Insta– QUED ( Questions from Editorials. ) 31 July 2021

Solution: b)

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) under the Plastic Waste Management Rules of 2016, which sought to pin the responsibility of plastic waste on the producers. It is a tool to make producer companies become conscious of the environmental consequences of their production systems and products, and push them to start cleaning up their act.

Source

Solution: a)

Of the following Fundamental Duties, only environmental conservation and child education can be found in the DPSP.

According to Article 51 A, it shall be the duty of every citizen of India:

• to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
• to cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the national struggle for freedom;
• to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
• to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
• to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
• to value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite culture;
• to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures;
• to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
• to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
• to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement; and
• to provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between the age of six and fourteen years. This duty was added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002

Solution: c)

The world’s largest, fully habituated river island Majuli is situated in the middle of Brahamputra, with the Kaziranga National Park touching Jorhat and Nagaon.

In 2016 it became the first island to be made a district in India.

Mājuli is the abode of the Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture.

Solution: a)

The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean.

Solution: d)

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.