DAY – 13(InstaTest-13): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2020: Topic – Geography,Subject-wise Test 17, Textbook based Test 11 and September 2019 CA

Solution: C

Demographic transition

Demographic transition theory can be used to describe and predict the future population of any area. The theory tells us that population of any region changes from high births and high deaths to low births and low deaths as society progresses from rural agrarian and illiterate to urban industrial and literate society. These changes occur in stages which are collectively known as the demographic cycle.

The first stage has high fertility and high mortality because people reproduce more to compensate for the deaths due to epidemics and variable food supply. The population growth is slow and most of the people are engaged in agriculture where large families are an asset. Life expectancy is low, people are mostly illiterate and have low levels of technology. Two hundred years ago all the countries of the world were in this stage. Fertility remains high in the beginning of second stage but it declines with time. This is accompanied by reduced mortality rate. Improvements in sanitation and health conditions lead to decline in mortality. Because of this gap the net addition to population is high.

In the last stage, both fertility and mortality decline considerably. The population is either stable or grows slowly. The population becomes urbanised, literate and has high technical knowhow and deliberately controls the family size. This shows that human beings are extremely flexible and are able to adjust their

fertility.

In the present day, different countries are at different stages of demographic transition.

Solution: C

The concept of human development was introduced by Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq. Dr Haq has described human development as development that enlarges people’s choices and improves their lives. People are central to all development under this concept. These choices are not fixed but keep on changing. The basic goal of development is to create conditions where people can live meaningful lives. A meaningful life is not just a long one. It must be a life with some purpose. This means that people must be healthy, be able to develop their talents, participate in society and be free to achieve their goals.

Solution: D

Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in the Parliament has sufficiently amplified India’s broadened vision that Pakistan Occupied Kashmir including the so-called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) belong to India.

Where is Gilgit Baltistan located?

• Located in the northern Pakistan. It borders China in the North, Afghanistan in the west, Tajikistan in the North West and Kashmir in the south east.
• It shares a geographical boundary with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and India considers it as part of the undivided Jammu and Kashmir, while Pakistan sees it as a separate from PoK.
• It has a regional Assembly and an elected Chief Minister.
• China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) also passes through this region.
• Gilgit-Baltistan is home to five of the “eight-thousanders” and to more than fifty peaks above 7,000 metres (23,000 ft).
• Three of the world’s longest glaciers outside the polar regions are found in Gilgit-Baltistan.

How Pakistan took over it?

• The British sold it, along with the rest of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Dogra ruler of Jammu, Gulab Singh, after defeating the Sikh army in 1846, but retained controlled over the area through a lease extracted from the Maharaja.
• This lease was last renewed in 1935. In 1947, a British army officer of the rank of Colonel imprisoned Maharaja Hari Singh’s governor in the region, and handed over the area for accession to Pakistan.

Recent developments:

• Pakistan, in 2017, proposed to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region as its fifth Province.

Impediments ahead:

• Gilgit- Baltistan is part of J&K and any such move would seriously damage Pakistan’s Kashmir case. Two UN resolutions of August 13, 1948 and January 5, 1949 clearly established a link between GB and the Kashmir issue.
• Making the region its fifth province would thus violate the Karachi Agreement — perhaps the only instrument that provides doubtful legal authority to Pakistan’s administration of GB — as well as the UN resolutions that would damage its position on the Kashmir issue.
• Any such move would also be violative of the 1963 Pak-China Boundary Agreementthat calls for the sovereign authority to reopen negotiations with China “after the settlement of the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India” and of the 1972 Simla Agreement that mentions that “neither side shall unilaterally alter the situation”.

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/09/21/gilgit-baltistan-2/

Solution: D

Basis of International Trade

(i) Difference in national resources: The world’s national resources are unevenly distributed because of differences in their physical make up i.e. geology, relief soil and climate.

(ii) Population factors: The size, distribution and diversity of people between countries affect the type and volume of goods traded.

(iii) Stage of economic development: At different stages of economic development of countries, the nature of items traded undergo changes.

(iv) Extent of foreign investment: Foreign investment can boost trade in developing countries which lack in capital required for the development of mining, oil drilling, heavy engineering, lumbering and plantation agriculture.

