DAY – 1 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 1 )INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2021

Solution: A

Gross National Product (GNP) is the total value of all finished goods and services produced by a country’s citizens in a given financial year, irrespective of their location. GNP also measures the output generated by a country’s businesses located domestically or abroad.

Basically, GNP signifies how a country’s people contribute to its economy. It considers citizenship, regardless of the location of the ownership. GNP does not include foreign residents’ income earned within the country. GNP also does not count any income earned in India by foreign residents or businesses, and excludes products manufactured in the country by foreign companies.

Solution: C

Factor cost or national income by type of income is a measure of national income or output based on the cost of factors of production, instead of market prices.

Factor cost refers to the actual cost of the various factors of production includes government grants and subsidies but it excludes indirect taxes.

Since, GST is an indirect tax, it is not included in Factor cost.

Solution: B

Production taxes and subsidies are paid or received in relation to production and are independent of the volume of production such as land revenues, stamp and registration fee.

Product taxes and subsidies, on the other hand, are paid or received per unit or product,

E.g., GST, Custom duties etc

Solution: C

• Fiscal Deficit is the difference between the Revenue Receipts plus Non-debt Capital Receipts (NDCR) and the total expenditure. FD is reflective of the total borrowing requirements of Government.
• Revenue Deficit refers to the excess of revenue expenditure over revenue receipts.
• Effective Revenue Deficit is the difference between Revenue Deficit and Grants for Creation of Capital Assets.
• Primary Deficit is measured as Fiscal Deficit less interest payments.

Solution: A

Solution: C

Expansionary fiscal policy is a form of fiscal policy that involves decreasing taxes, increasing government expenditures or both, in order to fight recessionary pressures.

Providing loans at higher interest rate decreases the demand for the loans. Thus, it decreases the liquidity in the market and leads to decreases the spending capacity.

Tax concessions to MSMEs help in reducing the prices of goods and services. Thus, increase the demand in the economy.

Increasing the government grants increases the spending capacity.

Solution: A

Gross value added (GVA) is defined as the value of output less the value of intermediate consumption. Value added represents the contribution of labour and capital to the production process. When the value of taxes on products (less subsidies on products) is added, the sum of value added for all resident units gives the value of gross domestic product (GDP).

GVA at basic prices will include production taxes and exclude production subsidies available on the commodity.

On the other hand, GVA at factor cost includes no taxes and excludes no subsidies and GDP at market prices include both production and product taxes and excludes both production and product subsidies

By formula: GVA at factor cost + (Production taxes less Production subsidies) = GVA at basic prices.

GDP at market prices = GVA at basic prices + Product taxes- Product subsidies

In the revision of National Accounts statistics done by Central Statistical Organization (CSO) in January 2015, it was decided that sector-wise wise estimates of Gross Value Added (GVA) will now be given at basic prices instead of factor cost.

Solution: A

The First Five-year Plan was launched in 1951 which mainly focused in development of the primary sector.  The total planned budget of Rs.2069 crore (2378 crore later) was allocated to seven broad areas: irrigation and energy (27.2%), agriculture and community development (17.4%), transport and communications (24%), industry (8.4%), social services (16.6%), rehabilitation of landless farmers (4.1%), and for other sectors and services (2.5%).

It was based on the Harrod-Domar model with a few modifications.

Solution: C

In indicative Planning, the planning authority sets the broad goals for the economy. The implementation of the plan requires the co-ordination of the various units in the economy. This type of planning in India since the 8th Five-Year Plan.

Solution: C

Keeping the spirit of the Gandhian economic thinking, Sriman Narayan Agarwal formulated the Gandhian Plan in 1944 which laid more emphasis on agriculture. It also promoted the rural and cottage industries.

The People’s plan was formulated by M.N. Roy. The plan was based on
Marxist socialism and advocated the need of providing the people with the ‘basic necessities of life’..

The Sarvodaya plan was formulated by the famous socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan. The plan drew its major inspirations from the Gandhian techniques of constructive works by the community and trusteeship as well as the Sarvodaya concept of Acharya Vinoba Bave.

Solution: D

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs):

• Gold nanoparticles are spheres made of gold atoms having a diameter of only few billionths of a metre which can be coated with a biological protein and combined with drugs to enable the treatment to travel through the body and reach the affected area.

