(b) Statement 2 is incorrect. Why in news? Israel recently ordered a full siege of the Gaza Strip and vowed to obliterate Hamas after its all-out offensive entered the next phase. Gaza Strip is bordered by Israel to the north and east and Egypt to the south. After Israel declared its statehood in 1948, Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades. Israel then gained control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank after its victory in the 1967 Six-Day War against its Arab neighbours. In 2005, under international and domestic pressure, Israel withdrew around 9,000 Israeli settlers and its military forces from the Gaza Strip, leaving the enclave to be governed by the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, which also controlled parts of the occupied West Bank. Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist organisation, currently governs the Gaza Strip. It took control in 2007after it won elections there the year before. Since then, no elections have been held. Hamas, unlike the Palestinian Authority, doesn’t recognize Israel’s right to exist.

(b) Statement 3 is incorrect. Why in news? Prime Minister recently chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress made in realising his dream of making 2 crore ‘Lakhpati Didis’ in India. It was announced by the Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2023. Under the Lakhpati Didi Initiative, the government aims to train two crore women. The programme is aimed at training women in self-help groups (SHGs) so that they can earn a sustainable income of at least Rs 1 lakh per annum per household. The initiative has been initiated by DAY-NRLM Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) is a flagship poverty alleviation program implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.

(d) Why in news? The government recently tightened its oversight over the selected applicants under the Production Linked Incentive for white goods. White goods are large home appliances such as stoves, refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, tumble driers, dishwashers, and air conditioners. They are large consumer durables for the house which were traditionally available only in white. Brown goods are relatively light electronic consumer durables such as computers, digital media players, TVs and radios. Unlike large household appliances (white goods), brown goods are more focused on entertainment, communication, and convenience.

(c) Why in news? Recently, the Baiga Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) became the second to get habitat rights in the state of Chhattisgarh. The Baiga Tribe is one of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). They reside in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. They practice a form of shifting cultivation called, “Bewar.” Habitat rights recognition provides the community concerned rights over their customary territory of habitation, socio-cultural practices, economic and livelihood means, intellectual knowledge of biodiversity and ecology, traditional knowledge of use of natural resources, as well as protection and conservation of their natural and cultural heritage. These rights safeguard and promote traditional livelihood and ecological knowledge passed down through generations. These rights are given under section 3(1) (e) of The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 also known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

(b) Why in news? According to the Wildlife Trust of India the dancing frogs are the most threatened amphibian genus of India. Dancing frogs are endemic to the Western Ghats. It belongs to the Micrixalus genus. It is also the fifth most threatened genus in the world with 92 per cent of its species in the threatened category The dancing frogs that are found near the streams do a unique display to mate. The males stretch up their hind legs one at a time and wave their webbed toes in the air in a rapid motion akin to a dance. This is to attract mates as well as ward off competition, probably preferred because their mating calls are drowned out by the gurgling of the streams. This act is called “foot flagging” and gives the species their name.