will they be required to have authored publications. Such faculty may be involved in developing and designing courses and curriculum; deliver lectures; mentor students; improve industry-academia collaboration; conduct with regular faculty members workshops, seminars and training programmes besides research projects.

[Extracted with edits and revisions from The Hindu, October 1, 2022]

Q. What is the total number of service years of Professors of Practice?

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

The University Grants Commission has drafted guidelines for Professor of Practice positions in universities and colleges. The Commission's secretary, Rajnish Jain, has written to industry bodies, including FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM and NASSCOM regarding the rules for engagement. He has pointed out that the National Education Policy 2020 recommends transformative reforms in the higher education sector. The main thrust of the policy is the promotion of holistic and multidisciplinary education. Integration of academic scholarship with practical experience is an important step in the context of holistic and multidisciplinary education. Towards this, the UGC has taken a new initiative of engaging Professor of Practice in Higher Educational Institutions (HEls). The document states that experts with remarkable contributions in their professions from various fields, with proven expertise in their specific professions are eligible to be Professor of Practice. A formal academic qualification is not essential if they have exemplary professional practice in lieu and nor will they be required to have authored publications. Such faculty may be involved in developing and designing courses and curriculum; deliver lectures; mentor students; improve industry-academia collaboration; conduct with regular faculty members workshops, seminars and training programmes besides research projects.

[Extracted with edits and revisions from The Hindu, October 1, 2022]

Q. According to the National Education Policy of India, 2020, the 10+2 structure would be replaced with the

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

Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has said that the ministry has taken several steps to improve fish production, export and infrastructure development in the last eight years. Speaking at the valedictory of Inland Fisheries Summit in Bengaluru, he said, India stands third in the world in terms of fish production. Making specific reference to Karnataka, the Union Minister said that 734.77 crore rupees was allocated to the state under the flagship scheme of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) from 2020-21 till date for the development of infrastructure facilities. Under PMMSY, over 53 crore rupees was given to complete phase three expansion of Mangalore fishing harbour. In principle, approval is given for the development of state of an art fishing harbour at Majali in Uttara Kannada district at a total cost of 250 crore rupees. Under PMMSY, approval is given to acquire 114 new deep-sea fishing vessels at a total cost of 136 crore rupees for traditional fishermen in the state. The minister informed the fish production in Karnataka has increased from 6.80 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 to 10.74 lakh tonnes during 2021-22 which is about 76 percent growth.

Q. Who is the Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying as of 2022?

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

Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has said that the ministry has taken several steps to improve fish production, export and infrastructure development in the last eight years. Speaking at the valedictory of Inland Fisheries Summit in Bengaluru, he said, India stands third in the world in terms of fish production. Making specific reference to Karnataka, the Union Minister said that 734.77 crore rupees was allocated to the state under the flagship scheme of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) from 2020-21 till date for the development of infrastructure facilities. Under PMMSY, over 53 crore rupees was given to complete phase three expansion of Mangalore fishing harbour. In principle, approval is given for the development of state of an art fishing harbour at Majali in Uttara Kannada district at a total cost of 250 crore rupees. Under PMMSY, approval is given to acquire 114 new deep-sea fishing vessels at a total cost of 136 crore rupees for traditional fishermen in the state. The minister informed the fish production in Karnataka has increased from 6.80 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 to 10.74 lakh tonnes during 2021-22 which is about 76 percent growth.

[Source - www.newsonair.gov.in, October 17, 2022]

Q. Blue Revolution also called as Neel or Nil Kranti Mission in India was launched in 1985-1990 during the:

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

Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has said that the ministry has taken several steps to improve fish production, export and infrastructure development in the last eight years. Speaking at the valedictory of Inland Fisheries Summit in Bengaluru, he said, India stands third in the world in terms of fish production. Making specific reference to Karnataka, the Union Minister said that 734.77 crore rupees was allocated to the state under the flagship scheme of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) from 2020-21 till date for the development of infrastructure facilities. Under PMMSY, over 53 crore rupees was given to complete phase three expansion of Mangalore fishing harbour. In principle, approval is given for the development of state of an art fishing harbour at Majali in Uttara Kannada district at a total cost of 250 crore rupees. Under PMMSY, approval is given to acquire 114 new deep-sea fishing vessels at a total cost of 136 crore rupees for traditional fishermen in the state. The minister informed the fish production in Karnataka has increased from 6.80 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 to 10.74 lakh tonnes during 2021-22 which is about 76 percent growth.

Q. Koyilandy harbour in __________ is the largest fishing harbour in Asia.

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

Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has said that the ministry has taken several steps to improve fish production, export and infrastructure development in the last eight years. Speaking at the valedictory of Inland Fisheries Summit in Bengaluru, he said, India stands third in the world in terms of fish production. Making specific reference to Karnataka, the Union Minister said that 734.77 crore rupees was allocated to the state under the flagship scheme of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) from 2020-21 till date for the development of infrastructure facilities. Under PMMSY, over 53 crore rupees was given to complete phase three expansion of Mangalore fishing harbour. In principle, approval is given for the development of state of an art fishing harbour at Majali in Uttara Kannada district at a total cost of 250 crore rupees. Under PMMSY, approval is given to acquire 114 new deep-sea fishing vessels at a total cost of 136 crore rupees for traditional fishermen in the state. The minister informed the fish production in Karnataka has increased from 6.80 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 to 10.74 lakh tonnes during 2021-22 which is about 76 percent growth.

[Source - www.newsonair.gov.in, October 17, 2022]

Q. Which country is the world's largest fish producer?

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

Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has said that the ministry has taken several steps to improve fish production, export and infrastructure development in the last eight years. Speaking at the valedictory of Inland Fisheries Summit in Bengaluru, he said, India stands third in the world in terms of fish production. Making specific reference to Karnataka, the Union Minister said that 734.77 crore rupees was allocated to the state under the flagship scheme of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) from 2020-21 till date for the development of infrastructure facilities. Under PMMSY, over 53 crore rupees was given to complete phase three expansion of Mangalore fishing harbour. In principle, approval is given for the development of state of an art fishing harbour at Majali in Uttara Kannada district at a total cost of 250 crore rupees. Under PMMSY, approval is given to acquire 114 new deep-sea fishing vessels at a total cost of 136 crore rupees for traditional fishermen in the state. The minister informed the fish production in Karnataka has increased from 6.80 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 to 10.74 lakh tonnes during 2021-22 which is about 76 percent growth.

Q. What is the motto of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)?

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

A consistent effort is yet again visible to taint India's image as a Nation that does not fulfill the food security and nutritional requirements of its population. Misinformation seems to be the hallmark of the annually released Global Hunger Index. The Global Hunger Report 2022 released by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, Non-Government Organisations from Ireland and Germany respectively. The index is an erroneous measure of hunger and suffers from serious methodological issues. Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to health of Children and cannot be representative of the entire population. The fourth and most important indicator estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population is based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000. The report is not only disconnected from ground reality but also chooses to deliberately ignore efforts made by the Government to ensure food Security for the population especially during the Covid Pandemic. Taking a one-dimensional view, the report lowers India's rank based on the estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population for India at 16.3%.

Q. What was India's rank in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022?

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

A consistent effort is yet again visible to taint India's image as a Nation that does not fulfill the food security and nutritional requirements of its population. Misinformation seems to be the hallmark of the annually released Global Hunger Index. The Global Hunger Report 2022 released by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, Non-Government Organisations from Ireland and Germany respectively. The index is an erroneous measure of hunger and suffers from serious methodological issues. Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to health of Children and cannot be representative of the entire population. The fourth and most important indicator estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population is based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000. The report is not only disconnected from ground reality but also chooses to deliberately ignore efforts made by the Government to ensure food Security for the population especially during the Covid Pandemic. Taking a one-dimensional view, the report lowers India's rank based on the estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population for India at 16.3%.

Q. Which month was celebrated as Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2022 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development?

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

A consistent effort is yet again visible to taint India's image as a Nation that does not fulfill the food security and nutritional requirements of its population. Misinformation seems to be the hallmark of the annually released Global Hunger Index. The Global Hunger Report 2022 released by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, Non-Government Organisations from Ireland and Germany respectively. The index is an erroneous measure of hunger and suffers from serious methodological issues. Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to health of Children and cannot be representative of the entire population. The fourth and most important indicator estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population is based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000. The report is not only disconnected from ground reality but also chooses to deliberately ignore efforts made by the Government to ensure food Security for the population especially during the Covid Pandemic. Taking a one-dimensional view, the report lowers India's rank based on the estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population for India at 16.3%.

Q. As announced in September, 2022 the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana has been further extended by:

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

A consistent effort is yet again visible to taint India's image as a Nation that does not fulfill the food security and nutritional requirements of its population. Misinformation seems to be the hallmark of the annually released Global Hunger Index. The Global Hunger Report 2022 released by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, Non-Government Organisations from Ireland and Germany respectively. The index is an erroneous measure of hunger and suffers from serious methodological issues. Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to health of Children and cannot be representative of the entire population. The fourth and most important indicator estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population is based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000. The report is not only disconnected from ground reality but also chooses to deliberately ignore efforts made by the Government to ensure food Security for the population especially during the Covid Pandemic. Taking a one-dimensional view, the report lowers India's rank based on the estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population for India at 16.3%.

Q. The Global Hunger Index is a tool for measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels. Which among the following is not one of the four key components used for measurement?

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

A consistent effort is yet again visible to taint India's image as a Nation that does not fulfill the food security and nutritional requirements of its population. Misinformation seems to be the hallmark of the annually released Global Hunger Index. The Global Hunger Report 2022 released by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, Non-Government Organisations from Ireland and Germany respectively. The index is an erroneous measure of hunger and suffers from serious methodological issues. Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to health of Children and cannot be representative of the entire population. The fourth and most important indicator estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population is based on an opinion poll conducted on a very small sample size of 3000. The report is not only disconnected from ground reality but also chooses to deliberately ignore efforts made by the Government to ensure food Security for the population especially during the Covid Pandemic. Taking a one-dimensional view, the report lowers India's rank based on the estimate of Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population for India at 16.3%.