(v) Transport: In olden times, lack of adequate and efficient means of transport restricted trade to local areas. Only high value items, e.g. gems, silk and spices were traded over long distances. With expansions of rail, ocean and air transport, better means of refrigeration and preservation, trade has experienced spatial expansion.

Solution: B

Solution: A

Context: At the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a pitch for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

What is NSG?

• Brought in 1974– in response to the Indian nuclear test (smiling Buddha).
• It is a multilateral export control regime.
• It is a Group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
• The NSG first met in November 1975 in London, and is thus popularly referred to as the “London Club”.
• It is not a formal organization, and its guidelines are not binding. Decisions, including on membership, are made by consensus.
• Membership: 48 supplier states.

Criteria for membership:

• Ability to supply items (including items in transit) covered by the annexes to Parts 1 and 2 of the NSG Guidelines;
• Adherence to the Guidelines and action in accordance with them;
• Enforcement of a legally based domestic export control system which gives effect to the commitment to act in accordance with the Guidelines;
• Full compliance with the obligations of one or more of nuclear non-proliferation agreement.
• Support of international efforts towards non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and of their delivery vehicle.

Presently, India is not a member the group.

Why the membership is important for India?

• Membership will increase India’s access to state-of-the-art technology from the other members of the Group.
• Access to technology and being allowed to produce nuclear equipment will give a boost to the Make in India program. That will, in turn, boost the economic growth of our country.
• As per India’s INDC under the Paris Climate agreement, we have committed to reducing dependence on fossil fuels and ensuring that 40% of its energy is sourced from renewable and clean sources. In order to achieve this target, we need to scale up nuclear power production. This can only happen if India gains access to the NSG.
• India will get an opportunity to voice it’s concern if in case of change in the provision of the NSG guidelines.

Other Benefits associated with NSG membership- Once admitted, an NSG member state gets:

• Timely information on nuclear matters.
• Contributes by way of information.
• Has confirmed credentials.
• Can act as an instrument of harmonization and coordination.
• Is part of a very transparent process.

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/09/26/nuclear-suppliers-group-2/

Solution: C

Human activities which generate income are known as economic activities. Economic activities are broadly grouped into primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities.

Primary activities are directly dependent on environment as these refer to utilisation of earth’s resources such as land, water, vegetation, building materials and minerals. It, thus includes, hunting and gathering, pastoral activities, fishing, forestry, agriculture, and mining and quarrying.

Secondary activities add value to natural resources by transforming raw materials into valuable products. Cotton in the boll has limited use but after it is transformed into yarn, becomes more valuable and can be used for making clothes. Iron ore, cannot be used; directly from the mines, but after being converted into steel it gets its value and can be used for making many valuable machines, tools, etc.

Secondary activities, therefore, are concerned with manufacturing, processing and construction (infrastructure) industries.

Tertiary activities are related to the service sector. Manpower is an important component of the service sector as most of the tertiary activities
are performed by skilled labour, professionally trained experts and consultants.

Tertiary activities include both production and exchange. The production involves the ‘provision’ of services that are ‘consumed’. The output is indirectly measured in terms of wages and salaries. Exchange, involves trade, transport and communication facilities that are used to overcome distance. Tertiary activities, therefore, involve the commercial output of
services rather than the production of tangible goods. They are not directly involved in the processing of physical raw materials. Common examples are the work of a plumber, electrician, technician, launderer, barber, shopkeeper, driver, cashier, teacher, doctor, lawyer and publisher etc. The main difference between secondary activities and tertiary activities is that the expertise provided by services relies more heavily on specialised skills, experience and knowledge of the workers rather than on the production techniques, machinery and factory processes.

Solution: A

Forms or shapes of the settlements: These may be a number of geometrical forms and shapes such as Linear, rectangular, circular star like, T-shaped village, double village, cross-shaped village etc.

(a) Linear pattern: In such settlements houses are located along a road, railway line, river, canal edge of a valley or along a levee.

(b) Rectangular pattern: Such patterns of rural settlements are found in plain areas or wide inter montane valleys. The roads are rectangular and cut each other at right angles.

(c) Circular pattern: Circular villages develop around lakes, tanks and sometimes the village is planned in such a way that the central part remains open and is used for keeping the animals to protect them from wild animals.

