Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Operation Trident was carried out on October 23, 2026, by 38 multi-agency teams executing simultaneous raids across 38 locations in Assam, Mizoram, and Manipur, led by the NCB in coordination with state police and the ED.

Statement 2 is incorrect: A key paradigm shift of Operation Trident—aligned with the Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026–2029)—is moving away from a purely seizure-centric approach toward a network-centric and financial disruption strategy. It uncovered ₹100 crore in hawala transactions, froze 1,424 bank accounts, and attached ₹17.82 crore in properties.

Statement 3 is correct: The Union Home Ministry and government strategy explicitly reiterate the goal of eradicating every drug and narco-hawala network in India by December 31, 2029.

Answer: C

Explanation:

Pair 1 is correctly matched: The Golden Triangle historically comprises Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand, acting as a major global hub for opium and synthetic drug (such as methamphetamine) production that spills into Northeast India.

Pair 2 is correctly matched: The Golden Crescent comprises Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, which is historically associated with widespread cultivation and trafficking of opium and heroin.

Pair 3 is correctly matched: The Death Triangle Corridor refers to the cross-border network linkage spanning India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh utilized by cartels to route contraband, synthetic drugs, and hawala money through porous northeastern transit corridors (such as Mizoram and Assam).

Answer: A

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the world’s first-of-its-kind AATAL facility at the Delhi branch of IITM under the aegis of the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Mission Mausam.

Statement 2 is correct: AATAL is seamlessly integrated with IITM’s AIRWISE (Air Quality Warning and Integrated Decision Support System for Emissions), which delivers localized 400-metre spatial resolution forecasts for up to 72 hours.

Statement 3 is incorrect: AATAL goes far beyond basic particulate counting; it performs deep chemical analysis, aerosol toxicity profiling, heavy metal tracking, and source apportionment of ultrafine particles and carcinogenic compounds.

Answer: D

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021 statutory-backed body coordinates, monitors, and sets directions to tackle air pollution across Delhi-NCR and neighboring areas.

Statement 2 is correct: Enacted under the legislative power of the center-state umbrella, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 is the foundational statutory framework dedicated to air pollution control.

Statement 3 is correct: The Supreme Court of India has repeatedly interpreted Article 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty) to implicitly guarantee citizens the fundamental right to a clean, unpolluted, and healthy environment.

Answer: A

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: The Shamonda virus is a vector-borne virus belonging to the genus Orthobunyavirus, family Peribunyaviridae, and is part of the Simbu serogroup. It was first isolated from cattle in Nigeria in 1965.

Statement 2 is correct: The virus spreads primarily through the bites of infected Culicoides midges (small biting flies) which act as biological vectors among livestock hosts such as cattle, sheep, goats, and horses.

Statement 3 is incorrect: There is no established evidence of human-to-human transmission. The recent human case in France represents a rare zoonotic spillover rather than a contagious human-to-human outbreak.