Insights Revision Through MCQs – 08 November 2019

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• When the President’s Rule is imposed in a state, the President dismisses the state council of ministers headed by the chief minister. The state governor, on behalf of the President, carries on the state administration with the help of the chief secretary of the state or the advisors appointed by the President. This is the reason why a proclamation under Article 356 is popularly known as the imposition of ‘President’s Rule’ in a state.
• Further, the President either suspends or dissolves the state legislative assembly.
• The Parliament passes the state legislative bills and the state budget.
• The President’s Rule does not lead to dissolution of local bodies.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/11/08/what-next-in-maharashtra/

Ans: (c)

Explanation: On the issue of appointment of the Governors, Sarkaria Commission (1983) made some important recommendations as given in the following:

• The Governor should be eminent in some walk of life and from outside the state. He should be a detached figure without intense political links or should not have taken part in politics in recent past. Besides, he should not be a member of the ruling party.
• He should be appointed after effective consultations with the state Chief Minister and Vice President and Speaker of the Lok Sabha should be consulted by the PM before his selection.
• As far as possible, the governor should enjoy the term of five years.
• He should be removed before his tenure only on the grounds as mentioned in the constitution or if aspersions are cast on his morality, dignity, constitutional propriety, etc.
• In the process of removal, state government may be informed and consulted.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/11/08/what-next-in-maharashtra/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Goal of  the  National Policy on Biofuels-2018  is  to  enable  availability  of  biofuels  in  the  market  thereby  increasing  its  blending percentage.
• Currently the  ethanol  blending  percentage  in  petrol  is  around  0%  and  biodiesel  blending percentage  in diesel is less than 0.1%.
• An indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel is proposed by 2030. This goal is to be achieved by
  • Reinforcing ongoing ethanol/biodiesel supplies through increasing domestic production
  • Setting up Second Generation (2G) bio refineries
  • Development of new feedstock for biofuels
  • Development of new technologies for conversion to biofuels.
  • Creating suitable environment for biofuels and its integration with the main fuels
• Goods and Services Tax Council has lowered the applicable tax rates across alternative fuels.
  • The tax rate on lithium ion batteries has been lowered to 18 per cent from 28 per cent in a bid to boost prospects of electric vehicles. Tax on fuel cell vehicles has been lowered to 12 per cent from 28 per cent.
  • The GST rate on ethanol targeted for blending with petrol has also been lowered from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, the tax on bio fuel pellets has been fixed at five per cent.
• Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO) launched by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) aims for an ecosystem that will enable the collection and conversion of used cooking oil to biodiesel.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/11/08/why-govt-is-encouraging-ethanol-production/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• India Justice Report (IJR) has been released. It has been prepared by Tata Trusts in collaboration with Centre for social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Daksh, TISS-Prayas and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/11/08/india-justice-report-ijr/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The Feni River forms part of the India-Bangladesh border.
• It originates in the South Tripura district, passes through Sabroom town on the Indian side, and meets the Bay of Bengal after it flows into Bangladesh.
• The dispute:
  • There has been no water-sharing agreement between the countries on the Feni previously.
  • The dispute over the sharing of the river water has been long-standing. It was taken up between India and Pakistan (before the independence of Bangladesh) in 1958 during a Secretary-level meeting in New Delhi.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/11/08/feni-river-and-its-significance/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• As of now, there are six credit rating agencies registered under SEBI namely, CRISIL, ICRA, CARE, SMERA, Fitch India and Brickwork Ratings. Ratings provided by these agencies determine the nature and integrals of the loan.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/11/08/moodys-ratings/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• At present, around 18 water reservoirs have water level below 50 per cent of normal storage capacity. Of these, six reservoirs (Sholayar, Lower Bhawani, Vaigai, Mettur Stanley, Aliyar, Parambikulam) are in Tamil Nadu, three (Isapur, Yeldari, Pench (Totaladoh) in Maharashtra, two (Vanivilas Sagar, Tungabhadra) in Karnataka, two (Tawa, Barna) in Madhya Pradesh, one each in Gujarat (Sardar Sarovar), Uttar Pradesh (Matatila), Odisha (Balimela), Jharkhand (Tilaiya) and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (Nagarjuna Sagar).

Refer: Question framed on this related topic: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/11/08/punjab-preservation-of-subsoil-water-act-2009/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• The Brus, also referred to as the Reangs, are spread across the northeastern states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur, and Mizoram.
• In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group. In Mizoram, they have been targeted by groups that do not consider them indigenous to the state.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/11/08/brus-of-mizo/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The 2019 edition of SDG Gender Index has been released.
• India ranked 95 among 129 in the index.
• About the SDG Gender Index:
  • Developed by Equal Measures 2030, a joint effort of regional and global organisations including African Women’s Development and Communication Network, Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation etc.
• It accounts for 14 out of 17 SDGs (sustainable development goals) that cover aspects such as poverty, health, education, literacy, political representation and equality at the workplace.
• A score of 100 reflects the achievement of gender equality in relation to the targets set for each indicator. It means, for example, that 100% of girls complete secondary education, or that there is around 50-50 parity for women and men in Parliament. A score of 50 signifies that a country is about halfway to meeting a goal.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/06/04/sdg-gender-index/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: