Environmental Studies Mock Test - 1

The correct answer is It is the number of live births per thousand persons in a year.

Key Points

• Birth rate -
  • It is the number of live births per thousand persons in a year. Hence, statement 2 is correct. 
  • It is a major component of growth because, in India, birth rates have always been higher than death rates.
• Death rate - 
  • It is the number of deaths per thousand persons in a year.
  • The main cause of the rate of growth of the Indian population has been the rapid decline in death rates.
• The natural increase in population is the difference between birth rates and death rates.

Important Points

• Basic concepts of population geography - 
  • Growth of Population - Change of population in a particular area between two points of time is known as the growth of population.
  • Growth Rate of Population - This is the change of population expressed in percentage.
  • Natural Growth of Population - This is the population increased by the difference between births and deaths in a particular region between two points of time.
    • Natural Growth = Births – Deaths
  • Actual Growth of Population - 
    • Births – Deaths + In Migration – Out Migration
  • Positive Growth of Population: This happens when the birth rate is more than the death rate between two points of time or when people from other countries migrate permanently to a region.
  • Negative Growth of Population: If the population decreases between two points of time it is known as negative growth of population. It occurs when the birth rate falls below the death rate or people migrate to other countries.

The correct answer is Reforestation.

• Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stands of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve the conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. 

• Afforestation: Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stands of trees in an area where there was no previous tree cover. 
• Forest conservation: Forest conservation is the practice of planning and maintaining forested areas for the benefit and sustainability of future generations. Forest conservation involves the upkeep of the natural resources within a forest that is beneficial for both humans and the ecosystem.
• Reforestation: Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation.

​Thus, deforestation can be reversed by reforestation.

Concept:

WWF: 

• WWF or World Wide Fund for Nature is an international, non-governmental, non-profitable organization.
• This organization is dedicated to the conservation and preservation of nature and different species. 
• This organization was founded in 1961. 
• Its headquarters is situated in Gland, Switzerland.
• Its works in fields like the forest, wildlife, climate, energy, food, fresh water, and oceans.
• It is the world's largest conservation organization.
• It is trying to reduce humanity's footprint on the environment.
• The WWF works closely with the world conservation union and has partnerships with United Nations, the World Bank and European Union.
• The major goals of WWF are:
  • To conserve the world's biological diversity.
  • To ensure that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable.
  • To promote the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
  • To encourage millions to support conservation.
  • To ensure that the value of nature is reflected in decisions made by governments, businesses, individuals, and communities.

Explanation:

​WHO:

• Full name of WHO is the World Health of Organization.
• This is an organization of the united nation that acts for global public health.
• This organization was formed on 7th April 1948.
• The headquarter of WHO is in Geneva, Switzerland.
• WHO has six regional offices all over the world.
• It does not work in association with WWF.
• This organization deal with different kind of health-related issue worldwide.
  • Making the world safe by promoting health and surfing the needed. 
  • It helps with coverage for universal health care.
  • Its monitor public health risk and emergency.
  • It helps and provides technical assistance to the countries which have health issues.
  • This organization helps to eradicate different kinds of diseases in the past few years like the eradication of polio, smallpox, malaria, etc.
  • It encouraged creating awareness against HIV, ebola, and different kinds of STDs, including COVID-19.

Thus, WWF works in close partnership with many international organisations except WHO.

Additional InformationWorld Bank:

• The World Bank was created immediately after the Second World War in 1945.
• Its activities are focused on developing countries.
• It works for human development, agriculture and rural development, environmental protection, infrastructure and governance.
• It provides loans and grants to the member countries.
• In this way, it exercises enormous influence on the economic policies of developing countries.
• The World Bank provides funding to WWF.

UN:

• The full form of the UN is United Nations.
• This international organization was founded after the second world war in 1945.
• 51 countries around this world are committed to this organization.
• It works in close association with WWF.
• There are some  facts that the UN deal with:
  • It helps to maintain peace and security around the globe.
  • Its help to build good relationship among the different nation.
  • It promotes social progress.
  • This organization helps to promote different kinds of human rights.
  • It also deals with giving better living standers for people around the globe.

European Union:

• European Union or EU is an economic and political union.
• This union is located in Europe.
• It has 27 states as members.
• It is an internal single market and has a different kind of system laws that apply to all member states.
• The EU's main aims are
  • ​It helps ensure the free movement of people, capital, and goods, within the internal market.
  • It also deals with maintaining trade agriculture regional development etc.
• WWF support the EU for a better future for people and the planet.

Explanation:

• The statistical study of a population is called Demography. It takes into account the size, distribution, density & composition of a population across a given area.
• The demography of a given geographical area depends on the number of births, deaths, age, race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, income, education, and employment.
• For example: If someone wants to gather demographic information of gender in a particular area, then the question asked should be:
• What is your gender:

1. Male
2. Female
3. Other (specify)
4. Thus, this way demographic studies are conducted.

Additional Information

• Biography: It is the life story of a person written by somebody else.
• Psychobiology: It is the branch of science that deals with the biological basis of behaviour and mental phenomena.
• Calligraphy: It is derived from Greek words 'kallos' = beauty & 'graphein' = to write. So it is the art of beautiful handwriting.

Concept:

Barry Commoner:

• Barry Commoner was a politician and cellular biologist in the United States.
• He was a well-known environmentalist and one of the modern environmental movement's pioneers.
• He oversaw the Critical Genetics Project at the Center for Biology of Natural Systems.
• Commoner's four "rules of ecology" are his most famous works.

Explanation:

Barry Commoner is best known for his four “laws of ecology”.

It reflects the existence of the elaborate network of interconnections in the ecosphere: among different living organisms, and between populations, species, and individual organisms and their physicochemical surroundings.

1. Everything is connected to everything else.

2. Everything must go somewhere.

3. Nature knows best.

4. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

∴ All statements are correct.

Concept:

Stewardship of Land:

• Stewardship of the land is an ethic that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources.
• It calls upon everyone in society to take responsibility for protecting and conserving natural resources through conservation and sustainable practices.
• The stewardship of the land is based on concepts of responsibility and care for the resource on land.
• Management of land is essential for the benefit of future generations.

Explanation:

The basic principle of stewardship of Land:

  Sustainability:

• ​Sustainable Development consists of two words "sustain" and "able".
• It can be defined as a practice of reserving resources for future generations without causing any harm to nature and other components of nature.

Community participation:

• ​The next level of stewardship is responsible for the planning and management of resources.
• Community stewardship ensures the sustainability of both the natural resources and human life in that area.
• The community shall work for the management of natural resources in partnership to develop the regional or community landscape.

