The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that is aimed to promote and regulate the regulation of international trade between nations. It commenced its operations on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement.

Aadhaar Authentication is the process wherein Aadhaar number, along with other attributes, including biometrics, are submitted online to the Central Identities Data Repository for its verification and such a repository verifies the correctness, or the lack thereof, on the basis of the information available with it. An authentication request is entertained by the UIDAI only upon a request sent by a requesting entity electronically in accordance with its regulations. The modes of authentication include Demographic Authentication, one-time pin-based authentication, Biometric-based authentication, Multi-factor authentication. According to Nandan Nilekani’s blog in Times of India in 2016, Aadhaar provides open Application Programming Interfaces or APIs, which can be integrated easily into any electronic device. These APIs enable online authentication using a fingerprint or iris. So, both statements are right.

The magnitude of the Sun's solar activity is decreasing, this period of decreased solar activity is known as the Modern Grand Solar Minimum that will last from 2020 to 2053. The surface temperatures on Earth may go down during the Modern Grand Solar Minimum due to a 70% reduction in solar magnetic activity. So, statement 2 is correct. It is possible that the cooling due to a solar minimum may offset the rising temperatures due to global warming. However, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has dismissed this and said the decrease in climate crisis would only be worth as much as three years of carbon dioxide growth in the atmosphere. According to NASA, the impact of global warming would be six times greater than the cooling caused by the Grand Solar Minimum. So, statement 1 is not correct. 

Satish Chandra committee is related to Civil Services Reforms. Another panel, called Indian Council for Historical research was once headed by Satish Chandra. But, both are not related to the topic in question. So, option 1 is NOT correct. The committee in statement 3 was established by the UPA-II government. The committee in statement 2 was established very recently by MHRD.

US President Donald Trump named Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as an agency of international terrorists. The US has classified the military of another country as a terrorist group for the first time. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, founded by order of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini following the Iranian Revolution of 22 April 1979. While the Iranian Army defends Iranian borders and maintains internal order, the Revolutionary Guard is intended to protect the Islamic republican political system in the country, according to the Iranian constitution.

Saturated hydrocarbons will generally give a clean flame while unsaturated carbon compounds will give a yellow flame with lots of black smoke. Vegetable oil is normally unsaturated oil, i.e., if it burns it gives black smoke and yellow flame. Propane and natural gas (mostly methane) are saturated hydrocarbons (single bond carbon chains). So they give a clear flame.

The water at the surface of the sea or ocean is heated by the Sun while the water in deeper sections is relatively cold. This difference in temperature is exploited to obtain energy in ocean-thermal-energy conversion plants. These plants can operate if the temperature difference between the water at the surface and water at depths up to 2 km is 293 K (20C) or more. The warm surface- water is used to boil a volatile liquid like ammonia. The vapours of the liquid are then used to run the turbine of generator. The cold water from the depth of the ocean is pumped up and condense vapour again to liquid. The energy potential from the sea (tidal energy, wave energy and ocean thermal energy) is quite large, but efficient commercial exploitation is difficult.

Yew has undergone a recent, range-wide population decline of at least 50% as per IUCN. Throughout its range in the western Himalayas, it is declining in response to a range of threats.In Afghanistan, up to 50% of the forests where it occurs have been destroyed or heavily logged (UNEP 2003) over the last 30 years. In northwest India and western Nepal, exploitation associated with Taxol production has led to a national decline of up to 90% in Taxus populations throughout the country. Also, in other countries such as Pakistan, overexploitation for fuel, fodder, and medicinal use has led to a significant decline. The decline is continuing and while the causes are largely understood, in many areas they will not be reversible. On this basis, an assessment of Endangered is warranted. So, options 1, 2 and 3 are NOT correct.

The world's first negative emissions plant under the CarbFix Project to turn atmospheric carbon dioxide into stone has begun operations in Hellisheidi, Iceland. The project is intended to lock away carbon-dioxide by reacting with basaltic rocks. The work on the CarbFix Project started in the year 2007. In this project, the carbon dioxide is captured from ambient air, bound to water, and sent to more than 700 meters underground. Currently, the system captures only 50 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, about the same emitted by a single US household. It pumps the collected gas deep into the island's volcanic bedrock, where it reacts with basalt and essentially turns into limestone.

• Despite being a net importer of crude oil, India has become a net exporter of petroleum products by investing in refineries designed for export, particularly in Gujarat. So, statements 1 and 2 are correct.
• Natural gas is priced based on a formula approved by the government which links prices to select global market prices. So, statement 3 is NOT correct.
• The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major sectors: upstream, midstream and downstream.
• The upstream oil sector is also commonly known as the exploration and production (E&P) sector, which is being done in India by companies such as Reliance and Cairn India. So, statement 4 is NOT correct.