Explanation:

Both statements are true, and the Reason explains the Assertion. A: India’s success is pivotal for the global achievement of the SDGs because many SDG outcomes (poverty reduction, hunger, health, education, sanitation, energy access, etc.) are measured in global aggregates or are heavily influenced by large-population countries. R: India accounts for nearly one-sixth (about 17–18%) of the world’s population. This demographic weight means India’s performance substantially shifts global totals and averages; without major gains in India, the world cannot meet many SDG targets. Therefore, R provides the rationale for A.

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Under Articles 64 and 89 of the Constitution, the Vice-President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States).

Statement 2 is incorrect: The Vice-President, as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, is not a member of the House. He presides over its proceedings and has only a casting vote in case of a tie. In contrast, the Deputy Chairman is elected from among Rajya Sabha members and is a member.

Therefore, only Statement 1 is correct.

Explanation:

Assertion (A) is true: Food security is needed even in years of surplus production because food security is not only about availability; it also includes access, utilization, and stability. Surplus addresses availability but not whether people can physically or economically access food.
Reason (R) is true and correctly explains (A): Starvation can occur due to unequal distribution, poor purchasing power, market failures, transport/logistics gaps, and exclusion from safety nets—hence the need for food security measures (PDS, buffer stocks, targeted distribution) even in surplus years. This aligns with Amartya Sen’s entitlement approach, which shows famines and hunger can occur without a decline in aggregate food availability.

Explanation:

Decreasing frequency means from highest to lowest. In the electromagnetic spectrum: Gamma rays > X-rays > Ultraviolet > Radio waves (since frequency is inversely proportional to wavelength and gamma rays have the shortest wavelengths while radio waves have the longest). Hence the correct order among the given is 1 (Gamma), 4 (X-ray), 2 (UV), 3 (Radio).

Explanation:

• Periyar (1): A west-flowing river of Kerala; it debouches into the Arabian Sea via the Kochi backwaters/Cochin estuary (Vembanad). Hence, it falls into the Arabian Sea.
• Pennar (2): East-flowing (Penna/North Pennar); drains into the Bay of Bengal near Nellore. Not Arabian Sea.
• Palar (3): East-flowing; meets the Bay of Bengal near the Kalpakkam–Mahabalipuram region in Tamil Nadu. Not Arabian Sea.
Therefore, only 1 falls into the Arabian Sea.

Explanation:

Swavalambini is a women-focused entrepreneurship programme for the North-East launched by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), implemented through its Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati. It is not a Ministry of Women & Child Development initiative (which focuses on welfare/protection schemes) nor a Ministry of MSME scheme (whose women-centric efforts include TREAD, Udyam Sakhi, Mahila Coir Yojana, etc., but not Swavalambini). Hence, only 1 is correct.

Explanation:

The Treaty of Sugauli (1815–16) ended the Anglo–Nepalese War. By this treaty, Nepal ceded the hill tracts of Kumaon and (most of) Garhwal, including the Dehra Dun, to the British East India Company and accepted a British Resident at Kathmandu.
– Kathmandu (1): Not ceded; it remained Nepal’s capital. Only a British Resident was posted there. Hence incorrect.
– Shimla (2): Not obtained under Sugauli. The Shimla area belonged to small hill states (e.g., Keonthal/Sirmaur) that were restored to their rulers; the British acquired the Shimla ridge later by separate arrangements in the 1820s–30s. Hence incorrect here.
– Ranikhet (3) and Nainital (4): Both lie in Kumaon, which was ceded to the EIC under the treaty; these towns were later developed under British rule. Hence correct.
Therefore, only 3 and 4 are correct.

Explanation:

Mapping of Schedules to subjects:
– 7th Schedule → Union, State and Concurrent lists (legislative subjects)
– 8th Schedule → Languages
– 9th Schedule → Validation of certain Acts/Regulations (laws placed for protection, originally from judicial review; subject to basic structure review post I.R. Coelho, 2007)
– 10th Schedule → Disqualification on ground of defection (anti-defection law)

Therefore: A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2, which matches Option 2.

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Isotopes are atoms of the same element (same atomic number, i.e., same number of protons) but with different mass numbers due to differing numbers of neutrons.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Protium (¹H), Deuterium (²H), and Tritium (³H) are isotopes of hydrogen, not carbon. Common isotopes of carbon are carbon-12 (¹²C), carbon-13 (¹³C), and carbon-14 (¹⁴C).
Hence, only Statement 1 is correct

Explanation:

The Department of Planning is the nodal department for SDG implementation and monitoring in Uttar Pradesh. Through the Directorate of Economics & Statistics and the SDG Coordination Centre, it compiles data aligned to the National Indicator Framework (NIF) and publishes the state’s NIF/SIF progress reports. The Department of Finance focuses on budgeting and fiscal management, not cross-sector SDG indicator tracking. The Department of Education deals with sector-specific outcomes (SDG 4) but does not prepare the overall NIF progress report. Hence, only the Department of Planning prepares the NIF Progress Report in UP.