UPSC CSE Complete Practice Test - 2 - UPSC MCQ

• Glass manufacturing is a complex process that involves transforming raw materials into a wide range of glass products, from everyday items like bottles and windows to specialized materials used in electronics. The key steps in the glass manufacturing process include:
• Raw Materials: The primary raw materials for glass production include silica (sand), soda ash, and limestone. Additional materials may be added to achieve specific properties or colors.
• Melting: The raw materials are mixed and melted in a furnace at high temperatures (typically around 1700°C or 3092°F) to form molten glass. This molten glass is a viscous liquid that can be shaped and molded.
• Forming: The molten glass is shaped into the desired form through various processes: Blown Glass: The glassblower gathers molten glass on the end of a blowpipe and shapes it by blowing air into the pipe.
• Float Process: Molten glass is poured onto a pool of molten tin, creating a smooth, flat surface. Pressed Glass: Molten glass is pressed into molds to achieve specific shapes.
• Annealing: The formed glass is slowly cooled in an annealing oven. This controlled cooling process helps relieve internal stresses, ensuring the glass's strength and durability.
• Cutting and Finishing: Once the glass has cooled and solidified, it is cut, polished, and finished to achieve the desired dimensions and surface qualities. Tempering (Optional): In some cases, glass may undergo a tempering process to increase its strength.
• Tempered glass is heated and then rapidly cooled, creating a strong outer layer. Coating and Decoration (Optional): Glass products may be coated or decorated for specific purposes, such as UV protection, insulation, or aesthetics.
• Quality Control: Rigorous quality control measures are applied throughout the manufacturing process to ensure that the glass meets specified standards for strength, clarity, and other properties. • Recycling: Glass is highly recyclable. Used glass products can be collected, crushed, and melted to create new glass, reducing the demand for raw materials.
• Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

• A ramjet is a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor. Fuel is injected in the combustion chamber where it mixes with the hot compressed air and ignites. A ramjet-powered vehicle requires an assisted take-off like a rocket assist to accelerate it to a speed where it begins to produce thrust. Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) and can operate up to speeds of Mach 6. However, the ramjet efficiency starts to drop when the vehicle reaches hypersonic speeds. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
• A scramjet is a type of ramjet airbreathing jet engine where combustion occurs in supersonic airflow. A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine as it efficiently operates at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion. Thus it is known as Supersonic Combustion Ramjet, or Scramjet. Hence statement 2 is correct

• As sunlight travels through the earth’s atmosphere, it gets scattered (changes its direction) by the atmospheric particles. Light of shorter wavelengths is scattered much more than light of longer wavelengths. (The amount of scattering is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the wavelength. This is known as Rayleigh scattering). At sunset or sunrise, the sun’s rays have to pass through a larger distance in the atmosphere. Most of the blue and other shorter wavelengths are removed by scattering. The least scattered light reaching our eyes, therefore, the sun looks reddish. This explains the reddish appearance of the sun and full moon near the horizon.
• This is also the reason that the sky appears blue during the day, as blue has a shorter wavelength than red and is scattered much more strongly. In fact, violet gets scattered even more than blue, having a shorter wavelength. But since our eyes are more sensitive to blue than violet, we see the sky blue.
• Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

• A nuclear reactor is a complex system designed for the controlled release of nuclear energy. Its basic components include
  • Fuel Assemblies: The core of a nuclear reactor contains fuel assemblies, which are clusters of fuel rods. The fuel rods typically contain uranium-235 or plutonium-239 isotopes.
  • Control Rods: Control rods are inserted or withdrawn from the reactor core to control the rate of the nuclear reaction. They are typically made of materials that can absorb neutrons, such as boron or cadmium. Adjusting the position of control rods regulates the reactor power.
  • Coolant: Coolant circulates through the reactor core to transfer heat away from the fuel assemblies. Common coolants include water, heavy water (deuterium oxide), or liquid sodium. The coolant absorbs the heat generated during fission reactions.
  • Steam Generator: In pressurized water reactors (PWRs), the coolant transfers heat to a secondary loop, which generates steam. The steam is then used to turn turbines connected to generators, producing electricity.
  • The turbine converts the kinetic energy of steam into mechanical energy, which is then used to drive a generator. The generator converts this mechanical energy into electrical energy. These components work together to maintain a controlled and sustainable nuclear reaction, extract heat from the system, and generate electricity safely and efficiently. The specific design and configuration of nuclear reactors can vary based on the reactor type (e.g., pressurized water reactor, boiling water reactor) and the intended application. Hence option (a) is the correct answer

