(d) Supercomputers
Supercomputers are high-performing computers, designed to tackle complex computational challenges. They encompass multiple central processing units that break down the required tasks into multiple parts and process them simultaneously, which effectively results in high-speed computation. The performance of supercomputers is measured in terms of floating-point operations per second (FLOPs).
In 1987, the USA denied India’s request to purchase the Cray X-MP for academic and weather forecasting purposes, which compelled India to promote its supercomputing programme.
The country’s supercomputing capabilities have been boosted by the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), which aims to design and manufacture 73 supercomputers in India.
Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), and Advanced Numerical Research and Analysis Group (ANURAG) took the lead in this direction.

Centre for Development of Advanced Computing AIRAWAT – PSAI 8.5
Centre for Development of Advanced Computing PARAM – Siddhi AI
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology Pratyush (Cray XC40)
National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting Mihir (Cray XC40)
The AI Supercomputer‘AIRAWAT’ and PARAM Siddhi – AI are currently the fastest supercomputers in India. AIRAWAT has been ranked 75th in the world as of June 2023.

(b) Only two statements are correct (2nd and 3rd)
The Minimum Support Price (MSP) is the price at which the government purchases crops for the farmers, to insure farmers against any sharp fall in farm prices.
It is announced by the Government on the basis of the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), at the beginning of the sowing season. (Statement 1 is incorrect)
The idea of MSP was first proposed in 1966 and it was inspired by the Green Revolution. The government is in charge of maintaining the Minimum Support Price to keep a lid on important agricultural commodities each year, equally affecting both the Kharif and the Rabi crops.

(c) All three pairs are correct
Zaporizhzhia: This place has been in the news due to the ongoing crisis at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, which has raised concerns about nuclear safety amid the conflict.
Nagorno-Karabakh: This region has been in the news due to the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, aimed at resolving the long-standing conflict.
Tigray: The Tigray region in Ethiopia has been highlighted in the news due to the severe humanitarian crisis resulting from the conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian government.

(c) All three statements are correct
The Godavari River is the longest river in South India: The Godavari River, often referred to as the ‘Dakshina Ganga’ or ‘Ganga of the South,’ is the longest river in South India, stretching about 1,465 kilometers.
The Kaveri River flows through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu: The Kaveri River originates in the Western Ghats in Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
The Krishna River originates in the Western Ghats: The Krishna River originates near Mahabaleshwar in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and flows through the states of Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

(c) A missile is put into a stable orbit around the Earth and deorbits over a target on the Earth.
Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS): The idea behind FOBS is, that a warhead is put into a stable orbit and it deorbits over the target.
If the target and the launch position are lined up and the warhead keeps going round, it will complete a circle. Obviously, with the earth moving during this, it is more of a spiral than a ring, but the horizontal movement is countered in such a way that the warhead still goes over the target.
The real point is that missile can be flown directly to the target, or it is fired in the opposite direction the other way around the planet and still arrive at the target from the opposite direction over the South Pole instead of the North Pole, where almost all of North America’s early warning systems are pointed.
More importantly, the warhead can remain in orbit for days or months so that when the weapon deorbits and attacks its target or simply explodes in orbit, an EMP pulse is generated, which initiates an attack.