Answer: D
Explanation:
All the statements are correct.
● In 2016, India was designated as a Major Defence Partnership (MDP) of the US.
● Foundational agreements are meant to build basic ground work and promote
interoperability between militaries by creating common standards and systems. They also
guide the sale and transfer of high-end technologies. They are
General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA)
● GSOMIA allows militaries to share the intelligence gathered by them.
Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA)
● LEMOA allows both countries to have access to each other’s designated military facilities for
refueling and replenishment.
● Signed by India in 2016.
Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)
● BECA will allow India and the US to share geospatial and satellite data with each other.
Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA)
● It provides the legal framework for the US to part with its sensitive communication
equipment and codes to enable transfer of real time operational information.
● This equipment is largely used for ground-to-air communication to enable best battle
situation awareness.
● It ensures that the militaries of the US and India can boost their “interoperability” as well as
share operational intelligence in real-time in the years ahead.

2. Consider the following missions
1) National Solar Mission
2) National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture
3) National Mission for Green India
4) National Mission on Clean Coal Technologies

Answer: C
Explanation

● The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) was formally launched in 2008.
● There are eight “National Missions” which form the core of the National action plan.
They focus on promoting understanding of climate change, adaptation and mitigation,
energy efficiency and natural resource conservation.
● The NAPCC provides the overarching policy framework for climate change mitigation
and adaptation through its National Missions. The NAPCC represents multipronged,
long term and integrated strategies for achieving key goals in the context of climate
change.
Missions under the NAPCC
1. National Solar Mission
● This initiative was started to promote the use of solar power.
● The Mission has set the ambitious target of deploying 100 GW of grid connected solar
power by 2022. It is under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
2. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency
● The initiative was undertaken to promote the market for energy efficiency by fostering
innovative policies and effective market instruments.
● Implementation agencies of the Mission- BEE - Bureau of Energy Efficiency & EESL -
Energy Efficiency Services Limited.
○ The Bureau of Energy Efficiency is a statutory body under the Ministry of Power set
up under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. It is responsible for
spearheading the improvement of energy efficiency in the economy through various
regulatory and promotional instruments.
○ Energy Efficiency Services Limited is a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of
Power. It was set up in 2009 to facilitate energy efficiency projects.

3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat
● It aims to make cities sustainable through improvements in energy efficiency in buildings,
management of solid waste and shift to public transport.
● The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs backs the mission.
4. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem
● Aimed at protecting the Himalayas, it has mapped institutes and civil society organizations
working on the Himalayan ecology for ease of coordination between governmental and
non-governmental agencies.
● It is the only area-specific mission under the NAPCC.
● The Ministry of Science and Technology has been entrusted with the responsibility of
coordinating the mission.
5. National Mission for a Green India
● It aims at protecting, restoring and enhancing India's diminishing forest cover and
responding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures.
● The target under the Mission is 10 million hectares (mha) on forest and non-forest
lands for increasing the forest/tree cover and to improve the quality of existing forest.
● It is driven by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC).
6. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
● It has been formulated for enhancing agricultural productivity especially in rain-fed areas
focusing on integrated farming, water use efficiency, soil health management and
synergizing resource conservation.
7. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change
● The mission seeks to build a dynamic and vibrant knowledge system that informs and
supports national policy and action for responding effectively to climate change
challenges, while not compromising on the nation's growth goals.
● The Ministry of Science and Technology drives the mission.

8. National Water Mission
● The main objective of NWM is conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its
more equitable distribution both across and within states through integrated water
resources development and management.
● At present, it is driven by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Statement 4 is incorrect as the National Mission on clean coal technologies is not a part of
NAPCC.

3. With reference to the SATAT initiative, consider the following statements.
1. It aims at boosting production and availability of Compressed BioGas (CBG) as an
alternative and affordable clean fuel for the transportation sector.
2. It was launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Answer: A
Explanation
● Statement 2 is incorrect: SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable
Transportation) initiative was launched by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in
2018 for boosting production and availability of Compressed BioGas (CBG) as an
alternative and affordable clean fuel for the transportation sector. Hence, statement 1 is
correct.
About CBG
● Bio-gas is produced naturally through a process of anaerobic decomposition from waste /
bio-mass sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid
waste, sewage treatment plant waste, etc. After purification, it is compressed and called
CBG, which has pure methane content of over 95%.
● Compressed Bio-Gas can be produced from various bio-mass/waste sources, including
agricultural residue, municipal solid waste, sugarcane press mud, distillery spent wash,
cattle dung and sewage treatment plant waste.
● The other waste streams, i.e, rotten potatoes from cold storages, rotten vegetables, dairy
plants, chicken/poultry litter, food waste, horticulture waste, forestry residues and treated
organic waste from industrial effluent treatment plants (ETPs) can be used to generate
biogas.
Significance
● The initiative has the potential to boost availability of more affordable transport fuels,
better use of agricultural residue, cattle dung and municipal solid waste, as well as to
provide an additional revenue source to farmers.
● This initiative holds great promise for efficient municipal solid waste management and in
tackling the problem of polluted urban air due to farm stubble-burning and carbon
emissions.
● Use of CBG will also help bring down dependency on crude oil imports and in realizing the
Prime Minister’s vision of enhancing farmers’ income, rural employment and
entrepreneurship.
● The scheme envisages setting up of 5000 CBG plants by FY 2023-24.