• Recent Context: Biodiversity credits or biocredits are increasingly being pushed as a means for financing work on the various targets set under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) adopted in 2022 at the 15th Conference of Parties (CoP15) of Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Through 2023, efforts were made to promote them at different fora. They were discussed at CoP28 of the UNFCCC in Dubai in December 2023. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• While biocredits are similar to carbon credits used to control greenhouse gas emissions. But they are not designed to offset or compensate for actions with negative impacts on biodiversity. Instead, proceeds from the sale of bio credits are used to protect and restore biodiversity where it exists. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

• Luminol is a chemical compound with the molecular formula C8H7N3O2. It contains carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms.
• Luminol exhibits chemiluminescence, a phenomenon where a chemical reaction produces light. The reaction involves the oxidation of luminol, typically catalyzed by the presence of iron or other catalysts found in blood.
• Hemoglobin, the iron-containing protein in red blood cells, acts as a catalyst for the reaction. When luminol comes into contact with blood, the iron in hemoglobin catalyzes the oxidation of luminol, resulting in the release of energy in the form of light. 
• The emitted light is in the blue part of the spectrum and is often faint. However, even small amounts of blood can produce a detectable glow. The chemiluminescent reaction enhances the visibility of bloodstains, especially in low-light or dark conditions.
• Luminol is particularly useful in crime scene investigations where investigators need to identify and locate potential bloodstains that may not be visible under normal lighting. This includes situations where attempts have been made to clean or conceal blood.
• The use of luminol raises ethical considerations related to the potential destruction of evidence. The chemiluminescent reaction involves the oxidation of blood, which could hinder subsequent DNA analysis. Therefore, its application is carefully considered in conjunction with other forensic techniques.
• Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

• Teflon coating, also known by the brand name Teflon®, is a synthetic polymer coating applied to various surfaces to create a non-stick, hydrophobic (water-repellent), and low-friction surface. It's widely used in cookware, kitchen appliances, textiles, and numerous other industrial applications.
• Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is specifically chosen for non-stick cookware due to its unique properties, which include: o Low Friction: PTFE has an extremely low coefficient of friction, making it an excellent material for non-stick surfaces. This property prevents food from sticking to the cookware, allowing for easy release and cleaning.
  • Chemical Inertness: PTFE is highly resistant to chemicals and does not react with most substances. This chemical inertness ensures that the material remains stable and does not release harmful substances when exposed to cooking temperatures.
  • Thermal Stability: PTFE can withstand high temperatures without degradation. This is crucial for cookware, as it needs to endure the heat generated during cooking without losing its non-stick properties or releasing harmful fumes.
  • Non-Toxic: PTFE is considered non-toxic when used in cookware under normal cooking conditions. However, it is important to avoid overheating the cookware, as extreme temperatures can lead to the release of fumes that may be harmful to birds and can cause flu-like symptoms in humans (a phenomenon known as polymer fume fever).
• The other polymers mentioned (Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polyvinyl chloride - PVC) do not possess the combination of low friction, high chemical inertness, and thermal stability that make PTFE ideal for non-stick cookware. Hence option (d) is the correct answer

• Genetic engineering is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. Genome mapping describes the methods used to identify the location of a gene on a chromosome and the distances between genes.
• Rate of crossing over (also referred to as recombination frequency) between two or more genes or loci has been successfully used to measure the relative genetic distance between them. One map unit is equal to one percent of observed cross-over (recombinants). The unit centimorgan (cM) is used to denote the genetic distance between genes based on offspring phenotype frequency.

• Recent Context: Tea Board has mandated all tea producers to limit generation of tea waste not exceeding 0.2% of production for quality produce.
  • Presently, tea waste is being used for producing instant tea, bio-fertiliser and caffeine.
  • Board is in process of allowing tea waste being used only for production of instant tea.
• About Tea Board India o Nature: Statutory body set up under Tea Act 1953. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • Ministry: Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • Head Office: Kolkata. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
  • Functions: Financial and technical assistance for cultivation, manufacture and marketing of tea, export promotion etc.

