QUIZ – 2017: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 20 March 2018

Solution: c.

• It is a crop which is used both as food and fodder.
• It is a kharif crop which requires temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil.
• In some states like Bihar maize is grown in rabi season also.
• Major maize-producing states are Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.

Contemporary India II, Class 10 NCERT;

Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/earn-your-corn/article23276574.ece;

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Solution: c.

A mains-oriented question; both statements are correct.

• The defence budget (excluding pensions) for the coming financial year is Rs 2,79,305 crore, having risen steadily from Rs 2,03,499 crore in FY13-14.
• But as percentage of total central government expenditure, the budget has come down to 11.44% in FY18-19 from 13.05% in FY13-14.
• The numbers are starker when seen as a percentage of GDP — going down from 2.08% in FY13-14 to 1.49% in FY18-19 (see box). This is perhaps lower than even pre-1962 levels, when the Budget hovered around 1.6% of GDP.
• As per Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a Swedish organisation conducting research in conflict and armaments, Pakistan spends 3.4% of its GDP on defence; the figures for the US, UK and Russia are 3.3%, 1.9% and 5.3% respectively (see box).

IE;

Improvisation: TH;

Solution: b.

• In the light of the reports of the departmental standing committees, the Lok  Sabha  takes  up  voting  of  demands  for    The  demands  are  presented  ministrywise.  A demand becomes a grant after it has been duly voted.
• In total, 26 days  are  allotted  for  the  voting  of  On the last day the Speaker  puts  all  the remaining  demands  to  vote  and  disposes  them  whether  they  have  been  discussed  by  the  members or not. This is known as ‘guillotine’.

In the news: This year, thanks to the ongoing impasse in Lok Sabha over issues like the Punjab National Bank fraud, Andhra Pradesh’s demand for a special package, distribution of Cauvery water, and Telangana’s plea to raise the quota limit, there was no debate on the Budget and related business. Last Wednesday, therefore, all Demands for Grants were “guillotined”: the Finance Bill and Appropriation Bill (containing the consolidated Demands for Grants) with a spending plan of Rs 89.25 lakh crore, were introduced, voted on, and passed by voice vote, all within 30 minutes. It was an unusual step because there were still three weeks left in the Budget Session.

Solution: d.

All statements are correct. Some of the salient features of the Khelo India programme include:

• A pan-Indian Sports Scholarship scheme, which would cover 1,000 most talented young athletes each year across select sports disciplines. Each athlete selected under the scheme shall receive an annual scholarship worth Rs.5 lakh for 8 consecutive years.
• This is the first time ever that a long-term athlete development pathway would be made available to talented youngsters to excel in competitive sports and will create a pool of highly competitive athletes who can compete to win at the world stage.
• It aims to promote 20 universities across the country as hubs of sporting excellence, which would enable talented sports persons to pursue the dual pathway of education and competitive sports.
• It would cover about 200 million children in the age group of 10-18 under a massive national physical fitness drive, which will not only measure the physical fitness of all children in the age group, but also support their fitness related activities. It will create an active population with a healthy life-style.

PIB; PIB; TH;

Revamped Khelo India;

Solution: d.

The fourth major iron ore belt is the Odisha-Jharkhand belt.

Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/red-earth-and-fine-dust/article23275120.ece;

Contemporary India II, Class 10 NCERT;