Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Under the market access provisions of the India–New Zealand FTA, New Zealand provides 100% duty-free access to goods originating from India.

Statement 2 is incorrect: India has excluded sensitive domestic sectors—specifically dairy and vulnerable agricultural products (such as sugar, rice, wheat, onions, and edible oils)—from tariff concessions to protect local farmers and producers. India's approach balances trade liberalization with domestic protectionism.

Statement 3 is correct: The agreement spans 118 service sectors and features unique pathways for professional mobility, including cooperation and provisions relating to AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) and traditional medicine practitioners.

Answer: A

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The ratified FTA, coming into force on October 20, 2026, aims to aggressively expand economic ties and double bilateral trade figures to roughly USD 5 billion (₹35,000 crore) over the next four to five years.

Statement 2 is correct: As part of the multi-faceted pact, New Zealand has committed USD 20 billion in investment into India over a 15-year horizon, targeting high-value areas like apiculture, kiwi farming, agri-tech, and manufacturing.

Statement 3 is incorrect: New Zealand is already one of India's prominent trading partners in the Oceania region, but this is not India's first-ever FTA in the region or overall (India's first operational FTA was the India–Sri Lanka FTA in 2000).

Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: The P4M initiative explicitly does not aim to replace the post-World War II international order. Instead, its core focus is to reform existing multilateral institutions—such as the United Nations—to make them more representative, legitimate, and effective in handling contemporary geopolitical and demographic realities.

Statement 2 is incorrect: P4M is specifically envisaged as a flexible and non-bureaucratic diplomatic coalition rather than a rigid or heavily institutionalized body. It acts as an agile network for middle powers to align on global challenges without adding red tape.

Statement 3 is correct: The fundamental philosophical anchor of the coalition is to champion multilateralism over unilateralism, cooperation over fragmentation, and international law over raw power politics amidst rising global polarization.

Answer: A

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Article 22(1) of the Constitution provides foundational substantive guarantees, including the right of an arrested person to be informed of the grounds of arrest as soon as may be and the right to consult and be defended by a lawyer of their choice.

Statement 2 is correct: Under Article 22(3), the protections guaranteed under clauses (1) and (2) (production before a magistrate within 24 hours and right to counsel/grounds) do not apply to enemy aliens or persons detained under preventive detention laws.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Recent Supreme Court jurisprudence (such as Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra) explicitly clarified that the requirement to furnish written grounds of arrest is universal and extends across ordinary criminal offences and statutes, rather than being restricted solely to specialized acts like the PMLA.

Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Kasturirangan Committee recommended declaring around 37% (approximately 60,000 sq km) of the Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). The higher figure of around 64% was recommended by the earlier Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) headed by Madhav Gadgil.

Statement 2 is correct: The Kasturirangan Committee adopted a differentiated approach by dividing the region into a Natural Landscape (forests and high ecological value areas requiring strict protection) and a Cultural Landscape (inhabited regions with agriculture, plantations, and settlements).

Statement 3 is incorrect: The report did not propose a blanket ban on all development. It restricted high-impact activities like mining, quarrying, sand mining, and red-category polluting industries, but certain development projects like hydropower were allowed subject to rigorous environmental safeguards and assessments.