DAY – 24 (InstaTest-24): Insta 70 Days Revision Plan-2021: Topic – POLITY, Subject-wise Test 22 &23 , Textbook-wise Tests 10, 12& 26 Revision , December 2020 CA

Solution: A

A state cannot raise any loan without the consent of the Centre, if there is still out-standing any part of a loan made to the state by the Centre or in respect of which a guarantee has been given by the Centre. Hence Statement 1 is correct.

The Central government can make loans to any state or give guarantees in respect of loans raised by any state. Any sums required for the purpose of making such loans are to be charged on the Consolidated Fund of India. Hence Statement 2 is incorrect.

Solution: D

All the statements given above are correct.

Sarkaria Commission

In 1983, the Central government appointed a three-member Commission on Centre–state relations under the chairmanship of R S Sarkaria, a retired judge of the Supreme Court.

The Commission made 247 recommendations to improve Centre–state relations. The important recommendations are mentioned below:

1. A permanent Inter-State Council called the Inter-Governmental Council should be set up under Article 263.
   2. Article 356 (President’s Rule) should be used very sparingly, in extreme cases as a last resort when all the available alternatives fail.
2. When the president withholds his assent to the state bills, the reasons should be communicated to the state government.
3. The Centre should have powers to deploy its armed forces, even without the consent of states.

Solution: B

All the statements given above are correct.

President can appoint any member of the Lok Sabha to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker fall vacant.  Similarly, he can also appoint any member of the Rajya Sabha to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman fall vacant.

He appoints the prime minister and the other ministers. They hold office during his pleasure.

Solution: C

He can promulgate an ordinance only when both the Houses of Parliament are not in session or when either of the two Houses of Parliament is not in session. An ordinance can also be issued when only one House is in session because a law can be passed by both the Houses and not by one House alone.

An ordinance like any other legislation, can be retrospective, that is, it may come into force from a back date. It may modify or repeal any act of Parliament or another ordinance. It can alter or amend a tax law also.

Solution: A

Solution: A

The Rajya Sabha is the Upper House (Second Chamber or House of Elders) and the Lok Sabha is the Lower House (First Chamber or Popular House). The former represents the states and union territories of the Indian Union, while the latter represents the people of India as a whole. Hence Statement 1 is correct.

The representatives of states in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the
elected members of state legislative assemblies. The election is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Hence Statement 2 is incorrect.

Solution: A

The Constitution has empowered the Parliament to prescribe the manner of choosing the representatives of the union territories in the Lok Sabha.
Accordingly, the Parliament has enacted the Union Territories (Direct Election to the House of the People) Act, 1965, by which the members of Lok Sabha from the union territories are also chosen by direct election. Hence Statement 1 is correct.

Unlike the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha is not a continuing chamber. Its normal term is five years from the date of its first meeting after the general elections, after which it automatically dissolves. Hence Statement 2 is correct.

However, the President is authorised to dissolve the Lok Sabha at any time even before the completion of five years and this cannot be challenged in a court of law.

The Constitution has not fixed the term of office of members of the Rajya Sabha and left it to the Parliament. Accordingly, the Parliament in the Representation of the People Act (1951) provided that the term of office of a member of the Rajya Sabha shall be six years. Hence Statement 3 is incorrect.

Solution: A

A member wishing to raise a matter shall give notice in writing to the Secretary-General three days in advance of the day on which the matter is desired to be raised, and shall shortly specify the point or points that he wishes to raise: Provided that the notice shall be accompanied by an explanatory note stating the reasons for raising discussion on the matter in question. Hence Statement 2 is incorrect.

The speaker is not obliged to admit the motion if it focuses on changing an existing government policy, since it no half-hour discussion motions are passed by the house and thus they are admitted entirely on the request of the member. Hence Statement 1 is correct.

Solution: B

The speaker has the following powers and duties:

• He maintains order and decorum in the House for conducting its business and regulating its proceedings. This is his primary responsibility and he has final power in this regard.
• He is the final interpreter of the provisions of (a) the Constitution of India, (b) the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha, and (c) the parliamentary precedents, within the House.
• He adjourns the House or suspends the meeting in absence of a quorum. The quorum to constitute a meeting of the House is one-tenth of the total strength of the House.

