DAY – 31 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 2.0, 2020

Solution: A

Bureau of Energy Efficiency:

• Bureau of Energy Efficiency is a statutory body set up under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
• The Bureau of Energy Efficiency assists the government in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles with the primary objective of reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
• It is responsible for spearheading the improvement of energy efficiency of the economy through various regulatory and promotional instruments.
• It works under Ministry of Power
• It coordinates with State level agencies and energy consumers to perform functions and exercise powers that may be necessary for efficient use of energy and its conservation in India.

Solution: D

World’s fastest-growing cities

• Three Indian cities have been listed as the world’s fastest-growing urban areas, a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) revealed.
• Cities are ranked based on “Total % change, 2015-20 forecast”.
• The list is based on data from the United Nations Population Division.
• Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kollam were the only three cities to make it to the top 10 of the world’s fastest-growing cities.

Solution: B

Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System:

• It is a new online tracking system for political parties launched recently by the Election Commission of India.
• It will allow them to track their registration applications submitted to the poll panel on a real-time basis.
• It will apply for parties registering from January 1, 2020.
• It will enable those applying for the party registration from January 1 to track the progress of their application using the system. The users will get status updates through SMS and e-mail.

Solution: D

Review petition:

• Under Article 137, the Supreme Court has the power to review any of its judgments or orders.
• When a review takes place, the law is that it is allowed not to take fresh stock of the case but to correct grave errors that have resulted in the miscarriage of justice.
• The court has the power to review its rulings to correct a “patent error” and not “minor mistakes of inconsequential import”.
• As per the Civil Procedure Code and the Supreme Court Rules, any person aggrieved by a ruling can seek a review. However, the court exercises its discretion to allow a review petition only when it shows the grounds for seeking the review.
• A review petition must be filed within 30 days of the date of judgment or order. While a judgment is the final decision in a case, an order is an interim ruling that is subject to its final verdict.

Solution: A

Zonal councils:

• Statutory bodies established under the States Reorganisation Act 1956 and not constitutional bodies.
• They are only deliberative and advisory bodies.
• Aim:  to promote interstate cooperation and coordination.

There are 5 five Zonal councils namely:

• The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh.
• The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
• The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, and West Bengal.
• The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
• The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
• The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii) Arunachal Pradesh (iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura (v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya (vii) Sikkim and (viii) Nagaland are not included in the Zonal Councils and their special problems are looked after by the North Eastern Council, set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972.

Composition:

• Chairman – The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils.
• Vice Chairman – The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a time.
• Members– Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.
• Advisers– One person nominated by the Planning Commission (which has been replaced by NITI Ayog now) for each of the Zonal Councils, Chief Secretaries and another officer/Development Commissioner nominated by each of the States included in the Zone.
• Union Ministers are also invited to participate in the meetings of Zonal Councils depending upon necessity.

Solution: B

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana:

• Launched in 2014, it is a village development project under which each Member of Parliament will take the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019.
• The goal is to develop three Adarsh Grams or model villages by March 2019, of which one would be achieved by 2016. Thereafter, five such Adarsh Grams (one per year) will be selected and developed by 2024.
• The Project was launched on the occasion of birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan.

Implementation:

• The scheme will be implemented through a village development plan that would be prepared for every identified gram panchayat with special focus on enabling every poor household to come out of poverty.
• The constituency fund, MPLADS, would be available to fill critical financing gaps.
• Nominated MPs may choose a Gram Panchayat from the rural area of any district in the country.
• The planning process in each village will be a participatory exercise coordinated by the District Collector. The MP will play an active facilitating role in this exercise.
• Adoption and adaptation of technology and introduction of innovations are critical to this programme. This will include use of space application and remote sensing for planning, mobile based technology for monitoring, agriculture technology for increasing productivity etc.
• At the state level there will be an Empowered Committee headed by the Chief Secretary consisting of the relevant Departments and including experts, as required with at least two Civil Society representatives.
• The district Collector will be the nodal officer for implementing the SAGY. He will conduct a monthly review meeting with representatives of the participating Line Departments. The Members of Parliament concerned will chair the review meetings.
• SAGY gives focus to community participation. Social mobilization of village community can trigger a chain of other development activities in the village.

