Answer: D
Explanation
● All the statements are correct.
● The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was
established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products
Export Development Authority Act,1985. 
● The Authority replaced the Processed Food Export Promotion Council (PFEPC).
● It functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
● The Authority has its headquarters in New Delhi.
Functions of APEDA
● Development of industries relating to the scheduled products for export by way of
providing financial assistance or otherwise for undertaking surveys and feasibility studies,
participation in enquiry capital through joint ventures and other reliefs and subsidy
schemes;
● Registration of persons as exporters of the scheduled products on payment of such fees
as may be prescribed;
● Fixing of standards and specifications for the scheduled products for the purpose of
exports;
● Carrying out inspection of meat and meat products in slaughterhouses, processing plants,
storage premises, conveyances or other places where such products are kept or handled for
the purpose of ensuring the quality of such products;
● Improving of packaging of the Scheduled products;
● Improving of marketing of the Scheduled products outside India;
● Promotion of export oriented production and development of the Scheduled products;
Products monitored 

● APEDA is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of the
following scheduled products:
○ Fruits, Vegetables and their Products.
○ Meat and Meat Products.
○ Poultry and Poultry Products.
○ Dairy Products.
○ Confectionery, Biscuits and Bakery Products.
○ Honey, Jaggery and Sugar Products.
○ Cocoa and its products, chocolates of all kinds.
○ Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages.
○ Cereal and Cereal Products.
○ Groundnuts, Peanuts and Walnuts.
○ Pickles, Papads and Chutneys.
○ Guar Gum.
○ Floriculture and Floriculture Products.
○ Herbal and Medicinal Plants.
● In addition to this, APEDA has been entrusted with the responsibility to monitor import of
sugar.

4. Consider the following statements
1) Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water using renewable energy and has a
lower carbon footprint.
2) Blue hydrogen is produced from natural gas where the associated emissions are released to
the air.
3) Turquoise hydrogen is made using a process called methane pyrolysis to produce hydrogen
and solid carbon.

5. Consider the following statements about Kuno Palpur wildlife sanctuary
1) It is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh
2) Kuno river which is a tributary of the Chambal river flows through the national park.

Answer: B
Explanation
● Hydrogen can be ‘grey’, ‘brown’, ‘Turquoise’, ‘blue’ and green.
○ Statement 1 is correct: Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis using
renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind or hydel power. It is produced by
splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity. That makes
green hydrogen the cleanest option – hydrogen from renewable energy sources
without CO2 as a by-product.
○ The vast majority of industrial hydrogen is currently produced from natural gas
through a conventional process known as steam methane reforming (SMR). The
standard SMR process produces what is known as Grey Hydrogen and has the
major disadvantage of releasing large quantities of by-product CO2 into the
atmosphere - the main culprit for climate change.
○ Grey hydrogen has increasingly been produced also from coal, with significantly
higher CO2 emissions per unit of hydrogen produced so much that it is often called
brown or black hydrogen instead of grey.
○ Statement 2 is incorrect: Blue hydrogen, too, is produced using electricity
generated by burning methane or coal but with technologies to prevent the
carbon released in the process from entering the atmosphere;

○ Statement 3 is correct: Turquoise hydrogen is made using a process called
methane pyrolysis to produce hydrogen and solid carbon. As a result, there is no
requirement for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the carbon can even be used
in other applications. Where the electricity driving the pyrolysis is renewable, the
process is zero-carbon.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● Kuno National Park is a protected area in Madhya Pradesh that received the status of
national park in 2018. The protected area was established in 1981 as a wildlife sanctuary in
the Sheopur and Morena districts. It was also known as Kuno-Palpur and Palpur-Kuno
Wildlife Sanctuary. It is part of the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion. Hence
statement 1 is correct.
● The Kuno River is one of the main tributaries of the Chambal River. It flows through the
Kuno National Park from south to north, draining the other rivulets and Tributaries into the
Chambal River in Morena at MP-Rajasthan border. It is 180 km long and originates from the
Shivpuri Plateau. Hence statement 2 is correct.

