DAY – 9 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2020

Solution: D

The Indian National Congress raised the demand, after it was set up in 1885, for

• lowering of age limit for recruitment, and
• holding the examination simultaneously in India and Britain.

The Aitchison Committee on Public Services (1886), set up by Dufferin, recommended—

• dropping of the terms ‘covenanted’ and ‘uncovenanted’;
• classification of the civil service into Imperial Indian Civil Service (examination in England), Provincial Civil Service (examination in India) and Subordinate Civil Service (examination in India); and,
• raising the age limit to 23.

Montford Reforms (1919)

The Montford reforms—

• stated a realistic policy—“If a responsible government is to be established in India, the more Indians we can employ in public service, the better.”
• recommended holding of simultaneous examination in India and England.
• recommended that one-third of recruitments be made in India itself—to be raised annually by 1.5 per cent.

Solution: D

The Subsidiary System

The predecessors of Wellesley concluded alliances with Indian princes like the Nawab of Oudh and the Nizam of Hyderabad. They received subsidies from the Indian rulers for the maintenance of British troops, which were used for the protection of respective Indian states.

Wellesley enlarged and consolidated the already existing system. However, his originality was revealed in its application.

Main Features of Subsidiary Alliance

1. Any Indian ruler who entered into the subsidiary alliance with the British had to maintain a contingent of British troops in his territory. It was commanded by a British officer. The Indian state was called ‘the protected state’ and the British hereinafter were referred to as ‘the paramount power’. It was the duty of the British to safeguard that state from external aggression and to help its ruler maintain internal peace. The protected state should give some money or give part of its territory to the British to support the subsidiary force.
2. The protected state should cut off its connection with European powers other than the English and with the French in particular. The state was also forbidden to have any political contact even with other Indian powers without the permission of the British.
3. The ruler of the protected state should keep a British Resident at his court and disband his own army. He should not employ Europeans in his service without the sanction of the paramount power.
4. The paramount power should not interfere in the internal affairs of the protected state.

Solution: B

Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI):

• Designed by the German environmental and development organisation Germanwatch e.V.
• Published in cooperation with the NewClimate Institute and Climate Action Network International and with financial support from Barthel Foundation.
• Objective: To enhance transparency in international climate politics.
• First published in 2005 and an updated version is presented at the UN Climate Change Conference annually.
• In 2017, the underlying methodology of the CCPI was revised and adapted to the new climate policy framework of the Paris Agreement from 2015. The CCPI was extended in order to include the measurement of a country’s progress towards the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the country’s 2030 targets.

Solution: B

The Permanent Settlement

Lord Cornwallis’ most conspicuous administrative measure was the Permanent Land Revenue Settlement of Bengal, which was extended to the provinces of Bihar and Orissa. It is appropriate to recall that Warren Hastings introduced the annual lease system of auctioning the land to the highest bidder. It created chaos in the revenue administration.

Lord Cornwallis for over three years and after a prolonged discussion with his colleagues like Sir John Shore and James Grant he decided to abolish the annual lease system and introduce a decennial (Ten years) settlement which was subsequently declared to be continuous. The main features of the Permanent Settlement were as follows:

(i) The zamindars of Bengal were recognized as the owners of land as long as they paid the revenue to the East India Company regularly.

(ii) The amount of revenue that the zamindars had to pay to the Company was firmly fixed and would not be raised under any circumstances. In other words the Government of the East India Company got 89% leaving the rest to the zamindars.

(iii) The ryots became tenants since they were considered the tillers of the soil.

(iv) This settlement took away the administrative and judicial functions of the zamindars.

Solution: B

Mudiyettu

• Mudiyettu is a ritual dance drama from Kerala based on the mythological tale of a battle between the goddess Kali and the demon Darika.
• It is a community ritual in which the entire village participates. After the summer crops have been harvested, the villagers reach the temple in the early morning on an appointed day
• Mudiyettu performers purify themselves through fasting and prayer, then draw a huge image of goddess Kali, called as kalam, on the temple floor with coloured powders, wherein the spirit of the goddess is invoked.