(d) Star like pattern: Where several roads converge, star shaped settlements develop by the houses built along the roads.

(e) T-shaped, Y-shaped, Cross-shaped or cruciform settlements: T -shaped

settlements develop at tri-junctions of the roads, while Y-shaped settlements emerge as the places where two roads converge on the third one and houses are built along these roads. Cruciform settlements develop on the cross-roads and houses extend in all the four direction.

(f) Double village: These settlements extend on both sides of a river where there is a bridge or a ferry.

Solution: A

Context: PM to launch National Animal Disease Control Programme for Foot and Mouth Disease.

• It is a 100% centrally funded programme, with a total outlay of Rs.12,652 crore from 2019 to 2024.
• It aims to control Foot and Mouth Disease and Brucellosis by 2025 with vaccination and eventual eradication by 2030.

About Foot-and-mouth disease:

• It is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease.
• Affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids.
• Symptoms: The virus causes a high fever for two or three days, followed by blisters inside the mouth and on the feet that may rupture and cause lameness.
• The virus responsible for the disease is a picornavirus, the prototypic member of the genus Aphthovirus.

Spread of the disease and Concerns associated:

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has severe implications for animal farming, since it is highly infectious and can be spread by infected animals through aerosols, through contact with contaminated farming equipment, vehicles, clothing, or feed, and by domestic and wild predators.

Can Humans be affected?

Humans can be infected with foot-and-mouth disease through contact with infected animals, but this is extremely rare. Some cases were caused by laboratory accidents. Because the virus that causes FMD is sensitive to stomach acid, it cannot spread to humans via consumption of infected meat, except in the mouth before the meat is swallowed. Symptoms of FMD in humans include malaise, fever, vomiting, red ulcerative lesions (surface-eroding damaged spots) of the oral tissues, and sometimes vesicular lesions (small blisters) of the skin.

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/09/07/foot-and-mouth-disease/

Solution: A

The vegetation is usually cleared by fire, and the ashes add to the fertility of the soil. Shifting cultivation is thus, also called slash and burn agriculture. The cultivated patches are very small and cultivation is done with very primitive tools such as sticks and hoes. After sometime (3 to 5 years) the soil loses its fertility and the farmer shifts to another parts and clears other patch of the forest for cultivation. The farmer may return to the earlier patch after sometime. One of the major problems of shifting cultivation is that the cycle of jhum becomes less and less due to loss of fertility in different parcels.

It is prevalent in tropical region in different names, e.g. Jhuming in North eastern states of India, Milpa in central America and Mexico and Ladang in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Solution: B

Types of port on the basis of specialized functions:

(i) Oil Ports: These ports deal in the processing and shipping of oil. Some of these are tanker ports and some are refinery ports. Maracaibo in Venezuela, Esskhira in Tunisia, Tripoli in Lebanon

(ii) Ports of Call: These are the ports which originally developed as calling points on main sea routes where ships used to anchor for refuelling, watering and taking food items. Later on, they developed into commercial ports. Aden, Honolulu and Singapore are good examples.

(iii) Packet Station: These are also known as ferry ports. These packet stations are exclusively concerned with the transportation of passengers and mail across water bodies covering short distances. These stations occur in pairs located in such a way that they face each other across the water body, e.g. Dover in England and Calais in France across the English Channel.

(iv) Entrepot Ports: These are collection centres where the goods are brought from different countries for export. Singapore is an entrepot for Asia. Rotterdam for Europe, and Copenhagen for the Baltic region.

(v) Naval Ports: These are ports which have only strategic importance. These ports serve warships and have repair workshops for them. Kochi and Karwar are examples of such ports in India.

Solution: C

PM Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KPS Oli will “switch on” the Motihari-Amalekhgunj petroleum pipeline from their offices in New Delhi and Kathmandu.

The pipeline will transport fuel from Barauni refinery in Bihar’s Begusarai district to Amalekhgunj in southeastern Nepal, situated across the border from Raxaul in East Champaran district. The 69-km pipeline will drastically reduce the cost of transporting fuel to landlocked Nepal from India.

The pipeline will help in tackling the oil storage problem in Nepal and doing away with transportation of petroleum products through tankers.

