Answer: (A)

Explanation: Recently, the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre, which houses the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), stated that there is no tsunami threat to India after a powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the west coast of Japan. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is an independent organization under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). It was established in 1999 and is located in Hyderabad. INCOIS's mandate is to provide ocean information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community. INCOIS is the nodal agency for predicting and early warning regarding tsunamis in India. Hence, only statement 2 is correct.

Answer: (A)

Explanation: Warli is a traditional art form of Maharashtra. These paintings are distinctive with their vivid contrast expressions. These paintings are mainly dominated by basic geometric shapes like circles, triangles and squares. These geometric shapes stand as a symbol of natural elements in our environment. For example, the circles represent the sun and moon, the triangles represent the mountains and the squares are considered as the central motifs of the painting. It is practiced by the Warli tribes of Sahyadri, Maharashtra. They resemble the mural paintings of Bhimbetka. The Warli tribe is an indigenous tribe of western India. They live in the mountainous and coastal regions of Gujarat and Maharashtra and are related to the Konkani and Marathi people. They are famous worldwide for their paintings, which are called Warli paintings. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Answer: (B)

Explanation: Recently, the Kerala Government launched K-SMART app which will bring all services of the three-tier local self government institutions on a unified digital platform. The K-SMART (Kerala Solutions for Managing Administrative Reformation and Transformation) app is a digital platform to integrate and provide various services offered by three-tier local self-government institutions. It is the first such initiative in the country that the entire bouquet of services of a department is being made available to the public on a digital platform. It would provide a major relief to ex- patriates who want to avail various services of the local bodies without visiting the offices. This initiative will reduce the digital divide in society.
Initially, it was developed by Information Kerala Mission of the state IT department, will be operational in corporations and municipalities. It adapts diverse technological disciplines, encompassing blockchain, artificial intelligence, GIS/spatial data, chatbot, message integration, API integration of various software, machine learning, data science, cloud computing, virtual and augmented reality, Internet of things among others.

Answer: (C)

Explanation: The Sixteenth Finance Commission of India has been established with the approval of the President of India, in accordance with Article 280(1) of the Constitution. It is a constitutional body, formed every five years by the President of India under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution, to delineate financial relations between the Centre and states. It consists of a Chairman and four other members appointed by the President. Dr. Arvind Panagariya, former Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog and Professor at Columbia University, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Sixteenth Finance Commission by the Government of India. The commission has been tasked with submitting its report by the 31st day of October 2025, covering a fiveyear period starting from April 1, 2026. Hence, all statements are correct.

Answer: (B)

Explanation: ISRO achieved success on January 1, placing its first polarimetry mission, X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat), in a precise 650 km circular orbit after a 21-minute flight. XPoSat is the world’s second satellite-based mission dedicated to X-ray polarimetry measurements. It is launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This mission will operate in low Earth orbit and has estimated life of five years. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.