Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920 following the Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and Khilafat grievances, and called it off in February 1922 after violence erupted at Chauri Chaura. Statement 3 is incorrect because the movement sought Swaraj within the British Empire, whereas the goal of Purna Swaraj was officially adopted at the Lahore Congress session in 1929.

Pairs 1 and 2 are correctly matched. Vallabhbhai Patel led the Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928 against land revenue enhancement, where peasant women conferred upon him the title 'Sardar', and E.V. Ramaswamy 'Periyar' actively participated in the 1924-25 Vaikom temple-entry movement in Travancore. Pair 3 is incorrectly matched because the Dandi March of March-April 1930 was personally led by Mahatma Gandhi from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi.

Statements 2 and 3 are correct. The monumental Great Bath with fine gypsum plaster waterproofing was unearthed at Mohenjo-daro, and Lothal in Gujarat served as a premier maritime port featuring an engineered tidal dockyard. Statement 1 is incorrect because the Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age society that had no knowledge of iron, which only appeared in the Indian subcontinent around 1000 BCE during the Later Vedic period.

All three statements are correct. Sant Kabir's poetic compositions and spiritual teachings are preserved in the Bijak, Guru Nanak Dev established Sikhism emphasizing universal brotherhood and formless worship, and Mirabai was an iconic 16th-century Bhakti poetess celebrated for her devotional pads dedicated to Krishna.

Statement 1 is correct because chemical digestion of carbohydrates initiates in the oral cavity through salivary amylase (ptyalin), which breaks down dietary starch into maltose. Statements 2 and 3 are incorrect because bile is synthesized continuously by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, and the vast majority of nutrient digestion and absorption occurs across the vast surface area of the small intestine (jejunum and ileum), whereas the large intestine primarily absorbs water and electrolytes.

Pairs 1 and 2 are correctly matched because Bhagat Singh was a leading founder-member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association established in 1928, and Subhas Chandra Bose formed the Forward Bloc in 1939. Pair 3 is incorrectly matched because the Ghadar Party was founded in San Francisco in 1913 by Lala Har Dayal and Sohan Singh Bhakna.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The Indian Ocean Dipole is characterized by an anomalous sea surface temperature gradient between the western tropical Indian Ocean and the eastern tropical Indian Ocean, and its positive phase boosts moisture convergence toward the Indian subcontinent, supporting robust monsoon rains. Statement 3 is incorrect because asserting that it 'always causes drought' in Australia is factually inaccurate; rainfall patterns depend on coupled interactions with ENSO and the Southern Annular Mode.

Mahanadi (1) and Godavari (3) are major east-flowing peninsular rivers that drain into the Bay of Bengal forming expansive deltas. In contrast, Narmada (2) and Tapi (4) flow westward through structural rift valleys between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges and discharge into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Khambhat.

Match between newly elected Heads of State and their countries:

| List-I (Head of State) | List-II (Country) |

| :--- | :--- |

| A. Gitanas Nauseda | 3. Lithuania |

| B. Luong Cuong | 2. Vietnam |

| C. Halla Tomasdottir | 1. Iceland |

| D. Jose Raul Mulino | 4. Panama |

• Gitanas Nauseda: Re-elected as the President of Lithuania in the presidential runoff in May 2024.
• Luong Cuong: Elected as the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam by the National Assembly in October 2024.
• Halla Tomasdottir: Prominent businesswoman elected as the seventh President of Iceland in June 2024.
• Jose Raul Mulino: Won the presidential election in Panama in May 2024, taking office in July 2024.

Hence, the correct matching code is 3, 1, 4, 2 (wait, checking mapping: A-3, B-2, C-1, D-4 -> code is 3 2 1 4).

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Under Article 93, the Lok Sabha elects its Speaker from amongst its members, and Article 94(c) mandates that removal requires an effective majority (majority of all the then members of the House) with at least 14 days' prior notice. Statement 3 is incorrect because the second proviso to Article 94 explicitly states that on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, the Speaker does not vacate office until immediately before the first meeting of the newly constituted Lok Sabha.

All three statements are correct. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 inserted Part IX into the Constitution to grant constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions, Article 243D(3) mandates reservation of not less than one-third of total seats for women, and the Act introduced the Eleventh Schedule containing 29 functional items under Article 243G.

Pairs 1 and 2 are correctly matched. The Eighth Schedule recognizes 22 official languages, and the Seventh Schedule delineates the distribution of legislative subjects across the Union, State, and Concurrent Lists under Article 246. Pair 3 is incorrectly matched because anti-defection provisions are codified in the Tenth Schedule (added by the 52nd Amendment, 1985), whereas the Ninth Schedule contains land reform and agrarian laws protected under Article 31B.

Ecological Hazards of Eucalyptus:

• Eucalyptus (popularly known as Safeda in North India) is widely labeled by ecologists as an 'Ecological Terrorist' or an environmentally dangerous invasive tree species when planted in non-native, water-stressed terrains.
• Because of its deep taproots and extremely high transpiration rate, a single mature Eucalyptus tree can absorb 40 to 80 liters of groundwater per day, drastically depleting the water table and causing localized drought.
• Furthermore, its fallen leaves secrete toxic allelopathic compounds that inhibit the germination of native vegetation and acidify surrounding soil.
• In contrast, Neem (Azadirachta indica), Babool (Acacia nilotica), and Banana are environmentally beneficial and native/adaptive plants.