Solution: B

Punjab state Cabinet recently approved an amendment to the Village Common Land (Regulation) Rules, 1964, allowing panchayats to sell shamlat land to industrial houses, entrepreneurs, businessmen, and companies for setting up micro, small and medium industrial units.

shamlat land:

Three categories of common land in Punjab villages are:

• ‘Shamlat’ land is owned by the village panchayat.
• ‘Jumla mushtraka malkan’ is land in a common pool made with villagers’ personal contributions, and is managed by the panchayat.
• ‘Gau charan’, too belongs to the panchayat, and is for cattle grazing.

Shamlat land is mainly used for cultivation, and is allotted for this through an open auction that is conducted by the Rural Development and Panchayat Department every year.

Solution:  B

Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)

• The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2019 has been published by education non-profit Pratham.
• This is an annual survey
• It aims to provide reliable estimates of children’s enrolment and basic learning levels for each district and state in India.
• ASER has been conducted every year since 2005 in all rural districts of India.
• It is the largest citizen-led survey in India.
• It is also the only annual source of information on children’s learning outcomes available in India today.
• Unlike most other large-scale learning assessments, ASER is a household-based rather than school-based survey. This design enables all children to be included – those who have never been to school or have dropped out, as well as those who are in government schools, private schools, religious schools or anywhere else.

How the survey was conducted?

• The survey was conducted in 26 districts across 24 states in India, covering a total of 1,514 villages, 30,425 households, and 36,930 children in the age group of 4-8 years.
• The sampled children’s enrolment status in pre-school or school was collected. Children did a variety of cognitive, early language, and early numeracy tasks; and activities to assess the children’s social and emotional development were also undertaken.
• All tasks were done one-on-one with children in their homes.

Solution: B

Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD):

• Developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M).
• It will be implemented by the National Informatics Centre.
• The project costs ₹258 crore and is being supported by the World Bank.
• The system will be first piloted in the six States with highest fatalities from road crashes — Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
• It will help in analysing causes of road crashes and in devising safety interventions to reduce such accidents in the country.

How it works?

• The IRAD mobile application will enable police personnel to enter details about a road accident, along with photos and videos, following which a unique ID will be created for the incident.
• Subsequently, an engineer from the Public Works Department or the local body will receive an alert on his mobile device.
• He or she will then visit the accident site, examine it, and feed the required details, such as the road design.
• Data thus collected will be analysed by a team at IIT-M, which will then suggest if corrective measures in road design need to be taken.
• Road users will also be able to upload data on road accidents on a separate mobile application, which is expected to go live from April 1.

Solution: C

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT):

• The NPT is a multilateral treaty aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons including three elements: (1) non-proliferation, (2) disarmament, and (3) peaceful use of nuclear energy. These elements constitute a “grand bargain” between the five nuclear weapon states and the non-nuclear weapon states.
• The treaty was signed in 1968 and entered into force in 1970. Presently, it has 190 member states.

Implications:

• States without nuclear weapons will not acquire them.
• States with nuclear weapons will pursue disarmament.
• All states can access nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, under safeguards.

Key provisions:

• The Treaty defines nuclear weapon states (NWS) as those that had manufactured and detonated a nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967. All the other states are therefore considered non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS).
• The five nuclear weapon states are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• The Treaty does not affect the right of state parties to develop, produce, and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Role of states:

• Nuclear weapon states are not to transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons and not to assist, encourage, or induce any NNWS to manufacture or otherwise acquire them.
• Non-nuclear weapons states are not to receive nuclear weapons from any transferor, and are not to manufacture or acquire them.
• NNWS must accept the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards on all nuclear materials on their territories or under their control.

Solution: C

Small finance banks:

The small finance bank will primarily undertake basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to unserved and underserved sections including small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities.

What they can do?

