UPSC Indian Forest Service (IFoS) Prelims (GS1) Mock Test- 7 Free Online

• The proposals of the Cripps Mission and the failure of the C. Rajagopalachari (CR) Formula created a deadlock between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. Efforts continued to end the deadlock. Bhulabhai Desai, leader of the Congress Party in the Central Legislative Assembly, met Liaqat Ali Khan, deputy leader of the Muslim League in that Assembly. Both of them came up with the draft proposal for the formation of an interim government at the centre, consisting of
  • an equal number of persons nominated by the Congress and the League in the Central Legislature. 
  • 20% reserved seats for the minorities. No settlement could be reached between the Congress and the League on these lines, but the fact, that a sort of parity between the Congress and the League was decided upon, had far-reaching consequences.

• Ecosan toilet or ecological sanitation toilet is a cost-effective toilet technology that operates on the concept of treating human waste for with less water, electricity and without a sewage treatment system. The EcoSan toilet is a closed system that does not need water, so is an alternative to leach pit toilets in places where water is scarce or where the water table is high and the risk of groundwater contamination is increased. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The toilet is based on the principle of recovery and recycling of nutrients from excreta to create a valuable resource for agriculture. When the pit of an EcoSan toilet fills up it is closed and sealed. After about eight to nine months, the faeces are completely composted to organic manure and can be used on farms. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• Waris Shah (Punjabi: وارث شاہ (Shahmukhi); ਵਾਰਿਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ (Gurmukhi); 1722–1798) was an 18th-century Punjabi Sufi poet of the Chishti order, known popularly for his contribution to Punjabi literature.
• Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (Sindhi: شاه عبدللطيف ڀٽائي‎; 1689/1690 – 21 December 1752), commonly known by the honorifics Lakhino Latif, Latif Ghot, Bhittai, and Bhit Jo Shah, was a Sindhi Sufi mystic and poet from Pakistan, widely considered to be the greatest poet of the Sindhi language.
• ​​​​​​​Thayumanavar or Tayumanavar (Tamil: தாயுமானவர் Tāyumānavar) (1705–1744) was a Tamil spiritual philosopher from Tamil Nadu, India. Thayumanavar articulated the Saiva Siddhanta philosophy. He wrote several Tamil hymns of which 1454 are available. 
• ​​​​​​​Kunchan Nambiar was a prominent Malayalam poet of the 18th century (1705-1770). Apart from being a prolific poet, Nambiar is also famous as the originator of the dance art form of Thullal, most of his works were written for use in Thullal performances.

Article 22(2) of the Indian constitution provides that, every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate. Right to be released after 24 hours unless the magistrate authorises further detention. Article 22 also authorises the Parliament to prescribe (a) the circumstances and the classes of cases in which a person can be detained for more than three months under a preventive detention law without obtaining the opinion of an advisory board; (b) the maximum period for which a person can be detained in any classes of cases under a preventive detention law; and (c) the procedure to be followed by an advisory board in an inquiry. So, Statement 1 is correct.

According to the Article 22(4) of the Indian constitution, no law providing for preventive detention shall authorise the detention of a person for a longer period than three months unless an Advisory Board consisting of persons who are, or have been, or are qualified to be appointed as, Judges of a High Court has reported before the expiration of the said period of three months that there is in its opinion sufficient cause for such detention. So, Statement 2 is not correct.

The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 has reduced the period of detention without obtaining the opinion of an advisory board from three to two months. However, this provision has not yet been brought into force, hence, the original period of three months still continues. So, Statement 3 is correct. 

• The Constitution of India was framed by a Constitution Assembly set up under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946.
• The Cabinet Mission came to India to discuss the transfer of power from the British Government to the Indian leadership with a view to preserving the peace and democracy of India.
• The constituent assembly was set up on 6^th December 1946.
• The first official meeting of the constituent assembly was held on  9th December 1946.
• Sachidanand Sinha was appointed as the temporary chairman during its first meeting.
• Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the permanent president of the constituent assembly on 11^th December 1946.
• The Constituent Assembly also appointed H C Mukherjee as its Vice president.
• The Constitutional Advisor to the constituent assembly was B. N Rao.

