DAY – 64 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 64 )INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2021

Solution: A

Cabinet Secretary

• A cabinet secretary is appointed for a fixed tenure of two years.
• According to All India Services (Death-Cum-Retirement-Benefits) Rules, 1958, the government can give extension in service to a cabinet secretary provided the total tenure does not exceed four years.
• As per the modified rules, the central government may give an extension in service for a further period not exceeding three months, beyond the period of four years to a cabinet secretary.
• All senior level appointments (including Cabinet Secretary) are done with the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Role of the cabinet secretary:

• The cabinet secretariat is under the direct charge of the prime minister.
• The administrative head of the secretariat is the cabinet secretary who is also the exofficio chairman of the civil services board.
• It functions directly under the Prime Minister.

Functions:

• The cabinet secretariat assists in decision-making in government by ensuring inter-ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst ministries or departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing or ad hoc committees of secretaries.
• Management of major crisis situations in the country and coordinating activities of various ministries in such a situation is also one of the functions of the cabinet secretariat.
• Cabinet Secretariat is responsible forthe administration of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments of the Government.
• He doesn’t head any departments unlike chief secretary at the state level.

Solution: A

No-confidence motion:

A no-confidence motion is a parliamentary motion which is moved in the Lok Sabha against the entire council of ministers, stating that they are no longer deemed fit to hold positions of responsibility due to their inadequacy in some respect or their failure to carry out their obligations. No prior reason needs to be stated for its adoption in the Lok Sabha.

How it works?

• At least 50 MPs would need to stand up and support the move. If there are 50 MPs in favour, the motion is admitted and the speaker allots a date for discussion on the motion. The prime minister or minister’s reply to the charges made. The mover has the right to reply. After the debate, the speaker puts question to the house and ascertains the decision of the house by voice vote or a division.
• The day cannot be more than 10 days from the day the motion is accepted.

Grounds:

• A Motion of No-confidence need not set out any grounds on which it is based. Even when grounds are mentioned in the notice and read out in the House, they do not form part of the no-confidence Motion.

Implications:

• The government is expected to resign if it loses a trust vote. In case its refuses to do so, the President has the power to remove the prime minister. In the history of Indian Parliament, no Prime Minister has been forcibly removed so far. After a government loses a trust vote and resigns, it continues to function, but as a caretaker government with almost the same powers as it had before the voting.
• However, a caretaker government wouldn’t have the power to take any major policy decisions since Parliament remains dissolved. A new government gets elected after the general elections.
• Article 75(3) states that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People.
• This means that if the Ministry loses the confidence of the “Lok Sabha”, all ministers from both the Houses of Parliament has to resign.

Key facts:

• The Rajya Sabha does not have a procedure for moving of an adjournment motion, censure motion or no-confidence motion against the Government.
• Rule 198 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha lays down the procedure for moving a Motion of No-Confidence in the Council of Ministers.
• There is no mention of a no-confidence motion in the constitution.
• There is no time-limit that must be adhered to between two no-confidence motions.

Solution: B

Conservation reserves and community reserves in India are terms denoting protected areas of India which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and reserved and protected forests of India.

These protected area categories were first introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002

Gogabeel is an ox-bow lake in Bihar’s Katihar district. It has been declared as the state’s first Community Reserve’.

Gogabeel is formed from the flow of the rivers Mahananda and Kankhar in the north and the Ganga in the south and east. It is the fifteenth Protected Area (PA) in Bihar.

Solution: D

A beautiful hill station in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Dalhousie is emerged as one of the highly visited hill stations of India.

Wilson Hills is a hill station in the Indian state of Gujarat. Wilson Hills stands in a densely forested region close to the Pangarbari Wildlife Sanctuary.

Jampui Hills is a hill range located in the North Tripura district in the north eastern part of the Indian state of Tripura.

Solution: C

India State of Forest Report 2019

Tree biodiversity Maximum tree diversity has been found in Tropical wet evergreen and semi evergreen forests of Western Ghats (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka) followed by North Eastern states. Among the States, Karnataka has the highest tree species richness followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as observed in the rapid survey.

