Instructions: –
1. Attempt all the questions.
2. Once you have completed all the questions of a particular section click on the submit button for scores and explanations then move to the next sections.
3. For each correct answer, you receive 1 mark. For this mock, there is no negative marking.
English Language
Each set of questions in this section is based on a single passage. Please answer each question based on what is stated or implied in the corresponding passage. In some instances, more than one option may be the answer to the question; in such a case, please choose the option that most accurately and comprehensively answers the question.
Thrilled … over the moon … how else would you feel when you find out one of your best friends is getting married? The day Nishwan told me they’d set a date, glowing with happiness and a face-splitting grin, I started looking up tickets from Delhi for my wife Charvi and I. An August wedding in Kashmir was sure to be a beautiful affair.
We landed at Srinagar’s Sheikh ul-Alam airport around 11 a.m. on 2 August. The airport was packed and busy, but without chaos. Soon we were at the baggage carousel—Charvi was on her phone informing our families about our safe landing when she came across a news item online—the Amarnath Yatra (a popular pilgrimage) was cancelled due to a terror alert. I felt a ripple of discomfort, but reminded myself of the obvious—this could well be commonplace here.
The friend who came to pick us up reassured us that alerts like these were indeed not uncommon. In any case, we were headed to a secure place, away from the city. Meeting Nishwan’s family knocked us out of our worried stupor. Between the wedding regalia, family festivities and upbeat music, we soon shrugged off the stress and were swept up in the celebrations. Snatches of overheard conversations among the guests snapped me back to the turmoil building outside the happy bubble we were in—” … something major is about to happen …”, ” … revokement of Article 370″, ” … no, no, they would never do that. It’s too big …”, “… the protests will be massive …”
By the next day, speculation was rife and information poured in from different quarters. ATMs were out of cash, petrol pumps were dry or refusing service. That afternoon, Charvi proposed that we cut our trip short. Our families felt the same way. But ticket prices for flights on the following day had skyrocketed: The one-way fare for a single seat to Delhi started at Rs. 17,000. But since we had planned for a longer trip, we got cheaper tickets to Goa, instead.
We also heard about the Parliament session scheduled in Delhi on 5 August, the morning of our flight. Over the next few hours, things only grew more dire. Around 9:30 p.m., internet services stopped one by one; then mobile networks too. By midnight, we were cut off from the rest of the world.
Quantitative Techniques
Mehta electronics deals in Air conditioners (ACs) of only three companies namely Samsung, LG and Lloyd. Each AC is of one of two types namely split and window. In January, total number of ACs sold by Mehta electronics was 198. The following information is also known about the number of ACs of different companies sold:
For Samsung: Number of windows ACs sold in February was 20% more than that in January. However, number of split ACs sold in February was 25% less than that in January.
For LG: Number of ACs sold in January was 1 more than that in February, even though number of windows ACs sold in February was 8 more than that in January.
For Lloyd: Number of windows ACs to number of split ACs, sold in January were in the ratio 7:8 and this ratio changed to 7:5, in February. Total number of ACs sold in February was 36 more than that in January.
Also,
- Out of total number of windows ACs sold in February, ratio of number of Samsung, LG and Lloyd, window ACs, sold in February was 9:8:14, respectively.
- In January, number of Lloyd ACs sold was equal to number of LG ACs sold. Number of Samsung ACs sold in January was 78.
Logical Reasoning
A concerning development for India is the European Union (EU)’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The policy, which intends to tax carbon-intensive products coming into the EU from 2026, is divided into two phases, with the first phase (transitional phase) kicking in from October 1, 2023. There has been a constant exchange between the EU and India on the implications of the CBAM. The Commerce and Industry Minister said recently that the proposed carbon tax on imports is an “ill-conceived” move that would become the “death knell” for India’s manufacturing sector.
The EU contended, while providing context for the CBAM, that it intends to achieve the target of a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, under the European Green Deal. The CBAM is part of the package planned to achieve this. Second, there is a threat to EU products being replaced by carbon-intensive imports from other countries such as India or China. The EU argues that the higher standard of environmental compliance in its domestic industries will reduce their competitiveness. Thus, it intends to impose an import duty on carbon-intensive industries from non-EU countries to meet both these objectives.
The CBAM is intended to work like the EU’s Emission Trading System (ETS), which sets a cap on the amount of GHG emissions permitted. Under the EU-ETS, companies covered by the scheme have to ‘buy’ allowances corresponding to their GHG emissions. Financial incentives are provided to them to cut emissions. However energy-intensive industries receive free allowances to ensure their competitiveness. This is also a way of preventing carbon leakage, wherein carbon-intensive production by EU-based producers could move to non-EU countries with lax environmental regulations. The CBAM has been pitched to replace this allocation of EU-ETS allowances.
