(b) Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh’s borders are:
North: China’s Tibet Autonomous Region
West: Bhutan
East: Myanmar
South and Southeast: Nagaland and Myanmar
South and Southwest: Assam

(a) Only one
Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) is a tick-borne viral hemorrhagic fever that’s endemic to southwestern India. It’s also known as Monkey Fever.
Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) Virus Ecology
The hard tick Haemaphysalis spinagera is the reservoir and vector of Kyasanur Forest Disease Virus (KFDV). Once infected, ticks remain so for life and are able to pass KFDV to offspring via the egg. (Statement 1 is incorrect)
Transmission of KFDV to humans may occur after a tick bite or contact with an infected animal, most commonly a sick or recently dead monkey. No person-to-person transmission has been described.
Human cases occur more frequently in drier months (Nov-June) and in Southwest and South India.
Monkeys and small mammals are common hosts for KFDV. Infection with KFDV can cause epizootics with high fatality in primates.
Larger animals such as cattle, goats, or sheep may become infected with KFD but play a limited role in transmission of disease to humans. (Statement 3 is incorrect)
Local residents visit the forest to collect firewood and can be infected through tick bites. People with recreational of occupational exposure to rural and outdoor settings (e.g., hunters, farmers, people making charcoal) in Karnataka State and South India are potentially at risk for infection.

c) Maldives
The 12th edition of joint military exercise “Ex Ekuverin” between the Indian Army & the Maldives National Defence Force has commenced at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand from 11 to 24 June 2023. Ekuverin meaning ‘Friends’ is a bilateral annual exercise conducted alternatively in India and Maldives.

(b) Only two
William Hunter and Jyotirao Phule in 1882 originally conceived the idea of caste-based reservation system. The reservation system that exists today, in its true sense, was introduced in 1933 when British Prime-Minister Ramsay Macdonald presented the ‘Communal Award’. The award made provision for separate electorates for Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans and the Dalits. (Statement 1 is correct)
After long negotiations, Gandhi and Ambedkar signed the ‘Poona Pact’, where it was decided that there would be a single Hindu electorate with certain reservations in it.
After independence, initially reservations were provided only for SCs and STs. OBCs were included in the ambit of reservation in 1991 on the recommendations of the Mandal Commission.
According to the Supreme Court of India, reservations cannot exceed 50%. The court ruled in 1992 that anything above 50% would violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal access. In 2020, the Supreme Court’s five-judge Constitution bench held that providing 100% reservation for Scheduled Tribes in scheduled areas of a State is not permissible. (Statement 2 is correct)
Karnataka High Court Strikes Down 100% Reservation For Women In Recruitment To Cadre Of ‘Nursing Officers’ In Military. Court quashes the provisions of full reservation for woman (any citizen of India, if a woman and above the age of 21, shall be eligible for appointment as an officer in the Indian Military Nursing Services). (Statement 3 is incorrect).

(a) Only one
The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is a scoring system that compares 63 countries and the EU on their climate performance. The CCPI is published annually by Germanwatch e.V., a German environmental and development organization. (Statement 1 is incorrect)The CCPI assesses countries’ efforts and progress in the areas of:
• Greenhouse gas emissions (40) (Statement 2 is incorrect)
• Renewable energies (20)
• Energy use (20)
• Climate policy (20)
The CCPI is an independent monitoring tool that aims to increase transparency in national and international climate policy. The CCPI also sparks public and political debates in the countries it assesses.