Properties and Uses:

• GNPs have unique optical properties; they can be used of therapeutic imaging.
• GNPs also have unique physicochemical properties.
• Their biocompatibility, high surface area, stability, and non-toxicity make them suitable for various applications in therapeutic use including detection and diagnosis of diseases, bio-labelling, and targeted drug delivery.
• As Nano-carriers, GNPs are capable of transferring various drugs made out of peptides, proteins, plasmid DNAs, small interfering RNAs, and chemotherapeutic agents to target diseased cells of the human body.
• GNPs are also found to be useful in the electronics industry.

Solution: C

MiR-155:

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have identified a specific microRNA (miRNAs) called ‘miR-155’ that is over-expressed in tongue cancer.
• MiR-155 is a microRNA that in humans is encoded by the MIR155 host gene or MIR155HG.
• MiR-155 plays a role in various physiological and pathological processes.
• Exogenous molecular control in vivo of miR-155 expression may inhibit malignant growth, viral infections, and enhance the progression of cardiovascular diseases.

Solution: C

United Nations Arms Trade Treaty:

• The UN-ATT regulates the international trade in conventional arms,from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships, and controls the flow of weapons into conflict zones.
• The treaty calls for the international sale of weapons to be linked to the human rights records of buyers.
• It requires countries to establish regulations for selling conventional weapons.
• The treaty does not regulate the domestic sale or use of weapons in any country. It also recognizes the legitimacy of the arms trade to enable states to provide for their own security.
• India has not signed the treaty.

Solution: C

Kuchipudi is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originated in a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra.

Sattriya, or Sattriya Nritya, is a major Indian classical dance. It is a dance-drama performance art with origins in the Krishna-centered Vaishnavism monasteries of Assam, and attributed to the 15th century Bhakti movement scholar and saint Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev.

Yakshagana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form.

Solution: A

About Pangong Tso Lake:

• Pangong Tso literally translates into a “conclave lake”. Pangong means conclave in Ladakhi and Tso means a lake in Tibetan language.
• The Pangong Tso Lake is a long deep narrow lake that is situated at a height of 4,350 metres in the Ladakh region.
• It is a brackish water lake.
• It is not a part of the Indus River basin.
• It is formed from Tethys geosyncline.

Solution: C

The rechargeable iron ion battery has been designed using mild steel as the anode.The iron ion battery is cost-effective and the amount of energy that can be stored in the battery is also high.
While lithium ions are the charge carriers in lithium ion battery, the Fe2+ ions perform that function in thecase of iron ion battery.

Benefits of Iron over Lithium

• Iron has favourable physico-chemical properties like lithium.The redox potential of iron ion is higher than lithium ion and the radius of the Fe2+ ion is nearly the sameas that of the lithium ion.
• Iron is more stable during the charging process and therefore prevents short-circuiting of the batteries.

Solution: A

Sovereign Blue Bond, first of its kind is introduced bySeychelles.

Republic of Seychelles has launched the world’s first sovereign blue bond—a pioneering financial instrument designed to support sustainable marine and fisheries projects.

The bond, which raised US$15 million from international investors, demonstrates the potential for countries to harness capital markets for financing the sustainable use of marine resources. The World Bank assisted in developing the blue bond and reaching out to the three investors: Calvert Impact Capital, Nuveen, and U.S. Headquartered Prudential Financial, Inc.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/29/seychelles-launches-worlds-first-sovereign-blue-bond

Solution: D

India’s proposal to upgrade the protection of star tortoises (Geochelone elegans), the smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and small-clawed otters (Anoyx cinereus) in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on Wild Fauna and Flora) have been approved.

1. These species have been listed under Appendix I of CITESand will now enjoy the highest degree of protection as there will be a complete international ban enforced on their trade.
2. Appendix I of CITESlists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants. They are threatened with extinction and CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species except when the purpose of the import is not commercial, for instance for scientific research.

This species lives in three separate parts of the Indian subcontinent: western India and the extreme southeast of Pakistan (e.g., Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan in India, as well as the Thar Desert in Pakistan), in southeastern India (Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu), and on Sri Lanka. They occupy a wide variety of habitats, including semi-arid lowland forests, moist deciduous forest, thorn scrub forests, semi-desert and arid grasslands. This species has a high tolerance for habitats that are seasonally wet or dry, many populations inhabiting areas with a monsoon or rainy season followed by a long hot and dry period. Sometimes they live in agricultural areas.

Solution: D

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.

The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).

The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.

The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are English and French.

