The correct answer is Only two

Key Points

Fiscal policy

• It refers to the use of government spending and tax policies to influence economic conditions, especially macroeconomic conditions, including aggregate demand for goods and services, employment, inflation, and economic growth. Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
• The major purpose of these measures is to stabilize the economy.
• Fiscal policy measures are frequently used in tandem with monetary policy to achieve these macroeconomic goals. Hence, Statement 2 is correct.
• Objectives of Fiscal policy
  • Attainment of full employment: It is of supreme importance to developing countries to avoid unemployment if not attained full employment. The state, therefore, has to spend on social and economic overhead in order to create employment.
  • Price stability: Fiscal policy measures are deployed to control the inflationary tendencies of the economy. Hence, Statement 3 is not correct.
  • Accelerating the rate of economic development: Fiscal measures such as taxation, public borrowing and deficit financing, etc. are engaged effectively to enhance production, consumption, and distribution and thereby increase the national per capita income.
  • Optimum allocation of resources: Fiscal policy measures guide public expenditure. Government reallocates resources towards equitability and enhanced social security for the weaker sections. Spending on subsidies, incentives, etc are the best examples of such interventions.
  • Economic stability: The budgeting system should have built-in flexibility so that the government's income and expenditures automatically offer a compensatory effect on the increase or fall of the nation's income and prevent the economy from external shocks.
  • Capital formation and growth: Capital formation is crucial to a developing economy. India’s fiscal policy has given a lot of importance to capital formation in order to bring the country out of poverty. The fiscal policy continues to prioritize investing in capital.

The correct answer is 4) Neither 1 nor 2.

Key Points

Understanding Air Masses

• Statement 1: The air with distinctive characteristics in terms of temperature and humidity is called an Air Mass.
  • This statement is correct. An air mass is indeed a large body of air with relatively uniform temperature and humidity characteristics.
  • Air masses are classified based on the region of origin, which determines their temperature and moisture properties.
  • Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
• Statement 2: The interaction of cold and warm air mass leads to frontogenesis.
  • This statement is correct. Frontogenesis refers to the formation of a front, which is a boundary separating two contrasting air masses, typically one warm and one cold.
  • The interaction between these air masses can lead to various weather patterns, such as the development of clouds and precipitation.
  • Hence, Statement 2 is correct.

Additional Information

• Types of Air Masses
  • Air masses are typically classified into four major categories based on the temperature and moisture characteristics:
    • Maritime Tropical (mT): Warm and humid.
    • Continental Tropical (cT): Warm and dry.
    • Maritime Polar (mP): Cool and humid.
    • Continental Polar (cP): Cold and dry.
• Fronts and Weather Patterns
  • When air masses meet, the boundary that forms is known as a front.
  • Different types of fronts include cold fronts, warm fronts, stationary fronts, and occluded fronts, each associated with specific weather patterns.

The correct answer is Preserving pickle.

Key Points

• Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is known as 'caustic soda' and it is a 'high-base' alkali.
• It is used in the manufacture of pulp and paper cloth, drinking water, soap, and detergent.
• In the field of medicine, sodium hydroxide is used for the treatment, control, prevention, and improvement of diseases.

Hint

• Sodium benzoate is used as a preservative for carbonated drinks, jams and fruit juices, and pickles.

The Correct Answer is Panama.

In News

• Panama becomes 97th member to ratify the International Solar Alliance.

Key Points

• Panama has become the 97th member to ratify the International Solar Alliance.
• Panama handed over the Instrument of ISA Ratification, during the meeting of the Ambassador of Panama to India, Yasiel Burillo with Joint Secretary (Economic Diplomacy), Abhishek Singh in New Delhi. 
• Moreover, on March 5, Malta became the 119th country to join the International Solar Alliance.
• ISA was conceived as a joint effort by India and France.
• Currently, 116 countries are signatories to the ISA Framework Agreement.
• ISA Headquarters: Gurugram, India.

The correct answer is Rahul Singh

In News

• Rahul Singh, a senior bureaucrat and a 1996-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, has been appointed as the new chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

Key Points

• Singh is currently serving as the Additional Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
• Nidhi Chhibber, the outgoing CBSE chairperson, has been appointed as Advisor to the Niti Aayog.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved Singh's appointment, as per an order issued by the Personnel Ministry.

Additional Information

• A P Das Joshi, a 1994-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, will replace Singh as the new Additional Secretary in DoPT.
• Rajeev Kumar Mital has been appointed as the Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Gyanesh Bharti will take over as the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, while Deepak Narain has been named as the Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The correct answer is Neither 1 nor 2.

Key Points

• The Central Government, through the Food Corporation of India (FCI), has assumed the responsibility for procurement, storage, transportation and bulk allocation of food grains to the State Governments. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• State Governments responsible for operations including allocation within State, identification of eligible families, issue of Ration Cards and supervision of the functioning of Fair Price Shops (FPSs) etc. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.

Additional Information

Public Distribution System (PDS)

• The Public Distribution System (PDS) evolved as a system of management of scarcity and for distribution of food grains at affordable prices.
• Over the years, PDS has become an important part of Government‟s policy for the management of food economy in the country.
• PDS is supplemental in nature and is not intended to make available the entire requirement of any of the commodities distributed to a household or a section of the society.
• PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State Governments.
• The Central Government, through Food Corporation of India (FCI), has assumed the responsibility for procurement, storage, transportation and bulk allocation of food grains to the State Governments.
• State Governments responsible for operations including allocation within State, identification of eligible families, issue of Ration Cards and supervision of the functioning of Fair Price Shops (FPSs) etc.
• Under the PDS, presently the commodities namely wheat, rice, sugar and kerosene are being allocated to the States/UTs for distribution.
• Some States/UTs also distribute additional items of mass consumption through the PDS outlets such as pulses, edible oils, iodized salt, spices, etc.