4. With reference to the World Bank, consider the following statements.

1. India is a founder member of the World Bank.
2. To become a member of the World Bank, a country must first join the International
Monetary Fund.

5. Consider the following statements about Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAmman Nidhi (PM-
KISAN):
1. Even if one of the family members paid Income Tax in the last assessment year, that farmer
family is not eligible for benefits under PM-KISAN.
2. All professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, Chartered Accountants, and Architects
are excluded from the scheme.
3. Farmers who do not own any land are not eligible for this scheme.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were set up at a meeting of 43
countries in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA in July 1944.
● The World Bank is an international organization dedicated to providing financing, advice,
and research to developing nations to aid their economic advancement.
● Its role is to reduce poverty by lending money to the governments of its poorer members to
improve their economies and to improve the standard of living of their people.
● Statement 1 is correct: India is one of the founder members of the world bank.
● Statement 2 is correct: To become a member of the World Bank, under the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Articles of Agreement, a country must
first join the IMF.

Answer: B
Explanation
● Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is a Central Sector Scheme with 100%
funding from Government of India.
● Aim : To augment the income of the farmers by providing income support to all landholding
farmers’ families across the country.
● The Scheme initially provided income support to all Small and Marginal Farmers’ families
across the country, holding cultivable land upto 2 hectares. Its ambit was later expanded
w.e.f. 01.06.2019 to cover all farmer families in the country irrespective of the size of
their land holdings.
● Under the Scheme an amount of Rs. 6000/- per year is transferred in three 4-monthly
installments of Rs. 2000/- directly into the bank accounts of the farmers, subject to certain
exclusion criteria relating to higher income status.

● Eligibility : All landholder farmer’s families in the country are eligible for the PM-Kisan
Scheme subject to the prevalent exclusion criteria. Farmers who do not own any land are
not eligible for this scheme. Hence statement 3 is correct.
● Excluded from the scheme
o Institutional land holders,
o Farmer families holding constitutional posts,
o Serving or retired officers and employees of state/central government as well as
PSUs and government autonomous bodies.
o Statement 1 is correct: Professionals like doctors, engineers and lawyers as well as
retired pensioners with a monthly pension of over Rs 10,000 and those who paid
income tax in the last assessment year.
o Statement 2 is incorrect: Not all professionals are excluded from the scheme. Only
those who have registered with respective Professional bodies and carry out
profession by undertaking practices are excluded.

● Identification of beneficiaries: The responsibility of identifying the eligible beneficiary
farmers and uploading their data on the PM-KISAN portal lies entirely with the state
governments.

Consider the following countries
1) Afghanistan
2) Bhutan
3) Nepal
4) Pakistan
How many of the above countries are member countries of SAARC?

Answer: D
Explanation
● SAARC is a regional intergovernmental organization established in 1985 with 7
founding members.
● SAARC now comprises eight Member States: Afghanistan (joined in 2007), Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

● The main objective of the Association include promotion of welfare of the peoples of
South Asia and to improve their quality of life.
● Decisions at all levels are to be taken on the basis of unanimity; and bilateral and
contentious issues are excluded from the deliberations of the Association.
● SAARC has been defunct since 2014. Pakistan was to host the summit in 2016, but it
was stalled after India refused to participate following the attack in Pulwama in
Jammu and Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based extremists.
● The Secretariat of the Association is located in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The primary purpose of Ways and Means Advances (WMA) is

Answer: B
Explanation
● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gives temporary loans to the center and state
governments as a banker to the government. This facility is called Ways and Means
Advances (WMA). This facility was introduced in 1997.
● Thus, WMA is a temporary liquidity arrangement that helps meet mismatches in
receipts and payments of the government. 
● Under this scheme, Centre and states can avail themselves of immediate cash from the RBI.
But it has to return the amount within 90 days. Interest is charged at the existing repo
rate.
● The governments are, however, allowed to draw amounts in excess of their WMA limits.
The interest on such overdraft is usually above the repo rate.
● The limits for WMA are decided by the government and RBI mutually and revised
periodically.

The term mercenary is most closely associated with which of the following characteristics?