The CBAM’s transitional phase will last until December 2025. In this stage, all EU manufacturers and importers of energy-intensive industries will need to report the GHG emissions embedded in their imports without any financial obligations. From January 1, 2026, the CBAM will enter the definitive phase wherein, upon declaration of the emissions embedded in imports, the importers will be required to surrender annually the corresponding number of CBAM certificates.
The CBAM will be applied to the actual declared carbon content embedded in the goods imported to the EU. The formulae devised to calculate this content will be based on the EU-ETS mechanism, barring for the first year. In the first reporting year, to allow some flexibility, the use of default values for the embedded emission or using the monitoring, reporting, or verification rules of the country of production is permitted. However, there is a fundamental difference between how the actual carbon content embedded is calculated and valued in other jurisdictions
Legal Reasoning
Joint liability is a term used for people who have committed an act in pursuance of a common intention, where each of the persons is liable in the same manner, as this act was done by them alone. Section 34 IPC, states the joint liability of partners in crime. The section only provides for the constitution of joint liability, not the punishment. This section is only a rule of evidence and does not constitute a substantive offence. It provides for the principle of constructive liability.
There are a few principles that guide the application of the concept of common intention. It is necessary that there has been a prior conspiracy relating to that act. When the offence is proved only on the basis of circumstantial evidence, the allegations of common intention cannot be established in the absence of meeting of minds. One of the basic most requirements is that there must be some criminal act. Such a criminal act must be done by “several persons.” Such a criminal act however would not include acts which are merely invalid in the law. An example would be a minor man marrying a minor woman for the marriage is merely void and not a crime. The common intention doctrine states that there should be an antecedent to the occurrence. A clear distinction is made between common intention and common object is that common intention denotes action in concert and necessarily postulates the existence of a pre-arranged plan implying a prior meeting of the minds, while common object does not necessarily require proof of prior meeting of minds or pre-concert. Common intention has to be ascertained in the investigations, however, it is not necessary that it happens before the occurrence only. It might happen during the occurrence of the act as well. The intention is curated at any given point in the action. Usually, an overt act would be sufficient to show that there is common intention; however the absence of the same also does not vitiate the applicability of common intention. The law requires that the accused must be present on the spot during the occurrence of the crime and take part in its commission; it is enough if he is present somewhere nearby.
Current Affairs & General Knowledge
Scientists have just uncovered something gigantic about the geology of Earth. A massive reserve of water sitting some 700 kilometers under the crust of Earth was recently found. This equals three times more water than what exists on the surface of the planet, spread across the entire body. This invention came from the collective discoveries of researchers at Northwestern University, who employ state-of-the-art seismic analysis techniques to gain a better insight into Earth’s mantle. The team used data collected by more than 2,000 seismographs, where seismic waves generated from more than 500 earthquakes have been analyzed. They detected a remarkable decrease in the speed of seismic waves within certain depths and the phenomenon is indicative of the presence of water within the Earth’s interior. This forms the basis for a new view on the internal dynamics of our planet and geological processes.
All of this resonates with a fundamental blue mineral called ringwoodite, which is critical in forming the water storage system. Ringwoodite has a unique characteristic that enables it to absorb water within its crystal lattice, which in effect helps it store tremendous quantities of water in solid, compact form. This geologic significance of the mineral is not only a revelation but also such an indication that for millions of years, water might have had a close relationship with the Earth’s mantle, thus giving a different outlook in previous assumptions about the sources of the Earth’s oceans.
This finding has very important implications, above all regarding the Earth’s water cycle. It underlines the hypothesis that a large part of the Earth’s water originates from deep within Earth rather than only from comets and asteroids. Such a redefinition of sources of water implies that the deep reservoir is critical in the long-term stabilization of surface oceans; it impacts climate patterns and geological events across great time scales. The research group is looking forward to further studies by acquiring seismic data from all over the Earth. This would help to determine whether the presence of water in the mantle is a phenomenon that occurs throughout the planet. Further studies will be a stepping stone to increase our knowledge about Earth’s water cycle and its complex relationship between the interior and the surface. This extraordinary discovery has, in the long run, recast our geological history, opens up for scientists to look deeper into the Earth’s hidden world of the interior, and saliently conveys that there is a better need for more unveiling research on the geological processes on Earth. Explorations on the planet, therefore, might unveil even more of its geological changes and serve as a great chemistry in understanding the trends happening on Earth’s surface and subsurface environments.