Land Management:

• Land management refers to the process of managing the use and development of land in both rural and urban areas.
• The land is used for a variety of purposes, which are organic agriculture, water management, eco-tourism projects, and ecological health.
• Land management refers to the best use of land.
• It covers all activities concerned with the management of land as a resource both from an environmental and economic perspective. 
• It can include farming, mineral extraction, property and estate, management and the physical planning of towns etc.
• Management is the human activity meaning the action of people working together with the aim to accomplish desired goals.
• Resource of   land is used for different purposes which may produce conflicts and competition.

Thus, non-violence is not a basic principle of stewardship of the land.

Concept:

Genetic erosion:

• Genetic erosion is also named genetic depletion.
• In this process, an endangered species with a limited gene pool has its population reduced.
• This is because the reproductive individual or species dies before reproducing with other low population endangered individuals.
• In this process, particular alleles or genes are lost or deleted.
• By using the human-assisted breeding programme we can help to avoid the extinction of specific genetic erosion.

Explanation:

Cause of genetic erosion:​

• This erosion happens when many unique genes of an individual organism get lost by dying because of not getting a chance of it.
• Low genetic diversity of a population can cause extensin of individual species.
• This can happen both through inbreeding and also because of the weak immune system.
• Small populations get effect more by genetic erosion than the larger population.
• This erosion can accelerate by habited loss and fragmentation.
• Low genetic diversity in a population can cause a reduction in biological fitness.

Thus, genetic erosion occurs due to low genetic diversity.
Additional InformationDeforestation:

• A great variety of plants and animals exist on earth.
• A major threat to the survival of these organisms is deforestation.
• According to an estimate, almost 40 per cent of forests have been lost in the tropics, compared to only 1 per cent in the temperate region.
• Trees in the forest are cut for some of the purposes mentioned below: 
  • Procuring land for cultivation.
  • Building houses and factories.
  • Making furniture or using wood as fuel. 

Global warming and climate change:

• Due to the presence of greenhouse gases, the atmosphere is behaving like a greenhouse.
• An increase in the level of greenhouse gases has led to considerable heating of Earth leading to global warming.
• During the past century, the temperature of Earth has increased by 0.6^oC, most of it during the last three decades.
• Scientists believe that this rise in temperature is leading to deleterious changes in the environment and resulting in odd climatic changes.
• It leads to increased melting of polar ice caps as well as of other places like the Himalayan snowcaps.

Explanation:

​Green politics:

• Green politics can be defined as a political ideology whose aim is to create an ecologically sustainable society.
• Its roots lie in environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and democracy.
• It began in the western world in the 1970s.
• Supporters of Green Politics share ideas with ecology conservation, environmentalism, feminism and peace movements.
• Green politics, often known as ecopolitics, is a political theory based on ecology and other social issues.
• The party is typically considered left-wing on the political spectrum.

Key PointsCarrying capacity:

• The carrying capacity of an environment is the maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by that specific environment, given the food, habitat, water, and other resources available.
• The carrying capacity is defined as the environment's maximal load.
• The carrying capacity is different for each species in a habitat because of that species’ particular food, shelter, and social requirements.

Thus, carrying capacity is the greatest number of individuals that an area can sustain over the long term.

Key PointsPopulation explosion:

• Population Explosion is a sudden, large increase in the size of a population.
• The major factors that are responsible for population explosion are illiteracy, reduced mortality, increased birth rate/fertility
• Improved medicare facility is one of the major causes of the population explosion.
• The most simple method to control population explosion is to encourage small families about different control measures such as contraceptives.
• Periodic abstinence is the natural measure for control.
• It refers to the rapid increase in the population of an area among human beings.
• Furthermore, it is a situation where the economy is not capable of coping with the increasing demand of its population.

Causes of population explosion:

• Falling Mortality Rate
• High birth rate
• The imbalance between births and deaths.
• Lack of Female Education
• Underutilized contraception

Hence, the population explosion occurs due to High Birth Rates as well as Low Death rates.

Air pollution is the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings or cause damage to the climate or to materials. An air pollutant is a substance that contributes to air pollution due to its physical, chemical or biological properties. There are many different types of air pollutants, such as gases, particulates, and biological molecules. 

Pollen dust:

• It is a natural source of biological air pollutant.
• Pollen dust in large quantities especially in the spring season causes allergic flare-ups in some people and affect their health.

Tropospheric Ozone:

• It is an anthropogenic, secondary air pollutant.
• Tropospheric ozone is formed by the interaction of sunlight, particularly ultraviolet light, with hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, which are emitted by automobile tailpipes and smokestacks.
• In the troposphere, it threatens the health of living things and contributing to climate change.

Oxides of Sulphur:

• Oxides of sulphur like SO₂, SO₃, S₂O₃ are referred to as SO_X.
• These are primary sources of anthropogenic air pollutants.
• These oxides are formed from the sulphur contained in raw materials such as coal, oil and metal-containing ores during combustion and refining processes.

Argon:

• It is not an air pollutant.
• It is a colorless and odourless, inert gas.
• Argon is the third most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934%.

​Thus, Argon is not an air pollutant.

The correct answer is 2, 3 and 5 only.

Key Points

• National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS):
  • National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) were notified in the year 1982, duly revised in 1994 based on health criteria and land uses.
  • The NAAQS have been revisited and revised in November 2009 for 12 pollutants, which include
    • Sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), the particulate matter having a size less than 10 microns (PM10), the particulate matter having a size less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), ozone, lead, carbon monoxide (CO), arsenic, nickel, benzene, ammonia and benzopyrene.

Additional Information

•  National Air Quality Index:
  • National Air Quality Index was launched by the Prime Minister in April 2015 starting with 14 cities to disseminate air quality information.
  • The AQI has six categories of air quality, viz Good, Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor and Severe with distinct colour schemes.
  • Each of these categories is associated with likely health impacts.
  • AQI considers eight pollutants (PM10, PM 2.5, NO₂, SO₂, CO, O₃, NH₃ and Pb) for which (up to 24-hourly averaging period) National Ambient Air Quality Standards are prescribed.

• Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting is the technique through which rainwater is captured from the roof catchments and stored in reservoirs.
• The Main Objective of rooftop rainwater harvesting is to make water available for future use.
• Capturing and storing rainwater for use is particularly important in dryland, hilly, urban and coastal areas.

