[Mission 2032] QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 25 December 2023 – INSIGHTSIAS

Correct

Solution: c)

 

Italy and war-torn Libya resumed commercial flights for the first time in a decade.

 

Source

Correct

Solution: a)

 

Debt-for-nature swaps allow heavily indebted developing countries to seek help from financial institutions in the developed world with paying off their debt if they agree to spend on conservation of natural resources.

Usually banks in developed countries buy the debts of such counties and replace them with new loans which mature later. These have lower interest rates.

 

In May 2023, the world’s first and largest debt swap to conserve oceans was signed by Ecuador. The country had exchanged $1.6 billion denominated bonds for a new $656 million loan.

Under the debt-for-nature swap, Gabon has agreed to a deal with the Bank of America, the US International Development Finance Corporation (USDFC) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), to refinance $500 million in national debt toward marine conservation efforts in the country.

 

Source

Correct

Solution: d)

 

Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation is one of The Nature Conservancy’s most innovative solutions, supporting island and coastal nations to use debt solutions to create long-term sustainable financing that can help protect 30% of our global ocean while achieving sustainable economic development and adapting to climate change. 

 

Source                  Source

Correct

Solution: a)

 

Only statement 1 is correct.

 

A Census is Constitutionally mandated in India. There are repeated references to the Census exercise in the Constitution in the context of reorganisation of constituencies for Parliament and state Assemblies. But the Constitution does not say when the Census has to be carried out, or what the frequency of this exercise should be. The Census of India Act of 1948, which provides the legal framework for carrying out the Census, also does not mention its timing or periodicity.

 

There is, therefore, no Constitutional or legal requirement that a Census has to be done every 10 years. However, this exercise has been carried out in the first year of every decade, without fail, since 1881. Most other countries also follow the 10-year cycle for their Census. There are countries like Australia that do it every five years.

 

It is not the legal requirement but the utility of the Census that has made it a permanent regular exercise. The Census produces primary, authentic data that becomes the backbone of every statistical enterprise, informing all planning, administrative and economic decision-making processes.

Correct

Solution: c)

 

A stem cell is a cell with the unique ability to develop into specialised cell types in the body. In the future they may be used to replace cells and tissues that have been damaged or lost due to disease.

 

Stem cells provide new cells for the body as it grows, and replace specialised cells that are damaged or lost. They have two unique properties that enable them to do this:

• They can divide over and over again to produce new cells.
• As they divide, they can change into the other types of cell that make up the body.