Important Points

• Important Committees of the Constituent Assembly-
  • Drafting Committee – B. R. Ambedkar
  • Union Constitution Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
  • Provincial Constitution Committee – Vallabhbhai Patel
  • Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas – Vallabhbhai Patel
  • National Flag and HOC Committee – Rajendra Prasad
  • States Committee (Committee for negotiating with states) - Jawaharlal Nehru
  • Committee for the function of the Constitution Assembly - G V Mavlankar
  • Language Committee - Moturi Satyanarayana

• Fluoride Remediation: A new study shows rice husk biochar removes fluoride from groundwater and reduces fluorosis. Fluoride is one of the pollutants in groundwater.
• It is primarily caused by geological processes but is also contributed by anthropogenic activities across India. A team from Nalanda University investigated the potential of renewable biochar produced from rice husk biomass to absorb fluoride pollutants from groundwater.
• Fluoride remediation using biochars showed significant removal at neutral pH. Biochar-mediated sand columns can be used for defluoridation in hand pumps and tube wells. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • Fluorosis: 9 It results from excessive fluoride intake from various sources, including food, water, air, and excessive use of toothpaste. 9 Prolonged fluoride consumption in higher concentrations in drinking water can cause dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, kidney diseases, and arthritis. Hence, statement 1 is correct. 9 Dental fluorosis, or brown stains on the teeth caused by weakened enamel, is one of the most noticeable symptoms due to fluorosis.

Status of India's Smart Cities Mission

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs's latest data, as of 3rd November 2023, provides insights into the status of India's Smart Cities Mission. With the mission's deadline approaching in June 2024, the analysis showcases top-performing cities, financial milestones, and regional variations in project completion. Key Findings Regarding the Status of India's Smart Cities Mission: Leading Cities in Completion of Projects: Surat (Gujarat) emerges as the top-performing city, leading in the completion of projects, fund utilization, and overall criteria. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Agra (Uttar Pradesh(UP)), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Varanasi (UP), and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) secure positions in the top five cities, showcasing commendable progress. Regional Disparities: Union Territories (UTs) and cities in Northeastern states find themselves in the bottom 10. Smart Cities Mission: It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, launched in June 2015 to transform 100 cities to provide the necessary core infrastructure and clean and sustainable environment to enable a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of "Smart Solutions". Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The mission aims to meet the aspirations of India’s population living in cities through various urban development projects.

• The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is the cooled remnant of the first light that could ever travel freely throughout the Universe. This 'fossil' radiation, the furthest that any telescope can see, was released soon after the 'Big Bang'. Scientists consider it as an echo or 'shockwave' of the Big Bang. Over time, this primeval light has cooled and weakened considerably; nowadays we detect it in the microwave domain.
• The CMB radiation was discovered by chance in 1965. Penzias and Wilson, two radio astronomers in the United States, registered a signal in their radio telescope that could not be attributed to any precise source in the sky. It apparently came from everywhere with the same intensity, day or night, summer or winter.
• Scientists considered their discovery as solid evidence for the 'Big Bang' theory. This theory predicted that the 'shockwave' of that primeval explosion would be still detectable as a subtle 'wallpaper' coming from everywhere behind all galaxies, quasars and galaxy clusters. Today, the Big Bang model is still the only model that is able to convincingly explain the existence of the CMB. According to this model, the Universe started with a very dense and hot phase that expanded and cooled itself; for several hundreds of thousands of years the temperature was so high that neutral atoms could not form. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.
• Today, we can detect the CMB at microwave frequencies or length scales, which are much longer than, for example, the length scales to which our eyes are can see. The CMB is the farthest and oldest light any telescope can detect. It is impossible to see further beyond the time of its release because then the Universe was completely 'opaque'. The CMB takes astronomers as close as possible to the Big Bang, and is currently one of the most promising ways we have of understanding the birth and evolution of the Universe in which we live. 

