QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 24 March 2021

Solution: a)

Since Independence, a fifth of India’s land has consistently been under forests, despite the population increasing more than three times.

As per the biennial State of Forest Report, 2019, India’s forest cover has increased by 3,976 sq km or 0.56% since 2017. For the second consecutive time since 2007, the report recorded a gain — an impressive 1,275 sq km — in dense forest (including very dense forest with a canopy density of over 70%, and moderately dense forest with a canopy density of 40-70%).

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Solution: c)

Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their functions”. When any of these rights and

immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under law of Parliament.

• A notice is moved in the form of a motion by any member of either House against those being held guilty of breach of privilege.
• A member may, with the consent of the Speaker or the Chairperson, raise a question involving a breach of privilege either of a member or of the House or of a committee thereof. The rules however mandate that any notice should be relating to an incident of recent occurrence and should need the intervention of the House.
• The Speaker/RS chairperson is the first level of scrutiny of a privilege motion. The Speaker/Chair can decide on the privilege motion himself or herself or refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament.

Solution: a)

A bilateral investment treaty (BIT) is an agreement establishing the terms and conditions for private investment by nationals and companies of one state in another state. This type of investment is called foreign direct investment (FDI). BITs are established through trade pacts.

The distinctive feature of many BITs is that they allow for an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, whereby an investor whose rights under the BIT have been violated could have recourse to international arbitration, often under the auspices of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), rather than suing the host State in its own courts. This process is called investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS).

The world’s first BIT was signed on November 25, 1959 between Pakistan and Germany. There are currently more than 2500 BITs in force, involving most countries in the world.

NGOs have spoken against the use of BITs, stating that they are essentially designed to protect foreign investors and do not take into account obligations and standards to protect the environment, labour rights, social provisions or natural resources.

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Solution: a)

Great Indian bustards are large birds with unique black caps over their heads and are found in the Indian subcontinent. They are among the heaviest flying birds in the country and are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act. There are around only 150 of them left in India, according to the report by the wildlife division.

The Supreme Court swooped-in to intervene on behalf of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustards over the birds falling dead after colliding with power lines running through their dwindling natural habitats in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

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Solution: a)

Intellectual Property Rights Policy which is in compliance with WTO’s (World Trade Organisation) agreement on TRIPS (Trade Related aspects of IPRs), aims to sustain entrepreneurship.

As per the WTO norms, a compulsory licensing (CL) can be invoked by a government allowing a company to produce a patented product without the consent of the patent owner in public interest. Under the Indian Patents Act, a CL can be issued for a drug if the medicine is deemed unaffordable, among other conditions, and the government grants permission to qualified generic drug makers to manufacture it.