INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS ( 24 March 2021) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• S1: Part 10 of the Indian Constitution entails the provisions related to Scheduled and Tribal Areas with Articles 244 – 244 A. Both the Centre and the State have their roles to play in the administration of the Scheduled areas.
• S2: About the Sixth Schedule:
• It protects tribal populations and provides autonomy to the communities through creation of autonomous development councils that can frame laws on land, public health, agriculture and others.
• As of now, 10 autonomous councils exist in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
• This special provision is provided under Article 244(2) and Article 275(1) of the Constitution.
• Key provisions:
  • The governor is empowered to organise and re-organise the autonomous districts.
  • If there are different tribes in an autonomous district, the governor can divide the district into several autonomous regions.
  • Composition: Each autonomous district has a district council consisting of 30 members, of whom four are nominated by the governor and the remaining 26 are elected on the basis of adult franchise.
  • Term: The elected members hold office for a term of five years (unless the council is dissolved earlier) and nominated members hold office during the pleasure of the governor.
  • Each autonomous region also has a separate regional council.
  • Powers of councils: The district and regional councils administer the areas under their jurisdiction. They can make laws on certain specified matters like land, forests, canal water, shifting cultivation, village administration, inheritance of property, marriage and divorce, social customs and so on. But all such laws require the assent of the governor.
  • Village councils: The district and regional councils within their territorial jurisdictions can constitute village councils or courts for trial of suits and cases between the tribes. They hear appeals from them. The jurisdiction of high court over these suits and cases is specified by the governor.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/03/24/sixth-schedule-areas/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• S1: The Citizenship Act, 1955 prohibits illegal migrants from acquiring Indian citizenship. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act provide that the following minority groups will not be treated as illegal migrants: Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, to get this benefit, they must have also been exempted from the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 by the central government.
• S2: The Act provides that the central government may cancel the registration of OCIs on certain grounds.
• S3: The Act does not apply to tribal areas of Tripura, Mizoram, Assam and Meghalaya because of being included in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution.
  • Also areas that fall under the Inner Limit notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, will also be outside the Act’s purview.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/03/24/citizenship-amendment-act-2019-caa/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017 provide for compensation to the States for the loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the goods and services tax in pursuance of the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.
• Compensation cess was introduced as relief for States for the loss of revenues arising from the implementation of GST. States, in lieu of giving up their powers to collect taxes on goods and services after local levies were subsumed under the GST, were guaranteed a 14 per cent tax revenue growth in the first five years after GST implementation by the Central government. States’ tax revenue as of FY 2016 is considered as the base year for the calculation of this 14 per cent growth. Any shortfall against it is supposed to be compensated by the Centre using the funds specifically collected as compensation cess.
• Compensation cess is levied on products considered to be ‘sin’ or luxury goods.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/03/24/gst-compensation-2/

Ans: (b)

Explanation: About the Indus Water Treaty:

• It is a Water-Distribution Treaty, signed in Karachi on 1960, between India (Pm Jawaharlal Nehru) and Pakistan (President Ayub Khan), brokered by the World Bank.
• Under the treaty, India has control over water flowing in the eastern rivers– Beas, Ravi and Sutlej.
• Pakistan has control over the western rivers– Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.
• As per the treaty, the water commissioners of Pakistan and India are required to meet twice a year and arrange technical visits to projects’ sites and critical river head works.
• Both the sides share details of the water flow and the quantum of water being used under the treaty.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/03/24/indus-water-panel-holds-meeting/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• The Indus is the western most River system in the subcontinent. Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Satluj are its main tributaries. The Indus originates from the Bokhar Chu (glacier) in northern slopes of Mt. Kailash (6714m). more>>

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/03/24/indus-water-panel-holds-meeting/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 European and North American countries.
• The organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.
• NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. NATO’s Headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons, Belgium.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/03/24/u-s-peace-plan/

Ans: (c)

Explanation: About UNHRC:

• UNHRC was reconstituted from its predecessor organisation, the UN Commission on Human Rights to help overcome the “credibility deficit” of the previous organisation.
• Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Composition:
  • The UNHRC has 47 members serving at any time with elections held to fill up seats every year, based on allocations to regions across the world to ensure geographical representation.
  • Each elected member serves for a term of three years.
  • Countries are disallowed from occupying a seat for more than two consecutive terms.
• Functions:
• The UNHRC passes non-binding resolutions on human rights issues through a periodic review of all 193 UN member states called the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
• It oversees expert investigation of violations in specific countries (Special Procedures).

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2021/03/24/un-human-rights-council-6/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve was the first biosphere reserve in India established in the year 1986. It is located in the Western Ghats and includes 2 of the 10 biogeographical provinces of India. Wide ranges of ecosystems and species diversity are found in this region. Thus, it was a natural choice for the premier biosphere reserve of the country.
• The Nilgiri Sub-Cluster is a part of the Western Ghats, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2012.

Refer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_Biosphere_Reserve

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Mukurthi National Park (MNP) is located in the northwest corner of Tamil Nadu in the Western Ghats.
• It is a part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve along with Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole National Park, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Silent Valley.
• Keystone Species: The park was created to protect its keystone species, the Nilgiri Tahr.

Refer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukurthi_National_Park#Geography

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• Sathyamangalam forest range is a significant wildlife corridor in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve between the Western Ghats and the rest of the Eastern Ghats and a genetic link between the four other protected areas which it adjoins, including the Billigiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Sigur Plateau, Mudumalai National Park and Bandipur National Park.

Refer: UPSC CSE 2017