Q. Mark the incorrect statement about National Food Security Act.

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

Article 20(1) of the Indian Constitution prohibits Ex Post Facto laws. The expression Ex Post Facto Law means a law, which imposes penalties or convictions on the acts already done and increases the penalty for such acts. In other words, Ex Post Facto Law imposes penalties retrospectively. For example, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 came into force from 20.5.1961. A person guilty of accepting dowry is punishable under the Act after 20.5 .1961 and not before 20.5.1961. Ex post facto laws are of three kinds as follows: (a) A law which declared some act or omission as an offence for the first time after the completion of that act or omission. (b) A law that enhances the punishment or penalty for an offence subsequent to the commission of that offence. (c) A law that prescribes a new and different procedure for the prosecution of an offence subsequent to the commission of that offence.

Clause (1) of Art. 20 provides protection only in respect of the above first two categories of ex post facto laws i.e., laws that declare acts as offences subsequent to the commission to those acts and laws which enhance the penalty subsequently.

Article 20(1) provides: No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. The first part of clause (1) provides that no person shall be convicted of any offence except for a violation of law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence. The second part of the clause (1) protects a person from a penalty greater than that which he might have been subjected to at the time of the commission of the offence.

Q. The Parliament of India legislated the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, in the year 2013, and simultaneously some new offences were also added to the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Mr. A is an employee of an institution, against whom departmental inquiry has been initiated for committing sexual harassment of a female colleague in the year 2012. Now, choose the correct option.

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

Article 20(1) of the Indian Constitution prohibits Ex Post Facto laws. The expression Ex Post Facto Law means a law, which imposes penalties or convictions on the acts already done and increases the penalty for such acts. In other words, Ex Post Facto Law imposes penalties retrospectively. For example, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 came into force from 20.5.1961. A person guilty of accepting dowry is punishable under the Act after 20.5 .1961 and not before 20.5.1961. Ex post facto laws are of three kinds as follows: (a) A law which declared some act or omission as an offence for the first time after the completion of that act or omission. (b) A law that enhances the punishment or penalty for an offence subsequent to the commission of that offence. (c) A law that prescribes a new and different procedure for the prosecution of an offence subsequent to the commission of that offence.

Clause (1) of Art. 20 provides protection only in respect of the above first two categories of ex post facto laws i.e., laws that declare acts as offences subsequent to the commission to those acts and laws which enhance the penalty subsequently.

Article 20(1) provides: No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. The first part of clause (1) provides that no person shall be convicted of any offence except for a violation of law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence. The second part of the clause (1) protects a person from a penalty greater than that which he might have been subjected to at the time of the commission of the offence.

Q. Mr. A is a student of Law, aged 19 years. He is socially active and expresses his opinion on every social and political event of the nation through social media platforms. In one of his blog, he severely criticised the policy of a state government of changing the names of cities and towns. He also stated that the government is biased towards a particular religion. The said blog was posted on 19^th April 2020 and subsequently, an amendment was made to the Indian Penal Code whereby 'Hate Speech' was made a distinct offence and punishment was prescribed. An action was brought against him under the said provision for the blog. Now, choose the most appropriate option amongst the following:

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

Article 20(1) of the Indian Constitution prohibits Ex Post Facto laws. The expression Ex Post Facto Law means a law, which imposes penalties or convictions on the acts already done and increases the penalty for such acts. In other words, Ex Post Facto Law imposes penalties retrospectively. For example, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 came into force from 20.5.1961. A person guilty of accepting dowry is punishable under the Act after 20.5 .1961 and not before 20.5.1961. Ex post facto laws are of three kinds as follows: (a) A law which declared some act or omission as an offence for the first time after the completion of that act or omission. (b) A law that enhances the punishment or penalty for an offence subsequent to the commission of that offence. (c) A law that prescribes a new and different procedure for the prosecution of an offence subsequent to the commission of that offence.

Clause (1) of Art. 20 provides protection only in respect of the above first two categories of ex post facto laws i.e., laws that declare acts as offences subsequent to the commission to those acts and laws which enhance the penalty subsequently.

Article 20(1) provides: No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. The first part of clause (1) provides that no person shall be convicted of any offence except for a violation of law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence. The second part of the clause (1) protects a person from a penalty greater than that which he might have been subjected to at the time of the commission of the offence.

Q. Considering the fact situation in the third question to this passage, the Parliament passes legislation for the Probation of Offenders, under which any offender below the age of 21 will not serve the sentence of imprisonment in a prison, instead he will serve the sentence in a probation house. Now, choose the most appropriate option.

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

Article 20(1) of the Indian Constitution prohibits Ex Post Facto laws. The expression Ex Post Facto Law means a law, which imposes penalties or convictions on the acts already done and increases the penalty for such acts. In other words, Ex Post Facto Law imposes penalties retrospectively. For example, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 came into force from 20.5.1961. A person guilty of accepting dowry is punishable under the Act after 20.5 .1961 and not before 20.5.1961. Ex post facto laws are of three kinds as follows: (a) A law which declared some act or omission as an offence for the first time after the completion of that act or omission. (b) A law that enhances the punishment or penalty for an offence subsequent to the commission of that offence. (c) A law that prescribes a new and different procedure for the prosecution of an offence subsequent to the commission of that offence.

Clause (1) of Art. 20 provides protection only in respect of the above first two categories of ex post facto laws i.e., laws that declare acts as offences subsequent to the commission to those acts and laws which enhance the penalty subsequently.

Article 20(1) provides: No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. The first part of clause (1) provides that no person shall be convicted of any offence except for a violation of law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence. The second part of the clause (1) protects a person from a penalty greater than that which he might have been subjected to at the time of the commission of the offence.

Q. Article 20 (1) would not affect which of the following acts of the legislature?

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

Article 20(1) of the Indian Constitution prohibits Ex Post Facto laws. The expression Ex Post Facto Law means a law, which imposes penalties or convictions on the acts already done and increases the penalty for such acts. In other words, Ex Post Facto Law imposes penalties retrospectively. For example, The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 came into force from 20.5.1961. A person guilty of accepting dowry is punishable under the Act after 20.5 .1961 and not before 20.5.1961. Ex post facto laws are of three kinds as follows: (a) A law which declared some act or omission as an offence for the first time after the completion of that act or omission. (b) A law that enhances the punishment or penalty for an offence subsequent to the commission of that offence. (c) A law that prescribes a new and different procedure for the prosecution of an offence subsequent to the commission of that offence.

Clause (1) of Art. 20 provides protection only in respect of the above first two categories of ex post facto laws i.e., laws that declare acts as offences subsequent to the commission to those acts and laws which enhance the penalty subsequently.

Article 20(1) provides: No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence. The first part of clause (1) provides that no person shall be convicted of any offence except for a violation of law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence. The second part of the clause (1) protects a person from a penalty greater than that which he might have been subjected to at the time of the commission of the offence.

Q. Considering the fact situations given in the above question, the Parliament passes legislation in September 2020, whereby an amendment is made to the Juvenile Act and now a person below the age of 20 would be a Juvenile and special procedure would be followed for his trial. Choose the most appropriate option amongst the following:

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

Intellectual property law protects use of ideas and information that are of commercial value and prevents others, to the exclusion of the owner of the property, to commercially exploit the material without the owner's consent. With the rapid growth of industrialisation and international trade, protection of this intellectual property and vis-à-vis to have sufficient safeguards, in the form of Rules or Statutes, has gained immense importance. India can boast of a sound legal regime to deal with the intellectual property protection. The considerable number of statutes that India has, to deal with intellectual property issues, is itself an indication of her concerned attitude towards protection of intellectual property issues. The various Indian Acts are : Copyright Act, 1957, Trade Marks Act, 1999; Patents Act, 1970 [as amended by Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005], Designs Act, 2000; The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act, 2000 and last but not the least, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001. Apart from laying down what are the rights available to the intellectual property owner, these Acts also contain a sound mechanism to prevent infringement of IPR. The remedies available for the protection of IPR are broadly classified into civil and criminal remedies. The orders in the line with Anton Piller's orders are made under the head of civil remedies. In India, Ordinance 39 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, authorises the court to issue orders in line with Anton Piller's order. Not only CPC, even the statutes like Trademarks Act, 1999, The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 specifically provide for such an order. However, there have not been many case-laws debating over the aspects of Anton Piller's order. One of the earliest cases that dealt with the concept of Anton Piller's order, though cursorily was National Garments vs. National Apparels. Though it was not a case under Anton Piller under the interlocutory injunction, for restraining the defendant from doing business under the trade name which is in dispute, the court cited with approval from Kerly's treatise that 'in extremely urgent cases an ex-parte injunction may be obtained before full hearing of the motion or an Anton Piller order, for inspection of the defendant's premises without prior warning and discovery of his records, may be obtained. The Court also observed that Anton Piller's order is similar to the ex parte interlocutory order to take an inventory of the articles etc. passed in an ordinary suit.