Solution: C

Famine Policy

The famine of 1876-78 had resulted from the failure of two monsoons. It covered an area of two lakh fifty thousand square miles and affected fifty-eight million people. The worst affected areas were Madras, Mysore, Hyderabad, Bombay, Central India and the Punjab.

It took a toll of five million lives in a single year. The outbreak of cholera and fever added to the misery of the suffering population. Lytton’s Government failed miserably to tackle the situation. The government’s relief measures seemed to be inadequate. The first Famine Commission (1878-80) under Sir Richard Strachey was appointed and it made many commendable recommendations. They include provision of funds for famine relief and construction work in the annual budget. The Famine Code came into existence in 1883.

Solution: A

• The Cornwallis Code was laid out—

— There was a separation of revenue and justice administration.

— European subjects were also brought under jurisdiction.

— Government officials were answerable to the civil courts for actions done in their official capacity.

— The principle of sovereignty of law was established.

Solution: D

Sarus crane:

Context: Sarus crane, whose numbers pushed to the edge by habitat degradation and human callousness, now seems to be getting a new lease of life in Uttar Pradesh, where it enjoys the status of official State bird.

Rise in numbers: The population of the Sarus crane, a bird distinguishable by its red upper neck and white collar, has climbed to 15,938 as per the 2018 census (summer). This is a jump of 5.2% from 2017, when there were 15,138 Sarus cranes across U.P. Its population in Uttar Pradesh has steadily grown since 2013, as wetlands thrive and farmers, fisherfolk nurture their nests.

Key facts:

• The Sarus (Grus antigone) is the tallest flying bird in the world.
• It is also India’s only resident breeding crane.
• IUCN status- ‘vulnerable’.
• It has three disjunct populations in the Indian sub-continent, south-east Asia and northern Australia.

Solution: C

Efforts of Thomson

James Thomson, lieutenant-governor of NW Provinces (1843-53), developed a comprehensive scheme of village education through the medium of vernacular languages. In these village schools, useful subjects such as mensuration and agriculture sciences were taught. The purpose was to train personnel for the newly set up Revenue and Public Works Department.

Solution: B

National Skill Development Corporation

• National Skill Development Corporation India (NSDC), established in 2009, is a not- for- Profit Company set up by the Ministry of Finance.
• The present equity base of NSDC is Rs.10 crore, of which the Government of India through Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) holds 49%, while the private sector has the balance 51%.

Functions:

• NSDC aims to promote skill development by catalyzing creation of large, quality and for-profit vocational institutions.
• It also provides funding to build scalable and profitable vocational training initiatives.
• Its mandate is also to enable support system which focuses on quality assurance, information systems and train the trainer academies either directly or through partnerships.
• It also develops appropriate models to enhance, support and coordinate private sector initiatives.

Solution: D

In 1902, Raleigh Commission was set up to go into conditions and prospects of universities in India and to suggest measures for improvement in their constitution and working. The commission precluded from reporting on primary or secondary education. Based on its recommendations, the Indian Universities Act was passed in 1904. As per the Act,

(i) universities were to give more attention to study and research;

(ii) the number of fellows of a university and their period in office were reduced and most fellows were to be nominated by the Government;

(iii) Government was to have powers to veto universities’ senate regulations and could amend these regulations or pass regulations on its own;

(iv) conditions were to be made stricter for affiliation of private colleges; and

(v) five lakh rupees were to be sanctioned per annum for five years for improvement of higher education and universities.

Solution: A

Swadeshi Movement

Lokmanya Tilak spread the message of swadeshi to Poona and Bombay and organised Ganapati and Shivaji festivals to arouse patriotic feelings. He stressed that the aim of swadeshi, boycott and national education was attainment of swaraj. He opened cooperative stores and headed the Swadeshi Wastu Pracharini Sabha.

Lala Lajpat Rai took the movement to Punjab and parts of northern India. He was assisted in his venture by Ajit Singh. His articles, which were published in Kayastha Samachar, endorsed technical education and industrial self-sufficiency.

Syed Haider Raza popularised the Swadeshi Movement in Delhi.

