1. Consider the following statements regarding Foreigners tribunal:
1) It was set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1964.
2) They are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate citizenship in Assam.
3) Only the State administration could move the Tribunal against a suspect.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 and 3 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 2 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (c) 1 and 2 only
Explanation:
In NEWS: Assam directs Foreigners’ Tribunals to not pass ‘consequential orders’ on detention, deportation
● As per the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, FTs were constituted to give an “opinion” on whether a person is a foreigner or not. However, as per the letter on September 4, the FT members were passing “consequential orders/directions”
Foreigners’ Tribunals:
● Set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1964, FTs are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate citizenship in Assam. Hence statement (1) is correct and statement (2) is correct.
● As per the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, FTs were constituted to give an “opinion” on whether a person is a foreigner or not, as per Foreigners Act, 1946. Earlier, the powers to constitute tribunals were vested only with the Centre.
● The Act is unique to Assam, in other parts, once a ‘foreigner’ has been apprehended by the police for staying illegally, he or she is produced before a local court under the Passport Act, 1920, or the Foreigners Act, 1946.
● Section 9 of the Foreigners Act says that “the onus of proving that such person is not a foreigner or is not a foreigner of such particular class or description, as the case may be, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, lie upon such person”. Thus, the accused has to prove he or she is an Indian.
● The amended Foreigners (Tribunal) Order, 2019 empowers individuals to approach the Tribunals.
● Earlier, only the State administration could move the Tribunal against a suspect, but with the final NRC, if a person doesn’t find his or her name in the final list, they could move the Tribunal. Hence statement (3) is incorrect.
2. With respect to Foreign Contribution (regulation) Act, 2010, Consider the following statements:
1) It is applicable to all associations, groups and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations.
2) It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA.
3) The registration is initially valid for five years.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 and 3 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 2 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
Explanation:
In NEWS: FCRA: Govt restricts funding by 10 foreign agencies to Indian NGOs
● The ministry of home affairs (MHA) red flagged 10 foreign agencies, placing them in the prior reference category, which bars them from funding Indian NGOs without the central government’s permission under FCRA law.
● Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sent an internal note to all the banks directing them to put a specific number of foreign organizations in the PRC list (Prior Reference Category) under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 2010.
● The FCRA approval of foreign funded NGOs including the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative was suspended in June 2021.
● More than 6600 NGOs’ FCRA licenses were cancelled with around 260 of them suspended by the government during the period 2016-2020.
Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA):
● Foreign Contribution (regulation) Act, 2010 is a consolidating act whose scope is to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by individuals or associations or companies.
● The act regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect internal security.
● It is implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
● FCRA is applicable to all associations, groups and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations. Hence statement (1) is correct.
● It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA. Hence statement (2) is correct.
● The registration is initially valid for five years and it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms. Hence statement (3) is correct.
● Registered associations can receive foreign contribution for social, educational, religious, economic and cultural purposes.
● Filing of annual returns, on the lines of Income Tax, is compulsory.
● The NGOs must give an undertaking that the acceptance of foreign funds is not likely to prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India or impact friendly relations with any foreign state and does not disrupt communal harmony.
● All such NGOs would have to operate accounts in either nationalised or private banks which have core banking facilities to allow security agencies access on a real time basis.
● The Act makes Aadhaar number mandatory for all office bearers, directors or key functionaries of a person receiving foreign contribution, as an identification document.
● All funds received by an NGO must be used only for the purpose for which they were received. No funds other than foreign contributions are deposited in the Foreign Contribution account.
3. Young Scientists Forum is associated with which one of the following international organisations?
a) BRICS
b) ASEAN
c) SAARC
d) UNESCO
Answer: (a) BRICS
Explanation:
In NEWS: Importance Of Cooperation, Collaboration & Connections In Science Highlighted AtBRICS Young Scientists Forum
● The BRICS Young Scientist Forum has created a network to harness knowledge for solving common societal challenges through research and innovation. Hence option (a) is correct.
● The BRICS Young Scientist Conclave created a pool of creative youth in Science & Technology.
● The Department of Science and Technology and Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology highlighted the importance of cooperation, collaboration and connections for science to move forward, at the BRICS Young Scientists Forum.
● The BRICS-YSF summits were first hosted by India in 2016, followed by China in 2017, South Africa in 2018, Brazil in 2019, and Russia in 2020. This year the four-day conclave started on 13 September 2021 and would end on 16 September.
● The best young scientist with an idea on innovation would be awarded at the BRICS-YSF 2021. Young innovator prize has been one of the focuses of the BRICS-YSF and the award is supported by the DST, Government of India.
● The next conclave would be organized by China in 2022.
