DAY – 47 ( INSTA REVISION TEST)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2020

Solution: B

The modern postal system, the most preferred facilitator of communication, was established in India by Lord Clive in 1766 and it was further developed by Warren Hastings in 1774. The expansion of its network was made during 1786 to 1793. For the first time, the post offices were regulated through an Act of 1837 on a uniform basis to unite all the post office establishments throughout the then existing three Presidencies into one all-India service. Thereafter, the Post Office Act of 1854 reformed the entire fabric of the postal system and the post offices of India were placed on the present administrative footing on 1st October 1854.

Even though the British established the post office for imperial interests, it along with the railways and telegraph, became one of the greatest engines of social development.

The statute presently governing the postal services in the country is the Indian Post Office Act, 1898. In the mid-19th century, the post office served as facilitator of travel with its conveyance systems and by maintaining the dak bungalows and dak serais. Mail order services were started with the value payable system introduced in 1877, while fund remittances at the doorstep became possible from 1880 through money order services. With the introduction of the Post Office Savings Bank in 1882 banking facilities were accessible to all and by 1884 all government employees were covered by the postal life insurance. Besides providing postal communication facilities, the post office network has also provided facilities for remittance of funds, banking and insurance services since the latter half of the 19th century.

Solution: B

Nirvik Scheme is a new Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS) introduced by Ministry of Commerce and Industry through Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC). 

Under the scheme, ECGC will provide 90% credit insurance cover and any additional outgo would be supported by the government. The scheme is valid for 5 years.

It is to enhance loan availability and ease the lending process. It would give a fillip to export lending and insurance cover for export credit.

Solution: C

The Central Zoo Authority with its headquarters in New Delhi was established in 1992, under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to oversee the functioning of zoos in the country with the view to enhance their role in conservation.

The main objective of the Central Zoo Authority is to enforce minimum standards and norms for upkeep and healthcare of animals in the Indian zoos and to control the mushrooming of ill-conceived, ill planned zoos, to monitor and evaluate the existing zoos and to suggest ways and means for the improvement of zoos in the country so that they can be transferred into potent centers for ex-situ conservation of endangered wild fauna.

Solution: A

Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK), established in 1993 is a national  level  organization  as an  autonomous  body  under the  aegis of  the  Ministry of  Women and Child Development, for socio-economic empowerment  of  women.  The operating model currently followed by RMK is that of a facilitating agency wherein RMK provides loans to NGO-MFIs termed as Intermediary Organizations (IMO) which on-lend to Self Help Groups (SHGs) of women.

Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) is a society, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and an apex micro-finance organization established in 1993. The main objective of RMK is to provide micro-credit to poor women through intermediary organizations (IMO), which includes Section 25 companies, NGOs among others for various livelihood support and income generating activities at concessional terms in a client-friendly procedure to bring about their socio-economic development. The target beneficiaries are entrepreneurs from different economic activities ranging from traditional and modern handicraft to small business such as petty shop, etc. The loans are sanctioned through various schemes of RMK viz., main loan scheme, loan promotion scheme, etc.

Solution: D

Consumer Welfare Fund

The Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944 was amended in 1991 to enable the Central government to create a Consumer Welfare Fund into which unclaimed central excise revenues not refundable to the manufacturers would be credited annually.

The Consumer Welfare Fund was created in 1992 with the objective of providing financial assistance to promote and protect the welfare of the consumer, create consumer awareness and strengthen the voluntary consumer movement in the country, particularly in rural areas.

The Department of Consumer Affairs operates the fund, set up by the Department of Revenue under the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944. Under its Rules, since revised in 2014, any agencies/organizations engaged in consumer welfare activities for at least a period of five years and registered under the Companies Act, Societies Registration Act, Cooperative Societies Act or any other law for the time being in force are eligible for financial assistance from the Fund. A sum of ₹ 26.23 crore was available in the Fund in March 2017. An amount of ₹ 11.65 crore was utilized by December 2017 from the Fund.