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: B

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

The Lead Bank Scheme, introduced towards the end of 1969, envisages assignment of lead roles to individual banks (both in public sector and private sector) for the districts allotted to them. A bank having a relatively large network of branches in the rural areas of a given district and endowed with adequate financial and manpower resources has generally been entrusted with the lead responsibility for that district.

Accordingly, all the districts in the country have been allotted to various banks. The lead bank acts as a leader for coordinating the efforts of all credit institutions in the allotted districts to increase the flow of credit to agriculture, small-scale industries and other economic activities included in the priority sector in the rural and semi-urban areas, with the district being the basic unit in terms of geographical area.

Objectives of The Lead Bank Scheme:

• To identify unbanked and underbanked centres in districts and to evaluate their physiographic, agro climatic end Socio-economic conditions through economic survey.
• To help in removing regional imbalances through appropriate credit deployment;
• To extend banking facilities to unbanked areas;
• To estimate credit gaps in various sectors of an economy of a district and prepare a credit plan accordingly.
• To identify economically viable and technically feasible schemes.
• To effect structural and procedural changes in banking sector.
• To develop co-operation amongst financial and non-financial institutions, in overall development of the districts.
• To serve as a clearing house for discussions of problems arising out of financing priority sectors.

Solution: A

Astana consensusstates that “differences between India andChina should be addressed in a manner that they don’t become disputes”

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-china-voice-differences-over-kashmir-but-decide-to-rebuild-bridges/article29039588.ece

Solution: A

The “developing country” status allows a member ofthe WTO to seek temporary exception from the commitments under variousmultilateral trade agreements ratified by the organisation.

Developing countries suchas India and Chinacan seek to delay the implementation of these WTO agreementsowing to their disadvantaged economic status.

They can continue to impose tariffsand quotas on goods and services in order to limit imports and promote domesticproducers who may otherwise be affected adversely by imports that are lower in priceor better in quality. However, Exports by developing countries are not exempted from import duties in developed countries

Solution: B

Hoolock gibbon are endangered species. They are the only ape found in India.

Hoolock gibbons are native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India
and Southwest China. In northeast India, the hoolock is found south of Brahmaputra as well on the North Bank areas and east of the Dibang Rivers

Solution: B

Always the discount is provided on marked price. Here 2 successive discounts are given.
Let us assume that marked price is M.
So first discount is 10%. Thus the price becomes 9/10 th. Andsecond discount is 20 %. Thus, price becomes 8/10.
After allowing these two discounts price comes out to be 144.
Now representing this mathematically:
M × 9/10 × 8/10 = 144
M × 72/100 =144
M= 144 ×100/72
M= 200

Solution: B

In the above given problem, each letter of ‘MONARCHY’ is simply replaced by its next letter as per English Alphabet.

→ M + 1 = N;

→ O + 1 = P;
→ N + 1 = O;

→ A + 1 = B;

→ R + 1 = S;

→ C + 1 = D;

→ H + 1 = I;

→ Y + 1 = Z.

Based on similar pattern, code for ‘STANDARD’ is ‘TUBOEBSE’.

Solution: B

As per the given information, we can derive following information

A (female) is mother of B.

B (female) is sister of C.

Therefore A is mother of both B and C.

D (male) is son of C.

Therefore A is grandmother of D.

E (male) is brother of D.

Therefore, C is parent of both D and E, and A is grandmother of both D and E.

F (female) is mother of E.

Hence, F is mother of both D and E

Therefore C (male) is father of both D and E, and C is husband of F.

G (female) is granddaughter of A.

Therefore, A is grandmother of G.

H has only two children B and C.

Therefore, H is father of B and C, and H is husband of A.

Also, H is grandfather of D, E and G;

Therefore, F(female) is daughter-in-law of H.

Hence, option (b) is correct.

Solution: A

As per the given information, we can derive following information

A (female) is mother of B.

B (female) is sister of C.

Therefore A is mother of both B and C.

D (male) is son of C.

Therefore A is grandmother of D.

E (male) is brother of D.

Therefore, C is parent of both D and E, and A is grandmother of both D and E.

F (female) is mother of E.

Hence, F is mother of both D and E

Therefore C (male) is father of both D and E, and C is husband of F.

Solution: A

Statement A is correct as the passage talks about the reforms required in bureaucracy because of the issues that have become apparent in governance. As a result, the passage talks about the need of reforms to keep pace with the requirements of governance.