1. Consider the following statements regarding National Single Window System
1) It is a one-stop digital platform that aims at allowing investors to apply for various pre-operations approvals required for commencing a business in the country.
2) It is launched by Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Which of the statements given above 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: Goyal launches National Single Window System for investors, businesses
● The government launched the much-awaited national single-window system for investors and businesses. The portal will integrate the existing clearance systems of the Centre and states.
● The National Single Window System is envisioned to address information asymmetry, duplication of information submitted across platforms and authorities and inefficient tracking of approvals and registration faced by investors.
● The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) under Ministry of Commerce and Industry had planned to launch the portal in April, but it got delayed due to the second wave. Hence Statement 2 is correct
● The platform will do away with the need for multiple applications across various portals. An investment proposal typically requires a bunch of approvals and clearances across various states and government departments. However, all approvals will still be needed.
● This would bring transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the ecosystem and all information will be available on a single dashboard. An applicant dashboard would be there to apply, track and respond to queries. Services include know your approval (KYA), common registration form, state registration form, document repository and e-communication
● National Single Window System is a one-stop digital platform that aims at allowing investors to apply for various pre-operations approvals required for commencing a business in the country. Hence Statement 1 is correct
● The system aims to make the business registration process easier, allowing the beneficiary to get significant approvals online, without having to run to the government offices for approvals and can avail themselves of services with just a click
2. With respect to Service Exports from India Scheme, Consider the following statements
1) It aims to promote export of services only from India by providing duty scrip credit for eligible exports.
2) SEIS scheme are not applicable to SEZ units.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (a) 1 only
Explanation:
In NEWS: Entitlement under SEIS for services exports in FY20 capped at Rs 5 crore
● The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has imposed a cap on the total entitlement under the Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) at Rs 5 crore per exporter for shipments done in 2019-20 (FY20).
● The move is expected to benefit small businesses in the services sector.
● SEIS was rolled out six years ago, as part of the foreign trade policy 2015-2020, to promote export of services from India. Under the scheme, the government gives 3-5 per cent incentive on net foreign exchange earned in the form of duty-credit scrips.
● Scrips can be used for payment of basic and additional Customs duties on goods imported.
● The facility to claim benefits under SEIS on payments in Indian currency will not be available for services rendered in FY20. The deadline for submission of SEIS for FY20 will be December 31.
About SEIS
● Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) aims to promote export of services from India by providing duty scrip credit for eligible exports. Hence Statement 1 is correct
● Under the scheme, service providers, located in India, would be rewarded under the SEIS scheme, for all eligible export of services from India.
● SEIS was earlier termed as Served from India Scheme (SFIS).
● Service Providers of notified services, located in India are eligible for the Service Exports from India Scheme.
● To be eligible, a service provider (Company / LLP / Partnership Firm) should have a minimum net free foreign exchange earnings of USD 15000 in the preceding financial year to be eligible for duty credit scrips.
● For proprietorships or individual service providers, minimum net foreign exchange earnings of USD10,000 in the preceding financial year is required to be eligible for the scheme.
● Also, in order to claim reward under the SEIS scheme, the service provider shall have to have an active Import Export Code (IE Code) at the time of rendering such services for which rewards are claimed.
● Both SEIS and MEIS schemes are applicable to SEZ units. Hence Statement 2 is incorrect
3. Sometimes the term FASTER system is seen in news, it is related to
a) Resolving judicial pendency
b) Eradication of poverty
c) Waste-to-Energy
d) Resolving insolvency in India
Answer: (a) Resolving judicial pendency
Explanation:
In NEWS: Supreme Court nod for e-transfer of orders to jails for quick prisoner release
● In a major reform, the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead to implement a system for electronic transmission of its orders.
● The FASTER (Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records) system proposes transmission of e-authenticated copies of interim orders, stay orders, bail orders and record of proceedings to the duty-holders for compliance and due execution, through a secured electronic communication channel. Hence option (a) is correct
● It is conceived for delivery of orders to concerned prisons, District Courts, High Courts, as the case may be, for instantaneous delivery of orders passed by apex court through a secure communication channel.
● The process to develop the FASTER system began with the CJI’s observations in court on July 16 this year.
● With FASTER, crucial decisions, including orders on bail and stay of arrest, can be communicated electronically to prison authorities and investigating agencies through a secure channel.
● The system would also prevent unnecessary arrests and custody of people even after the court had already granted them its protection.
● It may even communicate a stay on an execution ordered by the final court on time.
4. Which of the following countries are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership?
1) Australia
2) Canada
3) USA
4) Vietnam
5) Japan
6) India
Select the correct options from the given below codes
a) 1, 2, 4 and 5 only
b) 2,3,4,5 and 6 only
c) 1,2 and 3 only
d) 1,2,3,4,5 and 6
Answer: (a) 1, 2, 4 and 5 only
Explanation:
In NEWS: China sends fighter jets towards Taiwan
● China sent 19 aircraft towards Taiwan amid rising tensions across the straits, in the latest messaging from Beijing to both Taipei and Washington on its posture on the Taiwan issue.
