DAY – 28 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2020

Solution: B

Government has launched One Nation-One Ration Card scheme on pilot basis in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra and Gujarat.

Families who have food security cards can buy subsidized rice and wheat from any ration shop in these states but their ration cards should be linked with Aadhar Number to avail this service.

About the scheme:

One Nation One Ration Card (RC) will ensure all beneficiaries especially migrants can access PDS across the nation from any PDS shop of their own choice.

Benefits: no poor person is deprived of getting subsidised foodgrains under the food security scheme when they shift from one place to another. It also aims to remove the chance of anyone holding more than one ration card to avail benefits from different states.

Significance: This will provide freedom to the beneficiaries as they will not be tied to any one PDS shop and reduce their dependence on shop owners and curtail instances of corruption.

Standard format of ‘one nation, one ration card’:

A standard format for ration card has been prepared after taking into account the format used by different states.

• For national portability, the state governments have been asked to issue the ration card in bi-lingual format, wherein besides the local language, the other language could be Hindi or English.
• The states have also been told to have a 10-digit standard ration card number, wherein first two digits will be state code and the next two digits will be running ration card numbers.
• Besides this, a set of another two digits will be appended with ration card number to create unique member IDs for each member of the household in a ration card.

Solution: B

Following are the components of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: —

PRADHAN MANTRI GARIB KALYAN PACKAGE

1. Insurance scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19 in Government Hospitals and Health Care Centres

• Safai karamcharis, ward-boys, nurses, ASHA workers, paramedics, technicians, doctors and specialists and other health workers would be covered by a Special insurance Scheme.
• Any health professional, who while treating Covid-19 patients, meet with some accident, then he/she would be compensated with an amount of Rs 50 lakh under the scheme.
• All government health centres, wellness centres and hospitals of Centre as well as States would be covered under this scheme  approximately 22 lakh health workers would be provided insurance cover to fight this pandemic.

1. PM Garib Kalyan Ann (अन्न) Yojana

• Government of India would not allow anybody, especially any poor family, to suffer on account of non-availability of food grains due to disruption in the next three months.
• 80 crore individuals, i.e, roughly two-thirds of India’s population would be covered under this scheme.
• Each one of them would be provided double of their current entitlement over next three months.
• This additionality would be free of cost.

Pulses:

• To ensure adequate availability of protein to all the above-mentioned individuals, 1 kg per family, would be provided pulses according to regional preferences for next three months.
• These pulses would be provided free of cost by the Government of India.

 III. Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana,

Benefit to farmers:

• The first instalment of Rs 2,000 due in 2020-21 will be front-loaded and paid in April 2020 itself under the PM KISAN Yojana.

• It would cover 8.7 crore farmers

1. Cash transfers Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana:

Help to Poor:

• A total of 20.40 crores PMJDY women account-holders would be given ex-gratia of Rs 500 per month for next three months.

Gas cylinders:

• Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, gas cylinders, free of cost, would be provided to 8 crore poor families for the next three months.

Help to low wage earners in organised sectors:

• Wage-earners below Rs 15,000 per month in businesses having less than 100 workers are at risk of losing their employment.
• Under this package, government proposes to pay 24 percent of their monthly wages into their PF accounts for next three months.
• This would prevent disruption in their employment.

Support for senior citizens (above 60 years), widows and Divyang:

• There are around 3 crore aged widows and people in Divyang category who are vulnerable due to economic disruption caused by COVID-19.
• Government will give them Rs 1,000 to tide over difficulties during next three months.

MNREGA

• Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, MNREGA wages would be increased by Rs 20 with effect from 1 April, 2020. Wage increase under MNREGA will provide an additional Rs 2,000 benefit annually to a worker.
• This will benefit approximately 13.62 crore families.

1. Self-Help groups:

• Women organised through 63 lakhs Self Help Groups (SHGs) support 6.85 crore households.

1. Limit of collateral free lending would be increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20 lakhs.

1. Other components of PM Garib Kalyan package

Organised sector:

• Employees’ Provident Fund Regulations will be amended to include Pandemic as the reason to allow non-refundable advance of 75 percent of the amount or three months of the wages, whichever is lower, from their accounts.
• Families of four crore workers registered under EPF can take benefit of this window.

Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Fund:

• Welfare Fund for Building and Other Constructions Workers has been created under a Central Government Act.
• There are around 3.5 Crore registered workers in the Fund.
• State Governments will be given directions to utilise this fund to provide assistance and support to these workers to protect them against economic disruptions.

District Mineral Fund

• The State Government will be asked to utilise the funds available under District Mineral Fund (DMF) for supplementing and augmenting facilities of medical testing, screening and other requirements in connection with preventing the spread of CVID-19 pandemic as well as treating the patients affected with this pandemic.

Solution: C

Lala Lajpat Rai was popularly called Punjab Kesari, Rai was born in Punjab’s Moga in 1865. Early in life, he became a follower of Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj.

He joined the Indian National Congress at the age of 16. In 1885, Rai established the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic School in Lahore.

He founded the Indian Home Rule League of America in New York City in 1917. Rai was elected President of the Indian National Congress during its Special Session in Kolkata in 1920, which saw the launch of Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-cooperation Movement.

Solution: C

The enactment of the National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013 on July 5, 2013 marks a paradigm shift in the approach to food security from welfare to rights based approach. The Act legally entitles upto 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System. About two thirds of the population therefore is covered under the Act to receive highly subsidised foodgrains. The National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013is being implemented in all the States/UTs, on an all India basis.

• Seventy five percent of rural and 50 percent of the urban population are entitled for three years from enactment to five kg food grains per month at 3 , 2 , 1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains (millet), respectively.
• The states are responsible for determining eligibility.
• Pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to a nutritious “take home ration” of 600 Calories and a maternity benefit of at least Rs 6,000 for six months.
• Children 6 months to 14 years of age are to receive free hot meals or “take home rations”.
• The central government will provide funds to states in case of short supplies of food grains.
• The current food grain allocation of the states will be protected by the central government for at least six months.
• The state governments will provide a food security allowance to the beneficiaries in case of non-supply of food grains.
• The Public Distribution System is to be reformed.
• The eldest woman in the household, 18 years or above, is the head of the household for the issuance of the ration card.
• There will be state- and district-level redress mechanisms.
• State Food Commissions will be formed for implementation and monitoring of the provisions of the Act.

Solution: A

African cheetahs, to be translocated in India from Namibia, will be kept at Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)

Nauradehi is one of the most suitable area for the cheetahs as its forests are not very dense to restrict the fast movement of Cheetahs.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/cheetahs-from-namibia-to-be-kept-at-nauradehi-sanctuary-ntca-tells-sc/articleshow/68114800.cms?from=mdr

Solution: D

Crops covered

Government announces minimum support prices (MSPs) for 22 mandated crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane. The mandated crops are 14 crops of the kharif season, 6 rabi crops and two other commercial crops. In addition, the MSPs of toria and de-husked coconut are fixed on the basis of the MSPs of rapeseed/mustard and copra, respectively. The list of crops are as follows.

• Cereals (7) – paddy, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize and ragi
• Pulses (5) – gram, arhar/tur, moong, urad and lentil
• Oilseeds (8) – groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, toria, soyabean, sunflower seed, sesamum, safflower seed and nigerseed
• Raw cotton
• Raw jute
• Copra
• De-husked coconut
• Sugarcane (Fair and remunerative price)
• Virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco

Solution: B

The Food Corporation of India was setup under the Food Corporation’s Act 1964 , in order to fulfill following objectives of the Food Policy:

• Effective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers.
• Distribution of foodgrains throughout the country for public distribution system.
• Maintaining satisfactory level of operational and buffer stocks of foodgrains to ensure National Food Security

Since its inception, FCI has played a significant role in India’s success in transforming the crisis management oriented food security into a stable security system.

In its 50 years of service to the nation, FCI has played a significant role in India’s success in transforming the crisis management oriented food security into a stable security system. FCI’s Objectives are:

• To provide farmers remunerative prices
• To make food grains available at reasonable prices, particularly to vulnerable section of the society
• To maintain buffer stocks as measure of Food Security
• To intervene in market for price stabilization

Solution: B

Cloud seeding is a way to artificially tweak rain. It is also known by other terms such as man-made precipitation enhancement, artificial weather modification, rainmaking and so on.

The technology sprays particles of salts like silver iodide and chloride on clouds using a special aircraft, rockets or from dispersion devices located on the ground. Potassium Iodide and Dry ice are also used for cloud seeding.