Therefore, Eucalyptus is dangerous for the environment (Option B).

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The IBC, 2016 establishes a time-bound Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (180 days extendable to 330 days) and established the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) as the apex regulator overseeing insolvency professionals, information utilities, and agencies. Statement 2 is incorrect because the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is the designated adjudicating authority for corporate entities, whereas the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) handles insolvency and bankruptcy for individuals and unlimited partnership firms.

All three statements are correct. PMJDY was rolled out in August 2014 to ensure universal banking coverage, offering zero-balance Basic Savings Bank Deposit accounts equipped with a free RuPay debit card and built-in accidental insurance cover, alongside an overdraft facility of up to ₹10,000 for qualifying account holders.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Under Section 45ZA of the RBI Act, 1934, the Central Government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India determines the inflation target in terms of Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is fixed at 4% with an upper tolerance level of 6% and a lower tolerance level of 2%. Statement 3 is incorrect because the statutory inflation target is set once every five years, not annually.

Match between prestigious national/international awards of 2024 and their recipients:

| List-I (Award) | List-II (Recipient) |

| :--- | :--- |

| A. Aryabhata Award, 2024 | 3. Dr. Pavuluri Subba Rao |

| B. World Literary Prize, 2024 | 2. Mamta G. Sagar |

| C. Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award, 2024 | 1. Amitabh Bachchan |

| D. Goldman Environmental Prize, 2024 | 4. Alok Shukla |

• Aryabhata Award 2024: Conferred by the Astronautical Society of India (ASI) upon Dr. Pavuluri Subba Rao, Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Ananth Technologies, for his tremendous contributions to Indian space technology and satellite manufacturing.
• World Literary Prize 2024: Awarded by the World Organization of Writers (WOW) to acclaimed Bengaluru-based poet, academic, and feminist writer Mamta G. Sagar at the WOW World Literary Congress in Abuja, Nigeria.
• Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award 2024: Conferred upon legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan on April 24, 2024, in Mumbai for his stupendous dedication and contributions to Indian cinema and the nation.
• Goldman Environmental Prize 2024 (Green Nobel): Awarded to Indian environmental activist Alok Shukla for leading the Hasdeo Arand Bachao Sangharsh Samiti movement in Chhattisgarh, saving over 445,000 acres of biodiverse forest land from 21 planned coal mines.

Hence, the correct matching code is 3, 2, 1, 4.

Climatology of the Mediterranean Climate (Cs):

1. Assertion (A) is true: The *Mediterranean climate (Köppen's Cs type), found on the western margins of continents between latitudes 30° and 45° North and South (around the Mediterranean basin, central California, central Chile, Cape Town, and southwestern Australia), is characterized by concentrated rainfall in the winter season*.
2. Reason (R) is true and is the correct explanation: This unique seasonal rainfall pattern is caused by the shifting of planetary wind belts following the apparent migration of the Sun:

• In summer, the subtropical high-pressure belt shifts poleward, bringing dry, descending air and dry offshore / terrestrial Trade Winds across these regions, resulting in prolonged summer drought.
• In winter, the wind belts shift equatorward, bringing these regions under the direct influence of rain-bearing, moisture-laden onshore Westerlies and cyclonic depressions, causing abundant winter rainfall.

Because the dry terrestrial winds in summer cause the summer drought, (R) provides the direct causal explanation for (A).

Therefore, both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A) (Option D).

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. India ranks as the third-largest producer of electronic waste globally (after China and the USA), and the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 mandate Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), requiring manufacturers and brand owners to ensure environmentally sound take-back and recycling. Statement 3 is incorrect because discarded electronics contain dangerous heavy metals and toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and brominated flame retardants.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Chandrayaan-2 was launched on 22 July 2019 aboard ISRO's heavy-lift GSLV Mk III-M1 rocket, carrying an indigenous Lunar Orbiter, the Vikram Lander, and the Pragyan Rover. Statement 3 is incorrect because during the final descent on 7 September 2019, communication with the Vikram lander was lost at an altitude of 2.1 km and it crashed on the lunar surface; a successful soft landing was subsequently accomplished by Chandrayaan-3 in August 2023.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. 5G networks offer peak speeds up to 10–20 Gbps (drastically higher than 4G) and ultra-low latency of under 5 milliseconds, enabling real-time applications such as autonomous vehicles and remote surgery. Statement 3 is incorrect because 5G operates across three spectrum tiers: low-band (sub-1 GHz), mid-band (1–6 GHz), and high-band millimetre wave (mmWave 24–100 GHz), rather than exclusively in low-frequency bands.

