Answer: A

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The initial Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP-I) was announced in the Union Budget and is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to improve the quality of life of people living in identified border villages along India's northern border (China border).

Statement 2 is correct: VVP-II was approved as a 100% centrally funded Central Sector Scheme to expand development to other international land border blocks (such as those abutting borders with Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc.), specifically avoiding duplication by excluding northern border areas already handled in VVP-I.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The nodal ministry for the Vibrant Villages Programme is the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), not the Ministry of Defense. MHA oversees its implementation to enhance internal security and check outmigration in strategic zones.

Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: OPEC currently does not have 12 permanent members; its membership changes as nations join or leave (for example, Angola left in early 2024). Furthermore, OPEC+ is an alliance formed in 2016 between OPEC members and 10 non-OPEC partners (such as Russia, Oman, and Kazakhstan). It is a loose alliance based on the Declaration of Cooperation, not a permanent statutory grouping of all OPEC members.

Statement 2 is correct: In a major shift in energy geopolitics, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) officially exited OPEC in May 2026, citing national interests and the need to fulfill its domestic economic and production requirements independently.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) is a monitoring body. It reviews global market conditions, compliance levels, and production data to make recommendations to the main OPEC/OPEC+ Ministerial Meetings. It does not have independent executive or legal authority to enforce production quotas on sovereign member states.

Answer: D

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: FCNR(B) accounts allow Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) or Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) to maintain fixed deposits in specified foreign currencies (such as USD, GBP, EUR, JPY). Both the principal amount and the interest accrued are fully repatriable outside India in foreign currency, meaning there is no exchange risk for the depositor.

Statement 2 is correct: The Reserve Bank of India introduced a special limited-period concessional forex swap facility where it effectively absorbed the full hedging costs for banks mobilizing fresh 3- to 5-year FCNR(B) deposits. This reduced the conversion and risk burden, prompting massive inflows.

Statement 3 is correct: Private sector banks cornered nearly half of the total inflows, securing around $61 billion (approx. 46.9%) of the $130 billion total kitty, comfortably leading public sector banks and foreign banks.

Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Banking system liquidity scaled a four-year high, crossing Rs 10.3 lakh crore, largely triggered by large-scale dollar inflows via special forex and Foreign Currency Non-Resident [FCNR(B)] deposit swap facilities implemented by the Reserve Bank of India. When banks swap foreign currencies with the RBI for rupees, rupee liquidity is injected into the domestic market.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Excess liquidity means there is an abundance of money chasing limited deployment avenues. This excess supply of funds actually pushes overnight and short-term market interest rates down (below the policy repo rate), rather than up.

Statement 3 is correct: Loose money or a large liquidity overhang can fuel inflationary pressures if money supply grows unchecked while the central bank attempts to keep inflation under control, posing a direct monetary policy challenge.

Answer: C

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Collegium system is not mentioned in the original Constitution or any amendment act. It is a judicially evolved system that emerged from the Supreme Court's rulings in the Three Judges Cases (specifically the Second Judges Case, 1993, and Third Judges Case, 1998). Article 124 only deals with the establishment and composition of the Supreme Court.

Statement 2 is correct: The Supreme Court Collegium is a five-member body comprising the Chief Justice of India as its head and four other senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.

Statement 3 is correct: According to the rulings of the Supreme Court, if the Collegium sends a unanimous recommendation and the government refers it back for reconsideration, the Collegium reiterates it, and the government is constitutionally bound to appoint those recommended candidates.