Solution: A

Ageing Population

Population ageing is the process by which the share of the older population becomes proportionally larger. This is a new phenomenon of the twentieth century. In most of the developed countries of the world, population in higher age groups has increased due to increased life expectancy. With a reduction in birth rates, the proportion of children in the population has declined.

Solution: A

Solution: D

World’s Second Largest Coal Block:

Deaucha Panchami coal block of Birbhum Coalfield Area is World’s Second Largest Coal Block.

Situated in West Bengal. This coal mine is the largest coal mine or coal block in Asia, due to the number of coal reserves.

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/09/21/insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-21-september-2019/

Solution: B

Foot Loose Industries

Foot loose industries can be located in a wide variety of places. They are not dependent on any specific raw material, weight losing or otherwise.

They largely depend on component parts which can be obtained anywhere. They produce in small quantity and also employ a small labour force. These are generally not polluting industries. The important factor in their location is accessibility by road network.

Extra Learning:

Solution: D

Solution: D

Govt Amends 60-Year-Old rule to pave way for Cabinet Secretary extension. With this, the current Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha, has become the longest-serving bureaucrat in the post in the country’s history.

Key concept- changes made:

• A cabinet secretary is appointed for a fixed tenure of two years.
• According to All India Services (Death-Cum-Retirement-Benefits) Rules, 1958, the government can give extension in service to a cabinet secretary provided the total tenure does not exceed four years.
• As per the modified rules, the central government may give an extension in service for a further period not exceeding three months, beyond the period of four years to a cabinet secretary.

Role of the cabinet secretary:

• The cabinet secretariat is under the direct charge of the prime minister.
• The administrative head of the secretariat is the cabinet secretary who is also the ex-officio chairman of the civil services board.

Functions:

• The cabinet secretariat assists in decision-making in government by ensuring inter-ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst ministries or departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing or ad hoc committees of secretaries.
• Management of major crisis situations in the country and coordinating activities of various ministries in such a situation is also one of the functions of the cabinet secretariat.
• Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments of the Government.

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/06/10/cabinet-secretary/

Solution: C

Quaternary activities involve some of the following: the collection, production and dissemination of information or even the production of information. Quaternary activities centre around research, development and may be seen as an advanced form of services involving specialized knowledge and technical skills.

QUINARY ACTIVITIES

The highest level of decision makers or policy makers perform quinary activities. These are subtly different from the knowledge-based industries that the quinary sector in general deals with.

Quinary activities are services that focus on the creation, re-arrangement and interpretation of new and existing ideas; data interpretation and the use and evaluation of new technologies. Often referred to as ‘gold collar’ professions, they represent another subdivision of the tertiary sector representing special and highly paid skills of senior business executives, government officials, research scientists, financial and legal consultants, etc. Their importance in the structure of advanced economies far outweighs their numbers.

Solution: D

The deadly Nipah Virus has resurfaced in Kerala.

What is Nipah Virus?

According to WHO, the Nipah virus infection is a newly emerging zoonosis, that is, a disease transmitted from animals to humans. The virus belongs to a new genus termed Henipavirus (subfamily Paramyxovirinae).

• The natural host of the virus are fruit bats belonging to the family Pteropodidae. In 2004, humans were affected after eating the date palm contaminated by infected fruit bats. Pigs can also act as intermediate hosts.
• The virus can be transmitted to humans from animals (such as bats or pigs).
• The incubation period of the virus is 7-14 days

When it was first reported?

It was first identified in 1998 at Kampung Sungai Nipah village, Malaysia. The virus is named after this village.

What are the symptoms in humans?

The symptoms of Nipah are similar to that of influenza: fever, muscle pain, and respiratory problems. Inflammation of the brain can also cause disorientation. Late onset of Encephalitis can also occur. Sometimes a person can have an asymptomatic infection, and be a carrier of Nipah and not show any symptoms.

Are there any vaccines?

Currently, there are no vaccines for both humans and animals. Intensive supportive care is given to humans infected by Nipah virus. According to WHO, ribavarin can reduce the symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and convulsions associated with the disease. Individuals infected need to be hospitalised and isolated. Special care should be taken to prevent human-to-human transmission. Surveillance systems should be established to detect the virus quickly and to initiate appropriate control measures.

