1. Which of the following is correct regarding Jaldoot, recently seen in news.

a) Composite Water Management Index (CWMI 2.0) report released by NITI Aayog.
b) State Water Policy of Meghalaya.
c) A travelling exhibition to spread the message of water conservation.
d) Save Water Day observed across the country.

Solution: c)
Jaldoot, a travelling exhibition arranged by Pune-based Regional Outreach Bureau of I&B ministry, will tour eight districts of Maharashtra in the next two months.

2. Consider the following statements.

1) Economic capital framework refers to the risk capital required by the central bank while taking into account different risks.
2) RBI pays wealth tax to the Union Government for holding capital reserves.
3) RBI transfers surplus reserves to the Government of India in accordance with Section 47 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1, 2
b) 2, 3
c) 1, 3
d) 1, 2, 3

Solution: c)

• Economic capital framework refers to the risk capital required by the central bank while taking into account different risks.
• The economic capital framework reflects the capital that an institution requires or needs to hold as a counter against unforeseen risks or events or losses in the future.
• Although RBI was promoted as a private shareholders’ bank in 1935 with a paid up capital of Rs 5 crore, the government nationalised RBI in January 1949, making the sovereign its “owner”. What the central bank does, therefore, is transfer the “surplus” — that is, the excess of income over expenditure — to the government, in accordance with Section 47 (Allocation of Surplus Profits) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• Does the RBI pay tax on these earnings or profits?
  No. Its statute provides exemption from paying income-tax or any other tax, including wealth tax.

3. Consider the following statements regarding Central Adverse List.

1)Central Adverse List is a list of individuals who supported the Khalistan movement in the 1980s and ‘90s and left India to take asylum abroad.
2)The list is maintained by Ministry of External Affairs.
3)The list also has names of individuals who are suspected to have links with terror outfits or violated visa norms in a previous visit to India.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1, 2
b) 1, 3
c) 2, 3
d) 1, 2, 3

Solution: b)

• The MHA maintains a list of individuals who supported the Khalistan movement in the 1980s and ‘90s and left India to take asylum abroad.
• This list included name of pro-Khalistan “hardliners” who had opposed the Operation Blue Star.
• It also has names of individuals who are suspected to have links with terror outfits or violated visa norms in a previous visit to India, those who indulged in criminal activities or been accused of sexual crimes against children in their respective countries.
• As many as 312 Sikhs, who had fled the country during the peak of militancy in Punjab and were thus put on an “Adverse List” prepared by the government, have been taken out of it. The 314-strong list now has only two individuals  who are still suspected of being linked with forces inimical to India.

4. Hongyun project recently seen in news is related to

a) Longest railway bridge construction in China
b) Discovery of a new exotic planet outside our solar system
c) Space-based communications network to provide broadband internet connectivity
d) Surveying the surface of Mars

Solution: c)

• China has launched its first communication satellite to provide broadband internet services worldwide.
• The satellite is the first in the Hongyun project planned by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC).
• The Hongyun project, started in September 2016, aims to build a space-based communications network to provide broadband internet connectivity to users around the world, especially those in the underserved regions.

5. Consider the following statements with respect to ‘Pattinappaalai’

1)It was written by the poet Uruttiragannanar in praise of the Chola king Karikala.
2)It was written in the Sangam Period.
Select the correct statements

a) 1 Only
b) 2 Only
c) Both
d) None

Solution (c)

• Pattinappaalai is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE.
• Pattinappaalai is part of the Pattupattu collection, which is the oldest available collection of long poems in Tamil literature.
• Pattinappaalai was written by the poet Uruttiragannanar in praise of the Chola king Karikala.
• Pattinappaalai poems belong to the Akam, or subjective themes of love and human relationships and utilises the location of the story to sing praises of the ruler.