Prelims Objective Practices Questions

(I.) Consider the following statements regarding Election Commission of India.
1. Governor of a state is constitutionally bound to provide support staff to the Election commission, if required.
2. It conducts election to the office of Vice president of India.
3. An Election commissioner can be removed from his office without the recommendation of chief election commissioner.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A.) 2 only
B.) 1, 2
C.) 2, 3
D.) 1, 3

(II.) Consider the following statements regarding the Preamble to the Constitution of India.
1. The expression ‘Unity and Integrity of the Nation’ is there in the preamble since the beginning of the Constitution.
2. Equality of Status and Equality of opportunity find mention in the preamble.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A.) 1 only
B.) 2 only
C.) Both 1 and 2
D.) Neither 1 nor 2

(III.) Which one of the following Fundamental rights was described by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar as ‘the heart and soul of the Constitution’?
A.) Right to equality
B.) Right to freedom of Religion
C.) Right to free speech and expression
D.) Right to Constitutional remedies

UPSC Mains Question :-

• Why has the govt. put ban on certain single use plastic items. Analyse in the light of the alternatives present for Single use Plastic.
  

Prelims Specific Facts

1.) The Asia Pacific Sustainability Index 2021 was recently launched by Knight Frank, which is a Global property consultant.

• In the index, four Indian cities viz., Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Mumbai, have been ranked among top 20 sustainable cities.
• In it, 36 cities were ranked on the basis of urbanisation pressure, carbon emissions, climate risk, and government initiatives.
• Rank of World’s cities Index has been topped by Singapore. It is followed by Sydney, Wellington, Perth, and Melbourne.
• These are the top five green-rated cities in commercial real estate in Asia-Pacific region.
• Rank of Indian cities:-
  • Among the Indian cities, Bengaluru was ranked first. While in the Asia-Pacific region, it has been ranked 14th Bengaluru is the only Indian city to achieve ‘Gold’ standard category.
    

2.) On June 29, 2022, the United Nations published its report titled “Habitat World Cities Report 2022”.

• The UN-Habitat World Cities Report 2022 highlights that, rapid urbanisation in India was delayed temporarily due to covid-19 pandemic.
• Urban population in India is estimated to reach at 675 million in 2035. It will be the second highest figure, behind China’s one billion.
• After covid-19 pandemic, global urban population is growing again. It will grow by another 2.2 billion by 2050.
• India’s urban population is likely to reach 675,456,000 in 2035, as compared to 483,099,000 in 2020.
• Percentage of population in urban areas India will be 43.2 percent, by 2035.
• Global Scenario:-
  • Urban Population in China is estimated to reach at 1.05 billion in 2035.
  • Urban population in Asia will increase to 2.99 billion in 2035.
    

3.) On June 30, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in ‘Udyami Bharat’ programme.

• On the occasion, he launched following key initiatives:–
  • The Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) scheme capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters (CBFTE) scheme New features of Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) to boost the MSME sector.
  • He also transferred the assistance to beneficiaries of PMEGP, digitally, for 2022-23.
  • He announced results of MSME Idea Hackathon, 2022 and distributed National MSME Awards, 2022.
  • Digital Equity Certificates were also issued to 75 MSMEs in Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund.
• About RAMP scheme :-
• The Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance(RAMP) scheme was launched with an outlay of around Rs. 6000 crore.
• It is aimed at scaling up the coverage and implementation capacity of MSMEs across the states, along with the impact enhancement of existing MSME schemes.
  

4.) First copy of Tamil Bible stolen from Saraswathi Mahal traced to London

• The copy of what is considered the first Tamil translation of the Bible, which was reportedly stolen form Saraswathi Mahal Library, Thanjavur, has been traced by Idol Wing-CID to London.
• The first Tamil translation of the New Testament was printed in 1715 by Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg, a Danish Missionary. It was presented to Tulaji Rajah Serfoji by Schwartz, another missionary and a close friend of the king.
• October 7, 2005, the day the book went missing. Further inquiries revealed that these visitors had come to India to attend a function to commemorate Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg.
• Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg was born in Saxony in 1682.

• In 2020, the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property celebrates its 50th anniversary. Adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 14 November 1970, this Convention provides an international framework for the prevention of theft and looting and the return and restitution of stolen cultural property, in parallel with other advances in the fight against illicit trafficking.

• For over 50 years UNESCO has developed a legal reference to fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property through the 1970 Convention, which offers a common framework to States Parties on the measures to be taken to prohibit and prevent the import, export and transfer of illicit cultural goods.

• On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1970 Convention, UNESCO is launching an international communication campaign The True Price of Art with the agency DDB Paris who designed it. In the press and on social networks, this campaign aims to raise the general public’s awareness of the disastrous consequences of this trafficking.
  
  

5.) Pharmacopoeia

• What is Pharmacopoeia?
  • an official publication containing a list of medicinal drugs with their effects and directions for their use.
    

6.) Govt. recasts Banks Board Bureau to FSIB

• The Centre has transformed the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) into Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) by making some amendments.
• Guidelines for selection of general managers and directors of public sector general managers and directors of public sector general insurance companies have made part of FSIB.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has asked the Department of Financial Services to carry out necessary modifications in the Nationalized Banks (Management and Miscellaneous Provisions) Scheme of 1970/1980 with the approval of Finance Minister, and then notify the government resolution for establishing FSIB as a single entity for making recommendations for appointments of whole time directors and non-executive chairman of banks and financial institutions.
• The Prime Minister, in 2016, approved the constitution of BBB as a body of eminent professionals and officials to make recommendations for appointment of whole-time directors as well as non-executive chairpersons of public sector banks (PSBs) and state-owned financial institutions.
• It was also entrusted with the task of engaging with the board of directors of all PSBs to formulate appropriate strategies for their growth and development.
  

Editorial of the Day

Reset Mode

GST’s Metamorphosis into a truly Good and Simple Tax needs more Centre-States dialogue

• A new ministerial panel is being tasked with figuring out the long-pending constitution of an appellate tribunal for GST disputes, to move ahead. Based on an ‘interim’ report of a panel to rationalise tax rates, ex emptions have been scrapped on several items and rates altered for others to correct inverted duty structures.
• This may translate into higher prices on many goods and services (and reductions for a few) from July 18, although their impact on inflation is difficult to as certain. However, a larger restructuring of the GST’s multiple rates’ structure, with an increase in levies to bolster revenues that have fallen short of expectations, partly due to rate cuts earlier effected as electoral tools, has been put off. With inflation expected to remain buoyant, that exercise may have to wait longer.
• Apart from the fine print of the Council’s decisions, which include tighter norms on the horizon for registering new firms and closing of tax evasion loopholes, there is a more critical takeaway. That the deliberations were constructive and not combative, especially amid the brewing trust deficit between the Centre and States in the past few meetings and the prolonged pause since it last met, bodes well for the necessary next steps to make GST deliver on its original hopes.