Daily Quiz 10 March 2025

Answer: C

Explanation:

• Statements 1 and 2 are correct: The National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency provides technical support for implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). It is also a special purpose vehicle for distributing financial assistance from NABARD to states to bridge fund gaps in targets set by MoRD. In the financial year 2022-23, for instance, MoRD allocated Rs 2,765 crore to NRIDA as grant-in-aid for “Interest payment to NABARD Loan” under the rural housing scheme and Rs 47 crore as grant-in-aid for “salaries and general”.

Statement 3 is correct: The National Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society was established to provide professional and technical support to Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). Records show MoRD provided Rs 60.71 crore as recurring grant to NRLPS in five years from 2017-18 to 2021-22.

Answer: A

Explanation:

• Option A is correct: Tea Horse Road spanned more than 2,000 km, and connected China to India via Tibet. The Tea Horse Road does not refer to a single road but a network of branching paths that began in southwest China and ended in the Indian subcontinent.
  • The two main pathways passed through cities like Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan province, and reached Lhasa in Tibet, before entering the Indian subcontinent where they branched into present-day India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. These routes were perilous to travel on, passed through difficult terrain, and reached an elevation of up to 10,000 feet.
• The origin of the Tea Horse Road can be traced to the rule of the Tang dynasty in China (618-907 CE). The writings of Buddhist monk Yijing (635-713 CE) — who gave some of the most detailed descriptions of Nalanda university available today — mention products like sugar, textiles, and rice noodles being transported from southwestern China to Tibet and India while horses, leather, Tibetan gold, saffron and other medicine herbs went to China. Over time, the trade focused on teas and horses, as official documents from the Song dynasty (960-1279 CE) show. However, traders would also use the route to deal in other goods, not necessarily covering the entire trail to South Asia at all times.
• The main driver for the road is believed to be the demand for tea among Tibetan nomads. One popular legend says tea became popular when a princess who married a Tibetan king in the 7th century brought the beverage as a dowry to the mountain kingdom. A National Geographic article gave more practical reasons: “Tibetan royalty and nomads alike took to tea for good reasons. It was a hot beverage in a cold climate where the only other options were snowmelt, yak or goat milk, barley milk, or chang (barley beer). A cup of yak butter tea—with its distinctive salty, slightly oily, sharp taste—provided a mini-meal for herders warming themselves over yak dung fires in a windswept hinterland.”

Answer: D

Explanation:

• Point 1 is correct: Without gravity, bodily fluids shift upward, leading to facial swelling and increased intracranial pressure, which can affect vision. The lack of mechanical loading on bones and muscles associated with the downward pull of gravity leads to bone density loss and muscle atrophy.
• Point 2 is correct: In addition, the cardiovascular system undergoes major changes, including difficulty regulating blood pressure upon return to the earth. Prolonged exposure to microgravity conditions also affects vestibular function – the inner ear’s. ability to sense movement and orientation. That can cause balance and coordination issues.
• Point 3 is correct: Unlike on the earth, where the atmosphere and planetary magnetic field provide a shield from space radiation, astronauts are exposed to high-energy radiation permeating the cosmos. This can lead to DNA damage, increased cancer risk, neurodegenerative effects, cardiovascular issues and immune system dysregulation.

Point 4 is correct: Long-duration space missions require astronauts to live in confined and isolated environments with limited social interaction and exposure to natural stimuli. This, according to Beheshti, can lead to psychological stress, sleep disturbances, cognitive performance declines and mood disorders.

Answer: B

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Northern Pintails are among the most widespread duck species globally, with populations across North America, Europe, and Asia.
• Statement 2 is not correct: Northern Pintails are slender, long-necked, and characterized by narrow wings. Their aerodynamic build makes them fast flyers, capable of reaching speeds up to 48 mph.

Statement 3 is correct: A flock of rare northern pintail ducks has been spotted at an unprecedented altitude of 13,500 feet in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. The ducks were seen in a high-altitude region, far from their usual habitats. What makes this sighting even more remarkable is that northern pintail ducks are typically found in low-lying areas during the winter months.

Answer: A

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is not correct: After China, India is the second largest producer of cotton, accounting for 24% of global production. Cotton cultivation engages around 60 lakh farmers, mostly across Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Telangana. The entire cotton textile value chain—from processing raw fibre and spinning yarn to weaving fabric, dyeing, and stitching—employs over 4.5 crore people.
• Statement 2 is correct: While fibre consumption in India tilts heavily towards cotton, the textile industry also consumes other natural fibres like wool and jute. India is also the world’s second largest producer of man-made fibres (MMF), with Reliance Industries Ltd leading in polyester fibre and Aditya Birla Group’s Grasim Industries Ltd as the only domestic producer of viscose fibre.
• Statement 3 is not correct: The size of India’s textile and apparel industry cannot be understated—it contributes 13% to industrial production, 12% to exports, and roughly 2% to GDP. However, manufacturing in the textile and apparel industry has slightly contracted over the past 10 years, according to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).