The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

• This doctrine of severability is also known as the doctrine of separability.
• The doctrine of severability means that when some particular provision of a statute offends or is against a constitutional limitation, but that provision is severable from the rest of the statute, only that offending provision will be declared void by the Court and not the entire statute. Hence option 2 is the correct answer.
• In this doctrine, it is not the whole act that is held invalid for being inconsistent with Part three of the constitution which is given to the citizens of India.
• It is only those parts that are inconsistent that are violative of the fundamental rights.
• But just the part which violates the fundamental rights is separable from that which does not isolate them.
• If it is there that the valid portion is combined with the invalid portion it is impossible to separate them.
• Then in such cases, the court will leave it and declare the whole Act as void.
• This process of doing it is known as the doctrine of severability
• The doctrine of severability was even used in the case of Minerva Mills vs Union of India where section 4 of 55 of the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 was struck down for being beyond the amending power of the Parliament, and then it had declared the rest of the Act as valid.
• Then in another case of Kihoto Hollohan Vs Zachillhu which is very famously known as the defection case.
  • In this case, paragraph 7 of the Tenth Schedule which was first inserted by the 52nd Amendment Act of 1985 was declared unconstitutional because it had violated the provisions under Article 368(2). But, the whole part was not declared unconstitutional.
  • So, the rest of the Tenth Schedule excluding paragraph 7 was upheld by the Constitution.

The correct answer is Argentina.

In News

• Alejandra Marisa Rodriguez won the  Miss Buenos Aires for the province of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Key Points

• She is a 60-year-old lawyer from La Plata, the capital city of Buenos Aires Province.
• Alejandra transitioned from journalism to law, eventually becoming a legal advisor for a hospital.
• The rules of the Miss Universe pageant changed in 2023, allowing women between 18 and 73 years old to participate.
• Alejandra credits her stunning appearance to her healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet and regular physical activity.

The correct answer is 2 and 4 only.

Key Points

Civil Disobedience Movement:

• The rejection of Gandhi's eleven points by Irwin Gandhi started the movement.
• On March 12, 1930, Gandhi began the Historic Salt March from his Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi Beach. 
• There, Gandhi and his disciples disobeyed the law by producing sea salt.
• The movement's programme was as follows:
  • The salt law should be broken everywhere.
  • Students should drop out of college, and government employees should resign.
  • Foreign garments should be destroyed.
  • There should be no taxes paid to the government.
  • Women should hold Dharnas at liquor stores, etc.
• C. Rajagopalachari organised a march.  Hence, statement 4 is correct.
  • From Thiruchirapalli to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast in April 1930 to defy the salt rule.
• Kelappan, famed for the Vaikom Satyagraha, organised salt marches.
• Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan's educational and social reform efforts among Peshawar's Pathans have politicised them.
  • Gaffar Khan, also known as Badshah Khan and Frontier Gandhi.  Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • He organised a volunteer army known as the 'Red-Shirts'.
  • They were dedicated to the freedom movement and nonviolence.
• The most weakest aspect of nationalism at this time was the low level of Muslim participation.
• The significant engagement of women was a fresh and noteworthy characteristic of the Movement.  Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• Gandhi’s arrest came on May 4, 1930 when he had announced that he would lead a raid on Dharasana Salt Works.
• Sarojini Naidu, Imam Sahib, and Manilal raided on the Dharasana Salt Works on May 21, 1930. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.

Additional Information

Gandhi's Eleven Points:

• Before starting the movement, Gandhi attempted yet another compromise of government.
• He proposed "eleven points" of administrative change.
• He claimed that if Lord Irwin accepted them, there would be no need for agitation.
• The following were the most critical requirements:
  • The rupee-to-sterling exchange rate should be decreased.
  • Land revenue should be cut in half and put subject to legislative oversight.
  • The salt tax, as well as the government salt monopoly, should be repealed.
  • Salaries for the highest-level services should be cut in half.
  • To begin, military spending should be cut by half.
  • Indian textiles and coastal shipping are protected.
  • All political detainees should be released.

The correct answer is 2 and 3 only.

Key Points

Red sea

• Red sea extends from Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Gulf of Suez,
• length 1930 km approx.
• Red sea is actually a part of the Great Rift Valley of Africa
• The six countries bordering the Red Sea are:

1. Yemen
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Egypt
4. Sudan
5. Eritrea
6. Djibouti, Hence pair 1 is incorrectly matched.

​Baltic Sea

• Countries bordering Baltic sea:
• Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Finland. Hence pair 2 is correctly matched.

Persian Gulf

• The lands around the Persian Gulf are shared by eight countries namely, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Hence pair 3 is correctly matched.
• These all eight countries are members of the United Nations

Aral Sea

• The Aral Sea was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan in the north and Uzbekistan in the south. Hence pair 4 is incorrectly matched.
• The name roughly translates as “Sea of Islands”, referring to over 1,100 islands that once dotted its waters; in the Turkic languages Aral means “island, archipelago”.

Sea of Marmara

• The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. Hence pair 5 is incorrectly matched.
• It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, separating the country's European and Asian parts.