Shrub biodiversity maximum shrub diversity has been observed in Tropical wet evergreen forests of Western Ghats (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka) and North Eastern states. Among the States, Arunachal Pradesh has the highest shrub species richness followed by Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Kerala and Assam as observed in the rapid survey.

Solution: D

UNESCO Global Geoparks

• These are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development.
• These are managed by a body having legal existence recognized under national legislation.
• It needs to be noted that UNESCO Global Geopark status does not imply restrictions on any economic activity inside a UNESCO Global Geopark where that activity complies with indigenous, local, regional and/or national legislation.
• Geoparks are sustained through geo tourism activities like excursions, nature trails, guided tours, hiking and academic meets.
• A UNESCO Global Geopark is given this designation for a period of four years after which the functioning and quality of each UNESCO Global Geopark is thoroughly re-examined during a revalidation process.
• India does not have any UNESCO Global Geoparks yet.

Solution: A

“Open Skies” treaty:

• The treaty allows 34 countries to conduct unarmed surveillance flights over one another’s territories — including the US and Russia. It was signed in 1992 and went into effect in 2002.
• Kyrgyzstan has signed, but not ratified the treaty.
• Therefore, the treaty established an aerial surveillance system for its participants.
• Both US and Russia are signatories of the treaty.
• India is not a member of this treaty.

Significance:

• It was agreed just after the Cold War to allow signatories to avoid nasty surprises by monitoring rival militaries.

The treaty “was designed to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants, regardless of size, a direct role in gathering information through aerial imaging on military forces and activities of concern to them.”

Solution: C

A last invasion of India by the Mongol branch settled in Iran took place in 1192 when a Mongol army headed by Abdullah, a grandson of Halaku, the Ilkhan of Iran, invaded India. Jalaluddin Khalji who had just succeeded to the throne had spent a considerable part of his life in fighting the Mongols. Jalaluddin Khalji advanced with a large force. After some skirmishes, the Mongols agreed to withdraw without a fight. There was some kind of an agreement between the two. Jalaluddin had a cordial meeting with Abdullah whom he called his son, and a party of the Mongols, headed by Ulaghu, another grandson of Halaku, embraced Islam, along with 4000 of his followers.

Solution: C

The ancient name of Bilgram is Srinagar, its present name Bilgram was given by some associates of Mahmood Gajnavi. The Battle of Bilgram in 1540 took place between Humayun and Sher Shah Suri. Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun in the Battle of Bilgram.

Solution: C

Quad grouping:

The quadrilateral security dialogue includes Japan, India, United States and Australia.

• All four nations find a common ground of being the democratic nations and common interests of unhindered maritime trade and security.

Genesis:

The grouping traces its genesis to 2004 when the four countries came together to coordinate relief operations in the aftermath of the tsunami.

• It then met for the first time in 2007 on the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
• The intention was to enhance maritime cooperation between the four nations.

Significance of the grouping:

• Quad is an opportunity for like-minded countries to share notes and collaborate on projects of mutual interest.
• Members share a vision of an open and free Indo-Pacific. Each is involved in development and economic projects as well as in promoting maritime domain awareness and maritime security.
• It is one of the many avenues for interaction among India, Australia, Japan and the US and should not be seen in an exclusive context.

Solution: B

International Energy Agency (IEA):

• Established in 1974 as per framework of the OECD, IEA is an autonomous intergovernmental organisation.
• Its mission is guided by four main areas of focus: energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and engagement worldwide.
• Headquarters (Secretariat): Paris, France.

Roles and functions:

• Established in the wake of the 1973-1974 oil crisis, to help its members respond to major oil supply disruptions, a role it continues to fulfil today.
• IEA’s mandate has expanded over time to include tracking and analyzing global key energy trends, promoting sound energy policy, and fostering multinational energy technology cooperation.

Composition and eligibility:

It has 30 members at present. IEA family also includes eight association countries. A candidate country must be a member country of the OECD. But all OECD members are not IEA members.

To become member a candidate country must demonstrate that it has:

• Crude oil and/or product reserves equivalent to 90 days of the previous year’s net imports, to which the government has immediate access (even if it does not own them directly) and could be used to address disruptions to global oil supply.
• A demand restraint programme to reduce national oil consumption by up to 10%.
• Legislation and organisation to operate the Co-ordinated Emergency Response Measures (CERM) on a national basis.
• Legislation and measures to ensure that all oil companies under its jurisdiction report information upon request.
• Measures in place to ensure the capability of contributing its share of an IEA collective action.