Advantages of Rain Water Harvesting:

• Provides self-sufficiency to your water supply
• Reduces the cost for pumping of groundwater
• Provides high-quality water, soft and low in minerals
• Improves the quality of groundwater through dilution when recharged to groundwater
• Reduces soil erosion in urban areas
• The rooftop rainwater harvesting is less expensive
• Rainwater harvesting systems are simple which can be adopted by individuals
• Rooftop rainwater harvesting systems are easy to construct, operate and maintain
• In hilly terrains, rainwater harvesting is preferred

Need for Rooftop Rain Water Harvesting:

• To meet the ever-increasing demand for water
• To reduce the runoff which chokes storm drains
• To avoid flooding of roads
• To augment the groundwater storage and control decline of water levels
• To reduce groundwater pollution
• To improve the quality of groundwater
• To reduce the soil erosion
• To supplement the domestic water requirement during summer, drought etc.

• Soil pollution refers to the contamination of soil with high concentrations of toxic substances.
• It is a serious environmental concern since it harbours many health hazards.
• Soil pollution majorly affects plant health, as they directly reply on the quality of the soil.

Key Points

Causes and sources of soil pollution: 

• Agriculture (excessive/improper use of pesticides).
• Excessive industrial activity.
• Poor management or inefficient disposal of waste.
• Underground mining.
• Oil spillage during transportation.
• Untreated disposal of domestic and industrial sewage.

Important PointsControl measures of soil pollution:

Soil erosion can be controlled by a variety of forestry and farm practices:

• Ex: Planting trees on barren slopes Contour cultivation and strip cropping may be practised instead of shifting cultivation.
• Terracing and building diversion channels may be undertaken.
• Reducing deforestation and substituting chemical manures with animal wastes also helps arrest soil erosion in the long term.

Proper dumping of unwanted materials:

• Excess wastes by man and animals pose a disposal problem.
• Open dumping is the most commonly practised technique.
• Nowadays, controlled tipping is followed for solid waste disposal.
• The surface so obtained is used for housing or sports field.

Production of natural fertilizers:

• Bio-pesticides should be used in place of toxic chemical pesticides.
• Organic fertilizers should be used in place of synthesized chemical fertilizers.
• Ex: Organic wastes in animal dung may be used to prepare compost manure instead of throwing them wastefully and polluting the soil.

Proper sewage disposal:

• Sewage should be properly disposed of in a sanitary method to avoid contamination of soil surface.
• Sewage wastes can in turn be used to produce biogas to get energy.
• Sewage after proper treatment can also be sued as a source of organic fertilizers in agriculture.
• Ex: Lavatories should be equipped with quick and effective disposal methods.

Public awareness:

• Informal and formal public awareness programs should be imparted to educate people on health hazards by environmental education.
• Ex: Mass media, Educational institutions and voluntary agencies can achieve this.

Recycling and Reuse of wastes:

• To minimize soil pollution, the wastes such as paper, plastics, metals, glasses, organics, petroleum products and industrial effluents etc should be recycled and reused.
• Ex: Industrial wastes should be properly treated at the source.
• Integrated waste treatment methods should be adopted.

Ban on Toxic chemicals:

• Ban should be imposed on chemicals and pesticides like DDT, BHC, etc which are fatal to plants and animals.
• Nuclear explosions and improper disposal of radioactive wastes should be banned.

Thus, all the above methods can be used to control soil pollution.

Explanation:

Turbidity:

• Turbidity is the measure of the relative clarity of a liquid.
• It is an optical characteristic of water and is a measurement of the amount of light that is scattered by material in the water when a light is shined through the water sample.
• The higher the intensity of scattered light, the higher the turbidity.
• The WHO (World Health Organization), establishes that the turbidity of drinking water shouldn't be more than 5 NTU, and should ideally be below 1 NTU.

According to the Central Ground Water Board, BIS (IS 10500 and revised module IS 10500:2012)             

• Acceptable limit = 1 NTU
• Permissible limit = 5 NTU

Explanation:

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is the total measurement of all chemicals in the water that can be oxidized. A COD test measures all organic carbon with the exception of certain aromatics (benzene, toluene, phenol, etc.) which are not completely oxidized in the reaction.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is supposed to measure the amount of food (or organic carbons) that bacteria can oxidize.

Note:

• A high COD to BOD ratio means that the organic pollutant has very less organic matter which can be oxidized by the pollutant.
• This ratio is generally greater than 1 but can be equal to 1 if the sample has only biodegradable organics.
• For fresh water, as both BOD and COD should be negligible, hence the ratio can be equal to 1.

The COD/BOD ratio for the different forms of wastewater are as follows:

COD/BOD < 2 ⇒ Readily biodegradable effluent

2 < COD/BOD < 4 ⇒ Moderately biodegradable effluent

COD/BOD > 4: hardly biodegradable effluent

Explanation:

DEWATS:

• DEWATS' full form is 'Decentralized Wastewater Management System'.
• It is a type of treatment designed and constructed using organic and natural water treatment processes.
• The objective of this project is to get rid of foul smells and waterlogging problems, especially during monsoons.
• The wastewater is collected from homes, industries, hospitals and markets place.
• It is collected in covered or open drains to a central treatment plant.
• The BOD of water is reduced and processed.
• Wastewater is used for irrigation and safe disposal into water sources.
• DEWATS is a community management plan and is built using local labour.
• It is a natural treatment system using bioremediation put together in different conditions according to specific requirements.
• The objective is to improve the quality of the environment.

Concept:

Urbanization:

• Urban areas are characterised by high human population density and vast human-built features.
• Urban areas are like cities or towns, developed by the process of urbanisation.
• Due to heavy population, urbanisation and industrialisation, several problems and threats have arisen in urban areas.

Explanation:

The problem of urban areas:

Explanation:

Infiltration capacity:

It is defined by Horton as the maximum rate at which rain can be absorbed by the soil in the given condition.

The relationship between rainfall intensity and infiltration capacity determines how much falling rain will flow directly over the ground surface and how much will enter the soil to be retained as net moisture storage for some period of time before being either pass downwards as percolation or returned to the atmosphere by the process of evaporation.        

So infiltration capacity changes with time as well as the location of that place.

Additional Information

Horton’s equations:

Horton expressed the decay of infiltration capacity with time as an exponential decay

ft = fc + (f0 - fc) e-kt for 0 < t < tc

where,

ft = Infiltration capacity at any time t from the start of rainfall

f0 = Initial infiltration capacity at t = 0

fc = Final infiltration capacity occurring at t = tc

k = Horton’s decay constant which depends upon soil characteristic and vegetation cover

The above Horton’s equation is applicable only when the rainfall intensity is greater than or equal to ft.

Concept:

Migration:

• Apart from birth and death, there is another way by which the population size changes.
• When people move from one place to another, the place they move from is called the place of origin and the place they move to is called the place of destination.
• The place of origin shows a decrease in population while the population increases in the place of destination.
• Migration may be permanent, temporary or seasonal.
• It may take place from rural to rural areas, rural to urban areas, urban to urban areas and urban to rural areas.
• Migrants who move into a new place are called immigrants.
• Migrants who move out of a place are called emigrants.
• People migrate for a better economic and social life. 