1. Consider the following statements about the National Health Authority (NHA).
1. It is an attached office of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with full functional
autonomy.
2. It is responsible for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya
Yojana.

Answer: C
Explanation
● Statement 1 is correct: The National Health Authority (NHA) is an attached office of the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with full functional autonomy.
● Statement 2 is correct: NHA is responsible for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat
Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
● In addition to this, NHA has been given the mandate by the government to design, build,
roll-out and implement the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) in the country.

2. With reference to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), consider the following
statements.
1. NDRF was constituted under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
2. The primary purpose of NDRF is to supplement the State Disaster Response Fund, provided
adequate funds are not available in SDRF.
3. NDRF is classified in the Public Accounts of the Government of India.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● Statement 1 is incorrect: Under the Disaster Management Act 2005, a financial
mechanism has been set up by way of National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) at national
level and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) at state level to meet the rescue and relief
expenditure during any notified disaster.
● Statement 2 is correct: The primary purpose of NDRF is to supplement the SDRF, in case
there is a calamity of “severe nature” which requires assistance over and above the funds
available under SDRF.
● Statement 3 is correct: NDRF is classified in the Public Accounts of the Government of
India under “Reserve Funds not bearing interest”.
● The NDRF is funded through the National Calamity Contingency Duty (NCCD) imposed on
specified goods and additional budgetary support is provided as and when necessary.

● The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the National Disaster Management Authority
takes decisions on the expenses from the National Disaster Response Fund.

3. Consider the following statements about the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF).
1. It is a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-
harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest
subvention and credit guarantee.
2. Agricultural Produce Market Committees are not eligible to avail loans under AIF.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● The Government of India launched the Central Sector Scheme of financing facility under
the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) in 2020.
● Statement 1 is correct: AIF is a medium - long term debt financing facility for
investment in viable projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and
community farming assets through interest subvention and credit guarantee.
● AIF aims at bringing farmers & agribusinesses together with newer partnership models
emerging for the creation of distributed infra near farm-gate in a hub & spoke model. These
assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce as they will be able to store
and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage, and increase processing and value addition.
● The duration of the scheme is from FY2020 to FY2029 (10 years).
● Under the scheme, Rs. 1 Lakh Crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as
loans with interest subvention of 3% per annum and credit guarantee coverage under
Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) for loans up
to Rs. 2 Crores.
○ Launched in 2000, CGTMSE makes available collateral-free credit to the micro and
small enterprise sector. The corpus of CGTMSE is being contributed by the Government
of India and SIDBI in the ratio of 4:1 respectively.

● Eligible beneficiaries: Farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Primary
Agricultural Credit Society (PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Self Help Groups
(SHGs), Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Agri-
entrepreneurs, Start-ups, and Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored Public-Private
Partnership Projects.
● Statement 2 is incorrect: Eligibility to avail loans from AIF has now been extended to
state agencies/Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs), national and state
federations of cooperatives, federations of farmers producers organisations (FPOs) and
federations of self-help groups (SHGs).
● The overall period of the scheme has been extended from 10 years to 13 years up to
2032-33.

4. The primary objective of the Tele Manas initiative launched by the Government of India is

Answer: B
Explanation
● Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) initiative was
launched by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to provide free tele-mental health
services all over the country.
● Launched in 2022, aims to enhance mental health service delivery nationwide.
● The Tele MANAS toll-free helpline numbers 14416 or 1-800-891-4416 offer multi-
language support and have been pivotal in facilitating communication between callers and
mental health professionals.
Structure
● Tele-MANAS comprises two tiers: trained counsellors at State Tele-MANAS cells who
provide immediate care, and mental health professionals (psychologists, clinicians,
psychiatrists) at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) who provide specialist care.
● NIMHANS, Bengaluru, serves as the nodal centre while the International Institute of
Information Technology (IIITB) in Bengaluru is tasked with providing the technical
know-how for the helpline.