Solution: A

Leader of Opposition:

• The LOP is leader of the largest party that has not less than one-tenth of the total strength of the house.
• It is a statutory post defined in the Salaries and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977.
• LoP is referred to as the ‘shadow Prime Minister’.
• She/he is expected to be ready to take over if the government falls.
• The LoP also plays an important role in bringing cohesiveness and effectiveness to the opposition’s functioning in policy and legislative work.
• LoP plays a crucial role in bringing bipartisanship and neutrality to the appointments in institutions of accountability and transparency – CVC, CBI, CIC, Lokpal etc.
• The Speaker needs to recognise him/her as the Leader of Opposition.
• The law is clear that the Speaker is required to recognise the leader of the numerically largest party in opposition as the leader of opposition. The option of not recognising him/her is just not available.

Solution: C

Gram Sabha

• The term Gram Sabha is defined in the Constitution of India under Article 243(b).
• Gram Sabha is the primary body of the Panchayati Raj system and by far the largest.
• It is a permanent body.
• The power to annul a decision of the Gram Sabha rests with the Gram Sabha only.

Composition:

• Persons, those who are above 18 years of age.
• Living in the village.
• Whose names are included in the electoral rolls for the Panchayat at the village level.

Powers and functions:

• Constitution mentions that Gram Sabha exercises such powers and performs such functions at the village level as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide.

Solution: D

Voting Rights of Prisoners

• The right to cast vote is neither a fundamental right nor a common law right and is only provided by a statute.
• The right to vote provided under the statute — Representation of the People Act — was subject to restrictions imposed by the law, which does not allow prisoners to cast vote from jails.

Who can vote and who cannot?

• Under Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, individuals in lawful custody of the police and those serving a sentence of imprisonment after conviction cannot vote. Undertrial prisoners are also excluded from participating in elections even if their names are on electoral rolls.
• Only those under preventive detention can cast their vote through postal ballots.

Solution: A

Advisory Board for Banking Frauds (ABBF)

• The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has constituted an ‘Advisory Board for Banking Frauds (ABBF)’ to examine bank fraud of over ₹50 crore and recommend action.
• Headquartered in Delhi, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will provide required secretarial services, logistic and analytical support along with the necessary funding to the board.

Composition:

• Besides the chairman, the Board consists of three other members.
• The tenure of the Chairman and members would be for a period of two years from 21st August, 2019.

Functions:

• The board’s jurisdiction would be confined to those cases involving the level of officers of General Manager and above in the Public Sector Banks in respect of an allegation of fraud in a borrowal account.
• It would function as the first level of examination of all large fraud cases before recommendations or references are made to the investigative agencies by the respective public sector banks (PSBs).
• Lenders would refer all large fraud cases above ₹50 crore to the board and on receipt of its recommendation or advice, the bank concerned would take further action in such matter.
• The Central Bureau of Investigation may also refer any case or matter to the board where it has any issue or difficulty or in technical matters with the PSB concerned.
• It would also periodically carry out frauds analysis in the financial system and give inputs for policy formulation related to the fraud to the RBI.

Solution: C

e-Course on Vulnerability Atlas of India:

• It is offered by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs in collaboration with School of Planning & Architecture (SPA), New Delhi and Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC).
• Features: It is a unique course that offers awareness and understanding about natural hazards, helps identify regions with high vulnerability with respect to various hazards (earthquakes, cyclones, landslides, floods, etc.) and specifies district-wise level of damage risks to the existing housing stock.

Solution: A

The resolution demands that all parties immediately cease any attacks against civilian targets in Syria, it urges all Member States to support efforts to achieve a ceasefire and requests the U.N. to convene the parties to engage in formal negotiations in early January 2016.

https://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc12171.doc.htm

Solution: C

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched the country’s first electronic surveillance satellite, EMISAT. It was launched on-board PSLV-C45.

EMISAT is an advanced electronic intelligence (ELINT) satellite jointly developed by ISRO-DRDO. It is meant for electromagnetic spectrum measurements. It is modelled after a famous Israeli spy satellite called SARAL (Satellite with ARgos and ALtika).

Solution: D

Einstein’s theory of relativity has important astrophysical implications. For example, it implies the existence of black holes—regions of space in which space and time are distorted in such a way that nothing, not even light, can escape—as an end-state for massive stars.