Q. Match the following and choose the correct option.

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

Intellectual property law protects use of ideas and information that are of commercial value and prevents others, to the exclusion of the owner of the property, to commercially exploit the material without the owner's consent. With the rapid growth of industrialisation and international trade, protection of this intellectual property and vis-à-vis to have sufficient safeguards, in the form of Rules or Statutes, has gained immense importance. India can boast of a sound legal regime to deal with the intellectual property protection. The considerable number of statutes that India has, to deal with intellectual property issues, is itself an indication of her concerned attitude towards protection of intellectual property issues. The various Indian Acts are: Copyright Act, 1957, Trade Marks Act, 1999; Patents Act, 1970 [as amended by Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005], Designs Act, 2000; The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act, 2000 and last but not the least, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001. Apart from laying down what are the rights available to the intellectual property owner, these Acts also contain a sound mechanism to prevent infringement of IPR. The remedies available for the protection of IPR are broadly classified into civil and criminal remedies. The orders in the line with Anton Piller's orders are made under the head of civil remedies. In India, Ordinance 39 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, authorises the court to issue orders in line with Anton Piller's order. Not only CPC, even the statutes like Trademarks Act, 1999, The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 specifically provide for such an order. However, there have not been many case-laws debating over the aspects of Anton Piller's order. One of the earliest cases that dealt with the concept of Anton Piller's order, though cursorily was National Garments vs. National Apparels. Though it was not a case under Anton Piller under the interlocutory injunction, for restraining the defendant from doing business under the trade name which is in dispute, the court cited with approval from Kerly's treatise that 'in extremely urgent cases an ex-parte injunction may be obtained before full hearing of the motion or an Anton Piller order, for inspection of the defendant's premises without prior warning and discovery of his records, may be obtained. The Court also observed that Anton Piller's order is similar to the ex parte interlocutory order to take an inventory of the articles etc. passed in an ordinary suit.

Q. The remedies available for protection of Intellectual property Rights are classified into:

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

Intellectual property law protects use of ideas and information that are of commercial value and prevents others, to the exclusion of the owner of the property, to commercially exploit the material without the owner's consent. With the rapid growth of industrialisation and international trade, protection of this intellectual property and vis-à-vis to have sufficient safeguards, in the form of Rules or Statutes, has gained immense importance. India can boast of a sound legal regime to deal with the intellectual property protection. The considerable number of statutes that India has, to deal with intellectual property issues, is itself an indication of her concerned attitude towards protection of intellectual property issues. The various Indian Acts are: Copyright Act, 1957, Trade Marks Act, 1999; Patents Act, 1970 [as amended by Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005], Designs Act, 2000; The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act, 2000 and last but not the least, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001. Apart from laying down what are the rights available to the intellectual property owner, these Acts also contain a sound mechanism to prevent infringement of IPR. The remedies available for the protection of IPR are broadly classified into civil and criminal remedies. The orders in the line with Anton Piller's orders are made under the head of civil remedies. In India, Ordinance 39 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, authorises the court to issue orders in line with Anton Piller's order. Not only CPC, even the statutes like Trademarks Act, 1999, The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 specifically provide for such an order. However, there have not been many case-laws debating over the aspects of Anton Piller's order. One of the earliest cases that dealt with the concept of Anton Piller's order, though cursorily was National Garments vs. National Apparels. Though it was not a case under Anton Piller under the interlocutory injunction, for restraining the defendant from doing business under the trade name which is in dispute, the court cited with approval from Kerly's treatise that 'in extremely urgent cases an ex-parte injunction may be obtained before full hearing of the motion or an Anton Piller order, for inspection of the defendant's premises without prior warning and discovery of his records, may be obtained. The Court also observed that Anton Piller's order is similar to the ex parte interlocutory order to take an inventory of the articles etc. passed in an ordinary suit.

Q. Under which remedies, orders in line of Anton Piller order are made?

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

Intellectual property law protects use of ideas and information that are of commercial value and prevents others, to the exclusion of the owner of the property, to commercially exploit the material without the owner's consent. With the rapid growth of industrialisation and international trade, protection of this intellectual property and vis-à-vis to have sufficient safeguards, in the form of Rules or Statutes, has gained immense importance. India can boast of a sound legal regime to deal with the intellectual property protection. The considerable number of statutes that India has, to deal with intellectual property issues, is itself an indication of her concerned attitude towards protection of intellectual property issues. The various Indian Acts are: Copyright Act, 1957, Trade Marks Act, 1999; Patents Act, 1970 [as amended by Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005], Designs Act, 2000; The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act, 2000 and last but not the least, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001. Apart from laying down what are the rights available to the intellectual property owner, these Acts also contain a sound mechanism to prevent infringement of IPR. The remedies available for the protection of IPR are broadly classified into civil and criminal remedies. The orders in the line with Anton Piller's orders are made under the head of civil remedies. In India, Ordinance 39 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, authorises the court to issue orders in line with Anton Piller's order. Not only CPC, even the statutes like Trademarks Act, 1999, The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 specifically provide for such an order. However, there have not been many case-laws debating over the aspects of Anton Piller's order. One of the earliest cases that dealt with the concept of Anton Piller's order, though cursorily was National Garments vs. National Apparels. Though it was not a case under Anton Piller under the interlocutory injunction, for restraining the defendant from doing business under the trade name which is in dispute, the court cited with approval from Kerly's treatise that 'in extremely urgent cases an ex-parte injunction may be obtained before full hearing of the motion or an Anton Piller order, for inspection of the defendant's premises without prior warning and discovery of his records, may be obtained. The Court also observed that Anton Piller's order is similar to the ex parte interlocutory order to take an inventory of the articles etc. passed in an ordinary suit.

Q. The Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999 includes:

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

Intellectual property law protects use of ideas and information that are of commercial value and prevents others, to the exclusion of the owner of the property, to commercially exploit the material without the owner's consent. With the rapid growth of industrialisation and international trade, protection of this intellectual property and vis-à-vis to have sufficient safeguards, in the form of Rules or Statutes, has gained immense importance. India can boast of a sound legal regime to deal with the intellectual property protection. The considerable number of statutes that India has, to deal with intellectual property issues, is itself an indication of her concerned attitude towards protection of intellectual property issues. The various Indian Acts are: Copyright Act, 1957, Trade Marks Act, 1999; Patents Act, 1970 [as amended by Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005], Designs Act, 2000; The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act, 2000 and last but not the least, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001. Apart from laying down what are the rights available to the intellectual property owner, these Acts also contain a sound mechanism to prevent infringement of IPR. The remedies available for the protection of IPR are broadly classified into civil and criminal remedies. The orders in the line with Anton Piller's orders are made under the head of civil remedies. In India, Ordinance 39 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, authorises the court to issue orders in line with Anton Piller's order. Not only CPC, even the statutes like Trademarks Act, 1999, The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 specifically provide for such an order. However, there have not been many case-laws debating over the aspects of Anton Piller's order. One of the earliest cases that dealt with the concept of Anton Piller's order, though cursorily was National Garments vs. National Apparels. Though it was not a case under Anton Piller under the interlocutory injunction, for restraining the defendant from doing business under the trade name which is in dispute, the court cited with approval from Kerly's treatise that 'in extremely urgent cases an ex-parte injunction may be obtained before full hearing of the motion or an Anton Piller order, for inspection of the defendant's premises without prior warning and discovery of his records, may be obtained. The Court also observed that Anton Piller's order is similar to the ex parte interlocutory order to take an inventory of the articles etc. passed in an ordinary suit.

Q. Which court order is used to compel or prevent a party from doing certain acts pending the final determination of the case?

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

Common intention implies a pre-arranged plan and acting in concert pursuant to the plan. Common intention comes into being prior to the commission of the act, which need not be a long gap. To bring common intention into effect a pre-concert is not necessarily be proved, but it may well develop on the spot as between a number of persons and could be inferred from facts and circumstances of each case. For example, A and B caught hold of C where only B stabbed C with a knife but A is also liable for murder as there was a preconcerted action. In the case Pandurang vs. the State of Hyderabad, the Supreme court emphasised on this point that prior concert need not be something always very much prior to the incident, but could well be something that may develop on the spot, on the spur of the moment.

Common Intention and Similar Intention

Common intention does not mean a similar intention of several persons. To constitute common intention it is necessary that the intention of each one of them be known to the rest of them and shared by them. In the case of Dukhmochan Pandey vs. the State of Bihar, the Supreme Court held that: “Common intention which developed at the spur of the moment is different from the similar intention actuated a number of persons at the same time....the distinction between a common intention and similar intention may be fine, but is nonetheless a real one and if overlooked, may lead to miscarriage of justice...." The mere presence of the accused together is not sufficient to hold that they shared the common intention to commit the offence in question. It is necessary that the intention of each one of 'several persons" be known to each other for constituting common intention.

Q. A gang of six members went to a bank, armed with weapons to commit a heist. While five of the gang members went inside the bank, Mr. A (the sixth member) waited outside the bank to alert them of any threat. During the heist one of the gang members fired a gun at the branch manager, as a result, he died. All five escaped but Mr. A was caught and arrested. Now, choose the most appropriate option as per the principle stated in the above passage.

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

Common intention implies a pre-arranged plan and acting in concert pursuant to the plan. Common intention comes into being prior to the commission of the act, which need not be a long gap. To bring common intention into effect a pre-concert is not necessarily be proved, but it may well develop on the spot as between a number of persons and could be inferred from facts and circumstances of each case. For example, A and B caught hold of C where only B stabbed C with a knife but A is also liable for murder as there was a preconcerted action. In the case Pandurang vs. the State of Hyderabad, the Supreme court emphasised on this point that prior concert need not be something always very much prior to the incident, but could well be something that may develop on the spot, on the spur of the moment.

Common Intention and Similar Intention

Common intention does not mean a similar intention of several persons. To constitute common intention it is necessary that the intention of each one of them be known to the rest of them and shared by them. In the case of Dukhmochan Pandey vs. the State of Bihar, the Supreme Court held that: “Common intention which developed at the spur of the moment is different from the similar intention actuated a number of persons at the same time....the distinction between a common intention and similar intention may be fine, but is nonetheless a real one and if overlooked, may lead to miscarriage of justice...." The mere presence of the accused together is not sufficient to hold that they shared the common intention to commit the offence in question. It is necessary that the intention of each one of 'several persons" be known to each other for constituting common intention.