These salt particles act as a core (cloud condensation nuclei or ice-nucleating particles) which draw water vapour within the cloud towards them and the moisture latches on, condensing into water droplets leading to the formation of raindrops.

The goal of cloud seeding is to alter the natural development of the cloud to enhance precipitation, suppress hail, dissipate fog, or reduce lightning.

https://india.mongabay.com/2019/08/what-is-cloud-seeding/

Solution: C

Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) refers to selling of foodgrains by Government / Government agencies at predetermined prices in the open market from time to time to enhance the supply of grains especially during the lean season and thereby to moderate the general open market prices especially in the deficit regions.

In addition to maintaining buffer stocks and making a provision for meeting the requirement of the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS), Food Corporation of India (FCI) on the instructions from the Government, sells wheat and rice in the open market from time to time to enhance the supply of wheat and rice especially during the lean season and to moderate the open market prices especially in the deficit regions. For transparency in operations, the Corporation has switched over to e- auction for sale under Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic). The FCI conducts a weekly auction to conduct this scheme in the open market using the platform of commodity exchange NCDEX (National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited). The State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations are also allowed to participate in the e-auction, if they require wheat and rice outside TPDS & OWS.

Solution: A

Under – nutrition continues to adversely affect majority of women in India. In India, every third woman is undernourished and every second woman is anaemic. An undernourished mother almost inevitably gives birth to a low birth weight baby.

When poor nutrition starts in – utero, it extends throughout the life cycle since the changes are largely irreversible. Owing to economic and social distress many women continue to work to earn a living for their family right up to the last days of their pregnancy.

Furthermore, they resume working soon after childbirth, even though their bodies might not permit it, thus preventing their bodies from fully recovering on one hand, and also impeding their ability to exclusively breastfeed their young infant in the first six months.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a Maternity Benefit Programme that is implemented in all the districts of the country in accordance with the provision of the National Food Security Act, 2013.

All Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers, excluding PW&LM who are in regular employment with the Central Government or the State Governments or PSUs are eligible for the scheme.

http://vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/women-and-child-development/women-development-1/pradhan-mantri-matru-vandana-yojana

Solution: A

Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)

AAY was a step in the direction of making TPDS aim at reducing hunger among the poorest segments of the BPL population. A National Sample Survey Exercise pointed towards the fact that about 5% of the total population in the country sleeps without two square meals a day. This section of the population could be called as “hungry”. In order to make TPDS more focused and targeted towards this category of population, the “Antyodaya Anna Yojana” (AAY) was launched in December, 2000 for one crore poorest of the poor families.

AAY involved identification of one crore poorest of the poor families from amongst the number of BPL families covered under TPDS within the States and providing them food grains at a highly subsidized rate of Rs.2/- per kg. for wheat and Rs.3/- per kg for rice. The States/UTs were required to bear the distribution cost, including margin to dealers and retailers as well as the transportation cost. Thus the entire food subsidy was passed on to the consumers under the scheme.

The scale of issue that was initially 25 kg per family per month was increased to 35 kg per family per month with effect from 1st April 2002.

Solution: D

Model APMC Act 2003

Salient Features of the Model Act on Agricultural Marketing

The APMC have been made specifically responsible for:

1. Ensuring complete transparency in pricing system and transactions taking place in market area;
2. Providing market-led extension services to farmers;
3. Ensuring payment for agricultural produce sold by farmers on the same day;
4. Promoting agricultural processing including activities for value addition in agricultural produce;

Solution: B

Changpa are a semi-nomadic Tibetan people found mainly in the Changtang in Ladakh and in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Changpa or Champa are a semi-nomadic Tibetan people found mainly in the Changtang in Ladakh and in Jammu and Kashmir.

A smaller number resides in the western regions of the Tibet Autonomous Region and were partially relocated for the establishment of the Changtang Nature Reserve. As of 1989 there were half a million nomads living in the Changtang area.