• Statement 1 is correct: A rainbow is a natural spectrum appearing in the sky after a rain shower. It is caused by the dispersion of sunlight by tiny water droplets, present in the atmosphere. A rainbow is always formed in a direction opposite to that of the Sun.
• Statement 2 is correct: The water droplets act like small prisms. They refract and disperse the incident sunlight, then reflect it internally, and finally refract it again when it comes out of the raindrop. Due to the dispersion of light and internal reflection, different colors reach the observer's eye.
• Since it involves the total internal reflection of sunlight, the light is reflected back in the direction it originally came from. Hence you can only see a rainbow if your back is facing the sun.

The Rig Vedic people had a superior knowledge of agriculture. The ploughshare is mentioned in the earliest part of the Rig Veda, though some consider it to be an interpolation, and was possibly made of wood. They were acquainted with sowing, harvesting and threshing, and knew about the different seasons. Agriculture was also well known to the pre-Aryans, who lived in the area associated with the Vedic people, but was perhaps used primarily to produce fodder.

However, there are so many references to the cow and the bull in the Rig Veda that the Rig Vedic people can be called the predominantly pastoral people. Most of their wars were fought over cows. The term for war in the Rig Veda is Gavishthi, or search for cows, and cow seems to have been the most important form of wealth.

The administrative machinery of the Aryans in the Rig Vedic period functioned with the tribal chief, for his successful leadership in war, at the centre. He was called above Rajan. It seems that in the Rig Vedic period, the King’s post had become hereditary. Several tribal or kin-based assemblies, such as the Sabha, the Samiti, the Vidatha and the Gana are mentioned in the Rig deliberative, Veda. They exercised military and religious functions. The Rig Veda does not mention any officer for administration of justice. It was not, however, an ideal society, but one in which there were cases of theft and burglary, and the people stole cows. Spies were employed to keep an eye on such anti-social activities.

Traces of the election of the King appear in later Vedic texts. The individual considered to have the best in physical and other attributes was elected the Raja. In the later Vedic times, the Rig Vedic tribal assemblies lost their importance and royal power increased at their cost. The Sabha and the Samiti continued to hold their ground, but their character changed. They were now controlled by the chiefs and the rich nobles, and women were no longer permitted to sit in the Sabha, which was now dominated by the warriors and the Brahmanas.

The later Vedic society came to be divided into four Varnas, called the Brahmana, Rajanya or Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The growing cult of sacrifices enormously added to the power of the Brahmanas. All the three higher Varnas shared one common feature: They were entitled to Upanayana, or investiture with the sacred thread according to the Vedic Mantras. Upanayana heralded the beginning of education in the Vedas. The fourth Varna (Shudra) was deprived of the sacred thread ceremony and the recitation of the Gayatri Mantra. The Gayatri was a Vedic Mantra that could not be recited by a Shudra, thereby depriving him of the Vedic education. Similarly, women were also denied both the Gayatri and the Upanayana. Thus, the imposition of disabilities on the Shudras and women began towards the end of the Vedic period.

Magadha became the most important Mahajanapada in about two hundred years. Many rivers, such as the Ganga and the Son, flowed through Magadha. This was important for transport, water supplies and making the land fertile. Parts of Magadha were forested. Elephants, which lived in the forests, could be captured and trained for the army. Magadha had two very powerful rulers, Bimbisara and Ajatasattu, who used all possible means to conquer other Janapadas. Mahapadma Nanda was another important ruler. He extended his control up to the north-west part of the sub-continent. Rajagriha (the present-day Rajgir) in Bihar was the capital of Magadha for several years. Later, the capital was shifted to Pataliputra (the present-day Patna). Vajji: While Magadha became a powerful kingdom, Vajji, with its capital at Vaishali (Bihar), was under a different form of government, known as Gana or Sangha (Republic). 