Solution: D

Socialistic Principles
These principles reflect the ideology of socialism. They lay down the framework of a democratic socialist state, aim at providing social and economic justice, and set the path towards welfare state.
They direct the state:
1. To promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order permeated by justice—
social, economic and political—and to minimise inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities4 (Article 38).
2. To secure (a) the right to adequate means of livelihood for all citizens; (b) the equitable distribution of material resources of the community for the common good; (c) prevention of concentration of wealth and means of production; (d) equal pay for equal work for men and women; (e) preservation of the health and strength of workers and children against forcible
abuse; and (f) opportunities for healthy development of children5 (Article 39).

3. To promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to the poor6 (Article 39 A).
   4. To secure the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement (Article 41).
   5. To make provision for just and humane conditions for work and maternity relief (Article 42).
   6. To secure a living wage7, a decent standard of life and social and cultural opportunities for all workers (Article 43).
   7. To take steps to secure the participation of workers in the management of industries (Article 43 A).
   8. To raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living of people and to improve public health (Article 47).

Solution: A

Solution: B

The Earth takes 365¼ days (one year) to revolve around the sun. We consider a year as consisting of 365 days only and ignore six hours for
the sake of convenience.

Six hours saved every year are added to make one day (24 hours) over a span of four years. This surplus day is added to the month of February. Thus every fourth year, February is of 29 days instead of 28 days. Such a year with 366 days is called a leap year.

The changes in the seasons on the Earth is because of the revolution of the Earth around the Sun. The phenomena of Day and Night is due to the rotation of the Earth on its own axis.

Solution: D

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health and development threat. It requires urgent multisectoral action in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). WHO has declared that AMR is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity.

Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens. Lack of clean water and sanitation and inadequate infection prevention and control promotes the spread of microbes, some of which can be resistant to antimicrobial treatment.

What are antimicrobials?

Antimicrobials – including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics – are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants.

What is antimicrobial resistance?

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.

In summary, the 6 main causes of antibiotic resistance have been linked to:

• Over-prescription of antibiotics
• Patients not finishing the entire antibiotic course
• Overuse of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming
• Poor infection control in health care settings
• Poor hygiene and sanitation
• Absence of new antibiotics being discovered.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance

Solution: C

The Green Anaconda snake is a non-venomous boa species found in South America. It is the heaviest and one of the longest known extant snake species.

Anacondas live in swamps, marshes, and slow-moving streams, mainly in the tropical rainforests of the Amazon and Orinoco basins.

Solution: D

Langtang National Park was established in 1976 as Nepal’s first Himalayan national park and the country’s fourth protected area.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/india-provides-154-billion-rupees-to-nepal-as-post-earthquake-assistance-indian-embassy/article32687027.ece

Solution: B

About GI Tag

What is it?

A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.

Significance of a GI tag:

Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.

Security:

Once the GI protection is granted, no other producer can misuse the name to market similar products. It also provides comfort to customers about the authenticity of that product.

Who is a registered proprietor of a geographical indication?

Any association of persons, producers, organisation or authority established by or under the law can be a registered proprietor.

Their name should be entered in the Register of Geographical Indication as registered proprietor for the Geographical Indication applied for.

How long the registration of Geographical Indication is valid?

• The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years.
• It can be renewed from time to time for further period of 10 years each.

What is the difference between a geographical indication and a trademark?

• A trademark is a sign used by an enterprise to distinguish its goods and services from those of other enterprises. It gives its owner the right to exclude others from using the trademark.
• A geographical indication tells consumers that a product is produced in a certain place and has certain characteristics that are due to that place of production. It may be used by all producers who make their products in the place designated by a geographical indication and whose products share typical qualities.

Who accords and regulates Geographical Indications?

At the International level: Geographical Indications are covered as a component of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. GI is also governed by the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

In India, Geographical Indications registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 which came into force with effect from September 2003. The first product in India to be accorded with GI tag was Darjeeling tea in the year 2004-05.

Solution: A

Narrative reliefs at Bharhut show how artisans used the pictorial language very effectively to communicate stories. In one such narrative, showing Queen Mayadevi’s (mother of Siddhartha Gautam) dream, a descending elephant is shown. The queen is shown reclining on the bed whereas an elephant is shown on the top heading towards the womb of Queen Mayadevi.