Tilak and Besant set up their separate Leagues to avoid any friction. Tilak set up his Home Rule League in April, 1916, and it was restricted to Maharashtra (excluding Bombay city), Karnataka, Central Provinces and Berar. It had 6 branches and the demands included Swarajya, formation of the linguistic states and education in the vernacular. Annie Besant set up her League in September, 1916, in Madras and covered the rest of India (including Bombay city). It had 200 branches, was loosely organized as compared to Tilak’s League and had George Arundale as the organizing secretary. Besides Arundale, the main work was done by B.W. Wadia and C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar. The Home Rule agitation was later joined by Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Chittaranjan Das, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Tej Bahadur Sapru and Lala Lajpat Rai. Some of these leaders became the heads of the local branches. Many of the Moderate Congressmen, who were disillusioned with Congress inactivity, and some members of Gokhale’s Servants of India Society, also joined the agitation. However, the Anglo-Indians, most of the Muslims and non-Brahmins from the South did not join, as they felt that Home Rule would mean rule of the Hindu majority, and that too mainly by the high caste. The Home Rule agitation proved to be short-lived. By 1919, it had petered out. The reasons for the decline were as follows:
(i) There was a lack of effective organization.
(ii) Communal riots were witnessed during 1917-18.
(iii) The Moderates, who had joined the Congress after Annie Besant’s arrest, were pacified by talk of reforms (contained in Montagu’s statement of August 1917, which held self-government as the long- term goal of the British rule in India) and Besant’s release.
(iv) Talk of passive resistance by the Extremists kept the Moderates away from activity from September, 1918, onwards.
(v) The Montagu-Chelmsford reforms, which became known in July, 1918, further divided the nationalist ranks.
(vi) Tilak had to go abroad (September, 1918) in connection with a case, while Annie Besant vacillated over her response to the reforms and the techniques of passive resistance. With Besant unable to give a positive lead and Tilak away in England, the Movement was left leaderless.

Government of India Act of 1935:

The Act marked a second milestone towards a completely responsible government in India. It was a lengthy and detailed document having 321 Sections and 10 Schedules.

Features of the Act:

• It provided for the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of provinces and princely states as units. The Act divided the powers between the Centre and units in terms of three lists—Federal List (for Centre, with 59 items), Provincial List (for provinces, with 54 items) and the Concurrent List (for both, with 36 items). Residuary powers were given to the Viceroy. However, the federation never came into being as the princely states did not join it.
• It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial autonomy’ in its place. The provinces were allowed to act as autonomous units of administration in their defined spheres. Moreover, the Act introduced responsible governments in provinces, that is, the governor was required to act with the advice of ministers responsible to the provincial legislature. This came into effect in 1937 and was discontinued in 1939. (Hence statement 1 is correct)
• It provided for the adoption of dyarchy at the Centre. Consequently, the federal subjects were divided into reserved subjects and transferred subjects. However, this provision of the Act did not come into operation at all. · It introduced bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces. Thus, the legislatures of Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces were made bicameral consisting of a legislative council (upper house) and a legislative assembly (lower house). However, many restrictions were placed on them.
• It further extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for depressed classes (scheduled castes), women and labour (workers). (Hence statement 2 is correct)
• It abolished the Council of India, established by the Government of India Act of 1858. The secretary of state for India was provided with a team of advisors. · It extended franchise. 10 per cent of the total population got the voting right. 
• It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to control the currency and credit of the country.
• It provided for the establishment of not only a Federal Public Service Commission but also a Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint Public Service Commission for two or more provinces. (Hence statement 3 is correct)
• It provided for the establishment of a Federal Court, which was set up in 1937.

(Hence option (c) is correct answer)

The Finance Commission is a constitutional body, formed under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution. The main purpose of forming the Finance Commission is to give its recommendations on the distribution of Tax revenues between the Centre and the states as well as among the states. The Finance Commission is required to recommend the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes of the Union between the Union and the States (commonly referred to as vertical devolution), and the allocation between the States of the respective shares of such proceeds (commonly known as horizontal devolution). So, Statement 1 is correct. The Finance Commission is constituted by the President every fifth year or even earlier. It is required to make recommendations to the President on the following matters:

• The distribution of the net proceeds of taxes to be shared between the Centre and the states, and the allocation between the states, the respective shares of such proceeds.
• The principles which should govern the grants-in-aid to the states by the Centre (i.e., out of the Consolidated Fund of India).
• The measures needed to augment the Consolidated fund of a state to supplement the resources of the panchayats and the municipalities in the state on the basis of the recommendations made by the State Finance Commission.
• Any other matter referred to it by the President in the interests of sound finance. So, Statement 2 is correct.
• The taxing powers of the central government encompass taxes on income (except agricultural income), excise on goods produced (other than alcohol), customs duties, and inter-state sale of goods. The state governments are vested with the power to levy income tax on agricultural income, land and buildings, sale of goods (other than inter-state), stamp duty and excise on alcohol. Local authorities such as Panchayat and Municipality also have the power to levy some minor taxes. In general, the central government has the power to levy and collect personal and corporate income tax. So, Statement 3 is not correct.
• Besides sharing of taxes between the Centre and the states, the Constitution provides for grants-in-aid to the states from the Central resources. There are two types of grants-in-aid, Statutory Grants: Article 275 empowers the Parliament to make grants to the states which are in need of financial assistance and not to every state. Also, different sums may be fixed for different states. These sums are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India every year. Apart from this general provision, the Constitution also provides for specific grants for promoting the welfare of the scheduled tribes in a state or for raising the level of administration of the scheduled areas in a state including the State of Assam.
• Discretionary Grants: Article 282 empowers both the Centre and the states to make any grants for any public purpose, even if it is not within their respective legislative competence. Under this provision, the Centre makes grants to the states. So, Statement 4 is correct.