Solution: C

Salient features of Model Contract Farming Act, 2018

• The Act lays special emphasis on protecting the interests of the farmers, considering them as weaker of the two parties entering into a contract.
• In addition to contract farming, services contracts all along the value chain including pre-production, production and post-production have been included.
• “Registering and Agreement Recording Committee” or an “Officer” for the purpose at district/block/ taluka level for online registration of sponsor and recording of agreement provided.
• Contracted produce is to be covered under crop / livestock insurance in operation.
• Contract framing to be outside the ambit of APMC Act.
• No permanent structure can be developed on farmers’ land/premises
• No right, title of interest of the land shall vest in the sponsor.
• Promotion of Farmer Producer Organization (FPOs) / Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) to mobilize small and marginal farmers has been provided.

• FPO/FPC can be a contracting party if so authorized by the farmers.
• No rights, title ownership or possession to be transferred or alienated or vested in the contract farming sponsor etc.
• Ensuring buying of entire pre-agreed quantity of one or more of agricultural produce, livestock or its product of contract farming producer as per contract.
• Contract Farming Facilitation Group (CFFG) for promoting contract farming and services at village / panchayat level provided.
• Accessible and simple dispute settlement mechanism at the lowest level possible provided for quick disposal of disputes.
• It is a promotional and facilitative Act and not regulatory in its structure.

Solution: C

The Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index is a composite indicator to assess international trade logistics across states and Union territories. It is based on a stakeholders’ survey conducted by Deloitte for the ministry of commerce and industry. LEADS is loosely based on the World Bank’s biannual Logistics Performance Index (LPI). LEADS is based on eight parameters such as infrastructure, services, timeliness, track and trace, competitiveness of pricing, safety of cargo, operating environment and regulatory process.

Solution: D

Current APMC system

At time of Independence, a moneylenders or trader in villages mainly controls the whole distribution system of agriculture commodities; consequently farmers were trapped into a perpetual debt instead of getting any profit. Hence to overcome this problem, different state enacted their APMC acts to set up Agricultural Markets. 
Features of APMC Act

1. a)  The state is divided into different markets based on geography and many principal or sub markets established in various parts of the state. Once a particular area is declared a market area and falls under the jurisdiction of a Market Committee, no person or agency is allowed freely to carry on wholesale marketing activities. 
2. b)  These markets are managed by the Market Committees constituted by the State Governments. Market Committee generally composes of 10-20 members who are either elected or nominated by govt but elections are rare.
3. c)  Market committee authorizes various commission agents or traders to carry out various procurement and distribution activities related to agriculture produce. In other words, license raj is prevalent in today’s liberalized India as traders had to take license before carrying out any activity.

Solution: C

Sikkim is the first fully organic state in India and Mizoram is popularly called as ‘Bamboo Queen of India’.

Solution: D

Hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs):

Hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are a large group of compounds, whose structure is very close to that of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), but including one or more hydrogen atoms.

• Under normal conditions, HCFCs are gases or liquids which evaporate easily. They are generally fairly stable and unreactive.
• They are less stable than CFCs because HCFC molecules contain carbon-hydrogen bonds.
• They have shorter atmospheric lifetimes than CFCs and deliver less reactive chlorine to the stratosphere.
• HCFCs do not usually dissolve in water, but do dissolve in organic (carbon-containing) solvents.
• HCFCs are chemically similar to Hydrobromofluorocarbons (HBFCs), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Halons and therefore display some similar properties, though they are much less stable and persistent.
• HCFCs are also part of a group of chemicals known as the volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Solution: D

A C4 plant carries out C4 photosynthesis is a plant that cycles carbon dioxide into four-carbon sugar compounds to enter into the Calvin cycle.

These plants are very efficient in hot, dry climates and make a lot of energy. Many foods we eat are C4 plants, like corn, pineapple, and sugar cane.

Solution: B

Private Member:

Any MP who is not a Minister is referred to as a private member.

What are Government Bills?

• Bills introduced by Ministers are referred to as government bills.
• They are backed by the government, and reflect its legislative agenda. Private member’s bills purpose is to draw the government’s attention to what individual MPs see as issues and gaps in the existing legal framework, which require legislative intervention.

Introduction in the House:

• The admissibility of a private member’s Bill is decided by the Rajya Sabha Chairman. In the case of Lok Sabha, it is the Speaker; the procedure is roughly the same for both Houses.
• The Member must give at least a month’s notice before the Bill can be listed for introduction; the House secretariat examines it for compliance with constitutional provisions and rules on legislation before listing.
• Up to 1997, private members could introduce up to three Bills in a week. This led to a piling up of Bills that were introduced but never discussed; Chairman K R Narayanan, therefore, capped the number of private member’s Bills to three per session.
• While government Bills can be introduced and discussed on any day, private member’s Bills can be introduced and discussed only on Fridays.
• Fourteen private member’s Bills — five of which were introduced in Rajya Sabha — have become law so far.
• They can bring in constitutional amendment bills but not money bills.