Explanation:

The consequence of migration:

• People in villages and rural sectors have primary occupations like agriculture, livestock farming, fishing, apiculture etc.
• The young generations have less interest in these activities, and they want to shift to urban areas.

Concept:

Growth and development:

• Economic development includes policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area.
• Such actions include the development of human capital, critical infrastructure, regional competitiveness, social inclusion, health, safety, literacy and other actions.
• Economic growth is a phenomenon of market productivity and rises in GDP.
• It increases private incomes and also generates additional resources like better healthcare, and safe drinking water.
• Economic development in now days became synonymous with economic growth because the positive change in development can lead to economic growth that creates a relationship between growth and development.

Explanation:

Impact of growth and development on the environment:

• ​Economic development, aimed at increasing the production of goods and services puts greater pressure on the environment.
• Now the world is faced with increased demand for environmental resources but their supply is limited due to overuse and misuse.
• Developmental activities in world have put immense pressure on its finite natural resources.
• It has also created an impact on human health and well-being.
• Due to the increasing population, people are using high levels of non-renewable resources that lead to global warming pollution and losses to the environment habited.

Thus, overuse and exploitation of resources impact the environment.

 Additional InformationConservation of resources:

• Using resources carefully and giving them time to get renewed is called resource conservation.
• Way of conservation:
  • Use less water.
  • Use renewable energy.
  • Recycle.
  • Compost.
  • Choose reusable goods etc.

Conservation of biodiversity:

• Biodiversity is important for human existence.
• All forms of life are so closely interlinked that disturbance in one gives rise to an imbalance in the others.
• If species of plants and animals become endangered, they cause degradation in the environment, which may threaten human beings’ own existence.

The correct answer is Gram Panchayat.

• The first level elected body and the basic unit of democracy in the Panchayati Raj system are Gram Panchayat.

Key Points  

• In Constitution -
  • Part IX 'Panchayat' (added by the 73rd Amendment)
  • Part IXA 'Municipalities' (added by the 74th Amendment)
• Gram sabha and ward committees were placed as the basic units of the democratic system consisting of all adult members registered as voters.
• The purpose of the Act is to provide a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj:
  • Village-level Panchayat
  • Block-level Panchayat
  • District-level Panchayat

Additional Information

• Features of the 73rd Amendment Act:
  • The gram sabha can exercise those powers at the village level.
  • Panchayats at village, intermediate, and district levels will be constituted in each state as per the provisions of law.
  • Panchayat cannot be constituted at an intermediate level in a state with a population of more than twenty lakhs.
• All the seats of the Panchayat shall be filled by persons elected by direct election from the constituencies of the panchayat area, for this, each panchayat area shall be divided into territorial constituencies.
• The ratio should be practicable and the same in all panchayat areas.

The correct answer is The idea of self-sufficiency.

Key Points

The Gandhian Economic Order

• It is based on simplicity, decentralization, self-sufficiency, cooperation, equality, non-violence, human values, self-sufficient village units, and nationalization of basic industries, Swadeshi, and the theory of trusteeship.
• These, in turn, will solve the problems about labour, capital, production, distribution, and profit, etc.

Objectives:

• To find out the possibility of the applicability of the Gandhian self-sufficient village economy as an alternative to the present economy.
• To examine the relevance of the Gandhian model of a self-sufficient village economy in the 21st century.
• To find out the relationship between a self-sufficient village economy and balanced economic growth.
• To suggest an alternative model for balanced economic growth.
• The Gandhian thoughts are more relevant even today because both nationalization and privatization have failed to solve many problems like poverty, unemployment, inequality, environmental degradation, and so on. Growth programs based on science and technology are material-centric and not human-centric and hence there is a need to rethink about Gandhian Self-sufficient village economic model to solve all our problems.

Important Points

Self-Sufficient Village Economy:

• Gandhi warned about the dangers of crores of people living in densely packed towns.
• The growing concentration in towns and cities as a result of urbanization and the ever-widening gap between the few very rich and very poor has resulted in a milieu in which crime, violence, and exploitation are regular features of urban life.
• The Gandhian solution, therefore, is for “every village to provide and use all its necessities and in addition produced a certain percentage as its contribution to the requirements of the cities.”

Concept:

Drainage system:

• Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area.
• Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.
• In urban areas, streets have ditches which collect water along the sides of roadways, with plantings throughout the area.
• Proper drainage systems help in preventing a large number of infections, and communicable diseases like cholera and Typhoid.

Explanation:

The problem of improper drainage:

• Improper drainage systems create stagnant pools which later became the breeding ground of mosquitos and other pests this leads to create different kinds of diseases spreading into the area.
• The improper drainage system has caused problems with increased flash flooding after sudden heavy rain.
• Due to bituminous roads, or roofed areas, the area loses its ability to absorb rainwater.
• Rain is directed into surface water drainage systems, often overloading them and causing flooding of the low lying areas. 
• In fields, waterlogging can happen because of the improper drainage system.
• Sometimes bad drainage system can cause the loss of agricultural crops.

Thus, improper drainage in urban areas can lead to flash floods after heavy rainfall.

Additional InformationEutrophication:

• Eutrophication is the natural ageing of a lake by nutrient enrichment of its water.
• With time, streams draining into the lake introduce nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which encourage the growth of aquatic organisms.
• ​The addition of phosphates in water enhances algae growth.
• Such profuse growth of algae covers the water surface and reduces the oxygen concentration in water.
• This is not caused due to improper drainage but due to nutrient enrichment of the water bodies. 

Soil erosion:

• The destruction of the soil cover is described as soil erosion.
• The soil-forming processes and the erosional processes of running water and wind go on simultaneously.
• Deforestation is one of the major causes of soil erosion, it is not caused to improper drainage. 

The correct answer is Subsistence agriculture.

• Indian Agriculture
  • Agriculture plays a vital role in the Indian economy. 
  • Over 70 percent of rural households depend on agriculture.
  • Agriculture is an important sector of the Indian economy as it contributes about 17% to the total GDP and provides employment to around 58% of the population.
  • Indian agriculture has registered impressive growth over the last few decades. 
  • The foodgrains production has increased from 51 million tonnes (MT) in 1950-51 to 250MT during 2011-12 highest ever since independence
  • The share of agriculture in GDP increased to 19.9 percent in 2020-21 from 17.8 percent in 2019-20.
  • The last time the contribution of the agriculture sector in GDP was at 20 percent was in 2003-04.
  • The predominant type of Indian agriculture is subsistence agriculture. Hence, Option 4 is correct.
  • In this, farmers grow food to feed themselves and their dependents.

