സിവില്‍ സര്‍വ്വീസ് പരീക്ഷ: ബിൽഡ് ബാക്ക് ബെറ്റർ വേൾഡ് (B3W)ലക്ഷ്യമിടുന്നത് എന്താണ് ?

Answer (a)

In the following matters, the powers and status of the Rajya Sabha are equal to that of the Lok Sabha:
    Introduction and passage of ordinary bills.
    Introduction and passage of Constitutional amendment bills. Hence statement 1 is correct.
    Introduction and passage of financial bills involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India.
    Election and impeachment of the president.
    Election and removal of the Vice-President. However, Rajya Sabha alone can initiate the removal of the vice-president. He is removed by a resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha by an effective majority and agreed on to by the Lok Sabha by a simple majority.
    Making recommendation to the President for the removal of Chief Justice and judges of Supreme Court and high courts, chief election commissioner and comptroller and auditor general.
    Approval of ordinances issued by the President.
    Approval of proclamation of all three types of emergencies by the President.
    Selection of ministers including the Prime Minister. Under the Constitution, the ministers including the Prime Minister can be members of either House. However, irrespective of their membership, they are responsible only to the Lok Sabha.
    Consideration of the reports of the constitutional bodies like Finance Commission, Union Public Service Commission, comptroller and auditor general, etc.
    Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Union Public Service Commission. Hence statement 2 is correct.
Statement 3 is not correct. Resolution for the discontinuance of the national emergency is exclusive power of Lok Sabha. 
Statement 4 is not correct. Authorize Parliament to make a law on the state list is the exclusive power of Rajya Sabha Article (249).

Answer (d)

Statement 1 is not correct. The Committee on Public Accounts was first set up in 1921 in the wake of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms. The Public Accounts Committee is now constituted every year under Rule 308 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.

Statement 2 is not correct. Till 1966-67, a senior member of the ruling party used to be appointed by the Speaker as Chairman of the Committee. In 1967, however, for the first time, a member from the Opposition in Lok Sabha, was appointed as the Chairman of the Committee by the Speaker. This practice continues till date. 

Statement 3 is not correct. The Public Accounts Committee consists of not more than 22 members comprising of 15 members elected by Lok Sabha every year from amongst its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote and not more than 7 members of Rajya Sabha elected by that House in like manner. Whereas, Estimates Committee of the Parliament is the largest committee as it consists of 30 members. Constitution does not have specific provision for constitution of PAC. 

Answer (a)

    The Tso Kar Basin is a high-altitude wetland complex, consisting of two principal waterbodies:
    Startsapuk Tso, a freshwater lake of about 438 hectares to the south,
    Tso Kar itself, a hypersaline lake of 1800 hectares to the north, situated in the Changthang region of Ladakh.
    It is called Tso Kar, meaning white lake, because of the white salt efflorescence found on the margins due to the evaporation of highly saline water.
    It is an A1 Category Important Bird Area (IBA) as per Bird Life International and a key staging site in the Central Asian Flyway.

Answer (b)

Statement 1 is correct. 2nd February 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention, the day which is also celebrated as World Wetlands Day. India on this occasion established Centre for Wetland Conservation & Management which is the first in the country. It is set up under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), at the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) in Chennai.

Statement 2 is not correct. India currently has 42 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites). This is the highest in South Asia. Currently, two wetlands of India are in Montreux record: Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) and Loktak Lake (Manipur). Chilika lake (Odisha) was placed in the record but was later removed from it. (Montreux Record under the Ramsar Convention is a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.)

Statement 3 is not correct. Lonar Lake of Maharashtra also added recently to the Ramsar list apart from Nandur Madhameshwar.

Answer (c)

Statement 1 is correct. Depreciation is an annual allowance for wear and tear of a capital good. It is the deletion, which is made from the value of gross investment in order to accommodate regular wear and tear of capital, is called depreciation.

Statement 2 is correct. Depreciation does not take into account unexpected or sudden destruction or disuse of capital as can happen with accidents, natural calamities or other such extraneous circumstances.

Answer (a)

    Monetary Policy is a strategy used by the Central Bank to control and regulate the money supply in an economy. Bank rate and Open market operations are part of monetary policy.
    Fiscal policy is the policy relating to government revenues from taxes and expenditure on various projects. There are three components of the Fiscal Policy of India:
o    Government Receipts
o    Government Expenditure/Public Expenditure
o    Public Debt

Answer (d)

    Over-grazing and shifting cultivation in many parts of the world have affected the natural cover of land and given rise to extensive erosion.
    It should be regulated and controlled by educating people about the consequences. Contour bunding, Contour terracing, regulated forestry, controlled grazing, cover cropping, mixed farming and crop rotation are some of the remedial measures which are often adopted to reduce soil erosion.

Answer (b)

Statement 1 is not correct: Lymphatic filariasis, considered globally as a neglected tropical disease (NTD), is a parasitic disease caused by microscopic, thread-like worms. The adult worms only live in the human lymph system. The lymph system maintains the body's fluid balance and fights infections.

Statement 2 is correct: Lymphatic filariasis is spread by infected mosquitoes. Their bites deposit a parasite that travels to the lymph system. Culex quinquefasciatus, has been the most predominant infection contributing to 99.4% of the problem in the country. The infection is prevalent in both urban and rural areas.

Statement 3 is not correct: In 1997, WHO and its Member States made a commitment to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) as public health problem by 2020 through World Health Assembly Resolution WHA 50.29. The National Health Policy (2002) has set the goal of Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis in India by 2015. Later extended to 2021. National Filaria Control Programme (NFCP) was launched in the country in 1955 with the objective of delimiting the problem and to undertake control measures in endemic areas. The manifold increase in filariasis during last four decades reflects failure of filariasis control programs.

Answer (b)

Statement 1 is not correct: G-7 leaders finally came around with the proposed Build Back Better World (B3W) to counter China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI) projects.

Statement 2 is correct: The proposal, aims to address the infrastructure investment deficit in developing and lower income countries.

Statement 3 is correct: It is purposed mainly to counter China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI) projects.

Answer (d)

The extremists started new forms of struggle during the Swadeshi movement including:
    Boycott of foreign goods by burning foreign clothes, boycotting foreign made salt / sugar etc.
    Corps of volunteers / samitis - such as Swadesh Bandhab Samiti (by Ashwini Kumar Dutta) to generate political consciousness among the masses through lectures.
    Imaginative use of festivals: Tilak organised the Ganpati and Shivaji festivals to mobilise masses.
    Emphasis on self-reliance or "atmashakthi" – to eradicate social evils, to promote national education (Bengal National College opened with Aurobindo Ghosh as principal).
    Focus on cultural sphere: Tagore's Amar Sona Bangla, secular paintings by Abanindranath Tagore (inspired from Mughal, Rajput, Ajanta paintings).