• Initial public offering is the process by which a private company can go public by the sale of its stocks to the general public. Companies can raise equity capital with the help of an IPO by issuing new shares to the public or the existing shareholders can sell their shares to the public without raising any fresh capital.
• Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) is the issuance of securities for public trading by a company whose shares are being traded in a stock exchange. Unlike in an IPO, the company that releases an FPO is already listed on a stock exchange and later decides to offer equity to raise additional capital. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• FPO allows a company to raise additional funds through the issuance of new shares. This capital can be used for a variety of purposes such as general corporate expenses, working capital, expansion, and debt reduction. It also provides an opportunity for existing shareholders to increase their stake in the company.
• When compared, investing in FPO is less risky than investing in IPO. This is because data of the past performance of the company in the share market is available when FPO is released. As a consequence of ‘reward for risk-taking behavior’, the profit-earning probability of investment is also less in an FPO than in an IPO. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

Cloud Computing is a method of storing and processing data on remote servers rather than locally. Thus, servers are located away from the sources of data generation. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Cloud storage (cloud computing) is classified as decentralized if the storage system is distributed around the world, and centralized if the storage system is singularly controlled. That means it can be both centralized and decentralized. In the centralized version, the storage system is maintained by the cloud controller, and it is operated by the central server in the cloud controller. Cloud computing allows users to access their files from anywhere at any time, but it also means that they cannot control what happens with their data once it has been uploaded to servers owned by another company or organization. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Cloud computing focuses on storing and processing large amounts of unstructured data at one time. Data processing happens in the cloud. Cloud computing lends itself more naturally to applications where large amounts of data need to be processed at once (such as image recognition). Hence, statement 3 is correct. 

Kesariya Stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Kesariya, located at a distance of 110 kilometers from Patna, in the East Champaran district of Bihar, India. The first construction of this Stupa is dated to the 3rd century BC. Kesariya Stupa has a circumference of almost 400 feet and raises to a height of about 104 feet. The stupa is said to be the tallest and the largest Buddhist stupa in the world and is one ft taller than the famous Borobodur Stupa in Java. Two great foreign travelers, Faxian (Fahien) and Xuan Zang (Hsuan Tsang), had visited this place in ancient times and have left interesting and informative accounts of their travels. They have written at length about Kesaria‘s unique geographical location, cultural vibrancy, and ancient heritage. In ancient times, Kesaria was under the rule of the Mauryas and the Licchavis. The current stupa dates to the Gupta Dynasty between 200 AD and 750 AD. The local people call this stupa "Devala", meaning "house of god". Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

Key Points

• Article 262(1)- Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in, any inter-State river or river valley.
• Article 262(2)- Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, Parliament may by law provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint as is referred to in clause (1) Coordination between States.
• Entry 17 of State List deals with water i.e. water supply, irrigation, canal, drainage, embankments, water storage and water power.
• Entry 56 of Union List empowers the Union Government for the regulation and development of inter-state rivers and river valleys to the extent declared by Parliament to be expedient in the public interest.

Five Eyes Alliance is the result of the UK USA (United Kingdom – United States of America) Agreement of 1946 and is the world's oldest intelligence partnership. The origins of the Five Eyes can be traced back to the informal meetings between the US and UK code-breakers during the Second World War. In 1941, British and American intelligence members began engaging in secret meetings before signing the Atlantic Charter that August, which listed global objectives for the two countries beyond the war's conclusion. According to the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), this Charter paved the way for the Britain-USA agreement and later the UKUSA agreement, which was signed in 1946. Declassified UK USA intelligence documents confirm that the agreement was expanded to include Canada in 1948 and Australia and New Zealand in 1956, thereby creating the Five Eyes alliance, partly due to past shared Commonwealth heritage. So, Statement 1 is correct.