Chidambaram Pillai spread the movement to Madras and organised the strike of the Tuticorin Coral Mill. He founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in Tuticorin on the east coast of the Madras Province.

Bipin Chandra Pal of the Extremist clan played a major role in popularising the movement, especially in the urban areas. He was the editor of New India.

Laikat Hossain of Patna suggested boycott and organized the East Indian Railway strike in 1906. He also wrote fiery articles in Urdu to rouse nationalist sentiments in Muslims. He was supported by other Muslim swadeshi agitators like Ghaznavi, Rasul, Din Mohammed, Dedar Bux, Moniruzzaman, Ismail Hussain, Siraji, Abdul Hussain and Abdul Gaffar.

Solution: C

Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO):

• SFIO comes under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).
• It is a multi-disciplinary organisation that investigates and guides prosecution in white-collar fraud requiring expertise in forensic auditing, corporate law, information technology, capital markets, taxation, and other allied fields.
• It was established in 2003, based on recommendations by the Naresh Chandra Committee on Corporate Audit and Governance.
• It received statutory powers under the Companies Act, 2013.
• Cases are assigned to the SFIO based on the scale of financial misappropriation or extent of public interest that is at stake.

Solution: D

Non-cooperation Movement

C.R. Das moved the main resolution on non-cooperation in the annual session of the Congress in Nagpur in 1920 and played a major role in promoting the movement.

J.M. Sengupta, a Bengali nationalist leader, supported the labourers on tea plantations in Assam in their protests and strike.

Basanti Debi, wife of C.R. Das, was one of the first women volunteers to court arrest in 1921.

Birendranath Samsal organised the anti-union board agitation in the Contai and Tamluk sub-divisions of Midnapore. In November-December 1921, Samsal initiated a no-tax movement among the Mahishya substantial tenantry of Midnapore.

Jitendralal Banerji organised the peasants in 1921-22 to resist settlement operations in Bogra, Pabna and Birbhum.

Rajendra Prasad actively supported the Gandhian movement in Bihar.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel spread the movement in Gujarat and regarded non-cooperation as a feasible alternative to revolutionary terrorism to fight against a colonial government.

Motilal Tejawat organised the Bhils and the Bhil movement strengthened the non-cooperation activities.

Alluri Sitaram Raju led the tribals in Andhra and combined their demands with those of the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Solution: D

SANKALP scheme:

• SANKALP is a centrally sponsored scheme of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• It is an outcome focused scheme marking shift in government’s implementation strategy in vocational education and training from inputs to results.
• SANKALP aims to implement the mandate of the National Skill Development Mission (NSDM).
• SANKALP will provide market relevant training to 3.5 crore youth.
• Objective: The Objective of the project is to enhance institutional mechanisms for skills development and increase access to quality and market-relevant training for the work force.

Solution: C

Aurobindo Ghosh was in favour of extending the movement to the rest of India. He was appointed as the principal of Bengal National College founded in 1906 to encourage patriotic thinking and an education system related to Indian conditions and culture. He was also the editor of Bande Mataram and through his editorials encouraged strikes, national education etc., in the spirit of the Swadeshi Movement. He was assisted by Jatindranath Bannerji and Barindrakumar Ghosh (who managed the Anushilan Samiti).

Solution: B

In 1781, Warren Hastings set up the Calcutta Madrassa for the study and teaching of Muslim law and related subjects.

In 1791, Jonathan Duncan started a Sanskrit College at Varanasi, where he himself was the Resident, for studying of Hindu law and philosophy.

However, these institutions were primarily designed to provide a regular supply of qualified Indians to help the administration of law in the courts of the Company.

Solution: A

Adaptation fund:

• Established under the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• It finances projects and programmes that help vulnerable communities in developing countries adapt to climate change.
• Initiatives are based on country needs, views and priorities.

Financing:

• The Fund is financed in part by government and private donors, and also from a two percent share of proceeds of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) issued under the Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism projects.

Governance:

• The Fund is supervised and managed by the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB). The AFB is composed of 16 members and 16 alternates and meets at least twice a year.
• The World Bank serves as trustee of the Adaptation Fund on an interim basis.