Q. After reading the passage which of the following is not correct in relation to the difference between Common and Similar intention?

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

Common intention implies a pre-arranged plan and acting in concert pursuant to the plan. Common intention comes into being prior to the commission of the act, which need not be a long gap. To bring common intention into effect a pre-concert is not necessarily be proved, but it may well develop on the spot as between a number of persons and could be inferred from facts and circumstances of each case. For example, A and B caught hold of C where only B stabbed C with a knife but A is also liable for murder as there was a preconcerted action. In the case Pandurang vs. the State of Hyderabad, the Supreme court emphasised on this point that prior concert need not be something always very much prior to the incident, but could well be something that may develop on the spot, on the spur of the moment.

Common Intention and Similar Intention

Common intention does not mean a similar intention of several persons. To constitute common intention it is necessary that the intention of each one of them be known to the rest of them and shared by them. In the case of Dukhmochan Pandey vs. the State of Bihar, the Supreme Court held that: “Common intention which developed at the spur of the moment is different from the similar intention actuated a number of persons at the same time....the distinction between a common intention and similar intention may be fine, but is nonetheless a real one and if overlooked, may lead to miscarriage of justice...." The mere presence of the accused together is not sufficient to hold that they shared the common intention to commit the offence in question. It is necessary that the intention of each one of 'several persons" be known to each other for constituting common intention.

Q. Which of the following statements is correct in relation to the difference between common intention and similar intention?

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

Common intention implies a pre-arranged plan and acting in concert pursuant to the plan. Common intention comes into being prior to the commission of the act, which need not be a long gap. To bring common intention into effect a pre-concert is not necessarily be proved, but it may well develop on the spot as between a number of persons and could be inferred from facts and circumstances of each case. For example, A and B caught hold of C where only B stabbed C with a knife but A is also liable for murder as there was a preconcerted action. In the case Pandurang vs. the State of Hyderabad, the Supreme court emphasised on this point that prior concert need not be something always very much prior to the incident, but could well be something that may develop on the spot, on the spur of the moment.

Common Intention and Similar Intention

Common intention does not mean a similar intention of several persons. To constitute common intention it is necessary that the intention of each one of them be known to the rest of them and shared by them. In the case of Dukhmochan Pandey vs. the State of Bihar, the Supreme Court held that: “Common intention which developed at the spur of the moment is different from the similar intention actuated a number of persons at the same time....the distinction between a common intention and similar intention may be fine, but is nonetheless a real one and if overlooked, may lead to miscarriage of justice...." The mere presence of the accused together is not sufficient to hold that they shared the common intention to commit the offence in question. It is necessary that the intention of each one of 'several persons" be known to each other for constituting common intention.

Q. Raman and Raghav were riding on a motorcycle on a busy street, suddenly Aman (another biker) bumped into their bike. A heated argument started between the three of them. While Raghav started abusing Aman, Raman hit Aman with an iron rod lying on the road and as a consequence, he died. Now, chose the correct option.

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

Common intention implies a pre-arranged plan and acting in concert pursuant to the plan. Common intention comes into being prior to the commission of the act, which need not be a long gap. To bring common intention into effect a pre-concert is not necessarily be proved, but it may well develop on the spot as between a number of persons and could be inferred from facts and circumstances of each case. For example, A and B caught hold of C where only B stabbed C with a knife but A is also liable for murder as there was a preconcerted action. In the case Pandurang vs. the State of Hyderabad, the Supreme court emphasised on this point that prior concert need not be something always very much prior to the incident, but could well be something that may develop on the spot, on the spur of the moment.

Common Intention and Similar Intention

Common intention does not mean a similar intention of several persons. To constitute common intention it is necessary that the intention of each one of them be known to the rest of them and shared by them. In the case of Dukhmochan Pandey vs. the State of Bihar, the Supreme Court held that: “Common intention which developed at the spur of the moment is different from the similar intention actuated a number of persons at the same time....the distinction between a common intention and similar intention may be fine, but is nonetheless a real one and if overlooked, may lead to miscarriage of justice...." The mere presence of the accused together is not sufficient to hold that they shared the common intention to commit the offence in question. It is necessary that the intention of each one of 'several persons" be known to each other for constituting common intention.

Q. Mr. X and Mr. Y entered a house at night to commit theft, while committing theft Mr. Y committed sexual assault on a minor girl aged 11 years. Identify for which of the following offences Mr. X is liable:

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

Absolute Liability: If an industry or enterprise is engaged in some inherently dangerous activity from which it is deriving commercial gain and that activity is capable of causing catastrophic damage then the industry officials are absolutely liable to pay compensation to the aggrieved parties. The industry cannot plead that all safety measures were taken care of by them and that there was negligence on their part. They will not be allowed any exceptions neither can they take up any defence like that of 'Act of God' or 'Act of Stranger'.

Strict Liability: The Strict Liability principle is also called as 'No Fault Liability'. This is contradictory to the general principle of negligence in torts where a person can be held liable for commission of a tort only when the plaintiff can prove negligence on his part and the defendant himself is unable to disprove it. In the cases that I will now mention, the onus of being negligent can be ignored. In spite of all due care taken by the defendant, he will invariably be held for the consequences of the damages caused to any person outside of the boundary of the defendant's land by any hazardous thing that he maintained on the same stretch of land i.e. in spite of no intentional or unintentional fault of his, the defendant can be held liable hence, explaining the term 'No Fault Liability'. The earlier stated definition remains half done if the following terms are not emphasised upon:-

Dangerous Thing: According to the above mentioned rule, the liability of escape of a thing from a person's land will arise only when the thing or substance collected is a dangerous thing i.e. a thing which is likely to cause mischief or damage to other people in person or their property on its escape. In various torts cases filed worldwide,liability have held "large body of water, gas, electricity, vibrations, yew

Escape: The thing that has caused damage or mischief must 'escape' from the area under the occupation and control of the defendant.

Non-natural use of land: Water collected on land for domestic purposes does not amount to non-natural use of land but storing it in huge quantity like that in a reservoir amounts to non-natural use of the land (Rylands vs. Fletcher). This distinction between natural and non-natural use of land can be made possible by its adjustment to existing social conditions. Growing of trees is held natural use of land but if the defendant is found to grow trees of poisonous nature on his land, then it is non-natural use of the land. If the land has been used naturally yet a conflict has risen between the defendant and the plaintiff, owing to natural use of land, the court will not hold the defendant liable.

Mischief: To make the defendant liable under the doctrine of strict liability, the plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant made non-natural use of his land and escape of the dangerous thing caused mischief/damage to him. The resultant damage needs to be shown by the plaintiff after successfully proving that unnatural use of the land was done by the defendant.

Q. A worked as an employee in a company owned by B, while she was on duty within the premises of the company, something exploded due to which A suffered injuries. A filed a case with the company. Decide.

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

Absolute Liability: If an industry or enterprise is engaged in some inherently dangerous activity from which it is deriving commercial gain and that activity is capable of causing catastrophic damage then the industry officials are absolutely liable to pay compensation to the aggrieved parties. The industry cannot plead that all safety measures were taken care of by them and that there was negligence on their part. They will not be allowed any exceptions neither can they take up any defence like that of 'Act of God' or 'Act of Stranger'.

Strict Liability: The Strict Liability principle is also called as 'No Fault Liability'. This is contradictory to the general principle of negligence in torts where a person can be held liable for commission of a tort only when the plaintiff can prove negligence on his part and the defendant himself is unable to disprove it. In the cases that I will now mention, the onus of being negligent can be ignored. In spite of all due care taken by the defendant, he will invariably be held for the consequences of the damages caused to any person outside of the boundary of the defendant's land by any hazardous thing that he maintained on the same stretch of land i.e. in spite of no intentional or unintentional fault of his, the defendant can be held liable hence, explaining the term 'No Fault Liability'. The earlier stated definition remains half done if the following terms are not emphasised upon:-

Dangerous Thing: According to the above mentioned rule, the liability of escape of a thing from a person's land will arise only when the thing or substance collected is a dangerous thing i.e. a thing which is likely to cause mischief or damage to other people in person or their property on its escape. In various torts cases filed worldwide,liability have held "large body of water, gas, electricity, vibrations, yew

Escape: The thing that has caused damage or mischief must 'escape' from the area under the occupation and control of the defendant.

Non-natural use of land: Water collected on land for domestic purposes does not amount to non-natural use of land but storing it in huge quantity like that in a reservoir amounts to non-natural use of the land (Rylands vs. Fletcher). This distinction between natural and non-natural use of land can be made possible by its adjustment to existing social conditions. Growing of trees is held natural use of land but if the defendant is found to grow trees of poisonous nature on his land, then it is non-natural use of the land. If the land has been used naturally yet a conflict has risen between the defendant and the plaintiff, owing to natural use of land, the court will not hold the defendant liable.

Mischief: To make the defendant liable under the doctrine of strict liability, the plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant made non-natural use of his land and escape of the dangerous thing caused mischief/damage to him. The resultant damage needs to be shown by the plaintiff after successfully proving that unnatural use of the land was done by the defendant.

Q. T took on rent a shop in the SC's premises after full knowledge of the fact that he had a theatre and rehearsal room attached to the same premises. The theatre had a water storage mechanism in case of an emergency. Unfortunately, the water container burst due to excessive frost, and the water leaked into the T's shop thereby damaging his goods. He sued S for payment of damages suffered by him.

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

Absolute Liability: If an industry or enterprise is engaged in some inherently dangerous activity from which it is deriving commercial gain and that activity is capable of causing catastrophic damage then the industry officials are absolutely liable to pay compensation to the aggrieved parties. The industry cannot plead that all safety measures were taken care of by them and that there was negligence on their part. They will not be allowed any exceptions neither can they take up any defence like that of 'Act of God' or 'Act of Stranger'.

