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

Solution: c.

Improvisation: IE: Russia slams US approval of Montenegro’s NATO accession;

Solution: d.

These farm families are mainly concentrated in the States of West Bengal, Bihar and Assam which account for over 95% of the area as well as jute production in the country.

PIB;

Jute Commissioner – state wise production, raw jute;

Solution: b.

The Union Cabinet recently gave its approval for the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle to be called Government e-Marketplace (GeM SPV) as the National Public Procurement Portal as Section 8 Company registered under the Companies Act, 2013, for providing procurement of goods & services required by Central & State Government organizations.

• A “Section 25” company is registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. A similar company under the Companies Act 2013 is a “Section 8” company. (News associated with these section-companies often appear in the news).
• This section provides an alternative to those who want to promote charity without creating a Trust or a Society for the purpose. It allows the formation of a company, which will exist as a legal entity in its own right, separate from the person promoting it.
• The crucial bit, however, is that any company under this section must necessarily re-invest any and all income towards promoting the said object or charity. In essence, unlike a regular company, where owners and shareholders can make profits or receive dividends, no money gets out of a Section 25 company.

PIB; ET;

IE: Section 25 Company Explained;

Solution: a.

At present, oil palm development programme is being promoted in individual farmer’s field. There is no scope to provide assistance directly to private entrepreneurs/Cooperative bodies/Joint ventures for large scale plantation. Therefore, the Cabinet approved relaxation in restrictions for providing assistance to more than 25 hectare area also under NMOOP to attract corporate bodies towards oil palm and derive maximum benefit of 100% FDI. It further gave its approval to revise the norms of assistance mainly for planting materials, maintenance cost, inter-cropping cost and bore-well to make oil palm plantations attractive. The measures will yield following results:

• To encourage oil palm plantation on large scale by corporate bodies and to utilize wastelands. By relaxing restrictions under NMOOP, private entrepreneurs/cooperative bodies/joint ventures will show their interest in investment in oil palm plantation and availing the NMOOP support.
• To encourage farmers for oil palm cultivation in a bigger way. The revision of cost norms will motivate fanners for oil palm plantation.

There will be some financial implication in relaxing restrictions of area and up-scaling the norms of subsidies but the same would be accommodated within NMOOP fund. Therefore, no additional funds would be required.

PIB: Cabinet approves measures to increase oil palm area and production in India;

Solution: a.

• The total production of edible oil in the country is about 9 million MT, while the domestic requirement is around 25 million MT. The gap between demand and supply is being met through imports, which amounted to Rs. 68,000 crores in 2015-16.
• Palm oil contributes 70% of vegetable oil import and is one of the cheapest oil due to high productivity per hectare. Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Thailand and Columbia are the major oil palm producing countries. An average oil yield of 4-5 tonnes/ hectare has been recorded with oil palm against the highest oil yield of 1.3 tonnes/ hectare from rapeseed.
• The revised norms of assistance (refer to italicised text in solution to previous question) will help with the development of oil palm plantations in the North Eastern States where the terrain is hilly and investment costs have hitherto deterred farmers from taking up oil palm cultivation.

PIB: Cabinet approves measures to increase oil palm area and production in India;

Solution: c.

MEA: List of MoUs exchanged;

Th: Banking on Teesta;