Solution: C

Tropical grasslands occur on either side of the equator and extend till the
tropics. This vegetation grows in the areas of moderate to low amount of
rainfall. The grass can grow very tall, about 3 to 4 metres in height. Savannah grasslands of Africa are of this type. Elephants, zebras,
giraffes, deer, leopards are common in tropical grasslands

Temperate grasslands are found in the mid latitudinal zones and in the interior part of the continents. Usually, grass here is short and nutritious. Wild buffaloes, bisons, antilopes are common in the temperate region

Grasslands are known by different names in different regions.

Tropical Grasslands:
East Africa- Savanna
Brazil- Campos
Venezuela- Llanos

Temperate Grasslands:
Argentina- Pampas
N. America- Prairie
South Africa- Veld
Central Asia- Steppe
Australia- Down

Solution: D

Features of Money Bills

Essentially a Money bill has the following features:

It can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha (lower chamber of the Parliament).

The bill is placed in Rajya Sabha (Upper chamber of the Parliament) thereafter and Rajya Sabha can return the Bill with or without its recommendations.

In any case, the Bill has to be returned within a period of 14 days from the date of its receipt by Rajya Sabha. Otherwise it is deemed to have been passed by both Houses at the expiration of the said period in the form in which it was passed by Lok Sabha.

If the bill is returned to Lok Sabha without recommendation, a message to that effect is reported by the Secretary-General to the Lok Sabha if in session, or published in the Bulletin for the information of the members of the Parliament, if it is not in session. The Bill shall then be presented to the President for his assent.

In all other bills final passing of the bill happens at Rajya Sabha. In case of money bills, final passing happens at Lok Sabha and then it is sent to the President for his assent.

A defeat of Money bill in Lok Sabha is deemed political/parliamentary defeat of the government of the day.  Speaker has unquestionable powers to decide if a Bill is a Money Bill or not. It cannot be questioned in any court.

Solution: B

Pattachitra:

A traditional painting of Odisha, the name Pattachitra comes from a Sanskrit word patta, which means canvas/cloth and chitra means picture. The paintings show a mix of classical and folk elements, with a bias towards the latter.

The themes of these paintings are inspired from Jagannath and Vaishnava cult, sometimes from Shakti and Shaiva cults. Raghurajpur in Odisha is known for this art form.

Solution: D

1. R. Ambedkar

• Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian polymath – philosopher, jurist, economist, politician, social reformer, journalist, writer, sociologist, and anthropologist
• He inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination towards the untouchables (Dalits).
• He was British India’s Minister of Labour, Chairman of the Constituent Drafting committee, independent India’s first Minister of Law and Justice, and considered the chief architect of the Constitution of India.
• Ambedkar was a prolific student, earning doctorates in economics from both Columbia University and the London School of Economics, gaining reputation as a scholar for his research in law, economics and political science.
• Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha was the first organization formed by Dr. Ambedkar in 1924.
• Ambedkar formed the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in August, 1936, which participated in the provincial elections of Bombay and won 13 seats out of 15 seats reserved for scheduled castes.

The Peasants and Workers Party of India is a Marxist political party in Maharashtra, India. Founders: Keshavrao Jedhe, Nana Patil, Madhavrao Bagal,

Solution: B

Birsa Munda, referred to often by Jharkhand’s tribal residents as “Birsa Bhagwan,” led what came to be known as “Ulgulan” (revolt) or “the Great Tumult” against the British colonial government-imposed feudal state. imed at establishing Munda Raj or Munda rule in this region

Solution: A

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC):

• It is the second largest organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents.
• The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world.
• It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.
• The Organization was established upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco on 25, September 1969 following the criminal arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
• In 1970 the first ever meeting of Islamic Conference of Foreign Minister (ICFM) was held in Jeddah which decided to establish a permanent secretariat in Jeddah headed by the organization’s secretary general.
• The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union.
• The official languages of the OIC are Arabic, English, and French.
• Headquarters: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• India is not a member of OIC.

