UPSC Essentials | Daily subject-wise quiz : International Relations MCQs on 2025 edition of the State of Food and Agriculture, Afrikaners and more (Week 135)

QUESTION 1

With reference to the 2025 edition of the State of Food and Agriculture, consider the following statements:

1. The report presents new findings on how cropland degradation contributes to the yield gap worldwide against a backdrop of broader degradation processes on other land cover types and even land abandonment.

2. The theme for the year 2025 was “Addressing land degradation across landholding scales”.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

— The 2025 edition of The State of Food and Agriculture explores the theme “Addressing land degradation across landholding scales”. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— It examines the implications of human-induced land degradation for agricultural production, producers of all scales and vulnerable populations.

— The research includes fresh evidence on how cropland degradation contributes to the global yield gap, against the context of broader degradation processes on other land cover types, including land abandonment. Drawing on the most recent data on worldwide farm distribution, farm sizes, and crop production, the paper demonstrates how the scale at which land is managed influences both the limits and potential for implementing sustainable land use and management techniques. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— It also emphasises the significance of policymaking that includes regulatory and incentive-based policies suited to the various conditions and scales of land use in order to prevent, decrease, and reverse land degradation.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

(Source: openknowledge.fao.org)

QUESTION 2

Consider the following statements:

1. This country was among the earliest African countries to gain independence from colonial rule.

2. It participated in the landmark Bandung Conference in 1955 (of 29 Asian and African nations, including India), and was Africa’s largest country till 2011.

3. In 2023, this country was plunged into its worst crisis in decades when violent clashes broke out between the Armed Forces and the paramilitary group.

The above mentioned statements refer to:

(a) Ghana

(b) South Africa

(c) Democratic Republic of Congo

(d) Sudan

Explanation

— History was repeating itself in Sudan, the head of the Red Cross said recently as reports of mass killings in the Darfur region emerged last week.

— Sudan was among the earliest African countries to gain independence from colonial rule. It participated in the landmark Bandung Conference in 1955 (of 29 Asian and African nations, including India), and was Africa’s largest country till South Sudan broke away in 2011.

— On April 15, 2023, Sudan was plunged into its worst crisis in decades when violent clashes broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group under General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti).

— Two years into the conflict, over 150,000 people are reportedly dead. Thousands of children have perished due to malnutrition; nearly 13 million people—one in three Sudanese—have been forced from their homes. Of these, 8.8 million are internally displaced, while 3.5 million have fled across borders. Egypt hosts the largest number (1.5 million), followed by Chad (over 770,000), South Sudan, Libya, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 3

Which of the following countries has been recently hit by Typhoon Kalmaegi?

(a) Japan

(b) Philippines

(c) China

(d) Taiwan

Explanation

— As Philippines witnessed over 200 deaths due to Typhoon Kalmaegi last week, the country braced for another typhoon as administration evacuated over 100,000 residents across the country’s eastern and northern regions as the incoming Fung-wong typhoon intensified into a super typhoon ahead of its arrival on Sunday, as it threatens torrential rains, storm surges and destructive winds, Reuters reported.

(AP Photo)

— Ahead of super typhoon Fung-wong’s arrival later in the day, the administration has issued storm alert signals across large part of Philippines and the Signal No 5, which is the highest level of warning, has been issued over southeastern Luzon, including Catanduanes and coastal areas of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 4

Consider the following statements:

1. It was a key airbase of India in a strategic location in Tajikistan.

2. It is located around 20 km from Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor.

3. The airbase was used by India to evacuate its nationals after the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021.

4. The airbase, originally built during the Soviet era.

The above mentioned statements refer to:

(a) Bagram Airbase

(b) Shamsi Airbase

(c) Kandahar Airbase

(d) Ayni airbase

Explanation

— India started quietly withdrawing its military personnel and equipment from the Ayni airbase in Tajikistan, which it had built and maintained for the last two decades.

— The Ayni airbase was a key airbase of India in a strategic location in Tajikistan, where India first deployed military personnel when it was supporting the earlier Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, which was fighting the Taliban.

— The airbase was also used by India to evacuate its nationals after the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021.

— It is located around 20 km from Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, which shares a boundary with the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and with China’s Xinjiang province.

— The airbase, originally built during the Soviet era, was in poor condition following the split of the Soviet Union. Over the last two decades, India spent around $80 million to renovate the airbase, which included repairing and upgrading the runway to a 3,200-metre runway suitable for combat jets and heavy lift transport aircraft, as well as constructing hangars, fuel depots, air traffic control facility, under a 2002 bilateral agreement with the Tajik government. Much of the renovation of the airbase was done by the Border Roads Organisation.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 5

The ‘Afrikaners’ are defined as:

(a) Indigenous tribes of South Africa who speak Bantu languages.

(b) White South Africans who have descended from mid-17th-century Dutch settlers in the country.

(c) A group of British colonial settlers who migrated to South Africa in the 19th century.

(d) Mixed-race communities formed through intermarriage between Europeans and Africans during colonial times.

Explanation

— US President Donald Trump announced that no US government official would attend the upcoming G20 Summit in South Africa later this month over purported “human rights abuses.”

— “Afrikaners (People who are descended from Dutch settlers and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated,” Trump wrote in a post on social media. “No U.S. Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue.”

— Afrikaners are white South Africans who have descended from mid-17th century Dutch settlers in the country, and speak a language called Afrikaans. They notably have significant rural landholding.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

Previous Daily Subject-Wise-Quiz

Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 129 and 130)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 135)

Daily subject-wise quiz —  Science and Technology (Week 135)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 135)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment and Geography (Week 135)

Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 134)

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