23th July 2024

Explanation - Russia, Norway and Sweden are bounded by the Barents Sea.

Explanation - The UN Charter established ECOSOC in 1945 as one of the six main organs of

the United Nations. The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is responsible for coordinating the economic, social, and related work of 15 UN specialised agencies, their functional commissions and five regional commissions. It has 54 members. The General Assembly selects 18 new members for ECOSOC each year for the term of 3 years with a provision that a retiring member can be re-elected.

Explanation - A patent represents a powerful intellectual property right, and is an exclusive monopoly granted by a government to an inventor for a limited, pre-specified time. It provides an enforceable legal right to prevent others from copying the invention. Patents can be either process patents or product patents. A product patent ensures that the rights to the final product is protected, and anyone other than the patent holder can be restrained from manufacturing it during a specified period, even if they were to use a different process. A process patent enables any person other than the patent holder to manufacture the patented product by modifying certain processes in the manufacturing exercise. India moved from product patenting to process patenting in the 1970s, which enabled India to become a significant producer of generic drugs at global scale, and allowed companies like Cipla to provide Africa with anti-HIV drugs in the 1990s. But due to obligations arising out of the TRIPS Agreement, India had to amend the Patents Act in 2005, and switch to a product patents regime across the pharma, chemicals, and biotech sectors.

Explanation - The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM) is located at Mumbai. It functions under the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Controller General supervises the working of the Patents Act, 1970, the Designs Act, 2000 and the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and also renders advice to the Government on matters relating to these subjects. The Head Office of the ‘Patent office’ is in Kolkata, ‘Trade Mark Registry’ is in Mumbai and the ‘GI Registry’ is in Chennai.

Explanation: Statements 1, 2, and 3 accurately reflect the challenges faced by Indian agriculture due to small landholdings, inadequate infrastructure, and the impact of climate change. Statement 4 is incorrect, as farmers often have limited access to technology and research.