● China sends fighter jets towards Taiwan. The latest show of force came as Taiwan said it had submitted an application to join the 11-nation CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) trade deal, days after China said it had formally applied to join the Pacific pact.
About Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
● The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership may be referred to as a free trade agreement between the countries Australia, Canada, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Mexico and Japan. It is one of the largest free trade agreements negotiated till date. Hence option (a) is correct
The key features of this agreement are as follows:
● Creating a free trade area: The Agreement calls for a free trade area to be created as per requirements of Article XXIV of GATT (envisages the need for a free trade area for facilitating trade between the constituent territories but not for raising barriers to trade) and Article V of GATS (grounds for economic integration).
● National Treatment: It requires the parties to give national treatment to the goods of the other State parties as per GATT provisions.
● Eliminating customs duties: The Agreement stipulates that no party is allowed to increase customs duty on an originating good or adopt any new customs duty with respect to it. Rather, parties have been mandated to eliminate these customs duties as per commitments set forth in the annexure.
● In case of export for repair or alteration: If a good is exported to another Party’s territory for the purpose of repair or alteration, it has to still be exempted from customs duty.
● Export and import restrictions: The Agreement prevents any restrictions on export or import of goods from another Party except as provided under Article XI of GATT 1994.
● Committee on Trade in Goods: A Committee on Trade in Goods is to be established consisting of government representative from every signatory country.
● The Committee is to meet once in a year for the first five years after the Agreement enters into force.
● Safeguard Measures: The Agreement provides for conditions when safeguard measures can be applied which include global safeguards stated by the GATT and transitional safeguard measures.
● It also provides for the practices relating to antidumping and countervailing duty.
● The other provisions relate to financial services, technical barriers to trade, investment and sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
5. Consider the following statements
1) Tax buoyancy explains relationship between the changes in government’s tax revenue growth and the changes in GDP.
2) When a tax is buoyant, its revenue increases with increasing the tax rate.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (a) 1 only
Explanation:
In NEWS: Govt eyeing ₹1.15 lakh cr monthly GST mop-up: Revenue Secretary
Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj wants to be cautious even though both indirect and direct tax collections during the first two quarters of this fiscal year have shown buoyancy.
Bajaj said the government is now eyeing ₹1.15-lakh crore average monthly GST collection.
About Tax buoyancy
● Tax buoyancy explains relationship between the changes in government’s tax revenue growth and the changes in GDP. Hence Statement 1 is correct
● It refers to the responsiveness of tax revenue growth to changes in GDP.
● When a tax is buoyant, its revenue increases without increasing the tax rate. Hence Statement 2 is incorrect
● A similar looking concept is tax elasticity. It refers to changes in tax revenue in response to changes in tax rate.
Tax buoyancy depends mainly on
● Size of the tax base
● Tax administration regime
● Reasonableness and simplicity of the tax rates
● Wealth creation
6. Consider the following statements regarding Arjun Mk-1A
1) It is a new variant of Arjun Tank designed and developed by the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment
2) It can take on the enemy during day & night conditions and in both static & dynamic modes.
Which of the statements given above 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: Explained: What’s new in Arjun Mark-1A, and why its acquisition is significant
● The acquisition of 118 tanks — that would come at the cost of Rs 7,523 crore — would equip three armoured regiments of the tank.
What’s new in Arjun Mark-1A?
● The development of Arjun was started by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the late 1980s, primarily to augment the predominantly Russian-made armoured fleet until then.
● The development of the tank was led by the Chennai-based DRDO facility Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) along with the other DRDO laboratories. Hence Statement 1 is correct
● The Mark-1A variant adds 72 new features — 14 major and 58 minor — to the previous variant Mark-1
● These additions have resulted in better all-terrain mobility and manoeuvrability in different modes of operation, better target acquisition, and precision firing during both day and night with a 360° view, and a multi-layered robust protective armour named ‘Kanchan’. Hence Statement 2 is correct
● The acquisition of 118 tanks would equip three armoured regiments, as one regiment comprises 40 to 50 tanks. This acquisition holds significance in light of the Pakistan Army’s latest acquisition of two tanks, VT-4 and Al-Khalid.
● Both tanks, which are of Chinese origin, are comparable to the Russian origin T-90 tanks that are in use by the Indian Army.
● The additions, along with its robust 120 mm rifled gun, have contributed to its categorisation as the ‘hunter killer’.
● Arjun Mark-1A is ideally suited for desert terrain, and even more effective and lethal compared to earlier variant due to the new additions.
7. Consider the following statements regarding Flex fuel vehicle
1) It is a modified version of vehicles that could run both on gasoline and blended petrol with different levels of Ethanol blends.
2) In these vehicles, both fuels are stored in a different tank.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (a) 1 only
Explanation:
In NEWS: Government will mandate ‘flex-fuel’ vehicles in the next 3-4 months, says Nitin Gadkari
● In the next 3 to 4 months, I will be issuing an order, mandating all vehicle manufacturers to power vehicles with flex engines (that can run on more than one fuel)
● The Minister of Road Transport & Highways had highlighted the government’s plans to announce guidelines for flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) by the third quarter of current year (FY22), at an event earlier this month.
