Q1. The Bureau of Port Security (BoPS) is best described as which of the following?
- A statutory regulatory body under the Merchant Shipping Act overseeing ship and port security
- An operational force replacing CISF at ports
- A temporary inter-ministerial committee for port modernisation
- An advisory body under the Ministry of Home Affairs for maritime threat assessment
Correct Option: 1. A statutory regulatory body under the Merchant Shipping Act overseeing ship and port security
Explanation:
BoPS is to be constituted under Section 13 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, with responsibility for regulatory and oversight functions related to the security of ships and port facilities.
Q2. Why is the operation of the Niryat Cargo Express as a double-stack container train particularly significant for export logistics?
- It reduces the need for road transport by replacing last-mile connectivity
- It increases cargo carrying capacity per train, improving efficiency and lowering per-unit logistics costs
- It enables the transport of only high-value goods under special security
- It allows freight trains to run at passenger-train speeds
Correct Option: 2. It increases cargo carrying capacity per train, improving efficiency and lowering per-unit logistics costs
Explanation:
Double-stack container trains carry more containers in a single run, making better use of rail infrastructure, reducing per-unit transport costs, and enhancing export logistics efficiency.
Q3. What is the central implication of the Raman Research Institute study on measurements of circumgalactic medium (CGM) around galaxies?
- CGM is less important for galaxy evolution than previously thought
- Ionized oxygen is an unreliable tracer of diffuse galactic gas
- Contributions from intergalactic medium (IGM) can lead to overestimation of CGM mass
- Dark matter dominates halo mass only in low-mass galaxies
Correct Option: 3. Contributions from intergalactic medium (IGM) can lead to overestimation of CGM mass
Explanation:
The study shows that observations integrate gas along the line of sight, including both CGM and IGM, causing systematic overestimation of CGM mass if IGM contributions are ignored.
Q4. Which of the following statements about the BlueBird satellite launch is correct?
- The BlueBird satellite is an Indian-built navigation satellite weighing 3,000 kg
- The satellite will be launched using PSLV from the First Launch Pad
- The BlueBird communications satellite is developed by a U.S.-based company and launched using LVM3
- The launch was advanced from December 24 to December 15 due to technical readiness
Correct Option: 3. The BlueBird communications satellite is developed by a U.S.-based company and launched using LVM3
Explanation:
• The BlueBird is a communications satellite, not a navigation satellite, and it weighs 6,500 kg, making option A incorrect.
•
The launch vehicle is LVM3, India’s heavy-lift rocket, and the launch will occur from the Second Launch Pad, not PSLV or the First Launch Pad, so B is incorrect.
•
AST SpaceMobile, a U.S.-based company, developed the BlueBird satellite, and ISRO will launch it as part of the LVM3-M6 mission, making C the correct answer.
•
The launch was postponed from December 15 to December 24, not advanced, so D is incorrect.
Q5. What is the primary objective of the Union Home Ministry’s Support to Poor Prisoners scheme?
- To provide legal representation to prisoners accused of serious offences
- To reduce prison overcrowding by granting general amnesty
- To financially assist indigent prisoners whose release is delayed due to inability to pay fines or bail
- To reform prison infrastructure and administrative systems
Correct Option: 3. To financially assist indigent prisoners whose release is delayed due to inability to pay fines or bail
Explanation:
The Support to Poor Prisoners scheme, launched in 2023, aims to help indigent prisoners whose release is stalled solely because they cannot pay court-imposed fines or furnish bail sureties, making option C correct.