The Five Eyes Alliance evolved during the Cold War as a mechanism for monitoring the Soviet Union and sharing classified intelligence. The alliance was created during the Cold War that was fought between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as their respective allies. Throughout the Cold War, covert intelligence operations were commonplace and often the main currency for the parties involved. As such, alliances needed to share sensitive information regarding their adversaries on all possible fronts available. Following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the strategic objectives of the Five Eyes changed, with the war on terror and, later, the perceived threats of China and Russia emerging as points of intelligence and spheres of influence. So, Statement 2 is not correct.

The Five Eyes Alliance is a cooperative intelligence network that monitors the electronic communications of citizens and foreign governments. The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance consisting of the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Thus, India is not a member of the Five Eyes Alliance. So, Statement 3 is correct.

Legal Framework: The Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act (The WDR Act), 2007, provides for the issuance of the Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (NWRs) by the warehouses registered under this Act. Regulation: The WDR Act has also established the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA). It functions under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Benefits of the Negotiable Warehouse Receipts for the farmers: Store perishable commodities + Use collateral for short-term borrowing + Direct sale of the commodities under the new farm acts + Scientific storage + Reduce post-harvest losses. Recent Progress: The Ministry of Agriculture has enabled the integration of the NWRs with the E-NAM portal.

RBI's Announcement: Enhance the loan limit from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 75 lakhs per borrower, against the pledge of agricultural produce, backed by the NWRs/(e-NWRs), issued by the warehouses registered and regulated by the WDRA. 

• A real breakthrough was made by Bhagat Singh and his comrades in terms of revolutionary ideology, forms of revolutionary struggle and the goals of revolution. The rethinking had begun in the mid-1920s. The Founding Council of the HRA (The Hindustan Republican Association) had decided to preach revolutionary and communist principles, and the HRA Manifesto (1925) declared that the “HRA stood for abolition of all systems which made exploitation of man by man possible”. The HRA had proposed the nationalization of the railways and other means of transport, and of heavy industries, such as ship-building and steel.
• The HRA had also decided to start labour and peasant organizations, and work for an “organized and armed revolution”. During their last days (late 1920s), these revolutionaries had started moving away from individual heroic action and violence towards mass politics. Bismil, during his last days, appealed to the youth to give up pistols and revolvers, not to work in revolutionary conspiracies and instead, work in an open movement. He urged the youth to strengthen the Hindu- Muslim unity, unite all political groups under the leadership of the Congress.
• Bismil affirmed faith in communism and the principle that “every human being has equal rights over the products of the nature”. Even before his arrest, Bhagat Singh had moved away from a belief in violent and individual heroic action to Marxism and the belief that a popular broad- based movement alone could lead to a successful revolution. In other words, revolution could only be “by the masses, for the masses”.
• That is why Bhagat Singh helped establish the Punjab Naujawan Bharat Sabha (1926) as an open wing of the revolutionaries to carry out political work among the youth, peasants and workers, and it was to open branches in villages. Bhagat and Sukhdev also organized the Lahore Students’ Union for open, legal work among the students. Bhagat and his comrades also realized that a revolution meant organization and development of a mass movement of the exploited and the suppressed sections by the revolutionary intelligentsia. Bhagat used to say, “...real revolutionary armies are in villages and factories.” The famous statement of the revolutionary position is contained in the book, ‘The Philosophy of the Bomb’, written by Bhagwati Charan Vohra.

The following provisions ensure the independence and impartiality of the Office of the Speaker:
(i) He is provided with a security of tenure. He can be removed only by a resolution passed by the Lok Sabha by a special majority (i.e., a majority of all the then members of the House) and not by an ordinary majority (i.e., a majority of the members present and voting in the House). This motion of removal can be considered and discussed only when it has the support of at least 50 members.
(ii) His work and conduct cannot be discussed and criticised in the Lok Sabha, except on a substantive motion.
(iii) He cannot vote in the first instance. He can only exercise a casting vote in the event of a tie. This makes the position of the Speaker impartial.
(iv) He is given a very high position in the order of precedence. He is placed at the 7th rank, along with the Chief Justice of India. This means, he has a higher rank than all the Cabinet Ministers, except the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister. (v) His powers of regulating procedure or conducting business or maintaining order in the House are not subject to the jurisdiction of any Court. 

• Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) is a measure of change in retail prices of food items consumed by the population.
• It is released by National Statistics Office (NSO). Hence statement 1 is correct.
• It is released in three categories: rural, urban and combined- on all India basis with 2012 as base year. Hence statements 2 and 3 are not correct.
• CFPI is based on retail price quotations as in the case of CPI, whereas the food index of WPI is obtained from wholesale price quotations
• Like Consumer Price Index (CPI), the CFPI is also calculated on a monthly basis and methodology remains the same as CPI.
• In CPI, food and beverage group constitutes 45.86% of weight. Out of this, beverages and some of the eatable items are excluded to derive the CFPI basket of commodities. Weight of the CFPI commodities is 39.05% of the entire CPI basket.
• Additional information
  • WPI is based on the share of the respective items in total whole-sale transactions in the economy at first point of sale.
    Released By: Office of the Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industries.
  • CPI also known as retail inflation, CPI-based inflation reflects the price movements at the retail level.
    Released by: National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

• The Warm Temperate Eastern Margin (China type) of climate is found on the eastern margins of continents in warm temperate latitudes, just outside the tropics.
• It has comparatively more rainfall than the Mediterranean climate in the same latitudes, coming mainly in the summer. It is, in fact, the climate of most parts of China a modified form of monsoonal climate. It is thus also called the Temperate Monsoon or China Type of climate. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.
• In south-eastern U.S.A, bordering the Gulf of Mexico, continental heating in summer induces an inflow of air from the cooler Atlantic Ocean. Though less pronounced, the overall climatic features resemble those of the China type. It is sometimes referred to as the Gulf type of climate.
• In the southern hemisphere, this kind of climate is experienced along the warm temperate eastern coastlands of all three continents:
  • in New South Wales (Australia) with its eucalyptus forests; o in Natal (Africa) where cane sugar thrives; and
  • in the maize belt of the Parana-Paraguay-Uruguay (South America) basin.
• As the regions are influenced by the on-shore Trade Winds all year round, without any monsoon variations, the climate cannot be described as a temperate monsoon. It is sometimes referred to as the Natal type of climate.
• The Warm Temperate Eastern Margin Climate is typified by a warm moist summer and a cool, dry winter. The China type is the most typical climate of the warm temperate eastern margin. The great land mass of the Asiatic continent with its mountainous interior induces great pressure changes between summer and winter.
  • Intense heating in the heart of Asia sets up a region of low pressure in summer and the tropical Pacific air stream is drawn in as the rain-bearing South-East Monsoon.
  • Heavy precipitation occurs in most parts of China, decreasing inland. The wettest months of Nanking are in summer with more than a third of the annual rainfall falling in June and July, though the monsoon does not 'burst' as suddenly, nor pour' as heavily as in India.
  • In winter; a steep pressure gradient is set up between the cold interiors of Mongolia and Siberia, and the warmer Pacific coastlands. The continental polar air stream flows outwards as the North-West Monsoon, bitterly cold and very dry.
  • Another characteristic feature of the China-type of eastern margin climate is the great annual temperature range.

• Soon there grew a body of disciples of the Buddha and he founded a Sangha, an organisation of monks who too became the teachers of Dhamma. These monks lived simply, possessing only the essential requisites for survival, such as a bowl to receive food once a day from the laity. As they lived on alms, they were known as the Bhikkhus. Initially, only men were allowed into the Sangha, but later women also came to be admitted. According to the Buddhist texts, this was made possible through the mediation of Ananda, one of the Buddha’s dearest disciples, who persuaded him to allow women into the Sangha.
• The Buddha’s foster mother, Mahapajapati Gotami, was the first woman to be ordained as a Bhikkhuni. Many women, who entered the Sangha, became the teachers of Dhamma and went on to become Theris, or respected women who had attained liberation. The Buddha’s followers came from many social groups. They included kings, wealthy men and Gahapatis, and also humbler folk: workers, slaves and craftspeople. Once within the Sangha, all were regarded as equal, having shed their earlier social identities on becoming Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis. The internal functioning of the Sangha was based on the traditions of Ganas and Sanghas, where consensus was arrived at through discussions. If that failed, decisions were taken by a vote on the subject.