Strict Liability: The Strict Liability principle is also called as 'No Fault Liability'. This is contradictory to the general principle of negligence in torts where a person can be held liable for commission of a tort only when the plaintiff can prove negligence on his part and the defendant himself is unable to disprove it. In the cases that I will now mention, the onus of being negligent can be ignored. In spite of all due care taken by the defendant, he will invariably be held for the consequences of the damages caused to any person outside of the boundary of the defendant's land by any hazardous thing that he maintained on the same stretch of land i.e. in spite of no intentional or unintentional fault of his, the defendant can be held liable hence, explaining the term 'No Fault Liability'. The earlier stated definition remains half done if the following terms are not emphasised upon:-

Dangerous Thing: According to the above mentioned rule, the liability of escape of a thing from a person's land will arise only when the thing or substance collected is a dangerous thing i.e. a thing which is likely to cause mischief or damage to other people in person or their property on its escape. In various torts cases filed worldwide,liability have held "large body of water, gas, electricity, vibrations, yew

Escape: The thing that has caused damage or mischief must 'escape' from the area under the occupation and control of the defendant.

Non-natural use of land: Water collected on land for domestic purposes does not amount to non-natural use of land but storing it in huge quantity like that in a reservoir amounts to non-natural use of the land (Rylands vs. Fletcher). This distinction between natural and non-natural use of land can be made possible by its adjustment to existing social conditions. Growing of trees is held natural use of land but if the defendant is found to grow trees of poisonous nature on his land, then it is non-natural use of the land. If the land has been used naturally yet a conflict has risen between the defendant and the plaintiff, owing to natural use of land, the court will not hold the defendant liable.

Mischief: To make the defendant liable under the doctrine of strict liability, the plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant made non-natural use of his land and escape of the dangerous thing caused mischief/damage to him. The resultant damage needs to be shown by the plaintiff after successfully proving that unnatural use of the land was done by the defendant.

Q. When the master is held liable for the wrongful act of his servant, the liability is called:

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

Absolute Liability: If an industry or enterprise is engaged in some inherently dangerous activity from which it is deriving commercial gain and that activity is capable of causing catastrophic damage then the industry officials are absolutely liable to pay compensation to the aggrieved parties. The industry cannot plead that all safety measures were taken care of by them and that there was negligence on their part. They will not be allowed any exceptions neither can they take up any defence like that of 'Act of God' or 'Act of Stranger'.

Strict Liability: The Strict Liability principle is also called as 'No Fault Liability'. This is contradictory to the general principle of negligence in torts where a person can be held liable for commission of a tort only when the plaintiff can prove negligence on his part and the defendant himself is unable to disprove it. In the cases that I will now mention, the onus of being negligent can be ignored. In spite of all due care taken by the defendant, he will invariably be held for the consequences of the damages caused to any person outside of the boundary of the defendant's land by any hazardous thing that he maintained on the same stretch of land i.e. in spite of no intentional or unintentional fault of his, the defendant can be held liable hence, explaining the term 'No Fault Liability'. The earlier stated definition remains half done if the following terms are not emphasised upon:-

Dangerous Thing: According to the above mentioned rule, the liability of escape of a thing from a person's land will arise only when the thing or substance collected is a dangerous thing i.e. a thing which is likely to cause mischief or damage to other people in person or their property on its escape. In various torts cases filed worldwide,liability have held "large body of water, gas, electricity, vibrations, yew

Escape: The thing that has caused damage or mischief must 'escape' from the area under the occupation and control of the defendant.

Non-natural use of land: Water collected on land for domestic purposes does not amount to non-natural use of land but storing it in huge quantity like that in a reservoir amounts to non-natural use of the land (Rylands vs. Fletcher). This distinction between natural and non-natural use of land can be made possible by its adjustment to existing social conditions. Growing of trees is held natural use of land but if the defendant is found to grow trees of poisonous nature on his land, then it is non-natural use of the land. If the land has been used naturally yet a conflict has risen between the defendant and the plaintiff, owing to natural use of land, the court will not hold the defendant liable.

Mischief: To make the defendant liable under the doctrine of strict liability, the plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant made non-natural use of his land and escape of the dangerous thing caused mischief/damage to him. The resultant damage needs to be shown by the plaintiff after successfully proving that unnatural use of the land was done by the defendant.

Q. There was spontaneous growth of thistle plants in the land owned by X. He did not check the growth of this undesired vegetation which was extending to the Y's land also only to cause him annoyance and damage. Y filed a suit against X.

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

Absolute Liability: If an industry or enterprise is engaged in some inherently dangerous activity from which it is deriving commercial gain and that activity is capable of causing catastrophic damage then the industry officials are absolutely liable to pay compensation to the aggrieved parties. The industry cannot plead that all safety measures were taken care of by them and that there was negligence on their part. They will not be allowed any exceptions neither can they take up any defence like that of 'Act of God' or 'Act of Stranger'.

Strict Liability: The Strict Liability principle is also called as 'No Fault Liability'. This is contradictory to the general principle of negligence in torts where a person can be held liable for commission of a tort only when the plaintiff can prove negligence on his part and the defendant himself is unable to disprove it. In the cases that I will now mention, the onus of being negligent can be ignored. In spite of all due care taken by the defendant, he will invariably be held for the consequences of the damages caused to any person outside of the boundary of the defendant's land by any hazardous thing that he maintained on the same stretch of land i.e. in spite of no intentional or unintentional fault of his, the defendant can be held liable hence, explaining the term 'No Fault Liability'. The earlier stated definition remains half done if the following terms are not emphasised upon:-

Dangerous Thing: According to the above mentioned rule, the liability of escape of a thing from a person's land will arise only when the thing or substance collected is a dangerous thing i.e. a thing which is likely to cause mischief or damage to other people in person or their property on its escape. In various torts cases filed worldwide, liability have held "large body of water, gas, electricity, vibrations, yew

Escape: The thing that has caused damage or mischief must 'escape' from the area under the occupation and control of the defendant.

Non-natural use of land: Water collected on land for domestic purposes does not amount to non-natural use of land but storing it in huge quantity like that in a reservoir amounts to non-natural use of the land (Rylands vs. Fletcher). This distinction between natural and non-natural use of land can be made possible by its adjustment to existing social conditions. Growing of trees is held natural use of land but if the defendant is found to grow trees of poisonous nature on his land, then it is non-natural use of the land. If the land has been used naturally yet a conflict has risen between the defendant and the plaintiff, owing to natural use of land, the court will not hold the defendant liable.

Mischief: To make the defendant liable under the doctrine of strict liability, the plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant made non-natural use of his land and escape of the dangerous thing caused mischief/damage to him. The resultant damage needs to be shown by the plaintiff after successfully proving that unnatural use of the land was done by the defendant.

Q. V had some artificial lakes that he had formed by damming up a natural stream for several years. However, an extraordinary rainfall that year was greater and more violent than any rainfall ever witnessed there broke the artificial embankments by the stream, and the rushing water carried away with it four bridges of the land of Z.

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

The Pesticide Management Bill, 2020, is a long-overdue law on this critical segment of agriculture, in the making since 2008, to replace the obsolete Insecticides Act, 1968. Globally, India is the fourth-largest producer of pesticides. As a first step, the proposed legislation covers all classes of pesticides, not just insecticides as the current law does.

Taking into account advances in modern pest management science and the ill effects of synthetic pesticides, the Pesticide Management Bill should bring India's pesticide sector in line with global norms, to some of which India has signed up. The food safety law already has limits on pesticide residue. It would be desirable for the government to subject the Bill to public comment.

The present law addresses manufacturing, sale, import, transport, use, and distribution of insecticides. The Bill will cover the life cycle of pesticides from manufacture to disposal and will include regulation of export, packaging, labelling, pricing, storage, and advertisement. Penalties on manufacturers for non-compliance with rules and regulations would be stiffer.

An important focus of the Bill is on labelling-manufacturers will be required by law to specify clear and specific information on material and chemical composition, and dosage of use. The labels must carry this information in the local language to ensure that farmers are properly informed. This is critical. There is a tendency of overuse of pesticides by farmers, often driven by ignorance.

The Bill should also have provision for technical assistance to farmers on pesticide use from agriculture extension services centers. This is vital for farm exports. Proposals for a pool for compensating farmers might sound good but would diffuse culpability, which must be rigorously established before seeking compensation. Empowering states to set locally relevant norms would be a good idea.

While the Bill is a major step forward, it needs to go beyond regulating chemical pesticides. It must take into account non-synthetic pesticides, including research and development.

Q. If a manufacturer is supplying pesticides to the farmers at a village in Tamil Nadu. What is the most important thing for the manufacturer to ensure according to the proposed Pesticide Management Bill, 2020?

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

The Pesticide Management Bill, 2020, is a long-overdue law on this critical segment of agriculture, in the making since 2008, to replace the obsolete Insecticides Act, 1968. Globally, India is the fourth-largest producer of pesticides. As a first step, the proposed legislation covers all classes of pesticides, not just insecticides as the current law does.

Taking into account advances in modern pest management science and the ill effects of synthetic pesticides, the Pesticide Management Bill should bring India's pesticide sector in line with global norms, to some of which India has signed up. The food safety law already has limits on pesticide residue. It would be desirable for the government to subject the Bill to public comment.

The present law addresses manufacturing, sale, import, transport, use, and distribution of insecticides. The Bill will cover the life cycle of pesticides from manufacture to disposal and will include regulation of export, packaging, labelling, pricing, storage, and advertisement. Penalties on manufacturers for non-compliance with rules and regulations would be stiffer.