Reports:

• Global Energy & CO2 Status Report.
• World Energy Outlook.
• World Energy Statistics.
• World Energy Balances.
• Energy Technology Perspectives.

Solution: C

The East India Company arrived to India, at the port of Surat. JAHANGIR was Emperor of India that time. In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe gained right to establish a factory in Surat.

In 1717 Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar granted a Firman to the East India Company for duty free trading rights in Bengal.

Solution: A

GSLV MkIII, chosen to launch Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO. The vehicle has two solid strap-ons, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage.

GSLV Mk III is designed to carry 4-ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about twice the capability of the GSLV Mk II.

PSLV is designed mainly to deliver the “earth-observation” or “remote-sensing” satellites.

Solution: B

Empowered Task Force chaired by Hon’ble Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has been setup to ensure that the Ministries, Departments and State Governments concerned have:

• an action plan with specific activities, milestones, and timeliness for achievement of the objective of rejuvenation and protection of River Ganga.
• a mechanism for monitoring implementation of its action plans.

Solution: A

The Know India Programme (KIP) is an important initiative of the Government of India with an aim to engage and make the students and young professionals of India Diaspora in the age group of 18-30 years, feel a sense of connect with their motherland and to be motivated and inspired by the transformation taking place in India.

The KIP is a 25-day orientation programme organized by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in partnership with one or two States including visit to States for 10 days.

Solution: A

Sangam was a college or assembly of Tamil poets held under the chiefly or royal patronage.

The Sangam literature can be divided in to two groups narrative and didactic.

The narrative texts are called Melkannakku and didactic texts are called Kilkarakku.

Sangam texts are secular in nature. Sangam texts provide information on the political and economic life of people

Solution: D

CAATSA:

• Enacted in 2017, it is a US federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia.
• Includes sanctions against countries that engage in significant transactions with Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors.
• The Act empowers the US President to impose at least five of the 12 listed sanctions on persons engaged in a “significant transaction” with Russian defence and intelligence sectors.

What sanctions will be imposed?

• prohibition on loans to the sanctioned person.
• prohibition of Export-Import bank assistance for exports to sanctioned persons.
• prohibition on procurement by United States Government to procure goods or services from the sanctioned person.
• denial of visas to persons closely associated with the sanctioned person.

Solution: A

The Igneous rocks form out of magma and lava from the interior of the earth, thus they are known as primary rocks. Granite, gabbro,diorite, pegmatite, basalt, volcanic breccia and tuff are some of the examples of igneous rocks.

Solution: B

Sedimentary rocks are formed by the process of diagenesis and lithification. Geyserite and Chert are silicious rich sedimentary rocks found in and around geysers and oceans respectively and Chalk are limestone rich sedimentary rocks.

Solution: C

The Indian merchants were organised in guilds, the most famous of them being the Manigraman and the Nandesi. These guilds displayed a spirit of enterprise, in retail and whoselsale trade in many foreign countries- They also gave handsome grants to temples, which became centres of social and cultural life, and sometimes also advanced money to trade.

Both India and Southeast Asia were important staging centres for trade between China and the countries of West Asia and Africa. Indian traders — especially from the Tamil country and Kalinga (modern Orissa and Bengal) — played an active role in this trade, along with Persians, and at a later stage, the Arabs. Much of the trade to China was carried in Indian ships, the teakwood of Malabar, Bengal and Burma providing the basis of a strong tradition of ship building. The weather conditions were also such that it was not possible fora ship to sail straight from the Middle East to China. The ships would have to wait for a long period in ports in between for favourable winds which blew from the west to the east before the monsoon, and from east to west after the monsoon. Indian and Southeast Asian ports were preferred by the merchants for the purpose. The main seaport for foreign trade in China during this period was Canton, or Kanfu as the Arab travellers called it.