Indian Independence Act, 1947:

• It ended the British rule in India and declared India as an independent and sovereign state from August 15, 1947.
• It provided for the partition of India and creation of two independent dominions of India and Pakistan with the right to secede from the British Commonwealth.
• It abolished the office of viceroy and provided, for each dominion, a governor general, who was to be appointed by the British King on the advice of the dominion cabinet. His Majesty’s Government in Britain was to have no responsibility with respect to the Government of India or Pakistan.
• It empowered the Constituent Assemblies of the two dominions to frame and adopt any constitution for their respective nations and to repeal any act of the British Parliament, including the Independence act itself.
• It empowered the Constituent Assemblies of both the dominions to legislate for their respective territories till the new constitutions were drafted and enforced. No Act of the British Parliament passed after August 15, 1947 was to extend to either of the new dominions unless it was extended thereto by a law of the legislature of the dominion.
• It abolished the office of the Secretary of State for India and transferred his functions to the secretary of state for Commonwealth Affairs. (Hence statement 1 is correct)
• It proclaimed the lapse of British paramount over the Indian princely states and treaty relations with tribal areas from August 15, 1947.
• It granted freedom to the Indian princely states either to join the Dominion of India or Dominion of Pakistan or to remain independent.
• It provided for the governance of each of the dominions and the provinces by the Government of India Act of 1935, till the new Constitutions were framed. The dominions were however authorized to make modifications in the Act.
• It deprived the British Monarch of his right to veto bills or ask for reservation of certain bills for his approval. But this right was reserved for the Governor- General. The GovernorGeneral would have full power to assent to any bill in the name of His Majesty.
• It designated the Governor-General of India and the provincial governors as constitutional (nominal) heads of the states. They were made to act on the advice of the respective council of ministers in all matters. (Hence statement 2 is correct)
• It dropped the title of Emperor of India from the royal titles of the king of England.
• It discontinued the appointment to civil services and reservation of posts by the secretary of state for India. The members of the civil services appointed before August 15, 1947 would continue to enjoy all benefits that they were entitled to till that time. (Hence statement 3 is correct)

• Sub-Categorisation Within Castes: About: Sub-categorisation within castes refers to the process of creating sub-groups within the existing categories of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) for reservation and affirmative action. Sub-categorisation aims to address the intra-category inequalities and ensure a more equitable distribution of benefits and opportunities among the most deprived and marginalized sections of society. Legality of Sub-Categorisation: Historical Attempts: States like Punjab, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu have attempted sub-categorization, facing legal challenges that have reached the Supreme Court. Constitutional Dilemma: The Supreme Court of India, in the case of E.V.Chinnaiah vs State Of Andhra Pradesh And Ors, 2004, asserted that only Parliament has the authority to create and notify SC and Scheduled Tribes (STs) lists. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• However, in another case of State of Punjab and Others versus Davinder Singh and Others, 2020 judgment, a five-judge Bench ruled that States could decide on the quantum of benefits in the lists of SCs/STs already notified without "tinkering" with them. The contradiction between the 2004 and 2020 judgments has led to the 2020 judgment being referred to a larger Bench. There is a constitutional mandate and a judicial endorsement for sub-categorisation within castes, as Article 16 (4) of the Constitution empowers that the State can make any provision for reservation in matters of promotion in favour of the SCs and STs if they are not adequately represented in the services under the State. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• Swash: After wave breaks, water from it runs up the beach known as swash.
• Backwash: Movement of water back down the beach to the sea.
• Sand bars that obtain a length of hundreds of kilometres are called offshore bars or longshore bars.
• A connecting bar that joins two land masses (mainland to island) is known as a tombola.
• If bars are formed in such a way that one end is linked to land and the other end projects into the sea, they are called spits.
• Hence option (b) is the correct answer. 

• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free Legal Services to the weaker sections of society and to organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. The Chief Justice of India is the patron-in-chief of NALSA while the second senior-most Judge of the Supreme Court of India is the Executive-Chairman. Currently, Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, Chief Justice of India is the Patron-in-Chief. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Collegium system: It is a system under which appointments and transfers of judges (of the higher judiciary) are decided by a forum of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court (SC). It has no place in the Indian Constitution and has evolved through the judgments of the Supreme Court. In case of a difference of opinion, the majority view will prevail. The CJI has no veto power in this case. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• A judge of the Supreme Court (including the Chief Justice of India) can be removed from his Office by an order of the president. The President can issue the removal order only after an address by Parliament has been presented to him in the same session for such removal. The address must be supported by a special majority of each House of Parliament (ie, a majority of the total membership of that House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting). The grounds for removal are two–proven misbehaviour or incapacity. The President of India removes (can remove) the Chief Justice of India and not the Parliament. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

Option (b) is correct: Simple Closure: It is one when a member moves that the ‘matter having been sufficiently discussed be now put to vote’.