● Aimed at reducing the use of polluting fossil fuels and cutting down harmful emissions, such a move will also be cost-effective for consumers, who are hassled by the high petrol prices, the minister said, pointing out that a litre of bioethanol costs Rs 65 as against Rs 110 paid for petrol. The alternative fuel is also less polluting and saves forex.
● State-run oil marketing companies have already been ordered to offer bio-fuels at the same facilities as the one selling petrol and diesel
About Flex fuel vehicle
● It is also called as the “dual-fuel vehicle” or a flex-fuel vehicle. FFV is an alternative fuel vehicle which comprises of the internal combustion engine which run on more than one fuel. Hence Statement 1 is correct
● It usually run on the gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel.
● Both of the fuels are stored in same common tank. Hence Statement 2 is incorrect
● The engines of the vehicle are capable of burning any proportion of the resulting blend in its combustion chamber.
● The fuel injection and spark timing are automatically adjusted in accordance with the actual blend detected by the fuel composition sensor.
● The FFV is different from the bi-fuel vehicles. In the bi-fuel vehicle, two fuels are stored in the separate tanks and engine runs on one fuel at a time.
● In India, the FFVs will present a different advantage because the vehicles will allow the vehicles to use the different blends of ethanol mixed petrol which are available across the country as opposed to the current regulation.
● The current regulation allows to mix up to 10 percent ethanol in petrol.
● Ethanol can also, unfortunately, cause corrosion and damage to the engine, mainly because it absorbs dirt easily. Engine damage is more in FFVs than in the normal vehicles.
8. With respect to Poshan Vatikas, Consider the following statements
1) It is launched by Ministry of Women and Child Development.
2) It aims to ensure supply of nutrition through organically home grown vegetables and fruits simultaneously ensuring that the soil must also remain healthy.
Which of the statements given above 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: How ‘Poshan Vatikas’ can help bridge the nutrition gap in women and children
● In the backdrop of the month-long celebrations for Poshan Maah in September 2021, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has been promoting the establishment of “Poshan Vatikas” across the country. Hence Statement 1 is correct
About Posha Vatika
● Posha Vatika means that small piece of land where the people of the house grow vegetables to make sure that all in the family specially children and women should not become victim of mal-nutrition. Hence Statement 2 is correct
● The main objective is to ensure supply of nutrition through organically home grown vegetables and fruits simultaneously ensuring that the soil must also remain healthy.
● The idea evolved around the need to ensure nutrition supply for a family in the remotest of a tribal village.
● The idea is to make sure that all in the family specially children and women should not become victim of mal-nutrition. It’s evolved on the principle of low cost organic farming in a small piece of land either part of agri field or a small area adjacent to home or hut of the family.
● The main objective is to ensure supply of nutrition through organically home grown vegetables and fruits simultaneously ensuring that the soil must also remain healthy.
9. With respect to Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) technology, Consider the following statements
1) It is a bidirectional fully networked wireless communication technology that uses radio frequencies
2) It provides more secure data transfer than other data transfer technology.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (b) 2 only
Explanation:
In NEWS: India’s highest altitude institute in Ladakh gets LiFi network for faster internet
● LiFi means transmitting data with a light beam spectrum through open space in outdoor and indoor environments.
● The Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) has become the first-of-its-kind institute in the Union Territory to have an internet connection using Light Fidelity (LiFi) technology.
About Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) technology
● It is a bidirectional fully networked wireless communication technology that uses visible light rather than radio frequencies. as a medium to carry data. Hence Statement 1 is incorrect
● An improvised LED bulb functions as a router
● It can offer greater security, data rates and densities to support more robust and reliable wireless networks that complement and enhance existing cellular and Wi-Fi networks. Hence Statement 2 is correct
● It provides ultra-fast data connections, and are especially useful in urban areas where radio spectra are congested and also very useful in rural areas wherein Fiber Optic Cables or networks are not reachable.
● Nav Wireless Technologies is the only registered company in the LiFi sector in Asia.
How does Li-Fi work?
● An ordinary off-the-shelf LED bulb is connected to a device, which in turn is connected to the Internet.
● The Internet data flows in via the device into the bulb and is carried by light waves.
● At the other end, light waves carrying the Internet data falls on a receiver or a dongle that is connected to the computer.
● The visible light spectrum is available in plenty, unlicensed and free to use
● The double benefit of a bulb giving us light as well as internet access
● Low interference leads to very high data speed
● Li-Fi works underwater as well
● LED illumination is already efficient and data transmission needs very little additional power.
● It can achieve about 1,000 times the data density of Wi-Fi since light can be contained in an area
10. Consider the following statements:
1) The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian territory.
2) Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar.
3) The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3
c) 3 only
d) 1 and 3
Answer: (a) 1 only
Explanation:
