[MISSION 2022] INSIGHTS CURRENT AFFAIRS (4 May 2022 ) REVISION THROUGH MCQS

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• Article 161gives the Governor the “power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends”.
• Article 72 vs Article 161:
  • The scope of the pardoning power of the President under Article 72 is wider than the pardoning power of the Governor under Article 161.
  • The power differs in the following two ways:
  • The power of the President to grant pardon extends in cases where the punishment or sentence is by a Court Martial but Article 161 does not provide any such power to the Governor.
  • The President can grant pardon in all cases where the sentence given is the sentence of death but the pardoning power of the Governor does not extend to death sentence cases.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/05/04/mercy-plea/

Ans: (c)

Explanation:

• The Constitution of India has not given any language a national status.
• What is the status of Hindi?
  • Under Article 343 of the Constitution,the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The international form of Indian numerals will be used for official purposes.
  • In the constituent assembly discussions, it was decided that English would continue to be used for a period of 15 years.
  • The Constitution said that after 15 years, Parliament may by law decide on the use of English and the use of the Devanagari form of numbers for specified purposes.
• Article 351:
  • It is the Union government’s duty to promote the spread of Hindi so that it becomes “a medium of expression for all elements of the composite culture of India” and also to assimilate elements of forms and expressions from Hindustani and languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/05/04/the-debate-on-the-national-language/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) of India has ruled that no one can be forced to get vaccinated because bodily autonomy and integrity are protected under Article 21 (right to life) of the Indian Constitution.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/05/04/sc-cannot-force-vaccination/

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• Statement 2: Under Section 45ZB of the amended RBI Act, 1934, the central government is empowered to constitute a six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to determine the policy interest rate required to achieve the inflation target. The first such MPC was constituted on September 29, 2016.
  • Section 45ZB lays down that “the Monetary Policy Committee shall determine the Policy Rate required to achieve the inflation target”, and that “the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee shall be binding on the Bank”.
• Statement 1: It decides the repo rates, CRR, SLR etc. It replaced the earlier system of policy rate veto by the RBI governor.
  • It consists of six members (RBI Governor, Deputy Gov RBI, One RBI officer and three members nominated by the government), and they hold office for a period of four years.
• Statement 3: The Governor of the RBI is the ex-officio Chairperson of MPC.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/05/04/monetary-policy-committee-mpc/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• CRR rate: The Cash Reserve Ratio in India is decided by RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee in the periodic Monetary and Credit Policy.
  • The Reserve Bank of India takes stock of the CRR in every monetary policy review, which, at present, is conducted every six weeks.
  • CRR is one of the major weapons in the RBI’s arsenal that allows it to maintain a desired level of inflation, control the money supply, and also liquidity in the economy.
  • The lower the CRR, the higher liquidity with the banks, which in turn goes into investment and lending and vice-versa.
  • Higher CRR can also negatively impact the economy as lesser availability of loanable funds, in turn, slows down investment. It thereby reduces the supply of money in the economy.
• What is CRR or Cash Reserve Ratio?
  • The Reserve Bank of India or RBI mandates that banks store a proportion of their deposits in the form of cash so that the same can be given to the bank’s customers if the need arises.
  • The percentage of cash required to be kept in reserves, vis-a-vis a bank’s total deposits, is called the Cash Reserve Ratio.
  • The cash reserve is either stored in the bank’s vault or is sent to the RBI.
  • Banks do not get any interest on the money that is with the RBI under the CRR requirements.

Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/05/04/monetary-policy-committee-mpc/

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• Railway Protection Force has recently started “Operation Satark” with an objective of taking action against illicit liquor/FICN/illegal tobacco products/unaccounted gold and any other items being transported through railway networks for the purpose of tax evasion and smuggling.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/05/04/mission-2022-insights-daily-current-affairs-pib-summary-04-may-2022/

Ans: (a)

Explanation:

• S1: It came into force in India in January 2006.
• S2: The Act calls for the establishment of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with the Prime Minister of India as chairperson.
• S3: All State Governments are mandated to establish a State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).

Refer: https://ndma.gov.in/Governance/SDMA

Ans: (b)

Explanation:

• SDRF has been constituted by each state under the provisions of Disaster Management act 2005.
• It was constituted based on the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.
• Funding: The Central Government contributes 75% of SDRF allocation for general category States/UTs and 90% for special category States/UTs.
• Heads: The state executive committee headed by the Chief Secretary is authorized to decide on all matters relating to the financing of the relief expenditure from the SDRF.
• Disaster (s) covered under SDRF: Cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack, frost and cold waves.
• Local Disaster: A State Government may use up to 10 percent of the funds available under the SDRF for providing immediate relief to the victims of natural disasters that they consider to be ‘disasters’ within the local context in the State and which are not included in the notified list of disasters of the Ministry of Home Affairs subject to the condition that the State Government has listed the State specific natural disasters and notified clear and transparent norms and guidelines for such disasters with the approval of the State Authority, i.e., the State Executive Authority (SEC).

Refer: SDRF

Ans: (d)

Explanation: About Article 223 of the Indian Constitution:

• “Appointment of acting Chief Justice”
• When the office of Chief Justice of High Court is vacant or when any such Chief Justice is, by reason of absence or otherwise, unable to perform the duties of his office, the duties of the office shall be performed by such one of the other Judges of the Court as the President may appoint for the purposes.

Refer: https://www.constitutionofindia.net/constitution_of_india/the_states/articles/Article%20223

Ans: (d)

Explanation: About Human Rights Watch:

• Founded in 1978, it is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights.
• The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human rights abusers to denounce abuse and respect human rights, and the group often works on behalf of refugees, children, migrants, and political prisoners.
• Headquartered in New York.

Refer: https://www.hrw.org/