• Closure by Compartments: In this case, the clauses of a bill or a lengthy resolution are grouped into parts before the commencement of the debate. The debate covers the part as a whole and the entire part is put to vote.
• Kangaroo Closure: Under this type, only important clauses are taken up for debate and voting and the intervening clauses are skipped over and taken as passed.
• Guillotine Closure: It is one when the undiscussed clauses of a bill or a resolut- ion are also put to vote along with the discussed ones due to want of time (as the time allotted for the discussion is over).

• The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): Introduced in the 2016-17 Kharif season, the PMFBY is a Central-State Scheme, which aims to cushion the farmers against crop loss. The Central and the State Governments pay more than 95% of the premium amount, while the farmer bears 1.5-5% of the premium. As extensive usage of technology is used to settle the claims of the farmers, within a stipulated time period. The farmers are required to fill loss reports online, which are validated by the insurance companies, before the compensation amount is paid directly in their accounts.
• Prior to 2020, the Scheme was mandatory for the farmers who availed institutional finance, but that was changed and made voluntary for all farmers. Maharashtra has consistently seen a large number of farmers opting for the Scheme, even when it was non-mandatory for the non-loanee farmers.
• Why is the PMFBY criticised? Since the beginning, the farm leaders across the state have criticised the Scheme for various reasons. One of the main arguments against it is that it helps the insurance companies more than the farmers. The farm leaders claim that the insurance companies have made windfall gains at the behest of the public exchequer and the farmers.
• Delayed pay-outs and denial of claims are other common complaints against the insurance companies. On their part, the companies point out the nature of the insurance allows for payment only when there is a loss. Also, over the last few years, they have said that their pay- outs have been more than the premium collected, making the Scheme non-viable for them. 

Article 301 declares that trade; commerce and intercourse throughout the territory of India shall be free. The freedom under this provision is not confined to inter-state trade, commerce and intercourse, but also extends to intra-state trade, commerce and intercourse. The freedom guaranteed by Article 301 is a freedom from all restrictions, except those which are provided for in the other provisions (Articles 302 to 305) of Part XIII of the Constitution itself. These are explained below:
(i) The Parliament can impose restrictions on the freedom of trade, commerce and intercourse between the states or within a state in public interest. But, the Parliament cannot give preference to one state over another or discriminate between the states, except in the case of scarcity of goods in any part of India.
(ii) The Legislature of a state can impose reasonable restrictions on the freedom of trade, commerce and intercourse with that state or within that state in public interest. But, a Bill for this purpose can be introduced in the Legislature, only with the previous sanction of the President. Further, the State Legislature can give preference to one state over another or discrimination between the states.
(iii) The Legislature of a state can impose on goods imported from other states or the Union Territories any tax to which similar goods manufactured in that state are subject. This provision prohibits the imposition of discriminatory taxes by the state.

P-waves vibrate parallel to the direction of the wave. This exerts pressure on the material in the direction of the propagation. As a result, it creates density differences in the material leading to stretching and squeezing of the material. The direction of vibrations of S-waves is perpendicular to the wave direction in the vertical plane Secondary waves (S-waves) are transverse and shear waves in nature, while the Primary waves (P-waves) are longitudinal and compressional waves by nature. So, Statement 1 is not correct.

Mechanical Waves are waves which propagate through a material medium (solid, liquid, or gas) at a wave speed which depends on the elastic and inertial properties of that medium. The most familiar type of waves such as waves on a string, water waves, sound waves, seismic waves, etc. is the so-called mechanical waves. These waves require a medium for propagation, they cannot propagate through vacuum. They involve oscillations of constituent particles and depend on the elastic properties of the medium. Not all waves require a medium for their propagation, For example, light waves can travel through vacuum. The light emitted by stars, which are hundreds of light years away, reaches us through inter-stellar space, which is practically a vacuum. Thus Light waves are Non-Mechanical waves. Electromagnetic waves do not necessarily require a medium - they can travel through vacuum. Light, radio waves, X-rays, are all electromagnetic waves. In vacuum, all electromagnetic waves have the same speed.

So, Statement 2 is correct.