An important focus of the Bill is on labelling-manufacturers will be required by law to specify clear and specific information on material and chemical composition, and dosage of use. The labels must carry this information in the local language to ensure that farmers are properly informed. This is critical. There is a tendency of overuse of pesticides by farmers, often driven by ignorance.

The Bill should also have provision for technical assistance to farmers on pesticide use from agriculture extension services centers. This is vital for farm exports. Proposals for a pool for compensating farmers might sound good but would diffuse culpability, which must be rigorously established before seeking compensation. Empowering states to set locally relevant norms would be a good idea.

While the Bill is a major step forward, it needs to go beyond regulating chemical pesticides. It must take into account non-synthetic pesticides, including research and development.

Q. Which law in India has sanctioned limits over use of pesticides?

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

The Pesticide Management Bill, 2020, is a long-overdue law on this critical segment of agriculture, in the making since 2008, to replace the obsolete Insecticides Act, 1968. Globally, India is the fourth-largest producer of pesticides. As a first step, the proposed legislation covers all classes of pesticides, not just insecticides as the current law does.

Taking into account advances in modern pest management science and the ill effects of synthetic pesticides, the Pesticide Management Bill should bring India's pesticide sector in line with global norms, to some of which India has signed up. The food safety law already has limits on pesticide residue. It would be desirable for the government to subject the Bill to public comment.

The present law addresses manufacturing, sale, import, transport, use, and distribution of insecticides. The Bill will cover the life cycle of pesticides from manufacture to disposal and will include regulation of export, packaging, labelling, pricing, storage, and advertisement. Penalties on manufacturers for non-compliance with rules and regulations would be stiffer.

An important focus of the Bill is on labelling-manufacturers will be required by law to specify clear and specific information on material and chemical composition, and dosage of use. The labels must carry this information in the local language to ensure that farmers are properly informed. This is critical. There is a tendency of overuse of pesticides by farmers, often driven by ignorance.

The Bill should also have provision for technical assistance to farmers on pesticide use from agriculture extension services centers. This is vital for farm exports. Proposals for a pool for compensating farmers might sound good but would diffuse culpability, which must be rigorously established before seeking compensation. Empowering states to set locally relevant norms would be a good idea.

While the Bill is a major step forward, it needs to go beyond regulating chemical pesticides. It must take into account non-synthetic pesticides, including research and development.

Q. What is the suggestion not given by the author in the passage?

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

The Pesticide Management Bill, 2020, is a long-overdue law on this critical segment of agriculture, in the making since 2008, to replace the obsolete Insecticides Act, 1968. Globally, India is the fourth-largest producer of pesticides. As a first step, the proposed legislation covers all classes of pesticides, not just insecticides as the current law does.

Taking into account advances in modern pest management science and the ill effects of synthetic pesticides, the Pesticide Management Bill should bring India's pesticide sector in line with global norms, to some of which India has signed up. The food safety law already has limits on pesticide residue. It would be desirable for the government to subject the Bill to public comment.

The present law addresses manufacturing, sale, import, transport, use, and distribution of insecticides. The Bill will cover the life cycle of pesticides from manufacture to disposal and will include regulation of export, packaging, labelling, pricing, storage, and advertisement. Penalties on manufacturers for non-compliance with rules and regulations would be stiffer.

An important focus of the Bill is on labelling-manufacturers will be required by law to specify clear and specific information on material and chemical composition, and dosage of use. The labels must carry this information in the local language to ensure that farmers are properly informed. This is critical. There is a tendency of overuse of pesticides by farmers, often driven by ignorance.

The Bill should also have provision for technical assistance to farmers on pesticide use from agriculture extension services centers. This is vital for farm exports. Proposals for a pool for compensating farmers might sound good but would diffuse culpability, which must be rigorously established before seeking compensation. Empowering states to set locally relevant norms would be a good idea.

While the Bill is a major step forward, it needs to go beyond regulating chemical pesticides. It must take into account non-synthetic pesticides, including research and development.

Q. The present act covers which of the following?

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

The Pesticide Management Bill, 2020, is a long-overdue law on this critical segment of agriculture, in the making since 2008, to replace the obsolete Insecticides Act, 1968. Globally, India is the fourth-largest producer of pesticides. As a first step, the proposed legislation covers all classes of pesticides, not just insecticides as the current law does.

Taking into account advances in modern pest management science and the ill effects of synthetic pesticides, the Pesticide Management Bill should bring India's pesticide sector in line with global norms, to some of which India has signed up. The food safety law already has limits on pesticide residue. It would be desirable for the government to subject the Bill to public comment.

The present law addresses manufacturing, sale, import, transport, use, and distribution of insecticides. The Bill will cover the life cycle of pesticides from manufacture to disposal and will include regulation of export, packaging, labelling, pricing, storage, and advertisement. Penalties on manufacturers for non-compliance with rules and regulations would be stiffer.

An important focus of the Bill is on labelling-manufacturers will be required by law to specify clear and specific information on material and chemical composition, and dosage of use. The labels must carry this information in the local language to ensure that farmers are properly informed. This is critical. There is a tendency of overuse of pesticides by farmers, often driven by ignorance.

The Bill should also have provision for technical assistance to farmers on pesticide use from agriculture extension services centers. This is vital for farm exports. Proposals for a pool for compensating farmers might sound good but would diffuse culpability, which must be rigorously established before seeking compensation. Empowering states to set locally relevant norms would be a good idea.

While the Bill is a major step forward, it needs to go beyond regulating chemical pesticides. It must take into account non-synthetic pesticides, including research and development.

Q. Which one of the following is not covered by the proposed Pesticide Management Bill, 2020?

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

A decision in a legal case recently enraged many, while leaving many others feeling helpless as the rights of a minor rape survivor were tragically crushed due to the legal limitations arising out of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. A brutally raped minor was forced to give birth to her rapist's child after a high court denied her request for an abortion. Examined first by a doctor at 19 weeks of pregnancy, the minor survivor was traumatized when her doctor refused to perform an abortion even though it was permitted under the law. By the time her petition was heard by a court of law, her pregnancy had crossed the 20-week limit beyond which abortion is prohibited under the MTP Act.

Hers was not the lone tragedy. Despite a plethora of judgments allowing termination of pregnancy in case of fetal abnormalities, the Supreme Court denied the right to abort a fetus detected with Down Syndrome at 22 weeks, to a family already blessed with and caring for a special needs child, on the grounds that the 20 -week mark specified in the MTP Act had been breached.

A 2015 study in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics has observed that 10-13% of maternal deaths in India can be attributed to unsafe abortions. It roughly translates into at least six to seven women losing their life due to unsafe abortions every day. Many of those who survive such methods are compelled to live a life of pain compounded by infertility, sepsis, and other internal injuries. Studies have shown that the 20 week limit on abortion is based on outdated medical concepts from the 1970 s. Developments in medical science which include medical abortion pills and vacuum aspiration which allow for safer abortions in advanced stages of pregnancy have found no legal resonance in the MTP Act.

Though access to safe abortion has been established as a human right by numerous international frameworks and in 2003 the WHO developed technical and policy guidelines to help governments pass progressive abortion laws, there was legislative silence on the issue under the decade-long coalition that assumed power in 2004. This silence was preceded by serious efforts made by Atalji's NDA government to ensure safer abortions, by eliminating abortion by untrained persons and in unhygienic conditions, thus reducing maternal morbidity under the aegis of the MTP (Amendment) Act, 2002.

By contrast Cabinet's decision to approve the MTP (Amendment) Bill, 2020, will truly address the needs of gender justice through the prism of reproductive rights, providing a solution which women in our country have sought for decades. The bill allows abortion up to 24 weeks of gestational age for vulnerable categories of women and there is no limit of gestational age in case of pregnancies with substantial fetal abnormalities, diagnosed by a medical board. This will increase access of women to safe medico-legal services and will thus reduce maternal mortality and morbidity arising out of unsafe abortions.

The bill also seeks to strengthen provisions for protecting the dignity and privacy of women who seek the refuge of law when confronted with such a life altering decision. The current amendment not only allows greater autonomy to women, it will also ensure clarity amongst medical practitioners, who have in the past shuwn inhibition towards pregnancy termination procedures especially in cases of survivors of rape and incest - where survivors were subsequently forced to approach the courts for judicial sanction.

Q. What was the gestational limit of abortion in the old law?

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

A decision in a legal case recently enraged many, while leaving many others feeling helpless as the rights of a minor rape survivor were tragically crushed due to the legal limitations arising out of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. A brutally raped minor was forced to give birth to her rapist's child after a high court denied her request for an abortion. Examined first by a doctor at 19 weeks of pregnancy, the minor survivor was traumatized when her doctor refused to perform an abortion even though it was permitted under the law. By the time her petition was heard by a court of law, her pregnancy had crossed the 20-week limit beyond which abortion is prohibited under the MTP Act.

Hers was not the lone tragedy. Despite a plethora of judgments allowing termination of pregnancy in case of fetal abnormalities, the Supreme Court denied the right to abort a fetus detected with Down Syndrome at 22 weeks, to a family already blessed with and caring for a special needs child, on the grounds that the 20 -week mark specified in the MTP Act had been breached.

A 2015 study in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics has observed that 10-13% of maternal deaths in India can be attributed to unsafe abortions. It roughly translates into at least six to seven women losing their life due to unsafe abortions every day. Many of those who survive such methods are compelled to live a life of pain compounded by infertility, sepsis, and other internal injuries. Studies have shown that the 20 week limit on abortion is based on outdated medical concepts from the 1970 s. Developments in medical science which include medical abortion pills and vacuum aspiration which allow for safer abortions in advanced stages of pregnancy have found no legal resonance in the MTP Act.

