[Mission 2023] QUED ( Questions from Editorials ) 22 February 2023

Solution: d)

The Vishaka Guidelines were a set of procedural guidelines for use in India in cases of sexual harassment. They were promulgated by theIndian Supreme Court in 1997 and were superseded in 2013 by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act.

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Solution: c)

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council gave its nod to a long-pending proposal for an appellate tribunal for the levy, broadly accepting the report of a ministerial group. The proposal will be included in the Finance Bill 2023, for Parliament’s approval.

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Solution: d)

The project NIPUN (National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman workers) is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under its flagship scheme of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to train over 1 lakh construction workers, through fresh skilling and upskilling programmes and provides them with work opportunities in foreign countries also.

DAY-NULM is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, being implemented since 2014-15, with the aim to reduce poverty and vulnerability of urban poor households in the country by enabling them to access self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, resulting in an appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis. The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the nodal agency under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India, will be the Implementation Partner for the project NIPUN.

Project NIPUN will also facilitate and support convergence with related line ministries.

Solution: c)

Tax revenues consist of the proceeds of taxes and other duties levied by the central government.

Tax revenues comprise of direct taxes – which fall directly on individuals (personal income tax) and firms (corporation tax), and indirect taxes like excise taxes (duties levied on goods produced within the country), customs duties (taxes imposed on goods imported into and exported out of India) and service tax.

Non-tax revenue of the central government mainly consists of interest receipts (on account of loans by the central government which constitutes the single largest item of non-tax revenue), dividends and profits on investments made by the government, fees and other receipts for services rendered by the government. Cash grants-in-aid from foreign countries and international organisations are also included.

Income generated by the Central Government through the spectrum auctions is part of non-tax revenue.

Solution: a)

The study under National Mission on Himalayan Studies revealed a strong link between habitat use by Snow Leopard and its prey species Siberian ibex and blue sheep.

Spiti Valley possessed a good habitat in and outside the protected areas which could support a viable population of both snow leopard and its prey species.  

Classified as ‘Vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list and listed in Schedule-I species of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, snow leopards are elusive mountain cats whose survival depends on depends primarily on wild ungulates.