Additional Information

• Features of intensive subsistence agriculture:
  • Small Holdings:
    • It is practiced in a smaller piece of land to meet the personal need first and sell the rest of it is in surplus.
  • Very Intensive Farming: 
    • Due to the very limited space of usable land for agriculture, farmers try to make as much as possible with their crops.
    • The farming is so intensive that they sometimes practice double- or treble-cropping.
  • Requires Much Hand Labour:
    • The intensive subsistence farmers don’t use much technology in their farming nor much machinery and thus much hand labour is required.
    • These farmers usually use traditional techniques and simple tools to produce the best products possible.
  • Use Of Animal And Plant Manures:
    • Farmers often use every available type of manure such as farm wastes, rotten vegetables, animal dung, human excreta, etc.

The correct answer is the Sprinkler system of irrigation.

• The Sprinkler irrigation system enables the application of high-pressure water with the aid of a pump.
• It releases rain-like water through a small diameter nozzle mounted in the pipes.
• Water is distributed via a pipe system, sprayed into the air, and irrigated in most soil types due to a wide range of discharge power.
• There is some Advantage of this system: 
  • Eliminates the water conveyance channels, thereby reducing the loss of conveyance.
  • Suitable for all soil types except heavy clay.
  • Water savings of up to 30% - 50%.
  • Suitable for irrigation where the population per unit area is very high.

Key Points

• Irrigation of sandy soils involves high attention of sensitivity to the timing and volume of irrigation water used.
• Too much water is used to increase pumping costs, reduce water quality and increase the risk for pollutant leakage below the rooting zone and into the groundwater. Delaying irrigation until plant stress is evident will result in a loss of economic yield.

The correct answer is All are correct.

Key Points

• The Green Revolution is referred to as the process of increasing agricultural production by incorporating modern tools and techniques.
• The Green Revolution spread over the period from1967/68 to 1977/78 and changed India’s status from a food-deficient country to one of the world's leading agricultural nations.
• The components of the Green Revolution-
  • HYV Seeds- These are seeds are of better quality than normal quality seeds. Mr Borlaugh had been able to develop a seed which was raised in its nature of nutrients supplied to the different parts of wheat plant-against the leaves, stem and in favour of the grain. This made the plant dwarf and the grain heavier- resulting in high yield. These seeds were non-photosynthetic, hence non-dependent on sun rays for targeted yields.
  • The Chemical Fertilisers- The level of nutrients HYV seeds required could not be supplied with the traditional composites. That is why a high concentration fertiliser was required which could be given to the targeted seed only, the option was the use of chemical fertilisers - urea, phosphate, potash.
  • The irrigation- For controlled growth of crops and adequate dilution of fertilisers, a controlled means of water supply was required.
  • Chemical Herbicides and Weedicides- To prevent costlier inputs of fertilisers not being consumed by the herbs and the weeds in the farmlands, herbicides and weedicides were used while sowing the HYV Seeds.
  • Credit, Storage and Marketing- All the peripheral infrastructure were developed with the softer loans coming from the World Bank.
• All are correct.

The incorrect answer is Depletion of soil fertility.

• The practice of growing different types of crops in the same field in sequential seasons is called as 'Crop rotation'.
• Benefits of crop rotation:
  • Increases soil fertility
  • Increases crop yield
  • Increases soil nutrients
  • Reduces soil erosion
  • Improves soil structure
  • Reduce the amount of the pest population present in the soil
  • enhance weed control

The correct answer is All of the above.

Key Points

• Land Reforms in India
  • Land reform refers to efforts to reform the ownership and regulation of land in India.
  • Those lands redistributed by the government from landholders to landless people for agriculture or special purpose are known as Land Reform.
  • Land-reform policy in India had two specific objectives:
    1. To remove such impediments to increase agricultural production arises from the agrarian structure inherited from the past.
    2. The second objective, which is closely related to the first, is to eliminate all elements of exploitation and social injustice within the agrarian system, provide security for the soil tiller, and assure equality of status and opportunity to all sections of the soil the rural population.
• Categories of Reforms
  • There are six main categories of reforms:
    1. Abolition of Intermediaries.
    2. Tenancy regulation.
    3. A ceiling on landholdings.
    4. Attempts to consolidate disparate landholdings.
    5. encouragement of cooperative joint farming. 
    6. Settlement and regulation of tenancy.

Additional Information

• First Amendment Act, 1951 of Indian Constitution also related to land reforms and deals with the issues involved in the cases included in freedom of speech, acquisition of the Zamindari land, State Monopoly of trade, etc.
• It added the Ninth Schedule to protect the land reforms and other laws included in it from the Judicial review.
• After Article 31, 31A, and 31B were added to the Indian Constitution.  

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist, who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and in turn, inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

Key Points

Champaran Satyagraha: 

• The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first Satyagraha movement led by Gandhiji in India and is considered a historically important revolt in the Indian Independence Movement.
• It was a farmer's uprising that took place in the Champaran district of Bihar, India, during the British colonial period. The farmers were protesting against having to grow indigo with barely any payment for it.
• Champaran, where tens of thousands of landless serfs, indentured labourers, and poor farmers were forced to grow indigo and other cash crops instead of the food crops which were necessary for their survival.
• These goods were bought from the farmers at a very low price. Suppressed by the brutal militias of the landlords, they were given negligible compensation, leaving them in extreme poverty.
• Even in the painful time of devastating famine, the British government levied a heavy tax on them and insisted on increasing the rate.
• Without food and money, the situation was growing progressively unbearable and the peasants in Champaran revolted against the government in indigo plant cultivation in 1914 (at Pipra) and in 1916 at (Turkaulia).
• Raj Kumar Shukla who was an indigo cultivator persuaded Mahatma Gandhi to go to Champaran and hence, the Champaran Satyagraha began. Gandhiji arrived in Champaran on 10 April 1917 with a team of eminent lawyers i.e.Brajkishore Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, and  Acharya Kripalani.

​Hence, the correct answer is to protest against British exploitation of the Indigo farmers.

EXPLANATION :

ADULTERATION - 

• Adulteration is defined simply as a process or an act of   or altering something's original form by adding materials or elements that aren't normally the part of the original substance and are of inferior quality. 
• In the sense of food processing and production, the term "adulteration" refers to the contamination of food products with chemicals or other harmful substances that render them impure in some way.
• Adulteration is illegal, particularly when the ingredients added are potentially harmful to people's health.

ADULTERANT - 

• An adulterant is a material that is added to a food item to decrease its quality in order to raise its quantity.