Though access to safe abortion has been established as a human right by numerous international frameworks and in 2003 the WHO developed technical and policy guidelines to help governments pass progressive abortion laws, there was legislative silence on the issue under the decade-long coalition that assumed power in 2004. This silence was preceded by serious efforts made by Atalji's NDA government to ensure safer abortions, by eliminating abortion by untrained persons and in unhygienic conditions, thus reducing maternal morbidity under the aegis of the MTP (Amendment) Act, 2002.

By contrast Cabinet's decision to approve the MTP (Amendment) Bill, 2020, will truly address the needs of gender justice through the prism of reproductive rights, providing a solution which women in our country have sought for decades. The bill allows abortion up to 24 weeks of gestational age for vulnerable categories of women and there is no limit of gestational age in case of pregnancies with substantial fetal abnormalities, diagnosed by a medical board. This will increase access of women to safe medico-legal services and will thus reduce maternal mortality and morbidity arising out of unsafe abortions.

The bill also seeks to strengthen provisions for protecting the dignity and privacy of women who seek the refuge of law when confronted with such a life altering decision. The current amendment not only allows greater autonomy to women, it will also ensure clarity amongst medical practitioners, who have in the past shuwn inhibition towards pregnancy termination procedures especially in cases of survivors of rape and incest - where survivors were subsequently forced to approach the courts for judicial sanction.

Q. Right to access to safer abortion includes:

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

A decision in a legal case recently enraged many, while leaving many others feeling helpless as the rights of a minor rape survivor were tragically crushed due to the legal limitations arising out of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. A brutally raped minor was forced to give birth to her rapist's child after a high court denied her request for an abortion. Examined first by a doctor at 19 weeks of pregnancy, the minor survivor was traumatized when her doctor refused to perform an abortion even though it was permitted under the law. By the time her petition was heard by a court of law, her pregnancy had crossed the 20-week limit beyond which abortion is prohibited under the MTP Act.

Hers was not the lone tragedy. Despite a plethora of judgments allowing termination of pregnancy in case of fetal abnormalities, the Supreme Court denied the right to abort a fetus detected with Down Syndrome at 22 weeks, to a family already blessed with and caring for a special needs child, on the grounds that the 20 -week mark specified in the MTP Act had been breached.

A 2015 study in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics has observed that 10-13% of maternal deaths in India can be attributed to unsafe abortions. It roughly translates into at least six to seven women losing their life due to unsafe abortions every day. Many of those who survive such methods are compelled to live a life of pain compounded by infertility, sepsis, and other internal injuries. Studies have shown that the 20 week limit on abortion is based on outdated medical concepts from the 1970 s. Developments in medical science which include medical abortion pills and vacuum aspiration which allow for safer abortions in advanced stages of pregnancy have found no legal resonance in the MTP Act.

Though access to safe abortion has been established as a human right by numerous international frameworks and in 2003 the WHO developed technical and policy guidelines to help governments pass progressive abortion laws, there was legislative silence on the issue under the decade-long coalition that assumed power in 2004. This silence was preceded by serious efforts made by Atalji's NDA government to ensure safer abortions, by eliminating abortion by untrained persons and in unhygienic conditions, thus reducing maternal morbidity under the aegis of the MTP (Amendment) Act, 2002.

By contrast Cabinet's decision to approve the MTP (Amendment) Bill, 2020, will truly address the needs of gender justice through the prism of reproductive rights, providing a solution which women in our country have sought for decades. The bill allows abortion up to 24 weeks of gestational age for vulnerable categories of women and there is no limit of gestational age in case of pregnancies with substantial fetal abnormalities, diagnosed by a medical board. This will increase access of women to safe medico-legal services and will thus reduce maternal mortality and morbidity arising out of unsafe abortions.

The bill also seeks to strengthen provisions for protecting the dignity and privacy of women who seek the refuge of law when confronted with such a life altering decision. The current amendment not only allows greater autonomy to women, it will also ensure clarity amongst medical practitioners, who have in the past shuwn inhibition towards pregnancy termination procedures especially in cases of survivors of rape and incest - where survivors were subsequently forced to approach the courts for judicial sanction.

Q. If termination of pregnancy is safe for only up to 20 weeks, then why did the new bill increases this limit to 25 weeks?

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

A decision in a legal case recently enraged many, while leaving many others feeling helpless as the rights of a minor rape survivor were tragically crushed due to the legal limitations arising out of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. A brutally raped minor was forced to give birth to her rapist's child after a high court denied her request for an abortion. Examined first by a doctor at 19 weeks of pregnancy, the minor survivor was traumatized when her doctor refused to perform an abortion even though it was permitted under the law. By the time her petition was heard by a court of law, her pregnancy had crossed the 20-week limit beyond which abortion is prohibited under the MTP Act.

Hers was not the lone tragedy. Despite a plethora of judgments allowing termination of pregnancy in case of fetal abnormalities, the Supreme Court denied the right to abort a fetus detected with Down Syndrome at 22 weeks, to a family already blessed with and caring for a special needs child, on the grounds that the 20 -week mark specified in the MTP Act had been breached.

A 2015 study in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics has observed that 10-13% of maternal deaths in India can be attributed to unsafe abortions. It roughly translates into at least six to seven women losing their life due to unsafe abortions every day. Many of those who survive such methods are compelled to live a life of pain compounded by infertility, sepsis, and other internal injuries. Studies have shown that the 20 week limit on abortion is based on outdated medical concepts from the 1970 s. Developments in medical science which include medical abortion pills and vacuum aspiration which allow for safer abortions in advanced stages of pregnancy have found no legal resonance in the MTP Act.

Though access to safe abortion has been established as a human right by numerous international frameworks and in 2003 the WHO developed technical and policy guidelines to help governments pass progressive abortion laws, there was legislative silence on the issue under the decade-long coalition that assumed power in 2004. This silence was preceded by serious efforts made by Atalji's NDA government to ensure safer abortions, by eliminating abortion by untrained persons and in unhygienic conditions, thus reducing maternal morbidity under the aegis of the MTP (Amendment) Act, 2002.

By contrast Cabinet's decision to approve the MTP (Amendment) Bill, 2020, will truly address the needs of gender justice through the prism of reproductive rights, providing a solution which women in our country have sought for decades. The bill allows abortion up to 24 weeks of gestational age for vulnerable categories of women and there is no limit of gestational age in case of pregnancies with substantial fetal abnormalities, diagnosed by a medical board. This will increase access of women to safe medico-legal services and will thus reduce maternal mortality and morbidity arising out of unsafe abortions.

The bill also seeks to strengthen provisions for protecting the dignity and privacy of women who seek the refuge of law when confronted with such a life altering decision. The current amendment not only allows greater autonomy to women, it will also ensure clarity amongst medical practitioners, who have in the past shuwn inhibition towards pregnancy termination procedures especially in cases of survivors of rape and incest - where survivors were subsequently forced to approach the courts for judicial sanction.

Q. A lady Sangeeta is pregnant with an abnormal fetus but the time of pregnancy has been 25 weeks. Can she opt for abortion under the new law?

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

A decision in a legal case recently enraged many, while leaving many others feeling helpless as the rights of a minor rape survivor were tragically crushed due to the legal limitations arising out of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. A brutally raped minor was forced to give birth to her rapist's child after a high court denied her request for an abortion. Examined first by a doctor at 19 weeks of pregnancy, the minor survivor was traumatized when her doctor refused to perform an abortion even though it was permitted under the law. By the time her petition was heard by a court of law, her pregnancy had crossed the 20-week limit beyond which abortion is prohibited under the MTP Act.

Hers was not the lone tragedy. Despite a plethora of judgments allowing termination of pregnancy in case of fetal abnormalities, the Supreme Court denied the right to abort a fetus detected with Down Syndrome at 22 weeks, to a family already blessed with and caring for a special needs child, on the grounds that the 20 -week mark specified in the MTP Act had been breached.

A 2015 study in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics has observed that 10-13% of maternal deaths in India can be attributed to unsafe abortions. It roughly translates into at least six to seven women losing their life due to unsafe abortions every day. Many of those who survive such methods are compelled to live a life of pain compounded by infertility, sepsis, and other internal injuries. Studies have shown that the 20 week limit on abortion is based on outdated medical concepts from the 1970 s. Developments in medical science which include medical abortion pills and vacuum aspiration which allow for safer abortions in advanced stages of pregnancy have found no legal resonance in the MTP Act.

Though access to safe abortion has been established as a human right by numerous international frameworks and in 2003 the WHO developed technical and policy guidelines to help governments pass progressive abortion laws, there was legislative silence on the issue under the decade-long coalition that assumed power in 2004. This silence was preceded by serious efforts made by Atalji's NDA government to ensure safer abortions, by eliminating abortion by untrained persons and in unhygienic conditions, thus reducing maternal morbidity under the aegis of the MTP (Amendment) Act, 2002.

By contrast Cabinet's decision to approve the MTP (Amendment) Bill, 2020, will truly address the needs of gender justice through the prism of reproductive rights, providing a solution which women in our country have sought for decades. The bill allows abortion up to 24 weeks of gestational age for vulnerable categories of women and there is no limit of gestational age in case of pregnancies with substantial fetal abnormalities, diagnosed by a medical board. This will increase access of women to safe medico-legal services and will thus reduce maternal mortality and morbidity arising out of unsafe abortions.

The bill also seeks to strengthen provisions for protecting the dignity and privacy of women who seek the refuge of law when confronted with such a life altering decision. The current amendment not only allows greater autonomy to women, it will also ensure clarity amongst medical practitioners, who have in the past shown inhibition towards pregnancy termination procedures especially in cases of survivors of rape and incest - where survivors were subsequently forced to approach the courts for judicial sanction.

