SUMMARY BASED

QUESTIONS
1. In the question given below, a paragraph is given with
options (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E). Read the paragraph
carefully and identify which of the given options correctly
explains the paragraph or correctly summarises it.
Exoplanets - worlds around other stars - have long been staples of science fiction but
remained mostly inaccessible to scientific investigations. This all changed over the past
decade when NASA's Kepler and TESS exoplanet hunter space telescopes added
thousands of new planets to the previously short tally of alien worlds. We,
astrophysicists and exoplanet researchers at the University of Arizona's Steward
Observatory and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and members of NASA's NExSS
exoplanet research coordination network, have long been fascinated by the secrets
nearby unexplored planetary systems may hold. We have now developed a novel way
to figure out whether there are yet-undiscovered planets in these systems. We realised
that by combining what is known about a given planetary system with simple statistical
rules, we can predict where yet-undetected planets may reside and how large they may
be - just like guessing what pieces are missing from a partially completed puzzle. The
new analysis can guide discoveries of new planets, help complete maps of planetary
systems in the solar neighbourhood and inform future searches for life.
A. Arizona's Steward Observatory hosts NASA's Kepler and TESS exoplanet hunter
telescopes that have discovered many exoplanets unheard of, which upon further
investigation, can be showcased by the science fiction media.
B. Applying statistical rules to the available data about a planetary system, scientists have
been able to precisely predict the presence of exoplanets in neighbouring galaxies like
Andromeda.
C. Astrophysicists, exoplanet researchers all around the world and members of the NExSS
network have always been intrigued by the potential mysteries the yet-to-be-discovered
exoplanets may unearth and are figuring out newer ways to find them.
D. Over the last ten years or so, NASA's Kepler and TESS exoplanet hunter space
telescopes have discovered a few more new planets which could host aliens using a novel
sophisticated method.
E. Two of NASA's telescopes have hunted many new exoplanets and researchers at the
University of Arizona's Steward Observatory have now come up with a new method -
predicting the presence of unknown exoplanets by using the available data with statistical
rules - to find and map the rest of them.
Transportation is a critical target for clean energy research: It accounts for one-fourth of
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and 75 per cent of U.S. oil consumption. Making a
change in this sector is challenging since it involves changing Americans' driving habits
and the technology of millions of vehicles. But using electricity to power cars is a useful
step since there are many ways to generate cost-effective, clean electricity. Batteries
account for a large share of the cost of hybrid and all-electric vehicles, so bringing
those costs down should be a prime goal of government investments. Another priority
should be extending the distance that electric vehicles can travel between charges.
Private companies are making gradual improvements in both areas, but the
government can afford to take bigger chances with new and different technologies that
may be too risky for the private sector. Batteries are also a good bet at a time when
budgets are limited because the money needed for research is relatively small,
compared to the large investments required for nuclear research or demonstration
projects for fossil fuel electric generation technologies.
A. Because the onus of social welfare is on the government, it cannot afford to invest in
riskier ventures like battery technology etc; but there are other possibilities like investing in
fossil fuel electric generation projects.
B. There are many ways of generating clean and cost-effective electricity like using nuclear
technology and batteries; and as the private companies find these risky, the government
should step in with more investments in these areas.
C. The government should focus on electric mobility (lesser emissions) by investing in
battery technology, increasing the distance between charges, and funding research in this
sector; and at the same time bringing about behavioural changes in people.
D. Private sector companies should focus on investing in improving batteries because the
money needed here for research, compared to those required for nuclear research, is
relatively less.
E. Private companies are making strides in areas like extending the distance between
charges and bringing down the overall cost of electric vehicles and the government should
support their cause as it will help in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions.
Under normal market conditions, for customers debt funds have nearly the
same liquidity as term deposits with banks. However, given illiquid bond
markets, they can have serious liquidity problems. The banking system has
access to a liquidity window run by the regulator that allows it to tide over
any short-term liquidity challenge, including, at its extreme, a bank run.
Currently, no such strong liquidity support exists for credit funds. There is
the collateralized lending and borrowing operation (CBLO) run by Clearing
Corporation of India but with rapidly growing credit funds, this window is
grossly inadequate. So we should consider providing liquidity adjustment
facility (LAF) access to credit funds too. This would ensure that in the event
of a "fund run" there is enough access to liquidity for funds.
A. Although CBLO is available, it is not adequate in solving all liquidity problems
for credit funds, so a need arises for a new liquidity window for credit funds.
B. When the need arises, Banks can approach LAF window for all liquidity
problems, credit funds have nowhere to go so they should be given access to LAF
window too.
C. In case of a liquidity problem, credits funds should also be given access to LAF
window same as banks as CBLO is often inadequate for both of them.
D. In case of a bank run, Banks can access LAF window but credit funds have
nowhere to go as CBLO is inadequate so credit funds should also be permitted to
use LAF window.
