QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 14 March 2017

Solution: d.

“In almost a year from now, elections will be held to 58 Rajya Sahba seats, including the largest chunk of 10 from Uttar Pradesh, eight of which the BJP is in a position to win.”

Improvisation: U.P. To boost BJP’s tally in RS;

Table 3.3, ‘Schedules of the Constitution at a glance’, Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth, 4^th Edition; List of 12 Schedules;

Solution: c.

“When it comes to the presidential election too, the BJP has nearly covered the gap to the magic number.”

The President is elected not directly by the people but by members of electoral college consisting of:

1. the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament;
2. the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the states; and
3. the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry.

Thus, the nominated members of both of Houses of Parliament, the nominated members of the state legislative assemblies, the members (both elected and nominated) of the state legislative councils (in case of the bicameral legislature) and the nominated members of the Legislative Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry do not participate in the election of the President.

Improvisation: U.P. To boost BJP’s tally in RS;

Solution: d.

What is the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (Thaad)?

• Shoots down short and medium-range ballistic missiles in the terminal phase of their flight
• Uses hit-to-kill technology – where kinetic energy destroys the incoming warhead
• Has a range of 200km and can reach an altitude of 150km
• US has previously deployed it in Guam and Hawaii as a measure against potential attacks from North Korea

China’s and Russia’s concerns regarding its deployment in South Korea: Despite having a range only of 200km, the system has powerful X-band radars that can “reach” far; this could be used to spot Chinese/Russian missile launches and thereby assist US defensive systems, potentially affecting China’s/Russia’s deterrent capability.

Improvisation: BBC: China fuels anger over Seoul’s missile move;

BBC: US begins deploying Thaad in South Korea;

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Solution: c.

• The President can be removed from office by a process of impeachment for ‘violation of the Constitution’. The President can be removed from office by a process of impeachment for ‘violation of the Constitution’. However, the Constitution does not define the meaning of the phrase ‘violation of the Constitution’. The impeachment charges can be initiated by either House of Parliament.
• The term of the Prime Minister is not fixed and he holds office during the pleasure of the  However, this does not mean that the president can dismiss the Prime Minister at any time. So long as the Prime Minister enjoys the majority support in the Lok Sabha, he cannot be dismissed by the President. However, if he loses the confidence of the Lok Sabha, he must resign or the President can dismiss him.

Improvisation: TH: End of a chapter;

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Solution: a.

The 2^nd and 3^rd statements are related to the process for impeachment of the President of South Korea (read THIS NYT article to clearly understand it). The procedure for Impeachment of President of India is as follows:

• An impeachment is a quasi-judicial procedure in the Parliament (unlike in the case of South Korea, there is no role of the judiciary here). The impeachment charges can be initiated by either House of Parliament.
• These charges should be signed by one-fourth members of the House that framed the charges (1/3^rd of in the case of South Korea), and a 14 days’ notice should be given to the President.
• After the impeachment resolution is passed by a majority of two-thirds of the total membership of that House, it is sent to the other House, which should investigate the charges (In South Korea: after it is passed by a majority of 2/3^rd in the National Assembly [NA], the Constitutional Court is formally asked to impeach the President. The Court must decide whether the President is guilty or not. The NA is not required to prove the charges; thus it is not a quasi-judicial procedure in the NA).
• The President has the right to appear and to be represented at such investigation. If the other House also sustains the charges and passes the impeachment resolution by a majority of two-thirds of the total membership, then the President stands removed from his office from the date on which the bill is so passed.

Improvisation: TH: End of a chapter;

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Solution: d.

“The Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) on Monday accused Governor Mridula Sinha of violating the spirit of the Constitution by allowing the BJP to ‘grab power’ through a cobbled-up majority, when it was not even the single largest party in the recent Assembly election.”

In addition to the constitutional discretion (i.e., the express discretion mentioned in the Constitution) the Governor has in certain cases, he, like the president, also has situational discretion (i.e., the hidden discretion derived from the exigencies of a prevailing political situation) in the following cases:

1. Appointment of chief minister when no party has a clear-cut majority in the state legislative assembly or when the chief minister in office dies suddenly and there is no obvious successor.
2. Dismissal of the council of ministers when it cannot prove the confidence of the state legislative assembly.
3. Dissolution of the state legislative assembly if the council of ministers has lost its majority.

Ch-26, Governor, ‘Constitutional Position of Governor’, Indian Polity 4^th Edition by M Laxmikanth;

Improvisation: TH: It’s a power grab by BJP in Goa, says GSM;

Solution: a.

“On the occasion of Commonwealth Day, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), an NGO, on Monday urged the intergovernmental organisation to ensure liberty and rule of law in its member-nations as in many of these countries, governance was marked by “abuse of power, corruption and human rights violations”..”

• “Our vision is to establish ourselves as a global South-based NGO, which is international in its work and this vision has over the years come to fruition. The difficulty in achieving this recognition cannot be taken lightly; it has required twice the purposefulness of any NGO based in the North to establish credibility and overcome the perception that if based in India, an NGO can only be capable of being a regional body, not truly an international human rights organisation.”
• CHRI’s charter objectives are to achieve the practical realisation of human rights in the Commonwealth. CHRI has its Headquarters in New Delhi, and offices in London and Accra; they are accredited (officially recognised) to the Commonwealth.

CHRI: Who we are;

Improvisation: CHRI seeks end to rights abuse;

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