NTA UGC NET/JRF Exam, Dec., 2023 Geography

According to the UN World Population Data 2022, 36.1% of women aged 15-49 in Eswatini had HIV/AIDS. Eswatini, a small, predominantly rural, landlocked country surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique, suffers from severe poverty and the world's highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. Eswatini's extremely high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, with about 28% of adults having the disease, exacerbates these problems. HIV/AIDS has led to a stagnation in agricultural production because families lose manpower due to the illness and have to sell livestock and other assets to pay for medicine and funerals.

The disappearance of grass from some slopes in Antarctica is not a definitive evidence of global warming. Conversely, rising sea levels, the tree line shifting upwards in mountains, and the shifting of some tropical diseases towards the poles are correct evidences of global warming. Global warming refers to the increase in the Earth's average surface temperature. The concept of Global Warming Potential (GWP) makes it easier to compare the impact of different gases. GWP is a relative measure that indicates how much heat a greenhouse gas absorbs in the atmosphere.

The aquatic ecosystem shows an inverted pyramid of biomass. The pyramid that illustrates the relationship between the mass of primary producers and consumers of various ranks in an ecosystem is called the Pyramid of Biomass. The mass of primary producers is always shown at the base.
The mass of consumer animals of various ranks is shown in the sections above the base. Pyramids of biomass can be both upright and inverted. The biomass pyramid of a pond ecosystem will be inverted because, although the number of primary producers (like phytoplankton) is large, their mass (biomass) is small, whereas the number of high-level carnivores (large fish) is small, but their mass is greater.
Thus, the small green plants will be shown at the base of the inverted pyramid, and the large fish will be shown in the wide upper section. The pyramids for forest and grassland ecosystems will be upright.

The 'Triple Helix Model' refers to the collaboration between the government, private firms, and the university, which can form the basis of the Science and Technology Park structure. This paper relates to innovation viewed through the Triple Helix Model as a milestone in the contemporary society of knowledge-based economies. Our goal is the empirical investigation of the (in)efficient use of Academia, Industry, and Government to promote innovations.

The Core area is a center of economic growth with an urban nucleus.
Downward-Transitional Areas represent residential areas that are stagnant or declining due to a collapse in the resource base or industrial structure. This statement is related to Friedmann's 'Core-Periphery Model'.
The American economist John Friedmann presented his 'Core-Periphery Model' in 1966. This is a model of the regional organization of human activity, primarily based on the unequal distribution of power in the economy and society. Friedmann believed that a high concentration of economic and social power, technological progress, and high productivity is found in the Core, which is located as an urban center, while the Periphery is mostly found as a rural area.
Thus, the Core represents the urban center, and the Periphery represents the surrounding rural area. The Core has a concentration of industries, government, social elites, financial power, and a developed educational system, among others.

Based on the market value of the given ICТ companies in 2023, the descending order is as follows:
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) > Infosys > HCL Technologies > Wipro Limited.
The market values (in Crores) of these companies based on January 2024 data are:

The correctly matched pairs are as follows:-

The level of agricultural productivity is not one of the five bases of Whittlesey's world agricultural types.
The American geographer D. Whittlesey delineated the world's agricultural regions in 1936 based on agricultural characteristics. He used the following five criteria for delineating agricultural regions:
(i) Combination of crops and livestock.
(ii) Methods and techniques used in crop cultivation and animal husbandry.
(iii) Disposal of agricultural or animal products (for consumption or sale).
(iv) Quantity of investment of labor, capital, etc., in the farmland (Intensity of land use).
(v) Productive methods of agriculture.
Using the above five criteria, Whittlesey divided the world into 13 agricultural regions:
1. Nomadic Herding
2. Livestock Ranching
3. Shifting Cultivation
4. Rudimentary Sedentary Tillage
5. Intensive Subsistence Tillage (Rice Dominant)
6. Intensive Subsistence Tillage (Rice Non-Dominant)
7. Commercial Plantation
8. Mediterranean Agriculture
9. Commercial Grain Farming
10. Commercial Crop and Livestock Farming
11. Subsistence Crop and Livestock Farming
12. Commercial Dairy Farming
13. Specialized Horticulture

Pharmaceuticals, healthcare, biotechnology, and telecommunications are some examples of Knowledge-Based Industries (KBIs). Tier-I industries are producers of knowledge, and Tier-II industries involve business innovators. These industries face financial challenges due to the large amount of fixed assets. Therefore, regarding knowledge-based industries, statements A, B, and C are correct, while statement D is incorrect (as per the source text's conclusion).

Jonasson modified Von Thünen's land use model in 1925. The famous German economist Von Thünen first proposed his theory of agricultural location in 1826 AD. Von Thünen's theory is based on the principle of comparative advantage. According to the Von Thünen model, various concentric belts of agricultural land use are found around the town in the Isolated State, with the following sequence moving outwards from the town:
(i) Production of fresh produce (Vegetables and Milk)
(ii) Wood Production
(iii) Crop Production (Intensive crop rotation)
(iv) Crop Rotation with Fallow and Pasture
(v) Three-Field System
(vi) Livestock Ranching
Von Thünen scientifically explained agricultural use and successfully attempted to present a correct interpretation of its fundamental tendencies. For this reason, many later scholars such as Jonasson, Baker, Isard, Hoover, Lösch, Garrison, etc., tried to apply Von Thünen's theory to real-world (practical) conditions by making necessary modifications.