Ashoka was one of the greatest rulers known to the history, and on his instructions inscriptions were inscribed on pillars, as well as on rock surfaces. The empire that Ashoka ruled was founded by his grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya, more than 2,300 years ago. Ashoka’s Dhamma: It did not involve the worship of a god, or the performance of a sacrifice. He felt that just as a father tries to teach his children, he had a duty to instruct his subjects. He was also inspired by the teachings of the Buddha. He appointed officials, known as the Dhamma Mahamatta, who went from place to place teaching people about Dhamma. Ashoka also sent messengers to spread ideas about Dhamma to other lands, such as Syria, Egypt, Greece, and his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghmitra to Sri Lanka.

Ashoka’s message to his subjects: “People perform a variety of rituals when they fall ill, when their children get married, when children are born, or when they go on a journey. These rituals are not useful. If instead, people observe other practices, this would be more fruitful. What are these other practices? These are: being gentle with slaves and servants. Respecting one’s elders. Treating all creatures with compassion. Giving gifts to brahmins and monks.” “It is both wrong to praise one’s own religion or criticise another’s.

Each one should respect the other’s religion. If one praises one’s own religion while criticising another’s, one is actually doing greater harm to one’s own religion. Therefore, one should try to understand the main ideas of another’s religion, and respect it.”

Jagayyapetta,  Andhra Pradesh: Archaeological excavations conducted in the vicinity of Jagayyapetta have uncovered Buddhist Stupas dating back to 200 BC. have been discovered in the surrounding areas of the town. According to the Buddhist tradition, Allakappa was among the eight republics chosen to receive the relics of the Buddha after his passing, known as Parinirvana. The inhabitants of Allakappa, known as the Bulayas or the Bulis, resided in the region of Bihar, which holds significant historical significance in relation to the life of the Buddha. Pippalivana, situated between Rummindei in the Nepali Tarai and Kasia in the Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh, holds historical significance. It was one of the Buddhist sites visited by Xuan Zang (A Chinese pilgrim) in 636 AD. The renowned Indian emperor, Chandragupta Maurya, hailed from the Moriya clan, a Kshatriya (warrior) lineage associated with the ancient republic of Pippalivana.

Narrative reliefs at Bharhut show how the artisans used the pictorial language very effectively to communicate stories. In one such narrative, showing Queen Mayadevi’s (mother of Siddhartha Gautam) dream, a descending elephant is shown. The queen is shown reclining on the bed whereas an elephant is shown on the top heading towards the womb of Queen Mayadevi.

On the other hand, the depiction of a Jataka story is very simple—narrated by clubbing the events according to the geographical location of the story, like the depiction of the Ruru Jataka, where the Boddhisattva deer is rescuing a man on his back. https://upscpdf.com/ Stupa, narratives gain further intricacy, while the depiction of the dream episode remains simple, featuring the reclining image of the queen and the elephant at the top.

Historical events, such as the siege of Kushinara, Buddha's visit to Kapilavastu, and Ashoka's visit to the Ramgrama Stupa are portrayed with meticulous details. The Bharhut Stupa is believed to have been initially constructed by the Maurya king Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE.

However, numerous artistic elements, including the gateway and the railings, were likely added during the Shunga period, featuring reliefs dating back to the 2nd century BCE or later. In contrast to the imperial art of the Mauryas, the railings of the Bharhut Stupa display inscriptions indicating that the reliefs and the figures were donated by the lay-people, monks and nuns. This aspect makes it one of the earliest examples of popular art during the Maurya period.

The Sanchi Stupa, with its upper and lower circumambulatory paths, has four exquisitely adorned Toranas that depict various events from the life of the Buddha and the Jatakas. The figure compositions are in high relief, utilizing the entire space, while achieving a naturalistic posture devoid of stiffness. The narratives become more elaborate, showcasing advanced carving techniques, as compared to Bharhut. Symbols representing the Buddha continue to be used. At the Sanchi Stupa, narratives gain further intricacy, while the depiction of the dream episode remains simple, featuring the reclining image of the queen and the elephant at the top.

Historical events, such as the siege of Kushinara, Buddha's visit to Kapilavastu, and Ashoka's visit to the Ramgrama Stupa are portrayed with meticulous details. The Satavahana Empire, under Satakarni II, gained control over eastern Malwa from the Shungas, providing them access to the Buddhist site of Sanchi. They are accredited with the construction of decorated gateways around the original Mauryan and Sunga Stupas. The highly embellished gateways, along with the balustrade, were adorned with colours. The later gateways, or Toranas, are generally attributed to the 1st century CE. The Siri Satakani inscription, written in the Brahmi script, records the gift of one of the top architraves of the Southern Gateway by the artisans of the Satavahana king Satakarni II.