Solution: D

Current Classical Languages in India:

• Tamil (in 2004
• Sanskrit (in 2005)
• Kannada (in 2008)
• Telugu (in 2008)
• Malayalam (in 2013)
• Odia (in 2014)

Criteria for Classical Languages in India:

• High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years
•  A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of
  speakers;
•  The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
•  The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be adiscontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

Benefits of Classical Language Status:

• Two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence in the concerned language.
• A ‘Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages’ can be set up.
• The University Grants Commission can be requested to create, to start with at least in Central Universities, a certain number of professional chairs for classical languages, for scholars of eminence in the concerned language.

Solution: A

The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) is an intergovernmental treaty dedicated to the conservation of migratory waterbirds and their habitats across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Greenland and the Canadian Archipelago.

Developed under the framework of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), AEWA brings together countries and the wider international conservation community in an effort to establish coordinated conservation and management of migratory waterbirds throughout their entire migratory range.

Parties to this treaty

India is not a party to this treaty.

Solution: A

A mineral is a naturally occurring organic and inorganic substance, having an orderly atomic structure and a definite chemical composition and physical properties. A mineral is composed of two or more elements. But, sometimes single element minerals like sulphur, copper, silver, gold, graphite etc. are found.

ROCKS:

The earth’s crust is composed of rocks. A rock is an aggregate of one or more minerals. Rock may be hard or soft and in varied colours. For example, granite is hard, soapstone is soft. Gabbro is black and quartzite can be milky white. Rocks do not have definite composition of mineral constituents. Feldspar and quartz are the most common minerals found in rocks.

Solution: D

Village Swachhtha Index

Cleanliness index captures the overall cleanliness of a village including village households which have access to and are using safe toilets and environmental friendliness.

SLWM index captures environmental friendliness as evidenced by absence of litter around houses and public places and no stagnant water around house holds. SLWM index is derived out of Cleanliness index as per the following:

Village Cleanliness Index (C) is defined as C = 0.4*X1 + 0.3*X2 + 0.1*X3 + 0.2*X4

In addition, Village SLWM Index is defined as S = 0.5*X2 + 0.17*X3 + 0.33*X4 where,

X1 = % of households having access to safe sanitation.

X2 = % of households having no litter around them

X3 = % of households having no stagnant waste water around them

X4 = % level of litter free around public places

Gram Sabhas are responsible to estimate the various factors defined above that comprises the cleanliness index.

Solution: C

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) supports international processes, national governments and civil society organizations to align subsidies with sustainable development. GSI does this by promoting transparency on the nature and size of energy subsidies; evaluating the economic, social and environmental impacts of energy subsidies; and, where necessary, advising on how inefficient and wasteful subsidies can best be reformed.

Solution: C

The Average speed= (Total Distance/Total Time taken)

Time taken to cover first 12 km= (Distance/Speed)= (12/3)= 4 hours

Time taken to cover second 12 km= 12/4= 3 hours

Time taken to cover last 12 km= 12/ 6= 2 hours

Hence, total time taken for whole journey= (4+3+2) hours= 9 hours

Therefore, the average speed of whole journey= (Total distance/total time)

⇒Average speed of man= (36/9)= 4 km/hr

Solution: A

Given condition:

• Speed of the boat in still water = 6 km/hr.
• Speed of boat in downstream = 3 * speed of boat in upstream.

Let the speed of the current be ‘x’ km/hr.

Therefore, speed of the boat in upstream (i.e against the current) = (6-x) km/hr.

Speed of the boat in downstream (i.e in the direction of current) = (6+x) km/hr

Now, substituting values in given condition, we get

⇒(6+x) = 3 * (6-x)

⇒6+x = 18-3x

⇒4x=12

⇒x=3 km/hr

Thus, speed of the current = 3 km/hr.

Solution: B

The ratio of the profits will be according to their investment X duration
Ratio of profits of A to B = 10000*12/5000*8
ð Ratio = 3:1
Total profit = 2000
Hence, profit of A = 1500
Profit of B = 500

Therefore, profit of A is Rs. 1000 more than profit of B.

Solution: B

Let the number of lions = x
We know that the number of tigers in a zoo is three times the number of lions. Hence, the number of tigers = 3x.
Then, x + 3x = 4x = total number of animals.
Thus the total number of animals is a number that must be divisible by 4.
Here, 42 is the only number which is not divisible by 4.

Solution: C.

It is clear based on a reading of the passage that C is the correct answer.