Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The FTA ensures that over 99% of Indian exports by trade value will enjoy preferential or duty-free access into the 27-member EU market.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Sensitive sectors like agriculture, rice, sugar, poultry, and dairy have not been fully opened up. They receive protection through specific exclusions or safeguards to safeguard vulnerable domestic Indian producers.

Statement 3 is correct: The agreement expands service sector opportunities for Indian professionals and businesses across 144 service subsectors in the EU, covering IT and professional services.

Answer: C

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: "Super El Niño" is an informal term used by meteorologists and researchers to describe an exceptionally strong El Niño event (typically marked by a Niño 3.4 SST anomaly reaching or exceeding +2.0°C), not a formal statutory threshold of +5.0°C.

Statement 2 is correct: According to the Climate Impact Lab study covering September 2026 to February 2027, roughly 7,400 out of the projected 15,800 excess deaths in India—nearly 50%—are estimated to occur during the winter period of December to February. This highlights that extreme heat risk is no longer limited to the peak summer months.

Statement 3 is correct: Southern India experiences relatively warm normal winters; when a Super El Niño spikes seasonal baselines further, the relative shift pushes physiological thresholds and mortality rates sharply higher compared to regions better adapted or conditioned to large seasonal drops.

Answer: C

Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: Under normal conditions, trade winds blow from east to west across the equatorial Pacific. This pushes warm water to accumulate near Indonesia and Australia, while cold, deep water upwells near the western coast of South America.

Statement 2 is correct: During an El Niño phase, these normal easterly trade winds weaken or even reverse. This allows the pool of warm surface water to shift eastward across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, significantly reducing cold-water upwelling.

Statement 3 is correct: The Bjerknes feedback describes the coupled ocean-atmosphere interaction where the initial warming of the eastern Pacific reduces the pressure gradient, further weakening the trade winds. This suppression of winds reinforces the eastward shift of warm water, creating a self-amplifying positive feedback loop.

Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the initiation of Project Rhino on World Rhino Day (22 September 2026) to support range states with financial and technical help for comprehensive conservation.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The project moves beyond protection alone. It adopts a holistic, landscape-level approach encompassing habitat management, genetic improvement, scientific population research, and reintroduction, rather than being strictly limited to anti-poaching.

Statement 3 is correct: The project supports conservation, reintroduction, and range expansion efforts across key states including Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, helping reduce the excessive concentration of rhinos in just a few protected areas.

Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: India hosts the vast majority of the world's Greater One-Horned Rhinos, with Assam alone accounting for nearly 80% of the global population, primarily centered around Kaziranga National Park.

Statement 2 is incorrect: The Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (not Critically Endangered), thanks to sustained conservation successes that have steadily brought back their numbers from the brink of extinction.

Statement 3 is correct: Dudhwa National Park and Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a highly successful history of rhino reintroduction, which has been highlighted as a major milestone in India's active wildlife management framework.