📰 THE HINDU EDITORIAL | 29 SEPT 2026 🌾
Tackling Food Loss & Waste — India’s Opportunity

🌱 Key Takeaways:
• Post-harvest losses impact food security & farmer incomes
• Storage, cold-chain & processing gaps remain key challenges
• Technology & better data can reduce losses
• Circular economy can turn food waste into economic value

🎯 UPSC | WBCS | OPSC
GS-II: Food Security | Policies | Sustainable Development
GS-III: Agriculture | Food Processing | Environment | Circular Economy

✍️ Mains Focus: Discuss the challenges of food loss and waste in India and suggest a suitable way forward.

💡 Takeaway: Reduce food loss → Strengthen food security → Promote sustainable growth.

🧠 𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐙 | 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 | 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 & 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 🚀
📚 𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: 𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐑 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲

🤔 Can you identify the correct statements about the NISAR Mission?
Drop your answer in the comments and test your knowledge! 👇

𝐖𝐁𝐂𝐒 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 | 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐄

Your focused preparation for WBCS Prelims 2025 starts here! 🎯

📚 8 Papers
⏱️ 160 Hours of Classes
📝 10 Sectional Tests
🎯 15 Full-Length Tests
🔄 Intensive Revision
📖 Handy Study Materials

🔥 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟐𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫

🎁 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐈 𝐏𝐋𝐔𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 & 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬!

Build consistency, strengthen your concepts, and prepare with a structured test-and-revision approach.

👉 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 & 𝐄𝐧𝐫𝐨𝐥:https://aptiplus.in/courses/wbcs/wbcs-prelims-2025-crash-course-guidance-programme

Let's start our Mega Quiz

Q1. With reference to the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) Earth-observing satellite mission, consider the following statements:
1. NISAR is a collaborative Earth-observing radar mission developed jointly by NASA and ISRO.
2. It is the first satellite mission to utilize dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar operating in both L-band and S-band frequencies.
3. The satellite operates in a geostationary orbit to provide continuous real-time transmission over the Indian Ocean alone.

Q2. With reference to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), consider the following statements:
1. IPEF is an economic initiative launched by the United States with partner countries across the Indo-Pacific region.
2. The framework is structured around four pillars: Trade, Supply Chains, Clean Economy, and Fair Economy.
3. India has acceded to the agreements on Supply Chains, Clean Economy, and Fair Economy while maintaining observer status on the Trade pillar.

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding the Joint Sitting of Parliament under Article 108 of the Constitution:
1. A joint sitting of Parliament is summoned by the President to resolve a legislative deadlock between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
2. The joint sitting is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, or in their absence, by the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
3. A Constitutional Amendment Bill can be referred to a joint sitting if rejected by the Rajya Sabha.

Q4. With reference to Ecological Succession and pioneer communities, consider the following statements:
1. Primary ecological succession occurs on newly formed, sterile substrate where no biological community previously existed.
2. Lichens and mosses typically serve as the pioneer species in primary xerarch succession on bare rock surfaces.
3. Secondary ecological succession proceeds much more slowly than primary succession due to the complete lack of organic soil.

Q5. Consider the following statements regarding the Continental Drift Theory and Plate Tectonics:
1. Alfred Wegener proposed that all continents were once assembled into a single supercontinent called Pangea, surrounded by the ocean Panthalassa.
2. Wegener cited the presence of identical Glossopteris plant fossils across South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica as evidence of continental drift.
3. Modern plate tectonics asserts that continental masses move across a static, non-convecting liquid outer core.

Mega Quiz Correct Answer with Explanation
Q1. With reference to the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) Earth-observing satellite mission, consider the following statements:
1. NISAR is a collaborative Earth-observing radar mission developed jointly by NASA and ISRO.
2. It is the first satellite mission to utilize dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar operating in both L-band and S-band frequencies.
3. The satellite operates in a geostationary orbit to provide continuous real-time transmission over the Indian Ocean alone.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3

Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is Correct: The NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission is a landmark joint collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to map the global land and ice masses with unprecedented detail.
Statement 2 is Correct: NISAR is the first satellite mission to employ dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR), incorporating an L-band SAR provided by NASA (sensitive to dense vegetation and biomass) and an S-band SAR designed and built by ISRO (optimized for soil moisture, crops, and coastal processes).
Statement 3 is Incorrect: NISAR operates in a sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of approximately 747 kilometers (not geostationary orbit); it maps the entire Earth's land and ice surfaces every 12 days to monitor crustal deformation, glacier retreats, and ecosystem dynamics globally.

Q2. With reference to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), consider the following statements:
1. IPEF is an economic initiative launched by the United States with partner countries across the Indo-Pacific region.
2. The framework is structured around four pillars: Trade, Supply Chains, Clean Economy, and Fair Economy.
3. India has acceded to the agreements on Supply Chains, Clean Economy, and Fair Economy while maintaining observer status on the Trade pillar.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3

Answer: (d)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is Correct: The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) was launched in Tokyo in May 2022 by the United States alongside 13 partner nations representing approximately 40 percent of global Gross Domestic Product.
Statement 2 is Correct: Unlike conventional preferential trade agreements that focus on tariff elimination, IPEF is built around four independent policy pillars: Pillar I (Trade), Pillar II (Supply Chain Resilience), Pillar III (Clean Economy), and Pillar IV (Fair Economy - Tax and Anti-Corruption).
Statement 3 is Correct: India actively negotiated and signed the landmark IPEF Supply Chain Agreement, the Clean Economy Agreement, and the Fair Economy Agreement, while opting to maintain observer status on Pillar I (Trade) to protect its domestic policy space regarding labor standards, environment, and data localization.

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding the Joint Sitting of Parliament under Article 108 of the Constitution:
1. A joint sitting of Parliament is summoned by the President to resolve a legislative deadlock between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
2. The joint sitting is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, or in their absence, by the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
3. A Constitutional Amendment Bill can be referred to a joint sitting if rejected by the Rajya Sabha.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3

Answer: (a)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is Correct: Under Article 108 of the Constitution, if an ordinary bill passed by one House is rejected by the other House, or the Houses disagree on amendments, or more than six months elapse without passing, the President may notify an intention to summon a joint sitting of both Houses to resolve the legislative deadlock.