The Gandhara School of Art, which flourished during the reign of the Kushana emperor Kanishka, was one of ancient India's significant artistic schools. It emerged through the amalgamation of the Greco-Roman and the Indian ideas, incorporating influences from foreign traditions, such as China and Iran.

The central theme of the Gandhara School of Art revolved around Lord Buddha and the Bodhisattvas, reflecting its close association with Mahayana Buddhism. This suggests that while the concept behind this style was Indian, its execution showcased foreign influences. The Bamiyan Buddha statues serve as notable examples of the Gandhara style of art. The flourishing of this art form primarily occurred in Afghanistan and present-day north-western India, with prominent sites, including Taxila, Peshawar, Begram and Bamiyan.

The Gandhara School of Art thrived from the 1st century BCE to the 4th century CE. Sanghol (Punjab) has its roots dating back to the Harappan Civilization. Excavations conducted at the site have yielded coins and seals associated with Toramana and Mihirakula from Central Asia. A Buddhist Stupa was excavated and the archaeologists unearthed a treasure trove of exquisitely carved stone slabs, including pillars.

The scholars have identified these artistic creations as Kushan sculptures, belonging to the Mathura School of the 1st and the 2nd centuries AD.

Francois Bernier, a Frenchman, was a doctor, political philosopher and historian. Like many others, he came to the Mughal Empire in search of opportunities. He was in India for twelve years, from 1656 to 1668, and was closely associated with the Mughal court, as a physician to Prince Dara Shukoh, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan, and later as an intellectual and scientist, with Danishmand Khan, an Armenian noble at the Mughal court.

Bernier often travelled with the army. Bernier travelled to several parts of the country and wrote accounts of what he saw, frequently comparing what he saw in India with the situation in Europe. He dedicated his major writing to Louis XIV, the king of France, and many of his other works were written in the form of letters to the influential officials and ministers. In virtually every instance Bernier described what he saw in India as a bleak situation in comparison to the developments in Europe. Other foreign writers: Jesuit Roberto Nobili, translated the Indian texts into European languages. The Portuguese writer, Duarte Barbosa, who wrote a detailed account of trade and society in south India.

The French jeweller, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, travelled to India at least six times. He was particularly fascinated with the trading conditions in India, and compared India to Iran and the Ottoman Empire. The Italian doctor, Manucci, never returned to Europe and settled down in India.

• If the GDP of the country is rising, the welfare may not rise as a consequence. This is because the rise in GDP may be concentrated in the hands of very few individuals or firms. For the rest, the income may in fact have fallen. In such a case the welfare of the entire country cannot be said to have increased. the GDP is not taking into account such negative externalities. Therefore, if we take GDP as a measure of the welfare of the economy we shall be overestimating the actual welfare. This was an example of a negative externality. There can be cases of positive externalities as well. In such cases, GDP will underestimate the actual welfare of the economy. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• Because of development, there will be pollution of rivers and air. This may cause harm to the people who use the water of the river. Hence their well-being will fall. Pollution may also kill fish or other organisms of the river on which fish survive. As a result, the fishermen of the river may be losing their livelihood. Such harmful effects that the project is inflicting on others, for which it will not bear any cost, are called externalities. In this case, the GDP is not taking into account such negative externalities. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Many activities in an economy are not evaluated in monetary terms. For example, the domestic services women perform at home are not paid for. The exchanges which take place in the informal sector without the help of money are called barter exchanges. In barter exchanges, goods (or services) are directly exchanged against each other. But since money is not being used here, these exchanges are not registered as part of economic activity. Hence statement 3 is correct.