There is ample evidence that the intense radiation emitted by certain kinds of astronomical objects is due to black holes; for example, micro quasars and active galactic nuclei result from the presence of stellar black holes and super massive black holes, respectively.

The bending of light by gravity can lead to the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, in which multiple images of the same distant astronomical object are visible in the sky.

General relativity also predicts the existence of gravitational waves, which have since been observed directly by the physics collaboration LIGO. In addition, general relativity is the basis of current cosmological models of a consistently expanding universe.

General relativity is Einstein’s law of gravity, his Justification of that fundamental force which holds us to the surface of the Earth. Gravity, Einstein asserted, is caused by warping of space and time or space-time.

Solution: D

As per Calcutta HC decision Aadhar Card is not a proof of citizenship.

UIDAI’s update policy version 2.3 (available on the official website uidai.gov.in) has provisions for deactivation of Aadhaar, which are given below:

If within 2 years of attaining age 5, the child’s biometrics are not updated in Aadhaar database, his/her Aadhaar number will be deactivated (no authentication permissible). It will be reactivated once biometrics are updated in database.

If within 2 years of attaining age 15, the child’s biometrics are not updated in Aadhaar database, his/her Aadhaar number will be deactivated (no authentication permissible). It will be reactivated once biometrics are updated in database.

If Resident has not biometrically authenticated in 5 years, his/her One Time Password (OTP) based authentication services will be deactivated. They will be re-activated once the resident biometrically authenticates.

Solution: A

Solution: D

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has stated that:

• All the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Haryana have been certified Open Defecation Free (ODF), 21 ULBs ODF+ and 13 ODF++.
• All cities in Punjab have been certified ODF, 33 are ODF+ and 17 are ODF++. Chandigarh is certified ODF++ and 3 Star (GFC).

What is ODF tag?

The original ODF protocol, issued in March 2016, said, “A city/ward is notified as ODF city/ward if, at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating in the open.”

What is ODF+, ODF++?

ODF+ and ODF++ were launched in August 2018 to further scale up and sustain the work undertaken by the cities after achieving the ODF status under Phase I of the Swachh Bharat Mission — Urban (SBM-Urban).

Eligibility: Cities that had been certified ODF at least once, on the basis of the ODF protocols, are eligible to declare themselves as SBM-ODF+ & SBM-ODF++.

What is ODF+?

A city, ward or work circle could be declared ODF+ if, “at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating and/or urinating in the open, and all community and public toilets are functional and well-maintained.”

What is ODF++?

The ODF++ protocol adds the condition that “faecal sludge/septage and sewage is safely managed and treated, with no discharging and/or dumping of untreated faecal sludge/septage and sewage in drains, water bodies or open areas.”

Solution: C

Prime Minister Employment Generation Program (PMEGP):

Why in News?

PMEGP projects records 44% implementation jump.

About Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme:

PMEGP is a central sector scheme administered by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME).

Launched in 2008-09, it is a credit-linked subsidy scheme which promotes self-employment through setting up of micro-enterprises, where subsidy up to 35% is provided by the Government through Ministry of MSME for loans up to ₹25 lakhs in manufacturing and ₹10 lakhs in the service sector.

Implementation:

National Level- Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) as the nodal agency.

State Level- State KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs), District Industries Centres (DICs) and banks.

Eligibility:

• Any individual above 18 years of age, Self Help Groups, Institutions registered under Societies Registration Act 1860, Production Co-operative Societies and Charitable Trusts are eligible.
• Existing Units and the units that have already availed Government Subsidy under any other scheme of Government of India or State Government are not eligible.
• Only new projects are considered for sanction under PMEGP.

Solution: A

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana

Context: Registration opens for PM Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana.

Aim: To improve the life of small and marginal farmers of the country.

Salient features of the scheme:

(Note: The list is comprehensive, but important from exam point of view).

