Which of the following is correct?
FLFPR rose from 23.3% in 2017–18 to about 41.7% in 2023–24 (PLFS data). However, most of this rise is attributed to distress employment, unpaid self-employment, and informal work, not to structural improvements.
Real earnings of women declined for regular and self-employed categories during the same period (CEDA & NSSO data).
Thus, while the data confirm a rise in participation, it does not reflect qualitative gains in women’s employment.
The 2025 report clarifies that the DNA-based estimate serves as a scientific baseline for monitoring India’s elephant populations, not as a measure of population decline.
Project Elephant continues as the overarching national conservation scheme; no replacement has occurred.
I. Distance Sampling
II. Line Transect Method
III. DNA Mark–Recapture
IV. Camera Trap-based SECR Models
Which of the above methods rely on individual identification of animals for population estimation?
DNA mark–recapture identifies individual animals genetically, allowing population estimation through re-identification of DNA samples.
Camera-trap SECR (Spatially Explicit Capture–Recapture) models also rely on identifying individual animals based on unique stripe or spot patterns.
Distance sampling and line transect methods estimate density indirectly through encounter rates and detection probabilities, without using unique individual identification.
I. The 2025 estimation used a DNA-based mark–recapture technique to identify individual elephants.
II. The new estimate cannot be directly compared with the 2017 census because of a change in methodology.
III. The Wildlife Institute of India conducted the exercise under Project Elephant.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
All statements are correct.
The 2025 census employed a DNA-based mark–recapture technique instead of traditional visual or dung count surveys, allowing identification of individual elephants.
It was conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) under Project Elephant.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change clarified that the 2025 figures are not directly comparable with those of the 2017 census due to a change in methodology.
India’s 2025 Elephant Census
Population Estimate
- Total dung samples collected: 21,056 across 6.66 lakh km of trails
- Individual DNA profiles generated: 4,065 elephants
Regional and State Distribution
- Western Ghats – 11,934 (largest population)
- North Eastern Hills & Brahmaputra Flood Plains – 6,559
- Shivalik Hills & Gangetic Plains – 2,062
- Central India & Eastern Ghats – 1,891
- Karnataka – 6,013
- Assam – 4,159
- Tamil Nadu – 3,136
- Kerala – 2,785
- Uttarakhand – 1,792
- Odisha – 912
Shift in Method and Conservation Concerns
1. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a legally binding agreement under the UNFCCC.
2. The Bonn Challenge is a mandatory afforestation commitment under the Paris Agreement.
3. Target 2 of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2022) relates to protection of forests, not restoration.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Statement 1: Incorrect. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) is a UNGA-endorsed voluntary initiative, co-led by UNEP and FAO — not a legally binding UNFCCC treaty.
Statement 2: Incorrect. The Bonn Challenge (2011) is a voluntary global partnership led by IUCN and Germany, focused on restoring degraded and deforested landscapes, not on afforestation or Paris Agreement commitments.
Statement 3: Incorrect. Target 2 of the Kunming–Montreal GBF calls for effective restoration of at least 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030 — it concerns restoration, not mere protection.
1. N₂O has a higher 100-year global-warming potential (GWP) than CH₄.
2. CH₄ remains in the atmosphere significantly longer than N₂O.
3. CO₂ remains in the atmosphere many times longer than CH₄.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Statement 1 – Correct: Over a 100-year horizon, nitrous oxide (N₂O) has a much higher GWP (about 270–273 times that of CO₂) compared to methane (CH₄), which is around 28–30 times. (Source: IPCC AR6, 2021)
Statement 2 – Incorrect: Methane is short-lived, remaining in the atmosphere for about 12 years, while nitrous oxide lasts around 100–120 years.
Statement 3 – Correct: Carbon dioxide persists for hundreds to thousands of years, making its atmospheric lifetime far longer than methane.
- Option (a) – Incorrect: CO₂ has a lower per-unit heat-trapping potential compared to CH₄ and N₂O.
- Option (b) – Correct: CO₂ stays in the atmosphere for centuries or even millennia, giving it a strong cumulative warming effect despite its lower potency.
- Option (c) – Incorrect: Natural CO₂ emissions are largely balanced by natural sinks such as oceans and forests.
- Option (d) – Incorrect: CO₂ emissions arise from both natural and anthropogenic sources; only the anthropogenic fraction leads to net accumulation.
- Option (a) – Correct: Methane’s 20-year GWP is about 80–84 times that of CO₂ (IPCC AR6).
- Option (b) – Correct: Nitrous oxide’s 100-year GWP is around 270 times that of CO₂.
- Option (c) – Correct: CO₂ contributes most to cumulative warming due to its longevity and large total emissions.
- Option (d) – Incorrect: While anthropogenic CO₂ drives the imbalance, it is not correct to say warming arises solely from it; natural fluxes also interact dynamically, and “nearly all” natural CO₂ is not instantaneously absorbed.
Therefore, option (d) is the least accurate statement.