• A variable is a measurable quantity that varies (changes). There are two types of variables i.e. stocks and flows. The basis of distinction is measurability at a point of time or period of time.
• A flow is a quantity that is measured with reference to a period of time. Thus, flows are defined with reference to a specific period (length of time), i.e. weeks, months, or years. For example, National income is a flow, as it describes and measures the flow of goods and services which become available to a country during a year.
• Other examples of flow variables are expenditure, savings, depreciation, exports, imports, change in inventories (not mere inventories), change in money supply, output, rent, profit, etc. because the magnitude (size) of all these are measured over a period of time. A stock is a quantity that is measurable at a particular point in time.
• For example, capital is a stock variable as capital goods continue to serve us through different cycles of production. The buildings or machines in a factory are there irrespective of the specific time period. There can be an addition to or deduction from, these if a new machine is added or a machine falls in disuse and is not replaced. A flow shows change during a period of time whereas a stock indicates the quantity of a variable at a point in time.
• Thus, wealth is a stock since it can be measured at a point in time, but income is a flow because it can be measured over a period of time. Other examples of stock are foreign debts, loans, inventories (not change in inventories), population, etc. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

• Types of Exchange Rates
  • Nominal Exchange Rate is the relative price of the currencies of two countries. For example, if the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Indian Rupee is Rs. 60 per dollar, then you can exchange one dollar for 60 Rupees in world markets for foreign currency. When people refer to “the exchange rate’’ between two countries, they usually mean the nominal exchange rate.
    • Nominal exchange rates are established on currency financial markets called "forex markets", which are similar to stock exchange markets.
  • Real Exchange Rate is the relative price of the goods of two countries. That is, the real exchange rate tells us the rate at which we can trade the goods of one country for the goods of another. The real exchange rate is sometimes called the terms of trade.
  • Thus, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) is the weighted average value of the nominal exchange rate of the rupee against the currencies of major trading partners of India. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • On the other hand, the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) is the weighted average of the Real Exchange Rates of the Rupee against the currencies of major trading partners of India. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. The weights are determined by the importance that a home country places on all other currencies traded within the pool, as measured by the balance of trade.
  • Unlike NER and RER, NEER and REER are not determined for each foreign currency separately.
  • There is a concept of Effective Exchange Rate which describes the relative strength of a currency relative to a basket of other currencies.

• The Prime Minister released the figures of the 5th cycle of India’s Tiger Census revealing that tiger numbers have once again increased in the country and now stand at 3,167 in the wild as of 2022. The 2018 Tiger Census, released in July 2019, established the presence of 2,967 tigers in India. The animal population in the country has increased by 200 or 6.7 percent in the past four years.  While the tiger numbers in the country stood at 1,411 in 2006, it increased to 1,706 in 2010 and 2,226 in the 2014 cycle of evaluations.
• PM released the Tiger Census while inaugurating the International Big Cat Alliance in Karnataka’s Mysuru, the first of its kind in the country, organised to mark 50 years of Project Tiger. The three day conference will focus on the protection and conservation of seven major big cats of the world – tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards, pumas, jaguars and cheetahs.
• Being the 50th year of Project Tiger, it is notable that governments, since 1973, have consistently devoted attention to ensuring that tigers — generally vulnerable to environmental degradation and extinct in several countries — continue to populate India’s forests. However, this does not mean that tiger numbers are ordained to grow in perpetuity. The ‘Status of Tiger’ report warns that all of India’s five main tiger zones, while largely stable, face challenges of deforestation and loss of tiger habitat.
• The only landscape in India where the tiger population has gone down is the Western Ghats, where declaring of an ecologically sensitive zone has been hanging since 2010, according to the latest tiger estimation report. The estimation was done in five landscapes. Population increase is substantial in Shivalik & Gangetic flood plain which is followed by Central India, North Eastern Hills and Brahmaputra flood plains and Sundarbans while Western Ghats population showed decline with major populations being stable. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• The overlap between “wildlife and humans” because of developmental activities has led to a fall in the tiger population in the areas under the World Heritage Western Ghats landscape, which is the “most biodiverse” in the country, according to the report.
• The Western Ghats tiger landscape is 1,600 km long and covers an area of about 1,40,000 square km. It spans six states --- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana -- and contains 12 Tiger Reserves, 20 National Parks, and 68 Wildlife Sanctuaries and is home to several endemic species such as lion-tailed macaque, the Malabar giant squirrel, and the Nilgiri tahr.
• From nine tiger reserves in 1973 to 53 today, the increase in numbers has not translated to all of these reserves becoming suitable habitats for tigers. Serious conservation efforts are needed to help, for instance, tiger population recovery in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. Experts have said India’s reserves, in their present state, ought to be able to sustain populations of up to 4,000, and with expanded efforts at improving fledgling reserves, these numbers can increase.
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority, which conducts the estimation, has not released state or tiger reserve-wise tiger estimation but has provided some state-specific insight in the overall report. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) reflects changes in the average prices of goods at the wholesale level — that is, commodities sold in bulk and traded between businesses or entities rather than goods bought by consumers.
  • WPI captures the price changes at the point of bulk transactions and may include some taxes levied and distribution costs up to the stage of wholesale transactions. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
• There are certain limitations in using WPI as a measure for inflation, as WPI does not consider the price of services, and it does not reflect the consumer price situation in the country. The wholesale market is only for goods, you cannot buy services on a wholesale basis. So WPI does not include services. Hence statement 4 is correct.
• WPI is released by the Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The purpose of WPI is to inspect movement in prices of goods that reflect supply and demand in industry, construction and manufacturing. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The index basket of WPI categorises commodities under three groups — primary articles, fuel and power & manufactured products. The biggest basket is Manufactured Goods. It spans across a variety of manufactured products such as Textiles, Apparels, Paper, Chemicals, Plastic, Cement, Metals, and more. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• In April 2017, the government revised the base year for WPI from 2004-05 to 2011-12. WPI is extensively used for short-term policy intervention as it is the only index that is available on a weekly basis.