Source: PIB
4. The term LeadIT Initiative, is often seen in news, is closely related to
a) Vaccine campaign India
b) Crypto Currencies
c) Supercomputer
d) Climate Change
Answer: (d) Climate Change
Explanation:
In NEWS: India asks rich nations to go for deep emission cuts, says ‘net zero’ alone not enough
● Centre urged Indian companies to join “Leadership Group for Industry Transition” -a global initiative spearheaded by India and Sweden, informed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Hence option (d) is correct.
● The need of the hour is ‘deeds’ and not ‘plain words’ to deal with climate change and that reaching ‘net zero’ alone is not enough, emphasising that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published recently is a clarion call for the developed countries to undertake immediate deep emission cuts and decarbonize their economies.
LeadIT Initiative:
● Government of Sweden and India at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019 with the support from World Economic Forum.
● The group gathers countries and companies that are committed to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement by reaching net-zero carbon emissions from industry by 2050.
● Currently, the Group has a membership of 16 countries and 19 companies, including Dalmia Cement, Mahindra Group and SpiceJet from India.
● The LeadIT Secretariat is responsible for managing the work of the Leadership Group and is hosted by Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).
● The group provides an arena for public-private collaboration for sectoral and cross-sectoral learning when it comes to innovation opportunities and new technologies.
● It also enables collaboration between political and industry decision-makers by convening high-level dialogues to catalyze leadership.
● Moreover, it also supports governments and industries to co-produce stakeholder-led pathways to low carbon industry transformation.
5. Consider the following statements regarding Lithium:
1) It is a soft and silvery-white metal.
2) It is highly reactive and flammable and must be stored in mineral oil.
3) It is used to make useful alloys and to make electrochemical cells.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 and 3 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 2 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
Explanation:
In NEWS: In Argentina’s north, a ‘white gold’ rush for EV metal lithium gathers pace
● Already the fourth top producer of lithium worldwide, Argentina’s national and local governments are now looking to speed up development, held back for years by red tape, high tax rates, rampant inflation and currency controls.
● In Argentina’s remote northern Salta province, the silence of the desert landscape is broken only by the hum of machinery pumping salt-water brine to extract lithium, a sign of accelerating efforts to ride the global electric vehicle boom.
● Argentina could become the world’s leading producer from brines in less than a decade if the flow of projects is followed and maintained
Lithium:
● It is a chemical element with the symbol Li.
● It is a soft, silvery-white metal. Hence statement (1) is correct.
● Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.
● It is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in mineral oil. Hence statement (2) is correct.
● It is an alkali metal and a rare metal.
● Lithium metal is used to make useful alloys, in thermonuclear reactions. And to make electrochemical cells. Lithium is an important component in Electric Vehicles, Laptops. Hence statement (3) is correct.
● Researchers at the Atomic Minerals Directorate (under India’s Atomic Energy Commission) have estimated lithium reserves of 14,100 tonnes in a small patch of land surveyed in Southern Karnataka’s Mandya district recently.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/world/argentina-white-gold-lithium-7508319/
6. With respect to Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, consider the following statements:
1) He took part in Gandhi’s campaign in South Africa, in 1913.
2) He set up the first Provisional Government of India in Afghanistan in 1915.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Explanation:
In NEWS: PM Modi lays foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh Varsity in Aligarh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lays foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University in Aligarh.
Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh:
● He was an Indian freedom fighter, journalist, writer, revolutionary, President in the Provisional Government of India, and a social reformist in the Republic of India.
● He took part in Gandhi’s campaign in South Africa, in 1913. Hence statement (1) is correct.
● He escaped to Germany and remained in exile for about 33 years as he was wanted by the British authorities.
● He set up the first Provisional Government of India in Afghanistan in 1915, declaring himself as the President. He also declared a jihad against colonial rule. Hence statement (2) is correct.
● He is said to have met Vladimir Lenin in 1919, two years after the Bolshevik Revolution (in Russia).
● In 1925, he went on a mission to Tibet and met the Dalai Lama. He was primarily on an unofficial economic mission on behalf of Afghanistan, but he also wanted to expose the British brutalities in India.
● He later fled to Japan, where he established the Executive Board of India in Japan in 1940.
● He finally returned to India a year before Independence, and immediately began working with Mahatma Gandhi.
● Established Prem Maha Vidyalaya, a polytechnic college, in Vrindavan, which offered various courses, including carpentry, pottery and textiles under one roof.
● He gave his own residence to establish the first technical school of the country.
● He founded the world federation.