E. None of the above
AI systems are capable of exhibiting superhuman performance on specific or “narrow” tasks, which has
made it to the news in the field of chess, Go (a game several orders harder than chess) and also in
biochemistry for protein folding.The performance and utility of AI systems improve as the task is
narrowed, making them valuable assistants to humans. Speech recognition, translation, and even
identifying common objects such as photographs, are just a few tasks that AI systems tackle today,
even exceeding human performance in some instances. Their performance and utility degrade on
more “general” or ill-defined tasks. They are weak in integrating inferences across situations based on
the common sense humans have.Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) refers to intelligence that is not
limited or narrow. Think of it as human “common sense” but absent in AI systems. Common sense will
make a human save his life in a life-threatening situation while a robot may remain unmoved. There
are no credible efforts towards building AGI yet. Many experts believe AGI will never be achieved by a
machine; others believe it could be in the far future.A big moment for AI was the release of ChatGPT, in
November 2022. ChatGPT is a generative AI tool that uses a Large Language Model (LLM) to
generate text. LLMs are large artificial neural networks that ingest large amounts of digital text to build
a statistical “model”. Several LLMs have been built by Google, Meta, Amazon, and others. ChatGPT’s
stunning success in generating flawless paragraphs caught the world’s attention. Writing could now be
outsourced to it. Some experts even saw “sparks of AGI” in GPT-4; AGI could emerge from a bigger
LLM in the near future.Other experts refute this vociferously, based on how LLMs work.
At the basic level, LLMs merely predict the most probable or relevant word to follow a
given sequence of words, based on the learned statistical model. They are just “stochastic
parrots,” with no sense of meaning. They famously “hallucinate” facts, confidently (and
wrongly) — awarding Nobel prizes generously and conjuring credible citations to
non-existent academic papers.True AGI will be a big deal if and when it arrives. Machines
outperform humans in every physical task today and AGI may lead to AI “machines”
bettering humans in many intellectual or mental tasks. Bleak scenarios of super-intelligent
machines enslaving humans have been imagined. AGI systems could be a superior
species created by humans outside of evolution. AGI will indeed be a momentous
development that the world must prepare for seriously.I believe current LLMs and their
successors are not even close to AGI. But will AGI arrive some day? I reserve my
judgement. However, the hype and panic about LLMs or AI leading directly to human
extinction are baseless. The odds of the successors of the current tools “taking over the
world” are zero.
A. AI systems excel at specific tasks, but true AGI is still a distant prospect
with uncertain implications.
B. Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have limitations and lack
true understanding, making AGI development challenging.
C. Concerns about AGI surpassing human intelligence and taking over the
world are baseless and speculative.
D. Current AI systems demonstrate superhuman performance in narrow tasks,
while the development of AGI remains uncertain.
Impressed by exquisite and intricate handicrafts and the surrounding enchanting scenic beauty, several
foreign delegates from G-20 countries were left in awe on May 23 and pledged to forge ties with
Kashmir by working towards tourism prospects.
“We had a shikara [boat] ride on the beautiful Dal Lake. It gave me a serene experience,” Chang
Jae-Bok, South Korean Ambassador to India, said.
On filming popular Korean serials in Kashmir, Mr. Jae-Bok said it was doable. “It will take some time. We
need to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges. It will help people of both the countries to
generate interest in each other,” he added.
Craft bazaar set up at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre displayed local handcrafts
and evinced an interest among the visitors. Maqbool Jan, an award-winning papier mache artist, said
several delegates expressed astonishment at the art work done by hand. “This will put our artwork on
the international scene,” Mr. Jan said.
Sajad Ahmad, a resident of famous Kanihama village in north Kashmir known for producing Kani shawls,
said the foreign delegates were introduced to fine handicrafts produced by Kashmir.
In a rare experience, the G-20 delegates were asked to try their hands by participating in the live
demonstration of art works. “It was an engaging experience for the visitors. They tried their hands
at artworks like Basohli painting, walnut carving, papier mache etc. Several delegates bought
from the master craftsmen,” Mahmood Ahmad Shah, Director, Handicraft and Handloom,
Kashmir, said.
Simon Wong, High Commissioner of Singapore, who posted a series of pictures from Kashmir on
his social media handle, praised the local culture and “scenic shikara ride”. “The ride was
followed by a cultural performance and delicious ‘wazwan’ dinner!” he said.
He said Singapore was looking for new areas of investment and growth in India.
A. The G-20 delegates were impressed by the exquisite handicrafts and
scenic beauty of Kashmir, expressing interest in forging ties and promoting
cultural exchanges.
B. The foreign delegates had mixed reactions to the local handicrafts and
scenic beauty of Kashmir, with some expressing appreciation while others
remained indifferent.
C. The foreign delegates focused on investment opportunities in Kashmir, with
eyes on the cultural aspects and handicrafts of the region.
D. The local artists and craftsmen in Kashmir received international
recognition and exposure through their interactions with the foreign delegates.
E. The visit of the G-20 delegates to Kashmir resulted in increased tourism
prospects and potential collaborations with international partners.