1. The scheme is voluntary and contributory for farmers in the entry age group of 18 to 40 years.
2. A monthly pension of Rs. 3000/– will be provided to them on attaining the age of 60 years.
3. The farmers will have to make a monthly contribution of Rs.55 to Rs.200, depending on their age of entry, in the Pension Fund till they reach the retirement date i.e. the age of 60 years.
4. The Central Government will also make an equal contribution of the same amount in the pension fund.
5. The spouse is also eligible to get a separate pension of Rs.3000/- upon making separate contributions to the Fund.
6. The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) shall be the Pension Fund Manager and responsible for Pension pay out.
7. In case of death of the farmer before retirement date, the spouse may continue in the scheme by paying the remaining contributions till the remaining age of the deceased farmer.
8. If the spouse does not wish to continue, the total contribution made by the farmer along with interest will be paid to the spouse.
9. If there is no spouse, then total contribution along with interest will be paid to the nominee.
10. If the farmer dies after the retirement date, the spouse will receive 50% of the pension as Family Pension.
11. After the death of both the farmer and the spouse, the accumulated corpus shall be credited back to the Pension Fund.
12. The beneficiaries may opt voluntarily to exit the Scheme after a minimum period of 5 years of regular contributions.
13. On exit, their entire contribution shall be returned by LIC with an interest equivalent to prevailing saving bank rates.
14. The farmers, who are also beneficiaries of PM-Kisan Scheme, will have the option to allow their contribution debited from the benefit of that Scheme directly.
15. In case of default in making regular contributions, the beneficiaries are allowed to regularize the contributions by paying the outstanding dues along with prescribed interest.

Solution: A

About Seva Bhoj Yojana:

Union Ministry of Culture has launched- ‘Seva Bhoj Yojna’– a scheme to reimburse central share of CGST and IGST on food, prasad, langar or bhandara offered by religious and charitable institutions.

The scheme seeks to reimburse the central government’s share of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) on purchase of raw items such as ghee, edible oil, atta, maida, rava, flour, rice pulses, sugar and jaggery, which go into preparation of food/prasad/langar/bhandara offered free of cost by religious institutions.

The main objective of the scheme is to lessen the financial burden of such charitable religious institutions, which provide free of cost without any discrimination to the general public and devotees.

Eligibility:

The charitable religious institutions including temples, gurudwara, mosque, church, dharmik ashram, dargah, monasteries, which fulfill the following criteria are eligible for the grant:

1. The institutions that have been in existence for at least five years before applying for financial assistance/grant.
2. The institutions that serve free food to at least 5000 people in a month.
3. The institutions covered under Section 10(23BBA) of the Income Tax Act or those registered as Society under Societies Registration Act (XXI of 1860) or as a Public Trust under any law for the time being in force of statuary religious bodies constituted under any Act or institutions registered under Section 12AA of Income Tax Act.

Solution: C

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has announced an initiative by common services centres (CSCs) on women’s health and hygiene. The initiative is named ‘Stree Swabhiman’.

About Stree Swabhiman:

‘Stree Swabhiman’ aims to create a sustainable model for providing adolescent girls and women an access to affordable sanitary products by leveraging CSCs.

Under the ‘Stree Swabhiman’ project, sanitary napkin micro manufacturing units are being set up at CSCs across India, particularly those operated by women entrepreneurs. The initiative is driven by awareness and personalised outreach by women entrepreneurs who produce and market sanitary napkins themselves.

About CSCs:

Common Services Centers (CSCs) are a strategic cornerstone of the Digital India programme. They are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society.

CSCs enable the three vision areas of the Digital India programme:

• Digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen.
• Governance and services on demand.
• Digital empowerment of citizens.

Solution: A

India’s electronic vaccine intelligence network project also known as eVIN project has got the attention of five countries. Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Thailand are mulling to replicate India’s immunisation project.

About the eVIN project:

eVIN is an indigenously developed technology system in India that digitizes vaccine stocks and monitors the temperature of the cold chain through a smartphone application. The eVIN is presently being implemented across twelve states in India.

eVIN aims to support India’s ‘Universal Immunisation Programme’ by providing real-time information on vaccine stocks and flows, and storage temperatures across all cold chain points in states. The project is being implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

eVIN project focus on three things – technology, governance and human resources:

• Under this project, technology enable an evidence-based decision-making by making available online real-time information on vaccine stocks and storage temperature through the eVIN application software and temperature loggers.
• To ensure efficient vaccine logistics management by systemising record keeping through standardising stock and distribution registers; identifying gaps and improving clarity on vaccine cold chain network; drawing attention to infrastructure upgrades; developing standard operating procedures; and encouraging good practices.
• To empower the state cold chain network by building the capacities of government cold chain handlers; and deploying vaccine and cold chain managers in every district for constant support to estimate vaccine requirements, supervise cold chain handlers and coordinate with cold chain technicians across the district.

