Answer: A
Explanation
● Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) are agricultural extension centers in India that play a crucial
role in disseminating agricultural knowledge, innovations, and technologies to farmers.
● Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is responsible for the establishment and
management of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in India.

5. Consider the following statements about the Open Network for Digital Commerce
1) It is a government-backed initiative aimed at democratizing e-commerce in India.
2) It is intended to reduce the dominance of large e-commerce companies in the Indian
market.
3) It is mandatory for all the existing digital commerce applications and platforms to be a part
of the ONDC network.

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Answer: B
Explanation
● In 2022, the government of India launched the pilot phase of open network for digital
commerce (ONDC) with an aim to democratise the country’s fast growing digital e-
commerce space that is currently dominated by the two U.S.-headquartered firms —
Amazon and Walmart. Hence statement 1 is correct.

What is ONDC?
● ONDC is a network based on open protocol and will enable local commerce across
segments, such as mobility, grocery, food order and delivery, hotel booking and travel,
among others, to be discovered and engaged through a single platform.
● It is an initiative of the Department for
Promotion of Industry and Internal
Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry.
● It is neither an aggregator application
nor a hosting platform, and all existing
digital commerce applications and
platforms can voluntarily choose to adopt and be a part of the ONDC network. Hence
statement 3 is incorrect.
Role in Democratising Digital Commerce
● The ONDC platform aims to create new opportunities, curb digital monopolies and
support micro, small and medium enterprises and small traders and help them get
on online platforms. Hence statement 2 is correct.
● The ONDC aims to enable buying of products from all participating e-commerce
platforms by consumers through a single platform.
● Currently, a buyer needs to go to Amazon website/app, for example, to buy a product
from a seller on Amazon. Under ONDC, it is envisaged that a buyer registered on one
participating e-commerce site (for example, Amazon) may purchase goods from a seller
on another participating e-commerce site (for example, Flipkart).
● The ONDC model is trying to replicate the success of the Unified Payments Interface
(UPI) in the field of digital payments.
▪️ UPI allows people to send or receive money irrespective of the payment platforms
they are registered on.

● The open network concept also extends beyond the retail sector, to any digital
commerce domains including wholesale, mobility, food delivery, logistics, travel,
urban services, etc.
Significance
● The government believes that ONDC will put an end to the domination of the e-
commerce market by a few large platforms. Amazon and Flipkart, for instance, have
been accused of discriminating among sellers on their platforms and promoting certain
seller entities in which they hold indirect stakes.
● With an open network like ONDC that connects buyers and sellers across platforms, the
government hopes to level the playing field and make platforms redundant.
● It is said that buyers will also be able to access sellers across platforms without having to
switch between multiple platforms.
● Over the next five years, the ONDC expects to bring on board 90 crore users and 12 lakh
sellers on the network.
● The ONDC will standardise operations like cataloguing, inventory management, order
management and order fulfilment, hence making it simpler and easier for small
businesses to be discoverable over network and conduct business.
Challenges

● ONDC faces its own share of challenges and risks, which must be addressed. One of the
pivotal challenges lies in ensuring the adoption and acceptance of ONDC by the
various stakeholders within the e-commerce ecosystem.
● Another challenge is to ensure the quality and reliability of the services and products
offered on the network. ONDC will have to establish clear standards and guidelines
for quality assurance, consumer protection, data privacy, cybersecurity, etc.
● ONDC will also have to ensure effective dispute resolution mechanisms for handling
complaints and grievances.
● ONDC will have to ensure the sustainability and scalability of the network to make
sure that the network can handle the increasing volume and variety of transactions
and data.

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1. Which of the following was a significant change that the 2020 commercial coal mining
reforms introduced compared to the previous system?

2. Which of the following countries participates in the Yudh Abhyas military exercise with
India?

Answer: C
Explanation
● In 2020, the Government of India opened the coal sector for commercial mining by
private players more than 45 years after the nationalization of coal mines in the
country.
o Before that, coal blocks were allocated through auctions.
● Commercial mining allows the private sector to mine coal commercially on a revenue-
sharing model without placing any end-use restrictions.
● Removing end-use restrictions marked the end of the captive mining regime.
o Captive mining is the coal mined for a specific end-use by the mine owner, but not for
open sale in the market. 
o A revenue sharing mechanism instead of the earlier fixed price per tonne will
introduce competition, transparency and private sector participation in the market.
● The private firms now have the option of either gasification of the coal or exporting it. They
can also use it in their own end-use plants or sell them in the markets.
● Further, with 100 per cent foreign direct investment allowed in the coal sector, global
companies can also participate in the auctions.
● The complete freedom to decide on sale, pricing, and captive utilization aims to attract
many private sector firms to participate in the auction process.
● The government expects these steps will generate employment and reduce India’s
import bill.

Answer: B
Explanation
● Yudh Abhyas" is a bilateral military exercise conducted between the armies of India and
the United States.
● This annual exercise is one of the largest running joint military training and defense
cooperation endeavors between the two nations.
● It aims to enhance interoperability, cooperation, and coordination between the armies of India and the United States, focusing on counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and peacekeeping operations.

3. The PRANA Portal launched by the Government of India is most closely associated with

4. With reference to ‘palm oil’, consider the following statements:
1) The palm oil tree is native to West Africa.
2) Palm oil consists of more than 90 per cent share in total edible oil imports in India.
3) National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm is aimed at boosting domestic oilseed production.

Answer: B
Explanation
● PRANA ( Portal for Regulation of Air-pollution in Non-Attainment Cities), is a portal for
monitoring the implementation of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
About NCAP
● The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched in 2019 by the Ministry of
Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) as a time-bound, national level
strategy to tackle the air pollution crisis in the country in a comprehensive manner.
● The national level target of 20 per cent to 30 per cent reduction of PM2.5 and PM10
concentration by 2024 was proposed under the NCAP, taking 2017 as the base year for
the comparison of concentration.
● To begin with, city specific action plans were formulated for 102 non-attainment cities,
which exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 5 consecutive years.
● Gradually, the number of cities identified for implementing mitigation actions under NCAP
was increased to 131.
● In 2022, the NCAP target was revised to a 40 per cent reduction in particulate matter
concentration in cities and the deadline was extended till 2025-26.

5. With reference to the Agni class of missiles, consider the following statements.
1. Agni series was one of the components under the Integrated Guided Missile Development
Program.
2. The longest of the Agni series, Agni-V is an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile with a range of
over 5,000 km.
3. All missiles of Agni series have a range of 2000 kms and above.