Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

Total area sown under Rabi crops has increased by 3.25% from 697.98 lakh hectares in 2021-22 to 720.68 lakh hectares in 2022-23. This is 22.71 lakh hectares more this year compared to corresponding period of 2021-22. Comparing with normal sown area(average of the last five years), the increase is to the tune of 13.71% from 633.80 to 720.68 lakh hectares. The increase in area is across all crops, - highest being in rice. Out of 22.71 lakh hectares increase in all Rabi crops, increase in rice area is 11.20 lakh hectares from 35.05 lakh hectares in 2021-22 to 46.25 lakh hectares in 2022-23. However, this is lower than normal sown area of 47.71 lakh hectares. Maximum increase in area under rice is in states of Telangana and West Bengal.

Area under oilseeds increased by 7.31% from 102.36 lakh hectares during 2021-22 to 109.84 lakh hectares this year. The increase in area under oilseeds at the rate of 7.31% is more than double the rate of increase of 3.25% in all crops together. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh accounted for major expansion in area of oilseeds. Rapeseed & Mustard contributed maximum in increasing oilseeds area during this Rabi season. Mustard area increased by 6.77 lakh hectares from 91.25 lakh hectares in 2021-22 to 98.02 lakh hectares in 2022-23. Thus, out of 7.49 lakh hectares increase in area under oilseeds, rapeseed & mustard alone accounted for 6.44 lakh hectares. Pulse production is being focused to make country self-sufficient in these commodities. Area under pulses increased by 0.56 lakh hectares from 167.31 to 167.86 lakh hectares. Mung bean and lentil accounted for increase in area under pulses.

The United Nations General Assembly has declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets and India is at the forefront in celebrating the event in a big way. In order to create awareness about the benefits of millets as superfood and to meet its growing demand around the world, the Government is promoting millet production through the NFSM-Nutri Cereals component of National Food Security Mission programme in 212 districts of 14 states. Coarse cum Nutri-cereals saw an increase of 2.08 lakh hectares in area under cultivation from 51.42 lakh hectares in 2021-22 to 53.49 lakh hectares in 2022-23.

On which of the following crops, is the Indian Government specially focussing this year?

Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

Wetlands are amongst the most productive ecosystems on the Earth and provide many important services to human society. They exhibit enormous diversity according to their genesis, geographical location, water regime and chemistry, dominant species, and soil and sediment characteristics. Globally, the areal extent of wetland ecosystems ranges from 917 million hectares (m ha) to more than 1275 m ha. One of the first widely used wetland classifications systems, devised by Cowardin et al., 1979, categorized wetlands into marine (coastal wetlands), estuarine (including deltas, tidal marshes, and mangrove swamps), lacustrine (lakes), riverine (along rivers and streams), and palustrine ( marshes, swamps and bogs) based on their hydrological, ecological and geological characteristics.

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was an international treaty signed in 1971. Overall, 1052 sites in Europe; 289 sites in Asia; 359 sites in Africa; 175 sites in South America; 211 sites in North America; and 79 sites in Oceania region have been identified as Ramsar sites or wetlands of International importance.

As per the Ramsar Convention definition most of the natural water bodies (such as rivers, lakes, coastal lagoons, mangroves, peat land, coral reefs) and man- made wetlands (such as ponds, farm ponds, irrigated fields, sacred groves, salt pans, reservoirs, gravel pits, sewage farms and canals) in India constitute the wetland ecosystem distributed in different geographical regions ranging from Himalayas to Deccan plateau. As of February, 2022, India has 49 Ramsar sites covering an area of 10,93,636 hectares, the highest in South Asia. As per the estimates, India has about 757.06 thousand wetlands with a total wetland area of 15.3 m ha, accounting for nearly 4.7% of the total geographical area of the country . Out of this, areas under inland wetlands accounts for 69%, coastal wetlands 27%, and other wetlands (smaller than 2.25 ha) 4%.

Gujarat has the highest proportion (17.5%) and Mizoram has the lowest proportion (0.66%) of the area under wetlands. Among Union Territories, Lakshadweep has the highest proportion (around 96%) and Chandigarh has the least proportion (3%) of geographical area under wetlands.

Under which category of wetlands, are delta and mangrove swamps included?

Comprehension: Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

Since September, at least 25 people have died and thousands have been made homeless. Every state and territory in Australia has experienced fires this summer. But the biggest fires burn along stretches of the eastern and southern coast, where most of the population lives. This includes areas around Sydney and Adelaide. More than 6.3 million hectares (63,000 sq km or 15.6 million acres) have been burned so far – one hectare is roughly the size of a sports field. To put that in perspective, around 800,000 hectares were engulfed in a bush fire in 2018 in California. Australia has always experienced bushfires – it has a "fire season". But this year they are a lot worse than normal.

