Answer: C

Explanation:

The Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju recently launched the Jiyo Parsi Scheme Portal in New Delhi. The Jiyo Parsi Scheme Portal is a Central sector scheme to arrest/contain the population decline of the Parsi community in India. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

The Jiyo Parsi Scheme Portal aims to provide financial assistance to the Parsi community through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode. The Parsi community follows Zoroastrianism, one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Zoroastrians believe in one God, Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord), who created the world. Nowruz (Navroz), the Iranian New Year, is celebrated by the Parsi community in India on March 21. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer: C

Explanation:

Recently, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted the maiden flight test of the long-range glide bomb (LRGB) Gaurav off the coast of Odisha. The Long-Range Glid Bomb Gaurav is a 1,000 kg class air-launched glide bomb designed to hit targets at long distances. It utilizes a highly accurate hybrid navigation scheme to steer towards its target. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

The test was carried out using a Su-30 MK-I fighter jet of the Indian Air Force. It has been designed and developed indigenously by the Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Answer: B

Explanation:

Recently, a Hindu man from Bangladesh, living in Silchar, Assam since 1988, became the first in northeast India to receive citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) amends the 1955 Citizenship Act. It was passed on December 11, 2019 and received presidential assent the following day. Hence, statement I is correct.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 reduces the residence requirement for naturalization of these migrants from twelve years to just six years. Tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura (including specific districts) are exempted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution from the provisions of the CAA. Hence, statement II is correct.

Here, statement I and II both are correct and statement II is not the correct explanation of statement I. Hence, option (b) is correct.

Answer: D

Explanation:

Recently, the Manipur government is set to begin peace talks with the Thadou, Paite and Hmar communities, amid ongoing ethnic conflict between the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zomi groups since May 2023. The Hmar tribe, also known as Mhar or Mar, are an indigenous ethnic group of people who live in the northeastern states of India. They are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe under the Constitution of India's 6th Schedule. The Hmar tribes celebrate agricultural festivals like Sikpuiruoi and Butukhuonglom in December or January. Hence, statements 1 and 2 both are correct.

Answer: C

Explanation:

Recently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Weather Prediction Center issued a warning about a prolonged geomagnetic storm at level G4 (severe). A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere caused by a solar wind shock wave. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.

These storms are often driven by solar coronal mass ejections (CME) or, less severely, by co-rotating interaction regions (CIR). The frequency of geomagnetic storms increases during solar maxima, primarily due to CMEs. Hence, statement 2 is also incorrect.