The newly developed metal-free catalyst TTT-DHTD is designed to replace which costly metal used in clean-energy devices?

The correct answer is 120 hours. Tests showed that even after that long a spell of continuous running, the material kept its performance and did not suffer the degradation or contamination that commonly affects catalysts built around metals. This durability matters as much as the raw activity figure, because a catalyst that performs brilliantly for an hour and then decays is of little practical use in a battery meant for transport or for storing renewable power. Options A and B understate the tested period, while option D overstates it by a wide margin. Candidates should pair this number with the other headline figure from the same study, namely that the material reached roughly ninety-six per cent of the performance of commercial platinum catalysts, and should also remember that the simulations traced the result to sites in the molecular structure where oxygen attaches and reacts readily.

The correct answer is S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata, the Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Mohali, and SRM University, Amaravati. The first two are institutions of the Department of Science and Technology, and the team was led by Dr. Pradip Pachfule, Prof. Ramendra Sundar Dey and Prof. Ranjit Thapa respectively, with the findings published in the journal Science Advances. Options A, C and D list well-known Indian research bodies, including engineering institutes, basic science institutes and national laboratories, but none of these combinations is the group credited with this particular material. Remember that questions on such announcements often ask either for the lead institution, for the parent department, or for the journal, so it is worth memorising all three: the Department of Science and Technology as parent, Kolkata and Mohali as the two institute locations, and Science Advances as the journal.

The correct answer is 56. More than four years after the strategy was issued, the government reports that 56 additive manufacturing start-ups have been supported, strengthening the country's innovation and entrepreneurship base. Alongside that figure, more than 1,54,000 people have been trained in additive manufacturing skills, and the network of national centres has enabled 65 India-specific technologies covering materials, machines, Design for Additive Manufacturing and printed products, feeding work in aerospace, medical devices, electronics, energy, food processing and photonics. Options A, B and C are lower counts that do not match the reported progress. Remember also that the strategy's own target is 100 new start-ups, so the figure of 56 represents progress towards that goal rather than its completion.

The correct answer is the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). ESTIC is India's Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave, and its second edition is organised by CSIR on the theme 'Creative Minds, Catalyzing Science, Empowering Technologies'. The conclave spans 12 thematic areas with plenary sessions, technical discussions and exhibitions, takes forward frontier fields such as additive manufacturing, and supports the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. Option A, ISRO, is the space agency and is linked to additive manufacturing only through printed rocket hardware. Option B, DRDO, handles defence research and is not the organiser. Option D, ICAR, is the apex agricultural research body and has no role in this conclave. Note the venue, Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, and the dates.

The correct answer is 5 per cent. The national strategy sets a time-bound goal of capturing a twentieth of the world additive manufacturing market and of adding close to one billion US dollars to India's gross domestic product. Around that headline figure sit its other targets: 50 technologies built for Indian needs covering materials, machines, processes and software, 100 new start-ups, 500 new products, a skilled pool of one lakh workers and additive manufacturing capability in 10 existing and emerging manufacturing sectors. Option A understates the ambition, while options C and D overstate it; no such share appears in the strategy. The figure matters because progress is measured against it, and the next phase, NSAM 2.0, is being shaped to accelerate the market further.