• Statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct. Statement 4 is incorrect.
• The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended. In practice, it implies reducing waste to a minimum.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as an environmental policy approach in which a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post:consumer stage of a product’s life cycle.
• The ‘polluter pays’ principle is the commonly accepted practice that those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment.
• In a Circular economy: Four concepts to manage waste efficiently: They are-
1. Reverse Logistics for environmental sustenance-In traditional supply chain management, the product reaches the end consumer through factories, distributors and retailers. In reverse logistics, the cycle starts from the consumer and arrives back at the manufacturer
2. Recycling in an environmentally feasible way:
3. Engaging the community in acknowledging the waste
4. Utilizing emerging technologies
• Statement 4 is incorrect. In the linear economy, raw natural resources are taken, transformed into products and get disposed of. On the opposite, a circular economy model aims to close the gap between the production and the natural ecosystems’ cycles – on which humans ultimately depend upon.

• All the options are correct.
• Digital Infrastructure is a collection of technological and human components, networks, systems, and processes that contribute to the functioning of an information system.
• The core infrastructure components of Digital Infrastructure in India are:
1. Common Service Centers (CSC) for service delivery.
2. Wide Area Networks (WAN) for connectivity.
3. Data Centers for storing data and programs.

• Option B is correct.
• SVAMITVA Scheme full form is a Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas.
• SVAMITVA Scheme is a collaborative effort of the State Panchayati Raj Departments, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Revenue Departments, and Survey of India.
• It is a center sector scheme which was launched nationally on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April 2021.

• Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is incorrect.
• National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) as the principal Development Financial Institution (DFI) to support the development of long-term infrastructure financing in India was announced in the Budget 2021 by the GoI. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Consequently the Parliament enacted the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Act, 2021 which received assent of the President in March, 2021 and has come into force w.e.f. April 19, 2021.
• It has been set up as a corporate statutory body with authorized share capital of one lakh crore rupees. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• NaBFID is regulated and supervised as an All India Financial Institution (AIFI) by the RBI under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• It is the fifth AIFI after EXIM Bank, NABARD, NHB and SIDBI.
• Currently it is headquartered at the Small Industries Development Bank of India’s (SIDBI) office in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

• Both the statements are incorrect.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in its meeting of October 27, 2005 approved the procedure for approval of public private partnership (PPP) projects.
• Pursuant to this decision, in 2006, the Government of India notified the appraisal mechanism by setting up of the Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) responsible for the appraisal of PPP projects in the Central Sector.
• The Public Private Project Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) chaired by Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• PPPAC may approve Public Private Partnership (PPP) Projects costing less than or more than Rs.100 crore. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

• Options 3 and 5 are correct.
• In India, the RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) and NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT)) payment systems are owned and operated by RBI.
• Systems like IMPS, RuPay, UPI, etc., are owned and operated by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which is a not-for-profit entity promoted by banks.
• The NPCI is a not-for-profit organisation registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.
• It is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks’ Association.

• Option B is correct.
• Co-lending or co-origination is a set-up where banks and non-banks enter into an arrangement for the joint contribution of credit for priority sector lending. To put it simply, under this arrangement, both banks and NBFCs share the risk in a ratio of 80:20 (80 percent of the loan with the bank and a minimum of 20 percent with the non-banks).
• In recent times, banks and NBFCs embarked on increasing the co-lending tie-ups. IIFL Home Finance recently tied up with Punjab National Bank. It already has three existing tie-ups with Central Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

• Option B is correct.
• The Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme aims to offer financial incentives as well as design infrastructure support across various stages of development and deployment of semiconductor design(s) for Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design(s) over a period of 5 years.
Objectives:
• Nurturing and facilitating the growth of the domestic companies, startups and MSMEs.
• Achieving significant indigenization in semiconductor content and IPs involved in the electronic products deployed in the country, thereby facilitating import substitution and value addition in electronics sector.
• Strengthening and facilitating access to semiconductor design infrastructure for the startups and MSMEs.

• Option C is correct.
• In recent time, one of the most notable policies is the United States’ Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act, 2022 (CHIPS and Science Act, 2022). The legislation aims to catalyse investments in the domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity of the US.
• USA produces about 10 per cent of the world’s semiconductors and relies heavily on East Asia to import chips. The CHIPS and Science Act directs US$ 280 billion in spending over the next ten years, with the bulk of it going to Research and Development (R&D).

• Statement 1 is incorrect. Statements 2 and 3 are correct.
• Statement 1 is incorrect. The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and World Business, a British magazine. The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations.
• The Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks the countries based on innovation performance, comprising around 80 indicators, including measures on the political environment, education, infrastructure and knowledge creation of each economy.
• Statement 2 is correct. As per the GII 2022 report, India entered the top 40 innovating countries for the first time in 2022 since the inception of the GII in 2007 by improving its rank from 81 in 2015 to 40 in 2022. Further, India became the most innovative nation in the lower middle-income group overtaking Vietnam (48th) and leading the Central and Southern Asia region.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. Switzerland is the most innovative economy in the world in 2022 – for the 12th year in a row – followed by the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.