General Comprehension (UPSC) (Part-V)

1. Economic power is the only reason for the existence of inequality in a society.

2. Inequality of different kinds, income, wealth, etc, reinforces power.

3. Economic power can be analysed more through its effects than by direct empirical methods.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Inequality is visible, even statistically measurable in many instances, but the economic power that drives it is invisible and not measurable. Like the force of gravity, power is the organising principle of inequality, be it of income, or wealth, gender, race, religion and region.

Its effects are seen in a pervasive manner in all spheres, but the ways in which economic power pulls and tilts visible economic variables remain invisibly obscure.

Climate change may actually benefit some plants by lengthening growing seasons and increasing carbon dioxide. Yet other effects of a warmer world, such as more pests, droughts, and flooding, will be less benign.

How will the world adapt? Researchers project that by 2050, suitable croplands for four commodities maize, potatoes, rice and wheat will shift, in some cases pushing farmers to plant new crops. Some farmlands may benefit from warming, but others won't.

Climate alone does not dictate yields; political shifts, global demand, and agricultural practices will influence how farms fare in the future.

A bat's wings may look like sheets of skin. But underneath, a bat has the same five fingers as an orangutan or a human, as well as a wrist connected to the same cluster of wrist bones connected to the same long bones of the arm.

What can be more curious than that the hand of a man, formed for grasping, that of a mole for digging, the leg of the horse, the paddle of the porpoise, and the wing of the bat, should all be constructed on the same pattern?

1. Global warming has a bearing on the planet's biological evolution.

2. Separation of land masses causes the release of huge quantities of carbon into the atmosphere.

3. Increased warming of Earth's atmosphere can change the composition of its flora and fauna.

4. The present man-made global warming will finally lead to conditions similar to those which happened 56 million years ago.

Which of the assumptions given above are valid?

Around 56 million years ago, the Atlantic Ocean had not fully opened and animals, perhaps including our primate ancestors, could walk from Asia to North America through Europe and across Greenland. Earth was warmer than it is today, but as the Palaeocene epoch gave way to Eocene, it was about to get much warmer still - rapidly and radically.

The cause was a massive geologically sudden release of carbon. During this period called Palacocene Eocene Thermal Maximum or PETM, the carbon injected into the atmosphere was roughly the amount that would be injected today if humans burned all the Earth's reserves of coal, oil and natural gas.

The PETM lasted for about 1,50,000 years, until the excess carbon was reabsorbed. It brought on drought, floods, insect plagues and a few extinctions. Life on Earth survived indeed, it prospered-but it was drastically different.

Low-end Iot (Internet of Things) devices are cheap commodity items: addressing security would add to the cost. This class of items is proliferating with new applications; many home appliances, thermostats, security and monitoring devices and personal convenience devices are part of the IoT.

So are fitness trackers, certain medical implants and computer-like devices in automobiles. The IoT is expected to expand exponentially but new security challenges are daunting.

With the digital phenomenon restructuring most social sectors, it is little surprise that global trade negotiations are now eyeing the digital area in an attempt to pre-emptively colonise it. Big Data is freely collected or mined from developing countries, and converted into digital intelligence in developed countries. This intelligence begins to control different sectors and extract monopoly rents.

A large foreign company providing cab service, for instance is not a network of cars and drivers; it is digital intelligence about commuting, public transport, roads, traffic, city events, personal behavioural characteristics of commuters and drivers and so on.

The rural poor across the world, including India, have contributed little to human-induced climate change, yet they are on the frontline in coping with its effects. Farmers can no longer rely on historical averages for rainfall and temperature, and the more frequent and extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, can spell disaster.

And there are new threats, such as sea level rise and the impact of melting glaciers on water supply. How significant are small farms? As many as two billion people worldwide depend on them for their food and livelihood. Small-holder farmers in India produce 41 percent of the country's food grains, and other food items that contribute to local and national food security.

1. There is a potential problem of food insecurity in India.

2. India will have to strengthen its disaster management capabilities.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

1. Governments and companies need to be adequately prepared to face the climate change.

2. Extreme weather events will reduce the economic growth of governments and companies in future.

3. Ignoring climate change is a huge risk for investors.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

A changing climate, and the eventual efforts of governments (however reluctant) to deal with it, could have a big impact on investors' returns. Companies that produce or use large amounts of fossil fuels will face higher taxes and regulatory burdens.

Some energy producers may find it impossible to exploit their known reserves, and be left with "stranded assets" deposits of oil and coal that have to be left in the ground. Other industries could be affected by the economic damage caused by more extreme weather ............ storms, floods, heat waves and droughts.