7. Adjusted Gross Revenue recently seen in news is related to which of the following economic sector
a) Stock Market
b) Agriculture
c) Artificial Intelligence
d) Telecommunication
Answer: (d) Telecommunication
Explanation:
In NEWS: Lifeline for telcos as government offers four-year moratorium on dues
● The Cabinet approved several measures to extend a lifeline to the cash-strapped telecom sector, including a redefinition of the much-litigated concept of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) to exclude non-telecom revenue and a four-year moratorium on players’ dues to the government.
Adjusted Gross Revenue:
● Telecom operators are required to pay licence fee and spectrum charges in the form of ‘revenue share’ to the Centre. The revenue amount used to calculate this revenue share is termed as the AGR. Hence option (d) is correct.
● According to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the calculations should incorporate all revenues earned by a telecom company – including from non-telecom sources such as deposit interests and sale of assets.
● The companies, however, have been of the view that AGR should comprise the revenues generated from telecom services only and non-telecom revenues should be kept out of it.
● The telecom sector was liberalised under the National Telecom Policy, 1994 after which licenses were issued to companies in return for a fixed license fee. To provide relief from the steep fixed license fee, the government in 1999 gave an option to the licensees to migrate to the revenue sharing fee model.
● Under this, mobile telephone operators were required to share a percentage of their AGR with the government as annual license fee (LF) and spectrum usage charges (SUC). License agreements between the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the telecom companies define the gross revenues of the latter. AGR is then computed after allowing for certain deductions spelt out in these license agreements.
● The dispute between DoT and the mobile operators was mainly on the definition of AGR.
8. Recently seen in the news, Strophodusjaisalmerensis is related to
a) Triassic plant species
b) Mesozoic Frog Species
c) Jurassic era Shark
d) Jurassic era Fish Species
Answer: (c) Jurassic era Shark
Explanation:
In NEWS: Discovery of New Species of Hybodont Shark From Jurassics of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
● In a rare discovery, teeth of a new species of hybodont shark of the Jurassic age have been reported for the first time from Jaisalmer. Hence option (c) is correct.
● Significantly, the newly discovered crushing teeth from Jaisalmer represent a new species named by the research team as Strophodusjaisalmerensis. The genus Strophodus has been identified for the first time from the Indian subcontinent and is only the third such record from Asia, the other two being from Japan and Thailand.
● The new species has recently been included in Shark references.com, an international platform operating in association with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Species Survival Commission (SSC), and Germany.
● This discovery marks an important milestone in the study of Jurassic vertebrate fossils in the Jaisalmer region of Rajasthan, and it opens a new window for further research in the domain of vertebrate fossils.
● The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was set up in 1851 primarily to find coal deposits for the Railways. Over the years, GSI has not only grown into a repository of geo-science information required in various fields in the country but has also attained the status of a geo-scientific organisation of international repute. Its main functions relate to creating and updating of national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment.
Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1755096
9. The Trade and Development report is released by which one of the following international organizations?
a) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
b) World Trade Organization
c) International Monetary Fund
d) World Bank
Answer: (a) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Explanation:
In NEWS: India expected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2021 but could decelerate next year: UN report
● The UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2021, released, sounded a cautiously optimistic note to say that the global economy is set for a strong recovery in 2021. Hence option (a) is correct.
● India is expected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2021 but economic growth could decelerate next year, according to a United Nations report which said the recovery in the country is constrained by the ongoing human and economic cost of the COVID-19 pandemic and the negative impact of food price inflation on private consumption.
● After a 3.5 per cent fall in 2020, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) expects world output to grow 5.3 per cent this year, partially recovering the ground lost in 2020.
● The report said that India “suffered a contraction” of 7 per cent in 2020 and is expected to grow 7.2 per cent in 2021
● The report projects that India will clock an economic growth of 6.7 per cent in 2022, slower than the country’s expected 2021 growth rate.
● However, even with a slower growth rate of 6.7 per cent, India will still be the fastest-growing major economy in the world next year.
● It noted that income and wealth inequalities in the country have widened, and “social unrest has increased”.
● The Central Bank estimates another sharp contraction (quarter-on-quarter) in the second quarter followed by a rebound afterwards.
10. Which one of the following suggested that the Governor should be an imminent person from outside the State and should be a detached figure without intense political links or should not have taken part in politics in the recent past?
a) First Administrative Reforms Commission (1966)
b) Rajamannar Committee (1969)
c) Sarkaria Commission (1983)
d) National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000)
Answer: (c) Sarkaria Commission (1983)
Explanation:
Sarkaria Commission Report (1988)
● Recommendation on appointment of Governor: o Governor should be an eminent person and not belong to the state where he is to be posted. o State chief minister should have a say in the appointment of governor or Governor should be a detached figure without intense political links or should not have taken part in politics in the recent past. Hence, Statement (c) is correct.