All three statements are correct. The Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine provides immunity against tuberculosis, the Sabin Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) utilizes live attenuated poliovirus strains to induce gut mucosal and systemic immunity, and vaccines function by priming the adaptive immune system to generate pathogen-specific antibodies and memory lymphocytes.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. In August 2019, the President issued Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Orders C.O. 272 and C.O. 273 alongside statutory resolutions in Parliament revoking J&K's special status, and Parliament enacted the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 bifurcating the state into two Union Territories. Statement 3 is incorrect because Article 35A was introduced via the Presidential Order of 1954; when C.O. 272 superseded that 1954 order, Article 35A automatically ceased to exist.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to grant eligibility for Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities—specifically Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians—who arrived from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan on or before 31 December 2014. Statement 3 is incorrect because the statute explicitly restricts this expedited relief to the six enumerated non-Muslim minority communities, excluding other migrants.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct as Norman Myers originated the biodiversity hotspot framework in 1988, and both the Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas represent major global hotspots encompassing Indian territory. Statement 3 is incorrect because Conservation International's criteria require that a region must have lost at least 70% of its original primary habitat, not 50%.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The Great Bath was excavated at Mohenjo-daro in Sindh, and Lothal in the Gulf of Khambhat possessed a trapezoidal baked-brick basin identified as a tidal dockyard. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Harappan civilization was characterized by solid-wheeled bullock carts and pack oxen, with horse-drawn spoked-wheel war chariots absent from Harappan material culture.

Statement 1 is correct because Siddhartha Gautama preached his maiden discourse (Dharmachakrapravartana) to the five ascetics at the Deer Park in Rishipatana/Sarnath. Statement 2 is incorrect because he attained enlightenment (Nirvana) at Bodh Gaya on the banks of the Niranjana River under a peepal tree (Ficus religiosa, the Bodhi tree), not a banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis).

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Major Rock Edict XIII movingly narrates Emperor Ashoka's remorse over the devastation of the Kalinga War and his subsequent adoption of Dhamma-vijaya, and James Prinsep successfully deciphered the Brahmi and Kharosthi inscriptions of Ashoka in 1837. Statement 3 is incorrect because the vast majority of Ashokan edicts were written in the vernacular Prakrit language (using Brahmi script across most of India, and Kharosthi, Aramaic, and Greek in the northwest), not Sanskrit.

All four pairs are correctly matched. Aryabhata composed the foundational mathematical and astronomical treatise Aryabhatiya, Varahamihira authored the encyclopedic Sanskrit work Brihat Samhita covering astronomy and meteorology, Kalidasa composed the lyric Sanskrit poem Meghaduta, and Vagbhata authored Ashtanga Hridaya, a celebrated core textbook of Ayurveda.

Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched. Sant Kabir lived and taught in Varanasi (Kashi), Guru Nanak was born at Nankana Sahib in the undivided Punjab region and established Kartarpur, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spearheaded the Gaudiya Vaishnavism movement across Bengal. Pair 4 is incorrectly matched because Sant Tukaram was a renowned 17th-century Marathi poet-saint of the Varkari tradition in Maharashtra, not Gujarat.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 15 September 2008, triggered by heavy losses on credit derivatives tied to defaults in the US subprime home mortgage market. Statement 3 is incorrect because foreign institutional investors aggressively withdrew capital, resulting in severe liquidity tightening and causing the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty to drop by more than 50% during 2008.

All four pairs are correctly matched. In Delhi, the rebel sepoys proclaimed the aged Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as Shahenshah-e-Hindustan; in Kanpur, Nana Saheb (adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II) spearheaded the rebellion aided by Tatya Tope; in Lucknow, Begum Hazrat Mahal led the revolt on behalf of her young son Birjis Qadr; and in Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai valiantly resisted the British Doctrine of Lapse.

Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched. The INC's first session met at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay in 1885 under W.C. Bonnerjee, the 1907 Surat session presided over by Rash Behari Ghosh witnessed the ideological split between Moderates and Extremists, and the 1929 Lahore session under Jawaharlal Nehru proclaimed Purna Swaraj. Pair 4 is incorrectly matched because the Quit India resolution was ratified and launched at the Gowalia Tank Maidan session in Bombay in August 1942, not at the Ramgarh session of 1940.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The Seventh Schedule divides legislative powers into List I (Union List covering defence, external affairs, railways), List II (State List covering public order, police, public health), and List III (Concurrent List). Statement 3 is incorrect because under Article 248 and Entry 97 of the Union List, residuary powers on any matter not enumerated in the Concurrent or State Lists belong exclusively to Parliament, not the States.

All three statements are correct. On 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt tossed harmless smoke bombs into the Central Legislative Assembly to protest the Trade Disputes Bill and Public Safety Bill, Surya Sen ('Masterda') spearheaded the heroic Chittagong Armoury Raid in Bengal in April 1930, and Chandrashekhar Azad served as the commander-in-chief of the Hindustan Republican Association (later reorganised as the HSRA).

Statements 1, 2, and 3 are correct. The Government of India Act, 1935 replaced dyarchy in the provinces with provincial autonomy, introduced dyarchy at the Centre dividing subjects into reserved and transferred, and abolished the Council of India created under the 1858 Act. Statement 4 is incorrect because the Act extended limited property-, tax-, and education-based voting rights to only about 10-14% of the total population, whereas universal adult franchise was granted solely by the 1950 Constitution of independent India.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Subhas Chandra Bose was unanimously elected Congress President at Haripura in 1938 and re-elected at Tripuri in 1939 defeating Pattabhi Sitaramayya, and established the Forward Bloc faction in May 1939 following differences with the Congress Working Committee. Statement 3 is incorrect because the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) was first established in 1942 in Malaya by Captain Mohan Singh with the support of Rash Behari Bose; Subhas Chandra Bose later took over its leadership in Singapore in July 1943.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The southwest monsoon (June to September) supplies roughly 75% of India's total annual precipitation, while the Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu receives bulk of its rain during October to December from moisture-laden northeast retreating monsoon winds blowing over the Bay of Bengal. Statement 3 is incorrect because warm El Niño events in the equatorial Pacific weaken the Walker circulation and are strongly correlated with suppressed monsoon convection and droughts in India.

Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched. The Gandak originates in the Nepal Himalayas and joins the Ganga at Sonpur near Patna, the Bhima is a premier left-bank tributary of the Krishna originating in Maharashtra's Bhimashankar, and the Chambal flows northward across Malwa to merge into the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh. Pair 4 is incorrectly matched because the Teesta originates in Sikkim and is a major right-bank tributary of the Brahmaputra (Jamuna in Bangladesh), not the Godavari.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The Trans-Himalayan Karakoram range extends northwest of the Great Himalayas across Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan, and harbors K2 (8,611 m), the world's second-highest mountain peak. Statement 3 is incorrect because the Shivalik range forms the outermost, southernmost, and youngest foothills of the Himalayas facing the northern plains, while the Greater Himalayas (Himadri) constitutes the innermost and highest chain.

All three statements are correct. The Prime Minister's High Level Committee on the Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community was chaired by Justice Rajinder Sachar, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court. Appointed in March 2005, the committee laid its comprehensive 403-page report before Parliament in November 2006, documenting critical gaps in literacy, formal employment, and civic infrastructure.

Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched. The Palk Strait connects the Bay of Bengal with Palk Bay separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, the Strait of Malacca runs between Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and the Bering Strait separates Chukotka in Russia from Alaska in North America. Pair 4 is incorrectly matched because the Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, whereas the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are connected by the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

All three statements are correct. The Gulf Stream is an intense warm western boundary current of the North Atlantic gyre originating in the Gulf of Mexico, the Labrador Current carries subpolar cold waters southward along eastern Canada, and their confluence near the Grand Banks off Newfoundland produces thick advection fog while creating one of the richest commercial fishing grounds on Earth.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The quantitative energy magnitude released by an earthquake is measured on the logarithmic Richter scale, and the epicentre is the point vertically above the hypocentre (focus) on the earth's surface that experiences the initial tremors. Statement 3 is incorrect because primary (P) waves are longitudinal body waves that travel significantly faster than shear (S) waves and arrive first at seismograph recording stations.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Mediterranean climate (Cs in Köppen classification) experiences prominent dry summers dominated by subtropical high-pressure cells and rainy winters brought by on-shore westerlies, and this distinct seasonality fosters specialized horticulture, especially olives, citrus fruits, and commercial viticulture (wine production). Statement 2 is incorrect because Mediterranean climatic belts occur strictly on the western margins of continents between 30° and 45° north and south latitudes (such as central Chile, California, Cape Province, and south-western Australia).

Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched. The Bailadila ranges in Bastar, Chhattisgarh yield world-class high-grade haematite iron ore exported via Visakhapatnam, the Panchpatmali hills in Koraput, Odisha host Asia's largest bauxite mine operated by NALCO, and Koderma in Jharkhand is celebrated as the 'Mica Capital of India'. Pair 4 is incorrectly matched because the Kolar Gold Fields in Karnataka are historically renowned for deep-reef gold extraction, while major copper deposits are mined at Malanjkhand (Madhya Pradesh), Khetri (Rajasthan), and Singhbhum (Jharkhand).

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis force deflects inward-rushing winds to the right, causing cyclonic circulation to rotate counter-clockwise, and tropical cyclones originating in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea are assigned names from a regional roster maintained by the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones. Statement 3 is incorrect because Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm 'Fani' made its destructive landfall near Puri on the coast of Odisha on 3 May 2019, not West Bengal.

All three statements are correct. The Tropic of Cancer (23°30'N) passes through eight Indian states from west to east: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, and Mizoram; and the longitude of 82°30'E passing through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh is designated as the Indian Standard Meridian (UTC+05:30).

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. India's international boundary with Bangladesh spans 4,096.7 km, representing its longest land border with any neighbouring country, and the McMahon Line, negotiated at the 1914 Simla Convention by Sir Henry McMahon, forms the de facto frontier between Northeast India (Arunachal Pradesh) and China. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Durand Line, drawn in 1893, primarily serves as the modern international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Historical analysis of the Revolt of 1857:

• Statement 1 is correct: Babu Kunwar Singh, the octogenarian Ujjainiya Rajput landlord of Jagdishpur in Arrah (Shahabad district, Bihar), was one of the greatest military commanders of the 1857 rebellion. Despite his advanced age of nearly 80 years, he led rebel sepoys and local fighters against the British East India Company across western Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh (including Azamgarh, Ballia, and Ghazipur), repeatedly outmaneuvering British forces under Vincent Eyre and Mark Kerr before succumbing to battle wounds in April 1858.
• Statement 2 is INCORRECT: Following the death of Maharaja Gangadhar Rao of Jhansi in November 1853, Governor-General Lord Dalhousie explicitly REFUSED to recognize Damodar Rao (Anand Rao), the adopted son of Rani Lakshmi Bai, as the legal heir to the principality of Jhansi. Applying his aggressive Doctrine of Lapse (व्यपगत का सिद्धांत), Dalhousie rejected the Rani's petitions, annexed Jhansi to the British territories in March 1854, and granted the Rani a meagre pension of ₹5,000 per month. This refusal was the direct proximate cause for Rani Lakshmi Bai joining the 1857 Revolt!

