[Mission 2022] Insta– QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 12 November 2021

Solution: d)

Indemnity is a form of contract. The law on drugs in India does not have a provision for indemnity related to the grant of approval for any new drug or vaccine in the country. If at all any indemnity is to be granted to any company for a particular drug or vaccine, it can only be in the form of an indemnity bond executed on behalf of the government of India, or a clause or set of clauses in any contract that the government may sign with the supplier.

Section 124 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, defines a contract of indemnity as one by which one party promises to save the other from any loss caused to the latter. Once the government of India grants such indemnity to the vaccine manufacturer or importer, it would mean that if a particular vaccine is perceived to have caused death or any lasting damage to a recipient, any claim of compensation arising from it will have to be met by the government, and not by the company. In the event of a court ordering payment, the company will be in a position to recover the amount from the government.

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Solution: c)

For those on Earth, Venus is the second-brightest object in the sky after the moon. It appears bright because of its thick cloud cover that reflects and scatters light. But while Venus, which is the second closest planet to the Sun, is called the Earth’s twin because of their similar sizes, the two planets have significant differences between them.

For one, the planet’s thick atmosphere traps heat and is the reason that it is the hottest planet in the solar system, despite coming after Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead, NASA notes.

Further, Venus moves forward on its orbit around the Sun but spins backwards around its axis slowly. This means on Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the East. One day on Venus is equivalent to 243 Earth days because of its backward spinning, opposite to that of the Earth’s and most other planets. Venus also does not have a moon and no rings.

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Solution: a)

The Election Commission of India is pushing for at least five key electoral reforms including making paid news an electoral offence, linking Aadhaar numbers to the electoral roll , and increasing the punishment for filing a false affidavit (to two years of imprisonment).

All the proposed reforms will require amendments to the Representation of People’s Act, 1951.

A historic Supreme Court judgement in 2013 ruled that a lawmaker sentenced to prison for at least two years will lose membership of the house, be disqualified for the period of the sentence, and for six years after that period as well.

Solution: b)

Parliamentary Privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their functions”.

The Speaker/RS chairperson is the first level of scrutiny of a privilege motion.

The Constitution also extends the parliamentary privileges to those persons who are entitled to speak and take part in the proceedings of a House of Parliament or any of its committees. These include the Attorney General of India.

The parliamentary privileges do not extend to the President who is also an integral part of the Parliament. Article 361 of the Constitution provides for privileges for the President.

Solution: c)

What is the ‘Beed Model’?

The issue:

• Beed is a district located in the drought-prone Marathwada region.
• The district presents a challenge for any insurance company because farmers here have repeatedly lost crops either to failure of rains or to heavy rains.
• Given the high payouts, insurance companies have sustained losses.

The solution:

• To attract the insurance companies, the state Agriculture Department decided to tweak the PMFBY guidelines for the district.
• Under the new guidelines, the insurance company provided a cover of 110% of the premium collected, with caveats.
• If the compensation exceeded the cover provided, the state government would pay the bridge amount.
• If the compensation was less than the premium collected, the insurance company would keep 20% of the amount as handling charges and reimburse the rest to the state government.

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