Better Than Cash Alliance:

• The Better Than Cash Alliance is a global partnership of 75 governments, companies, and international organizations that accelerates the transition from cash to digital payments in order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth.
• It was created in September 2012 by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (Secretariat), the US Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Visa Inc. among others.
• Based at the UN, the Alliance has over 50 members, works closely with other global organizations, and is an implementing partner for the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion.
• India became a member of the alliance in 2015 to digitize payments to achieve financial inclusion and to share success stories from PM Jan Dhan Yojana, the world’s largest financial inclusion program.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• • SCO is a Eurasian economic, political and security organisation headquartered in Beijing, China.
  • It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.
  • It was founded in 2001. The full members of the organization are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Pakistan.
  • Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia have observer status at present.
  • China had founded this grouping in 1996 and then it was called as Shanghai Five comprising of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
  • In 2001, Uzbekistan was invited to join it and SCO was officially born.
  • The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed during the St.Petersburg SCO Heads of State meeting in June 2002, and entered into force on 19 September 2003.
  • The SCO’s official languages are Russian and Chinese.
  • The SCO has established relations with the United Nations (where it is an observer in the General Assembly), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
  • India and Pakistan were inducted as full members of the SCO at the 17th SCO summit concluded in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.

Solution: D

Shigellosis:

• Shigellosis is a highly contagious infection of the intestines caused by Shigella bacteria.
• Its symptoms include diarrhoea, fever, abdominal pain etc.
• The diarrhoea may be bloody. It can cause death in some cases.
• Shigellosis is caused by four specific types of Shigella which are typically spread by exposure to infected faeces.
• Children under 10 are most susceptible to Shigellosis.
• There is no vaccine for preventing shigellosis and it usually resolves without specific treatment.

How does it spread?

• Infection can occur through contaminated food, water, or hands or sexual contact.
• The bacteria, after entering the body through ingestion, attack the epithelial lining of the colon resulting in inflammation of the cells and subsequently the destruction of the cells in severe cases.
• It takes only a small number of shigella bacteria to enter a person’s system and get her sick.
• The infection is known to spread person-to-person when the bacteria is swallowed accidentally.

Solution: C

Chang’e-5 mission:

It is an unmanned spacecraft by China. The probe is named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess.

The rocket comprises of four parts: an orbiter, a returner, an ascender and a lander.

The Chang’e-5 mission is expected to realize four “firsts” in China’s space history:

• The first time for a probe to take off from the surface of the Moon.
• The first time to automatically sample the lunar surface.
• The first time to conduct unmanned rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit.
• The first time to return to Earth with lunar soil samples in escape velocity.

Solution: C

August has 31 days.
4th day from 21st of next month means 25th September.
Number of days from 6th August to 25th September = (31-6) + 25 = 50 days
Number of odd days= 1 day (7 weeks + 1 day)
Means it will be Sunday on 25th September.

Hence, option(c) is correct.

Solution: B

Let T and C be the number of husbands who can make tea and coffee respectively.
Now, T = 70, T Ո C= 50 and T U C= 130
T U C = T + C – (T Ո C)
130= 70+ C – 50
C= 110
Husbands who can make only tea= T – (T Ո C) = 70- 50= 20
Husbands who can make only coffee= C – (T Ո C) = 110- 50= 60

Hence, option(b) is correct.

Solution: C

Let’s analyse all the options:

Option (a): It is possible that HCF is 1 when one number is even and other is odd. E.g. Let 6 and 5 are two numbers which are even and odd respectively and the HCF of these two numbers is 1. Hence, this statement may be true.

Option (b): It is possible that HCF is 1 when both numbers are odd. E.g. Let 7 and 9 are the two numbers which are odd and the HCF of these two numbers is 1. Hence, this statement may be true too.

Option (d): It is possible that HCF is 1 when at least one of two numbers, i.e. x and y, is prime. E.g. Let 5 and 12 are two numbers and HCF of these two numbers is 1. Hence, this may also be true.

Option (c): When both the numbers are even, 2 is definitely a common factor. Hence, this statement is definitely false.

Solution:  A

The clock gains 15 min in 24 hours. Therefore, in 16 hours, it will gain 10 minutes. Hence, the time shown by the clock will be 4.10 am.

Hence, option (a) is correct.