Therefore, only statement 1 is correct.

Statements 2 and 3 are correct. Article 44 in Part IV urges the State to secure for all citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India, and Article 48A directing the State to protect and improve the environment, forests, and wildlife was incorporated by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976. Statement 1 is incorrect because Article 37 explicitly declares that Directive Principles are fundamental in governance but non-justiciable and not legally enforceable by any court.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Under Article 54, the presidential electoral college comprises the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of State Legislative Assemblies (including Delhi and Puducherry), and Article 72 empowers the President to grant pardons, reprieves, respites, and remit or commute sentences in all cases involving capital punishment. Statement 2 is incorrect because under Article 123, the President can promulgate an ordinance only when at least one House of Parliament is not in session.

Statement 1 is correct because Article 109(1) of the Constitution expressly prohibits the introduction of a Money Bill in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), mandating prior presidential recommendation for its introduction in the Lok Sabha. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill; it can only return it within 14 days with non-binding recommendations. Statement 3 is incorrect because a joint sitting summoned under Article 108 is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha pursuant to Article 118(4), never by the Vice President.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Article 131 vests exclusive original jurisdiction in the Supreme Court over federal disputes involving the Centre and States, and Article 143 confers advisory jurisdiction empowering the President to seek its opinion on questions of law or fact of public importance. Statement 3 is incorrect because the collegium mechanism is nowhere mentioned in the text of the Constitution, having evolved entirely through judicial interpretations in the Second Judges Case (1993) and Third Judges Case (1998).

All three statements are correct. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 added the Eleventh Schedule enumerating 29 functional subjects devolved to rural local bodies under Article 243G, Article 243D(3) guarantees mandatory reservation of at least one-third of total seats for women across all tiers, and Article 243E prescribes a fixed tenure of five years for every Panchayat from the date of its first meeting.

Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched. Defence of India is Entry 1 of the Union List (List I), Police and public order are Entries 1 and 2 of the State List (List II), and Education was transferred from the State List to the Concurrent List (List III, Entry 25) by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976. Pair 4 is incorrectly matched because Agriculture (including agricultural education and research) is an exclusive State subject under Entry 14 of List II.

Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched. Article 324 provides for the Election Commission of India for superintendence and conduct of elections, Article 280 mandates the constitution of a Finance Commission every five years, and Article 315 establishes the Public Service Commission for the Union. Pair 4 is incorrectly matched because NITI Aayog is a non-constitutional, extra-constitutional body established through an executive resolution of the Union Cabinet on 1 January 2015, whereas Article 263 provides for the establishment of an Inter-State Council.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Article 370 formerly accorded asymmetrical temporary autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir with a separate Constitution, and on 5-6 August 2019, Presidential Orders C.O. 272 and C.O. 273 applied all provisions of the Indian Constitution to J&K while the J&K Reorganisation Act bifurcated it into two Union Territories. Statement 3 is incorrect because Article 35A (empowering the state legislature to confer special privileges on permanent residents) was created by the 1954 Presidential Order, and it automatically ceased to exist once C.O. 272 superseded that 1954 Order.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 specifically covers six persecuted non-Muslim minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and amends the Third Schedule of the Citizenship Act, 1955 to reduce the qualifying residency period for citizenship by naturalisation from 11 years to not less than 5 years. Statement 2 is incorrect because Muslim migrants from these Islamic republics are explicitly excluded from the provisions of this special amendment.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 amended Sections 13 and 16 of the principal 2005 Act to grant the Central Government rule-making authority to prescribe the terms of office, salaries, and allowances for the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners at both central and state levels. Statement 2 is incorrect because the amendment removed the fixed statutory five-year term that existed under the 2005 Act, replacing it with executive discretion (subsequently set at 3 years via the RTI Rules, 2019).

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The 2019 amendment to UAPA amended Section 35 and added the Fourth Schedule, allowing the Union Government to designate individuals as terrorists (previously, only groups or organisations could be notified as terrorist organisations under the First Schedule). Statement 3 is incorrect because the amendment empowered the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to approve the seizure or attachment of property when an investigation is conducted by the NIA, eliminating the prior requirement of seeking the State DGP's consent.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. By standard macroeconomic definition, GDP at market prices equals GDP at factor cost plus indirect taxes minus subsidies (net indirect taxes), and Gross National Product (GNP) equals GDP plus Net Factor Income from Abroad (NFIA). Statement 3 is incorrect because the Central Statistics Office (CSO) revised the base year for national accounts from 2004-05 to 2011-12 in January 2015, which remained the official series in 2019.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Following the recommendations of the Urjit Patel Committee, the RBI adopted the headline CPI-Combined (All India) as the nominal anchor for flexible inflation targeting, and Core Inflation measures underlying price trends by stripping out volatile non-core categories, namely food and fuel. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) strictly tracks price movements of manufactured products, primary articles, and fuel/power at wholesale stages, entirely excluding the services sector.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Originally established as a private shareholders' bank in 1935, the RBI was nationalised on 1 January 1949 under the Reserve Bank (Transfer to Public Ownership) Act, 1948, and Section 22 of the RBI Act, 1934 grants it the sole right to issue banknotes of all denominations in India (with ₹1 notes and coins minted by the Ministry of Finance). Statement 3 is incorrect because under Section 8 of the RBI Act, the Governor is appointed by the Central Government (specifically the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet), not the President.