Solution: C

NISHTHA– National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement

Context: Union HRD Minister launched the first on-line NISHTHA programme for 1,200 Key Resources Persons of Andhra Pradesh.

• These resource persons will help in the mentoring of teachers of Andhra Pradesh, who will take online NISHTHA training on DIKSHA later on.

About NISHTHA:

The initiative is an Integrated Teacher Training Programme of the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of HRD as part of its National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the Elementary level under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha.

• In 2019, NISHTHA was launched in face-to-face mode. Thereafter, 33 states/UTs have launched this programme in their states/UTs.
• Around 23,000 Key Resource Persons and 17.5 lakh teachers and school heads have been covered under this NISHTHA face to face mode till date.

Features:

It has activity-based modules including educational games and quizzes, Social-emotional learning, motivational interactions, team building, preparation for school-based assessment, in-built continuous feedback mechanism, online monitoring and support system, training need and impact analysis (Pre and Post training).

Solution: B

National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) Scheme

Context: Ministry of HRD announces National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) Scheme for using better technology for better learning outcomes in Higher Education.

The objective is to use Artificial Intelligence to make learning more personalized and customized as per the requirements of the learner.

How it works?

1. MHRD would act as a facilitator to ensure that the solutions are freely available to a large number of economically backward students.
2. MHRD would create and maintain a National NEAT platform that would provide one-stop access to these technological solutions.
3. EdTech companies would be responsible for developing solutions and manage registration of learners through the NEAT portal.
4. They would be free to charge fees as per their policy.
5. As their contribution towards the National cause, they would have to offer free coupons to the extent of 25% of the total registrations for their solution through NEAT portal.
6. MHRD would distribute the free coupons for learning to the most socially/economically backward students.
7. AICTE would be the implementing agency for NEAT programme.

Solution: B

Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana:

Why in News?

Relaxation in eligibility criteria and enhancement in the payment of unemployment benefits under the Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana of ESIC.

About Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana:

Launched by the Employee’s State Insurance (ESI) in 2018.

Aim: It aims to financially support those who lost their jobs or rendered jobless for whatsoever reasons due to changing employment pattern.

What are the latest changes?

Eligibility criteria for availing the relief has been relaxed, as under:

1. The payment of relief has been enhanced to 50% of average of wages from earlier 25% of average wages payable upto maximum 90 days of unemployment.
2. Instead of the relief becoming payable 90 days after unemployment, it shall become due for payment after 30 days.
3. The Insured Person can submit the claim directly to ESIC Branch Office instead of the claim being forwarded by the last employer and the payment shall be made directly in the bank account of IP.
4. The Insured Person should have been insurable employment for a minimum period of 2 years before his/her unemployment and should have contributed for not les than 78 days in the contribution period immediately preceding to unemployment and minimum 78 days in one of the remaining 3 contribution periods in 02 years prior to unemployment.

Solution: A

Nyaya Mitra scheme is aimed at reducing pendency of cases across selected districts, with special focus on those pending for more than 10 years

Functionalized through a retired judicial or executive officer (with legal experience) designated as the ‘Nyaya Mitra’, the project would be operated out of District Facilitation Centres, housed in Common Service Centres (CSCs).

• Nyaya Mitra Responsibilities:

o Assistance to litigants who are suffering due to delay in investigations or trial.

o Providing legal advice and connecting litigants to District Legal Service Authority (DLSA), CSC Tele Law, other government agencies and civil society organisations.

o Refer the marginalized applicants to Lok Adalats for dispute resolution.

o Render assistance towards prison reforms within the district, incoordination with the district judiciary and other stakeholders