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/06/04/nipah-virus/

Solution: D

Age-Sex Pyramid

The age-sex structure of a population refers to the number of females and males in different age groups. A population pyramid is used to show the age-sex structure of the population.

The shape of the population pyramid reflects the characteristics of the population. The left side shows the percentage of males while the right side shows the percentage of women in each age group.

Expanding Populations

The age-sex pyramid of Nigeria as you can see is a triangular shaped pyramid with a wide base and is typical of less developed countries.

These have larger populations in lower age groups due to high birth rates. If you construct the pyramids for Bangladesh and Mexico, it would look the same.

Constant Population

Australia’s age-sex pyramid is bell shaped and tapered towards the top. This shows birth and death rates are almost equal leading to a near constant population.

Declining Populations

The Japan pyramid has a narrow base and a tapered top showing low birth and death rates. The population growth in developed countries
is usually zero or negative

Solution: A

KVIC, as part of its commitment to Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, had started manufacturing of plastic-mixed handmade paper under its project REPLAN (REducing PLAstic in Nature).

• In this project, the waste plastic is collected, cleaned, chopped, beaten and treated for softness.

After that, it is mixed with the paper raw material i.e. cotton rags pulp in a ratio of 80 % (pulp) and 20% (plastic waste).

Solution: D

The Australian Trans–Continental Railway:

This rail-line runs west-east across the southern part of the continent from Perth on the west coast, to Sydney on the east coast. Passing through Kalgoorlie, Broken Hill and Port Augusta

The Orient Express:

This line runs from Paris to Istanbul passing through Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade.

Solution: A

Union Environment Ministry released a report on Status of Tiger Habitats in high altitude ecosystems.

The study is led by the Global Tiger Forum (GTF), with range country governments of Bhutan, India and Nepal, along with WWF. It has been supported by the Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHPC) of the IUCN.

Initiated in 2014, the Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHCP) or ‘Tiger Programme‘ is a grant-making initiative which contributes to the Global Tiger Recovery Programme (GTRP), a global effort to double tiger numbers in the wild by 2022. The programme consists of a portfolio of 12 large-scale projects in key Tiger Conservation Landscapes across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Myanmar.

The Tiger Programme is based on three pillars:

• Protecting tiger species and their prey from the threat of poaching;
• Preserving tiger habitats, including core habitats, buffer zones and corridors;
• Supporting human populations living in tiger landscapes.

https://www.iucn.org/theme/species/our-work/action-ground/integrated-tiger-habitat-conservation-programme

Solution: B

Context: The Indian Army has removed 130 tonnes of garbage from the Siachen Glacier and is cutting potential trash in rations.

To address the issue of scientific plastic waste management, the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 were notified in 2011, which included plastic waste management. The Government has notified the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, in suppression of the earlier Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.

The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 aim to:

• Increase minimum thickness of plastic carry bags from 40 to 50 microns and stipulate minimum thickness of 50 micron for plastic sheets also to facilitate collection and recycle of plastic waste.
• Expand the jurisdiction of applicability from the municipal area to rural areas, because plastic has reached rural areas also
• To bring in the responsibilities of producers and generators, both in plastic waste management system and to introduce collect back system of plastic waste by the producers/brand owners, as per extended producers responsibility
• To introduce collection of plastic waste management fee through pre-registration of the producers, importers of plastic carry bags/multilayered packaging and vendors selling the same for establishing the waste management system
• To promote use of plastic waste for road construction as per Indian Road Congress guidelines or energy recovery, or waste to oil etc. for gainful utilization of waste and also address the waste disposal issue; to entrust more responsibility on waste generators, namely payment of user charge as prescribed by local authority, collection and handing over of waste by the institutional generator, event organizers.
• An eco-friendly product, which is a complete substitute of the plastic in all uses, has not been found till date. In the absence of a suitable alternative, it is impractical and undesirable to impose a blanket ban on the use of plastic all over the country. The real challenge is to improve plastic waste management systems.