• Take small deposits and disburse loans.
• Distribute mutual funds, insurance products and other simple third-party financial products.
• Lend 75% of their total adjusted net bank credit to priority sector.
• Maximum loan size would be 10% of capital funds to single borrower, 15% to a group.
• Minimum 50% of loans should be up to 25 lakhs.
• The small finance banks will be subject to Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR).

What they cannot do?

• Lend to big corporates and groups.
• Cannot open branches with prior RBI approval for first five years.
• Other financial activities of the promoter must not mingle with the bank.
• It cannot set up subsidiaries to undertake non-banking financial services activities.
• Cannot be a business correspondent of any bank.

The guidelines they need to follow:

• Promoter must contribute minimum 40% equity capital and should be brought down to 30% in 10 years.
• Minimum paid-up capital would be Rs 100 cr.
• Capital adequacy ratio should be 15% of risk weighted assets, Tier-I should be 7.5%.
• Foreign shareholding capped at 74% of paid capital, FPIs cannot hold more than 24%.
• Priority sector lending requirement of 75% of total adjusted net bank credit.
• 50% of loans must be up to Rs 25 lakh.

Solution: C

Gujarat is well known across the world for its culture and traditional festivals. One of the most popular festival is rann utsav (Rann means desert). Rann Utsav also known as Rann of Kutch Festival or Kutch Utsav. People from all over the world are visiting the Great Rann of Kutch to experience a unique festival. The festival also shows the natural beauty of White Rann. Rann Utsav also demonstrates the culture of Kutch and the state as well.

Solution: B

World Sustainable Development Summit:

• It is the annual flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
• It is the sole Summit on global issues taking place in the developing world.
• It provides a platform for global leaders and practitioners to discuss and deliberate over climatic issues of universal importance.
• It strives to provide long-term solutions for the benefit of the global community by assembling the world’s most enlightened leaders and thinkers on a single platform.
• It is continuing the legacy of Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) which was initiated in 2001 with the aim of making ‘sustainable development’ a globally shared goal
• The theme of the 2020 edition of the Summit is ‘Towards 2030 Goals: Making the Decade Count’.

Solution: C

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA):

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act 1985.
• The Authority replaced the Processed Food Export Promotion Council (PFEPC).
• APEDA, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, promotes export of agricultural and processed food products from India.
• It is mandated with responsibility of promotion and development of the export of its scheduled products which includes all agricultural products.

APEDA is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of the following scheduled products:

• Fruits, Vegetables and their Products.
• Meat and Meat Products.
• Poultry and Poultry Products.
• Dairy Products.
• Confectionery, Biscuits and Bakery Products.
• Honey, Jaggery and Sugar Products.
• Cocoa and its products, chocolates of all kinds.
• Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages.
• Cereal and Cereal Products.
• Groundnuts, Peanuts and Walnuts.
• Pickles, Papads and Chutneys.
• Guar Gum.
• Floriculture and Floriculture Products.
• Herbal and Medicinal Plants.

Administrative set up:

• Chairman – Appointed by the Central Government.
• Director – Appointed by APEDA.
• Secretary – Appointed by the Central Government.
• Other Officers and Staff – Appointed by the Authority.

Solution: B

Public Credit Registry:

• It has been set up RBI
• The PCR will be an extensive database of credit information for India that is accessible to all stakeholders. The idea is to capture all relevant information in one large database on the borrower and, in particular, the borrower’s entire set of borrowing contracts and outcomes.
• The proposed PCR will also include data from entities like market regulator Sebi, the corporate affairs ministry, Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to enable banks and financial institutions to get a 360-degree profile of the existing as well as prospective borrowers on a real-time basis.
• Generally, a PCR is managed by a public authority like the central bank or the banking supervisor, and reporting of loan details to the PCR by lenders and/or borrowers is mandated by law.
• The contractual terms and outcomes covered and the threshold above which the contracts are to be reported vary in different jurisdictions, but the idea is to capture all relevant information in one large database on the borrower, in particular, the borrower’s entire set of borrowing contracts and outcomes.