Solution: D

Lord Ripon the then Governor-General of India appointed the first Indian Education Commission on February 3, 1882 under the Chairmanship of Sir William Hunter, a member of the Executive Council of Viceroy. So this Commission is popularly known as Hunter Commission.

The Sargent Scheme, formally known as the Report of the Sargent Commission on Post-War Education Development in India, was a 1944 memorandum prepared at the behest of the British-run Government of India that outlined the future development of literacy and education in India. Lord Wavell was the Viceroy of India at that time.

Sir Charles Wood, the President of the Board of Control, had an important effect on spreading English learning and female education in India. When in 1854 he sent a dispatch to Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor-General of India, Wood suggested that primary schools must adopt vernacular languages, high schools must adopt Anglo-vernacular language and at college-level English should be the medium of education. This is known as Wood’s despatch.

Solution: A

Cabinet Secretary

• 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.

Solution: A

Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha is a central institution formed by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar for removing difficulties of the untouchables and placing their grievances before government.

On January 31, 1920, one hundred years ago, Mooknayak newspaper was founded by B.R. Ambedkar. (Thus, important for this year prelims). Mooknayak, literally translates to the leader of voiceless. Despite its short life, Mooknayak laid the foundations of an assertive and organised Dalit politics.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar attended all the three round table conferences.

https://thewire.in/media/mooknayak-ambedkar-newspaper

Solution: D

Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the foremost 20th-century leader of the Pashtuns who became a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and was called the “Frontier Gandhi.”

Soon after attending an Indian National Congress (Congress Party) gathering in 1929, Ghaffar Khan founded the Red Shirt movement (Khudai Khitmatgar) among the Pashtuns.

He strongly opposed the idea of partition of India.

Though usually conferred on India-born citizens, the Bharat Ratna has been awarded to one naturalised citizen – Mother Teresa, and to two non-Indians: Pakistan national Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Nelson Mandela.

Solution: B

eBkry portal:

• Context: Union Finance Ministry has recently launched the eBkry e-auction portal.
• Objective: To enable online auction by banks of attached assets transparently and cleanly for the improved realization of value.

Key features:

• It is framework for promoting online auction of assets attached by the banks.
• It is equipped with the property search features and contains navigational links to all PSBs e-auction sites.
• The framework aims to provide single-window access to information on properties.

Solution: C

In order to prick the conscience of Indian leaders supporting repressive bills in the legislative assembly, Bhagat singh along with BK Dutt threw bombs in the central hall on April 8, 1929. He had good knowledge of explosives but used low intensity bombs. The motive was not to kill but to make the deaf ears listen. He allowed himself to be arrested knowing well that it could be fatal. The purpose also was to use the situation to sensitise the masses. During the trial, in the statement before the Lahore high court, he said: “As a result of the explosion, a few persons received minor scratches. There was pandemonium. Visitors and members of the assembly ran out. Only my friend BK Dutt and myself remained seated in the visitors gallery and offered ourselves for arrest… We are not afraid of any punishment but when saw the coming catastrophe, decided to give a timely warning with a loud voice …Generally a wrong meaning is attributed to the word revolution… Our understanding is that BOMBS AND PISTOLS DO NOT MAKE REVOLUTION. THE SWORD OF REVOLUTION IS SHARPENED ON THE WHETTING-STONE OF IDEAS. By revolution we mean end of the miseries of capitalist wars“.

Solution: D

Operation Twist:

• RBI launched US-style ‘Operation Twist’ to bring down interest rates.
• ‘Operation Twist’ is when the central bank uses the proceeds from sale of short-term securities to buy long-term government debt papers, leading to easing of interest rates on the long-term papers.
• The objective behind such an operation is management of the yield curve.
• It will help to make loans less expensive with those looking to buy homes, cars and make savings less desirable as it doesn’t pay much interest.
• Other central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, have used similar measures. This is the first time RBI has undertaken such an unconventional policy measure with the aim of flattening the yield curve by lowering longer rates to boost lending and growth.