What’s new in Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016

• Rural areas have been brought in ambit of these Rules since plastic has reached to rural areas also. Responsibility for implementation of the rules is given to Gram Panchayat.
• First time, responsibility of waste generators is being introduced. Individual and bulk generators like offices, commercial establishments, industries are to segregate the plastic waste at source, handover segregated waste, pay user fee as per bye-laws of the local bodies.
• Plastic products are left littered after the public events (marriage functions, religious gatherings, public meetings etc) held in open spaces. First time, persons organising such events have been made responsible for management of waste generated from these events.
• Use of plastic sheet for packaging, wrapping the commodity except those plastic sheet’s thickness, which will impair the functionality of the product are brought under the ambit of these rules. A large number of commodities are being packed/wrapped in to plastic sheets and thereafter such sheets are left for littered. Provisions have been introduced to ensure their collection and channelization to authorised recycling facilities.
• Extended Producer Responsibility: Earlier, EPR was left to the discretion of the local bodies. First time, the producers (i.e persons engaged in manufacture, or import of carry bags, multi-layered packaging and sheets or like and the persons using these for packaging or wrapping their products) and brand owners have been made responsible for collecting waste generated from their products. They have to approach local bodies for formulation of plan/system for the plastic waste management within the prescribed timeframe.
• State Pollution Control Board (SPCBs) will not grant/renew registration of plastic bags, or multi-layered packaging unless the producer proposes the action plan endorsed by the concerned State Development Department.
• Producers to keep a record of their vendors to whom they have supplied raw materials for manufacturing carry bags, plastic sheets, and multi-layered packaging. This is to curb manufacturing of these products in unorganised sector.
• The entry points of plastic bags/plastic sheets/multi-layered packaging in to commodity supply chain are primarily the retailers and street vendors. They have been assigned the responsibility of not to provide the commodities in plastic bags/plastic sheets/multi-layered packaging which do not conform to these rules. Otherwise, they will have to pay the fine.
• Plastic carry bag will be available only with shopkeepers/street vendors pre-registered with local bodies on payment of certain registration fee. The amount collected as registration fee by local bodies is to be used for waste management.
• Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has been mandated to formulate the guidelines for thermoset plastic (plastic difficult to recycle). In the earlier Rules, there was no specific provision for such type of plastic.
• Manufacturing and use of non-recyclable multi-layered plastic to be phased in two years.

Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018:

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018 on March 27, 2018.

The amended Rules lay down that the phasing out of Multilayered Plastic (MLP) is now applicable to MLP, which are “non-recyclable, or non-energy recoverable, or with no alternate use.”

The amended Rules also prescribe a central registration system for the registration of the producer/importer/brand owner. The Rules also lay down that any mechanism for the registration should be automated and should take into account ease of doing business for producers, recyclers and manufacturers. The centralised registration system will be evolved by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for the registration of the producer/importer/brand owner. While a national registry has been prescribed for producers with presence in more than two states, a state-level registration has been prescribed for smaller producers/brand owners operating within one or two states.

Solution: B

Always the discount is provided on marked price. Here 2 successive discounts are given.
Let us assume that marked price is M.
So first discount is 10%. Thus the price becomes 9/10 th. Andsecond discount is 20 %. Thus, price becomes 8/10.
After allowing these two discounts price comes out to be 144.
Now representing this mathematically:
M × 9/10 × 8/10 = 144
M × 72/100 =144
M= 144 ×100/72
M= 200

Solution: C

Let the length and breadth of the rectangle be x and y units respectively
Original area= xy units^2
New area= (0.9x) × (0.9y) =0.81xy units^2
∴ Percentage decrease in area= (0 .81xy- xy/xy) × 100= -19% (Negative sign indicates decrease in area)

Solution: A

Let the original price be x and sale be ofy units.
Then, the revenue collected initially = x × y
Now, new price = 0.8 x, new sale = 1.8 y
Then, new revenue collected = 1.44 xy
% increase in revenue = ([0.44xy/xy] x 100) = 44% increase

Solution: B

Selling Price (S.P.) = Rs100 – Rs12.5 = Rs. 87.5
S.P. after 6% gain = Rs106
Difference = Rs.18.5
Therefore, Cost Price (C.P.) = (92.5/18.5) x 100 = Rs.500

Solution: A.

The passage highlights the importance of freedom of speech in general and the freedom to seek information in particular which is at odds with Official Secrets Act. Hence, option A is correct.