Fires are usually caused by lightning strikes or accidentally by a spark – but some fires are also started deliberately. This year, a natural weather phenomenon known as the ‘Indian Ocean Dipole’ has meant a hot, dry spell across the country. This year, Australia twice set a new temperature record: an average maximum of 41.9°C was recorded on 18 December. That comes on top of a long period of drought.

Scientists have long warned that this hotter, drier climate will contribute to fires becoming more frequent and more intense. The more extreme weather patterns and higher temperatures increase the risk of bushfires and allow them to spread faster and wider. Fire fighters are spraying water and fire retardant from planes and helicopters as well as from the ground. But fighting bush fires is extremely difficult and often authorities have to focus on just stopping the spread, rather than putting the fire out. The spread can for instance be best contained by digging earth boundaries to stop the flames from spreading. The priority is saving lives.

Professional fire fighters are the first in line to battle the flames, but they are outnumbered by the thousands of volunteers. Three of them have died. There's also help coming from abroad: the US, Canada and New Zealand have sent fire fighters to help. Australia's police, military and navy are involved in rescue and evacuation efforts. While people can flee the fires and are being evacuated if need be, the flames are devastating wildlife in the affected areas. One study estimated that half a billion animals have died in New South Wales alone.

Zookeepers take animals home to save them from fire, but the fires don't only kill animals directly, they also destroy the habitat, leaving the survivors vulnerable even when the fires have gone. So the true scale of loss isn't yet clear. Experts say more than 100,000 cows and sheep may also have been lost, which is devastating for farmers.

Each state runs its own emergency operation, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised better funding for fire-fighting and payouts for volunteer fire fighters, and an additional A$2billion ($1.4billion; £1billion) for the recovery. But the national government has come under strong criticism from its opponents that it has not been doing enough against climate change. The country is one of the world's biggest per capita greenhouse gas emitters but under international agreements it has committed itself to reduction targets

It can be inferred from the passage that this year’s fire in Australia is mostly a result of:

Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

The Celts who lived in Britain before the Roman invasion of 43 AD could be said to have created the first towns. Celts in southern England lived in hill forts, which were quite large settlements. (Some probably had thousands of inhabitants). They were places of trade, where people bought and sold goods and also places where craftsmen worked. The Romans called them oppida.

However, the Romans created the first settlements that were undoubtedly towns. Roman towns were usually laid out in a grid pattern. In the centre was the forum or market place. It was lined with public buildings. Life in Roman towns was highly civilized with public baths and temples.

From the 5th century Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded England. At first, the invaders avoided living in towns. However, as trade grew some towns grew up. London revived by the 7th century (although the Saxon town was, at first, outside the walls of the old Roman town). Southampton was founded at the end of the 7th century. Hereford was founded in the 8th century. Furthermore, Ipswich grew up in the 8th century and York revived. However, towns were rare in Saxon England until the late 9th century. At that time, Alfred the Great created a network of fortified settlements across his kingdom called ‘burhs’. In the event of a Danish attack, men could gather in the local burh. However, burhs were more than forts. They were also market towns. Some burhs were started from scratch but many were created out of the ruins of old Roman towns. Places like Winchester rose, phoenix-like, from the ashes of history.

The thing that would strike us most about medieval towns would be their small size. Winchester, the capital of England, probably had about 8,000 people. At that time a 'large' town, like Lincoln or Dublin had about 4,000 or 5,000 inhabitants and a 'medium sized' town, like Colchester had about 2,500 people. Many towns were much smaller. However, during the 12th and 13th centuries most towns grew much larger. Furthermore, many new towns were created across Britain. Trade and commerce were increasing and there was a need for new towns. Some were created from existing villages but some were created from scratch. In those days you could create a town simply by starting a market. There were few shops so if you wished to buy or sell anything you had to go to a market. Once one was up and running, craftsmen and merchants would come to live in the area and a town would grow.

Which of the following was the capital of England during medieval times?

Direction: In the following passage, some of the words have been left out, each of which is indicated by a number.
Find the suitable word from the options given against each number and fill up the blanks with appropriate words to make the paragraph meaningfully complete. Many of us have a wide variety of responsibilities- familial, employment, educational, social – most of us even have all at the same time. Considering all our duties and the fact that time management is a (A) factor in our mental health, we cannot (B) to ignore any of them. If we plan our time better, we not only get more done, we are more efficient, satisfied and (C) yet relaxed; we are less likely to procrastinate over time. We experience less stress and more self-confidence and self-esteem. Put simply, this way we can attain (D) and reach our goals easily. To do this, firstly it is important to identify what your personal obstacles are. Then write a to-do list of what needs to be done. Start with the most to least important. (E) your work based on your values. Sometimes we won’t get everything done, but if we get the right things done, your day has a good ending. Keep in mind that time management is not about doing everything that needs to be done, at all costs but rather using appropriate time (F). Finally, remember to take a break and know your (G) for stress. Overworking is counterproductive and more often than not results in burnout. Remember, it doesn’t matter what the tasks are, learning to better manage your time to do them will result in less stress and more focus, productivity, efficiency and (in the end) relaxation.

