QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 27 July 2021 – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: d)

REITs are investment vehicles that pool investor money like mutual funds and use it to buy a portfolio of real estate assets. They manage these assets to generate a regular income and capital appreciation. In order to ensure that the REIT is able to generate income, 80 per cent of the portfolio of a REIT should be invested in completed and rent-generating properties.

While REITs can invest in all kinds of income-generating properties — residences, offices, hotels, malls, warehouses, in India the listed REITs are focussed mainly on office space.

As per SEBI’s guidelines, REITs need to mandatorily distribute 90 per cent of their income to unit-holders. The distribution could be in the form of dividend or interest income or both.

Source

Solution: b)

The Central Government operates Small Savings Schemes (SSS) through the nationwide network of about 1.5 lakh post offices, more than 8,000 branches of the Public-Sector Banks and select private sector banks and more than 5 lakh small savings agents.

National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) was established in 1999 within the Public Account of India for pooling the money from different SSSs. Collections from all small savings schemes ae credited to the NSSF.

Objective for the formation of a dedicated fund for small savings is to de-link small savings transactions from the Consolidated Fund of India. Since NSSF operates in the Public Account, its transactions do not impact the fiscal deficit of the Centre directly.

Solution: d)

The department of public enterprises (DPE) has now been made part of the finance ministry. For years, DPE was part of the ministry of heavy industries, with a separate department carved out for public enterprises. The department will oversee the functioning of 36 PSUs, apart from issues such as heavy engineering and automobiles, providing the finance minister direct oversight over policies related to some key manufacturing sectors.

Solution: b)

What is the Open Skies Treaty?

It is an accord between over 30 countries that allows participants to fly unarmed reconnaissance flights over any part of their fellow member states.

• First proposed in 1955 by former US President Dwight Eisenhower as a means to deescalate tensions during the Cold War, the landmark treaty was eventually signed in 1992 between NATO members and former Warsaw Pact countries following the demise of the Soviet Union.
• It went into effect in 2002 and had signatories, including key players US and Russia, along with one non-ratifying member (Kyrgyzstan).

Features of the treaty:

1. Under the treaty, a member state can “spy” on any part of the host nation, with the latter’s consent.
2. A country can undertake aerial imaging over the host state after giving notice 72 hours before, and sharing its exact flight path 24 hours before.
3. The information gathered, such as on troop movements, military exercises and missile deployments, has to be shared with all member states.
4. Only approved imaging equipment is permitted on the surveillance flights, and officials from the host state can also stay on board throughout the planned journey.

Solution: c)

Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI):

• Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2019 at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in New York, US.
• A platform where knowledge is generated and exchanged on different aspects of disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure.
• It will create a mechanism to assist countries to upgrade their capacities and practices, with regard to infrastructure development in accordance with their risk context and economic needs.