18th May 2026

Explanation:

• Option C is correct: The forum holds annual sessions at the UN Headquarters, alternating between technical discussions in odd years and policy-level dialogues in even years. It has also established the Global Forest Financing Facilitation Network (GFFFN) to facilitate access to funding for forests.
• Option A is incorrect: The UNFF was established in 2000 by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), not by the UNGA in 2015.
• Option B is incorrect: Its membership is open to all United Nations Member States and States members of specialised agencies on a full and equal basis. India is a founding member.
• Option D is incorrect: Its headquarters is located in New York, United States, not Geneva, Switzerland.

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: It is a Joint Parliamentary Committee consisting of 30 Members: 20 nominated from the Lok Sabha and 10 nominated from the Rajya Sabha.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The term of the Committee does not exceed one year. It is re-constituted year after year, so its term is not coterminous with the Lok Sabha.
• Statement 3 is correct: One of its core functions is to consider the reports submitted by the National Commission for Women and to report on the measures that should be taken by the Union Government for improving the status and conditions of women.

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Founded in 1865, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the oldest among all the 15 specialised agencies of the United Nations.
• Statement 2 is correct: It facilitates international connectivity in communications networks, allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, and develops technical standards to ensure networks interconnect seamlessly.
• Statement 3 is correct: India has been a member of the ITU since 1869 and has remained a regular, successively elected member of the strategic ITU Council since 1952.

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: India has been an active member of the CCRA since 2013, but as a Certificate Authorising Nation, not a Certificate Consuming Nation.
• Statement 2 is correct: The Common Criteria Development Board serves as the technical core of the CCRA. Its functions include managing the international work program for the Common Criteria (CC) and the Common Evaluation Methodology (CEM) for IT security evaluation.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: In India, the official nodal agencies are the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and the STQC Directorate, which acts as the official Certification Body for IT security evaluations.

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: The Euphrates River is Western Asia’s longest river. It originates in the Armenian Highlands of southeastern Turkey and flows through Syria and Iraq, where it meets with the Tigris River and finally drains into the Persian Gulf.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The Euphrates receives most of its water from winter rains and snowfall in the mountains of Turkey. The rest of the land that the Euphrates flows through is dry desert, which contributes very little water to its flow.
• Statement 3 is correct: One of the ancient world’s most important cities, Babylon, was built along the Euphrates River. Ancient Mesopotamia occupied the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.