All three statements are correct. The repo rate is the fixed interest rate at which the RBI injects liquidity against approved collateral to scheduled commercial banks, raising the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) impounds a higher fraction of Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) with the central bank thereby curbing commercial lending capacity, and Open Market Operations (OMOs) involve open-market auctions of government securities by the RBI to regulate system-wide liquidity.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The nationwide unified goods and services tax regime was rolled out via the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016, and Article 279A establishes the GST Council as a joint federal forum chaired by the Union Finance Minister. Statement 3 is incorrect because Article 366(12A) specifically excludes alcoholic liquor for human consumption from the constitutional definition of GST, reserving state excise and VAT powers to state governments.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. PM-KISAN is a 100% Central Sector Scheme that transfers ₹6,000 per annum as direct income support to landholding farmers in three equal 4-monthly instalments of ₹2,000 via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Statement 3 is incorrect because the scheme initially targeted small and marginal farmers owning up to 2 hectares, and in May 2019 the Cabinet expanded it to cover all landholding farmer families regardless of the size of their land holdings (subject to certain exclusion criteria), not large farmers with over 5 hectares.

All three statements are correct. Under the RBI's prudential norms on income recognition and asset classification, an advance is designated as an NPA if payment of interest or principal remains overdue for a period of more than 90 days; the SARFAESI Act, 2002 enables secured lenders to take possession of and auction pledged immovable properties without court intervention; and the landmark Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) was enacted in May 2016.

Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched. MGNREGA legally guarantees at least 100 days of unskilled wage employment per rural household annually, PMAY-G provides pucca houses with basic amenities to homeless and kutcha-dwelling rural households, and PM-JAY delivers cashless secondary and tertiary hospitalisation coverage up to ₹5 lakh per eligible family per year. Pair 4 is incorrectly matched because PM Ujjwala Yojana provides deposit-free LPG cooking gas connections to poor women, whereas free electricity connections were extended under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya).

All three statements are correct. In Balance of Payments accounting, the Current Account encompasses merchandise trade (visible imports and exports), services trade (invisibles), and unilateral transfers including private worker remittances, while the Capital Account records cross-border asset transactions altering national claims and liabilities, including Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), foreign portfolio flows, and external debt.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Fiscal deficit represents the total non-borrowed budgetary shortfall (Total Expenditure minus Revenue Receipts minus Non-Debt Capital Receipts) indicating the government's borrowing requirement, and the FRBM Act, 2003 established statutory benchmarks to eliminate revenue deficit and rein in fiscal deficit. Statement 3 is incorrect because fiscal deficit comprises the revenue deficit plus net capital expenditure; thus, fiscal deficit is virtually always greater than (or at minimum equal to) the revenue deficit.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The United Nations Population Fund defines the demographic dividend as economic growth potential resulting from shifts in a country's age structure when the working-age population (15-64) exceeds the dependent population, and Kerala consistently records the highest literacy rate among all Indian states (over 94%). Statement 2 is incorrect because according to the National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4, 2015-16), India's Total Fertility Rate stood at 2.2, which was above the demographic replacement fertility threshold of 2.1 (it declined below replacement level to 2.0 only in NFHS-5, 2019-21).

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The flagship Ease of Doing Business index was published annually by the World Bank Group measuring regulatory efficiency across economies, and in the Doing Business 2020 study released in October 2019, India surged 14 places to secure the 63rd rank globally. Statement 3 is incorrect because the Doing Business assessment evaluated 190 economies, not all 193 United Nations member states.

Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched. Jim Corbett National Park is situated in the Nainital and Pauri Garhwal districts of Uttarakhand, Bandipur Tiger Reserve forms a vital corridor in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve of Karnataka, and Kanha Tiger Reserve is located in the Maikal range of Madhya Pradesh. Pair 4 is incorrectly matched because Sundarbans National Park and Tiger Reserve lies in the deltaic mangrove region of West Bengal, not Odisha (Odisha hosts Similipal and Satkosia tiger reserves).

Matching Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions with their Sectors:

| Revolution | Related Economic Sector |

| :--- | :--- |

| A. Golden Revolution | 2. Horticulture and Honey Production (Spearheaded by Nirpakh Tutej, 1991–2003) |

| B. Grey Revolution | 4. Fertilizers (Focused on increasing chemical fertilizer production to boost crop yields) |

| C. Yellow Revolution | 1. Oilseeds Production (Led by Sam Pitroda in 1986–87, focused on mustard, sesame, sunflower) |

| D. Black Revolution | 3. Petroleum Production (Aimed at accelerating crude petroleum production and ethanol blending) |

Hence, the correct matching code is A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3 (Option A).

Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched. The 1987 Montreal Protocol mandates the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances like CFCs and halons, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol set legally binding emissions reduction targets for Annex I developed nations, and the 2015 Paris Agreement establishes the collective goal to hold global temperature rise well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Pair 4 is incorrectly matched because the 1989 Basel Convention controls the transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous wastes, whereas Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are governed by the Stockholm Convention of 2001.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976 amended the Preamble for the only time in India's history, inserting the three words 'Socialist', 'Secular', and 'Integrity'. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Supreme Court affirmed in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) that although the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution, it is non-justiciable and cannot be directly enforced in any court of law.

All three statements are correct. PM2.5 defines fine respirable particles with aerodynamic diameter equal to or smaller than 2.5 micrometres capable of penetrating deep into lungs and bloodstreams, the CPCB notifies National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) covering 12 air pollutants under the Air Act of 1981, and the Government of India mandated a nationwide transition directly from BS-IV to stringent BS-VI emission standards effective 1 April 2020.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Kabir's poetic compositions are preserved primarily in the Bijak, the Kabir Granthavali, and the Guru Granth Sahib, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu popularized Gaudiya Vaishnavism through congregational singing (kirtan) across Bengal and Odisha. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Khalsa Panth was founded by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in 1699 at Anandpur Sahib.

All three statements are correct. In India, statutory environmental impact assessment is promulgated under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the first comprehensive EIA Notification making prior environmental clearance mandatory for designated developmental projects was issued by the Union Environment Ministry in 1994 (superseded by the 2006 Notification), and public consultation/hearing is an indispensable stage for Category A and designated Category B1 development activities.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. India set an ambitious national target of establishing 175 GW of grid-connected renewable power capacity by the end of 2022 (comprising 100 GW solar, 60 GW wind, 10 GW biomass, and 5 GW small hydro), and the treaty-based International Solar Alliance (ISA) launched jointly by India and France is headquartered at the National Institute of Solar Energy campus in Gurugram, Haryana. Statement 3 is incorrect because solar radiation is an inexhaustible, clean, and perpetually self-replenishing renewable resource.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Mangrove plant communities possess dense prop root and pneumatophore networks that dissipate destructive wave energy, attenuate storm surges, and trap coastal sediment to prevent shoreline erosion; and the transboundary Sundarbans delta spanning India and Bangladesh constitutes the largest contiguous tidal halophytic mangrove tract on the planet. Statement 3 is incorrect because mangroves are specialised halophytic shrubs and trees uniquely adapted to saline, brackish, and tidal intertidal littoral marine environments.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The ampere (A) is one of the seven foundational SI base units measuring the rate of electric charge flow, and sound waves are mechanical longitudinal waves that strictly require a material elastic medium (solid, liquid, or gas) to transmit pressure oscillations, making propagation through a vacuum impossible. Statement 3 is incorrect because light travels fastest in a vacuum and air (roughly 3 × 10^8 m/s) and decelerates when entering denser optical media like water (approx 2.25 × 10^8 m/s, refractive index 1.33).

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. In aqueous chemistry at standard temperature (25°C), pure neutral water exhibits equal concentrations of hydrogen and hydroxide ions yielding a pH of precisely 7, and household table salt is an ionic crystalline chemical compound composed of sodium chloride (NaCl). Statement 3 is incorrect because the rusting of iron is an electrochemical oxidation reaction in which metallic iron loses electrons to oxygen in the presence of water to form hydrated iron(III) oxide (Fe2O3·nH2O).

All three statements are correct. Mitochondria generate the bulk of cellular chemical energy through oxidative phosphorylation yielding adenosine triphosphate (ATP), plant chloroplasts contain chlorophyll pigment to absorb solar energy and drive the photochemical reactions of photosynthesis, and non-gametic human diploid somatic cells contain 23 homologous pairs or 46 chromosomes in their nuclei.

Moving from west to east across Central India, the correct physiological sequence is: first, the western Satpura Range in Gujarat/Maharashtra; second, the Mahadeo Hills harboring Dhupgarh peak in central Madhya Pradesh; third, the Maikal Range containing the Amarkantak plateau eastward; and finally, the Chhotanagpur Plateau situated across Jharkhand and West Bengal.

All three statements are correct. INS Vikrant (IAC-1) was constructed by Cochin Shipyard Limited as India's maiden indigenous aircraft carrier, Agni-V is a three-stage solid-fuel nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by DRDO with a operational strike range exceeding 5,000 km, and LCA Tejas is an indigenous fly-by-wire single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft developed by ADA and HAL.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) stores hereditary genetic instructions across cellular life forms, and the CRISPR-Cas9 endonuclease ribonucleoprotein complex functions as a precise molecular scissor for targeted genomic editing. Statement 3 is incorrect because although the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) recommended approval in 2009, the Union Environment Ministry imposed an indefinite moratorium on the commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal in February 2010; Bt cotton remains India's sole commercially released GM crop.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Blockchain operates as a decentralized, immutable peer-to-peer distributed ledger secured by cryptographic hash chains and consensus protocols, and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) deploys a 128-bit address space (providing 2^128 unique addresses) to overcome the address exhaustion of 32-bit IPv4. Statement 3 is incorrect because commercial 5G telecommunication networks were officially launched in India on 1 October 2022 during the India Mobile Congress, not 2019.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Japanese Encephalitis is an acute viral brain infection caused by a flavivirus transmitted to humans by bites from infected Culex mosquitoes, and Tuberculosis is an infectious bacterial disease primarily affecting lungs caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Statement 3 is incorrect because antibiotics specifically target bacterial cell walls, protein synthesis, and metabolic enzymes, possessing zero therapeutic activity against viral pathogens.

