Answer: D
Soln:
● Kashmir valley of Jammu and Kashmir union territory is set to finally have a rail link
with the rest of the country by The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL)
project, which will now be fully operational and ensures all-weather connectivity.
● The rail line spans over 272 kms with 36 tunnels and 943 bridges.
● This includes the Tunnel T-50, the longest operating tunnel in the country.
● The project also includes the Chenab bridge over Chenab river, which is the world’s
highest rail arch bridge and the Anji bridge, India’s first cable-stayed rail bridge.
Hence, option D is correct.

5. Consider the following statements about Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)
1. These schools aim to provide quality primary education for Scheduled Tribe students in
remote areas.

2. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED)
establishes, endows, maintains, controls and manages these schools.
3. Only Scheduled Tribe students can be enrolled into these schools.

Answer: D
Soln:
Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS):
● The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing the Central Sector Scheme of Eklavya
Model Residential School (EMRS) to provide quality middle and high-level education to
Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in remote areas. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
● Introduced in 1997-98, the schools are aimed to enable ST students to access the best
opportunities in education and to bring them at par with the general population.
● The schools focus not only on academic education but on the all-round development of
the students.
● Each school has a capacity of 480 students, catering to students from Class VI to XII. Non-
ST students can be admitted in EMRSs up to 10% of the total seats. Hence, statement 3
is incorrect.
● The National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), an autonomous
organization under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, establishes, endows, maintains, controls
and manages these schools. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
● The government aims to establish EMRS in every block with more than 50% ST
population and at least 20,000 tribal persons.
● EMRS are set up in States/UTs with grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution of
India. 
○ Article 275(1) guarantees grants-in-aid from the Consolidated Fund of India
each year for promoting the welfare of Scheduled Tribes.
○ Infrastructure development schemes like protected drinking water, road
connectivity, electricity and housing are provided under this scheme.

2. Oxytocin, a natural hormone, is involved in which of the following processes within the human
body?

Answer: B
Soln:
● Oxytocin is a natural hormone that stimulates uterine contractions in childbirth and
lactation after childbirth. It also affects aspects of human behavior and the male and
female reproductive systems. Hence, option B is correct.
○ Hormones are chemicals that coordinate different functions in our body by
carrying messages through blood to the organs, muscles and other tissues. These
signals tell our body what to do and when to do it

● It is secreted by the hypothalamus but stored and released into our bloodstream by
the posterior pituitary gland.

3. Consider the following statements about External Debts.
1. External debt is the portion of a country's debt that is borrowed from foreign lenders.
2. India has an external debt to GDP ratio of over 50 percent.

Answer: A
Soln:
External Debt
● External debt is the portion of a country's debt that is borrowed from foreign lenders
through commercial banks, governments, or international financial institutions. Hence,
statement 1 is correct.
● India’s external debt includes Commercial Borrowings, Sovereign Borrowings, Non-
Resident Deposits, Multilateral Loans and Trade credits.
● According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s external debt at
end-March 2024 was at $ 663.8 billion, recording an increase of $ 39.7 billion over its level
at end-March 2023.
● The external debt to GDP ratio declined to 18.7 per cent at end-March 2024 from 19.0
per cent at end-March 2023. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
● The Central Bank said that if the valuation effect were excluded, external debt would have
increased by $48.4 billion instead of $ 39.7 billion.
● External debt to GDP ratio is the ratio between the debt a country owes to non-resident
creditors and its nominal GDP.
● Valuation effects are the changes in value of assets held abroad with regard to the value of
domestic assets held by foreign investors.

4. Consider the following statements about Super-Absorbent Polymers (SAP).
1. It is a type of macro molecular synthetic water absorbing polymer material.
2. SAPs are always of synthetic origin.

Answer: A
Soln:
Super-Absorbent Polymers:

● Super Absorbent Polymers (SAP) is a type of macro molecular synthetic water absorbing
polymer material. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
● It is a whitish powder.
● SAP can absorb a large amount of water, at times more than its own weight.
● According to their source of origin, SAPs can be classified as natural (polysaccharide and
polypeptide based) and synthetic polymers (chemical based). Hence, statement 2 is
incorrect.
● The molecular structure of this compound resembles the complicated mesh.
● When it comes in contact with water the oxygen atoms of water are attracted to the mesh
due to the presence of Sodium ions in SAP.
● As the water molecules attach themselves to the sodium ions in the SAP a strong network
is formed. The whole network swells, trapping the water molecules within, to form a
gel.
Applications
● Due to its superabsorbent nature, it is ideally suited for personal hygiene and
incontinence applications as diapers and pads.
● They can be used to improve and prolong soil water holding capacity, decrease drought
stress, and increase time between irrigation events.

5. Consider the following statement about the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).
1. It is being established in the Hawaii state of the United States of America (USA).
2. India is a Founder-Member Partner in this project.
3. Study of exoplanets is an important objective of this project.

Answer: D
Soln:
Thirty Meter Telescope
● Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is a 30-meter diameter primary mirror optical and
infrared telescope being established at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA. Hence, statement 1 is
correct.
● TMT is a new class of extremely large telescopes that will allow us to see deeper into
space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity.
● At the heart of the telescope is the segmented mirror, made up of 492 individual segments.
Precisely aligned, these segments will work as a single reflective surface of 30m diameter.

● This will provide unparalleled resolution with TMT images more than 12 times sharper than
those from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (launched in 1990 into a low-Earth orbit).
● Once it is built, the TMT will become the world's largest ground-based telescope
operating at optical and infrared wavelengths, allowing astronomers to study the outer
reaches of the universe and study distant stars and exoplanets in much greater detail than is
currently possible.
o An exoplanet, or extrasolar planet, is a planet outside of our solar system that usually
orbits another star in our galaxy.

Who is building TMT?
● The Thirty Meter Telescope is being designed and developed by the TMT International
Observatory LLC (TIO), an international collaboration of research institutions and
national governments including the USA, Japan, China, India and Canada.
● India is a Founder-Member Partner in this project which aims to open new windows to
the universe through optical and infrared astronomy. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
Benefits of TMT
● It will allow astronomers to explore the mysterious period in the life of the universe
when the first stars and galaxies were formed.
● One of its key uses will be the study of exoplanets, many of which have been detected in
the last few years, and whether their atmospheres contain water vapour or methane — the
signatures of possible life. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
● TMT will also observe the formation and development of the large-scale structures by
looking at faint distant galaxies and the intergalactic medium.
● It has the capability to detect and investigate black holes that reside in the center of many
distant galaxies, as well as study in detail the black hole in the center of our own Milky Way.