(b) Statement 1 is not correct Why in news? The Global Hunger Index, 2023 was recently released by the Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, Non-Government Organisations from Ireland and Germany respectively. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional and national levels. GHI scores are based on the values of 4 component indicators that includes: GHI scores are based on the values of four component indicators Undernourishment : the share of the population whose caloric intake is insufficient Child stunting : the share of children under the age of five who have low height for their age Child wasting : the share of children under the age of five who have low weight for their height Child mortality : the share of children who die before their fifth birthday Based on the values of the 4 indicators, a GHI score is calculated on a 100-point scale reflecting the severity of hunger. ‘0’ is the best possible score (no hunger) and ‘100’ is the worst. Each country’s GHI score is classified by severity, from low to extremely alarming. The 2023 GHI score for the world is 18.3, which is considered moderate. In the 2023 Global Hunger Index, India ranks 111th out of the 125 countries. India has a score of 28.7 in the 2023 Global Hunger Index and has a level of hunger that is serious. India has the highest child wasting rate in the world at 18.7%. Afghanistan, Haiti and 12 sub-Saharan countries perform worse than India on the index. India made significant strides between 2000 and 2015, with its score improving from 38.4 in 2000 to 35.5 in 2008 and 29.2 in 2015. Over the past 8 years, the country has improved on the GHI by only 0.5 points.

(d) India is likely to skip China’s third summit marking President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which, Beijing announced on Wednesday, will be held on October 17 in the Chinese capital.

(a) Statement 1 and Statement 2 are incorrect. Why in news? The Supreme Court Collegium on Wednesday stood firm by its resolve to recommend the transfer of Manipur High Court judge, Justice M.V. Muralidharan, to the Calcutta High Court for “better administration of justice”. The Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud had proposed to shift Justice Muralidharan to the Calcutta High Court on October 9. Article 222 of the Constitution provides for the transfer of High Court judges, including the Chief Justice. It says the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, may transfer a judge from one High Court to any other High Court. It also provides for a compensatory allowance to the transferred judge. This means that the executive could transfer a judge, but only after consulting the Chief Justice of India. In reality, the Supreme Court (SC) Collegium- a body established through judicial verdict- transfers HC judges. The proposal for transferring a HC judge (including a Chief Justice) should be initiated by the CJI and the consent of the judge is not required. All transfers are to be made in the public interest. For transferring a judge other than the Chief Justice, the CJI should take the views of – 1 . Chief Justice of the court concerned 2 . Chief Justice of the court to which the transfer is taking place. 3 . One or more SC judges The views, expressed in writing, should be considered by a full Collegium, that is, the CJI and 4 senior-most judges of the SC.

(a) Only Statement 1 is correct Why in news? Recently the ministry of road transport and highways approved 7 bridge projects in Arunachal Pradesh under the Setu Bandhan Scheme. The Setu Bandhan scheme have been introduced to improve inter-state connectivity, especially on the rural areas at the borders where state roads do not get the required attention. The scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (Morth). The scheme is different from “Setu Bharatam” scheme. Setu Bharatam is an ambitious programme with an investment of Rs. 50,000 crore to build bridges for safe and seamless travel on National Highways. Setu Bharatam aims at making all national highways Railway Level Crossing free by 2019.

(b) Statement 3 is not correct. Why in news? Recently the Cabinet approved royalty rates for mining of 3 critical and strategic minerals such as Lithium, Niobium and Rare Earth Elements (REEs). Niobium also known as columbium, is a chemical element with the symbol Nb (formerly Cb) and atomic number 41. Niobium is a light grey, crystalline and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a hardness similar to that of pure titanium, and it has similar ductility to iron. Niobium is used in alloys, tools and dies and superconductive magnets. Niobium in one of the Critical Minerals in India. The main source of Niobium element is the mineral columbite. Columbite mineral also contains tantalum and the two elements are mined together. Some niobium is also produced as a by-product of tin extraction. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment act, 2023 delisted 6 minerals, including Lithium and Niobium, from the list of atomic minerals.