1. High-Density Planting System (HDPS), recently seen in the news, aims to:

• reduce the number of cotton plants per hectare
• increase yield through closer plant spacing
• replace Bt cotton cultivation entirely
• promote organic cotton farming only

2. The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) was launched under the aegis of:

• UNEP
• IPCC
• UNDP
• WMO

3. The caracal, recently seen in the news, is best described as:

• a true lynx species native only to India
• an aquatic carnivore of mangrove ecosystems
• a large herbivorous mammal of the Thar Desert
• a desert-adapted wild cat with black ear tufts

4. Mayon Volcano, recently in the news, is located in:

• Indonesia
• Japan
• Philippines
• Papua New Guinea

5. Which one of the following mechanisms allows metamaterials to store shapes with minimal energy expenditure?

• Quantum tunneling
• Thermal inversion
• Bistable units
• Plasma resonance