WHY ADULTERATION IS FOLLOWED? - 

• Any impersonation of a certain food substance to increase profit margin. 
• Food demand has increased due to the rapidly increasing population, so fulfilling the needs by producing cheap material at a low price and larger quantity is causing sellers to practice adulteration. 
• To make the most money from food products with the fewest possible expenditures.
• Increase the amount of food produced and sold.

METHOD OF ADULTERATION - 

The most basic and cheapest method to adulterate the food item through minimal effort is - 

•  By mixing the adulterant in loosely sold items.
  • For example in shops that sell pulses and spices as loosely sold products, they keep them in open sacks, thus while weighing and packing the loose dal or pulses to the customer, the shopkeeper adds the adulterant because it goes unnoticeable plus sometimes the adulterant is already mixed in the open sacs.
  • The most common example is adding papaya seeds in black pepper, adding brick powder in red chili powder.
  • Even sometimes the milkman who sells milk by coming to houses every morning mixes some portions of water making it a form of adulteration because the milk's quality is lost.

​Solid products are less likely to get adulterated whereas the powdered or paste form of products can be adulterated easily as the customer can not view the small particles of the adulterant easily in the powder form ( the adulterant also looks exactly the copy of the food item, for example - in powdered sugar chalk powder or washing soda is added which makes the product cheap, and is also harmful to the consumer. plus, the consumer is not able to distinguish between the particles.)

• Thus the seller finds it easy to adulterate the loosely bought products and the ones that are in powdered form.  ​

So, The correct answer is  - both 1 and 2 are true.

• The adulterated food items can cause harm to the human body and can lead to many health effects
• It can cause deficiency diseases as complete nutrition is not being provided by the adulterated food content. 
• The chemical harmful substances can cause additional serious health problems to the body that can prove to be carcinogenic and many times fatal.

FOOD ITEM	ADULTERANT	HEALTH EFFECTS
MILK	water; starch powder; urea	food poisoning, nausea, cancer risk
BLACK PEPPER	papaya seeds	kidney stones, stomach infections
CHILI POWDER	brick powder; artificial colors	stomach infections, cancer
TURMERIC POWDER	chemical dyes	highly carcinogenic, stomach infections
HONEY	sugar and corn syrups	stomach infections
JAGGERY	washing soda and chalk powder	vomiting

OTHER METHODS OF ADULTERATION - 

1. To attract buyers, some natural and chemical dyes are added. (which are carcinogenic)
2. To increase the weight or nature of the food item, cheaper and inferior substances are mixed in whole or in part with the good ones.
3. Clay, pebbles, stones, sand, and marble chips are added to grains, pulses, and other crops during the mixing process.
4. Decomposed fruits and vegetables are mixed in with the good ones.
5. Fruit ripening is accelerated by the addition of some chemicals.

The full form of AGMARK is Agricultural Mark.

Agmark:

• It is a certification mark employed on agricultural products in India.
• It is the quality mark provided under The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937.
• The Act stipulates the conditions which govern the use of standards and lays down the procedure for grading, marking, and packing of agricultural produce.
• An Agmark symbol is usually found on the packets of rice, flour, pulses, biscuits, oil, etc.

​

ISI:

• It stands for the Indian Standards Institute.
• It creates standards needed for orderly commercial growth and maintaining quality in industrial production.
• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which then took over ISI.
• But the term “ISI mark" continues to be used to mean that a certain product conforms to the quality standards set up by the government.
• The ISI mark is found on products like electrical appliances like switches, electric motors, wiring cables, heaters, kitchen appliances, etc.

​

ISO:

• ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization.
• As the name implies it’s an independent international organization that develops International Standards.
• There are various standards under ISO such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 etc.
• The aim of getting an ISO certification depends on the ISO standard.
• An ISO certification is usually issued to an institution, organization, or any registered body.

 

• Depreciation refers to the loss in the value of an asset over time, due to wear and tear.
• It is the gradual decrease in the economic value of the capital stock over a period. 
• It may be caused due to several other factors such as unfavourable market conditions, etc. machinery, equipment, currency are some examples of assets that are likely to depreciate over a specific period.

The correct answer is 1, 2 and 3 only.

Key Points

Difference between Economic Growth & Development

The major differences between economic growth and development are stated below:

Economic growth	Economic development
Increase in market output results in economic growth	Economic development can be measured in terms of welfare values and market output
It is a quantitative concept	It is a qualitative concept
Economic growth is uni-dimensional	Economic development is multidimensional
This is one of the major concern of developed countries	This is a major concern of developing countries
Economic growth is independent of the development	Economic development can only happen if economic growth takes place.
Indicators of Economic growth Real GDP Real per capita income	Indicators of economic development Human Development Index Physical Quality of Life Index Net Economic Welfare (NEW)

The correct answer is Net factor income from abroad.

• Gross Domestic Product is the value of the sum of all final goods and services that are produced within the boundaries of the country. If the income from foreign sources is added to it, it becomes the Gross National Product.
• GNP and GDP both define the national output and income of any economy. The major difference is that GNP (Gross National Product) considers the net income receipts from abroad.
• GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is a calculation of (national income = national output = national expenditure) created in a particular country.
• GNP (Gross National Product) = GDP + net property income received from abroad. This net income from abroad involves dividends, interest, and profit.
• GNI (Gross National Income) = (similar to GNP) involves the value of all goods and services created by nationals – whether in the country or not.

Explanation:

Social Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBA)

• The ‘Social Cost-Benefit Analysis’ is a distinct methodology used for the evaluation of such projects where social impact needs to be analyzed.
• This analysis however is not specific to public investments only; it may be applied to both public and private investment projects alike.
• SCBA plays a pertinent role especially in developing economies where the government has a significant role to play in attaining higher economic growth.

Additional Information

Halo effect 

• Halo effect (sometimes called the halo error) is the tendency for positive impressions of a person, company, brand, or product in one area to positively influence one's opinion or feelings in other areas.
• Halo effect is “the name given to the phenomenon whereby evaluators tend to be influenced by their previous judgments of performance or personality.”
• The halo effect which is a cognitive bias can possibly prevent someone from accepting a person, a product, or a brand based on the idea of an unfounded belief on what is good or bad.

Work Breakdown Structure

• It defined as a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.
• It organizes and defines the total scope of the project.
• Each descending level represents an increasingly detailed definition of the project work.

The correct answer is Roads.

