Solution (d)

Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia. … To the west of Israel is the Mediterranean Sea, which makes up the majority of Israel’s 273 km (170 mi) coastline, and the Gaza Strip.

The West Bank is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia, bordered by Jordan to the east and by Israel to the south, west and north. The West Bank also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea shore.

Solution (d)

Phytoplanktons: They are tiny microscopic floating plants found in water bodies.

• Study of phytoplankton biomass is done by analyzing chlorophyll-a, a dominant pigment found in phytoplankton cells.

Significance of Phytoplanktons:

• They contribute more than half of the oxygen in the environment.
• They reduce global warming by absorbing human-induced carbon dioxide.
• They also serve as the base of the ocean food chain.
• They are important bioindicators regulating life in oceans. Their abundance determines the overall health of the ocean ecosystem. 

Solution (d)

SIDBI is the principal development financial institution for promotion, financing and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in India.

• It was established on April 2, 1990 through an Act of Parliament thus, it is statutory body.
• It is headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
• SIDBI aims to facilitate and strengthen credit flow to MSMEs and address both financial and developmental gaps in MSME eco-system across the country.
• It co-ordinates functions of institutions engaged in similar activities.
• Currently, the shares of SIDBI are held by Central Government and 29 other institutions including public sector banks (PSBs), insurance companies owned and controlled by Central Government.

Solution (a)

Solution (b)

Mekedatu, meaning goat’s leap, is a deep gorge situated at the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and its tributary Arkavathi.

• Ontigondlu is the proposed reservoir site, situated at Ramanagara district in Karnataka about 100 km away from Bengaluru. It is the midst of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The Rs. 9,000 crore project aims to store and supply water for drinking purposes for the Bengaluru city. Around 400 megawatts (MW) of power is also proposed to be generated through the project.

• It received approval from the erstwhile Ministry of Water Resources for the detailed project report and is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• The approval from MoEFCC is crucial because 63% of the forest area of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary will be submerged.
• Tamil Nadu has approached the Supreme Court (SC) against the project even if Karnataka has held that it would not affect the flow of water to Tamil Nadu.
• In June 2020, during the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s meeting, Tamil Nadu reiterated its opposition to the project.