19th April 2025

Explanation:
Option a) is incorrect. GPUs contain thousands of cores (not fewer than CPUs) and are designed for parallel processing, not sequential processing. CPUs are the ones that excel at sequential processing.

Option b) is correct. TPUs (Tensor Processing Units) were indeed first introduced by Google in 2015 and are specially designed to handle machine learning operations by processing tensors efficiently. They enable faster training and execution of AI models than GPUs or CPUs, reducing training time from weeks (on GPUs) to hours.

Option c) is incorrect. Modern CPUs typically contain 2 to 16 cores, not thousands. GPUs, not CPUs, contain thousands of cores, making GPUs more suitable for parallel processing tasks in machine learning applications.

Option d) is incorrect. TPUs, not GPUs, have the advantage in handling tensor operations efficiently since they were specifically designed for this purpose. GPUs were originally designed for graphics rendering and later adapted for AI applications, while TPUs were built from the ground up for AI tasks.

Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect. China's export halt on rare earth elements was implemented without a licensing regime, which disrupted shipments to all countries, not just the United States. The absence of a licensing system has caused global supply chain disruptions.

Statement 2 is incorrect. India's domestic REE production is limited and led by state-run IREL Ltd, which operates a facility with an annual capacity of over 10,000 tonnes. The focus is not primarily on heavy rare earth elements from the Andaman Sea, though India has launched an auction for seabed blocks in the Andaman Sea that may contain valuable heavy rare earth elements.

Statement 3 is incorrect. China's foreign ministry has explicitly objected to U.S. deep-sea mining initiatives, urging adherence to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and oversight by the International Seabed Authority, rather than supporting the initiative.

Statement 4 is correct. The report mentions that some Japanese firms are better prepared with over a year's inventory, showing greater resilience to China's export restrictions compared to other nations due to their strategic inventory management.

Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct. Following the 2023 amendment to the RBD Act (effective from October 1, 2023), all births and deaths in India must be digitally registered through the Centre's Civil Registration System portal.

Statement 2 is correct. The digital birth certificate is now the sole official document to prove date of birth for various purposes, including school admissions, government job applications, marriage registration, and obtaining passports and Aadhaar.

Statement 3 is correct. The centralized registration system feeds into the National Population Register (NPR), which has a database of 119 crore residents. The NPR, updated in 2015, is seen as a precursor to the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Statement 4 is incorrect. According to the RGI circular issued on March 17, around 10% (not 25%) of births and deaths in India are still not registered, while 90% registration has been achieved.

Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect. The UK appellate court denied Sanjay Bhandari's extradition based on India's inability to assure humane conditions in its jails, particularly Tihar Jail in Delhi, not specifically about healthcare facilities. The court highlighted a lack of concrete assurances from the Indian government despite multiple requests.

Statement 2 is correct. The India Justice Report 2025 explicitly states that no State in India allocates more than 1% of its total budget to the judiciary, indicating severe underfunding of the judicial system.

Statement 3 is incorrect. According to the India Justice Report 2025, the per capita spending is ₹182 on judiciary, ₹57 on prisons, and a mere ₹6 on legal aid. This shows that spending on legal aid is significantly lower than on prisons, not higher.

Statement 4 is incorrect. Christian Michel's case was cited in international courts as evidence of harsh prison conditions, not preferential treatment. The report mentions that Michel declined bail, preferring imprisonment over restrictive bail conditions, which was interpreted as highlighting the harsh prison environment.

Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect. The alleged abduction of Mehul Choksi from Antigua to Dominica in 2021 does have legal bearing on his current extradition proceedings from Belgium to India. According to the document, Choksi's lawyers are expected to highlight this controversial incident where he was allegedly abducted and taken to Dominica, showing him bruised and injured, as part of their defense against extradition.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The withdrawal of the Interpol Red Corner Notice against Mehul Choksi in 2023 was not primarily due to concerns over his deteriorating health. According to the document, it was due to "concerns over the alleged abduction and the risk of an unfair trial in India," not his health condition.

Statement 3 is correct. Belgium's extradition treaty with India does require that evidence of culpability must be provided within a specified timeframe. The document states that "Belgium must receive evidence of Choksi's culpability from India within two months, or he will be released."

Statement 4 is correct. The total value of assets attached by the Enforcement Directorate in the Mehul Choksi case is indeed significantly lower than the initial valuation due to the discovery of counterfeit diamonds. The document mentions that assets were "initially valued at over ₹5,000 crore. However, lab tests showed many diamonds were fake. The current estimated value of all his assets, including properties and investments, is around ₹2,500 crore."