[Mission 2023] QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 25 October 2022

Solution: b)

The Sarkaria Commission, set up in 1983 to look into Centre-state relations, proposed that the Vice President of India and Speaker of Lok Sabha should be consulted by the Prime Minister in the selection of Governors.

The Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi Committee, constituted in 2007 on Centre-state relations, proposed in its report submitted in March 2010 that a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Vice President, Speaker, and the concerned Chief Minister should choose the Governor.

B.N Srikrishna Commission was constituted to study and identify key data protection issues and recommend methods to address them. He is currently the chairman of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC).

Source

Solution: b)

The official language committee is a statutory committee constituted under Section 4 in the Official Language Act, 1963. Its duty is to review the progress made in the use of Hindi for the official purposes of the Union and submit a report to the President. The Act makes it obligatory for the President to issue directions “in accordance with the whole or any part of the report” (Section 4(4)). It can thus be seen that the committee’s recommendations are required to be acted upon.

The Committee is chaired by the Union Home Minister.

Article 343 of the Constitution declares that Hindi in Devanagari script shall be the official language of the Union.

Parliament enacted the official languages Act in 1963, providing for the continuance of English indefinitely as official language along with Hindi for the official purposes of the Union and for transaction of business in Parliament.

The committee is not mandated to recommend the medium of instruction in universities and professional institutions. Further, since Parliament has declared by law that English shall continue along with Hindi, a statutory committee constituted under that very Act has no mandate to recommend the discontinuation of English.

India has two major groups of languages — the Indo-European language group and the Dravidian language group. Hindi belongs to the former and Tamil (more ancient than Sanskrit) belongs to the latter.

Source

Solution: c)

As many as 41.5 crore people exited poverty in India during the 15-year period between 2005-06 and 2019-21, out of which two-thirds exited in the first 10 years, and one-third in the next five years, according to the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

The report is produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). 

Solution: d)

The FSR looks at questions like do Indian banks (both public and private) have enough capital to run their operations? Are the levels of bad loans (or non-performing assets) within manageable limits? Are different sectors of the economy able to get credit (or new loans) for economic activity such as starting a new business or buying a new house or car?

Solution: b)

Miyawaki model to increase the green cover:

Pioneered by Japanese botanist and ecologist Akira Miyawaki, the technique allows for growing dense forests comprising native trees on small patches of land. One of the ways this is done is by ensuring that tree growth is faster than traditional afforestation methods.

They help lower temperatures in concrete heat islands, reduce air and noise pollution, attract local birds and insects, and create carbon sinks.