Key Points

• Context of Natural Capital in India:
  • India suffered a cost of $550 billion, about 8.5% of GDP, due to air pollution, according to a World Bank report.
  • The cost of externalities such as water pollution and land degradation were possibly far higher.
  • Through commodity exports, we effectively transfer natural capital to our trade partners, raising the risk of desertification and land being degraded significantly.
  • Within a century, our food production could see a loss of 10-40% if these trends continue.
  • So when we crow about GDP growth, we should also consider the decline in natural capital in our national accounts.
  • Ecosystem services science (ESS) is inherently an integrated, transdisciplinary science that is concerned with the way these four forms of capital assets (built, human, social and natural) contribute to human well-being and the synergies and trade-offs among them.
  • The challenge in ecosystem services analysis and valuation is to assess the relative contribution of the natural capital stock in this interaction and to balance our assets to enhance sustainable human well-being.

Additional Information

• India’s current national accounts incorporate such environmental considerations in a limited fashion.
• GDP includes the value of minerals extracted; timber, fuelwood and non-timber forest products; natural growth of cultivated assets for some crops; and the output from dung manure.
• In addition, ‘gross fixed capital formation contains output estimates from the improvement of land along with irrigation works and flood control projects'.
• However, even in GDP estimates of timber value, there is significant under-estimation, non-monetised goods and services provided from timber forests are not considered.
• Interaction between built, social, human and natural capital required to produce human well-being.
• Built and human capital (the economy) are embedded in society which is embedded in the rest of nature.
• Ecosystem services are the relative contribution of natural capital to human well-being, they do not flow directly.
• It is therefore essential to adopt a broad, transdisciplinary perspective in order to address ecosystem services.

The correct answer is CFCs.

Key Points

• CFCs
  • CFCs are chlorofluorocarbons generally used in refrigerant industries.
  • CFCs has the maximum potential amongst chlorocarbons because of the presence of three chlorine atoms in the molecule. 
  • Chlorine is responsible for ozone layer depletion.

Important Points

• HCFCs
  • Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are a large group of compounds, whose structure is very close to that of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), but including one or more hydrogen atoms. 

The correct answer is Mixed cropping and use of organic manures, nitrogen-fixing plants and pest-resistant crop varieties.

Key Points

• Mixed cropping and the use of organic manures, nitrogen-fixing plants, and pest-resistant crop varieties is the best strategy for ecology-friendly sustainable development in Indian agriculture.
• Mixed cropping is the practice of growing two or more crops on the same piece of land.
• Mixed cropping was once seen to be a primitive practice by some scholars, but it is now widely regarded as a more efficient manner of utilizing land.
• Mixed farming decreases risk and provides some protection in the event that one of the crops fails.
• Mixed cropping will help to utilize the soil properly.
• The regular recycling of organic wastes in the soil is the most efficient method of maintaining optimum levels of soil organic matter.

Additional Information

• Mustard and Gram can be grown alongside wheat as a mixed crop.
• Groundnut can be grown alongside sunflower as a mixed crop.
• Cotton can be grown together with Moong bean as a mixed crop.
• Barley is a good choice for a mixed crop with chickpeas.

The correct answer is The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

Additional Information

• CITES is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.
• The CITES Secretariat is administered by UNEP (The United Nations Environment Programme).
• It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
• The IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organizations.
• It provides public, private, and non-governmental organizations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development, and nature conservation to take place together.
• Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild, and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants.
• The convention was opened for signature on 3^rd March 1973.
• CITES entered into force on 1^st July 1975.
• CITES is one of the largest and oldest conservation and sustainable use agreements in existence.
• The Conference of the Parties to CITES is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention and comprises all its Parties.
• The (17^th) and last CoP was held at Johannesburg (South Africa), in 2016.
• The 3rd CoP was hosted in India in1981.
• CITES is also known as Washington Convention.

Important Points

• Headquarters of  CITES - Geneva, Switzerland.
• Secretary General of CITES - Ivonne Higuero.

The correct answer is Reserve Bank of India.

• Reserve Bank of India Act 1934 contains the enabling provisions for the Reserve Bank to act as the custodian of foreign reserves, and manage reserves with defined objectives.
• In India, legal provisions governing the management of forex reserves are set out in the RBI Act and Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
• The term reserves refer to both foreign reserves in the form of gold assets in the Banking Department and foreign securities held by the Issue Department and domestic reserves in the form of bank reserves.
• The objective behind maintaining foreign reserve is 
  • maintaining confidence in monetary and exchange rate policies
  • enhancing the capacity to intervene in forex markets
  • limiting external vulnerability by maintaining foreign currency liquidity to absorb shocks during times of crisis including national disasters or emergencies
  • providing confidence to the markets especially credit rating agencies that external obligations can always be met, thus reducing the overall costs at which forex resources are available to all the market participants
  • incidentally adding to the comfort of the market participants by demonstrating the backing of domestic currency by external assets. 

The correct answer is Aquaculture.

Key Points

• BLUE REVOLUTION
  • The Blue Revolution was first launched in India as the 'Nili Kranti Mission' during the 7th Five Year Plan (1985-1990).
  • Fish Farmers Development  Agency (FFDA) was sponsored by the central government.
  • The Intensive Marine Fisheries Program was subsequently launched during the 8th Five Year Plan (1992-97).
  • As a result, the fishing harbors were later established over time in Vishakhapatnam, Kochi, Tuticorin, Porbandar, and Port Blair.
  • The scheme was restructured by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare along with the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries into 'Blue Revolution' by merging it with the other ongoing schemes.
  • The scheme was controlled by the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB).
  • Following were the objectives of the Blue Revolution:
    • ​To triple the production in the marine sector by the year 2020.
    • Utilization of new technologies to transform the fisheries sector into a modern industry.
    • To double the income of fishers by improving the post-harvest activities like marketing through e-commerce, etc.
    • To promote the economically weaker sections of the society.
    • To encourage entrepreneurship development, private investment, and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the fisheries industry.

Additional Information

• Other important revolutions related to the agriculture sector are
  • Pink Revolution - Meat and Poultry sector; Onion production, Pharmaceuticals, and Prawn production
  • White Revolution - Increasing Milk production
  • Yellow Revolution - Increasing Edible Oilseeds production
  • Green Revolution - Increasing Foodgrains production
  • Golden Revolution - Increasing Horticulture and Honey production
  • Golden Fibre Revolution - Increasing Jute Production

The correct answer is General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Important Points

• ​The Full form of GATT is General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
  • The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), signed on October 30, 1947, by 23 countries, was a legal agreement minimizing barriers to international trade by eliminating or reducing quotas, tariffs, and subsidies while preserving significant regulations.
  • The GATT was intended to boost economic recovery after World War II through reconstructing and liberalizing global trade.
  • The GATT went into effect on January 1, 1948.

Additional Information

World Trade Organization (WTO)

• The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade between nations.
• It officially commenced operations on 1st January 1995, pursuant to the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement, thus replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that had been established in 1948.
• The WTO is the world's largest international economic organization, with 164 member states representing over 96% of global trade and global GDP.
• At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.
• The goal is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.
• The WTO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Director-General of the World Trade Organization - Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The correct answer is Labour Rights.