• International Monetary Fund (IMF) Finances: The money for lending comes from the member countries primarily through their payment of quotas. Each member country of the IMF is assigned a quota, based broadly on its relative position in the world economy.
• Quotas are denominated in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the IMF’s unit of account.
• The current quota formula is a weighted average of GDP (50%), Openness (30%), Economic Variability (15%) and International Reserves (5%). Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.
• The capital subscriptions or quota is now made up of 25 p.c. of its quota in SDRs or widely accepted currencies (such as the US dollar, euro, the yen or the pound sterling) instead of gold and 75 p.c. in the country’s own currency.

• Frictional Unemployment:
  • Frictional Unemployment, also called Search Unemployment, refers to the time lag between jobs when an individual is searching for a new job or is switching between jobs. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.
  • In other words, an employee requires time for searching for a new job or shifting from the existing one to a new job, this inevitable time delay causes frictional unemployment.
  • It is often considered voluntary unemployment because it is not caused due to the shortage of jobs, but in fact, the workers themselves quit their jobs in search of better opportunities.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the 'Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats' (PRET) to better prepare for future outbreaks of a similar scale and devastation as the COVID-19 pandemic.
• It aims to provide “guidance on integrated planning for responding to any respiratory pathogen such as influenza or coronaviruses”.
• The initiative was announced at the Global Meeting for Future Respiratory Pathogen Pandemics held on 24-26 April 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

• Jagdish Chandra Bose:
• Recent context: In April month, a group of researchers from Tel Aviv University in Israel reported that they had been able to pick up distress noises made by plants. The researchers said these plants had been making very distinct, high-pitched sounds in the ultrasonic range when faced with some kind of stress, like when they were in need of water. This was the first time that plants had been caught making any kind of noise.
  • Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858 – 1937) was an Indian physicist and plant physiologist.
  • He earned a B.Sc. from University College London, which was connected with the University of London in 1883, and a BA (Natural Sciences Tripos) from the University of Cambridge in 1884.
  • Contributions
    • In 1917, he established Bose Institute – Asia’s first modern research center devoted to interdisciplinary studies.
    • He discovered wireless communication and was named Father of Radio Science by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
    • He invented the crescograph, a device for measuring the growth of plants. He for the first time demonstrated that plants have feelings. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
    • He was the first to demonstrate radio communication with millimeter wavelengths, which fall in the 30GHz to 300GHz spectrum. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
    • Bose is considered the father of Bengali science fiction. A crater on the moon has been named in his honor.
    • In 1896, he published Niruddesher Kahini, the first work of science fiction in the Bengali language
    • Bose was the first Asian to be awarded a US patent. In 1904, he was awarded a patent for his invention of a detector for electrical disturbances.
    • Books: Response in the Living and Non-Living, The Nervous: Mechanism of Plants, etc