Q. Under the new law, a rape survivor who is pregnant with the accused's child is allowed to terminate pregnancy up to:

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

Sending a strong message down the line to lower courts, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that anticipatory bail can be granted until the completion of trial. SC's verdict lamented that arbitrary and groundless arrests were still common and curtailing the discretionary power to grant anticipatory bail, which was kept wide deliberately and after due consideration, would be dangerous. Judiciary's discretion to grant bail flows out of the innocent until proven guilty dictum. And in the Indian context, anticipatory bail was found necessary because of incessant targeting of political rivals and the tendency of police to use its power of arrest even in cases that require no custodial interrogation.

While anticipatory bail is generally availed by the well-heeled, the principle applied in the above judgment must also extend to thousands of under trial prisoners (UTPs) languishing in jail with no resources to bail themselves out. According to NCRB prison statistics for 2018, UTPs account for 70% of the prison population, a 25%rise from 2010, which also mirrors how the problem of pendency of trials is actually worsening with the decades. Those who can afford good lawyers and furnish sureties manage to secure bail while the poor are left behind, irrespective of the gravity of offences.

Recognizing the burgeoning numbers of UTPs in jails, initiatives to free those not accused of heinous offences on personal bail (which is non-monetary) need to be stepped up. At the same time, the legal aid infrastructure that has been in the works for nearly three decades needs to be spruced up. An SC-appointed committee could find only one legal aid lawyer for every 161 prisoners after surveying data collected from 12 states. While the data is not conclusive, appointing more legal aid lawyers will definitely help. It is equally vital that advocates hired by every Legal Services Authority are proficient and dedicated to the cause they sign up for.

Judges, prosecutors, and police officers also have an important role to play. Fear of UTPs absconding, especially those with no one to vouch for their credentials, hinders a more liberal bail policy. But various officers of the state would do well to remember this memorable parting line in Justice Ravindra Bhat's anticipatory bail verdict: "In conclusion, it would be useful to remind oneself that the rights which the citizens cherish deeply, are fundamental-it is not the restrictions that are fundamental."

Q. Who is a UTP?

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

Sending a strong message down the line to lower courts, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that anticipatory bail can be granted until the completion of trial. SC's verdict lamented that arbitrary and groundless arrests were still common and curtailing the discretionary power to grant anticipatory bail, which was kept wide deliberately and after due consideration, would be dangerous. Judiciary's discretion to grant bail flows out of the innocent until proven guilty dictum. And in the Indian context, anticipatory bail was found necessary because of incessant targeting of political rivals and the tendency of police to use its power of arrest even in cases that require no custodial interrogation.

While anticipatory bail is generally availed by the well-heeled, the principle applied in the above judgment must also extend to thousands of under trial prisoners (UTPs) languishing in jail with no resources to bail themselves out. According to NCRB prison statistics for 2018, UTPs account for 70% of the prison population, a 25%rise from 2010, which also mirrors how the problem of pendency of trials is actually worsening with the decades. Those who can afford good lawyers and furnish sureties manage to secure bail while the poor are left behind, irrespective of the gravity of offences.

Recognizing the burgeoning numbers of UTPs in jails, initiatives to free those not accused of heinous offences on personal bail (which is non-monetary) need to be stepped up. At the same time, the legal aid infrastructure that has been in the works for nearly three decades needs to be spruced up. An SC-appointed committee could find only one legal aid lawyer for every 161 prisoners after surveying data collected from 12 states. While the data is not conclusive, appointing more legal aid lawyers will definitely help. It is equally vital that advocates hired by every Legal Services Authority are proficient and dedicated to the cause they sign up for.

Judges, prosecutors, and police officers also have an important role to play. Fear of UTPs absconding, especially those with no one to vouch for their credentials, hinders a more liberal bail policy. But various officers of the state would do well to remember this memorable parting line in Justice Ravindra Bhat's anticipatory bail verdict: "In conclusion, it would be useful to remind oneself that the rights which the citizens cherish deeply, are fundamental-it is not the restrictions that are fundamental."

Q. Granting of bail is based upon which principle?

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

Sending a strong message down the line to lower courts, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that anticipatory bail can be granted until the completion of trial. SC's verdict lamented that arbitrary and groundless arrests were still common and curtailing the discretionary power to grant anticipatory bail, which was kept wide deliberately and after due consideration, would be dangerous. Judiciary's discretion to grant bail flows out of the innocent until proven guilty dictum. And in the Indian context, anticipatory bail was found necessary because of incessant targeting of political rivals and the tendency of police to use its power of arrest even in cases that require no custodial interrogation.

While anticipatory bail is generally availed by the well-heeled, the principle applied in the above judgment must also extend to thousands of under trial prisoners (UTPs) languishing in jail with no resources to bail themselves out. According to NCRB prison statistics for 2018, UTPs account for 70% of the prison population, a 25%rise from 2010, which also mirrors how the problem of pendency of trials is actually worsening with the decades. Those who can afford good lawyers and furnish sureties manage to secure bail while the poor are left behind, irrespective of the gravity of offences.

Recognizing the burgeoning numbers of UTPs in jails, initiatives to free those not accused of heinous offences on personal bail (which is non-monetary) need to be stepped up. At the same time, the legal aid infrastructure that has been in the works for nearly three decades needs to be spruced up. An SC-appointed committee could find only one legal aid lawyer for every 161 prisoners after surveying data collected from 12 states. While the data is not conclusive, appointing more legal aid lawyers will definitely help. It is equally vital that advocates hired by every Legal Services Authority are proficient and dedicated to the cause they sign up for.

Judges, prosecutors, and police officers also have an important role to play. Fear of UTPs absconding, especially those with no one to vouch for their credentials, hinders a more liberal bail policy. But various officers of the state would do well to remember this memorable parting line in Justice Ravindra Bhat's anticipatory bail verdict: "In conclusion, it would be useful to remind oneself that the rights which the citizens cherish deeply, are fundamental-it is not the restrictions that are fundamental."

Q. What are the suggestions given by the author in the passage in order to reform the state of UTPs?

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

Sending a strong message down the line to lower courts, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that anticipatory bail can be granted until the completion of trial. SC's verdict lamented that arbitrary and groundless arrests were still common and curtailing the discretionary power to grant anticipatory bail, which was kept wide deliberately and after due consideration, would be dangerous. Judiciary's discretion to grant bail flows out of the innocent until proven guilty dictum. And in the Indian context, anticipatory bail was found necessary because of incessant targeting of political rivals and the tendency of police to use its power of arrest even in cases that require no custodial interrogation.

While anticipatory bail is generally availed by the well-heeled, the principle applied in the above judgment must also extend to thousands of under trial prisoners (UTPs) languishing in jail with no resources to bail themselves out. According to NCRB prison statistics for 2018, UTPs account for 70% of the prison population, a 25%rise from 2010, which also mirrors how the problem of pendency of trials is actually worsening with the decades. Those who can afford good lawyers and furnish sureties manage to secure bail while the poor are left behind, irrespective of the gravity of offences.

Recognizing the burgeoning numbers of UTPs in jails, initiatives to free those not accused of heinous offences on personal bail (which is non-monetary) need to be stepped up. At the same time, the legal aid infrastructure that has been in the works for nearly three decades needs to be spruced up. An SC-appointed committee could find only one legal aid lawyer for every 161 prisoners after surveying data collected from 12 states. While the data is not conclusive, appointing more legal aid lawyers will definitely help. It is equally vital that advocates hired by every Legal Services Authority are proficient and dedicated to the cause they sign up for.

Judges, prosecutors, and police officers also have an important role to play. Fear of UTPs absconding, especially those with no one to vouch for their credentials, hinders a more liberal bail policy. But various officers of the state would do well to remember this memorable parting line in Justice Ravindra Bhat's anticipatory bail verdict: "In conclusion, it would be useful to remind oneself that the rights which the citizens cherish deeply, are fundamental-it is not the restrictions that are fundamental."

Q. What is anticipatory bail?

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

Sending a strong message down the line to lower courts, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that anticipatory bail can be granted until the completion of trial. SC's verdict lamented that arbitrary and groundless arrests were still common and curtailing the discretionary power to grant anticipatory bail, which was kept wide deliberately and after due consideration, would be dangerous. Judiciary's discretion to grant bail flows out of the innocent until proven guilty dictum. And in the Indian context, anticipatory bail was found necessary because of incessant targeting of political rivals and the tendency of police to use its power of arrest even in cases that require no custodial interrogation.

While anticipatory bail is generally availed by the well-heeled, the principle applied in the above judgment must also extend to thousands of under trial prisoners (UTPs) languishing in jail with no resources to bail themselves out. According to NCRB prison statistics for 2018, UTPs account for 70% of the prison population, a 25%rise from 2010, which also mirrors how the problem of pendency of trials is actually worsening with the decades. Those who can afford good lawyers and furnish sureties manage to secure bail while the poor are left behind, irrespective of the gravity of offences.

Recognizing the burgeoning numbers of UTPs in jails, initiatives to free those not accused of heinous offences on personal bail (which is non-monetary) need to be stepped up. At the same time, the legal aid infrastructure that has been in the works for nearly three decades needs to be spruced up. An SC-appointed committee could find only one legal aid lawyer for every 161 prisoners after surveying data collected from 12 states. While the data is not conclusive, appointing more legal aid lawyers will definitely help. It is equally vital that advocates hired by every Legal Services Authority are proficient and dedicated to the cause they sign up for.

Judges, prosecutors, and police officers also have an important role to play. Fear of UTPs absconding, especially those with no one to vouch for their credentials, hinders a more liberal bail policy. But various officers of the state would do well to remember this memorable parting line in Justice Ravindra Bhat's anticipatory bail verdict: "In conclusion, it would be useful to remind oneself that the rights which the citizens cherish deeply, are fundamental-it is not the restrictions that are fundamental."

Q. Why did the supreme court widen the scope to grant anticipatory bail?