Explanation:

Types of intellectual property rights:

• A patent may be granted for a new, useful, and non-obvious invention.
  • It gives the patent holder an exclusive right to commercially exploit the invention for a certain period of time (typically 20 years from the date of filing an application for patent).
• Copyright is given for creative and artistic works (e.g. books, movies, music, paintings, software etc).
  • It gives a copyright holder the exclusive right to control the reproduction or adaptation of such works for a certain period of time.
• Trademarks is a distinctive graphic sign which is used to distinguish the products or services of different businesses.
  • These are presently administered under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the rules are made thereunder.
• Industrial design right protects the form of appearance, style or design of an industrial object (e.g. spare parts, furniture, or textiles).

Labour rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labour relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labour and employment law.

The correct answer is A rise in financial aid from World Bank.

Key Points

• Theoretically, if economic growth is conceptualized, A rise in financial aid from World Bank is not usually taken into consideration.

Additional Information

• Economic growth refers to an increase in aggregate production in an economy. 
• Traditionally, aggregate economic growth is measured in terms of gross national product (GNP) or gross domestic product (GDP).
• Economic growth is commonly measured in terms of an increase in the total market value of additional goods and services, using estimates such as GDP.

The correct answer is Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.

Prime Minister of India declared the country as 'Open Defecation Free' on Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.

Key Points 

• On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared India open defecation-free and announced that single-use plastic would be phased out by 2022.
• Since 2014, the Government of India, in partnership with UNICEF, has made remarkable strides in reaching the Open Defecation Free targets.
• 36 states and union territories, 706 districts, and over 603,175 villages have been declared open defecation free as of Jan 2020.

Important Points

• ODF is the termination of faecal-oral transmission, defined as:
  • No visible faeces found in the environment/village.
  • Every household as well as public or community institutions using safe technology option for disposal of faeces.

Concept:

• A slum is a part of a city or a town where many poor people live.
• It is a place where people may not have basic needs. 
• There are slums in most of the big cities of the world. 

Explanation:

• Shelter is a major problem in big cities like Delhi.
• People from villages and towns come to big cities like Delhi in search of work.
• These people often settle in the city.
• There are a large number of people living here and the space is less.
• Many people do not have houses at all.
• They have to live in slums – and many people do not have that either.
• People sleep wherever they find a place – on the road, on the footpath, at the station.
• Characteristics of a Slum are:
  • overcrowded homes
  • limited or no access to basic services
  • poor house condition 
  • lack of privacy

Thus, the difficulties faced by people living in slums is lack of space, people don't get the essential facility and lack of privacy.

Non-renewable resources:

• Non-renewable resources are those which have limited stock.
• Once the stocks are exhausted it may take thousands of years to be renewed or replenished.
• Since this period is much more than human life spans, such resources are considered non-renewable.
• Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are some examples.

Key Points

There are basically two sources of energy:

Renewable resources or Non-Conventional	Non-Renewable resources or Conventional
The resources can renew themselves or can be used again and again.	The sources cannot be replaced or reused once they are destroyed.
Renewable resources are replenished naturally and over relatively short periods of time. It is present in unlimited quantity	These are limited resources and consume millions of years to make. So these are used limitedly.
It has low carbon emission and is hence is environment friendly.	These are not environmentally friendly because the amount of carbon emission is high.
The cost is low.	The cost of these resources is high.
A large land area is required for the installation of these plants.	Less land requirement of installation of these plants.
They require high maintenance costs.	They require low maintenance costs.
Example: soil, water bodies, sun (solar energy), wind, tidal energy, atomic energy, geothermal, forest, mountains, wildlife, atmospheric resources.	Example: coal, oil, nuclear energy, petroleum, natural gas, LPG, batteries, shale gas, soil and phosphate are some examples.

Thus, Non-renewable resources are those which have limited stock.

• Multiple symbols have been developed to represent vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism.
• Several are used on food packaging, including voluntary labels.
• These vegetarian and non-vegetarian marks are mandated by the Indian government.
• This is done in order for people to identify vegetarian and non-vegetarian food products, a majority of the Indian population is vegetarian.

Key Points

Food labelling:

• Packaged food and toothpaste products sold in India are required to be labelled with a mandatory mark in order to be distinguished between vegetarian and non-vegetarian.
• The symbol is in effect following the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Act of 2006.
• It received a mandatory status after the framing of the respective regulations (Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulation) in 2011.
• According to the law, vegetarian food should be identified by a green symbol and non-vegetarian food with a brown/red symbol.

Thus, non-vegetarian food is identified by the red and brown mark made on the food packets.

 

Explanation:

Solar energy - Greenhouse effect - Incorrect

• The term ‘Greenhouse effect’ has been derived from a phenomenon that occurs in a greenhouse.
• A greenhouse looks like a small glasshouse and is used for growing plants, especially during winter.
• In a greenhouse, the glass panel lets the light in but does not allow heat to escape.
• Therefore, the greenhouse warms up, very much like inside a car that has been parked in the sun for a few hours. 
• The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring phenomenon that is responsible for heating of Earth’s surface and atmosphere.
• Solar energy is trapped by the earth atmosphere and radiates slowly so as to cover our earth with a warm blanket.
• This is the natural process of the greenhouse effect on earth to maintain its temperature and makes the earth perfect for life.
• Without the greenhouse effect, the average temperature at the surface of Earth would have been a chilly –18oC rather than the present average of 15oC.
• Carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour are the major greenhouse gases that absorb the infrared radiation from the Earth and re-emit it.
• It is not caused due to solar energy but due to greenhouse gasses.

Thus, the solar energy-greenhouse effect is not the correct pair.

Additional InformationFossil fuel-burning - Release of CO2 - Correct

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂ ) is released into the atmosphere by respiration, the burning of fossil fuels for energy.
• In recent years, their quantities have increased significantly due to the burning of fossil fuels.
• The increased amount of CO2 in the air is mainly responsible for global warming.

Nuclear power - Radioactive wastes - Correct

• Initially, nuclear energy was hailed as a non-polluting way of generating electricity.
• Later on, it was realised that the use of nuclear energy has very serious inherent problems i.e. the generation of radioactive waste.
• Safe disposal of radioactive wastes is important in nuclear power energy factories.
• Improper disposal of nuclear waste can cause serious physical and biological deformities in living organisms when directly exposed to them. 

Biomass burning - Release of CO2  - Correct

• Biomass burning means the burning of living or dead vegetation.
• It happens during land cleaning in the agriculture process when crops are out of the field.
• In this process, a high amount of CO₂ is released into the environment.