Solution: C

The Kharif crops include rice, maize, sorghum, pearl millet/bajra, finger millet/ragi (cereals), arhar (pulses), soyabean, groundnut (oilseeds), cotton etc.

The Rabi crops include wheat, barley, oats (cereals), chickpea/gram (pulses), linseed, mustard (oilseeds) etc.

Solution: D

FRP is the minimum price that sugar mills have to pay to sugarcane farmers. It is determined on basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and after consultation with State Governments and other stake-holders.

It is approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister

The final FRP is arrived by taking into account various factors such as cost of production, domestic and international prices, overall demand-supply situation,inter-crop price parity, terms of trade prices of primary by-products and its impact on general price level and resource use efficiency.

Solution: C

Anti-defection law:

The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by the 52nd Amendment Act.

• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.
• The decision on question as to disqualification on ground of defection is referred to the Chairman or the Speaker of such House, and his decision is final.
• The law applies to both Parliament and state assemblies.

Disqualification:

If a member of a house belonging to a political party:

• Voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party, or
• Votes, or does not vote in the legislature, contrary to the directions of his political party. However, if the member has taken prior permission, or is condoned by the party within 15 days from such voting or abstention, the member shall not be disqualified.
• If an independent candidate joins a political party after the election.
• If a nominated member joins a party six months after he becomes a member of the legislature.

Exceptions under the law:

Legislators may change their party without the risk of disqualification in certain circumstances.

• The law allows a party to merge with or into another party provided that at least two-thirds of its legislators are in favour of the merger.
• In such a scenario, neither the members who decide to merge, nor the ones who stay with the original party will face disqualification.

The law does not specify a time-period for the Presiding Officer to decide on a disqualification plea. The Supreme Court asked the State Assembly Speaker to decide the disqualification petition in four weeks.

Solution: B

The Beej Bachao Andolan, or Save the Seeds movement began in the late 1980s as a group of activists from the Henwal River Valley in Tehri district (Uttarakhand, India), led by Vijay Jardhari, drew links between the erosion of agricultural biodiversity and rural livelihoods, and sought to preserve the people’s cultural and scientific patrimony, as well as fight back against agrarian policies that favor corporate agribusiness at the expense of small farmers.

Solution: B

OCI cardholders:

• Government of India launched the ‘Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme’ by making amendments to Citizenship Act, 1955 in 2005.
• On 09 January 2015, the Government of India discontinued the PIO card and merged it with OCI card.

Eligibility:

Government of India allows the following categories of foreign nationals to apply for OCI Card.

Exceptions:

Anyone who is applying for OCI card should hold a valid Passport of another country.

• Individuals who do not have citizenship of any other country are not eligible to gain an OCI status.
• Individuals whose parents or grandparents hold citizenship of Pakistan and Bangladesh are not eligible to apply.

Benefits for OCI cardholders:

• Lifelong Visa to visit India multiple times. (special permission needed for research work in India).
• No need to register with Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) or Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) for any length of stay.
• Except for acquisition of agricultural and plantation properties, OCI card holders have similar facilities that are extended to NRIs in economic, financial and educational fields.
• Same treatment as of NRIs in respect to Inter-country adoption of Indian children.
• Also treated at par with NRIs regarding – entry fees for national monuments, practice of professions like doctors, dentists, nurses, advocates, architects, Chartered Accountants & Pharmacists.
• At par with NRIs to participate in All India Pre-medical tests and such.
• Treated at par with Indian citizens in matters of traffic in airfares in Indian domestic sectors.
• Same entry fee as for Indians for entry into India’s national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
• OCI booklet can be used as identification to avail services. An affidavit can be attached with local address as residential proof.

There are certain restrictions placed on OCI card holders:

• Do not have right to vote.
• Do not have right to any public service/government jobs
• Cannot hold offices of – Prime Minister, President, Vice -President, Judge of Supreme Court and High Court, Member of Parliament or Member of state legislative assembly or council.
• Cannot own agricultural property.