All three statements are correct. Commercial nuclear reactors harness heat energy from controlled nuclear fission of heavy fissile nuclides like uranium-235, Homi J. Bhabha's three-stage nuclear power strategy explicitly formulates the third stage utilizing India's abundant monazite thorium reserves in Advanced Heavy Water Reactors, and the mega-scientific ITER fusion experimental tokamak facility is sited at Saint-Paul-lès-Durance in southern France.

Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, and (R) correctly explains (A). The ongoing continent-continent tectonic collision between the northward-moving Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate has created extensive longitudinal regional thrust systems across the Himalayas—namely the Main Central Thrust (MCT), Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), and Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT)—accumulating immense tectonic strain that is intermittently released as destructive high-intensity earthquakes in Seismic Zones IV and V.

Fundamental Freedoms under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution:

Originally, Article 19(1) guaranteed seven fundamental freedoms to Indian citizens.

However, the freedom to 'acquire, hold and dispose of property' under Article 19(1)(f) was repealed and omitted from Part III by the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978 (under the Morarji Desai Janata Party Government). It was reconstituted merely as a legal/constitutional right under Article 300A in Part XII.

Currently, Article 19 guarantees six basic freedoms:

1. 19(1)(a): Freedom of speech and expression
2. 19(1)(b): Freedom to assemble peacefully and without arms
3. 19(1)(c): Freedom to form associations, unions, or cooperative societies
4. 19(1)(d): Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India
5. 19(1)(e): Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India
6. 19(1)(g): Freedom to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

Therefore, the freedom to own, acquire, and dispose of property is no longer guaranteed under Article 19.

Correct Option: Option (B) — 1 and 2 only is the correct answer.

• Statement(s) 1, 2 are correct:
• 1. The Karakoram range lies to the north-west of the main Himalayan ranges.
• 2. K2 (Mount Godwin-Austen) is located in the Karakoram range.
• Statement(s) 3 is/are incorrect:
• 3. The Shivalik is the innermost range of the Himalayas.

All three statements are correct. In 2019, the Union Government created the integrated Ministry of Jal Shakti by amalgamating the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation with the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation; initiated the time-bound Jal Shakti Abhiyan across 256 water-stressed districts; and launched the Jal Jeevan Mission (Har Ghar Jal) on 15 August 2019 to ensure functional household tap connections (FHTC) to every rural household by 2024.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. On 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court delivered a historic unanimous verdict awarding the entire disputed 2.77-acre site in Ayodhya to a government trust for constructing a Ram temple, while ordering the allotment of a suitable 5-acre prominent alternative plot to the Sunni Central Waqf Board for a mosque. Statement 3 is incorrect because the judgment was rendered by a five-judge Constitution Bench (presided over by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi alongside Justices S.A. Bobde, D.Y. Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan, and S. Abdul Nazeer), not a seven-judge bench.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. The 14th G20 Summit convened in Osaka, Japan on 28-29 June 2019 under the presidency of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres convened the Climate Action Summit in New York on 23 September 2019 to accelerate global net-zero ambitions. Statement 3 is incorrect because the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) was held in Madrid, Spain in December 2019 under the presidency of Chile, not in India.

All four pairs are correctly matched. Former President Pranab Mukherjee was conferred India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in August 2019 (alongside Nanaji Deshmukh and Bhupen Hazarika); Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for ending the protracted border conflict with Eritrea; Margaret Atwood jointly won the 2019 Booker Prize for 'The Testaments' (with Bernardine Evaristo); and Indian journalist Ravish Kumar received the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award for ethical journalism.

Agronomic characteristics of Cotton (Gossypium spp.):

1. Statement 1 is correct: In India, cotton is primarily cultivated as a Kharif crop across the tropical and subtropical regions. It is sown between April and June (depending on monsoon arrival or irrigation in North/Central/South zones) and harvested between October and February.
2. Statement 2 is correct: Cotton requires a warm climate with moderate rainfall of 50 cm to 100 cm evenly distributed during its vegetative growth phase. Abundant sunshine and at least 210 frost-free days are essential. Stagnant water, heavy rainfall, or frost during the boll-bursting phase are detrimental to fiber quality.

Therefore, both statements 1 and 2 are correct.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct. On 22 September 2019, the mega diaspora event 'Howdy, Modi!' was held at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas with US President Donald Trump sharing the stage, and French President Emmanuel Macron extended a special invitation to India to participate as a partner country in the 45th G7 Summit in Biarritz in August 2019. Statement 3 is incorrect because on 4 November 2019 at the 3rd RCEP Summit in Bangkok, India formally announced its decision not to join the RCEP trade agreement to safeguard its domestic agriculture, dairy, and manufacturing sectors from unsustainable trade imbalances.