(D) Find out the appropriate word in each case.

You have brief passages with 10 questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives

There is a general consensus that ‘International Understanding’ need to be taught as a separate subject at the school stage as that would add to the curricular load which is already too heavy. Instead it should be woven into the curriculum and the numerous opportunities that present themselves while teaching normal school subjects may be intelligently and imaginatively used by the teacher to promote International Understanding.

The school subjects which can be most profitably used for this purpose are History, Geography, Civics, Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Social Sciences, Languages as well as Physical and Life Sciences. However, at the higher education level, international education can be prescribed as a separate subject of study. In fact, the present situation in India broadly conforms to this consensus so far as the school stage is concerned.

At the under-graduate and the post-graduate levels, courses of study in subjects like History, Geography, Economics, Political Science, International Relations, International Law and International Organization have been prescribed by most of the universities and these contain content which has a direct or indirect bearing on promoting UNESCO ideals

Pick out the most probable meaning of the phrase - most profitably used.

Directions : You have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

Long ago men spent most of their time looking for food. They ate anything they could find. Some lived mostly on plants. They ate the fruit, stems, and leaves of some plants and the roots of others. When food was scarce, they ate the bark of trees. If they were lucky, they would find a bird’s nest with eggs. People who lived near the water ate fish or anything that washed ashore, even rotten whales. Some people also ate insects and small animals like lizards that were easy to kill.

Later, men learned to make weapons. With weapons, they could kill larger animals for meat. These early people had big appetites. If they killed an animal, they would drink the blood, eat the meat, and chew the bones. When they finished the meal, there was nothing left.

At first men wandered from place to place to find their food. But when they began to grow plants, they stayed in one place and ate what they could grow. They tamed animals, trained them to work, and killed them for meat. Life was a little better then, but there was still not much variety in their meals. Day after day people ate the same food.

Gradually men began to travel greater distances. The explorers who sailed unknown seas found new lands. And in these lands they found new food and spices and took them back home.

The Portuguese who sailed around the stormy Cape of Good Hope to reach China took back “Chinese apples”, the fruit we call oranges today. Later, Portuguese colonists carried orange seeds to Brazil. From Brazil oranges were brought to California, the first place to grow oranges in the United States. Peaches and melons also came from China. So did a new drink, tea.

Where did oranges come from?

Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced another successful mission. ISRO chairman S. Somanath said that three small satellites successfully separated and were injected into orbit.

ISRO had launched three small satellites powered by its SSLV-D2 launch vehicle from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on February 10, 2023 at 09:18 AM IST. The launch vehicle was carrying EOS-07, Janus-1 & AzaadiSAT-2 satellites and aimed to inject them into a 450 km circular orbit. The launch took place at the first launch pad at SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.

The SSLV-D2 had to take a 15 minutes flight to inject EOS-07, Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 satellites into 450 km circular lower orbit. “It is configured with three solid propulsion stages and a velocity terminal module. It is a 34 m tall, 2 m diameter vehicle having a lift-off mass of 120 t,” said ISRO. The EOS-07 satellite weighs 156.3 kg and is made by ISRO. About 13 minutes into its flight, the SSLV rocket ejected EOS-07 and soon after that the other two satellites Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 were ejected — all at an altitude of 450 km, said ISRO.

With the new rocket in its portfolio, ISRO will have three rockets — Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and its variants (cost about Rs 200 crore), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MkII cost about Rs 272 crore and LVM3 Rs 434 crore) and SSLV (Development cost of three rockets about Rs 56 crore each) and production cost may go down later.

“New experiments include mm-Wave Humidity Sounder and Spectrum Monitoring Payload. Janus-1, a 10.2 kg satellite belongs to ANTARIS, USA. A 8.7 kg satellite AzaadiSAT-2 is a combined effort of about 750 girl students across India guided by Space Kidz India, Chennai,” it added.

SSLV caters to the launch of up to 500 kg satellites to Low Earth Orbits on ‘launch-ondemand’ basis. “It provides low-cost access to Space, offers low turn-around time and flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, and demands minimal launch infrastructure,” as per a statement by ISRO

What is the passage mainly about?