Which of the following statements about ‘C-Bot’ is/are correct? 1. It's an underwater vehicle to monitor coral reefs 2. It has been developed by CSIR and NIO Select the answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — C, Both 1 and 2. 'C-Bot' is an autonomous underwater vehicle launched by CSIR-NIO (the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa) in early 2024 to monitor coral reefs, carrying sensors and cameras to observe coral health and bleaching down to depths of about 200 metres. Because NIO is a CSIR laboratory, it is correct to say the vehicle was developed by CSIR and NIO. Both statements hold.
- (a)1 only — Statement 1 (an underwater vehicle to monitor coral reefs) is true, but statement 2 is also true — NIO, which developed C-Bot, is a CSIR lab — so restricting the answer to '1 only' is wrong.
- (b)2 only — Statement 2 (developed by CSIR and NIO) is correct, but statement 1 is also correct — C-Bot does monitor coral reefs — so '2 only' leaves out a true statement.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Both statements are correct, so 'neither' is the opposite of the truth.
C-Bot is an indigenous autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for marine research, built by CSIR-NIO for coral-reef monitoring. AUVs let scientists survey reefs continuously and at depth without divers, gathering data on coral bleaching driven by warming and acidifying oceans.
This is a two-statement 'which is correct' item. Both facts about C-Bot are accurate — its purpose (coral-reef monitoring) and its developer (CSIR-NIO) — so the answer is 'Both 1 and 2'.
- C-Bot is an autonomous underwater vehicle launched by CSIR-NIO in 2024.
- Its role is to monitor coral reefs — coral health and bleaching — to depths around 200 m.
- NIO, the National Institute of Oceanography at Goa, is a CSIR laboratory.
- Coral bleaching is driven by rising sea-surface temperatures and ocean acidification.
- Marking only one statement true; both the purpose and the developer of C-Bot are correctly stated.
- Confusing NIO (oceanography, under CSIR) with NIOT (ocean technology, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences).
Asked as a two-statement correctness check on a newly launched research vehicle.
The largest coral reef in the world is found near the coast of which one of the following countries?
- (a) Australia
- (b) Cuba
- (c) Ghana
- (d) Philippines
Answer(a) Australia
Same concept — coral reefs. That UPSC item tests the largest coral reef (the Great Barrier Reef); this one concerns the C-Bot vehicle built to monitor coral-reef health, so both centre on coral-reef ecology.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The autonomous underwater vehicle 'C-Bot', built to monitor coral reefs, was developed by
- (a)DRDO
- (b)CSIR-NIO
- (c)ISRO
- (d)BARC
Answer(b) CSIR-NIO — the National Institute of Oceanography.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Coral bleaching is primarily caused by
- (a)rising sea temperatures
- (b)falling salinity alone
- (c)oil spills alone
- (d)overfishing
Answer(a) rising sea temperatures — thermal stress on the coral.